We are pleased to announce that phpFox2 RC1 (Release Candidate 1) has been released for public testing. This is the first release for version 2 that includes an upgrade script from the current stable release (v1.6.21). If you are running a legacy version and want to upgrade you can use the upgrade script included with v1.6.21 and from there upgrade to version 2 using the upgrade script included with version 2.

RC1 is our first release candidate and currently we plan on releasing 3 more before we reach our stable release, however please note that this is subject to change depending on how smooth the RC process goes.

The RC process will consist mostly of finding and fixing any bugs/bottlenecks before we release our stable version. The product is currently “frozen” and nothing new will be developed unless it is in relation to improving an existing feature that is flawed due to a bug. RC will also include the process of creating the default language package (English U.S.). Currently all the phrases are hard coded and will be moved into a language package, which will allow translators at a later time the ability to translate the product to other languages.

For those upgrading its important to note that this is a release candidate and it is not a supported product so our support team cannot help if something goes wrong. It is advised to not upgrade your live site with this first release candidate and to instead clone your current site in a development folder and test the upgrade routine from there. The upgrade routine is actually more of an import routine. Since the script has been redeveloped we do not use any of the same source files or database structure. We will basically be taking what you have in your database and putting into new tables created by version 2. Unlike the upgrade routine for v1.6 we will not convert/move any data uploaded to the server as we will simply connect to those images as v2 allows us to connect to data such as photos, mp3s anywhere (including other servers). So the “upgrade” will mainly be moving data from your database to a set of new database tables.

We will shortly cover what is new with RC1, if you would like to catch up with what our past Alpha/Beta versions introduced you can find more information here…

• Alpha 1
• Alpha 2
• Alpha 3
• Alpha 4
• Beta 1
• Beta 2
• Beta 3
• Beta 4
• Beta 5

Whats new in phpFox2 RC1

SEO

There has been a lot of progress in regards to SEO with version 2 in comparison with our past versions and a lot has been updated with RC1. For more information in regards to SEO check out our blog post a few days go here.

Ban Filters

Within the AdminCP we now provide the ability to ban/filter:

• Username’s
• Email’s
• Display Name’s
• IP Address
• Words

All of these filters allow the asterisk (*), which can be used to enter a “wild card” entry. For example if you wanted to ban an IP that starts with 192.186 you could enter: 192.186*

The same could be done if you wanted to deny anyone creating the user name that starts with “phpFox” by entering: phpFox*

Registration Form Control

We now give Admins the ability to control what fields are required during registration. The only fields we require internally is the display name, user name, email and password, so the form can consist of just those 4 fields in order to register.

Emoticon Management

Emoticons are now split up into packages, which you will be able to shortly download from 3rd party sites or direct from the AdminCP. Installing emoticon packages in the future will not require you to log into your FTP and upload them to a specific folder, it can now all be done direct from your AdminCP.

The emoticon manager we provide also allows you to manage each of the emoticon packages and the emoticons. You can change the order of how the emoticons publicly appear as well as change the title and the symbol that represents the emoticon. You can also upload new emoticons to a package or create a new package and mass import new emoticons from a ZIP package.

Online Status - Invisible Mode

We have added a phrase that can be found under the users display name on their profile if they are online. There is also an option that can be enabled that will display an online symbol when a user is online on top of their avatar anywhere on the site.

Here is a screenshot of this feature:

Viewing Photos - Next/Previous Thumbnails

When viewing a photo from the Photo module we now list - under the photo; the 2 latest photos before and after the current photo you are viewing.

Screenshot:

Module Items (Public/Profile)

Admins can now decide if when viewing an item it should land on a users profile or within the public module section. If an item would land on a users profile the feature will keep the users style and header menu, giving the user the feeling of having a personal site with certain items (eg. blogs, photos, polls etc…). If you were to select for items to land on their respective module sections this will keep you within those section without redirecting to a persons profile each time you view an item. By default we have selected items to land within the public sections and not on a users profile.

