Email Users v4.6.0 released

This morning I released version 4.6.0 of Email Users.  This release addresses the problems with addresses appearing in the CC header instead of the BCC header which cropped up in v4.5.4 and v4.5.5.  This version has gone through quite a bit of testing to ensure the problem with addresses was fixed.  In addition to this critical fix, there are also a couple of minor new features now available.  If you were running Email Users v4.6.0-beta-4, this version is nearly identical.  The version is different and the default string for the new footer was trimmed eliminating the version number.

  • Significantly improved debug functionality to chase down mail header issues.
  • Check added to determine if wp_mail() has been overloaded by a theme or plugin.
  • Rewrite of mailusers_send_mail() fucntion to construct headers as arrays instead of as a single string. The string would sometimes not break correctly and recognize the Bcc: field.
  • Implemented new email footer option.
  • Cleaned up presentation of Options page.
  • Implemented new omit display names option.
  • Updated language translation files.

You can find this update in the WordPress plugin repository or on your Dashboard.

WordPress Google Form v0.58 released

This morning I formally release v0.58 of WordPress Google Form.  Thanks to everyone who did testing of the various beta releases.  The v0.58 release includes a number of improvements to deal with special characters either in responses or in questions.

  1. Fixed bug when radio button and checkbox responses contained apostrophe characters.
  2. Fixed bug when text entry box content contained an ampersand which ended up encoded in the Google sheet.
  3. Fixed bug(s) with plugin settings which are controlled with checkboxes not being able to be unchecked.
  4. Added Reset button to return plugin settings to their default state.
  5. Fixed problem handling newlines (carriage returns) in textarea entries.

You can find the update on your WordPress Dashboard or in the WordPress Plugin Repository.  The released version is functionally the same as beta-3, only the version number is different.

WordPress Google Form v0.58-beta-3 now available

This morning I released beta-3 of WordPress Google Form v0.58.  This update addresses one problem, properly handling newline characters in TEXTAREA entry boxes.  This issue was reported on the WordPress Support Forum.

If there are no more reported issues, I will likely release v0.58 in the next day or so.

Google Forms Beta (39002 downloads )

Email Users v4.6.0-beta-3 now available

If you’ve been following the Email Users Support Forum, you are aware that for the past couple of days I have been chasing a bug which affects some users and places all of their intended recipient email addresses in the CC header instead of the BCC header.

This has been a challenging bug to find as it doesn’t happen on any of the systems I have access to.  Fortunately I had a few users affected by this problem willing to help me and I appreciate their assistance.  I am not sure how I would resolved this problem without their assistance.  Again, thanks.

So what was the problem?  The WordPress wp_mail() API allows you to pass extra header information as part of the mail content.  Email Users makes use of this by constructing a BCC header which contains all of the email addresses for the intended recipients.  The wp_mail() function supports headers as a single string or an array of headers, each header as an array element.

Up until this evening Email Users had constructed all email headers as a string.  With a large number of email addresses this string could end up being very long.  However, I don’t believe the length of the string had anything to do with the problem.

When wp_mail() receives headers as a string, it tries to intelligently decompose them.  In some cases it appears that the string wasn’t splitting correctly which means the BCC field wasn’t ever seen.  The “Bcc:” text became part of an email address which was subsequently discarded because it resulted in a bad address.

Email Users v4.6.0 has a rewrite of the mailusers_send_mail() function plus some new debug functionality which helps resolve these sorts of issues.  Additionally, the new debug is under user control so can be turned on and off as needed.

Email Users Beta (29985 downloads )

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For testing this new version, I recommend turning Debug on until you’re comfortable with the the structure of the email addresses.

Questions or comments -don’t hesitate to ask.

Debugging the Email Users CC issue

For the past few days I have been chasing a reported issue where Email Users is putting recipient addresses into the CC header instead of the BCC header.  This has been a challenge to chase down.  To assist in this I have add a bunch of  new debug and checking to Email Users.

Email  Users will now check and report if wp_mail() has been overloaded by a plugin or theme.  Since wp_mail() is a pluggable function, this is the one area which is really out of the control of Email Users.  Simply knowing if wp_mail() has been overloaded is very helpful.

Additionally, I have finally found a way to initiate a complete email which is aborted just prior to the email actually being sent.  The content of several internal structures is displayed on the Dashboard so the email headers can easily be examined.

This build is in DEBUG mode which means it will never actually send an email unless wp_mail() has been overloaded in which case all bets are off.  Please visit the Settings page first to determine if wp_mail() has been overloaded.  If it has, do not send any email but let me know which plugin or theme has overloaded wp_mail().

Email Users Beta (29985 downloads )

WordPress Google Form v0.58-beta-2 available

I have just released beta-2 of WordPress Google Form v0,58.  This update addresses a couple of significant issues, notably the inability to disable some of the default options.

The problem with the default settings  based on checkboxes is described pretty well in this article by Devin Price.  I was dealing with the essentially the same problem Devin describes although my solution is slightly different, his solution was helpful in fixing this problem.

While fixing this problem I also added a new Reset button which appears on the Advanced tab.  This Reset button will reset the plugin to use the default settings.

This beta release also includes a fix to address the problem when an ampersand appears in a text box on a multi-page form.  This problem was reported on WordPress Support Forum.

Google Forms Beta (39002 downloads )

wp-SwimTeam v1.40-beta-6 available

I have just uploaded beta-6 of wp-SwimTeam v1.40.  This is a very minor update, the only fix is to deal with a typo which causes the activation process to fail.  If you had updated the plugin by simply dropping the beta release on top of your existing install, you would not have encountered this problem.

The type came about as I have started adding roles and capabilities to wp-SwimTeam (which has been a long standing request).  I have some basic roles and capabilities defined however they are not currently being used for anything.  Their first use will be to allow access to the plugin menus on the Dashboard.  More to come on this later.

wp-SwimTeam Beta (12560 downloads )

wp-SwimTeam v1.40-beta-5 now available

I have just uploaded beta-5 of wp-SwimTeam v1.40.  This is a minor update, the only fix is to the generation of the USS Number when used as swimmer labels.  Previously the USS Number was being computed in YYMMDD format where as the USS Swimming SDIF specification calls it out in MMDDYY format.

wp-SwimTeam Beta (12560 downloads )

wp-SwimTeam v1.40-beta-4 available

This morning I posted beta-4 of wp-SwimTeam v1.40.  This beta update addresses a number of issues mentioned recently on the WordPress Support Forum.

  1. Support for Age Groups where min and max age are identical.
  2. Mapping zero (0) as upper and lower max age in event files to min and max age in wp-SwimTeam.

There are a few other fixes as well plus some debug code cleanup.  I still have a couple of things to clean up before releasing v1.40.  Also in this build as are the basic building blocks for Roles and Capabilities.  If you use a Roles and Capabilities plugin, you may see some new swim team related data which has been defined but is not yet being used.

wp-SwimTeam Beta (12560 downloads )