Implemented Sticky Showcase item

OK, I am going to attempt to explain this the best I can. First, it is impossible to implement this feature to work exactly like Sticky Threads work (for several reasons, two of which are architecture and behavior differences, which are the major reasons then add on that Threads have ONE layout type and Showcase has 4 (List View, Tile View, Grid View and Item View).

With that said, I've implemented this feature for Category Pages (which is similar to how Sticky Threads display only on Forum pages and only on the Forum that the Thread is in). When viewing a category page, if there are sticky items that are owned by that category, then they will display as sticky items on that category page. If the category has any sub categories, items from those sub categories do display in the parent (that is just how the XF Category System is designed) HOWEVER, if any of those items from sub categories are set as a Sticky, they are NOT going to display as a Sticky on any category page except for the category that OWNS the Item.. Again, this is how XF Sticky Threads work, they only display on the Forum that owns the Thread.

STICKIES are not for FEATURING or HIGHLIGHTING content. There are other means to do that. The purpose of a Sticky is to STICK something IMPORTANT at the top of the listing (on page 1 only), that all members should be aware of. It CAN have other purposes, however, the PRIMARY PURPOSE if what I used to DESIGN the feature (which was making it as close to the same behavior as Sticky Threads.

Administration

Administration is handled by Moderators with the permission to Edit any Item. There are 2 interfaces, one in the more options dropdown on the item itself and the other via inline moderation.






Appearance

For the most part, LIST VIEW is used for displaying stickies, as it has to be a full width layout type (which only List View and Item View are) displayed above the non-sticky items (same exact behavior as sticky threads on default core XF Forum List). The only exception is when using Item View Layout type, since that is also a full width layout, the sticky items use that layout type instead of List View.

List View Layout and Sticky Items




Grid View Layout and Sticky Items

As explained above, for the most part, Sticky Items are display via List View layout (as it needs to be a full width layout type).




Tile View Layout and Sticky Items

As explained above, for the most part, Sticky Items are display via List View layout (as it needs to be a full width layout type).




Item View Layout and Sticky Items

As explained above, for Item View Layout, the sticky items use the Item View Layout Macro (since its a full width layout type.




Here is a screen shot of the sub category of all the above examples. As you can see, both of these items are also sticky items and display as sticky items in the specific category that they are owned by, however, in the screen shots above, you can see that they are NOT listed as stickies.