JoomlaWorks Blog
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New free extension release: Quick Menu (for Joomla 4)
Today we're launching Quick Menu, a new free admin module for Joomla 4 which adds a handy top-side (desktop) or bottom-side (mobile) menu in the Joomla 4 backend. The purpose of Quick Menu is to restore UX sanity & reduce unnecessary clickity-click.
The main features of this new admin module are:
- Less clicks to important content management and admin tasks in the Joomla 4 backend... duh!
- Neatly organize the menu in 2 columns (for admins), one to access common content management tasks and one to access common admin tasks. Keep in mind that not everything is included and for good reason: keep things simple.
- Respects configured backend access permissions for your user groups. In other words, plain content managers will see menu options for what they can only access, whereas Super Admins will see menu options for everything.
Grab the module from https://www.joomlaworks.net/extensions/free/quickmenu and install like any other Joomla extension.
Afterwards, look it up under Administrator Modules in the Joomla 4 backend, click to edit it, assign the module position "status" and publish the module. Done!
You new backend quick menu will now be available to use.
Quick Menu is compatible with Joomla version 4.x on servers running PHP 7 or 8.
DOWNLOAD
You can download this version by visiting the extension's page at: https://www.joomlaworks.net/extensions/free/quickmenu
UPGRADING
Updating is easy as future releases will show up in the extension updates page in Joomla.
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Simple Image Gallery (free) v4.2 released
Simple Image Gallery (free) version 4.2 is now available to download. This is a maintenance release.
Here's what's been added or changed in Simple Image Gallery (free) with the release of v4.2:
- Resolves fatal PHP error in Joomla 4 caused when a notice is raised, for example if a wrong gallery folder path was provided in the plugin's "gallery" tags. This was caused by the removal of the JError class in Joomla 4.
Simple Image Gallery is fully compatible with Joomla versions 1.5, 2.5, 3.x and 4.x.
DEMO
The JoomlaWorks demo site has been updated to use the latest Simple Image Gallery (free) release. See here: https://demo.joomlaworks.net/simple-image-gallery
DOWNLOAD
You can download this version by visiting the extension's page at: https://www.joomlaworks.net/extensions/free/simple-image-gallery
UPGRADING
If you use Joomla 2.5, 3.x & 4.x (beta) releases, this new update will appear in the Joomla extension updater. If you're using Joomla 1.5 you can simply upload the new version and it will overwrite the old one. After that step, visit the plugin's parameters page, check if everything is OK or adjust as needed and save the parameters.
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Simple Image Gallery Pro v3.9.1 released (bug-fix release)
Simple Image Gallery Pro v3.9.1 is now available to download for subscribers. This is a minor bug-fix release following the release of version 3.9.0 a couple weeks ago.
For a detailed look on the new features and changes in v3.9.0, please have a look here: https://www.joomlaworks.net/blog/item/309-simple-image-gallery-pro-v3-9-0-released
SIGPro v3.9.1 released today adds a check if support of EXIF related functions is already built into your server's PHP setup. If not, any new features related to EXIF metadata which were introduced in v3.9.0 will simply be ignored.
For the record, affected users account to less than 0.2% in total of those upgraded to v3.9.0.
DEMO
The JoomlaWorks demo site has been updated to the latest Simple Image Gallery Pro release. Have a look here: https://demo.joomlaworks.net/simple-image-gallery-pro
DOWNLOAD
If you have an active Simple Image Gallery Pro membership, just head over to the Member Dashboard at https://www.joomlaworks.net/members and grab your copy from your "Subscriptions" page.
Or purchase this latest release from just 19.90 EUR. More info at: https://www.joomlaworks.net/extensions/commercial/simple-image-gallery-pro
UPGRADING
Just upload the new version and it will overwrite the old one.
For more help, please visit the updated documentation page for the extension at: https://www.joomlaworks.net/support/docs/simple-image-gallery-pro
For support questions please use our Helpdesk system included in your Member Dashboard at https://www.joomlaworks.net/dashboard (active product membership required).
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Simple Image Gallery Pro v3.9.0 released
Simple Image Gallery Pro v3.9.0 is now available to download for subscribers. It's both a bug-fix and new feature release.
