phpFoX Konsort Version 1.6 RC3 Released!

[Raymond Benc]

We would like to announce that Version 1.6 RC3 has been released.

Unlike our last release (RC2) we have introduced some new features and functionality to the product as well as fix various bugs.

Instant Messenger & Chat Modules
The two most noticeable changes is the removal of php121 (Instant Messenger) and Flash Chat (Chat). Both have now been replaced with our own Instant Messenger and Chat modules. Since it's part of our modular system there won't be any complications with user sessions. As this is our first release for both the IM & Chat we will still be adding some more improvements until the final stable release. So feedback regarding these two new modules is welcomed over at our Issue Tracker. The new chat module comes fully equipped with a WYSIWYG text editor and the ability to add rooms via your Admin CP. The Instant Messenger comes equipped with the same WYSIWYG text editor and the ability to search for your friends via a AJAX friends search tool, in case you have several hundreds our thousands of friends. Users also have the ability to set their status to Away, Online, Busy and Be Right Back; which can be modified direct from the language package. You are able to add new statuses as well from your Admin CP.

Since we won't be using php121 and Flash Chat as our official IM & Chat modules this unfortunately ceases the support for each of the plug-ins. Official releases for the plug-ins will also cease. We have taken the liberty to find developers that will continue the development of the plug-in and will be releasing it via our download area (forums). As for the price tag for both php121 (Supporters' release) and Flash Chat these are still both free for our clients to use.

New CSS Classes Added
For those developing themes or for those not using the default Konsort theme will have to add the following to your CSS files:

Content visible to registered users only.

Note: You can edit your CSS files direct from your Admin CP

Language Packages
This is not really an updated information, it's more an information regarding how language packages will be released in the near future. Once the stable release is out there will be language packages available for all clients to download, use, modify, update etc... These languages will not be officially released by phpFoX, they are all under development either by clients or freelance developers. Language packages will have to be updated by the community/freelancers/developers and every new version we release in the future we will have a list of phrases that have either been added or changed. Our support and updates will be for the default language package which is “English (U.S.)”.

Install & Upgrade Routine
You will notice some cosmetic changes, however these are very minor. The addition to the upgrade is the completion of the “Upgrade from any version” routine. In short, the goal for this, and future versions; is to give users the ability to upgrade from any version we have officially released in the past. After numerous testing we feel it's ready for the community to run some tests on their end. We have been able to upgrade from all the officially released versions, which are: 1.0, 1.0.3, 1.0.4, 1.0.5, 1.0.6, 1.0.7, 1.0.8, 1.0.9, 1.1, 1.5, 1.5.1 and 1.6.x (Beta/RC). We encourage those that are running legacy versions to give the upgrade routine a try and if any problems come up to report them directly to our development team here.

Email Importer (GetMyContacts)
Our current email importer is a 3rd party plug-in developed by GetMyContacts. This plug-in has been included in a few of our Beta/RC versions for v1.6. As of v1.6 RC3 this will not be released or supported by phpFoX any longer. It will be released free of charge for our clients via our download area (forums) and support can be obtained via a thread (to be released) in our forums or via GetMyContacts website. We will be introducing our very own email importer with version 2.0.

vBulletin Integration
With the drop of three 3rd party plug-ins we were not to keen on dropping vBulletin from the line up. However, because of recent changes in vBulletin's stance towards social networking products, they will be in prime position as our competitors and because of this we cannot officially support or release a plug-in that connects to a competitors product. We will continue the current development and fix any remaining issues reported by the stable release. The stable release of our product will be our final official release for the plug-in and official support will effectively terminate on that date as well.

As we are big fans of vBulletin this does not in anyway terminate the continuation of the plug-in, it only ceases any official releases or support from phpFoX. We have already rounded up a few developers that will continue the development of the plug-in after our final release. The plug-in will be released in our download area (forums) and over at vbulletin.org. Clients for vBulletin and phpFoX can get support at either locations. Since the project will be deemed open source, this will be a plus for those that use the plug-in as updates and will be released a lot more frequently.

On a side note, one of our major development plans for our next major version release; which will be 2.0 is to drastically improve our forum module. Our goal will be to have our forum module competing with the likes of vBulletin, Invision Power Board and phpBB. Because of this goal we cannot release any of the planned integrations we had for other forum products for version 2.0. We will still unofficially (by means of being released in our forums only) release these plug-ins and give clients the opportunity to chose which forum plug-in they would like to use.

Stable Getting Closer
Our stable release date (December 17, 2007) is getting closer and closer and we are confident all issues being reported will be resolved. So we ask if you haven't tried any of the RC versions of v1.6 to give it a test and if you encounter any abnormalities to report them at our bug tracker. All issues reported at our bug tracker will be looked over and if confirmed will fixed by the stable release.

Various minor Updates with RC3

• Ajax Comments routine updated to not remove the text area box after a comment is added.
• WYSIWYG text editor added on comment text area's per clients requests.
• We have now allowed the “style” attribute with certain HTML tags. This is done to fix a Safari browser bug connected to the WYSIWYG editor. You can enable/disable this setting in the file include/settings/common.sett.php and look for “html_allow_style”.
• Hovering over gallery images that are larger then the default display size (500px) will have a display over it to enlarge the photo to its full size. In case any images that are over the default display size are uploaded and members get the opportunity to view them at a higher resolutions.
• When composing a message without specifying the user you plan to send a message to, there is a feature where users can now search for their friends by simply typing in a user name in the input box.
• Shoutbox routine updated as it is not connected to the new Chat module we have introduced. Because of this update all past shoutouts will not be displayed.
• AJAX Shoutbox has also been added to the groups module, which can be seen when viewing an active group.
• New option added in the Admin CP in the Language Manager that will allow you to remove any duplicate entries found in the Drop Down options database. There have been several reports in past versions of the Beta release of v1.6 where it would duplicate the gender options, this feature will fix such problems.
• Popular demand by clients introduced the feature to have large Leader board ads at the bottom of each generic page. This includes special pages created via the Admin CP.

If you would like more details on what has been added to phpFoX Konsort with version 1.6 in general feel free to check out our last release here as it has more details regarding this matter.

We have also fixed various bugs since our last release, these fixes include:

• #000484: Animated gifs as profile picture
• #000658: Can't Edit Group Forum Post
• #000713: Hot Tags not support cyrilic
• #000717: Minor correction
• #000718: The word "Untitled" is hardcoded in a few templates
• See more bug fixes for RC3 here...

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:: Where can I test a live demo?
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Here: http://live.phpfox.com/rc/1.6/3/

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:: Where can I download it?
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Go to: http://clients.phpfox.com/index.php?cmd=licenses/index

From the download list look for "phpFoX Konsort :: Version 1.6 RC3".