Custom UBBCode

We've made a few changes to this area to make things easier. Drag and drop for ordering the Custom Codes and also the ability to actually test the code and see the output on the same screen. This should make it much easier to create new custom codes.

We've also added the ability to export a single UBBCode along with all as you can do now.

Template Editing

We've made some substantial changes to the template editor as you'll see in the screenshot below. You can have multiple templates open at the same time for editing. You can also save your changes without losing your place as the screen does not have to reload during a save.

Syndication via Javascript

In earlier versions there was an option to include topics and posts on an external page or website via javascript. This option will be making a return.

When enabled it will allow you to insert a small bit of javascript on a webpage that will display topics or even gallery images from the forum designated in the javascript. This will only be able to pull from public forums.

Portal Layout

Lots of changes for setting up the portal layout. Instead of needing to go to multiple screens to set the order, change the cache time, add custom islands, etc. Everything will be done on one screen.

The displayed Islands and the order they are in is all done with drag and drop.

You can edit every island by clicking on the edit image which will display a popup for changing settings associated with that island.

You can add unlimited Custom islands by clicking on the "New Custom Isle" button. You can add unlimited post and gallery islands by clicking on the "New Post Isle" button.

We will be going back to displaying some information at the bottom of each page, such as forum permissions, who's online, etc, so we're going to stick with the left and right columns for the layout.

Template Editing - Part 2

Since themes will be able to contain custom templates in version 8, we realized we needed a way for admins to be able to compare their custom templates with the stock templates and see any differences, as well as a way to revert back to the stock template if needed. This will now be possible.

In the screenshot below you'll see a template comparison.

The left side shows the stock template line by line. If there are lines in red, that means they exist in the stock template but do not exist in the custom template.

The right side shows the custom template line by line (compared to the line numbers of the stock template). If there are lines in green, that means they exist in the custom template but do not exist or have been altered from the stock template.

Control Panel Beta Testing

Not a feature, but newsworthy anyways. We'll be starting beta testing of the control panel this week. This will speed up the whole process since the control panel will be thoroughly tested by the time the front end is finished.

This means that we'll be starting on the front end soon. Changelog might be a bit slow for a bit as we rewrite libraries and such, but we'll get some entries posted as things progress.

New Install Utility

New Installation Utility is complete. As you can see in the screenshot below the installer will take you through the various steps in a much better fashion than the old one.

If your server allows permissions to be changed via FTP, the installer will change all necessary permissions for you, so no more fumbling around in various directories and files.

The installer will also clean up after itself on servers that will allow it, and delete all of the files within the installation directory, so no need to do this manually anymore.

New Upgrade Utility

We've finished the New Upgrade utility, which uses the same format as the installer. Various steps will guide you through the process. Updating the database will go much smoother as shown in Step 2. Using some AJAX it will go much faster as well since the entire screen doesn't have to reload and we don't have to worry about timeouts.

Major Database Alterations

We're finished with the majority of the database alterations for version 8. A couple of the big ones being, all table and field names have been converted to lowercase, which will make moving to and from Windows/Linux servers much easier.

The other big step is the conversion of the table types to a character set of utf8. All of the data within the various tables will be converted to utf8, and all timestamps will be converted to GMT.

Portal Islands

As we move forward with the new front end UI, one thing has become clear in that on some screens, when both side columns are enabled, it doesn't leave enough space for other things, or it just looks too cluttered.

For example, the new User Control Panel. This is replacing the current My Stuff area and will have a navigation on the left side. With both side columns enabled, it ends up being 4 columns on these pages, which is quite messy and way to busy.

For that reason, we've added a new option at the top of each script, no_columns. When this is option is enabled, the side columns will not be displayed on that particular script.