Group Module - Updates

The Group module has been updated with the following changes:

• Forum module integrated.
• Photo module integrated.
• Ability for Admins to feature groups. Featured groups are displayed first and are highlighted.
• Search tool provided within the Group module.
• Included a block to display the most popular groups.
• Group access added and includes the following levels:
  • Open (Anyone can join and see group data)
  • Closed (Admins must approve members before they can join. Anyone can see group description, however only members can see remaining blocks)
  • Secret (Group will not appear anywhere. Membership is by invite only and only members can see any data related to the group)
• Link provided on a users profile to invite them to any groups you may have.
• All modules that are integrated now include specific access rules, which are:
  • Allow all members
  • Allow all members and non-members
  • Allow only admins
• The group creator can now assign Admins to help run the group. An Admin of the group can do everything the creator can do except:
  • Delete the group.
  • Remove the creator from the group.
• When viewing a group we list all the Admins and identify who the group creator is.

Theme Manager

RC1 introduces a Theme Manager, which will allow Admins the ability to modify many aspects of the new theme system provided by version 2. Before we go into detail explaining the theme manager an understanding of the system that powers themes would be helpful. In past versions of phpFox we have provided the ability for designers to create different styles for our product, however we only provided one theme and if any changes to the theme needed to be done it would mean overwriting our default files causing problems when asking our clients to upgrade to a newer version.

Version 2 takes care of this problem. When designers release themes that can also include several styles and in the future release styles for a specific theme, none of the default files we provide need to be overwritten. Themes control the HTML structure of the product and define where blocks should be placed. Each theme can include as many Styles and these styles control the color scheme and in some cases block placement depending on the CSS the designer uses. Since new themes can be created designers will never have to overwrite our default files thus making it easier for our clients to upgrade to newer versions.

When creating a new theme or style you can define what the parent theme/style is. This means designers will only need to create HTML or CSS files for the areas that want to modify and simply rely on the parent theme/style to fill in the missing files. If the parent theme/style is missing the file we are looking for then we find the global parent theme/style, which is the default theme and style we provide with version 2. So when designers create a new theme they can go as far as changing the entire look for version 2 by only changing as little as 2 files, which is the main template and CSS files.

From the AdminCP an Admin can manage themes from: Extensions >> Theme >> Manage Themes

Screenshot:

For each theme you have a set of HTML files you can edit direct from the AdminCP. Any changes made will not overwrite our default files and can be reverted. Also note that we provide a method to edit HTML files from the AdminCP for themes, however you can still edit the source files with your favourite text editor.
Screenshot:

Similar to how you can edit HTML files from the AdminCP you can do the same with CSS files:

You can also create new HTML and CSS files from the AdminCP:

Themes & Styles can both be imported and exported direct from the AdminCP. Similar to how emoticons work, Admins will not have to log into an FTP client and upload all the files into a specific folder. With the current design of the system the goal is to allow Admins the ability to install themes direct from the AdminCP with a click of a button, however for the time being Admins must upload a ZIP file, which contains all of the themes data.

I have personally been working on a theme to help developers understand how to create themes/styles and will be releasing it shortly. The theme itself greatly resembles Facebook and will be used as a guide for designers, however clients will be free to use this on their sites.

Custom State/Province

Countries can now be managed from the AdminCP:

Each country can have its own set of States/Provinces:

You can manually add a country/state or you can import new ones using the import tool provided, which allows you to import a “Country Package” (3rd party) or from a text file:

Custom Fields - Updates

The custom fields for users have been updated with the following changes:

• Ability to add a custom field to the registration form.
• If a custom field is part of a registration form, Admins can control if the field is required in order to register for the site.

AdminCP User Browser - Updated

Within the AdminCP we have a section where Admins can browse all the users that are part of the site. This section has been updated with the following changes.

• Added City, State/Province & ZIP to the form where we edit a user.
• Added the ability to ban a user using the new user group “Banned”.
• Link added within Admin “User Browse” section where Admins can ban members.

Image Watermarking Support

Based on v1.6 feature to watermark images we have updated this routine with some new features that include:

• Watermark positioning (eg. top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right).
• Control over the opacity level.
• Ability to upload a new watermark image direct from the AdminCP to replace our default watermark image.

Screenshot of a watermarked image:

Attachment Manager

Attachment types can now be managed from the AdminCP:

Admins can also add a new attachment types from the AdminCP:

These “types” control what users can upload to the site when using the Attachment module, which connects to many other modules like when writing a blog or a forum thread.

Admins can also control the file size limit of the files users upload.

User Group Management

We have now separated editing a user group and modifying user group settings. Admins can now edit user group settings a lot easier as all the settings are split up based on the modules they belong to.

