Unmaintained [8WR] XenPorta (Portal) PRO 1.2.2b

This is a really good system for forum article and layout management. It offers functionality that other plugins just don't match.

The article/feature system offers a great way to highlight content in visually appealing wrappers. It can be a bit confusing to use at times as there are a lot of controls, but the controls are good.

The layout management is robust. It would be nice to have some more customization of positioning, but for what it offers, as visually as it does, this is amazing. No other plugin matches how easy this is to use, with this flexibility. That being said, it would be even more awesome if the configuration were streamlined a bit more - but as it is, it offers a lot of functions.

Some of the styles may appear a little strange with some XenForo themes. It would be nice to see a style properties panel added to the XenForo admin cp. For example, on my forum there is a difference with hyperlink styling in messages and the color palette styling, but XenPorta only recognizes the palette styling.

I'm sure people who could code, or are very familiar with CSS can go beyond what XenPorta can offer. But for those who are not, or who are looking for something useable, stable, robust, and flexible, XenPorta is it.

The last thing I would as for, is better written documentation. There are several videos on YouTube by jax (which are not even linked here), but written documentation would go a long way too. -- that gives me an idea, maybe i'll try to help write stuff up.

Very nice Article System & Widget Framework. Is worth the money, especially if you have some skills to customize the addon yourself.

The support is okay, when it comes to fixing bugs and quirks, but not like Russ-level of support, for those of us used to that. Updates are a bit slow, and no new features/very few widgets have been added since release.

Software is excellent in the end. Learning curve is more than it should be and the FAQ could be updated. Seems fast and strong from a technical standpoint. Support seems it comes with a bit of a rough edge, but like the software eventually gets the job done. Would get a 5/5 if I could count on better documentation/support for customizing and learning. Remains the best portal add-on at the time of writing this in my opinion.

Good functionality, not so easy to setup if you're not a XF/addon veteran. A Widget Framework style FAQ would go a long way into making it a bit more pleasant to administer.
Front end looks and works brilliantly.
Admin, especially the widget setup seems a tad too convoluted for what it is - install a widget, add options sets (name confused the heck out of me and it turned to simply mean widget instances), link it to the layout, then edit within the layout. That's 4 steps and an awful lot of clicking needed on per widget bases.
Would love to see ability to link the raw code widget to a template, again WF style - makes things so much pleasant to work with and keeps the code tidy and in one place. Even in the event of addon failure or user screw up you don't end up with missing bits and having to do a full backup restore. If the option is there, I've missed it.
Definitely worth the money if you have the time or knowledge to make it work.

I'm missing the Raw PHP widget. Besides that I love it. It has no issues with most themes. Lifetime support and works just flawless. Does exactly as it promises.

The add-ons of 8wayrun.com work well, and are quite advanced with a fair bit of features. However: after purchasing, expect not much support. you get the product what you paid for, and you unfortunatly have to do with it. I can try reporting bugs or ask for support, but i feel ignored and dumb. I have gotten a reply back only a couple times with a short reply of where to find something i need to then fix myself. Not just theming/css. Like he tells me "go learn how to code".
I can understand that the person behind it is quite busy with his awesome add-ons, but yeah...i would wish for some support.

So -2 stars out because i feel you are alone after your purchase. i have gotten other add-ons, some cheaper, wich all come with ubersuper great support, and also very friendly. I don't ask for alot. i ask for explanation, report bugs or ask for a modification if its possible or difficult to do. i do not get replies back.

I will update the review if the situation changes :)

Like that Addon. It gives a lot of possibilities for your Forum, but because of Lack of Support it´s just a 3 Star.
If you don´t need any Support it can be what you are looking for.

I love this addon. It allowed me to finally dump Wordpress and the bridge setup I was using, plus it is responsive and easy to configure. My reason for the three stars is that although I have repeatedly asked Jaxel to assist with the Recent Threads widget, I simply get brushed off.

The Recent Threads widget is "the built in one from XF", I keep getting told. It will not bold the new comments like the Recent comments block in the Xenporta 1 (free) version. I have been forced to keep Xenporta 1 active along with Xenporta 2, just to retain the ability to have all new comments bolded in the Recent Comments block in the sirdebar. So, the older, free version has this feature but the new, paid version does not? Jaxel will not make any siggestions or explain why the old, free Xenporta 1 block can bold all new comments and the new paid one cannot. This is annoying.

Jaxel basically brushes my questions off and has left me to fend for myself, despite paying the money for the addon. I have several paid addons, but the support is much better. A simple response of: "Please add this into EXTRA.css (along with code)" would help. The functionality exists because the free version has it.

While XenPorta does offer some much needed features, they are poorly executed. After just a few usability trials, we ran into multiple cosmetic and severe issues. We had to manually adjust, insert and cut out code to overcome most of these issues, but we continue to run our heads into the underlying code, which looks like it was designed by a toddler. For the price of $40, this product narrowly escapes a 1-star review.

Good addon but support very very terrible. should consider before spend for this addon because you don't have receive support sincere from author (support reluctantly). The first time was the last time I buy addon from Jaxel ... A developer wretched ... I'm very disappointed!

Don't buy this add on. Xenporta 2 is not bad but the support is really bad. Besides the mark of the author is upset and remove it costs 50 dollars, would total 90 dollars. When another application portal is a bit more expensive as $ 60 but no branding and support is excellent.

Don't buy Xenporta 2