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$Id: plugin.txt,v 1.1.2.5 2005/07/12 08:50:29 tokul Exp $
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In addition to this document, please check out the SquirrelMail
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development FAQ for more information. Also, help writing plugins
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is easily obtained by posting to the squirrelmail-plugins mailing
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list. (See details about mailing lists on the website)
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FAQ -> http://www.squirrelmail.org/wiki/wiki.php?DeveloperFAQ
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http://www.squirrelmail.org/wiki/wiki.php?DevelopingPlugins
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A FEW NOTES ON THE PLUGIN ARCHITECTURE
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======================================
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The plugin architecture of SquirrelMail is designed to make it possible
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to add new features without having to patch SquirrelMail itself.
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Functionality like password changing, displaying ads and calendars should
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be possible to add as plugins.
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The idea is to be able to run random code at given places in the
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SquirrelMail code. This random code should then be able to do whatever
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needed to enhance the functionality of SquirrelMail. The places where
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code can be executed are called "hooks".
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There are some limitations in what these hooks can do. It is difficult
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to use them to change the layout and to change functionality that
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already is in SquirrelMail.
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Some way for the plugins to interact with the help subsystem and
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translations will be provided.
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The plugin jumping off point in the main SquirrelMail code is in the
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file functions/plugin.php. In places where hooks are made available,
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they are executed by calling the function do_hook('hookname'). The
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do_hook function then traverses the array
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$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['hookname'] and executes all the functions
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that are named in that array. Those functions are placed there when
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plugins register themselves with SquirrelMail as discussed below. A
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plugin may add its own internal functions to this array under any
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hook name provided by the SquirrelMail developers.
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A plugin must reside in a subdirectory in the plugins/ directory. The
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name of the subdirectory is considered to be the name of the plugin.
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(The plugin will not function correctly if this is not the case.)
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To start using a plugin, its name must be added to the $plugins array
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in config.php like this:
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$plugins[0] = 'plugin_name';
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When a plugin is registered, the file plugins/plugin_name/setup.php is
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included and the function squirrelmail_plugin_init_plugin_name() is
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called with no parameters. That function is where the plugin may
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register itself against any hooks it wishes to take advantage of.
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All plugins must contain a file called setup.php and must include a
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function called squirrelmail_plugin_init_plugin_name() therein. Since
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including numerous plugins can slow SquirrelMail performance
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considerably, the setup.php file should contain little else. Any
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functions that are registered against plugin hooks should do little
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more than call another function in a different file.
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Any other files used by the plugin should also be placed in the
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plugin directory (or subdirectory thereof) and should contain the
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bulk of the plugin logic.
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The function squirrelmail_plugin_init_plugin_name() is called to
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initalize a plugin. This function could look something like this (if
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the plugin was named "demo" and resided in the directory plugins/demo/):
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function squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo ()
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global $squirrelmail_plugin_hooks;
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$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['generic_header']['demo'] = 'plugin_demo_header';
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$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['menuline']['demo'] = 'plugin_demo_menuline';
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Please note that as of SquirrelMail 1.5.0, this function will no longer
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be called at run time and will instead be called only once at configure-
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time. Thus, the inclusion of any dynamic code (anything except hook
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registration) here is strongly discouraged.
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In this example, the "demo" plugin should also have two other functions
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in its setup.php file called plugin_demo_header() and plugin_demo_menuline().
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The first of these might look something like this:
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function plugin_demo_header()
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include_once(SM_PATH . 'plugins/demo/functions.php');
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plugin_demo_header_do();
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The function called plugin_demo_header_do() would be in the file called
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functions.php in the demo plugin directory and would contain the plugin's
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core logic for the "generic_header" hook.
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Including Other Files
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---------------------
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A plugin may need to reference functionality provided in other
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files, and therefore need to include those files. Most of the
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core SquirrelMail functions are already available to your plugin
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unless it has any files that are requested directly by the client
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browser (custom options page, etc.). In this case, you'll need
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to make sure you include the files you need (see below).
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Note that as of SquirrelMail 1.4.0, all files are accessed using a
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constant called SM_PATH that always contains the relative path to
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the main SquirrelMail directory. This constant is always available
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for you to use when including other files from the SquirrelMail core,
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your own plugin, or other plugins, should the need arise. If any of
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your plugin files are requested directly from the client browser,
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you will need to define this constant before you do anything else:
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define('SM_PATH', '../../');
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Files are included like this:
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include_once(SM_PATH . 'include/validate.php');
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When including files, please make sure to use the include_once() function
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and NOT include(), require(), or require_once(), since these all are much
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less efficient than include_once() and can have a cumulative effect on
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SquirrelMail performance.
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The files that you may need to include in a plugin will vary greatly
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depending upon what the plugin is designed to do. For files that are
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requested directly by the client browser, we strongly recommend that
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you include the file include/validate.php, since it will set up the
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SquirrelMail environment automatically. It will ensure the the user
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has been authenticated and is currently logged in, load all user
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preferences, include internationalization support, call stripslashes()
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on all incoming data (if magic_quotes_gpc is on), and initialize and
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include all other basic SquirrelMail resources and functions. You may
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see other plugins that directly include other SquirrelMail files, but
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that is no longer necessary and is a hold-over from older SquirrelMail
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List of files, that are included by include/validate.php (If SquirrelMail
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version is not listed, files are included from v.1.3.2.):
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1. class/mime.class.php
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1.1. class/mime/Rfc822Header.class.php
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1.2. class/mime/MessageHeader.class.php
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1.3. class/mime/AddressStructure.class.php
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1.4. class/mime/Message.class.php
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1.5. class/mime/SMimeMessage.class.php
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1.6. class/mime/Disposition.class.php
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1.7. class/mime/Language.class.php
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1.8. class/mime/ContentType.class.php
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2. functions/global.php
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3. functions/strings.php
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4.1. config/config_local.php (from 1.4.0rc1)
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5. functions/i18n.php
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5.1. functions/global.php (from 1.4.0)
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6. functions/auth.php
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7. include/load_prefs.php
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7.1. include/validate.php
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7.2. functions/prefs.php
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7.3. functions/plugin.php
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7.3.1. functions/global.php (from 1.4.0 and 1.5.0)
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7.3.2. functions/prefs.php (from 1.5.1)
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7.4. functions/constants.php
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7.5. do_hook('loading_prefs')
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8. functions/page_header.php
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8.1. functions/strings.php
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8.2. functions/html.php
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8.3. functions/imap_mailbox.php
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8.3.1. functions/imap_utf7_local.php
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8.4. functions/global.php
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9. functions/prefs.php
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9.1. functions/global.php
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9.2. $prefs_backend (from 1.4.3rc1 and 1.5.0)
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functions/db_prefs.php
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functions/file_prefs.php
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Hook Types: Parameters and Return Values
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-----------------------------------------
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Hooks, when executed, are called with differing parameters and may or may
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not take return values, all depending on the type of hook being called and
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the context in which it is being used. On the source side (where the hook
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call originates), all hooks have at least one parameter, which is the
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name of the hook. After that, things get complicated.
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Most hook calls don't pass any data and don't ask for anything back.