Here is a screenshot of when editing user group settings:

When editing or creating a user group you can add an HTML suffix/prefix, which could be used to control what color the user group text is as well as upload an image to easily identify the user group.

Here is a screenshot of when editing a user group:

Here is a screeshot when viewing the recently edited user group that now has an HTML suffix/prefix as well as an icon:

We also provide a setting Admins can control if the icon and HTML suffix/prefix should be displayed on a users profile.

Video Module Updates

Our Video module has been updated with the following changes:

• Added ability to feature/un-feature videos.
• Added a search filter.
• Added sub-menus for easy ordering.
• Added ability to add/remove a video from the “Spotlight”.
• Added ability to display a random cached video within the “Spotlight” block.
• Added “More From: {USER}” and “Related Videos” blocks when viewing a video.
• Added FLV support.
• Added the ability to approve videos.
• Once a video has been approved the user is notified via an internal notification and an email.
• Added support for MySpace Video.
• Added support to check if a video import from 3rd party sites cannot grab an image to redirect the user and ask them to upload an image.
• Support for Break.com added.
• Support for non-latin characters added for YouTube.
• Support for Metacafe added.

Marketplace Module Update

The Marketplace module has been updated with the following changges:

• Added support to control how large a photo attachment can be.
• Added ZIP Codes to listings.
• Browse filter added.
• Sub-menu for each ordering added.
• Ability to feature/un-feature a listing.
• Ability to approve a listing. (User notified via an internal notification and an email once their item has been approved.).

Event Module Update

The Event module has been updated with the following changes:

• Event photos now have a size limit, controlled via AdminCP user group param.
• Event privacy added where events can be…:
  • Public (Everyone can join)
  • Private (Does not show up anywhere and only invited users can RSVP)
• Ability to feature/un-feature events added.
• Added ZIP/Postal code support.
• Ability for Admins to approve events added.
• Sub-menu tab added to display events from: Today, Tomorrow, This Week, This Weekend
• Browse filter added.
• Event creators can mass mail their attendees. (Global setting to disable this feature)
• User group param added to control which user group can use the mass mail feature.
• Admins can control how long a user group must wait till they can send another batch of mass emails.

Update Music Module

The Music module has been updated with the following changes:

• Added the “Latest Songs/Albums” block within Music section.
• Browse filter added.
• Added the ability to browse songs.
• Added the ability to browse albums.
• Added the ability for Admins to feature/un-feature a song or album.
• Featured block added within the music section.
• Admins can now control how many songs a user can add to their profile.

Instant Messenger Updates

The Instant Messenger module has been updated with the following changes:

• Link added on a users profile so other users can start a chat with them.
• Pager added to the IM room where we list all the users friends.
• Added the ability for users to search for their friends within the IM.

Custom Designer

The custom designer gives user the ability to modify many aspects of their profile using the “Advanced” section. In past versions we had support to add background images to certain elements such as adding a background image for their entire page. They would need to know the full path of this image on the internet, however with RC1 for each image attachment we provide a link for users to attach images using our Attachment module (Found on other modules like when adding a blog). Once attached they can connect the attached image to the design tool.

Profile Photo Cropping Update

With Beta5 we released the option for users to crop their own images using our Photo Cropping Tool. Now we give Admins an option that will force users to crop their image before the image is accepted and displayed publicly.

Screenshot:

Profile Privacy

Each of the blocks found on a users profile now contain the ability for the user to control who can view the data found on that block. The privacy feature isn’t new but we have added this feature to the following blocks:

• Updates
• Profile Info
• Video
• Photos
• Recent Views
• Marketplace Listings

AdminCP Dashboard - AdminCP Updates

RC1 introduces an AdminCP dashboard that works similar to the dashboard found when you first log into a phpFox v2 site on the index page. This page will allow Admins to view all the recent activity on the site and gives them the ability to drag/drop blocks. 3rd party developers can easily create new blocks that can plug-in to the AdminCP dashboard.

