Freelancer Panel Blog
Freelancer Panel Townhall Meeting - 07/12/08
June 28th, 2008
This email was sent to all customers a few days ago. Everyone is welcome to join, even those who are not customers.
Hello!,
I am very excited to announce the very first Freelancer Panel Townhall Meeting. One of the biggest problems with software development is that you have to take requests from customers, and then try to figure out what will everyone else think of any features. This job can be quite daunting at times, and one can really be off base with regard to what everyone wants. This is where the Townhall Meeting comes into play.
The Townhall Meeting will serve as a place for all customers to interact with staff, and customers interacting with each other as well. This is a great chance to be completely truthful and honest about what you think of Freelancer Panel.
The Townhall Meeting will be held on Saturday July 12th at 2 PM EDT (GMT - 4). The topic of this meeting will be Freelancer Panel 2.0. FP 2.0 is a complete rewrite from the ground up in terms of code, features, usability, everything! This is a perfect chance for you to drop in with your input! Myself, and everyone else, would love to hear what you have to say! And plus, you may get to see some things others don't just yet during this Townhall Meeting!
The meeting will be in a casual environment. We already have some exciting ideas regarding 2.0, and I would love to hear what everyone has to say as well!
For more information regarding the Townhall Meeting, please see this URL: http://www.freelancerpanel.com/townhall
We have some very exciting news and ideas regarding Freelancer Panel 2.0. You will not want to miss this Townhall Meeting!
Thank you very much,
Tyler Cole
Product Manager
1.6.0 Released!
February 24th, 2008
I am proud to announce that 1.6.0 has gone Gold! Gold is stable software, so it is safe to use in production environments.
The testing period lasted for about a month, with a few betas and two release candidates in all. 1.6.0 offers a lot of new functionality, and a new payment gateway -- Google Checkout.
1.6.0 is the last new-feature for the 1.x branch. All new features will now only be implemented in 2.0.
You can now download 1.6.0 from the client area!
1.6.0 Beta 2
January 20th, 2008
I am proud announce that the second beta version is now available to all beta testers. Beta 2 fixes a few bugs, enhancements, and introduces a new feature.
The demo is also now running the beta! So feel free to play with the demo, if you are not a beta tester.
Weekend Came and Went
January 09th, 2008
I planned to release the first beta of 1.6, last weekend, but was not able to. There are a few cross-browser issues that need to be taken care of first. Right now it looks like it'll be this weekend, so stay tuned...
A Year in Review
December 31st, 2007
Boy does time fly or what? It seems like just yesterday I was grinning from ear to ear and yet biting my nails and wondering if FP would catch on. Here we are a year later. 2007 was a great year. I was very happy with the outcome of it, but I am even more excited about next year.
There will be several major changes in next year that I am very excited about. One of the earliest changes in 2008 will be that we will begin accepting credit cards directly in conjunction with Paypal (of course) if everything goes to plan. I know there have been a few people are turned off by Paypal, and I can understand that, so we will be able to begin accepting credit cards directly. If either of those are a problem, we will still accept US money orders under special circumstances.
1.6 will be released in early 2008 as well. In fact, I am aiming (keyword aiming) to finish 1.6 in the next few days and have Beta 1 released to the beta testers and uploaded to the demo late next weekend. There is one large feature that still needs to be finished up, along with a few organization changes and aesthetic changes. I'll list some of the major changes below in case you missed out on them before:
- Complete email piping functionality.
- Custom client fields
- Order specific order questions
- Organization changed a bit in certain areas.
- Mass actions
- Inline AJAX modification
- PHP Contact Form
- Offline payments
- Import & Export Clients
- Product Reviews & Ratings
And of course the highlight of the year will be 2.0. At least, I am planning on releasing it in Q4, we'll see how that pans out though. Rewriting several thousand lines of code is no easy task. FP will become fully OOP, which will allow it to grow much quicker than with the current releases. 2.0 will be a groundup rewrite, with some very exciting features that I can't wait to create! Plugin systems, language-specific clients, modular design, and so much more are just the tip of the iceberg.
