wp-SwimTeam v1.8.642 now available

Over the past week or so I’ve been working on some new functionality that is finally ready to go.  The opt-in/opt-out module has been based on strokes since the initial implementation and this model worked well for the MacDolphins but some other teams prefer to register (or scratch) swimmers on a per event basis.

Events have been supported for a while but other than adding them to a swim meet, nothing has been done with them.  The existing event functionality is the basis for the results work I hope to complete some day.  Because the Event information is already defined, allowing the Opt-In/Opt-Out module to be based on the actual events was pretty straight forward.  There is a new setting on the Options->Swim Team tab which controls which Opt-In/Opt-Out model wp-SwimTeam uses (Event or Stroke).  By default it will continue to use Stroke since that was the original functionality.

The new functionality had a ripple effect across much of the plugin, causing changes to the Reports module and other places too.  While working on the Reports I decided to expose the Job Assignments and Swimmers Reports for all users however non-admin users will only see their own job assignments or their own swimmers.  This new functionality also came from one of the MacDolphins parents who wanted to be able to see which jobs she had signed up for.  In the same conversation, another parent asked me if I could make it so she could see if she had scratched her swimmers.  These two requests led to exposing some of the Reports in a limited fashion to all users.

The last major feature is the ability to run a report that shows the parents of active swimmers and their status against the volunteer (jobs) commitment set by the team (set it to zero for no commitment).  This is a feature our volunteer coordinator has been after me to implement for some time.  While the Report works fine, it is a little slow, particularly the first time it is run so be patient.

The new version modifies the database tables so PLEASE BACKUP your database before you install it.  I don’t expect any issues and I’ve been running it on the MacDolphins site for the last two days but it is always a good idea to backup your database before upgrading.

There are a few other minor bug fixes and cosmetic changes that I made while working on these improvements.  I ran into one very odd bug that only exposed itself on Chrome – I’ve changed the Load All Events functionality because the Javascript that pulled all of the events from one list box to another didn’t work on Chrome.

There are still some things to improve – I’d like the list of events a swimmer can be registered for be limited to the events for their age group but don’t have good solution for that right now.  I am considering using icons across the action bar instead of the drop down menu.  I had moved away from buttons because they didn’t fit but the dropdown actions are confusing so don’t be surprised to see icons in the near future if I can find some I like!

The WordPress plugin repository has been updated so the plugin should begin to auto-update soon too but in the meantime, you can find the latest release on the download page.

wp-SwimTeam v1.7.608 now available

A quick turnaround on the bug reported a short time ago.  It has been fixed and I have posted v1.7.608 of wp-SwimTeam.  This fixes the bug which essentially made the Manage->Users tab almost unusable unless you had a very small number of users.

This release has also been pushed to the WordPress plugin repository so it should be available via the plugin updater fairly soon.

wp-SwimTeam v1.6.605 released

It took longer than I wanted and I didn’t get all of the features I wanted done, but I have release v1.6.605 of wp-SwimTeam tonight.  This release addresses a number of things my own team has been asking for, in particular with respect to jobs.  A number of our parents have asked how they can see which jobs they have signed up for and if they have scratched their swimmers or not.  A key new feature in this release is the Swim Meets report is now exposed to all users but the information presented to users is limited to their swimmers and their jobs.

  • Fixed bug when optional user and/or swimmer field count is zero preventing reports from running.
  • Added My Jobs tab for all users. User can now easily see which jobs they’ve signed up for.
  • Added e-mail field to user profile. Users are familiar with the swim team profile, easy to update.
  • Exposed Swim Meet report to all users allowing users to see their swimmer opt-in/out and jobs easily.
  • Added Dashboard widget.
  • Fixed quite a few minor bugs – too many to list!

This release is available now on the Download page and will be available from the WordPress plugin updater later tonight

wp-SwimTeam v1.5.579 released

I have just released wp-SwimTeam v.1.5.579, you can find it on the download page and shortly, via the automatic plugin updater.  This release fixes an issue which has bothered me personally for a long time.

There was a problem in the E-mail Confirmation code for both registrations and opt-in/opt-out.  This same code was used for the new Jobs module so it existed there too.  For a long time the confirmation e-mails were duplicated and if a swimmer had to two contacts, only one of them would receive the e-mail.  I have finally found and fixed this problem so e-mail confirmation should be cleaner and sent to the appropriate people.

wp-SwimTeam v1.4.573 released

This evening I released wp-SwimTeam v1.4.573.  It can be downloaded from this web site or from the WordPress plugin repository.  The plugin auto-update will also update to this release.  New and fixed in this release are:

  • Fixed bug in Opt-In/Opt-Out e-mail confirmation which duplicated recipients.
  • Fixed bug in handling Country when set to US Only.
  • Added Club Profile initialization based on State or Province in Team Profile.
  • Added E-mail confirmation for Job Assignments.
  • Added Job Options tab on Options page to configuring Jobs module.

