Version 3.6 Available Now!

Version 3.6 Available Now! (Samuel)

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:55:13 GMT

_Hello everyone,

We just released on newest version, 3.6, with many improvements over the previous version in terms of security and usability.

Security-wise, admins can now turn on the new SPAM preventive measure for "links in message" and PM spam. Both of these are big headaches to deal with as they appear to be normal forum activity but are very time consuming for the admins and moderators to handle. I used to have to scan my support forum for these issues manually and regularly which had been very counter productive.

In addition, Admins can now optionally turn off Captcha in the admin CP in case this SPAM preventive measure becomes too time consuming for your users. Captcha is still highly recommended but you now have the option and can make the decision for your community.

Usability-wise, we have a new Gallery interface that gives the users options to show / hide thumbnails so that even on smaller monitors, your users can still enjoy larger sized photo. We also managed to change the form interface so that mobile users are now able to log in and view the forum content (linkbutton issue with WM 6 resolved).

There are also other major new features in this version, e.g. the ability to set up Thread Template for a forum (e.g. Product Review Criteria you wish every new thread to have) as well as being able to filter topics by Topic Type admin defined for each forum. With this new filtering capabilities in place, you no longer have to scan the list to find related messages.

Last but not the least, with the additional support for CDN (Content Delivery Network to serve large JS files for the AJAX framework - FREE to use), your users can enjoy even faster page load time than with any of our previous version. Server-side dlls are now also free of Reflection (slow) code which translates to better page rendering speed (less server load).

Smaller improvements (e.g AdminCP server response) are too numerous to go into details here. As such, please refer to the release note below for detailed info:

Click here to see the release note

Version 3.6 Release Note _

Fixes

Thread/Message Management - No restore button problem;
[control dll] PGDCode collection shouldn't be modified error;
[js] Preview window causing page to blank out if file attachment is disabled;
Photo delete error with the last photo on the 2nd page;
[control dll; js] problem with photo comment paging;
"Refresh" button on the PGDCode and User Rank page (Admin CP) don't have visual feedback;
profile home page field cannot take https as protocol;
[control dll] Smiley not paging correctly on the PM interface (now use the callback mechanism - faster);
Link and Email regEx fix: (\&quot\;) changed to (\");
Cannot subscribe to a new thread I am composing problem;
[sp] search not returning all results problem with private forums;
show a notice on the calendar page when no calendar is available, instead of a blank page;
Login box on various pages do not always work issue:
1. When adding events;
2. When listing new posts since last visit;
3. On the member list;
4. When sending PM; and,
5. On the ticket interface.
[control dll] link tag in the header without "type" issue;
Message "flagging as spam" button disappearing problem;
uploading files with ' in the file name problem;
[logic dll] send PM error when PM flood control is triggered;
message flagging auto-banning length discrepancies between forum setting and global setting;
[dll, writelicense.aspx] better handling for activation error;
1. [dll] and license expiration error as well.
PM "reply with quote" JS error;
fix upgrade problem in 3.5.sql for users upgrade from 2.x when full-text was not set up;
[dll] Unicode member name search problem;
1. [SIP] must update SIP to support this new dll.
[sp] Preventing timeout error when posting / replying due to flood control;
[sp] Preventing online list error if active members are deleted;
quick post losing caret position when inserting smiley / image / link in IE;
IE8-only: user drop down not working problem when typing user name into the "add member to group" box in the Admin CP, inside the User Group Management Interface;
"Join group" button shown to Guest issue;

Additions

Show a list of Unread / Hot messages on the home page;
[sp, logic dll] Topic Type Filtering + a easier to use topic list filter listing current filtering and sorting criteria;
[dlls, sp] Admin can specify a Thread Template for each forum, and optionally for replies too;
[sp, both dlls, ln] Option to turn off captcha:
1. on the login interface;
2. for Registration and Confirmation;
3. for guest Posting; and,
4. when Requesting Notification Email.
[ln] Improve Gallery interface to save screen space:
1. Ability to hide / show thumb pane;
2. Save screen preference in cookie;
3. Add a no photo interface (with thumb covering whole page); and,
4. Improved photo deletion handling -> no more error or popup warning.
[ln, sp, both dlls] Ability to prevent PM or Link in message and signature SPAM:
1. Show PM restriction (w/ warning;
2. Link Usage Restriction (w/ warning);
3. Restrictions can be based on:
  1. Length of Membership;
  2. Post count;
  3. Score; and,
  4. Reward Point.