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These always use the do_hook call. A limited number of do_hook calls do
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pass some extra parameters, in which case your plugin may modify the
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given data if you do so by reference. It is not necessary to return
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anything from your function in such a case; modifying the parameter
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data by reference is what does the job (although the hook call itself
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(in the source) must grab the return value for this to work). Note
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that in this case, the parameter to your hook function will be an array,
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the first element simply being the hook name, followed by any other
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parameters that may have been included in the actual hook call in the
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source. Modify parameters with care!
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This hook type was intended to be the main hook type used when the
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source needs to get something back from your plugin. It is somewhat
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limited in that it will only use the value returned from the LAST
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plugin registered against the hook. The source for this hook might
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use the return value for internal purposes, or might expect you to
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provide text or HTML to be sent to the client browser (you'll have to
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look at its use in context to understand how you should return values
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here). The parameters that your hook function gets will be anything
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you see AFTER the hook name in the actual hook call in the source.
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These cannot be changed in the same way that the do_hook parameters
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This is a newer hook type meant to address the shortcomings of
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do_hook_function; specifically in that it uses the return values of
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all plugins registered against the hook. In order to do so, the
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return value is assumed to be a string, which is just piled on top
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of whatever it got from the other plugins working on the same hook.
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Again, you'll have to inspect the source code to see how such data
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is put to use, but most of the time, it is used to create a string
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of HTML to be inserted into the output page. The parameters that
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your hook function will get are the same as for the do_hook_function;
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they are anything AFTER the hook name in the actual hook call in the
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boolean_hook_function
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---------------------
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The newest of the SquirrelMail hooks, this type is used to let all
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plugins registered against the hook to "vote" for some action. What
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that action is is entirely dependent on how the hook is used in the
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source (look for yourself). Plugins make their "vote" by returning
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TRUE or FALSE. This hook may be configured to "tally votes" in one
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of three ways. This configuration is done with the third parameter
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in the hook call in the source:
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> 0 -- Any one or more TRUEs will override any FALSEs
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< 0 -- Any one or more FALSEs will override any TRUEs
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= 0 -- Majority wins. Ties are broken in this case with
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the last parameter in the hook call in the source.
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Your hook function will get the second paramter in the hook call in
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the source as its parameter (this might be an array if multiple values
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See below for further discussion of special hook types and the values
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This is a list of all hooks currently available in SquirrelMail, ordered
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by file. Note that this list is accurate as of June 17, 2003 (should be
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close to what is contained in release 1.4.1, plus or minus a hook or two),
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but may be out of date soon thereafter. You never know. ;-)
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Hook Name Found In Called With(#)
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--------- -------- --------------
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abook_init functions/addressbook.php do_hook
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abook_add_class functions/addressbook.php do_hook
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loading_constants functions/constants.php do_hook
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logout_error functions/display_messages.php do_hook
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error_box functions/display_messages.php concat_hook
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get_pref_override functions/file_prefs.php hook_func
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get_pref functions/file_prefs.php hook_func
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special_mailbox functions/imap_mailbox.php hook_func
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% rename_or_delete_folder functions/imap_mailbox.php hook_func
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msg_envelope functions/mailbox_display.php do_hook
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mailbox_index_before functions/mailbox_display.php do_hook
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mailbox_form_before functions/mailbox_display.php do_hook
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mailbox_index_after functions/mailbox_display.php do_hook
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check_handleAsSent_result functions/mailbox_display.php do_hook
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subject_link functions/mailbox_display.php concat_hook
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message_body functions/mime.php do_hook
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^ attachment $type0/$type1 functions/mime.php do_hook
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decode_body functions/mime.php hook_func
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generic_header functions/page_header.php do_hook
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menuline functions/page_header.php do_hook
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prefs_backend functions/prefs.php hook_func
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loading_prefs include/load_prefs.php do_hook
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addrbook_html_search_below src/addrbook_search_html.php do_hook
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addressbook_bottom src/addressbook.php do_hook
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compose_form src/compose.php do_hook
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compose_bottom src/compose.php do_hook
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compose_button_row src/compose.php do_hook
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compose_send src/compose.php do_hook
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folders_bottom src/folders.php do_hook
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help_top src/help.php do_hook
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help_chapter src/help.php do_hook
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help_bottom src/help.php do_hook
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left_main_after_each_folder src/left_main.php concat_hook
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left_main_before src/left_main.php do_hook
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left_main_after src/left_main.php do_hook
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login_cookie src/login.php do_hook
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login_top src/login.php do_hook
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login_form src/login.php do_hook
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login_bottom src/login.php do_hook
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move_before_move src/move_messages.php do_hook
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* optpage_set_loadinfo src/options.php do_hook
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* optpage_loadhook_personal src/options.php do_hook
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* optpage_loadhook_display src/options.php do_hook
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* optpage_loadhook_highlight src/options.php do_hook
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* optpage_loadhook_folder src/options.php do_hook
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* optpage_loadhook_order src/options.php do_hook
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* options_personal_save src/options.php do_hook
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* options_display_save src/options.php do_hook
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* options_folder_save src/options.php do_hook
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* options_save src/options.php do_hook
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* optpage_register_block src/options.php do_hook
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* options_link_and_description src/options.php do_hook
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* options_personal_inside src/options.php do_hook
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* options_display_inside src/options.php do_hook
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* options_highlight_inside src/options.php do_hook
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* options_folder_inside src/options.php do_hook
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* options_order_inside src/options.php do_hook
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* options_personal_bottom src/options.php do_hook
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* options_display_bottom src/options.php do_hook
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* options_highlight_bottom src/options.php do_hook
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* options_folder_bottom src/options.php do_hook
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* options_order_bottom src/options.php do_hook
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* options_highlight_bottom src/options_highlight.php do_hook
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& options_identities_process src/options_identities.php do_hook
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& options_identities_top src/options_identities.php do_hook
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&% options_identities_renumber src/options_identities.php do_hook
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& options_identities_table src/options_identities.php concat_hook
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& options_identities_buttons src/options_identities.php concat_hook
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message_body src/printer_friendly_bottom.php do_hook
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read_body_header src/read_body.php do_hook
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read_body_menu_top src/read_body.php concat_hook
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read_body_menu_bottom src/read_body.php do_hook
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read_body_header_right src/read_body.php do_hook
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html_top src/read_body.php do_hook
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read_body_top src/read_body.php do_hook
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read_body_bottom src/read_body.php do_hook
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html_bottom src/read_body.php do_hook
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login_before src/redirect.php do_hook
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login_verified src/redirect.php do_hook
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generic_header src/right_main.php do_hook
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right_main_after_header src/right_main.php do_hook
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right_main_bottom src/right_main.php do_hook
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search_before_form src/search.php do_hook
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search_after_form src/search.php do_hook
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search_bottom src/search.php do_hook
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logout src/signout.php do_hook
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webmail_top src/webmail.php do_hook
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webmail_bottom src/webmail.php concat_hook
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logout_above_text src/signout.php concat_hook
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O info_bottom plugins/info/options.php do_hook
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% = This hook is used in multiple places in the given file
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# = Called with hook type (see below)
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& = Special identity hooks (see below)
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^ = Special attachments hook (see below)
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* = Special options hooks (see below)
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O = Optional hook provided by a particular plugin
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Each hook is called using the hook type specified in the list above:
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hook_func do_hook_function()
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concat_hook concat_hook_function()
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This set of hooks is passed special information in the array of arguments:
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options_identities_process
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This hook is called at the top of the Identities page, which is
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most useful when the user has changed any identity settings - this
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is where you'll want to save any custom information you are keeping
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for each identity or catch any custom submit buttons that you may
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have added to the identities page. The arguments to this hook are:
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[0] = hook name (always "options_identities_process")
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[1] = should I run the SaveUpdateFunction() (alterable)
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Obviously, set the second array element to 1/true if you want to
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trigger SaveUpdateFunction() after the hook is finished - by default,
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it will not be called.
