FLEXIcontent v1.5.6beta1 r905 available for download

[kenmcd]

.
This is a BETA release for testing only - do not use on live site

This version is for Joomla 1.5 only (a beta version release for Joomla 1.7 is also expected shortly).

Report issues in the original thread here:
http://www.flexicontent.org/forum/index ... =viewtopic

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DOWNLOAD - FLEXIcontent v1.5.6beta1 r905 is now available for download at:
http://code.google.com/p/flexicontent/downloads/list

NOTE: this is to be considered as beta, only for testing, please don't upgrade live sites yet.
I am not posting announcement YET. I thought first to be tested by some people.

It has many bug fixes but because it has quite a few of new features, it may have one or two serious bugs.

There will be one or two more beta downloads available and then (soon) Emmanuel will make an announcement of a stable v1.5.6

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- FLEXIcontent 1.5.6 beta1 - build 905 - Changelog -
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Legend:
* -> Security Fix
# -> Bug Fix
$ -> Language fix or change
+ -> Addition
^ -> Change
- -> Removed
! -> Note


+ New features
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Add : NEW!!! Advanced Search Feature: (a) a module, (b) a plugin, (c) a view
Features include:
-- Very fast results because of precalculated SEARCH INDEX
-- Allow to search various flexicontent fields, NOT just the title and description
-- Allow to select which flexicontent fields are displayed in the results, NOT just the title and description
-- Allow to form more complex AND-OR searches that standard joomla search
-- A lot of other customizations options to shape the search to fit your needs

+ Add : NEW!!! a new ultra powerful Alpha Index
1. support for default AlphaIndex per Language in language file
2. supports character 'entities' (ranges, aggregations, aliases), a hardcoded alias is # for 0-9 numbers
3. support utf8 characters in the MySQL query for all in (2) (above)
4. allow custom per category AlphaIndex ( (a)Hide, (b)Show & use language default, (c)Show & use custom characters )
5. option to skip (no display) unused characters
6. new category option to allow a custom separator to be used, instead of boxes around characters
7. option to skip disabled characters / ranges / aliases
8. wrote clear description For ALPHA-INDEX usage
9. enhanced the alphaindex to work even with joomla cache enabled
10. Some css fixes and classes added, like highlighting for current alpha index character (entity)

+ Add : NEW!!! an Author Manager (backend) and an Author Category Layout.
It is now possible to create author category LAYOUTs by creating a new menu item link a Category THAT uses the author layout
When a category is display in author layout the category params are taken from the author configuration.
Additionally for the presentation of the author, a description item can defined per author, that is displayed at the top of the author category layout.

+ Add : NEW!!! to Flexicontent Universal (items) module:
1. 2 scopes : (a) current item scope, (b) current language scope
2. An mechanism for skipping items that have specific fields empty
3. Made module configuration easy by (a) adding TAB sliders, (b) reorder parameters (c) rewroting some parameter descriptions
4. Added option for all item's categories in category scope
5. Added option to add a Title to each ordering group of items (module usually display on group e.g. recently added, e.g. recently modified etc)
6. Wrote clear descriptions for ordering group (e.g. if you display 2 groups "most popular" and "Recently Added" at once)
7. Added current category information: title, description, and (scaled/cropped) image
8. a language file for the module

+ Add : NEW!!! a --Related Items-- Field:
used to display a list of items related to the item in some way, note: it allows multiple instances

+ Add : NEW!!! field 'textselect', this field uses input text field when input data but displays a drop down( select) field at search view

+ Add : a new task 'doPlgAct' to controller.php both frontend and backend to calling plugin(field) function by URL.
This is important for developers of flexicontent fields (plugins) as it allow them to call plugins function by URL !!!

+ Add : (BIG PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT (particularly for category view):
new option for description field (maintext) of items, not to trigger (for it) the content plugins in category view