The AdminCP dashboard includes the following blocks:

• AdminCP Notes
• Active Admins
• phpFox News & Updates
• phpFox Twitter Updates
• Site Stats
• Latest Admin Logins
• Quick Links

Screenshot of the top area of the dashboard:

Screenshot of the bottom area of the dashboard:

We updated the AdminCP with some other features and it now includes the ability to view guests/bots online:

We also added the ability to view all the AdminCP logins:

which includes detailed information about each login attempt:

In order for us to give support it helps to understand the server enviroment and we provide Admins this information to help pass it along to us in the future with a System Overview section:

Spam

We have worked on improving SPAM prevention with version 2 and the recent changes include:

• Support for Akismet added.
• Product updated to enable/disable SPAM protection.
• Comments now fitted with SPAM protection.
• Added ability for Admins to approve comments that are considered as SPAM before they are displayed publicly.
• Notify Admins via AdminCP dashboard how many SPAM items need attention.
• Included a user group setting that will allow a user group to override the SPAM check.
• Added the ability to view all the spammers on the site.
• Added a setting to define when all items must be approved due to the user being suspected of spamming.
• Added a setting to define when to auto ban a user due to spamming.
• Admins can edit SPAM count for a specific user direct from the AdminCP.
• Blogs now checked for SPAM.
• Added an option to replace all external links with a page redirection warning.
• Added Captcha on mail (User Group Setting - Default = disabled)
• Spam check added to PM’s
• If a user is a “spammer” they are unable to use the PM service until they lose their “spam” points.
• Added the ability to remove all external links from the site except those added to the “URL White List”.
• Added the ability to remove all external emails from the site except those added to the “Email White List”.
• PM now fitted with an option to find if the last X messages within Y minutes are identical (X & Y are settings controlled by Admins, this option in general is disabled by default.).
• Comments now fitted with an option to to find if the last X comments within Y minutes are identical (X & Y are settings controlled by Admins, this option in general is disabled by default.).

To understand some of these changes in more detail we wrote a blog entry a few months ago explaining the steps we will be taking to fight SPAM here.

Other Changes

* Separated AdminCP login. Admins must login to the AdminCP before they can visit it. AdminCP login session is stored in the database instead of a cookie/session to added extra protection against cookie hijacking.
* Admins now have the ability to view private messages from the AdminCP.
* Admins can now shorten blogs with a setting found in the AdminCP. This setting is a numerical value that will control how many characters should be displayed on a blog before we cut it off and guide the user to click on a link to read more.
* Admins can now hide ads based on user groups.
* Added daylight savings support based on a users time zone.
* Quick link in editor when adding a blog entry, forum post/threads etc; which will allow users to add links to their entry.
* Cached data is now also stored in the database. Used as reference and for stats. It will also guide what files are being cached when using “Memcached” as the selected storage engine. Pager included as well as cache stats.
* Branding removal can now be installed via the installer or via the AdminCP.
* The “change password” routine updated, where it now asks for the users old password before they can change their current password.
* Added a privacy setting to control if someone can download an image uploaded via the Photo module.
* The photo battle section changed from a vertical to a horizontal layout, so members do not have to scroll up and down to view both images.
* Added a check during the image process routine to see if we have enough memory and if “safe_mode” is disabled to try to triple the memory limit. However, if unable to enlarge the memory limit we exit the process.
* Reported items now have a link that will display all the users that reported the specific item with detailed information on why as well.
* Email signature is now connected with the language package.
* Added a large input bar so users can easily update their status from the sites dashboard or on their own profile.

SEO - Upgrading from v1.6.21 to v2

To make sure clients do not lose their search engine rankings on items such as blogs, photos, events etc… version 2 is built to auto redirect these old items to their new items. We also let the search bots know that this is a permanent move. This also covers sections and not just when visiting an item from v1.6.21. The areas that have been covered thus far are:

• Blogs
• Photos
• Forums (Including all threads, forums and posts)
• Profiles (Include all areas related to a users profile)
• Groups
• Music Songs & Albums
• Videos
• Marketplace Listings

Change Log

Our SVN change log can be found here.

Live Demo

View this beta demo in action here.

Download

phpFox2 RC1 can be downloaded direct from the clients area. When you have selected a license and reached the download page look for “phpFox2 RC1″ to download the product.

Requirements

Requirements for phpFox2 can be found here.

Documentation

Our documentation can be found here.

Feedback & Bugs

Your feedback is appreciated, please feel free to leave them here. We also provide a bug tracker here so we can get ahead and start squashing bugs.

Good luck and Enjoy phpFox2 RC1!