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Category: News

Published: 18 October 2023

Last Updated: 18 October 2023

Hits: 5870

🎉 Joomla 5.0 is released and it's awesome!! 🥳

Joomla 5.0 and Joomla 4.4: A New Era Begins

Secure, Accessible, Fast, Extendable - Unleash the Power of Joomla 5.0!

Today is a momentous day for the Joomla! Project and its global community. After two years of dedicated work, discussions, code sprints, and relentless bug squashing, we're thrilled by the release of Joomla 5.0, a major milestone in Joomla's history, alongside Joomla 4.4.

Joomla 5.0: An Upgrade, No More Migrations

Joomla 5.0 brings a wealth of new features, security enhancements, and a remarkable boost in performance. Under the hood, every aspect has been meticulously redesigned and optimized, harnessing the latest server technologies. It's a platform designed to grow with you, whether you're an individual blogger, a nonprofit organization, a web agency, a multinational corporation, or working for a government.

Transitioning from Joomla 4.4.x to Joomla 5.x is now a straightforward upgrade, akin to any minor version upgrade, eliminating the need for complex migrations.

Discover Joomla 5.0's Key Highlights

• Improved User Experience: Guided Tours have been massively improved and many new Joomla tours have been added to Joomla 5.0. Joomla 5.0 also introduces a dark mode for administrators and the new Joomla modal window for select buttons, as well as many small improvements, promising a more refined experience.
• Boosted website speed: Joomla 5.0 includes enhancements in web asset caching, automatic source code optimization with phpcs, and cleaner code base, resulting in a remarkably faster, smoother, and more efficient platform. Several scheduled tasks have been moved to scheduler plugins, for optimal performance.
• Enhanced search engine optimization (SEO): Automatic activation of Schema.org data for organization and site names brings Joomla to new SEO heights, out of the box.
• The latest HTML editor: The new TinyMCE editor version 6.7 offers many refinements, in particular additional images alignments.
• Media Management: AVIF support in the media manager and the ability to exclude archived content from smart search indexing improve media handling capabilities.
• Menu Sorting: Joomla 5.0 empowers you to sort your menu the way you want.
• Modern Technologies: Internal code restructuring and cleanliness focuses on using modern APIs, transitioning from older APIs, removing obsolete ES5 support for efficient operation and includes added JS Import map support for Web Asset Manager. Every library has been updated to latest standards.
• PHP & Bootstrap Updates: Improved compatibility with PHP 8+ with a minimum set at PHP 8.1 and MySQL 8.0.13/MariaDB 10.4, and an update to Bootstrap 5.3.2 keep Joomla contemporary.
• Enhanced Security: Security improvements include migrating events to their classes and removing obsolete Recaptcha plugins.
• Extensions Compatibility: Most modern Joomla 3.10 and 4 extensions should run just fine in Joomla 5.0, with the introduction of a core Compatiblity plugin, moving legacy code support into a single place for added performance and easy native compatibility tests.

Find out how Joomla 5.0 can benefit you by exploring the full details on joomla.org/5.

Upgrade to Joomla 5.0

Good news for Joomla 4.4.x users - it's an upgrade, not a migration. Joomla 4 extensions that have kept pace with Joomla's latest code will work seamlessly in Joomla 5. Most others can function with the new Behavior - Backward Compatibility Plugin enabled.

Joomla recommends to upgrade a copy of your site and check it out first. You may probably want to update or restyle your Joomla template just after the upgrade.

Full upgrade details can be found in the Joomla documentation. We too recommend strongly testing the upgrade on a copy of your production site first.

Why Rush? Joomla 4.4 Supported for 2 More Years

No need to rush; Joomla 4.4 will be supported for two more years, ensuring your site's security. Many extensions have already prepared Joomla 5 versions, making the transition smooth and painless.

Why Not Rush? Boost your site speed, SEO and user experience!

However, you should definitely consider upgrading to Joomla 4.4 now and make plans for the imminent transition to Joomla 5.0. This proactive step will not only enhance your site's visibility on search engines and improve its ranking but also elevate your users' experience through enhanced usability and speed. Additionally, reducing the consumption of server resources for page rendering is not only beneficial for your users, but also contributes positively to the environment and the climate.

What About Joomla 4.4?

Joomla 4.4 focuses on providing a very smooth upgrade path, by not introducing new features, except the upgrade tester. It is thus a safe and mandatory step in your upgrade to Joomla 5.0.

