Attention all passengers: Final boarding announcement: SkyPortal 1.0, the standard in open-source website and portal
systems in the industry is now boarding through Gate B-47.
As always, with SkyPortal, you can have the best portal system available in seconds, with our fully automated, turn-key
installation system. We have added so many new features and improvements over previous versions, that it would be almost
impossible to list them all in one place. SkyPortal is truly one of the best systems created. Bar none. You can create your site in minutes,
customize the layouts, colors, look-and-feel, features, and site areas so that you can keep fresh content at all times. Most
rival systems don't even come close when it comes to installation ease, features and layout / content flexibilty...staying ahead of even the
most expensive portal systems in the world! Worried about security? SkyPortal is, by far, one of the most secure, flexible and versatile
systems...EVER!
SkyPortal is a modular web portal and online community system that
includes advanced features such as web-based administration, user selectable skins,
user control panel.
With additional modules such as Forums/poll, Public Events Calendar,
Classifieds Manager, WebLinks Manager,
Download Manager, Article Manager, Picture Manager and more.
Easy-to-use editor allows members to add news,
content, write reviews and share information among registered users.
Supports Access 2000 / SQL server 7 / SQL Server 2000 / Windows 98, ME, 2000, Windows XP, and Server 2003.
By downloading this program, you are agreeing to the terms of the SkyPortal EULA. All copyright notices regarding SkyPortal must remain intact in the scripts and in the outputted HTML. The "powered by" text with a link back to http://www.skyportal.net in the footer of the pages MUST remain visible when the pages are viewed on the internet or intranet.
Please register to download SkyPortal
What's New in SkyPortal v1.0
Click on the titles to read (or collapse) each new improvement description box:
FULL MODULARITY:
SkyPortal offers you the flexibility to install all the available modules separately: only install what you need / want.
SkyPortal's true modular architecture allows you to install only what you want or need for your site...
You can choose to have only the base CORE application, or add to it any or all of the NEW modules available. All installation processes are automatic....only a few lines to edit and you are ready to fly.
The PM Area engine was completely revamped. Fully configurable. We added several great features to the already useful ones:
1) Personal / admin-configurable PM-Block List: Block other users from sending PMs.
2) Saved Items Folder: Save those messages you consider important.
3) Auto-Delete feature: Messages can be set to be automatically deleted after a pre-set period.
4) PM Quota (configurable): Set how many messages users can receive.
5) PM Quota Indicator bar: See how many messages you have in your Inbox with a graphic bar indicator.
If your host provides you with the File System Object (FSO) COM, as well as the .nET Framework platform, the Picture Gallery Module now has an automatic image thumbnailer. Just upload, and the engine does all the work for you. The image resizer engine provides
3 different sizes to display your pictures:
1) a trueresizedthumbnail image (configurable; defaults to 120px w).
2) a mid-sized image (also resized) for the gallery collection (configurable; defaults to 500px w), and
3) the full-size (unresized) original (source) uploaded image.
The automatic .nET image thumbnailer engine in action...(simulated sizes shown for illustration purposes)
For the images being uploaded, there is a picture upload preview.
The Control Panel now reflects info unique to the user itself. All information unique to the member like the profile, profile editting, forum posts, Subscriptions, Bookmarks, etc. will be displayed through this page only.
Just as the users can select their own Skin, they now have control over many things which were only previously controlled by the webmaster. For instance:
1) Each user can now specify their own Country Language Locale Id (LCID), allowing them to have dates, times, currencies, punctuation, etc. adapted to their own country and its language specificity. The LCID selector will display all the values available and supported by the website server. The user will not have to guess what his or her value is, since the LCID is also listed next to their country and specific language.
2) Each user can now specify the time difference from the Portal Time to their own current local time.
3) The Skin Selector is now also located in the Control Panel.
...and many more features.
A view of the Personal Preferences screen in the NEW Control Panel...
The Best Skin Manager Ever! The new Skin Manager features new features like none before, such as the following:
1. Assign skins to different member levels.
2. Encourage registration by having member-only skins.
3. If you have FSO enabled, automaticallydetect skin folders added to your site.
4. Preview skins as admin level before deploying skins to the public
5. Automatic crust remover.
If the site's admin allows it, each user can have his or her home page customized dynamically to their own taste, using the new MyMax:
The members' myMax automatic front page layout engine screen...