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options_identities_renumber
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This hook is called when one of the identities is being renumbered,
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such as if the user had three identities and deletes the second -
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this hook would be called with an array that looks like this:
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('options_identities_renumber', 2, 1). The arguments to this hook
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[0] = hook name (always "options_identities_renumber")
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[1] = being renumbered from ('default' or 1 through (# idents) - 1)
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[2] = being renumbered to ('default' or 1 through (# idents) - 1)
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options_identities_table
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This hook allows you to insert additional rows into the table that
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holds each identity. The arguments to this hook are:
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[0] = additional html attributes applied to table row.
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use it like this in your plugin:
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<tr "<?php echo $args[0]; ?>">
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[1] = is this an empty section (the one at the end of the list)?
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[2] = what is the 'post' value? (ident # or empty string if default)
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You need to return any HTML you would like to add to the table.
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You could add a table row with code similar to this:
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function demo_identities_table(&$args)
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return '<tr bgcolor="' . $args[0] . '"><td> </td><td>'
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. 'YOUR CODE HERE' . '</td></tr>' . "\n";
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First hook argument was modified in 1.4.5/1.5.1. In SquirrelMail 1.4.1-1.4.4
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and 1.5.0 argument contains only background color. You should use
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<tr bgcolor="<?php echo $args[0]; ?>"> in these SquirrelMail versions.
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options_identities_buttons
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This hook allows you to add a button (or other HTML) to the row of
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buttons under each identity. The arguments to this hook are:
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[0] = is this an empty section (the one at the end of the list)?
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[1] = what is the 'post' value? (ident # or empty string if default)
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You need to return any HTML you would like to add here. You could add
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a button with code similar to this:
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function demo_identities_button(&$args)
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return '<input type="submit" name="demo_button_' . $args[1]
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. '" value="Press Me" />';
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When a message has attachments, this hook is called with the MIME types. For
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instance, a .zip file hook is "attachment application/x-zip". The hook should
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probably show a link to do a specific action, such as "Verify" or "View" for a
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.zip file. Thus, to register your plugin for .zip attachments, you'd do this
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in setup.php (assuming your plugin is called "demo"):
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$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['attachment application/x-zip']['demo']
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= 'demo_handle_zip_attachment';
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This is a breakdown of the data passed in the array to the hook that is called:
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[0] = Hook's name ('attachment text/plain')
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[1] = Array of links of actions (see below) (alterable)
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[2] = Used for returning to mail message (startMessage)
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[3] = Used for finding message to display (id)
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[4] = Mailbox name, urlencode()'d (urlMailbox)
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[5] = Entity ID inside mail message (ent)
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[6] = Default URL to go to when filename is clicked on (alterable)
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[7] = Filename that is displayed for the attachment
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[8] = Sent if message was found from a search (where)
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[9] = Sent if message was found from a search (what)
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To set up links for actions, you assign them like this:
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$Args[1]['<plugin_name>']['href'] = 'URL to link to';
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$Args[1]['<plugin_name>']['text'] = _("What to display");
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Note: _("What to display") is explained in the section about
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internationalization.
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It's also possible to specify a hook as "attachment type0/*",
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for example "attachment text/*". This hook will be executed whenever there's
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no more specific rule available for that type.
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Putting all this together, the demo_handle_zip_attachment() function should
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look like this (note the argument being passed):
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function demo_handle_zip_attachment(&$Args)
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include_once(SM_PATH . 'plugins/demo/functions.php');
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demo_handle_zip_attachment_do($Args);
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And the demo_handle_zip_attachment_do() function in the
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plugins/demo/functions.php file would typically (but not necessarily)
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display a custom link:
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function demo_handle_zip_attachment_do(&$Args)
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$Args[1]['demo']['href'] = SM_PATH . 'plugins/demo/zip_handler.php?'
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. 'passed_id=' . $Args[3] . '&mailbox=' . $Args[4]
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. '&passed_ent_id=' . $Args[5];
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$Args[1]['demo']['text'] = _("Show zip contents");
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The file plugins/demo/zip_handler.php can now do whatever it needs with the
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attachment (note that this will hand information about how to retrieve the
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source message from the IMAP server as GET varibles).
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Before you start adding user preferences to your plugin, please take a moment
518
to think about it: in some cases, more options may not be a good thing.
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Having too many options can be confusing. Thinking from the user's
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perspective, will the proposed options actually be used? Will users
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understand what these options are for?
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There are two ways to add options for your plugin. When you only have a few
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options that don't merit an entirely new preferences page, you can incorporate
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them into an existing section of SquirrelMail preferences (Personal
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Information, Display Preferences, Message Highlighting, Folder Preferences or
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Index Order). Or, if you have an extensive number of settings or for some
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reason need a separate page for the user to interact with, you can create your
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own preferences page.
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Integrating Your Options Into Existing SquirrelMail Preferences Pages
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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There are two ways to accomplish the integration of your plugin's settings
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into another preferences page. The first method is to add the HTML code
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for your options directly to the preferences page of your choice. Although
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currently very popular, this method will soon be deprecated, so avoid it
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if you can. That said, here is how it works. :) Look for any of the hooks
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named as "options_<pref page>_inside", where <pref page> is "display",
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"personal", etc. For this example, we'll use "options_display_inside" and,
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as above, "demo" as our plugin name:
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1. In setup.php in the squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo() function:
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$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['options_display_inside']['demo']
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= 'demo_show_options';
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Note that there are also hooks such as "options_display_bottom",
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however, they place your options at the bottom of the preferences
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page, which is usually not desirable (mostly because they also
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come AFTER the HTML FORM tag is already closed). It is possible
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to use these hooks if you want to create your own FORM with custom
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2. Assuming the function demo_show_options() calls another function
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elsewhere called demo_show_options_do(), that function should have
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output similar to this (note that you will be inserting code into
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a table that is already defined with two columns, so please be sure
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to keep this framework in your plugin):
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------cut here-------
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------cut here-------
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Of course, you can place any text where OPTION_NAME is and any input
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tags where OPTION_INPUT is.
