Monthly Archives: July 2013

07.30.13
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New capabilities for Email-Users

I am finally getting around to incorporating a patch for Email-Users which adds integration with the User Groups plugin.

The way the patch was written it removed the ability to send to Groups based on standard WordPress Roles and replaced it with Groups defined by the User Groups plugin.  While this is useful for the user who submitted the patch (thank you for doing so), I don’t think it is the right way to do this sort of integration in the general case.

I don’t think eliminating the standard functionality is always a good idea so I am incorporating the patch such that being able to target groups of users through either standard WordPress roles OR via User Groups defined groups is possible.

To that end, I have always considered the way I implemented custom groups and filters sort of half finished.  While they work for sending email, they don’t work for Post and Page notifications which is a limitation.  So I have decided to revamp how I am presenting groups of users for both Email and Notifications.

EU_SS_12

You will be able to mix and match Roles, User Groups (when the plugin is active) and Filters to target the recipients of Email and/or Notifications.  I hope to have a beta release out later today for people to test with.

07.29.13
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WordPress Google Form v0.54 released

This morning I released v0.54 of WordPress Google Form.  It has been a while since I’ve had any bug reports for the current version or the beta version.  Things appear pretty stable.

  • Added internationalization support for jQuery Validation messages.
  • New language support files.
  • New jQuery Validation based custom validation option.
  • Fixed problem with escaped characters ending up in Google spreadsheet.
  • Moved transport control out of debug module and into core code so it can be a permanent setting for some server environments.
  • Fixed PHP warning messages which happen with Logging Enabled when some of the server variables don’t exist.
  • Fixed bug with Form Submission Log setting stickiness.
  • Added an optional CAPTCHA message which will appear below the CAPTCHA input when set.
07.23.13
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I bought a Mac Mini

I bought a Mac Mini off of Craig’s List about a week ago.  I use a Windows machine for work and run VMware WorkStation with a Windows 7 VM for all of my WordPress stuff.  I love VMware, it makes setting up a specific development environment really simple.  So why did I buy a Mac?  Basically because I wanted one.

I had toyed around with a Hackintosh running under VMware about a year ago but it wasn’t very stable.  It would work fine for a while then freeze up.  I was reluctant to really try anything serious on it.  Since I couldn’t justify the cost of a MacBook (Air or Pro), I started watching Craig’s List for deals on a Mac Mini.  I figured with all of the accessories (monitors, mice, keyboards, cables, disk drives, etc.) I already have laying around, it would be the cheapest way to get one.

I picked up a 2010 Mac Mini with 120GB HDD and 4GB of RAM for $220.  Based on the other Mac Minis I saw on Craig’s List, it seemed like a decent deal, I have no idea if it is or not.  The guy I bought it from had used it as a Home Media PC.  When I first booted it up, I noticed he had partitioned the disk into two 60GB partitions.  I have no idea why he did this, maybe there is some benefit and my lack of Mac knowledge is coming through.

Since I want to do some home video editing and iPhoto work with it, I decided 120GB HDD isn’t going to cut it.  I had a 7200 RPM 500GB WD Scorpio Black drive on my desk at work that wasn’t doing anything so I decided to “upgrade” my new Mac Mini.  Yep, less than an hour after buying it, I started taking it apart.  I figured it couldn’t be too hard.  Well, it certainly is harder than upgrading the drive in a laptop!

With lid removed.

With lid removed.

I found a video on YouTube which explained the process pretty well.  I watched it a couple of times and then decided to crack the Mini open.  It took me a little while to get the case open as I didn’t have a paint scraper at work but I did have the razor blade from a box cutter.  It worked pretty well.  It certainly feels like the Mini will break when you open the case but eventually I got it apart.

Got the two halves separated.

Got the two halves separated.

After that it was pretty straight forward.  There are a couple of tricky things to get the SATA cable apart and the drive out but I got it figured out.  Putting it back together went pretty quick too.

Now to see if it still worked.  I would have been pretty upset if I had just broken my new computer but luckily it powered on and everything seemed ok.  Getting the OS installed took me a little while because the disk still had a Windows partition on it.  Once I actually read the messages the MacOS installer was reporting, I got it figured out.

So now I have a “refurbished” 2010 MacMini running Snow Leopard.  I have more than enough disk space to do some photo and video projects.  I am also in the process of moving all of our Audio CDs into iTunes.  My goal is to have the Mini work in conjunction with my Synology DS212j Home NAS and stream movies and music to the rest of the house.  We’ll see if it works out.

07.23.13
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WordPress Google Form v0.54-beta-7 now available

I have just posted what I hope is the final beta release of WordPress Google Form v0.54.  This latest beta release fixes a couple of minor issues, notably the lack of stickiness on the Form Submission Log setting and adds one new feature.  You can now define a CAPTCHA message to appear below the CAPTCHA input box.  These two screen shots show the information on the Plugin Settings page and the result when the form is rendered.  The message is placed in a DIV which has the class “wpgform-captcha-description” so it can be styled as needed.

Google Forms Beta (8553 downloads )

GForm_SS_56

GForm_SS_57

07.15.13
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WordPress Google Form v0.54-beta-6 now available

I have a posted a new beta version of WordPress Google Form.  This version (v.054-beta-6) fixes a problem reported today which happens when Logging is enabled on certain servers.  This update will now test for the variables it wants to track before trying to use them.

This update also includes an enhancement with respect to HTTP API Transports.  Previously the plugin allowed control of the various transport options in debug mode.  Recently I found a case where it made sense to disable one of the transports on a permanent basis so I have pulled that functionality out of the debug module and moved it into the plugin core.

Google Forms Beta (8553 downloads )