The myMax screen will allow you to specify what content you want on what precise column among the three columns of the front page layout (left, main or middle and right). You can even set your whole page to be 2-column-wide or 3-column-wide. You can move content blocksfrom left to right, right to left, upwards, downwards, or you can set different blocks to be "Sticky", forcing them to appear always at the top of their corresponding specified column. Coupled with the also new Layout Manager, admins can alternatively set the blocks they want their users to see.
You can now 'ORDER' all categories and sub-categories.
Character counter:
New Character counter for limited space input boxes!
Admin Edit-on-place:
Admins are now able to edit all module items right from the item page itself!
200+ less files in the site root:
There are now 200+ less files in the site root! Most of the file structure was consolidated into less files, while most of the areas were encapsulated in their own subdirectories.
New 'Subscriptions' and 'Bookmarks' management:
The 'Subscriptions' and 'Bookmarks' routines and management now applies for all areas. You can subscribe to and bookmark almost all items of all the modules available. Subscription is also available for categories and subcategories. - Item Subscriptions and Bookmarks are properly identified by their own unique icons. The (un)subscribe action to forum topics results in e-mail notification.
SEARCH each module by person:
You can now SEARCH each module by person who submitted the items, plus the standard search capabilities you already know.
FORUM pop-outs for admin functions:
The FORUMS now have collapsible pop-outs that hold all admin functions hidden from view and out of the place. Each popout unfolds for each particular forum.
New 'breadcrumb' function:
The New 'breadcrumb' function allows for the site admin to specify what parameters they want to show on a top-of-the-page breadcrumb trail for all pages of each area of all the modules.
Add Moderators from the Forums Home:
Moderators can now be added from the Forums Home, by clicking on theicon.
Easier to build your own mods:
It is now easier to make your own modifications to the code in order to create your own modules and routines.
New online/Offline indicator:
The bar under the user name indicates if the user/author is online or offline ( for ONline, for OFFline).
New TinyMCE RTEditor:
The new and versatile fully X-browserRich Text HTML EditorTinyMCE® now offers a great tool for editing all content site-wide, from the forum topics to the articles, classifieds, etc. This new editor is completely configurable, and allows you to add extra plugins to the base ones, included in the package.
You can now switch between a full-featured editor or a more "standard" editor type.
MoxieCode's TinyMCE Rich-Text Editor...
This is available only when you have HTML turned 'ON' from the administration area. The editor has been included into the following areas:
It has been implemented so that when newer versions of FCKEditor are released, you can easily upgrade your sites just by copying over the existing folder.
Great additions:
- Quoted forum text now has the author's username attached.
- All sections has Featured, Random, Top Viewed/Rated etc blocks.
- Faster than previous versions.
- You can view the same topic many times in a row but the count will only go up once.. until you read another topic.
- A 3rd avatar size was added: you can now use 100x100px avatars.
- You can now enter your username to reset set your password for your account. Before it was just your email address.
Major site skins engine overhaul:
Additional to the great new skin-engine, there are other major perks added to the package:
- All Skin elements are controlled centrally in CSS files.
- Much more flexibility in themeing which will produce much cooler skins.
- Faster skin development cycle.
Custom' work area blocks:
We implemented "Custom work area blocks" to minimize mod re-integration when applying patches or new releases. This includes both server-side ASP as well as client-side Javascript. There are "hooks" built into the code for adding custom functions here and there, including custom nav-bars.
NEW Administrative section:
The Admin Console was completely redesigned and overhauled, providing cleaner and more user-friendly administrative tools integrated into site pages (pop outs for tool selection in members page, for instance).
NEW Topic Title cascades throughout thread:
When a topic has more than one page, the topic's original subject message is always displayed at the top of each page. This way, you don't lose track of what the original post topic was.
Please register to download SkyPortal
Other Great Features in SkyPortal v1.0
Click on the titles to read (or collapse) each new improvement description box:
8 Registration Types:
The site administrator
now has the option of customizing how Registrations
are carried out on the site, by combining
the Validation and Notification settings.
