Here is some documentation and notes about the recent forum update (Oct 2023).

  • Added - There are now two themes, default light, and dark mode. We may make additional themes based on requests/comments.
  • Improved - Full mobile support - all pages are fully responsive, and adapt to any device and screen size.
  • Done - Cleanup and optimization of all HTML, CSS, and PHP code
  • Done - Template engine and all libraries and assets used by the software are updated to the latest versions.
  • Done - PHPMailer updated to latest version. Forum uses the latest email standards and best practices for registration and notification emails.
  • Done - Pages validate as error free HTML5 pages with CSS3
  • Improved - Site is faster and more secure.
  • Added - PG Music Account link ('User Product Portal') at the top of the page (main site header) which can be used to access the "My Products" page directly from the forums. This is labelled 'User Product Portal' in the drop-down menu heading and tooltip so it isn't confused with the forum account login.
  • Added - If Right column is turned on (default), it can be toggled using the || "grip" button at the top right of the navigation bar.
  • Note - Right column is hidden by default on small screens, but can still be toggled.
  • Added - "Go to" button at the top of the each forum which allows you to jump to any other forum, the parent forum, or main forum list.
  • Added - Previous and Next Thread buttons at the bottom and top of the Thread page.
  • Fixed - Forum posts and other pages that are no longer in the database (e.g. deleted) properly return a 404 status, important for web crawlers, indexing, and more.
  • Added - On the Latest Posts/Threads pages, Expand button let's you read the entire post without leaving the page.
  • Added - Jump to New Posts buttons in Latest Threads list
  • Improved - New User registration is improved, with front-end validation and clearer instructions.
  • Added - Both visual and Audio captcha via Google reCaptcha on the registration page.
  • Done - Modernize login page and forgot password requests.
  • Added - Password visibility toggles on Login and Edit profile forms.
  • Note - Watch lists are now called Follow Lists. Buddies are now called Friends.
  • Improved - By default, any new post you make will be added to your follow list. In addition, 'Email notification for anything added to Follow List' defaults to 'Yes'. This means, for example, that by default you will receive an email notification if someone replies to your post.
  • Improved - Follow List Editor (Forums, Threads, Users) now have "Select All" and "Unselect All" buttons for easier management.
  • Improved - Followed/Unfollowed threads and forums are now represented with an icon that makes viewing and togging their status easier.
  • Added - YouTube URLs are now automatically inlined without the need to wrap them in BBCode.
  • Added - Videos you add to your post are responsive to the screen width, and there are three different video sizes you can select from in the media tag drop-down of the text editor.
  • Note - 'My Stuff' menu is replaced with a more standard 'User Menu', which is accessed by clicking your Display name at the top-right of the menu bar. This drop-down menu has all of the items such as preferences and profile settings that were previously under My Stuff.
  • Changed - Notify Moderator ("Report Post") option is now a flag symbol at the top of the post. E.G. to notify a moderator about spam.
  • Added - There is an indicator if moderator has already been notified about a post - red flag + tooltip.
  • Added - There is a separate button that you can use to notify a moderator, or make a request regarding your OWN post (e.g. if you want to edit the content of an old post or change a link to your posted song). This is the 'bell' icon.
  • Added - Language indicator in the forum header area, links you to the language selection in Preferences
  • Added - Updated and complete localization for 12 languages (in progress)
  • Added - Share button at the top of each forum post with 'Copy Post URL to clipboard' and 'Email Post' functions.
  • Changed - 50 Search results are now displayed per page instead of 25
  • Added - Image viewer for attached images. This allows you to view the image that the user attached in a full-screen viewer, with options to magnify and rotate the image, download it, double-click to view full size, touch and swipe navigation to view multiple images (if there are more than one)
  • Added - Attachment manager for a new post or reply allows you to drag and drop images, and preview them in a viewer.
  • Note - Attached files can optionally be inlined, so that they appear within the body of the post. In the attachment manager, click on the image to inline it. Otherwise, the images appear as thumbnails grouped at the bottom of the post, which are viewed in the image viewer. Captions are supported; Type in your caption prior to selecting or dropping the file.
  • Note - Attachment manager will process images to size or compress them appropriately for display.
  • Improved - Inline images are responsive to different screen sizes. Lage images are displayed at full width (while still fitting within the post width and not messing up the thread layout.
  • Added - 'Mark all posts as read' function (under the User display name menu). TODO add forum/category selection.
  • Note - Threads are consistently referred to as 'threads' vs. 'topics'
  • Done - Profile Settings and Preferences pages clean-up.
  • Done - Security patches
  • Improved - Login page now returns the user back to the page they were previously viewing just before logging in.
  • Added - Posts will now display an "OP" next to the name of the "Original Poster."
  • Added - New Posts will display a "NEW" indicator in the post subject/details bar.
  • Added - Default avatars will be displayed for users who do not have a profile avatar set.
  • Done - Updated member profile page
  • Done - Send Private Message page has been cleaned up and made more user friendly.
  • Done - Follow/UnFollow toggle icons for users, topics, forums have been updated and are now consistent across the software.
  • Improved - Post editor has been updated, improved for mobile. Preview post scrolls to preview automatically, inline ubb code
  • Improved - Updated Member Profile page.
  • Improved - You can use your email address to log in. Previously you could only use your login name.
  • Added - Forum now supports emoji characters (full unicode support, utf8mb4). 😀
  • Changed - Forum now uses Timezones rather than offset from server, to display timestamps. This takes into account Daylight Savings time and so on.
  • Changed - Forum guest user (i.e. not logged in) will see timestamps of posts relative to the current time if within 48 hours, such as "5 minutes ago"
  • Note - Guest user time defaults to Pacific Time (America/Vancouver timezone)
  • Note - Relative times / Pacific Time are the default for new users.
  • Improved - Icons in the Post List to show if the thread has new posts and if you have posts in the thread, are larger and easier to see.

Last edited by Andrew - PG Music; 10/27/23 09:00 AM.
Andrew
PG Music Inc.