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Smiley Helper

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The Smiley Helper file contains functions that let you manage smileys (emoticons).

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Loading this Helper

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This helper is loaded using the following code:

-$this->load->helper('smiley'); - -

Overview

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The Smiley helper has a renderer that takes plain text simileys, like :-) and turns -them into a image representation, like

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It also lets you display a set of smiley images that when clicked will be inserted into a form field. -For example, if you have a blog that allows user commenting you can show the smileys next to the comment form. -Your users can click a desired smiley and with the help of some JavaScript it will be placed into the form field.

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Clickable Smileys Tutorial

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Here is an example demonstrating how you might create a set of clickable smileys next to a form field. This example -requires that you first download and install the smiley images, then create a controller and the View as described.

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Important: Before you begin, please download the smiley images and put them in -a publicly accessible place on your server. This helper also assumes you have the smiley replacement array located at -application/config/smileys.php

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The Controller

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In your application/controllers/ folder, create a file called smileys.php and place the code below in it.

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Important: Change the URL in the get_clickable_smileys() function below so that it points to -your smiley folder.

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You'll notice that in addition to the smiley helper we are using the Table Class.

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In your application/views/ folder, create a file called smiley_view.php and place this code in it:

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When you have created the above controller and view, load it by visiting http://www.example.com/index.php/smileys/

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Field Aliases

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When making changes to a view it can be inconvenient to have the field id in the controller. To work around this, -you can give your smiley links a generic name that will be tied to a specific id in your view.

-$image_array = get_smiley_links("http://example.com/images/smileys/", "comment_textarea_alias"); - -

To map the alias to the field id, pass them both into the smiley_js function:

-$image_array = smiley_js("comment_textarea_alias", "comments"); - - -

Function Reference

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get_clickable_smileys()

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Returns an array containing your smiley images wrapped in a clickable link. You must supply the URL to your smiley folder -and a field id or field alias.

- -$image_array = get_smiley_links("http://example.com/images/smileys/", "comment"); -

Note: Usage of this function without the second parameter, in combination with js_insert_smiley has been deprecated.

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smiley_js()

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Generates the JavaScript that allows the images to be clicked and inserted into a form field. -If you supplied an alias instead of an id when generating your smiley links, you need to pass the -alias and corresponding form id into the function. -This function is designed to be placed into the <head> area of your web page.

- -<?php echo smiley_js(); ?> -

Note: This function replaces js_insert_smiley, which has been deprecated.

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parse_smileys()

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Takes a string of text as input and replaces any contained plain text smileys into the image -equivalent. The first parameter must contain your string, the second must contain the URL to your smiley folder:

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-$str = 'Here are some simileys: :-)  ;-)';
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-$str = parse_smileys($str, "http://example.com/images/smileys/");
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-echo $str;
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CodeIgniter User Guide Version 2.0.3

Smiley Helper

Loading this Helper

Overview

Clickable Smileys Tutorial

The Controller

Field Aliases

Function Reference

get_clickable_smileys()

smiley_js()

parse_smileys()