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3. You will want to use the "options_<pref page>_save" hook (in this case,
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"options_display_save") to save the user's settings after they have
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pressed the "Submit" button. Again, back in setup.php in the
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squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo() function:
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$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['options_display_save']['demo']
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= 'demo_save_options';
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4. Assuming the function demo_save_options() calls another function
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elsewhere called demo_save_options_do(), that function should put
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the user's settings into permanent storage (see the preferences
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section below for more information). This example assumes that
588
in the preferences page, the INPUT tag's NAME attribute was set
591
global $data_dir, $username;
592
sqgetGlobalVar('demo_option', $demo_option);
593
setPref($data_dir, $username, 'demo_option', $demo_option);
596
The second way to add options to one of the SquirrelMail preferences page is
597
to use one of the "optpage_loadhook_<pref page>" hooks. The sent_subfolders
598
plugin has an excellent example of this method. Briefly, this way of adding
599
options consists of adding some plugin-specific information to a predefined
600
data structure which SquirrelMail then uses to build the HTML input forms
601
for you. This is the preferred method of building options lists going forward.
603
1. We'll use the "optpage_loadhook_display" hook to add a new group of
604
options to the display preferences page. In setup.php in the
605
squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo() function:
607
$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['optpage_loadhook_display']['demo']
610
2. Assuming the function demo_options() calls another function elsewhere
611
called demo_options_do(), that function needs to add a new key to two
612
arrays, $optpage_data['grps'] and $optpage_data['vals']. The value
613
associated with that key should simply be a section heading for your
614
plugin on the preferences page for the $optpage_data['grps'] array,
615
and yet another array with all of your plugin's options for the
616
$optpage_data['vals'] array. The options are built as arrays (yes,
617
that's four levels of nested arrays) that specify attributes that are
618
used by SquirrelMail to build your HTML input tags automatically.
619
This example includes just one input element, a SELECT (drop-down)
622
global $optpage_data;
623
$optpage_data['grps']['DEMO_PLUGIN'] = 'Demo Options';
624
$optionValues = array();
625
$optionValues[] = array(
626
'name' => 'plugin_demo_favorite_color',
627
'caption' => 'Please Choose Your Favorite Color',
628
'type' => SMOPT_TYPE_STRLIST,
629
'refresh' => SMOPT_REFRESH_ALL,
630
'posvals' => array(0 => 'red',
634
'save' => 'save_plugin_demo_favorite_color'
636
$optpage_data['vals']['DEMO_PLUGIN'] = $optionValues;
638
The array that you use to specify each plugin option has the following
641
name The name of this setting, which is used not only for
642
the INPUT tag name, but also for the name of this
643
setting in the user's preferences
644
caption The text that prefaces this setting on the preferences
646
type The type of INPUT element, which should be one of:
647
SMOPT_TYPE_STRING String/text input
648
SMOPT_TYPE_STRLIST Select list input
649
SMOPT_TYPE_TEXTAREA Text area input
650
SMOPT_TYPE_INTEGER Integer input
651
SMOPT_TYPE_FLOAT Floating point number input
652
SMOPT_TYPE_BOOLEAN Boolean (yes/no radio buttons)
654
SMOPT_TYPE_HIDDEN Hidden input (not actually
655
shown on preferences page)
656
SMOPT_TYPE_COMMENT Text is shown (specified by the
657
'comment' attribute), but no
659
SMOPT_TYPE_FLDRLIST Select list of IMAP folders
660
refresh Indicates if a link should be shown to refresh part or
661
all of the window (optional). Possible values are:
662
SMOPT_REFRESH_NONE No refresh link is shown
663
SMOPT_REFRESH_FOLDERLIST Link is shown to refresh
665
SMOPT_REFRESH_ALL Link is shown to refresh
667
initial_value The value that should initially be placed in this
669
posvals For select lists, this should be an associative array,
670
where each key is an actual input value and the
671
corresponding value is what is displayed to the user
672
for that list item in the drop-down list
673
value Specify the default/preselected value for this option
675
save You may indicate that special functionality needs to be
676
used instead of just saving this setting by giving the
677
name of a function to call when this value would
678
otherwise just be saved in the user's preferences
679
size Specifies the size of certain input items (typically
680
textual inputs). Possible values are:
687
comment For SMOPT_TYPE_COMMENT type options, this is the text
688
displayed to the user
689
script This is where you may add any additional javascript
690
or other code to the user input
691
post_script You may specify some script (usually Javascript) that
692
will be placed after (outside of) the INPUT tag.
694
Note that you do not have to create a whole new section on the options
695
page if you merely want to add a simple input item or two to an options
696
section that already exists. For example, the Display Options page has
699
0 - General Display Options
700
1 - Mailbox Display Options
701
2 - Message Display and Composition
703
To add our previous input drop-down to the Mailbox Display Options,
704
we would not have to create our own group; just add it to group
707
global $optpage_data;
708
$optpage_data['vals'][1][] = array(
709
'name' => 'plugin_demo_favorite_color',
710
'caption' => 'Please Choose Your Favorite Color',
711
'type' => SMOPT_TYPE_STRLIST,
712
'refresh' => SMOPT_REFRESH_ALL,
713
'posvals' => array(0 => 'red',
717
'save' => 'save_plugin_demo_favorite_color'
720
3. If you indicated a 'save' attribute for any of your options, you must
721
create that function (you'll only need to do this if you need to do
722
some special processing for one of your settings). The function gets
723
one parameter, which is an object with mostly the same attributes you
724
defined when you made the option above... the 'new_value' (and possibly
725
'value', which is the current value for this setting) is the most useful
726
attribute in this context:
728
function save_plugin_demo_favorite_color($option)
730
// if user chose orange, make note that they are really dumb
731
if ($option->new_value == 3)
733
// more code here as needed
736
// don't even save this setting if user chose green (old
737
// setting will remain)
738
if ($option->new_value == 2)
741
// for all other colors, save as normal
742
save_option($option);
746
Creating Your Own Preferences Page
747
----------------------------------
749
It is also possible to create your own preferences page for a plugin. This
750
is particularly useful when your plugin has numerous options or needs to
751
offer special interaction with the user (for things such as changing password,
752
etc.). Here is an outline of how to do so (again, using the "demo" plugin
755
1. Add a new listing to the main Options page. Older versions of
756
SquirrelMail offered a hook called "options_link_and_description"
757
although its use is deprecated (and it is harder to use in that
758
it requires you to write your own HTML to add the option). Instead,
759
you should always use the "optpage_register_block" hook where you
760
create a simple array that lets SquirrelMail build the HTML
761
to add the plugin options entry automatically. In setup.php in the
762
squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo() function:
764
$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['optpage_register_block']['demo']
765
= 'demo_options_block';
767
2. Assuming the function demo_options_block() calls another function
768
elsewhere called demo_options_block_do(), that function only needs
769
to create a simple array and add it to the $optpage_blocks array:
771
global $optpage_blocks;
772
$optpage_blocks[] = array(
773
'name' => 'Favorite Color Settings',
774
'url' => SM_PATH . 'plugins/demo/options.php',
775
'desc' => 'Change your favorite color & find new exciting colors',
779
The array should have four elements:
780
name The title of the plugin's options as it will be displayed on
782
url The URI that points to your plugin's custom preferences page
783
desc A description of what the preferences page offers the user,
784
displayed on the Options page below the title
785
js Indicates if this option page requires the client browser
786
to be Javascript-capable. Should be TRUE or FALSE.
