Today, I am happy to announce new version of Events Booking 4.0.0. Below are the changes in this version:
1. Raise System Requirement
From version 4.0.0 of Events Booking, we require PHP 7.2.0 for the extension to work. That allows us to use better dependency libraries in the extension and focus working to make the extension works on PHP 7.2.0+, PHP 8.0.x and next will be PHP 8.1.
2. System Changes
We replace some old libraries used in the extension to with better, light-weight libraries and more important, these libraries are well-maintained and support PHP 7.x, PHP 8.0 and 8.1:
- Drop
PHPExcel (which is used to handle CSV/Excel import/export in the extension) library for new installation and replace it
Spout library
- Use new library to generate QR-CODE
- Use new library to generate ICS file
- Update FullCalendar (which is used in Full Calendar menu item type in the extension to display events calendar) to latest version (FullCalendar 5)
- Added common language file to include shared language items between frontend and backend. That's to avoid duplicate translation effort for these shared language items.
3. Dropped Features
- Removed
Events Archive menu item type to avoid un-necessary repeating code. If you want to display past events, use one of the category menu item type instead and set
Display Events Type parameter to
Past Events and it will work like before. During the upgrade process, existing menu items will be migrated automatically, so you don't have to worry about this change.
- Dropped
ACYMailing - 5 plugin.
- Dropped
Events Booking - Spout plugin . This plugin was used as a workaround to handle import/export on PHP 8 but it is not needed now because we now use the library in core package.
4. Improve Tax Support
From version 4.0.0, tax won't be defined at inside each event anymore. We have a separate function called Tax Rules to allow managing tax rates. It will make it easier, faster to setup tax (for example, a single tax rule for all events) and more flexible. Also, you can now charge different tax rates depends on country, states if needed. See
eventbookingdoc.joomservices.com/basic-setup/tax-rules
Please note that the tax rate which you setup before will be automatically migrated to new tax rules system, so upgrade should be straightforward.
5. Added Ical Export Feature
Allows users to export events (from category or upcoming events menu item types) to ICAL format (to import in their own calendar system if needed). If you want to use this feature, set
Enable ICS Export config option to Yes
6. New Emails & Messages Management
We improved
Emails & Messages function to hopefully, make it easier to use:
- It loads faster because we do not need multiple editors on the page anymore
- It allows you to search for message by message content, message title and message key. So hopefully, if you want to change some message, you can search it easily from there
If you still want to use old Emails & Messages, we still leave it in
Tools -> Legacy Emails & Messages (especially if you are familiar with it or you have custom email messages added before by some customization)
7. Some other small improvements and Bugs Fixes
- Added date duration filter on Events Management so that you can easy find events within certain duration if you want
- Added speakers filter on upcoming events module, slider module, and all menu item types. It allows you to show events from certain speakers if needed.
- Support plugin for custom fields (to allow adding custom feature to the extension depends on custom fields settings - same as we have plugin on add/edit event page)
- Allow searching for coupon by note and allow exporting note
- Prevent a copied field being saved as core fields (thus could not be deleted)
- Support Prompt Text for List custom field (instead of hardcode to -Select-)
- Fix tooltip style in calendar (leave template css to handle background color and text color instead of handling by the extension)
- Fixed Export Registrants does not work for frontend
- Fix data on submit event form lost on failed validation
- Fix calendar tooltip and group registration error on some templates base on Twitter Bootstrap 5.
8. And many code improvements to the core code
- Move un-used helper methods to a legacy helper class. We do not use these methods in core code, but it is keep their for backward compatible purpose
- Clean up, remove un-used css code. Clean up layout code (especially calendar layout) for better and easier maintainer code
- Improve Install/Upgrade code. Prevent direct update from Events Booking older than 3.7.0 to avoid maintaining outdated upgrade code.
- Refactor registration form code (move JS code out of layout, better easier to maintain js code)
- General code improvements, re-structure code from the whole extension for better code.
Upgrade from older version of Events Booking to version 4.0.0
- We tried our best to maintain backward compatible changes for this version. However, since this is a new major releases with many code changes, improvements, library replacements and upgrade..., please make sure you make a backup of your site before upgrading so that in case critical bugs found and could not be fixed shortly, you can revert to earlier version. I tried to test as much as possible, but there might still bugs somewhere which I could not catch yet
Thanks for continue using our products and support our development. I will continue working hard to improve it, make it better from time to time
Regards,
Tuan
# Some bugs were found on 4.0.0, so we released 4.0.1 to fix it. See
joomdonation.com/forum/events-booking-ch...-4-0-1-released.html
for change logs.
# Version 4.0.2 with some small bugs and improvements released
joomdonation.com/forum/events-booking-ch...-4-0-2-releases.html