Thank you guys for the wonderful year! It would not have been nowhere near as wonderful if it wasn't for y'all! It was a great year, but let's make 2008 OUR year and the BEST year!
Happy New Years to everyone! And I hope everyone has a nice and SAFE one!
Placing Pressure & PHP5
December 02nd, 2007
This month is considered to be the final month that PHP4 will be "alive". After the 31st of this month, it will considered to be dead.
If you, as a user, or a server owner, do not have access to PHP5 yet, now is a time to put extremely strong pressure on the necessary parties. PHP5 has been stable for over three years. There is absolutely no excuse why you should not have access to PHP5 yet. As a consumer you have your rights, and you have the ability to pressure your host, or take your business elsewhere. If you only have access to PHP4, then there is going to be trouble down the road. I know personally I would not want to be forced to use a dead language, when something out there is better.
As a developer, this is perfect for me. I now get to take advantage of all of the great features present in PHP5, and not have to worry about backward compatibility. That is why Freelancer Panel 2.0 will have a new requirement of PHP5. This is even more reason to start adding more pressure to who you need to.
More information can be found at PHP.net
Remember, you have the ability to take action. Freelancer Panel 2.0 is still very far off, so you still have plenty of time, just thought everyone deserved a friendly reminder from a developer.
New Changes
October 31st, 2007
Since 1.5.2 was released this past weekend, work on 1.6.0 will begin very shortly.
I am very excited about 1.6.0. Some of the (early) planned features are:
- Product Reviews
- Product Ratings
- Email piping
- Transform a ticket into a knowledgebase article.
As always, if you have any suggestions, then please let me know! I'll be more than happy to listen to them all, and hopefully add them as well!
Licensing System - Worked as Planned
October 26th, 2007
Earlier this evening we experienced a brief MySQL issue with the licensing server. If you recall, a few months ago we had several tests planned after the development of our new licensing schema. This is the first "real" incident. I am happy to report that there were no issues reported during the affected timeframe, and the new sophisticated licensing system appears to have held up without any issues at all.
Stay tuned for an important update (1.5.2) tomorrow. Hope everyone has a happy Friday evening!
Next Version Changes
October 11th, 2007
Over the next few weeks, focus will be turned onto new features in the next version of Freelancer Panel (either 1.5.2 or 1.6.0, depending on various factors). The past few weeks a few individuals have discovered flaws in a few payment modules. I have been working with them to get these fixed. There also have been various other bugs that have been fixed. Now that the majority of these issues have been taken care of, new features can begin to be focused on.
One of the main new features will be a plugin system. The plugin system will allow for new features to be added into the software through some basic PHP code. The basic implementation of this will be available in the next release, and perhaps with a module. And over the next few months, the functionality of the plugin system will increase, which will allow for more advanced modules to be created. I am very excited about this, as this will allow everyone to customize FP even more to their liking!
Products will also be getting a slight overhaul in the next release. Clients will have the ability to leave reviews and rate products based on a star-rating system. This of course can be turned on/off on a per-product basis through the ACP.
I am very excited about the next release (either 1.5.2 or 1.6.0). As the status of it changes, I'll be sure to blog about it!
As always, if you have a feature suggestion, then please let me know! I'll be more than happy to listen and hopefully add it to the product.
Hope everyone has been doing well!
Utilizing an If Statement
September 02nd, 2007
An if statement is basically a statement to see if it's true or not.
The basic thing is that I am thinking of a number, if you get it right, I'll say great! The number is 1.
{if $number == '1'}
Great! {/if}
Now let's apply that simple logic to Freelancer Panel. An if statement can be used virtually in any template file. I find it most useful in the front-end site. Let's use /templates/portfolio.tpl as an example.
