XF 1.5 How to make a 'start a conversation' link?

[empire]

We tried this:

[url=http://denofangels.com/conversations/add?to={$visitor.username}] Start a Conversation [/url]

But it doesn't work on usernames with a space. The working URLs (as on the member profile) convert the space to a '+'. Is there a way to make this work so that we can add links like this to posts?

 

[Chris D]

It's a bit unclear how you're wanting to do this as the concepts are a little mixed here.

You're demonstrating using template syntax inside BB code which isn't a scenario that would likely work.

Where is this code being used?

 

[empire]

We're using Simple Forms to make classified ads and want to include a link at the end to start a conversation directly. So it would be bbcode, and it actually does work, just not with names that have spaces.

(I asked the Simple Forms developer and he said it was a general xf question, so I asked here.)

 

[Chris D]

Well, it's easy to say that, but it's not quite a general XF question. You're talking about somehow using template parameters inside BB code which is literally a situation that is impossible in XF itself.

Presumably the add-on supports replacing {$visitor.usernme} with the username, but obviously in terms of the add-on we have no idea what else it supports or doesn't support.

Putting that to one side, though, this is generally expected. The process of adding a + or %20 in a URL in place of a space is done by a function called url_encode. If the add-on can support url_encode on the visitor username, then that's what needs to be done. If not, then there's no solution. If the add-on supports {xen:link} syntax then that will handle it automatically.

That all said, most browsers will handle it gracefully anyway, so it should work with just a space.