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vBulletin Connect 5.5.0 is now available to customers. |
vBulletin 5.5.0 Changes and Updates
We're proud to begin the new year with a new version of vBulletin. These changes will apply to both vBulletin Connect and vBulletin Cloud unless otherwise noted.
Typography Changes
We have made several changes to how Typography or Fonts work within vBulletin to resolve several different issues that continually occur over time. These issues include display issues with scaling, the ability to support relative font sizes, and inheritance of font sizes. In order to resolve these issues, we've added two new style variables, changed the body_font style variable and reconfigured how fonts work in our default styles.
As part of this change, we have converted the CSS in vBulletin to use REM units instead of pixel units. REM stands for Root EM. It is a relative unit of measurement and relies on the end-user's browser to make the final determination of font size. REM is Relative to the size of the root element. The root element in vBulletin is the <body> tag. For backwards compatibility we have set this to a value of 10 pixels (62.5% of a browser's default 16 pixel font) so that it equals 10 pixels in most desktop browsers. This allows us to create different font sizes using modifiers to enlarge or shrink based on this starting point. Within the default vBulletin styles 1 REM equals 10 pixels, so 1.3 REM equals 13 pixels.
Why Use REM?
The primary reason is the ease of use when you don't know what type of device is being used to view vBulletin. The software has to work on everything from 4 inch mobile phones to 27 inch monitors. Someone may even use it on their 60 inch television. In addition to this, each browser and operating system can adjust the font size. Most Web Browsers use a 16 pixel font as their baseline. If we set vBulletin to use 1 REM as its baseline, then it will use the same 16 pixel font. If someone changes their baseline font to 24 pixels, vBulletin will automatically adjust when using REMs. It will not if we use pixels. To accommodate multiple display devices and baseline fonts, REM was the best choice.
Other Questions
How does this affect my current style?
It shouldn't change the values on your current style. However, as is the case with all customizations, we suggest you test the changes before going live.
What if I want to continue using pixels?
You still can. Style Variables still support this unit for fonts.
Style Variable Changes
A new style variable group was created for the base font variables. It is called "Global." You can find this at the top of the Style Variable Editor.
root_font_size: This new style variable allows you to set the base font size for the entire site. When using REM units, all other fonts are relative to this value. The default value of 62.5% sets the root font size to roughly 10 pixels when using the default font size set by your Browser.
global_text_font: This style variable is thenew name for the body_font style variable. All content text inherits from this style variable. The default value for this is 1.3 REM. This restores the 13 pixel font size used previously in our themes.
global_header_font: A new style variable used by headers throughout a vBulletin Site. This will allow you to easily use a different Header font in custom styles. The default size is 1.6 REM. This sets a base size of 16 pixels for headers.
For more information:
VBV-18879
VBV-18844
VBV-18867
Style Variable Editor
The Style Variable Editor has been improved with proper phrasing. Each Style Variable should have a proper title and description. The Style Variable Groups have also had their text converted to phrases. These changes will allow for translation and provide more inline help to Administrators.
For more information: VBV-18866 and VBV-7255
Memory Usage
We've refactored how large topics are retrieved from the database. This has allowed us to significantly reduce memory requirements to show large topics. In our testing a 650,000 post topic had its memory requirement reduced from 540 Megabytes to about 70 Megabytes. We will continue to look for further performance enhancements in the software.
For more information: VBV-17204
Other Issues
Resolved an issue with Search that would prevent the proper display of results. VBV-17272
Updated the order and grouping of the AdminCP Navigation. This is to improve the user experience. VBV-18921
Cleaned up the Template Editor in the AdminCP to improve the user experience. VBV-18968
The Database Repair/Optimize tools have been removed from the AdminCP. VBV-18460
You can view all issues here: 5.5.0 Roadmap
System Requirements
Minimum System Requirements
PHP Version: 7.1.0
MySQL Version: 5.5.8
MariaDB Version: 5.5.8
Recommended System Requirements
PHP Version: 7.2 or higher
MySQL Version: 8.0 or higher
MariaDB Version: 10.2+
For more information see vBulletin Connect System Requirements.
More Information
Installation Instructions
Upgrade Instructions
Current Version Support Schedule
Active Version - 5.4.5
Security Patch - 5.4.4
Security Patch - 5.4.3
No Patch Release - 5.4.2 or earlier.
Discussion
If you have any questions about these changes you may discuss them on the primary forums.
If you find an issue with the software or wish to place a feature request please visit our tracker.
In order to receive support for your vBulletin Product please visit our community forums.
Read more (locally) ...