Behind the curtains, Joomla 4.4's automated build tests have been massively extended, going from only 17 automated application tests to over 400, with thousands of simulated clicks and tested replies. Same is being added to Joomla 5.0. This will bring Joomla's already legendary stability to unseen levels. This allows smooth upgrades in full confidence. This an additional reason why we can already recommend upgrades from Joomla 4.3.4 to 4.4.0.

What About Community Builder?

Community Builder and all add-on nightly releases have been adapted to run on Joomla 5.0 natively (this means that it runs also with the Joomla Compatibility Plugin disabled). New "stable" releases for CB and all add-ons will be released next week.

CB will now be checking for installed PHP and MySQL/MariaDB versions, and display an information banner if your server runs below PHP 8.1 or MySQL 8.0.13/MariaDB 10.4 versions required for Joomla 5. We plan to increase our minimum PHP and database versions requirements in the future, to align with Joomla's latest ones. Sites also load faster with latest PHP versions, so it's anyway recommended to use latest PHP versions.

Renew Your CB Membership and Access Joomla 5-Upgraded Add-Ons

To fully enjoy the benefits of Joomla 5.0 and its compatible add-ons, renew your Joomlapolis membership today. Get access to the latest add-on nightlies and support our work.

Beyond Joomla 5.0: A Bright Future Awaits

In the making for over two years, Joomla 5.0 has been crafted by hundreds of developers who are also daily Joomla users. It reflects the practical needs of Joomla users, incorporating modernizations and improvements. And the journey doesn't end here - Joomla 5.1 is already in the works and will be released in just six months, promising even more exciting features.

Join Us on This Exciting Journey

Joomla is thriving, expanding, and progressing. Developed with precision, it garners appreciation from governments, NGOs, small and large companies globally, and enjoys the trust of millions of websites, playing a pivotal role in powering approximately 2% of all websites on the Internet. Joomla 5.0, a significant and easy to use release with many well-crafted Guided Tours, is set to boost Joomla's appeal for new websites.

Community Builder and all its add-ons are now primed for Joomla 5.0, and we cordially invite you to embark on this exciting journey with us.

• Read the complete Joomla 5.0 announcement on Joomla.org.
• Renew your membership today to access the latest add-on nightlies and support our work.
• Read Kyle's blog about our adaptation work for Joomla 5.
• Ugrade your website to Joomla 4.4 and your extensions to their latest versions. Ensure all your extensions are compatible with Joomla 4 and 5.
• Make a copy of your website, then upgrade the copy to Joomla 5 following the Joomla upgrade documentation carefully. Document each step meticulously.
• If all looks good, safeguard your main website with a backup, and replicate the same steps on your main site.

Stay tuned for next week's article on Community Builder's release, as we continue to support and empower your Joomla experience.

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Category: News

Published: 05 October 2023

Last Updated: 05 October 2023

Hits: 2400

🎉 Your Ultimate Social Experience is Getting Better and Better! 🥳

We're excited to announce the next milestone in the CB Activity 6.0 journey—Beta 2 is already here, and it's loaded with new features and enhancements that will elevate your community experience:

1. Customize Activity Posts Like Never Before

With Beta 2, you can now require specific elements for activity posts. Whether it's adding a location, tagging a user, or uploading media, you have full control. Tailor your community's posts to meet your unique needs.

2. CB GroupJive and CB Gallery Support

We've introduced native support for CB GroupJive and CB Gallery. Enjoy activity streams, likes, and follows for your CB GroupJive groups. Plus, comments and likes for CB Gallery are now supported natively.

3. SEO-Friendly URLs for Enhanced Visibility

Boost your community's visibility with SEO-friendly URLs for activity posts, activity embeds, comment posts, and notification URLs. Customize them to match your Joomla menu alias and drive engagement.

4. Performance Boosts and Fixes

We've fine-tuned the performance with internal API adjustments and responsive improvements. We've also polished some CSS styling to ensure a smoother user experience.

Remarkably, Beta 2 is here just 8 days after Beta 1, showcasing our commitment to rapid development and your invaluable feedback. Beta 3 may take a bit longer to arrive as we prepare for the exciting Joomla 5 release, scheduled around October 17th. More on this soon!

For in-depth details, explore Kyle's blog post and the sneak peek forum post.

Join us in shaping the future of CB Activity. Your feedback is invaluable, and we're excited to make this release even better.

Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you for being a vital part of our community.

Explore Beta 2 Now!

How to Get CB Activity 6.0 Beta 2

To access CB Activity 6.0 Beta 2 and be among the first to experience these incredible features, you'll need a Professional or Developer membership, one of the benefits of our memberships. Please note that direct upgrades from CB Activity 5.0 to 6.0 Beta 2 are currently unavailable. CB Activity 6.0 Beta 2 requires CB 2.8.2, and CB 2.8.2 performs compatibility checks. Upgrades will be possible when CB Activity 6.0 reaches RC1, implementing CB Activity 5.0 migration code for existing CB Activity 5.0 sites.

