Well, WP-Members version 2.6 has been released into production. While it should update well, users upgrading from previous versions are advised to test it first in a non-production environment. Here is a list of some of the major updates:
Shortcode Improvements
A major behind the scenes change in 2.6 involved a major rewrite to several core functions. This will improve the way the plugin handles shortcodes, both its own and those that might appear in excerpts. Also, a new shortcode has been added to show different content on the special members area/settings and registration pages based on login status. Documentation of this will be included in the revised Users Guide.
Loading a stylesheet with enqueue_style
Another important feature that is behind the scenes applies to those users that are a little more programmatically inclined. The front-end stylesheet for the plugin’s styles has been updated to load via the WP function enqueue_style. No need to add a custom style sheet via the admin panel if you want to just programmatically add your own via functions.php.
Add/Delete registration fields and change field order
An important feature in this release is the ability to create/delete new registration fields from within the plugin’s admin panel. You are also able to update the field order via a drag-and-drop interface. All of this is very new, so I will be improving the add/delete and drag-and-drop interfaces over time.
In order to add or delete a field, you will need to check the add/delete checkbox in the table and click the “Update Fields” button. Note: you will not be able to delete any fields in the list that are native WordPress fields. However, as before, any fields that are not checked to display will not be used in the registration form.
Other updates
Other updates included various code improvements.
- elimination of unused globals
- updated certain functions to use more up-to-date native WP functions.
- core now checks to see if the action variable ‘a’ is set before requesting it.
- wpmem_securify scans for ‘more’ tag so that it will not truncate if the word “more” exists in the excerpt.
- updated email validation/error message to registration process to use is_email().
There will probably be some ongoing updates to the 2.6 version if any bugs are reported, etc. But the next step is to begin working on the 2.7 project list which will focus on email. I will be adding an admin panel to customize the emails that are sent out by the plugin and I am thinking about integrating an email newsletter module (TBD). As always, if you have feature requests, feel free to let me know. I don’t guarantee that they will be included in any release, but I do consider each request. If enough people request a feature, then it becomes much more likely to be included.
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