You now have 8 new 'Member Registration'
types options, done through combinations
of Email Validation/Admin Validation and
Member/Admin notifications:
Validation:
Notifications:
All of the options are fully automatic. Just select and save. You now have full control of how
your future members will register on your site.
New and Improved Navbar Menu:
The Navbar Menu is now fully customizable, and has several Sub-Menu items to make navigation around the site even easier!
The menu will always be present in all your site's pages. You can even set each menu item to be viewed by member level.
Uploads for most site areas:
The New and Improved Uploader system has been added to all areas. Each upload area is configurable from the admin
panel. Additionally, the system provides Automatic detection of Upload capability, so you'll know if your server
will allow upload functionality in advance. Just specify the file size and allowed file extensions, as well as
which member level has access to upload. See an example below:
Upload Configuration
Allow Uploads:
edit
Location
Active
User Level
Allowed Extensions
Size Limit
Log Uploads
article
Yes
Moderator
gif,jpg,zip,rar
1000 kb
No
banner
Yes
Admin
gif,jpg,swf
1000 kb
No
classified
Yes
Everyone
gif,jpg
100 kb
No
download
Yes
Member
zip,rar
1000 kb
No
gallery
Yes
Moderator
gif,jpg
1000 kb
Yes
link
Yes
Moderator
gif,jpg
100 kb
No
photo
Yes
Member
gif,jpg
1000 kb
Yes
New IPGate System:
IPGate mod, modified for MWP by Hawk92.
You can now Ban users by IP or IP range, ban from site, or ban from specific pages.
Additionally, you can keep complete records of banned users through the extensive
IPGate logging system.
Banners in the header:
One of the major changes made to the header, we added the option of using Banners in the header. We have 3 types of options for the header:
Login Box: you can have the Login Box placed on the header now, to free your NavBar.
Random banner on page load. Banners change with each refresh. With this setting, the
system is able to count and keep a record of hits and impressions per banner.
Random rotating banners. Banners rotate with javascript every 'x' seconds. This setting
counts and keeps records of hits also, but not impressions.
The banner system has a user-friendly admin panel in the admin area, where you can view,
add (upload/reference) or delete all your banners.
Now you can upload your .GIF or .JPG banners from the admin console (part of the Uploader System).
You can even have Flash banners now: just specify the swf object, upload it, and you're done!
The system does all the work of adding the embedding tags and IDs for you. Fully automatic!
Mini BIOs in the forums:
Check out the icon placed above everyone's member names when
reading posts in the Forums (only Logged-in Users have access to the mini-BIOs).
When clicked, the icon hides and shows a little block of information that displays the Date the Member
joined your site, their country, city, links to send them Private Messages, plus links to display
their different messaging options (all of these will appear if the member has them available).
Report post to moderator:
Your site's members can now report any post that they consider offensive or that goes against your site's policies.
When users see an offending post, they can now click on the NEW exclamation icon
in the forum posts, to report that particular post.
Once clicked, they will be able to describe their complaint through a form. Once submitted, a Flashing graphic
siren icon will
appear on the left side of the navbar, as well as a link in the front page menu, when there are posts that need attention.
Admins and moderators are the only ones that will see the flashing graphic and link when posts are
reported. The new Reported Posts system has an input area for the 'action taken' to be recorded in the db along
with who did the corrective 'action', if any.
Auto Send PM to new Members:
Site Admin can 'switch' to turn this feature 'ON' or 'OFF'.
Configure the PM subject and message text from the admin panel.
With this feature ON, whenever a new member registers on your site, he or she will automatically be
sent a Private Message (PM), with the message you specified in the Auto-PM admin panel, like a
Welcome message, or any instructions first-time users might need to know as soon as they first log into
the system. The next example shows this capability:
Auto
PM New Members?:
YES (On)
NO (Off)
Subject:
Message:
Avatar Upload:
You can now upload or link to your own personal avatar!
Check the link in your control panel. In the avatar section of the admin panel, you can view all
the uploaded member avatars and delete them if you wish. Any admin can view/delete them.