Let's say only a few portfolio entries have a description, but the name is showing up in all of the entries. Makes your portfolio look unfinished, right? But we can add a simple if statement to hide "Description", if there is not one.
Find: <legend style="color: black">Description</legend></p>
Now let's check to see if it's empty, before we display that:
{if !empty($item.description)} <legend style="color: black">Description</legend></p> {/if}
All that says is that if the description isn't empty, then display the description heading.
Pretty simple huh? This can be applied virtually anywhere. Just remember to change the variable to the one you're using, and not using $item.description each time.
If you have any questions or issues, feel free to leave a comment or use the helpdesk for help.
1.5.1 Changelog
August 26th, 2007
Shortly 1.5.1 will be released. By the time you're reading this, then it most likely has already been released. So let me dive right into the changes.
Version: 1.5.1
Type: Bug fixes, new features, NON-security related
Changes::
- Fixed bug: Page sort by template not saving in ACP.
- Fixed bug: CCP latest client always displayed ID rather than title.
- Fixed bug: CCP latest project would display first project, not last.
- Fixed bug: When modifing product, shipping lost its value.
- Fixed bug: Shopping cart displays total with shipping factored in.
- Fixed bug: Multiple slashes in image URL.
- Fixed bug: IE6 dropdown menu now works properly.
- Fixed bug: IE7 sending wrong JPEG mime-type resulting in bad thumbnails.
- Fixed bug: Shopping cart fixed to work with mulitple items.
- Fixed bug: Javascript error in IE in CCP.
- Fixed bug: Live demo works in portfolio.php
- Fixed bug: Ability to modify paid status in project if none first selected.
- Fixed bug: Project type now uses title rather than id in view Project (AJAX).
- Fixed bug: Administrative permissions now display properly.
- Fixed bug: Project completion bar now shows in Firefox.
- Enhancement: PDF for invoice opens in a new window.
- Enhancement: Preview URL in CCP's project opens in new window.
- Enhancement: Link for modify project in view project.
- Enhancement: Currency symbol in view project.
- Enhancement: Added a check for no changes in preferences.
- Enhancement: Add a ticket reply and status moved to ticket page for less clicking.
- Enhancement: Ticket opened date on view ticket.
Javascript Changes: No.
Image Changes: No.
Template Changes: Yes, changes found in comments of this entry.
New Features:
- Recurring services.
- Support for Quantum gateway.
- Ability to change password in preferences (ACP).
- Support for the Echo gateway.
- Ability to mark any invoice as recurring
1.5.1 will be released shortly.
August 24th, 2007
It's been a little while since the 1.5.0 release. I was not expecting this many bugs reported, but I am very glad that they were. To me it shows that people are actively using the software. And in return, it's just going to make Freelancer Panel that much better.
Right now I have two features that needs to be completed, and one additional payment gateway before it is released. I am hoping this weekend, but we all know how something unexpected shows up at the last minute.
Right now there are about 17 bug fixes, and 4 enhancements. I am not expecting that to change at all, but could quite possibly change.
If you have any bug reports yourself, please let me know! I'll be more than happy to get it fixed for you.
Facelifts are good!
August 09th, 2007
If I'm going to be viewing a design several times a day, I want it to look good! There has been two designs previous to the new one. They both did an excellent job, but it was not appealing to me after the first few days. I have been working with a new designer on trying to take FP.com in a new direction, and build the design around my needs 100%.
If I don't say so myself, I think they did an excellent job! This is the type of design that I love to look at day after day, and I certainly hope you feel the same.
If you have any suggestions on it, please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear them!
1.5.0 has been released.
August 05th, 2007
Version: 1.5.0Type: Bug fixes, new features, NON-security related
Changes: Too many to list.
Javascript Changes: Yes, "js" folder.
Image Changes: Yes.
Template Changes Yes, too many to list.
New Features: Too many to list, but will list the major additions below.
- Portfolio Categories
- "Unlimited" screenshots.
