Smiley Helper
*************

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

Important:

  The Smiley helper is DEPRECATED and should not be used. It is
  currently only kept for backwards compatibility.

* Loading this Helper

* Overview

* Clickable Smileys Tutorial

  * The Controller

  * Field Aliases

* Available Functions


Loading this Helper
===================

This helper is loaded using the following code:

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


Overview
========

The Smiley helper has a renderer that takes plain text smileys, like
:-) and turns them into a image representation, like [image:
smile!][image]

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


Clickable Smileys Tutorial
==========================

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

Important:

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


The Controller
--------------

In your **application/controllers/** directory, create a file called
Smileys.php and place the code below in it.

Important:

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

You’ll notice that in addition to the smiley helper, we are also using
the Table Class:

   <?php

   class Smileys extends CI_Controller {

           public function index()
           {
                   $this->load->helper('smiley');
                   $this->load->library('table');

                   $image_array = get_clickable_smileys('http://example.com/images/smileys/', 'comments');
                   $col_array = $this->table->make_columns($image_array, 8);

                   $data['smiley_table'] = $this->table->generate($col_array);
                   $this->load->view('smiley_view', $data);
           }

   }

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

   <html>
           <head>
                   <title>Smileys</title>
                   <?php echo smiley_js(); ?>
           </head>
           <body>
                   <form name="blog">
                           <textarea name="comments" id="comments" cols="40" rows="4"></textarea>
                   </form>
                   <p>Click to insert a smiley!</p>
                   <?php echo $smiley_table; ?> </body> </html>
                   When you have created the above controller and view, load it by visiting http://www.example.com/index.php/smileys/
           </body>
   </html>


Field Aliases
-------------

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

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

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

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


Available Functions
===================

get_clickable_smileys($image_url[, $alias = ''[, $smileys = NULL]])

   Parameters:
      * **$image_url** ("string") – URL path to the smileys directory

      * **$alias** ("string") – Field alias

   Returns:
      An array of ready to use smileys

   Return type:
      "array"

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

   Example:

      $image_array = get_clickable_smileys('http://example.com/images/smileys/', 'comment');

smiley_js([$alias = ''[, $field_id = ''[, $inline = TRUE]]])

   Parameters:
      * **$alias** ("string") – Field alias

      * **$field_id** ("string") – Field ID

      * **$inline** ("bool") – Whether we’re inserting an inline
        smiley

   Returns:
      Smiley-enabling JavaScript code

   Return type:
      "string"

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

   Example:

      <?php echo smiley_js(); ?>

parse_smileys([$str = ''[, $image_url = ''[, $smileys = NULL]]])

   Parameters:
      * **$str** ("string") – Text containing smiley codes

      * **$image_url** ("string") – URL path to the smileys directory

      * **$smileys** ("array") – An array of smileys

   Returns:
      Parsed smileys

   Return type:
      "string"

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

   Example:

      $str = 'Here are some smileys: :-)  ;-)';
      $str = parse_smileys($str, 'http://example.com/images/smileys/');
      echo $str;