+ Add : support for joomfish v2.2.x
+ Add : to select & selectmultiple fields ability for replacements of item data, e.g. replacements like: {item->created_by} {item->catid} (first is item's owner and second is item's main category)
+ Add : altering the JRequest 'view' variable to 'article' during content plugin triggering for all (core and custom) flexicontent fields for better compatibility with some content plugins
+ Add : altering the JRequest 'option' variable to 'com_content' during content plugin triggering for all (core and custom) flexicontent fields for better compatibility with some content plugins
+ Add : options & code not to display empty categories or subcategories in the flexicontent ('directory') view
+ Add : option in the BACKEND items view to --bind-- joomla articles to --any-- Flexicontent item Type
+ Add : implemented the "required" configuration attribute for Flexicontent "File" Field
+ Add : allowed multiple minigallery fields to work properly
+ Add : For Templates:
(a) added a 'renderonly' position, this will allow fields placed there to be rendered (created) but not displayed
(b) added Method getFieldDisplay() to render a field on demand and return the display
+ Add : implemented option for category view: To show subcategories items from any sublevel not just the 1st sublevel. Category option was change to "No, 1st sublevel, All sublevel"
+ Add : "Display Resizing Controls" option that was missing in the XML file of the article toolbar field
+ Add : image field enhancements:
(a) allow linking to a URL that opens in (a) Same Win/Tab (b) New Win/Tab (c) Modal pop-up window
(b) implemented the 'Required' behaviour (except when deleting existing image)
(c) can now choose which size is displayed in item and in category
(d) new display variables: $field->{'display_small'}, $field->{'display_medium'}, $field->{'display_big'}
(e) new option to allow to only drop image from image field without deleting it, also added 3 options to change image field behaviour
+ Add : a new postinstall task to create menu 2 menu links automatically in a hidden Menu (not displayed in a module), so that it is not needed to be done by user. This is useful for SEF URLs
+ Add : a new Global configuration option for a default menu item id to be added to SEF urls in the cases a more appropriate cannot be found
+ Add : a new 'Template' column to categories and items manager (LISTINGS)
+ Add : a new 'Field Type' column to fields manager (LISTINGS)
+ Add : allow to create urls to 'flexicontent' view (directory-like view) that have the variables rootcat,columns_count,etc IN their URL
+ Add : Global (performance) Option to create fields html display (a) only when really used, (b) always in items view, (c) always in any case
+ Add : WORKFLOW improvements:
(a) added a fake state in items view to allow the user to LIST items that have VERSIONS that require REVIEWAL-APPROVAL !!!
(b) a new slider for items with Versions-to-be-Reviewed and added links to the items view ... to view all items in each state
(c) wrote clear names for states and more clear name for quick access sliders in the Flexicontent dashboard (home)
+ Add : new option to favourites field to list usernames or fullnames favouring the item
+ Add : new option (in Global Config) to prevent the default menu item from showing in the pathway


- Removed features
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Remove : (BIG PERFORMANCE IMPOVEMENT (particularly for category view):
delete code of unnecessary triggering of all content plugins on the fulltext of all displayed category items (same of item views),
code was forgotten there when content plugin triggering was moved to the helper fileflexicontent.fields.php


^ Changed features
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
^ Change : from jquery v1.4.2 to jquery v1.6.3
^ Change : (NOTICABLE PERFORMANCE IMPOVEMENT (particularly for category view):
new efficient (and fast) way to call Flexicontent plugin functions, avoiding the inapproproate joomla way that calls ALL plugins (it is appropriate for other use)
^ Change : (BIG PERFORMANCE IMPOVEMENT (particularly for category view):
implementation of creating Flexicontent Fields displayed html on DEMAND (only if they are actually used in a template position or in a module)
^ Change : REWROTE!!! route.php (produces and recognizes SEF URLs) so that:
(a) to fix some bugs, where not all flexicontent urls were always properly routed.
(b) Make code easy to read, and easy to extend in the future !!!
(c) Maintain compatibility with existing bookmarked SEF URLs and google indexed content (please test !!!)
^ Change : improved backend models not to call listing query twice (second was for pagination), now we use SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS to avoid second query.
Performance improved about 20% in backend listings (noticable only on long items listings)
^ Change : altered (and cleaned) POSTINSTALL code not to check postinstall tasks, if they are not to be displayed, (this depends on saved SESSION variables)
^ Change : Field manager listing, changed name of ORDERING column to indicate clearly the contents of the column (Global ordering OR Item Type ordering)