Get Involved, Support the Community

Help shape the future of Community Builder and CB Activity by becoming a Professional or Developer member. Your support enables us to continue developing these amazing tools that enhance your online community experience. To get started and access CB Activity 6.0 Beta 2, join us today!

Calling for Early Feedback

We're thrilled to receive early feedback from our dedicated community members. Your insights and suggestions play a vital role in shaping the future of CB Activity. Join us in celebrating the release of CB Activity 6.0 Beta 2, and discover a world of possibilities for your online community.

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Category: News

Published: 25 September 2023

Last Updated: 26 September 2023

Hits: 2055

🎉 Your Ultimate Social Experience is About to Get Even Better! 🥳

We are thrilled to announce the release of CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1 and Community Builder 2.8.2, a monumental update that promises to redefine your social networking experience.

CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1: A Sneak Peek into the Future

The highly-anticipated CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1 is here, and it's packed with a staggering 110 new features, stunning redesigns, and unmatched functionality. While this is a beta release, it's a tantalizing glimpse into the future of CB Activity.

What's New in CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1?

This release introduces a first set of main highlights, including

Redesigned Look and Feel: The new post window has undergone a makeover, with larger buttons and a mobile-friendly design.

Reactions: Express yourself using Tenor or Giphy reactions, complete with search, favorites, and recently used options.

Emoji Overhaul: The emoji selector has been completely redesigned, featuring native emoji, categorization, multiple emoji colors, and a convenient recently used emoji bar.

Introducing Stickers: Stickers are a brand-new addition, replacing the old emote system. Customize them with CSS, image files, videos, and HTML. You can even control access to reward subscribers with unique stickers.

Themes: Themes now come with improved previews and full customization options, including custom CSS classes and access controls.

Actions/Moods: Say goodbye to the old dropdown select. Enjoy an accessible and keyboard-navigable action selection with autocomplete options for each action.

Locations Made Easy: Users can now effortlessly select locations using maps from OSM or Google Maps. No more manual input.

Automated Links: Forget the link button; links are now automated. Simply add a link to your post, and it will be processed automatically, complete with image and media previews.

Rich Text Editing: The text editor has been upgraded to a rich editor that can convert supported usages into HTML. Enjoy live previews of reactions, emoji, and stickers, as well as autocomplete for @mentions and #hashtags.

Enhanced Sharing with Privacy: Easily share activity posts with various external services while keeping your privacy intact, thanks to our cookie-free approach.

Robust Filtering: Streams now offer advanced filtering options, including pre-defined filters and various search criteria.

Like Types: Likes now have meaning, with a type count and filtering options in the updated likes window.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg! This impressive list is just the beginning! CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1 is brimming with new functionality, making it the ultimate social stream experience. Stay tuned for additional highlights with upcoming betas

Explore Kyle's blog post for even deeper insights into CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1.

For more details on the journey from 5.0.0 to 6.0.0, check out this forum post.

For a complete list of changes in CB Activity 6.0, including 110 new features, explore our CB Activity change log.

And for CB 2.8.2, the 2 compatibility changes are in this CB change log.

How to Get CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1

To access CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1 and be among the first to experience these incredible features, you'll need a Professional or Developer membership, one of the benefits of our memberships. Please note that direct upgrades from CB Activity 5.0 to 6.0 Beta 1 are currently unavailable. CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1 requires CB 2.8.2, and CB 2.8.2 performs compatibility checks. Upgrades will be possible when CB Activity 6.0 reaches RC1, implementing CB Activity 5.0 migration code for existing CB Activity 5.0 sites.

Get Involved, Support the Community

Help shape the future of Community Builder and CB Activity by becoming a Professional or Developer member. Your support enables us to continue developing these amazing tools that enhance your online community experience. To get started and access CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1, join us today!

Calling for Early Feedback

We're thrilled to receive early feedback from our dedicated community members. Your insights and suggestions play a vital role in shaping the future of CB Activity. Join us in celebrating the release of CB Activity 6.0 Beta 1 and CB 2.8.2, and discover a world of possibilities for your online community.

