Category Archives: Development

02.18.18
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WordPress Google Forms v0.94-beta-1 available

I have just posted a beta build (v0.94-beta-1) of WordPress Google Forms.  This build introduces a new solution for calculating the CAPTCHA.  There have been a number of concerns about the use of the PHP eval() function and recently, an alternate solution has been posted to the WordPress Support Forum.  I have adapted the proposed solution to the plugin.

This build also addresses a concern about possible security issue with the user-agent string stored when logging submissions.  It is technically possible for a malicious user to encode the user agent string with malicious code.  This update ensures that data is sanitized before storing and presenting it.

Google Forms Beta (31806 downloads )
01.24.17
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Google Forms v0.90 RC1 available

I have addressed what I hope is the last of the security concerns with Google Forms and resubmitted to WordPress.org for approval.  In the meantime, should anyone want early access to the next update, which includes some additional debug features as well as addressing the security concerns, you can download it here.

You can also find the current development version on GitHub.

Google Forms Beta (31806 downloads )

EDIT:  Due to forgetting to update the stable version tag, the version is now v0.91.

12.31.16
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Email Users 4.8.5-beta-1 Available

I’ve posted Email Users v4.8.5-beta-1 for testing purposes.  This is a minor update which restores functionality which was removed in 4.7.1.  See this recent thread and this old 4.7.1 thread on the WordPress Support Forum for more details on the change in 4.7.1.

The change in 4.8.5 introduces a new option (Send User Exclude Role) on the Settings page which is enabled by default to retain the current functionality.  When turned off, the user’s current role is also included in the list of roles presented as potential recipients.

Please provide any feedback ASAP as my window to fix this over the holiday break at work is small.

Email Users Beta (24389 downloads )

 

07.26.16
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Where did Email Users go?

A week ago (July 19th) I was contacted by WordPress regarding a potential security flaw in Email Users. Email Users was “closed” (which is why it doesn’t show up at WordPress.org) until the security flaw was addressed and a new version of the plugin was tagged and release.

Due to some work issues, I did not have a chance to work on the plugin until this past weekend.  I have resolved the security concerns, committed all of the changes, and tagged a new release.  On July 26th (Sunday) I notified WordPress.org that everything (I know of) has been addressed.  At this point, I am waiting for the plugin to be opened again or notified that I’ve missed something.

I’ve uploaded v4.84. to my web site in the event anyone wants to download the update before WordPress.org makes it live again.

Email Users (2628 downloads )
07.09.16
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Google Forms development moved to GitHub

I have been toying with idea of moving development of my Google Forms plugin over to GitHUb for a while and I finally did it. Using the process outlined here, Google Forms development can now be found here. I’ve already made a few changes and pushed them into the WordPress Subversion repository from GitHub.

I’ve started looking at supporting the new version of Google Forms. What Google has done is so significantly different than prior versions that I am not if it will be possible. Google has stopped using standard HTML input elements and instead is using DIV elements with CSS classes and Javascript to handle the form. I can’t think of a technical benefit for Google to do what they did but it is their product and they can do as they see fit.

If someone wants to fork Google Forms and work on this, you are welcome to do so.

05.25.16
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Email Users 4.8.2-beta-2 Available

It has been quite a while since I’ve updated Email Users.  There have been a couple of enhancement requests that I’ve wanted to add and some deprecated notices I wanted to resolve.

Email Users 4.8.2-beta-2 adds the following:

  • Custom Header (similar to the custom footer which has been part of the plugin for a while).
  • Control over customer header and footer usage.  Each can be applied to Notifications, User and Group Emails, or both.
  • Ability to remove the “Notify Users about this Post/Page” on the Post/Page editing screen.
  • All references to get_currentuserinfo() have been updated.  The get_currentuserinfo() API function has been deprecated for a while but WordPress 4.5 issues a strong warning on the Dashboard about it so it was time to resolve it.

Please report any issues and I’ll do my best to get them fixed quickly and get this release out.

Email Users Beta (24389 downloads )
11.01.15
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Email Users v4.8.0-beta-2 available

I received a new translation (Danish) and updated all of the other translation files for Email Users and have rolled out a new beta release.  There is no new functionality in this beta release as compared to beta-1.

If you have the ability to update a translation, please contact me so I can get you the source files.

Email Users Beta (24389 downloads )
10.31.15
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Email Users v4.8.0-beta-1 available

Earlier today I released Email Users v4.7.10 which is the formal release of a number of fixes I’ve had in the queue.  Now that it is out, I’ve moved on to the first real new functionality in a while which is why this will be v4.8.x.

Recently there was a 1 Star rated review of Email Users which had a comment about not being able to search for a user in a list of potential recipients.  As you can see in the comments, I didn’t disagree with the user although what they wanted to do was sort of possible.

I’ve used the jQuery Chosen plugin a couple times and it works great for making SELECT elements much more user friendly.  I decided to add it to Email Users to make finding users, particularly for sites which have lots of users, much easier.  If you used WooCommerce, you’re familiar with Chosen as that is what WooCommerce uses for SELECT elements as well.

The v4.8.0-beta-1 release is the first implementation of Email Users with the jQuery Chosen plugin integration.  Please download it, try it out, and report any issues or concerns.

Implementing Chosen allows for easy search and selection as noted in these images.

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From the Send to User(s) page

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From the Send to Group(s) page

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From the Send to Group(s) page after entering “au” to do some filtering

Email Users Beta (24389 downloads )
10.25.15
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Google Forms v0.83-beta-1 available

Based on a question in the Support Forum I have added a new feature to suppress breaking a form into multiple columns when the browser is narrower than a specified width (e.g. on a phone).  This should allow forms which are set up for columns to be presented better on phones and tablets.

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If you’d like to try out this feature, download this beta release and provide feedback on any issues.  By default, the plugin will handle columns exactly as it always has.

Google Forms Beta (31806 downloads )
10.23.15
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Email Users v4.7.10-beta-3 available

I had started looking at bounce issues a while back but never completed the work.  It turns out bounce emails are problematic and the PHPMailer code included with WordPress has deprecated support for it.  I’ve made some minor changes that may help those trying to use the bounce email address capability.

I stress the “may” aspect of it because my own testing I have been unable to get it to work.  I have not seen anything not working from the changes I’ve made but I have not received any bounce emails either.  They simply seem to go in the bit bucket as far as I can tell.

Due to this unreliability I am recommending against using the bounce email address feature and have added a warning on the settings page advising as much which appears when a bounce address is set.

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From looking at email headers this morning, I believe they are constructed properly.  I have no idea when bounced messages are actually routed versus discarded and different email servers seem to do it differently.

Email Users Beta (24389 downloads )