Using CB Subs for non-person entities / resources

I’m using Joomla 1.5.23, CB 1.7.1, and CB Subs 1.2.2.

I have a situation where I’d like to use CB and CB Subs for non-person entities, such as a corporate entry, a resource listing (i.e. capabilities of a lab that can be rented), an opportunity posting, etc. From what I have read (I haven’t actually done all this yet) it looks like CB and CB Subs can accomplish this. I can create different plans under which each of the different entities can be registered. I can create different registration pages that collect the appropriate information for each entity. I can utilize CBSubs Fields Tab Protect to groom the information in the profile tabs. I can create the display (lists) and search mechanisms to provide the appropriate user interfaces. I can even do neat things like charge a fee for a particular listing or posting, and utilize the subscription duration/renewal to enforce the periodic updating of the information.

The one significant problem I see is in the requirement that all email address for each CB / CB Subs entry be unique. I’m certain that we’ll encounter the situation where an individual registered in the system will also want to create a resource listing….and utilize the same email address for each. It doesn’t look like there is an easy way around this….requires hacks to either Joomla or CB…and can potentially result in other problems with the work flows operation of CB (is that correct??).

Is there any way around the unique email address restriction for my situation?

Am I wrong in thinking CB and CB Subs can accomplish this….or are there other CB/CB Subs add-ins that are more appropriate? The unified database search capabilities of having all the entities together is very useful in my situation.

What other issues am I likely to encounter in implementing this?

Your analysis is correct.

These are all the issues you will encounter when you try to use CB as a directory extensions.

Suggest you look at mosetree and sobi as alternatives as they address the core issue since they are directory listing extensions and that is what you need.

Between Mosets Tree and Sobi2, which one integrates with CB & CB Subs the best?

I would say Mosets Tree as we use it here for our Directory. I however have no personal experience with either and you're best to simply try both out on a test Joomla install (that you can simply delete when done) to see which you like most.

jimmoeller wrote: Between Mosets Tree and Sobi2, which one integrates with CB & CB Subs the best?

Actually both have SQL integration queries proposed in the CBSUbs forums, but they need to be tested with latest releases of course.

The essential integration I need with CB and CB Subs is principally in being able to search Mosets Tree or Sobi2 along with CB entries, and then be able to rescrict access to those search capabilities as well as access to Mosets Tree/Sobi2 based on CB Subs plans. Is that possible?