Here's what's been added or changed in Simple Image Gallery Pro with the release of v3.9.0:
- SIGPro will now read EXIF metadata from images that contain orientation details and properly rotate or flip images before creating thumbnails.. This means you won't need to process images using desktop software to correct their orientation before uploading them on your server. A handy feature especially for those who work with images coming from pro DSLR cameras.
- Replaced the Mobify image CDN with Weserv's, which is powered by CloudFlare. This will restore the option to resize the source image, as the Mobify CDN unexpectedly shut down a few months ago. Weserv's processing & delivery is also much faster.
- Updated Lightbox2 to version 2.11.3.
- Updated elFinder (used in the SIGPro Media Manager in the backend) to version 2.1.59.
- Fancybox can now be translated through the Joomla language manager (language overrides) or via custom language packs (a much requested feature from users).
- Gallery layout CSS files are now linked in the document <head> with an appended timestamp. This will allow you to perform live changes to a gallery layout's CSS even when your site is behind a CDN like CloudFlare's (so you don't have to purge the CDN's cache for that file everytime you do a change in it) or behind a server-side caching proxy (e.g. Nginx or Varnish).
SIGPro has also been tested to work on up to PHP 8 without any issues. If you have any custom gallery layouts though, you may have to slightly modify them to play nice with PHP 8. As always, send a ticket in our helpdesk system for assistance with such matters...
WHAT'S COMING NEXT
You may be wondering what coming next for SIGPro. Well, a lot for sure!
The next version of SIGPro is already being worked on and eventually it will have the following features:
- Custom ordering for images using drag and drop
- All-new gallery layouts using CSS Grid properties, with distinct options for responsive designs
- More slideshow-like (carousel) gallery layouts
- Updated backend UI that is fully responsive on mobile devices for gallery management on the go
- WebP support
- Dynamic image filters
- Support for AMP pages
- New JSON based format for captions
- More ordering options
- Less jQuery-dependant modals and layouts, which will also translate to improved Core Web Vitals scores for your pages with image galleries on
- Support for improved image conversion using Image Magick (when available on your server)
- Improved overall performance
- Joomla 4 compatibility when it's f-i-n-a-l-l-y released :)
Not all the features above will be available when SIGPro v4 is released, but they will be gradually included as updates come in.
DEMO
The JoomlaWorks demo site has been updated to the latest Simple Image Gallery Pro release. Have a look here: https://demo.joomlaworks.net/simple-image-gallery-pro
DOWNLOAD
If you have an active Simple Image Gallery Pro membership, just head over to the Member Dashboard at https://www.joomlaworks.net/members and grab your copy from your "Subscriptions" page.
Or purchase this latest release from just 19.90 EUR. More info at: https://www.joomlaworks.net/extensions/commercial/simple-image-gallery-pro
UPGRADING
Just upload the new version and it will overwrite the old one.
For more help, please visit the updated documentation page for the extension at: https://www.joomlaworks.net/support/docs/simple-image-gallery-pro
For support questions please use our Helpdesk system included in your Member Dashboard at https://www.joomlaworks.net/dashboard (active product membership required).
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Simple RSS Feed Reader v3.9.0 released
Today we're releasing version 3.9.0 of the Simple RSS Feed Reader module. This is a bugfix release.
Here's what's been added or changed (in more detail) with the release of v3.9.0:
- Fix the installer for Joomla 3.x on new installations. The introduction of support for Joomla 1.5 all the way up to 3.x unfortunately broke the installer for 3.x (oh, the irony) for new installations. Upgrades from previous versions to 3.8.0 had no issues for any Joomla release.
- Improved the image parser/extractor. Removed support for .bmp type images.
- Fixed various warnings/notices.
The next major update (v4) will offer compatibility with the upcoming Joomla 4 release (currently in "beta" and soon going into "RC" status) as well as entirely new layouts. ranging from simple lists to more complex grid layouts utilizing CSS grid properties.
Simple RSS Feed Reader is fully compatible with Joomla 1.5 to 3.x & PHP versions up to 8.0.
DOWNLOAD
You can download this version by visiting the product's page at: https://www.joomlaworks.net/extensions/free/simple-rss-feed-reader
UPGRADING
Simply install on top of any other 3.x release. The update will also appear in the Joomla extension updater (for Joomla v2.5 or newer).
DEMO
You can see a demo of the extension at: https://demo.joomlaworks.net and https://demo2.joomlaworks.net (right column on both sites)