Make sure you visit the Job Options tab to configure your jobs module.  There is still work to be done to report the number of credits a user has signed up for and to flag which users have not met the threshold.  Hopefully that functionality will come in the next week or two.

Update: This release had a minor update due to a file missing from the WordPress plugin repository.  The missing file prevented the Jobs Options tab from rendering.  Other minor tweaks were also made to the Jobs Confirmation e-mails.

wp-SwimTeam v1.3.561 now available

A new release of wp-SwimTeam is now available for download.  It is also available via automatic update from the WordPress plugin repository.  This release fixes a couple of bugs and adds two new features, one of which addresses functionality that was coded but never exposed correctly.

  1. Fixed bug in wpst_meet_report short code.
  2. Fixed bug in Add/Update Club Profile due to invalid URL field(s).
  3. Added showmaplinks option to wpst_meet_report short code.
  4. Added URL sanitatization to Google Maps and Mapquest URL fields on club profile.
  5. Added notes to use Google URL shortner for URLs that don’t validate.

I am not sure when it was added but MapQuest now generates “shortened” URLs when mapping an address, I wish Google would do likewise.  The URLs that Google Maps generates tend to be a mile long and full of characters.  My suggestion is to use Google’s URL shortener to generate a simple URL that can be saved within WordPress easily.  That is what I am doing for the MacDolphins web site.

The phpHtmlLib library which wp-SwimTeam depends on has also had a minor bug fix which I found testing URL validation.  This plugin can also be updated t v2.6.2.3546 using the WordPress plugin updater or can be downloaded and installed as in the past.

Using the WordPress auto-updater?

WordPress has a nice built in feature to update plugins when there is a new version available.  Because wp-SwimTeam isn’t hosted in the official WordPress plugin repository, I haven’t been able to take advantage of this feature.

I have set up projects in the official WordPress plugin repository for both wp-SwimTeam and phpHtmlLib.   I am working on a process where the plugin updater will work by adding the code into the WordPress repository when Iam ready to release it.

Currently the version of the code in the WordPress repository is the same as what is available for download although the version number reported is wrong (1.0.553 vs 1.2.553).  The “553” is the critical part of the release number because it represents the Subversion commit number (build number) that the release is based on.

If you see a “plugin out of date” message within the WordPress Dashboard, it is because I am working on this process.  The latest and greatest release will likely be available first as a download on this site but when I reach what I consider a “stable” release, I will also make it available through the WordPress plugin repository.  Stay tuned as this flushes out.

wp-SwimTeam v1.2.553 available

A minor bug was found in swimmer and user profiles when the optional field count was zero.  This bug only appeared if previously the option count had been non-zero and data had been entered for swimmers and/or users for the optional fields.  This release fixes this problem which also manifested itself in the registration confirmation e-mail.

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wp-SwimTeam v1.2.552 now available

This morning I posted wp-SwimTeam v1.2.551.  This release fixes a couple of bugs and adds a couple minor features and addresses one major issue.

  1. Prior to this release a new user could add a swimmer without completing their swim team parent/guardian profile but a warning was displayed.  The warning is now an error and no further action can proceed until the profile information is completed.
  2. Throughout the wp-SwimTeam dashboard much of the information is displayed in a widget that can be searched, sorted, and paged through.  The number of rows that is displayed is now controlled by a setting on the Options->Miscellaneous tab.
  3. A couple of minor bugs have fixed with respect to reporting.
  4. There was a serious bug which occurred when the number of User or Swimmer optional fields was set to zero.  This has been fixed and the ability to essentially “turn off” optional fields for users or swimmers now works correctly.
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wp-SwimTeam v1.1.546 available

I have posted an update to the wp-SwimTeam plugin.  This version addresses a few bugs, one of which was fairly critical as related to optional fields for users and swimmers.  This version also adds infrastructure to provide Contextual Help for all of the forms although only the Jobs forms have detailed help so far.  Help will be updated for other forms as time permits in upcoming releases.

This version also adds a new choice when defining a Job’s location.  Previously the location was limited to Home, Away, or Both.  A new choice, N/A, has been added to account for some jobs not being tied to a swim meet.  An example of this would be a job such as ‘End of Season Banquet Coordinator’.

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