788
3. There are two different ways to create the actual preferences page
789
itself. One is to simply write all of your own HTML and other
790
interactive functionality, while the other is to define some data
791
structures that allow SquirrelMail to build your user inputs and save
792
your data automatically.
794
Building your own page is wide open, and for ideas, you should look at
795
any of the plugins that currently have their own preferences pages. If
796
you do this, make sure to read step number 4 below for information on
797
saving settings. In order to maintain security, consistant look and
798
feel, internationalization support and overall integrity, there are just
799
a few things you should always do in this case: define the SM_PATH
800
constant, include the file include/validate.php (see the section about
801
including other files above) and make a call to place the standard page
802
heading at the top of your preferences page. The top of your PHP file
803
might look something like this:
805
define('SM_PATH', '../../');
806
include_once(SM_PATH . 'include/validate.php');
808
displayPageHeader($color, 'None');
810
From here you are on your own, although you are encouraged to do things
811
such as use the $color array to keep your HTML correctly themed, etc.
813
If you want SquirrelMail to build your preferences page for you,
814
creating input forms and automatically saving users' settings, then
815
you should change the 'url' attribute in the options block you created
816
in step number 2 above to read as follows:
818
'url' => SM_PATH . 'src/options.php?optpage=plugin_demo',
820
Now, you will need to use the "optpage_set_loadinfo" hook to tell
821
SquirrelMail about your new preferences page. In setup.php in the
822
squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo() function:
824
$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['optpage_set_loadinfo']['demo']
825
= 'demo_optpage_loadinfo';
827
Assuming the function demo_optpage_loadinfo() calls another function
828
elsewhere called demo_optpage_loadinfo_do(), that function needs to
829
define values for four variables (make sure you test to see that it
830
is your plugin that is being called by checking the GET variable you
831
added to the url just above):
833
global $optpage, $optpage_name, $optpage_file,
834
$optpage_loader, $optpage_loadhook;
835
if ($optpage == 'plugin_demo')
837
$optpage_name = "Favorite Color Preferences";
838
$optpage_file = SM_PATH . 'plugins/demo/options.php';
839
$optpage_loader = 'load_optpage_data_demo';
840
$optpage_loadhook = 'optpage_loadhook_demo';
843
Now you are ready to build all of your options. In the file you
844
indicated for the variable $optpage_file above, you'll need to create
845
a function named the same as the value you used for $optpage_loader
846
above. In this example, the file plugins/demo/options.php should
847
have at least this function in it:
849
function load_optpage_data_demo()
851
$optpage_data = array();
852
$optpage_data['grps']['DEMO_PLUGIN'] = 'Demo Options';
853
$optionValues = array();
854
$optionValues[] = array(
855
'name' => 'plugin_demo_favorite_color',
856
'caption' => 'Please Choose Your Favorite Color',
857
'type' => SMOPT_TYPE_STRLIST,
858
'refresh' => SMOPT_REFRESH_ALL,
859
'posvals' => array(0 => 'red',
863
'save' => 'save_plugin_demo_favorite_color'
865
$optpage_data['vals']['DEMO_PLUGIN'] = $optionValues;
866
return $optpage_data;
869
For a detailed description of how you build these options, please read
870
step number 2 for the second method of adding options to an existing
871
preferences page above. Notice that the only difference here is in the
872
very first and last lines of this function where you are actually
873
creating and returning the options array instead of just adding onto it.
875
That's all there is to it - SquirrelMail will create a preferences page
876
titled as you indicated for $optpage_name above, and other plugins
877
can even add extra options to this new preferences page. To do so,
878
they should use the hook name you specified for $optpage_loadhook above
879
and use the second method for adding option settings to existing
880
preferences pages described above.
882
4. Saving your options settings: if you used the second method in step
883
number 3 above, your settings will be saved automatically (or you can
884
define special functions to save special settings such as the
885
save_plugin_demo_favorite_color() function in the example described
886
above) and there is probably no need to follow this step. If you
887
created your own preferences page from scratch, you'll need to follow
888
this step. First, you need to register your plugin against the
889
"options_save" hook. In setup.php in the squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo()
892
$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['options_save']['demo']
893
= 'demo_save_options';
895
Assuming the function demo_save_options() calls another function
896
elsewhere called demo_save_options_do(), that function needs to grab
897
all of your POST and/or GET settings values and save them in the user's
898
preferences (for more about preferences, see that section below). Since
899
this is a generic hook called for all custom preferences pages, you
900
should always set "optpage" as a POST or GET variable with a string that
901
uniquely identifies your plugin:
903
<input type="hidden" name="optpage" value="plugin_demo" />
905
Now in your demo_save_options_do() function, do something like this:
907
global $username, $data_dir, $optpage, $favorite_color;
908
if ($optpage == 'plugin_demo')
910
sqgetGlobalVar('favorite_color', $favorite_color, SQ_FORM);
911
setPref($data_dir, $username, 'favorite_color', $favorite_color);
914
Note that $favorite_color may not need to be globalized, although
915
experience has shown that some versions of PHP don't behave as expected
916
unless you do so. Even when you use SquirrelMail's built-in preferences
917
page generation functionality, you may still use this hook, although
918
there should be no need to do so. If you need to do some complex
919
validation routines, note that it might be better to do so in the file
920
you specified as the "$optpage_file" (in our example, that was the
921
plugins/demo/options.php file), since at this point, you can still
922
redisplay your preferences page. You could put code similar to this
923
in the plugins/demp/options.php file (note that there is no function;
924
this code needs to be executed at include time):
927
if ($optmode == 'submit')
929
// do something here such as validation, etc
930
if (you want to redisplay your preferences page)
938
Saving and retrieving user preferences is very easy in SquirrelMail.
939
SquirrelMail supports preference storage in files or in a database
940
backend, however, the code you need to write to manipulate preferences
941
is the same in both cases.
945
Setting preferences is done for you if you use the built-in facilities
946
for automatic options construction and presentation (see above). If
947
you need to manually set preferences, however, all you need to do is:
949
global $data_dir, $username;
950
setPref($data_dir, $username, 'pref_name', $pref_value);
952
Where "pref_name" is the key under which the value will be stored
953
and "pref_value" is a variable that should contain the actual
954
preference value to be stored.
958
There are two approaches to retrieving plugin (or any other) preferences.
959
You can grab individual preferences one at a time or you can add your
960
plugin's preferences to the routine that loads up user preferences at
961
the beginning of each page request. If you do the latter, making sure
962
to place your preference variables into the global scope, they will be
963
immediately available in all other plugin code. To retrieve a single
964
preference value at any time, do this:
966
global $data_dir, $username;
967
$pref_value = getPref($data_dir, $username, 'pref_name', 'default value');
969
Where "pref_name" is the preference you are retrieving, "default_value"
970
is what will be returned if the preference is not found for this user,
971
and, of course, "pref_value" is the variable that will get the actual
974
To have all your preferences loaded at once when each page request is
975
made, you'll need to register a function against the "loading_prefs" hook.
