One of the programmers that has been with me for around 3 years and a good friend came up with this.. If anyone has questions, I will direct him here to answer them..

Tim


I wanted this thread to be a pool of knowledge in regards to using invision with joomla. Major issue that most people want to know is how to connect the logins. Well if you have invision 2.1.x or above you can use the external login module to connect to Joomla'a database to validate logins. this has been documented a few times in this forum, if you are starting out fresh this is the way to go.

However........ lets say you have an existing invision forum with hundreds or thousands of members and you want to connect joomla to that database.. well thats more of an issue and is something i am working on and will provide free to everyone once I get it working. So now you asking yourself, whats the big deal about connecting joomla to invisions database? one word my friends 'salt' .. no not that type you put on your food. Salting is a method of giving your password extra encryption (to help protect against those dam hackers ), invision does it but joomla does not! both systems convert your password to an MD5 hex password based on a random number but invision takes it a step further and MD5's your MD5 password based on a value (the salt) so thus your password has been doulbed MD5'd. So how can we get around this? were there are some methods that could be developed, I want some heavy PHP coders to give there thoughts, here are some possible methods:

- Adjust Joomla's login php files to tap off of invision and use invisions authentication method, similary invision does this this to joomla by using the external login method. (probrobly the more feasble method, because then you can do similar edits to the community builder login module if you use that.)

- Joomla starts using salted passwords in future realises, not so much for Invsions sake but because it is more secure (or is it ).

- Create a new login module that imulates invisions, disable the current (unpublish) login module and use the custom one (community builder for joomla does a similar thing).

- Trick out joomla php files to look at ibf_members and Ibf_members_converge table instead of jos_users, if you did this though you might as well just right a whole new joomla since it would be very complex.

So those are some thoughts, i will be looking more into this in April, as i am doing some other stuff at the moment.

Other cool things i have done with invision/joomla:

I am working with someone who has set up a joomla/invision site that will have paid content (as well as free content) there are hidden section in the forum and in joomla that will be availible instantly (on both) when someone pays, so i did it this way:

- Invsion and joomla installed used the external login method to connect invision to joomlas member database.

- installed JaclPlus on joomla so i can create different member groups on joomla, created a group called 'Paid Member' then assigned sections that on someone in that group can see.

- in Invision, customized paysubscriptions.php (in sources/action_admin) and han_paysubscriptions (in sources/handlers) so that when you set up a subcription package you not only get a choice of what invision group to move the user (thats a default feature anyway) to, i added another pulldown that will show you all the groups in joomla! as well and let you pick one (in this case I picked paid member).

- Now when a member chooses to upgrade from free to paid there is a link that takes them to the invision subcription module, they pick there package (in this example there is only one but you can make dfferent ones with diffrerent levels and groups to change to if you like) then they pick how they are going to pay (like paypal or any other installed payment gateway) once that transaction goes though the han_paysubscription.php move the member to the new invision group then changes the members group in jos_users, changes the members aro_id group (in jos_core_acl_groups_aro_map) and also updates the group in session (jos_sessions) if availble. thus giving instant access to new content in both invsion and joomla.

cool, huh I decided to use Invisions subcription service vs joomla ones, like moslock and virtuemart for 2 main reasons:

- Invisions is much more robust and scalable!! (pretty much the number one reason)

- Some joomla add on's like moslock can change the user groups in joomla but there would be alot more coding to get it to update invsions group as well.

I am currently working on a couple other things, like a form that attachs with the subscription selection page (in invision) that will obtain infomation such as address, phone etc. when you buy a subscription package so that when the staff run a special report (also working on) it can give them a .csv (excel) spead sheet of all tha data on a member or members so that subcribed members can have things shipped or mailed to them etc..

The joomla install i'm working on also has communty builder so im adding in a mod in invision that auto populates the profile feilds in invision with the data on joomla's (CB) profile (like website, location other custom feilds).


Anyway, I wanted to make this thread so that is can be a place were we take about invision integrations with joomla. keep in mind a couple things that invision is developing. They are working on Invsion Dynamic with is basically a joomla/mambo wannabe built into that and the new version 2.2 board will be there new converge module which will connect all there products with a single login. Converge is also suppose to connect to 3rd party software also, and i would imagine that joomla/mambo must be on that list. I'm not sure if it will be like the external login method or be something that solves the salted password connect issues of joomla connecting to Invision but i will keep an eye on it and post back my findings.

Last thing, i dont now if its worth creating a sub forum or not but we should at least have an ongoing pinned thread about invision, that way people don't keep asking the same questions. -just a thought.

Wow! Excellent work!! (Karma+1)
I'm going to to try the integration and see where I can get -- you're a champ!

Thanks... works very well for us.. and very stable..