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Category: News

Published: 20 September 2023

Last Updated: 21 September 2023

Hits: 2768

🎉 Celebrate with Us: Community Builder's 19th Birthday and Joomla!s 18th Anniversary! 🥳

 The time has come to break out the virtual party hats and pop some confetti cannons because we've got not one but two fantastic reasons to celebrate! Community Builder is turning 19, and Joomla is hitting the big 18. 🎉

🌟 Remembering Our Roots: A Walk Down Memory Lane with Community Builder

It all started on August 30, 2004, when Community Builder (CB) made its debut with version 1.0.0 beta 1 (even the Internet Archive has catched it immediately in 2004!). It was like welcoming a new friend who would transform our Mambo and Joomla websites into bustling social hubs. CB began with the basics—user profiles and community building—and oh boy, what a journey it's been!

From avatars and messaging to enhanced privacy controls and customization galore, CB evolved with each release. It introduced features like the Activity Stream, advanced userlists, and many add-ons like CBSubs for subscription management. Millions of downloads later, CB is the go-to choice for building thriving online communities!

💡 Enriching Community Builder: Explore Our CB Add-Ons

As we celebrate Community Builder's remarkable journey, we'd like to shine a spotlight on the incredible contributions of our supportive members. With a Professional or Developer membership, you gain access to a treasure trove of CB add-ons that have been meticulously crafted over the years, enhancing the capabilities of Community Builder.

Our collection includes a range of powerful extensions, each designed to elevate your community-building experience. These add-ons make Community Builder even more flexible and tailorable to a broad range of uses, ranging from clubs to corporate websites and large governmental organizations.

For instance, CB Paid Subscriptions (CBSubs) revolutionizes subscription management, making it a breeze to handle memberships and subscriptions. With CB Activity, you can create dynamic and engaging activity streams that keep your community members informed and connected like never before. And CB GroupJive empowers you and your users to create and manage user groups, effectively turning them into mini-communities. It also enables you or your group administrators to organize events, send invitations, and allows their mini-communities members to share photos, videos, files. It also seamlessly integrates with forums. As last but not least example, extensive privacy can be handled through CB Privacy add-on. All these extensions have also been made available as a pre-configured CB Quickstart installer.

🌟 Active Engagement: Our Thriving Forums

What's more, our thriving forum serves as a vibrant hub where the community actively participates in discussions, asks questions, and provides invaluable feedback and suggestions. It's this active engagement that guides us in continuously improving CB and its add-ons, ensuring they meet your evolving needs.

🚀 The Future Beckons: Get Ready for CB Activity 6.0 and CB 3.0!

While we're reminiscing about the past, let's also talk about the future! Get ready for a soon release of a major completely rewritten CB Activity 6.0 add-on, which is in the making since over a year. And Community Builder 3.0 should be coming your way next year! Maybe even around the 20th birthday of Community Builder ? This won't be just a release; it will be a community engagement revolution. We've listened to your feedback and will be rolling out a treasure trove of features that will dazzle Joomla website administrators and community managers alike.

🤪 The Funny Fact: CB 2.8.1—Released Exactly on CB's 19th Birthday!

Here's a quirky little tidbit to keep the party vibes going: CB 2.8.1 was just released, and guess what? We just realized that it landed precisely on the 19th anniversary of CB's first public release. Talk about perfect timing! Check it out here!

🎂 Joomla's 18th Birthday: A Dynamic Duo of Excellence

We can't party without giving a shout-out to Joomla, which turned 18 also in August! Joomla has been our partner in life, helping us create vibrant online communities and websites that defy the ordinary. Together, we've championed the cause of open-source software, and the web is all the better for it.

💪 The Power Duo: Community Builder + Joomla

Now, let's talk about the dynamic duo—Community Builder and Joomla. When these two join forces, magic happens! The combo brings you a world of possibilities with:

• Easy Community Building: Seamlessly integrate CB into your Joomla site to create user-centric communities, whether you're a school, a multinational corporation, or an NBA team.
• Cutting-Edge Innovation: The power of open-source collaboration means you're always at the forefront of innovation. Expect features that cater to your evolving needs. Use our powerful CB Auto-Actions and Joomla 4 Workflows to bring powerful automation to your website and beyond!
• Tailored Experiences: With CB's customization options and Joomla's flexibility, and thousands of third-party Joomla open-source extensions and templates you can tailor your community website to perfection. This flexibilty without coding is truly unique in the web industry.

🌟 Conclusion: Time to Celebrate and Get a Gift!

Alrighty then, grab your favorite beverage, get those virtual confetti cannons ready, and let's have a blast celebrating these fantastic milestones. As we raise our glasses to Community Builder's 19th birthday and Joomla's 18th anniversary, let's remember all the good times and exciting moments that have brought us here.

But guess what? We've got something special just for you! To make this party even more fun, we're offering a birthday present—a cool birthday discount with an exclusive birthday coupon code CB-19-YEARS, that will give you 25% off all our memberships for new subscriptions and renewals during next 48 hours! It's our way of saying thanks for being a part of our Community Builder family.

