Have you seen...?

Back when we talked about what's new under the hood in XenForo 2.4, we said we'd be focusing on developer tools and features that have become commonplace in other frameworks, such as Laravel. Today's HYS is a big one in that regard: database schema migrations. If you've used migrations in pretty much any other modern framework this will all feel very familiar. If you haven't, don't worry, the concept is simple. What is a migration? A migration is a small file that describes one change to the database. Adding a table, adding a column, changing an index, converting some data, that sort of thing. Each migration has an up() method that makes the change and, optionally, a down() method that reverses it. Migrations live in a _migrations...

A short while ago we let you know about some improvements coming to XenForo 2.4 related to custom fields. You can catch up here: https://xenforo.com/community/threads/custom-field-improvements-filtering-and-more.235686/ Today we're continuing on that topic with the next logical progression: Custom field searching! When adding a custom field you can now, under "General options", toggle whether the field can be included in the search index. This appears just below the new option to enable filtering. Let's say we have a thread for bug reports with a custom field where you can specify a bug category: You can search in a couple of ways. First, and probably most simple for text-based values, would be just searching for "control panel"...

In XenForo 2.4 we are abstracting our existing GIPHY support out into a general GIF providers system and adding support for a new provider, KLIPY. The new "GIF provider" option replaces the previous "Enable GIPHY support" option which, if already configured in XenForo 2.3, will be migrated to this new option. Setting up a new key in the KLIPY partner dashboard is simple with generous rate limits for testing keys. Applying for a production key is simple too with just a little bit of basic info and a short video demonstrating the functionality for the approval process (we will provide a video to use in the manual like we did for GIPHY support). With KLIPY, as well as settings for filtering potentially inappropriate content, you can...

With XenForo 2.4 we are finally addressing one of the most common pieces of feedback we get regarding custom fields which is filtering! But first, let's take a little look under the hood to see what else is new: Flexible custom field types Each of the existing custom field types are now moved to their own individual handler classes and assigned to add-ons in the database. This opens the door for developers to finally introduce their own custom field types for their add-ons. So instead of being constrained to the defaults we provide, developers will be able to add all sorts of custom fields, each with different display and filtering options. Previously this was at best "tricky" to do in XenForo 2.3 but now any conceivable custom field...

Where are we? TL;DR: We're working hard to release XenForo 2.4 ASAP, but it's taking longer than expected due to scope changes and strategic decisions to wait for certain upstream developments that will benefit the long-term roadmap. Here's an analogy to explain why: Software development is like planning a cross-country expedition with multiple destinations. When you set out for version 2.4, you're not just driving to the next town over. You're charting a course through unknown territory with several strategic stops planned along the way - each representing a major milestone or feature release. But the challenge is the landscape keeps changing along the journey. New roads open up (better technologies emerge) Bridges get washed out...

PWA Improvements Hot on the heels of the improvements announced earlier this week, we have another set of improvements to show you today, again, courtesy of @digitalpoint! This time we'll be focusing on some improvements to Progressive Web Apps which some of you will be familiar with if you're already using the [DigitalPoint] PWA add-on. Web app manifest editing We've been rocking a web app manifest for a while now but starting with XenForo 2.4 you will be able to modify the web app manifest using the new additionalWebAppManifest option: In addition to adding additional properties, you can also override existing ones. There are various resources which document compatible (and experimental!) options. { "name": "XF 2.4"...

Flash Message Improvements In the coming weeks, we will be showcasing a few improvements very kindly donated to us by XenForo development G.O.A.T, @digitalpoint! When digitalpoint heard that the primary aim for XenForo 2.4 was to implement some tangible quality of life improvements, he was very quick to offer up some code he has written over the years - some released, some not - which he wrote for his own sites. Is there a somewhat ulterior motive to this code philanthropy aside from our eternal gratitude and ongoing respect? Yes. Now he no longer has to maintain any of this code himself! No better motive required, in our opinion, and of course it still comes with our eternal gratitude and respect. It's 2025 so I hate the term "flash...

Since announcing Featured Content for XenForo 2.3 we have been closely monitoring feedback through various channels and our own overall vision for the feature and, as such, in today's Have you seen...? for XenForo 2.4 we are highlighting some of the recent changes we have made. Automatic feature expiry When curating content, sometimes it can take time to manage the list of featured content effectively to ensure it stays fresh for your visitors, and part of that is the inevitable time where perhaps content is no longer noteworthy and needs to be "unfeatured". You can, of course, do this manually but, now, you don't have to. For new and existing features in the "Customize" section you can now select "Unfeature after..." and specify the...

Welcome back to our Have you seen...? series for XenForo 2.4! The code reviews are coming in thick and fast as we complete our planned features so there should be plenty to show you over the coming weeks. Part of our process for this and previous releases has involved looking at the amazing pool of developer talent that we have in this community and considering how we can work with those developers to bring those features to the core. And that's the focus of this time where we'll be taking a look at the Chunked Uploads add-on by @JulianD which, starting with XenForo 2.4, will become a core feature. But first... We have decided to accelerate our plans to modernise the minimum version of PHP that is supported by XenForo. While we had...

Rich text editors are hard. When you drill down into how they actually work, it's a wonder why there are so many of them, and why developers would willingly spend a significant part of their life working on one. At XenForo we have been through ... counts on fingers ... three different rich text editors in our history, so if we're being generous we can at least attest to what a feat of engineering they are and how difficult they can be to get right -- and all we have to do is implement them. That's no easy feat either, though. We have an increasing number of features that we need from an editor, we have a layer of conversion from HTML to BB code (and back again), and we have an overall user base of millions of members across all of our...

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on our first Have you seen...? thread about the upcoming Add-on update notifications for XF 2.4. It's exciting for us to start this process so soon after the release of XenForo 2.3! And while we are not sticking to a specific schedule for this series of HYS threads, our next one is already here! This time around we are adding Direct message labels as a way for people to be able to add a little more organisation to their inboxes. This is a long standing suggestion (or two) which, when coupled with direct message search which we added in XF 2.3, makes direct messages much more user friendly and intuitive for members and staff alike. One of the best parts of this is that the functionality will...

Welcome to the first "Have you seen...?" post for XenForo 2.4! As we discussed a couple of months ago, XenForo 2.4 will focus mainly on quality-of-life improvements for admins, moderators and users, and today's first look at our next version absolutely ticks that box. Occasionally the inspiration for new features doesn't solely come from the suggestions forum and at times we sit up and take notice of what is popular in the Resource Manager. In this particular case, the Add-on update notifier by @mazzly caught our attention as not only being widely sought after but also currently one of the highest rated resources so it appears to fill a need for enough of you that we decided to bring it to everyone. Once we roll out XenForo 2.4...