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 22:29:39 GMT |
Introducing PHAR |
PHP contains a feature called PHAR, which stands for **PH**p **AR**chive, that allows developers to package entire directories or applications into a single file. PHAR is similar to a ZIP or TAR file but includes executable PHP. This functionality has been added to the vBulletin Package Manager starting with 5.5.0 A2. In this version, we have added a download option to have the `/core/vb/` directory converted into a PHAR file. This saves three megabytes from the total space needed for files and reduces the file count by several hundred files. If you have problems with SFTP timeouts with uploading files to your hosting provider (i.e. GoDaddy) then choosing this option will allow easier uploads to your server during upgrades.
To choose the option, select "More Download Options" when downloading vBulletin 5.5.0 A2 (or higher). From there you can customize your download package and select Use PHAR as one of those options.
Read more (locally) ...
Fri, 21 Dec 2018 21:56:34 GMT |
Introducing vBulletin Mobile 2.0 for Android |
We're proud to announce vBulletin Mobile 2.0 for Android devices. The vBulletin Mobile App for Android has been completely reworked with a new modern interface. In addition to this, several changes have been made to the vBulletin Web API to allow for a smoother user experience overall.
Minimum Android version: 5.0
Infinite Scrolling
When using the Activity Stream, the app will automatically load the next page of activity when you scroll to the bottom. This will allow quicker access to content on your site.
Privacy Support
The app will support the Privacy Options in vBulletin Connect 5.4.3 and higher. This will allow you to comply with a number of different Privacy Laws. When Privacy is configured in your vBulletin AdminCP, the app will adapt and provide the appropriate UI so that users can provide consent.
Updated UI with Material Design
The UI of the Mobile App for Android has been updated to use Google's Material theme design.
Additional Issues ResolvedvB4: App crashes while loading forum's thread list
vB4: App crashes while loading Articles
App crashes when attempting to load Messages page
Registration page shows &quot;Connecting&quot; forever
App crashes when select to list popular Articles
Can't open activity (instance of Article within public_preview) in Activity Stream
Articles images are distorted
Blog: Can not type the first comment
Blog publish status option issues
Support ads in Android 2.0
Support custom logo in Login screen
Blog &amp; Article comments list should show flag option
Article &amp; Blogs: Click on the avatar of a comment crashes the app
Forum Posts, Article &amp; Blog contents should use &quot;text_body&quot; color
Reopen app after a few days crashes it
Broken compose button on Forum list view (Forum home)
vB4: Calendar shouldn't be available in the menu
vB4: Needs to add Photo Albums &amp; Friends
Guest users UX
Disable rotation support
Sign-in with Facebook broken
Tapping icon in the top right of search page crashes app
Articles show wrong author name
Application stops working when tapping a photo in a photo post or an attachment
Cannot play video in video post
Cannot edit blog posts
App crashes resuming from background
Modal loading doesn't complete for post list
Long topic title shouldn't get cut off too early
App stops working when selecting prefix
Special content types don't display until page is reloaded
vB4: Tapping a category crashes app
App crashes tapping on an inbox message
Creating an article requires a category, and then crashes the app when attempting to view the article
vB4: Adding photo to album from device crashes app
vB4: No way to create a new album
Search cannot find thread's replies
App doesn't submit the correct selection from the Spinner View of custom field
Missing FB login dividing line
Keyboard overlaps button Login issue
Touch outside will close Keyboard
Article content doesn't show attached image
Search filter issues
Disable flag Blog/Photo comment in vB4
Nothing happens when tapping link in a link post
Hide Post comment icon for vb4 forum
&quot;Categories&quot; and &quot;Section&quot; selectors are incorrect for article publishing in vB5 app
Enter password for Forum require password
&quot;Publish on&quot; interface is unresponsive for a while
Dates on Activity page are +1 month than the actual date
vB4: Ignore in user profiles fails with api_version_too_high error
vB5 Articles shouldn't have Sections tab
Attached images does not appear when open threads. They only appeae after klicking on the thread text or username.
Inline moderation and poll checkboxes not visible (same color as background)
Tap to refresh the list of in-app notifications
Login background color
No way to distinguish soft deleted and unapproved topics in topic list
Buttons re-appear when scrolling up while moderation is enabled
Wrong phrase displayed on friends page
Read more (locally) ...
Wed, 19 Dec 2018 17:03:50 GMT |
vBulletin 5.5.0 Alpha 2 is now available. |
vBulletin 5.5.0 Alpha 2 Changes and Updates
We're proud to begin the new year with a new version of vBulletin. These changes will apply to both vBulletin Connect and vBulletin Cloud unless otherwise noted. Pre-Release Builds are not recommended for production environments.