976
For our "demo" plugin, in setup.php in the squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo()
979
$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['loading_prefs']['demo']
982
Assuming the function demo_load_prefs() calls another function
983
elsewhere called demo_load_prefs_do(), that function just needs to
984
pull out any all all preferences you'll be needing elsewhere:
986
global $data_dir, $username, $pref_value;
987
$pref_value = getPref($data_dir, $username, 'pref_name', 'default value');
989
Remember to globalize each preference, or this code is useless.
995
Although this document may only be available in English, we sure hope that you
996
are thinking about making your plugin useful to the thousands of non-English
997
speaking SquirrelMail users out there! It is almost rude not to do so, and
998
it isn't much trouble, either. This document will only describe how you can
999
accomplish the internationalization of a plugin. For more general information
1000
about PHP and SquirrelMail translation facilities, see:
1002
http://www.squirrelmail.org/wiki/wiki.php?LanguageTranslation
1004
The unofficial way to internationalize a plugin is to put all plugin output
1005
into the proper format but to rely on the SquirrelMail translation facilities
1006
for all the rest. If the plugin were really to get translated, you'd need
1007
to make sure that all output strings for your plugin are either added to or
1008
already exist in the main SquirrelMail locale files.
1010
The better way to make sure your plugin is translated is to create your own
1011
locale files and what is called a "gettext domain" (see the link above for
1014
There are three basic steps to getting your plugins internationalized: put
1015
all output into the proper format, switch gettext domains and create locale
1018
1. Putting plugin output into the correct format is quite easy. The hard
1019
part is making sure you catch every last echo statement. You need to
1020
echo text like this:
1024
So, even in the HTML segments of your plugin files, you need to do this:
1026
<input type="submit" value="<?php echo _("Submit"); ?>" />
1028
You can put any text you want inside of the quotes (you MUST use double
1029
quotes!), including HTML tags, etc. What you should think carefully
1030
about is that some languages may use different word ordering, so this
1031
might be problematic:
1033
echo _("I want to eat a ") . $fruitName . _(" before noon");
1035
Because some languages (Japanese, for instance) would need to translate
1036
such a sentence to "Before noon " . $fruitName . " I want to eat", but
1037
with the format above, they are stuck having to translate each piece
1038
separately. You might want to reword your original sentence:
1040
echo _("This is what I want to eat before noon: ") . $fruitName;
1043
Support for single quotes in gettext was added somewhere along gettext
1044
0.11.x (release dates 2002-01-31--08-06). This means that strings could
1049
However, gettext 0.10.40 is currently the oldest version available at the
1050
GNU site. It's still used in some Linux and BSD distributions/versions.
1051
Since it's still in common use and it doesn't support single quoted
1052
strings, double quoted strings are the preferred way when writing a
1055
2. By default, the SquirrelMail gettext domain is always in use. That
1056
means that any text in the format described above will be translated
1057
using the locale files found in the main SquirrelMail locale directory.
1058
Unless your plugin produces no output or only output that is in fact
1059
translated under the default SquirrelMail domain, you need to create
1060
your own gettext domain. The PHP for doing so is very simple. At
1061
the top of any file that produces any output, place the following code
1062
(again, using "demo" as the plugin name):
1064
bindtextdomain('demo', SM_PATH . 'plugins/demo/locale');
1067
Now all output will be translated using your own custom locale files.
1068
Please be sure to switch back to the SquirrelMail domain at the end
1069
of the file, or many of the other SquirrelMail files may misbehave:
1071
bindtextdomain('squirrelmail', SM_PATH . 'locale');
1072
textdomain('squirrelmail');
1074
Note that if, in the middle of your plugin file, you use any
1075
SquirrelMail functions that send output to the browser, you'll need
1076
to temporarily switch back to the SquirrelMail domain:
1078
bindtextdomain('squirrelmail', SM_PATH . 'locale');
1079
textdomain('squirrelmail');
1080
displayPageHeader($color, 'None');
1081
bindtextdomain('demo', SM_PATH . 'plugins/demo/locale');
1084
Note that technically speaking, you only need to have one bindtextdomain
1085
call per file, you should always use it before every textdomain call,
1086
since PHP installations without gettext compiled into them will not
1087
function properly if you do not.
1089
3. Finally, you just need to create your own locale. You should create
1090
a directory structure like this in the plugin directory:
1104
Create a directories such as de_DE for each language (de_DE is German,
1105
ja_JP is Japanese, etc. - check the SquirrelMail locale directory for
1106
a fairly comprehensive listing). Inside of each LC_MESSAGES directory
1107
you should place two files, one with your translations in it, called
1108
<plugin name>.po (in this case, "demo.po"), and one that is a compiled
1109
version of the ".po" file, called <plugin name>.mo (in this case,
1110
"demo.mo"). On most linux systems, there is a tool you can use to pull
1111
out most of the strings that you need to have translated from your PHP
1112
files into a sample .po file:
1114
xgettext --keyword=_ -d <plugin name> -s -C *.php
1116
--keyword option tells xgettext what your strings are enclosed in
1117
-d is the domain of your plugin which should be the plugin's name
1118
-s tells xgettext to sort the results and remove duplicate strings
1119
-C means you are translating a file with C/C++ type syntax (ie. PHP)
1120
*.php is all the files you want translations for
1122
Note, however, that this will not always pick up all strings, so you
1123
should double-check manually. Of course, it's easiest if you just keep
1124
track of all your strings as you are coding your plugin. Your .po file
1125
will now look something like:
1127
# SOME DESCRIPTIVE TITLE.
1128
# Copyright (C) YEAR Free Software Foundation, Inc.
1129
# FIRST AUTHOR <EMAIL@ADDRESS>, YEAR.
1134
"Project-Id-Version: PACKAGE VERSION\n"
1135
"POT-Creation-Date: 2003-06-18 11:22-0600\n"
1136
"PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n"
1137
"Last-Translator: FULL NAME <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
1138
"Language-Team: LANGUAGE <LL@li.org>\n"
1139
"MIME-Version: 1.0\n"
1140
"Content-Type: text/plain; charset=CHARSET\n"
1141
"Content-Transfer-Encoding: ENCODING\n"
1148
msgid "Favorite Color"
1151
You should change the header to look something more like:
1153
# Copyright (c) 1999-2005 The SquirrelMail Project Team
1154
# Roland Bauerschmidt <rb@debian.org>, 1999.
1155
# $Id: plugin.txt,v 1.1.2.5 2005/07/12 08:50:29 tokul Exp $
1158
"Project-Id-Version: plugin-name version\n"
1159
"POT-Creation-Date: 2003-01-21 19:21+0100\n"
1160
"PO-Revision-Date: 2003-01-21 21:01+0100\n"
1161
"Last-Translator: Juergen Edner <juergen.edner@epost.de>\n"
1162
"Language-Team: German <squirrelmail-i18n@lists.sourceforge.net>\n"
1163
"MIME-Version: 1.0\n"
1164
"Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1\n"
1165
"Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n"
1167
The most important thing to change here is the charset on the next to
1168
last line. You'll want to keep a master copy of the .po file and make
1169
a copy for each language you have a translation for. You'll need to
1170
translate each string in the .po file:
1175
After you're done translating, you can create the .mo file very simply
1176
by running the following command (available on most linux systems):
1178
msgfmt -o <plugin name>.mo <plugin name>.po
1180
In the case of the "demo" plugin:
1182
msgfmt -o demo.mo demo.po
1184
Please be sure that the .po and .mo files both are named exactly the
1185
same as the domain you bound in step 2 above and everything else works
1186
automatically. In SquirrelMail, go to Options -> Display Preferences
1187
and change your Language setting to see the translations in action!
