Raptor Services

This year has been full-on getting the EZ* components converted to run native on Joomla 1.5x - so much so that I coded my way into bilateral tendonitis of my arms - which then left me virtually unable to do any keyboard work for many months.  Not to be diverted from what had become a bit of an obsession with me, I brought in help to keep the important conversion work going while I had my arms in splints.

The big news is the main EZ* components are now all converted to run on Joomla 1.5x in native mode, so the next milestone release is getting much closer.  Work still to be done for all components includes conversion of their EZ* mapping components and modules, applying any bugfixes and tweaks to features that I've made while the conversion work was being done, and then a full round of live testing.  Once the J1.5x native versions are finished - then I'll be turning my attention to various other systems - SEF URL stuff, updating the JoomFish content element files, updating the CB plugins, updating the templates with some new designs - the list is fairly big.

I'm aiming for an April/May release date, and work is on target so far ;-)

EZ Realty, EZ Autos and EZ Rider have all had security upgrades released this evening, and as with any security release - I highly recommend everyone upgrade their installations.

EZ Realty 5.2.8 - this bug-fix addresses a potential medium-level security risk.

EZ Autos 5.2.5 - this package introduces some minor tweaks to features - particularly new ways to include video files, a couple of bug-fixes affecting the display of transmission data, address-based mapping on the profile page, and the email listings function, as well as addressing a potential medium-level security risk.

EZ Rider 3.1.2 - this bug-fix addresses a potential medium-level security risk.

Customers can access the latest packages via their customer account at http://www.raptorservices.com/customers/ - and customer support is available as always via our dedicated support site at Raptor Support .

I've had some quick email discussions with the jReviews developer who has confirmed that the jReviews 2.0 version introduced changes that affect how the jReviews integration code works on the EZ* components.  As the Christmas/New Year holiday period is almost upon us and many developers will be taking holidays, it'll be early January before the jReviews integration code for the EZ* components is updated to work on the new 2.0x system.  The good news is that the changes to jReviews should allow new integration code to be written that supports reviews of both listings and sellers.

As soon as I have the new integration code available - I'll post it as a tutorial in the forums for those who want to deploy it without upgrading their sites, and I'll also release a round of bugfixes for all EZ* components with the updated integration code.

I've released a round of bug-fix packages for all of the EZ* components this week to address a couple of minor issues as follows:-

• EZ Rider (3.1.1) - fixed a couple of bugs associated with selector lists that were only causing problems for J1.5x users
• EZ Autos (5.2.3) - fixed a small bug affecting the odometer selector list on the front-end add/edit vehicle listing page
• EZ Realty (5.2.7) - fixed a couple of small bugs affecting the admin area profile manager, and a small bug affecting the combination layout entry page search filter if the square feet search option was turned on.

These bug-fixes only affect a couple of files, so if you're up-to-date with your versions - you'll find bug-fix packages are available for download with just the specific files that need changing over.

As usual - you can access the download packages from your customer account at Raptor Services.

In between keeping an eye on my husband Bill during his rehabilitation and writing/releasing the EZ Autos 5.2.0 upgrade which was released a couple of weeks ago - I'm pleased to announce EZ Rider 3.1.0 has now been released as well.

Version 3.1.0 contains a number of new features - including:-

• zip/postcode radius search
• expanded leads manager - now called VIP Buyer's Register - with listing matching, mail out functionality and an unsubscribe function to meet antispam laws
• new lightbox image system to replace the mootools-based slimbox image system
• orphan image/file manager
• autocalculation of decimal coordinates for mapping
• MyPMS and jReviews integration support - so you can plug into personal messaging and listing reviews/ratings
• more choices for your opening EZ Rider page
  

... and more. EZ Rider version 3.1.0 also introduces Joomla 1.5 legacy mode support, and based on testing so far - it's looking stable when run in this environment.  EZ Rider will continue to run on Mambo and Joomla 1.0x and will continue to be supported on these systems too.

I've released the EZ Realty 5.2.1 bugfix version today, and this addresses a couple of issues that have cropped up since the 5.2.0 release.

Changes include a configurable date format for the open house date, fixing some ordering issues on the frontend that affected localities, states and countries, fixed a field name affecting the collection of mailing list data, fixed some file paths affecting Mambo 4.6.4+ users and fixed the language paths in modules that were affecting J1.5+ beta testing.

As always - customers can access downloads from their customer account. 

The first half of 2008 has been spent working on EZ Realty version 5.2.0 - and I'm pleased to announce it has now been released.

Version 5.2.0 contains a lot of long-awaited features - including:-

• triple chained selector lists
• zip/postcode radius search
• keyword search
  
• image watermarking
• expanded leads manager - now called VIP Buyer's Register - with property matching, mail out functionality and an unsubscribe function to meet antispam laws
  
• mail out listing reports
• 24 images with image descriptions
• orphan image/file manager
• expanded profiling system - including RapLeaf and LinkedIn integration, business banner uploads to support "virtual agencies" and promotional PDF uploads - as well as new profiling privileges
• new frontend template layouts
• MyPMS and jReviews integration support - so you can plug into personal messaging and property reviews/ratings
  

... and so much more. EZ Realty version 5.2.0 also introduces Joomla 1.5 legacy mode support - however it is still considered beta if used on Joomla 1.5 - so live production sites should continue to use Mambo or Joomla 1.0x at this stage.

Thanks to some dedicated users - EZ Realty 5.2.0 has been undergoing beta testing right throughout development this year, and this has meant it should be one of the best releases ever - with few unexpected bugs cropping up. 

EZ Realty 5.1.12, EZ Autos 5.1.7 and EZ Rider 3.0.9 have been released today, and these are minor bug-fix upgrades to address the following:-

• Updated the queries that build the list of properties for a category to fix a bug with the category name not being translated
• Modified the front-end mail functions to fix the reply-to email address values
• Added some new error checking to the add/edit listing function on the front-end to tighten up profile assignment with a property listing
• Modified the keyserver.php file to extend the license regeneration cycle from every 15 days to every 30 days
• Removed the software version numbers from the front-end footer to improve visual appearance of the standard licenses
• Updated the software version numbers in the admin side files

As usual - log into your customer account at http://www.raptorservices.com.au/customers/ to download the latest upgrades.

Hot on the heels of the general bugfixes released this week, I've just released the following security bugfixes this evening:-

• EZ Realty 5.1.10
• EZ Autos 5.1.5
• EZ Rider 3.0.6

Not all sites are affected - however everybody is strongly urged to upgrade to these versions as soon as possible.
As always, you can access your upgrade packages via your customer account at http://www.raptorservices.com.au/customers/