Forum Subscriptions:
You can now allow your members to subscribe to individual Forums in your site!
They will be notified by email whenever a new topic is posted in their subscribed forum.
Users can choose whether to cancel their subscriptions at any time, and they can configure each
subscription separately.
Mini-Calendar Added to Home Page:
A small Calendar feature was added to the home page to show today's events and upcoming events, along with a
graphical mini-calendar, that conforms to the new Calendar functions and LCID
modifications to allow for international date and time standards:
The NEW Events Mini-Calendar feature on the front page.
Who Reported Bad items:
Reports include the member name of who submitted the bad link, bad classified, bad download or bad picture report,
to keep track of reporters and false reports. This feature is now integrated with the also NEW Administrative Pending Tasks (see below).
Member Extended Details are now "variable":
Those Extended member details you are familiar with in version
1.35 (like Bio, Favorite Quote, Latest News, and Hobbies)
are now "variable": in the Admin
Panel for Member Details you can name these 4
items anything you want, such as "Favorite Food", "Shoe-size"
or "Name of Dog", etc.
Page Load Timer:
Added a page load timer
'1:on' and '0:off' switch in config.asp
You can see an example of this timer right at the very bottom of this page!
Site Monitor:
Admins and Moderators can now monitor the 'active topics' and 'who's online' from their
own 'search pane' (left-hand pane of the browser window)
while browsing the rest of the site or the web in the main window (right main pane):
Front Page News:
Added configuration for the news in the Admin area.
The site administrator can now choose additional settings for the front-page news, from the following configuration:
1 column or 2
Show a default news image or not
Additionally, you can now build your News blocks from the Forums, each News item as a separate topic.
Improved Private Messaging System:
New Graphical PM notification features!
You now have 2 Private Messaging Notification options:
The blinking icon on the navbar and
the 'Toast' pop-up notification:
xxxxxxxxxxx
The site Admin can configure which option to use, either the blinking icon, the Toast Pop-Up messenger or both.
Events Area Upgrade:
Improvements include the latest Event Suite version.
You can now Add single events or repeating events, on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis.
Additionally, we fixed all LCID issues for international compliance.
You can now set automatic Event Reminders and create ICal files so you can
synchronize your site's calendar with MS Outlook® or any Email client that
supports that calendar file format.
Avatar Database Sync Feature:
You can now Upload your avatars in bulk via FTP to the avatar folder. Formerly,
you had to add each avatar separatedly, through the admin panel, for each avatar.
Now, you just Click on this link in the admin panel and the system updates the database
with the latest avatars you have just uploaded to the Avatars folder.
One click and you're done!
Easier and Better Installation Process:
Now even easier to install and setup, this version has numerous improvements, including the following:
Automatic generation and verification of Sub-folders through FSO (if available)
Email Components are auto-detected during setup and installation: select your email component from the start
Enhanced and simplified Installation procedure
Pending Tasks Notification:
Whenever there are any pending administrative tasks, the Pending Tasks link in the default menu on the home page will be highlighted.
You can now be notified whenever there are any new items added to the site that need authorization or validation, like new articles, new pics, new events, etc.!
Member "GLOWS":
Use the simple admin feature to give key members of your site a username "glow" (Internet Explorer only)
Improved and Added Member Details:
Added features to the member profiles:
Easily select your country's flag to appear in your profile
Contact information easily configured via profile administration page
MSN contact added
Improved Layouts in site areas:
Improved the look of layouts in:
Pictures area
Downloads area
Links area
Articles
Classifieds
Improved FAQs with graphical content:
Improved the look and functionality in many FAQ files. Not the boring text-based
FAQs anymore. We revamped some FAQ files, added extra Help references to several Admin
areas. Adding new ones in a few days.
Forums 
standard in open-source website and portal
systems in the industry is now boarding through Gate B-47.
icon.
for ONline, 
for OFFline).
icon placed above everyone's member names when
reading posts in the Forums (only Logged-in Users have access to the mini-BIOs).
in the forum posts, to report that particular post.
siren icon will
appear on the left side of the navbar, as well as a link in the front page menu, when there are posts that need attention.
and