[control dll] CDN support for Telerik and MicrosoftAjax.js:

In web.config <appSettings>

<!-- CDN Settings -->                       
             <add key="Telerik.ScriptManager.TelerikCdn" value="Enabled" />                       
             <add key="Telerik.StyleSheetManager.TelerikCdn" value="Enabled" />                       
             <add key="MicrosoftAjax.js.Cdn" value="Enabled" />

Better mobile phone usage support (no linkbuttons):
1. Login;
2. Registration;
3. Edit Profile; and,
4. Registration confirmation;
[ln, logic dll] Online bookmark sharing with social networking sites;
[logic dll, sp] Expand MemberInfo's capability in code behind to easily get:
1. If the user Is In a Group;
2. User's entire Group Membership;
3. Birthday;
4. All Custom Reg Field Data;
[dll's] a new PageContext Class in code behind:
1. Available on pages / Master pages / User Controls;
2. Properties contains:
  1. Current Forum ID (even when reading a message IN a forum);
  2. Current Forum Name;
  3. Current Message ID;
  4. Current Message Subject;
[ln; both dlls; sp] User name reminder window;
[sp] New sorting capability by both x and y axis in the Admin Stats page;
Improve the web-based Setup program to check for:
1. SQL related failure with Detailed Error Messages;
2. dbOwnerPrefix issue; and,
3. server folder permission.
New feature to programmatically refresh all server caches, with the potential to free up memory;
New Admin page Server Checker for:
1. correct folder permissions;
2. correct mail server setup; and,
3. correct SQL permission.
Search drop down on the message page can select forum;
Search with Breadcrumb to return to previous forum page.

Changes

Smarter boarddown.aspx -> send users to default.aspx instead when forum is not in Off state;
A simple workaround in login.ascx.vb to accommodate ADmembership provider;
[ln, sp] "MOVED" topic notice changed from hard coded to a flag;
Photo interface no more alert message when clicking on the "next" or "prev" button when on the last / first photo;
[ln] photo comment paging format change;
[sp] Photo Rotator on the main page now default to display random photos;
[sp] Photos on the public profile page now has liquid photos arrangement + randomness;
calendar list template update to fix the button style;
[ln] Attachment "click to insert" tip included on the posting interface;
Improved page rendering performance due to removal of Reflection code in the Telerik dlls;
Remove Relevance sorting from the search page (useless);
[sp] Show message flag count beside messages;
incorporate DHTML confirmation dialog into User Group management in AdminCP;
[logic dll] PM recipients Apostrophe and Quote characters restriction removed;
PM read status popup refined to prevent display distortion on long names;
[sp] improves "go to newest message" performance on the forum page for large threads with many replies;
[control dll; css] improve captcha tooltip to include an explanation. New CSS class captchaTxtboxToolTip;
[control dll] show tooltip in the text box for custom registration fields;
i as "Friend" problem reported:
1. post.aspx.vb (bunch of places)
2. preview.aspx.vb:62
3. App_Templates/Classic/UC/MessageDisplay/printable/ItemTemplate.ascx.vb: 133
4. Upload.aspx.vb:726
New DB Manager with enhanced compatibility between the different executing modes;
[ln] add an alert box for blocking members using the DHTML menu;
Profile page tab switching now much more efficient, now utilizing callback instead;
Improved breadcrumb URL on the message page for SEO purposes (only forum ID and Page number);
Eliminating JS popup alert box for action results on all pages for the AdminCP.
DB Manager and the SIP, as well as all Documents (Admin quick start & User FAQs) are included in BOTH packages (full / upgrade).
DB Manager and the SIP must be upgraded too. See the readme files for details.