XenForo 1.0.0 Beta 2 Released

A little over two weeks ago, we released the first public beta of XenForo - our brand new, state-of-the art forum software platform. The response has been very positive, and the bugs reported have been refreshingly minor in nature.

Since the release, we have been working to resolve bugs, improve functionality and complete systems ready for a stable release. There is still work to do, but we have reached a useful milestone where it is appropriate to package-up what has been achieved so far, and release it as our second beta version.

All licensed customers may now download the new version from the customer area.

Installation and upgrade instructions follow this message.

This is Beta Software

Please remember that this is beta software. It contains known bugs and incomplete functionality. We do not recommend running beta software in a production environment, and support is limited at this time to questions here on the community forums.

If you choose to run beta software, it is your responsibility to ensure that you make a backup of your data.

Notable Changes

While there are too many changes to list individually and the majority of those are bug fixes, there are some major changes and useful improvements we would like to highlight.

Changes to the Header Template

The old 'header' template has been renamed 'logo_block', and has a <div id="logoBlock" /> wrapped around its contents.​

​

There is a new 'header' template, which is included by the 'PAGE_CONTAINER' template, and includes 'logo_block', 'navigation' and 'search_bar'.​

​

Ability to Disable Facebook 'Like'

There is now an option that allows you to disable the Facebook 'Like' button with a single click, should you wish to do so for any reason.​

​

Ability to Change the 'Online' Time-out Period

From Beta 2, it is possible to change the period of inactivity of a visitor before they are marked as no longer 'online'. The default is 15 minutes, and the maximum period is one hour.​

​

Improvements to Importer Speed and Robustness

The importer system has received numerous fixes and enhancements, which result in a significantly faster and less error-prone import experience. At this point, the importer is still a work in progress, and we make no attempt to trap errors in order for them to be exposed and reported back to us.​

Fixes to Installer on Various PHP Builds Including 'Wamp'

Various issues were reported with the Beta 1 installer with relation to PHP builds such as Wamp. We have tracked down these problems, some of which were related to our interaction with the Zend Framework, and resolved them. There should now be no issues installing XenForo using any server build that meets the various minimum version requirements.​

​

Switching Between Templates and Style Properties Retains Selected Style

In Beta 1, if you were working on the templates of a non-default style and then switched to edit style properties, the selected style would revert to the default. This has been fixed in Beta 2, so you can switch between style properties and templates without losing your style selection.​

​

Outdated Templates and Phrases Tools

To assist in the upgrade process, new tools are available to help you identify any customized templates or translated phrases whose default contents have changed in the upgrade process and may now require your attention.​

​

Style Properties

As we said in our Beta 1 announcement, we have made significant strides in integrating our CSS into the style properties system. The content of the forum list and forum view pages are now almost completely controlled by style properties.​

​

However, we would like to take this opportunity to solicit feedback on the work we have done so far. Do you think that there are now too many style properties in the Sidebar, Forum List, Discussion List, Message User Info and Message Content style property groups, or would you prefer to see a much broader set controlling a more macro level of detail?​

​

Some of these properties control fairly advanced functionality, and we would like to hear your opinion on the approach we have taken before we commit to applying the same degree of 'style propertisation' to the rest of the system.​

​

 

[XenForo]

Installation Instructions

To install XenForo, you will need to extract the zip and upload all the files from the contained upload directory onto your web server. You may upload into your web root, or any folder within the web root. This shall be referred to as your XenForo Directory.

Having uploaded the necessary files, you should direct your web browser to the URL that corresponds to your XenForo Directory and add '/install' to the address (eg: http://www.example.com/xenforo/install). This will trigger the installation process, which will guide you through the necessary steps to get a working XenForo installation running on your server.

Please note that the installation routine will direct you to ensure that the data and internal_data directories within your XenForo Directory are writeable by the webserver (ie: chmod 0777).

 

[XenForo]

Upgrade Instructions

To upgrade an existing XenForo installation, you will need to extract the zip and upload all files within the upload directory to your existing XenForo Directory, overwriting all files.

Note that you should ensure that the data and internal_data directories remain writable by the webserver (ie: chmod 0777). In most cases, they should remain writable and you should not need to take action. You should always ensure that the contents of the data and internal_data directories are maintained when upgrading (ensure that folders are merged!).

Once the files are uploaded, your XenForo installation will automatically be closed until the upgrade is complete. To begin the upgrade, go to the URL that corresponds to <your XenForo Directory>/install (eg: http://www.example.com/xenforo/install). You will be instructed to login as an administrator and guided through the steps. Once the upgrade is complete, your XenForo will automatically be reopened.