1190
PLUGIN STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS
1191
=================================
1193
The SquirrelMail project has some important goals, such as avoiding the
1194
use of JavaScript, avoiding non-standard HTML tags, keeping file sizes
1195
small and providing the fastest webmail client on the Internet. As such,
1196
we'd like it if plugin authors coded with the same goals in mind that the
1197
core developers do. Common sense is always a good tool to have in your
1198
programming repertoire, but below is an outline of some standards that we
1199
ask you as a plugin developer to meet. Depending upon how far you bend
1200
these rules, we may not want to post your plugin on the SquirrelMail
1201
website... and of course, no one really wants your efforts to go to waste
1202
and for the SquirrelMail community to miss out on a potentially useful
1203
plugin, so please try to follow these guidelines as closely as possible.
1209
In order for SquirrelMail to remain fast and lean, we are now asking
1210
that all plugin authors remove all unnecessary functionality from setup.php
1211
and refactor it into another file. There are a few ways to accomplish
1212
this, none of which are difficult. At a minimum, you'll want to have the
1213
squirrelmail_plugin_init_<plugin name>() function in setup.php, and naturally,
1214
you'll need functions that are merely stubs for each hook that you are using.
1215
One (but not the only) way to do it is:
1217
function squirrelmail_plugin_init_demo()
1219
global $squirrelmail_plugin_hooks;
1220
$squirrelmail_plugin_hooks['generic_header']['demo'] = 'plugin_demo_header';
1222
function plugin_demo_header()
1224
include_once(SM_PATH . 'plugins/demo/functions.php');
1225
plugin_demo_header_do();
1229
Internationalization
1230
--------------------
1232
Q: What is more disappointing to users in France who would make good
1233
use of your plugin than learning that it is written entirely in English?
1234
A: Learning that they cannot send you a French translation file for your
1237
There are thousands of users out there whose native tongue is not English,
1238
and when you develop your plugin without going through the three simple steps
1239
needed to internationalize it, you are effectively writing them all off.
1240
PLEASE consider internationalizing your plugin!
1243
Developing with E_ALL
1244
---------------------
1246
When you are developing your plugin, you should always have error reporting
1247
turned all the way up. You can do this by changing two settings in your
1248
php.ini and restarting your web server:
1251
error_reporting = E_ALL
1253
This way, you'll be sure to see all Notices, Warnings and Errors that your
1254
code generates (it's OK, really, it happens to the best of us... except me!).
1255
Please make sure to fix them all before you release the plugin.
1258
Compatibility with register_globals=Off
1259
---------------------------------------
1261
Most sensible systems administrators now run their PHP systems with the
1262
setting "register_globals" as OFF. This is a prudent security setting,
1263
and as the SquirrelMail core code has long since been upgraded to work
1264
in such an environment, we are now requiring that all plugins do the same.
1265
Compatibility with this setting amounts to little more than explicitly
1266
gathering any and all variables you sent from a <form> tag as GET or POST
1267
values instead of just assuming that they will be placed in the global
1268
scope automatically. There is nothing more to do than this:
1270
global $favorite_color;
1271
sqgetGlobalVar('favorite_color', $favorite_color, SQ_FORM);
1274
Security considerations
1275
-----------------------
1277
All plugin authors should consider the security implications of their
1278
plugin. Of course, if you call external programs you have to use great
1279
care, but the following issues are important to nearly every plugin.
1281
- Escape any untrusted data before you output it. This is to prevent
1282
cross site scripting attacks. It means that you have to htmlspecialchars()
1283
every variable that comes in through the URL, a mail message or other
1284
external factors, before outputting it.
1286
- Make sure that your plugin doesn't perform its function when it's not
1287
enabled. If you just call hooks, your hooks won't be called when the
1288
plugin is disabled, but if you also supply extra .php files, you should
1289
check if they perform any function if accessed directly. If they do, you
1290
should check at the start of that file whether the plugin is enabled in the
1291
config, and if not, exit the script. Example:
1293
if ( !in_array('mypluginname', $plugins) ) {
1294
die("Plugin not enabled in SquirrelMail configuration.");
1297
If you have any questions about this or are unsure, please contact the
1298
mailinglist or IRC channel, because security is very important for a
1299
widely used application like SquirrelMail!
1305
It may seem innocuous, but if you have any blank lines either before the
1306
first <?php tag or after the last ?> tag in any of your plugin files, you
1307
you will break SquirrelMail in ways that may seem entirely unrelated. For
1308
instance, this will often cause a line feed character to be included with
1309
email attachments when they are viewed or downloaded, rendering them useless!
1315
When including files, please make sure to use the include_once() function
1316
and NOT include(), require(), or require_once(), since these all are much
1317
less efficient than include_once() and can have a cumulative effect on
1318
SquirrelMail performance.
1324
In order for systems administrators to keep better track of your plugin and
1325
get upgrades more efficiently, you are requested to make version information
1326
available to SquirrelMail in a format that it understands. There are two
1327
ways to do this. Presently, we are asking that you do both, since we are
1328
still in a transition period between the two. This is painless, so please
1329
be sure to include it:
1331
1. Create a file called "version" in the plugin directory. That file
1332
should have only two lines: the first line should have the name of
1333
the plugin as named on the SquirrelMail web site (this is often a
1334
prettified version of the plugin directory name), the second line
1335
must have the version and nothing more. So for our "demo" plugin,
1336
whose name on the web site might be something like "Demo Favorite
1337
Colors", the file plugins/demo/version should have these two lines:
1339
Demo Favorite Colors
1342
2. In setup.php, you should have a function called <plugin name>_version().
1343
That function should return the version of your plugin. For the "demo"
1344
plugin, that should look like this:
1346
function demo_version()
1355
It is common to need a configuration file that holds some variables that
1356
are set up at install time. For ease of installation and maintenance, you
1357
should place all behavioral settings in a config file, isolated from the
1358
rest of your plugin code. A typical file name to use is "config.php". If
1359
you are using such a file, you should NOT include a file called "config.php"
1360
in your plugin distribution, but instead a copy of that file called
1361
"config.php.sample". This helps systems administrators avoid overwriting
1362
the "config.php" files and losing all of their setup information when they
1363
upgrade your plugin.
1369
In the past, there have been some rather serious issues with PHP sessions
1370
and SquirrelMail, and certain people have worked long and hard to ensure
1371
that these problems no longer occur in an extremely wide variety of OS/PHP/
1372
web server environments. Thus, if you need to place any values into the
1373
user's session, there are some built-in SquirrelMail functions that you are
1374
strongly encouraged to make use of. Using them also makes your job easier.