# Bug fixes
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Fix (issue 134 ): broken javascript validation in IE8 browser when (applying/saving) an item
# Fix : improvements of postinstall process
# Fix : support for php 5.3.5+ during installation (changed from TYPE=MyISAM to be ENGINE=MyISAM)
# Fix : passing bad parameter object to content plugins when triggering them on the category description
# Fix : for image field (issue ...) :
(a) a bug of the signature of function onDisplayField not to have reference for the second parameter
(b) field not working properly when configuration unsaved, this can only occur after an upgrade to new Flexicontent version ...
(c) some other minor bugs of the field
# Fix (issue 148) : the Pagination of version control is not displayed properly in all cases
# Fix (issue 135) : "invalid token" in fields using the filemanager in a modal window
# Fix : bugs in minigallery field :
(a) wrong path on windows servers causing a message "error messages disabled" when choosing an image to add to the gallery
(b) adding of javascript and css to the header multiple times
(c) error image when selecting an image (occured when medias folder was changed in the Global Configuration to anything other than the default value)
# Fix : some css errors and some cosmetic spacing
# Fix (issue 141) : article choosing for some non-flexicontent aware modules, we redirect the com_content article choosing element to the corresponding com_flexicontent item choosing element
# Fix : corrected the JRequest 'view' variable, not restored properly after content plugin triggering.
# Fix (issue 155) about Frontend editing, the reported bug plus one more, were because of 2 non-initialized variables (frontend items view files).
# Fix : Article Page Navigation Field (fcpagenav plugin) to
(a) display iterate through all items of current category
(b) it will always stay inside current category
(c) respect the Global configuration parameter of filtering language (display only current language items)
(d) an other issue related to SEF links, was fixed by new SEF code
# Fix : some bug about checking query command in sql_mode with select and selectmultiple fields
# Fix : removed warning if a field doesnot exist for an item but it exists in the template, this is normal behaviour as different TYPEs may have different fields but use the same Template
# Fix (issue ...) : category slug for items that have 'unrouted' (hidden) category, (unrouted categories are defined in the flexiadvroute.php SYSTEM PLUGIN)
# Fix (issue ...) : for filters not appearing always in category view ...
# Fix : SEF handling for AJAX voting / favourites, advanced search view, flexicontent (directory) view for with and without SH404_SEF
# Fix : prevent unnecessary inserting of records with empty value in table __flexicontent_fields_item_relations
# Fix : bugs of file field :
(a) not linking to flexicontent component properly in all cases
(b) compatibility with joomfish translation of the file label
# Fix : bug about parent category in 'items' view
# Fix : item state strings, a lot of user confusion and problems, because of one language string wrong in Global configuration.
# Fix (issue ...) : custom date FORMAT ignored, in date field
# Fix (issue 200) : tracked down long lasting publish_up bug, timezone offset was applied twice to the publish_up date, resulting in publish date going to the future for negative GMT zones
# Fix (issue 138) : search box is not working unless "Use Filters" is enabled
# Fix (issue 173) : Any item in unpublished state is always showed in frontend, if it had never been modified
# Fix (issue ...) : bug in archive manager, redirect to items manager on any user action
# Fix (issue ...) : JSite class not found bug , occuring in the backend
# Fix (issue 179) : an error occurs in frontend when editing item not assigned to a menu item
# Fix (issue 180) : bug that the current category is set as item's category-slug but current category is not in the item's categories
# Fix : custom date format to work for My-Favourites
# Fix : mod_flexicontent module to respect "read more" parameter for non-featured items
# Fix : Filemanager : Allow upload to server of files with invalid filenames (having local language characters) by changing their name to be date("Y-m-d-H-i-s")
# Fix : a bug when install current versions of items


! Notes
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! Notes : made flexicontent submenu code to be generated by a function, thus removed repeated code, that is difficult to update / prone to errors


$ Language
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
$ Language (issue 133) : added language missing strings


______

Report issues found in this beta1 release here:
http://www.flexicontent.org/forum/index ... =viewtopic

.

[kenmcd]

.
Flexicontent v1.5.6beta2 r922 is now available for download at:
http://code.google.com/p/flexicontent/downloads/list

NOTE: this is to be considered as beta, but now it after doing some changes for compatibility:
(a) changed global option default value for item field creation to always create field display in item view
(b) changed global option default value for choosing menu item to prefer current before default fallback menu item

Maybe it is possible to upgrade sites that you can restore from backup (e.g. with Akeeba Backup), please note that if you have patched the v1.5.4 or v1.5.5 , it is better to restore your site with Akeeba because by reinstalling v1.5.4 you will not get your patches back.


# Bug fixes
-------------------------
# Fixed the recently added (new) replacement tags for select and selectmultiple, these are like {item->created_by}
# Fixed item Layout for blog template to display fields and also added field positions to it
# Minor template fixes/changes/additions for default and blog templates and for universal module templates.
# Fixed Url creation to select (activate) menu items pointing to the category of items

+ New features
-----------------------
+ Add : Enhanced BLOG template to supports up to 4 columns, also a cosmetix fix the alphaindex seperator
+ Add : FC Universal module updates:
(a) Added to news/select templates a new MODULE readmore link (and appropriate module parameters)
(b) Added a new (item) date field parameter for standard/featured items and also a date label on-off paramater
(c) Added to news template the new (item) date field with appropriate css classes
(d) Seperated the Global Display parameters (current category & (new) module read more), from the Item List Display parameters
+ Add : to Relateditems field:
(a) Added 2 Scopes (category and type), ability for subcategories for category scope
(b) Added more editing options including: Ordering and a Filter mechanism based on filterlist.js
(c) Cleaned up and reordered the layout of the parameters
+ Add : to Image Field:
(a) Characterized Title and Description options as used for Tooltips
(b) Added 2 new options "Show Title" and "Show Description" to display them after image thubmnail
+ Add : to Author Management:
(a) several filters to backend Author Manager to shape the Author List in all obvious ways
(b) Added a new menu item "My Items" that displays the items of the currently logged user
+ Add : Templates:
(a) Added a new template called 'faq'
(b) Allowed the use of readonly positions for templates (e.g. blog and faq)


^ Changed features
-----------------------
^ Change : Moved all the css loading code with/without caching in the entry point of the modules (mod_flexicontent.php and mod_flexitagcloud.php) so that it is no longer needed to handle css loading at the template
^ Changed installation script to clear postinstall session variables and all flexicontent caching groups, so that no logout-login and cache clearing is needed after installation

$ Language fix or change
-------------------------------
$ Added some missed language files

______

Report issues found in this beta2 release here:
http://www.flexicontent.org/forum/index ... =viewtopic
.