So, keep an eye out for CB Activity 6.0 and Community Builder 3.0 — it's going to be a hoot, and together, we'll keep building awesome, user-friendly communities that go above and beyond.

Here's to many more years of good vibes, great conversations, and incredible open-source adventures!

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Category: News

Published: 30 August 2023

Last Updated: 30 August 2023

Hits: 3291

Community Builder 2.8.1 can be freely downloaded by all registered members

At Joomlapolis, we are proud to announce the new maintenance-release Community Builder 2.8.1, refining the functionality of CB 2.8 for online communities, with 10 new features to amplify user experiences and 21 issues fixed, some of which are significant improvements, especially for Joomla 4 sites.

With a vibrant user base and an unwavering commitment to open-source principles, Joomlapolis continues to empower hundreds of thousands community managers and dozens of millions users alike.

CB 2.8.1 is compatible with Joomla 4 (currently at 4.3.4) and Joomla 3.10* (currently at 3.10.12), as well as with all our latest CB add-ons.

Striving for Continuous Improvement, One Detail at a Time

While these may not be big changes, the small improvements in Community Builder 2.8.1 will make a noticeable difference. New features introduced by CB 2.8.1 include:

• Even More Flexible Profile Layouts: Enhancements in placeholder substitutions provide site administrators with a greater level of control over profile layouts. This subtle customization option adds new possibilities to user profiles.

• Fine-Tuned Joomla System Fields: We introduce publishing statuses control for Joomla system fields, reducing clutter on user profile edits by allowing the hiding of unneeded system information and settings.

• Embracing Enhanced Security: The inclusion of the W3C Web authentication plugin reflects our steadfast commitment to safeguarding user data and privacy.

• Database Collation Checks: A pragmatic tool for assessing database collations ensures a smoother and faster user experience by maintaining database integrity, now also on character-set collations for CB tables and columns.

• Dual CB Date Display: By imbuing CB date fields with dual functionality—displaying both age and birth dates—we foster deeper connections among users while displaying accurate dates if needed.

• Refined Aesthetics: While seemingly subtle, the optimization of CSS styles on specific CB pages contributes to a more harmonious and precise visual experience.

Improving Stability and Future-proofing

Beyond these improvements, Community Builder 2.8.1 diligently includes 21 pertinent bug fixes, the most important being:

• Form Token Enhancement: We bid adieu to form timeouts with the inclusion of missing keep-alive form tokens rectifying the issue of timeouts in forms, and allowing for uninterrupted user engagement when users get … interrupted for a long time while filling in a form.

• Enhanced Joomla 4 Compatibility: We ensure Joomla 4 compatibility remains seamless by also saving Joomla user parameters on CB profile edits.

• Multi-Language Compatibility: Multi-language sites within Joomla 4 receive the attention they deserve, as we resolve a Joomla 4 compatibility issue to foster inclusivity.

• PHP 8.2 Support: By fxiing PHP 8.2 deprecation notices, we guarantee sustained performance on modern server environments and future-proofing for next PHP 8.3.

• Smoother User Importing: We enhanced user management through improved user importing, streamlining data formatting and error detection during user imports.

A Gentle Push Toward Progress, Stability and Security

For Joomla 4 and Joomla 3.10* sites, Community Builder 2.8.1 is a highly recommended upgrade. The cumulative refinements and fixes reflect our commitment to enhancing the backbone of millions of online communities.

We're proud to note that the features introduced in CB 2.8.1 were carefully rolled out to our community one by one through our famous nightly releases. This meticulous approach ensures that these features are now stable and well-tested in real-world scenarios. Your upgrade should thus be seamless, benefiting from the proven reliability of Community Builder in the field (standard disclaimer: better be safe than sorry: As usual, regular backups are always highly recommended!).

For a comprehensive overview of the changes introduced in Community Builder 2.8.1, please refer to the complete changelog. If you are upgrading from an older CB release before CB 2.8, you may also benefit from reading the CB 2.8 announcement.

* By the way, if you are still on Joomla 3, we strongly encourage you to consider upgrading to Joomla 4 at your earliest convenience.

Empowering Communities Together

This maintenance release underscores our unceasing mission to offer a platform that enhances the very core of community interaction. By opting for a Membership and/or making a modest Donation, you play an integral role in the advancement of Community Builder and in the collective evolution of Free, open, and thriving online community spaces.

Shape Your Space, Embrace Evolution - Explore Community Builder 2.8.1 along with all our CB Add-ons Today on our CB Demo Site.