1376
1. To place a variable into the session:
1378
global $favorite_color;
1379
$favoriteColor = 'green';
1380
sqsession_register($favorite_color, 'favorite_color');
1382
Strictly speaking, globalizing the variable shouldn't be necessary,
1383
but certain versions of PHP seem to behave more predictably if you do.
1385
2. To retrieve a variable from the session:
1387
global $favorite_color;
1388
sqgetGlobalVar('favorite_color', $favorite_color, SQ_SESSION);
1390
3. You can also check for the presence of a variable in the session:
1392
if (sqsession_is_registered('favorite_color'))
1393
// do something important
1395
4. To remove a variable from the session:
1397
global $favorite_color;
1398
sqsession_unregister('favorite_color');
1400
Strictly speaking, globalizing the variable shouldn't be necessary,
1401
but certain versions of PHP seem to behave more predictably if you do.
1407
You are also encouraged to use SquirrelMail's built-in facilities to
1408
retrieve variables from POST and GET submissions. This is also much
1409
easier on you and makes sure that all PHP installations are accounted
1410
for (such as those that don't make the $_POST array automatically
1413
global $favorite_color;
1414
sqgetGlobalVar('favorite_color', $favorite_color, SQ_FORM);
1417
Files In Plugin Directory
1418
-------------------------
1420
There are a few files that you should make sure to include when you build
1421
your final plugin distribution:
1423
1. A copy of the file index.php from the main plugins directory. When
1424
working in your plugin directory, just copy it in like this:
1428
This will redirect anyone who tries to browse to your plugin directory
1429
to somewhere more appropriate. If you create other directories under
1430
your plugin directory, you may copy the file there as well to be extra
1431
safe. If you are storing sensitive configuration files or other data
1432
in such a directory, you could even include a .htaccess file with the
1433
contents "Deny From All" that will disallow access to that directory
1434
entirely (when the target system is running the Apache web server).
1435
Keep in mind that not all web servers will honor an .htaccess file, so
1436
don't depend on it for security. Make sure not to put such a file in
1437
your main plugin directory!
1439
2. A file that describes your plugin and offers detailed instructions for
1440
configuration or help with troubleshooting, etc. This file is usually
1441
entitled "README". Some useful sections to include might be:
1443
Plugin Name and Author
1446
Detailed Plugin Description
1447
How-to for Plugin Configuration
1449
Future Ideas/Enhancements/To Do List
1451
3. A file that explains how to install your plugin. This file is typically
1452
called "INSTALL". If you do not require any special installation
1453
actions, you can probably copy one from another plugin or use this as
1456
Installing the Demo Plugin
1457
==========================
1459
1) Start with untaring the file into the plugins directory.
1460
Here is a example for the 1.0 version of the Demo plugin.
1463
$ tar -zxvf demo-1.0-1.4.0.tar.gz
1465
2) Change into the demo directory, copy config.php.sample
1466
to config.php and edit config.php, making adjustments as
1467
you deem necessary. For more detailed explanations about
1468
each of these parameters, consult the README file.
1471
$ cp config.php.sample config.php
1475
3) Then go to your config directory and run conf.pl. Choose
1476
option 8 and move the plugin from the "Available Plugins"
1477
category to the "Installed Plugins" category. Save and exit.
1483
Upgrading the Demo Plugin
1484
=========================
1486
1) Start with untaring the file into the plugins directory.
1487
Here is a example for the 3.1 version of the demo plugin.
1490
$ tar -zxvf demo-3.1-1.4.0.tar.gz
1493
2) Change into the demo directory, check your config.php
1494
file against the new version, to see if there are any new
1495
settings that you must add to your config.php file.
1497
$ diff -Nau config.php config.php.sample
1499
Or simply replace your config.php file with the provided sample
1500
and reconfigure the plugin from scratch (see step 2 under the
1501
installation procedure above).
1504
COMPATIBILITY WITH OLDER VERSIONS OF SQUIRRELMAIL
1505
=================================================
1507
Whenever new versions of SquirrelMail are released, there is always a
1508
considerable lag time before it is widely adopted. During that transitional
1509
time, especially when the new SquirrelMail version contains any architectural
1510
and/or functional changes, plugin developers are put in a unique and very
1511
difficult position. That is, there will be people running both the old and
1512
new versions of SquirrelMail who want to use your plugin, and you will
1513
probably want to accomodate them both.
1515
The easiest way to keep both sides happy is to keep two different versions
1516
of your pluign up to date, one that runs under the older SquirrelMail, and
1517
one that requires the newest SquirrelMail. This is inconvenient, however,
1518
especially if you are continuing to develop the plugin. Depending on the
1519
changes the SquirrelMail has implemented in the new version, you may be able
1520
to include code that can auto-sense SquirrelMail version and make adjustments
1521
on the fly. There is a function available to you for determining the
1522
SquirrelMail version called check_sm_version() and it can be used as such:
1524
check_sm_version(1, 4, 0)
1526
This will return TRUE if the SquirrelMail being used is at least 1.4.0, and
1529
As this document is written, we are in a transition period between versions
1530
1.2.11 and 1.4.0. There is a plugin called "Compatibilty" that is intended
1531
for use by plugin authors so they can develop one version of their plugin
1532
and seamlessly support both 1.2.x and 1.4.x SquirrelMail installations. For
1533
more information about how to use the "Compatibility" plugin, download it and
1534
read its README file or see:
1536
http://www.squirrelmail.org/wiki/wiki.php?PluginUpgrading
1539
REQUESTING NEW HOOKS
1540
====================
1542
It's impossible to foresee all of the places where hooks might be useful
1543
(it's also impossible to put in hooks everywhere!), so you might need to
1544
negotiate the insertion of a new hook to make your plugin work. In order
1545
to do so, you should post such a request to the squirrelmail-devel mailing
1549
HOW TO RELEASE YOUR PLUGIN
1550
==========================
1552
As long as you've consulted the list of plugin standards and done your
1553
best to follow them, there's little standing in the way of great fame as an
1554
official SquirrelMail plugin developer.
1556
1. Make a distribution file. There is a convenient Perl script in
1557
the plugins directory that will help you do this:
1559
make_archive.pl -v demo 1.0 1.4.0
1561
-v is optional and indicates that the script should run in verbose mode
1562
demo is the name of your plugin
1563
1.0 is the version of your plugin
1564
1.4.0 is the version of SquirrelMail that is required to run your plugin
1566
You can also create the distribution file manually in most *nix
1567
environments by running this command from the plugins directory (NOT
1568
your plugin directory):
1570
$ tar czvf demo-1.0-1.4.0.tar.gz demo
1572
Where "demo" is the name of your plugin, "1.0" is the version of
1573
your plugin, and "1.4.0" is the version of SquirrelMail required
1576
2. Consult the SquirrelMail web site for contact information for the
1577
Plugins Team Leaders, to whom you should make your request. If they
1578
do not respond, you should feel free to ask for help contacting them
1579
on the squirrelmail-plugins mailing list.
1581
http://www.squirrelmail.org/wiki/wiki.php?SquirrelMailLeadership