Typography Changes
We have made several changes to how Typography or Fonts work within vBulletin to resolve several different issues that continually occur over time. These issues include display issues with scaling, the ability to support relative font sizes, and inheritance of font sizes. In order to resolve these issues, we've added two new style variables, changed the body_font style variable and reconfigured how fonts work in our default styles.
As part of this change, we have converted the CSS in vBulletin to use REM units instead of pixel units. REM stands for Root EM. It is a relative unit of measurement and relies on the end-user's browser to make the final determination of font size. REM is Relative to the size of the root element. The root element in vBulletin is the <body> tag. For backwards compatibility we have set this to a value of 10 pixels (62.5% of a browser's default 16 pixel font) so that it equals 10 pixels in most desktop browsers. This allows us to create different font sizes using modifiers to enlarge or shrink based on this starting point. Within the default vBulletin styles 1 REM equals 10 pixels, so 1.3 REM equals 13 pixels.
Why Use REM?
The primary reason is the ease of use when you don't know what type of device is being used to view vBulletin. The software has to work on everything from 4 inch mobile phones to 27 inch monitors. Someone may even use it on their 60 inch television. In addition to this, each browser and operating system can adjust the font size. Most Web Browsers use a 16 pixel font as their baseline. If we set vBulletin to use 1 REM as its baseline, then it will use the same 16 pixel font. If someone changes their baseline font to 24 pixels, vBulletin will automatically adjust when using REMs. It will not if we use pixels. To accommodate multiple display devices and baseline fonts, REM was the best choice.
Other Questions
How does this affect my current style?
It shouldn't change the values on your current style. However, as is the case with all customizations, we suggest you test the changes before going live.
What if I want to continue using pixels?
You still can. Style Variables still support this unit for fonts.
Style Variable Changes
A new style variable group was created for the base font variables. It is called "Global." You can find this at the top of the Style Variable Editor.
root_font_size: This new style variable allows you to set the base font size for the entire site. When using REM units, all other fonts are relative to this value. The default value of 62.5% sets the root font size to roughly 10 pixels when using the default font size set by your Browser.
global_text_font: This style variable is thenew name for the body_font style variable. All content text inherits from this style variable. The default value for this is 1.3 REM. This restores the 13 pixel font size used previously in our themes.
global_header_font: A new style variable used by headers throughout a vBulletin Site. This will allow you to easily use a different Header font in custom styles. The default size is 1.6 REM. This sets a base size of 16 pixels for headers.
For more information:
VBV-18879
VBV-18844
VBV-18867
Style Variable Editor
The Style Variable Editor has been improved with proper phrasing. Each Style Variable should have a proper title and description. The Style Variable Groups have also had their text converted to phrases. These changes will allow for translation and provide more inline help to Administrators.
For more information: VBV-18866 and VBV-7255
Memory Usage
We've refactored how large topics are retrieved from the database. This has allowed us to significantly reduce memory requirements to show large topics. In our testing a 650,000 post topic had its memory requirement reduced from 540 Megabytes to about 70 Megabytes. We will continue to look for further performance enhancements in the software.
For more information: VBV-17204
Other Issues
Resolved an issue with Search that would prevent the proper display of results. VBV-17272
Updated the order and grouping of the AdminCP Navigation. This is to improve the user experience. VBV-18921
Cleaned up the Template Editor in the AdminCP to improve the user experience. VBV-18968
The Database Repair/Optimize tools have been removed from the AdminCP. VBV-18460
You can view all issues here: 5.5.0 Roadmap
System Requirements
Minimum System Requirements
PHP Version: 7.1.0
MySQL Version: 5.5.8
MariaDB Version: 5.5.8
Recommended System Requirements
PHP Version: 7.2 or higher
MySQL Version: 8.0 or higher
MariaDB Version: 10.2+
For more information see vBulletin Connect System Requirements.
More Information
Installation Instructions
Upgrade Instructions
Current Version Support Schedule
Active Version - 5.4.5
Security Patch - 5.4.4
Security Patch - 5.4.3
No Patch Release - 5.4.2 or earlier.
Discussion
If you have any questions about these changes you may discuss them here: 4404553
If you find an issue with the software or wish to place a feature request please visit our tracker.
In order to receive support for your vBulletin Product please visit our community forums.
Read more (locally) ...
