DTO Vendor Tools alternative?

[Ludachris]

I've been using DTO Vendor Tools for years now. All it is really is for me is a way to easily manage my direct advertisers who show up on a "supporting vendors" page. The page displays a logo, a vendor description, address, phone number, homepage link, and members who are associated with the business for quick and easy contact links. Here's a link to my vendor page (based on the DTO Vendor Tools script):
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/vendors

You'll see that you can categorize the vendors and there's a spot for a map too. I was thinking I could replicate most of this using the new XenReviews addon that's being developed. And since I was thinking of using that plugin for Product Reviews, it might make sense to use it for this as well. The trick is, I don't necessarily want the supporting vendors list showing up as a "review" category. Would it be best to just use a separate solution for the supporting vendors page? Any suggestions?

 

[Ludachris]

I'm thinking of trying out the Resource Manager as the starting point for this, mainly because it's probably safer to use an official XF plugin when possible. It won't have everything that DTO Vendor Tools has, but I figure I can tackle two sections and combine them into one (the Vendor List from DTO Vendor Tools and the Link Directory from vBadvanced, which I'm using for a separate Vendor Directory ratings/reviews system). I've always hated having the Vendor list, which is a list of direct advertisers, and the vendor directory separate anyway. This will give me an opportunity to combine them.

I figure I can do a couple of things here to separate paying vendors from non-paying vendors. I can create two separate sub-categories, or I can just make the paying vendors Featured. The featured route seems like the best.

Where I'm getting stuck is I want to have image uploads of admin-specified dimensions - one for a 150x50 logo graphic and another for a 728x90 banner upload. I know that images can be uploaded but I can't figure out how to limit the sizes. Ideally, I'd be able to create a custom field for each to be uploaded by the user so that I can use those profile field IDs in conditional template code to be displayed only in situations where the vendor is featured.

Also, I'd like to be able to add users to each resource - for example, if 3 members on the site are employees of a paying vendor in the directory, I'd like to display them in the resource to let everyone know they are reps for that vendor. Would that be achieved using a PHP Callback? I'm not too sure how to use that feature. Ideally, it would function exactly the same as the search drop down menu, where you search for content "posted by member" by typing in the name and a suggestion list drops down for the member name. I'd like to be able to add up to 3 vendor reps per vendor. Any idea how I'd accomplish this? Maybe by using a combination of plugins?

 

[StonePilot]

How's this going for you? I noticed that your site is still on vb.

 

[Ludachris]

How's this going for you? I noticed that your site is still on vb.

Still working on the migration (we've had to create a few importing scripts that weren't available). I'm hoping to flip the switch in 2-3 weeks.

 

[StonePilot]

Good luck. Looking forward to seeing this site come over to xf.

 

[Ludachris]

Good luck. Looking forward to seeing this site come over to xf.

You and me both

 

[Blackbeard]

Any update Chris?

 

[Ludachris]

Any update Chris?

Well the site is migrated. I don't have a good solution for the DTO Vendor Tools replacement. Currently using the Resource Manager as a hacked up DTO replacement, but it's not ideal. I am using a keyword notifications plugin to make up for the keyword alerts feature in vendor tools. It's decent enough.

One of the biggest things missing in the Xenforo plugins community is a directory/reviews extension. I know one is being worked on, but there really should be a few decent ones by now. I would love to have a product review directory, a vendor review directory, and a directory that lists my direct advertisers (a DTO replacement). Unfortunately, there just aren't good options available yet.