Tue, 18 Dec 2018 19:28:38 GMT |
Introducing vBulletin Mobile 2.0 for Android |
<p>We're proud to announce vBulletin Mobile 2.0 for Android devices. The vBulletin Mobile App for Android has been completely reworked with a new modern interface. In addition to this, several changes have been made to the vBulletin Web API to allow for a smoother user experience overall.</p>
<p>Minimum Android version: 5.0</p>
<h2>Update UI to Material Design</h2>
<p>The UI of the Mobile App for Android has been updated to use Google's Material theme design.</p>
<table>
<tr>
<td>[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"right","data-size":"full","title":"1.jpg","data-attachmentid":4404296}[/ATTACH]</td>
<td>[ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"right","data-size":"full","title":"2.jpg","data-attachmentid":4404297}[/ATTACH]
</td>
<td> [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"center","data-size":"full","title":"3.jpg","data-attachmentid":4404298}[/ATTACH]
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>More screenshots can be seen in the Photo Gallery below.</p>
<h2>Infinite Scrolling</h2>
<p>When using the Activity Stream, the app will automatically load the next page of activity when you scroll to the bottom. This will allow quicker access to content on your site.</p>
<h2>Privacy Support</h2>
<p>The app will support the Privacy Options in vBulletin Connect 5.4.3 and higher. This will allow you to comply with a number of different Privacy Laws.</p>
<h2>Additional Issues Resolved</h2>
<ul>
<li>vB4: App crashes while loading forum's thread list</li>
<li>vB4: App crashes while loading Articles</li>
<li>App crashes when attempting to load Messages page</li>
<li>Registration page shows &quot;Connecting&quot; forever</li>
<li>App crashes when select to list popular Articles</li>
<li>Can't open activity (instance of Article within public_preview) in Activity Stream</li>
<li>Articles images are distorted</li>
<li>Blog: Can not type the first comment</li>
<li>Blog publish status option issues</li>
<li>Support ads in Android 2.0</li>
<li>Support custom logo in Login screen</li>
<li>Blog &amp; Article comments list should show flag option</li>
<li>Article &amp; Blogs: Click on the avatar of a comment crashes the app</li>
<li>Forum Posts, Article &amp; Blog contents should use &quot;text_body&quot; color</li>
<li>Reopen app after a few days crashes it</li>
<li>Broken compose button on Forum list view (Forum home)</li>
<li>vB4: Calendar shouldn't be available in the menu</li>
<li>vB4: Needs to add Photo Albums &amp; Friends</li>
<li>Guest users UX</li>
<li>Disable rotation support</li>
<li>Sign-in with Facebook broken</li>
<li>Tapping icon in the top right of search page crashes app</li>
<li>Articles show wrong author name</li>
<li>Application stops working when tapping a photo in a photo post or an attachment</li>
<li>Cannot play video in video post</li>
<li>Cannot edit blog posts</li>
<li>App crashes resuming from background</li>
<li>Modal loading doesn't complete for post list</li>
<li>Long topic title shouldn't get cut off too early</li>
<li>App stops working when selecting prefix</li>
<li>Special content types don't display until page is reloaded</li>
<li>vB4: Tapping a category crashes app</li>
<li>App crashes tapping on an inbox message</li>
<li>Creating an article requires a category, and then crashes the app when attempting to view the article</li>
<li>vB4: Adding photo to album from device crashes app</li>
<li>vB4: No way to create a new album</li>
<li>Search cannot find thread's replies</li>
<li>App doesn't submit the correct selection from the Spinner View of custom field</li>
<li>Missing FB login dividing line</li>
<li>Keyboard overlaps button Login issue</li>
<li>Touch outside will close Keyboard</li>
<li>Article content doesn't show attached image</li>
<li>Search filter issues</li>
<li>Disable flag Blog/Photo comment in vB4</li>
<li>Nothing happens when tapping link in a link post</li>
<li>Hide Post comment icon for vb4 forum</li>
<li>&quot;Categories&quot; and &quot;Section&quot; selectors are incorrect for article publishing in vB5 app</li>
<li>Enter password for Forum require password</li>
<li>&quot;Publish on&quot; interface is unresponsive for a while</li>
<li>Dates on Activity page are +1 month than the actual date</li>
<li>vB4: Ignore in user profiles fails with api_version_too_high error</li>
<li>vB5 Articles shouldn't have Sections tab</li>
<li>Attached images does not appear when open threads. They only appeae after klicking on the thread text or username.</li>
<li>Inline moderation and poll checkboxes not visible (same color as background)</li>
<li>Tap to refresh the list of in-app notifications</li>
<li>Login background color</li>
<li>No way to distinguish soft deleted and unapproved topics in topic list</li>
<li>Buttons re-appear when scrolling up while moderation is enabled</li>
<li>Wrong phrase displayed on friends page</li>
</ul>
Read more (locally) ...
Thu, 13 Dec 2018 16:39:48 GMT |
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