- Shopping cart redone.
- Ticketing for non-clients.
- Helpdesk categories.
- Knowledgebase.
- Several Administration Control Panel & Client Control Panel design enhancements.
- Downloadable products.
- Project files.
- Additional payment gateways.
- Client email controls.
- Project todo lists.
- WYSIWYG editor.
- Ability to modify email content.
- Language system.
- Administrative permissions.
- Administrative preferences.
My Rant about Toll-free Numbers
August 05th, 2007
Freelancer Panel has had a sales toll-free line for a few months now. Originally I had it forwarding to a Skype setup that I had set up for business use.
Without getting into a big fiasco about the software I was using with Skype, but they began to charge a ridiculous sum of money for the little use of the addon that it added. So I started looking into alternatives.
So after much researching and playing, I went with an Asterisk base system. It cost a bit of money to get it up and running, but I was able to do it with a bit of help. I had already chosen an Asterisk provider for my calls. I had originally signed up with a non-tollfree number to keep my previous number forwarding, just change it to the new number. But after a month, I realized it was cheaper both in the short term and long term, and would provide better quality.
I tried to port the number over, but since I was only "using" it and didn't technically own it, that was not an option. So not that big of a deal, I went ahead and got a new number and updated the website to reflect that. All was fine up until about two months ago...
My toll-free number got ported over to a different provider. I had the option to wait (and the number was not available while waiting), get a new number or a new provider. I might as well wait, how long could it take, right?
The answer is 2+ months, my inbound calls not working at all. Apparently the transfer had hit a bureaucratic wall, just great. I had the same options, a new number, or a new provider. Seeing how I did not know of many providers that would work for my situtation, I went ahead and got another new number...for quite a bit more than I was originally paying. I was not too happy about that, at all.
Overall, I just wish numbers could be a bit more universial, like domain names for an example. But one can only dream.
Long story short, the new number is: 1-800-655-8805
The versioning system in Freelancer Panel has been updated to reflect 1.5.0 is stable. I'll blog about that shortly, once I prepare the email about the update, so stay tuned...
Thank you to all of the beta testers.
August 03rd, 2007
I would like to take a second to thank all of the beta testers who devoted their time to help make Freelancer Panel a better product.
1.5.0 Gold will be released in the next few days, so this beta testing period will be concluded shortly.
Thank you once more!
1.5.0 Release Candidate 1 has been released.
July 28th, 2007
As both the title and summary state, the next version of 1.5.0 has been released. The new version includes a few bug fixes and enchantments. It also has the upgrade script from 1.0x to 1.5x.
This is the first release candidate which is meant to become the Gold (or stable) release if no more bugs or issues arise.
The Gold release date is approaching rapidly.
The beta email has been sent out and the demo has been upgraded.
1.5.0 Beta 2
July 21st, 2007
The demo has been updated to Beta 2. The beta testers also just received their email about how to obtain the new beta.
If you wish to beta test 1.5, it's not too late to signup! You can also test it by playing with the demo.
1.5.0 Beta 2 Changelog
July 21st, 2007
Beta 2 should be released early today. I am about to begin packaging it, and testing it in a few different environments. It should be released in a few hours.
Below you will find the changelog for beta 2. There were not that many bugs fixed (as many were not reported), however there were quite a few enhancements.
Stay tuned to the blog and the beta mailing for more information on Beta 2.
Fixed Bugs
- Portfolio category span now only displays when there are categories.
- Projects in CCP supports currency code.
- Projects in CCP now supports the new payment statuses.
- Modify screenshots now has proper ALT text.
- Adding an empty screenshot, then deleting it, will now not remove the others.
- KB is not present now if it is turned off.
- Modify invoice now only supports the new "mark as (un)paid" link.
- Invoice items now support currency code.
- Config.php now has the correct lines.
- ACP upload new logo now utilizes is_writable instead of display a PHP error.
New Features
- Support for the old style CCP login system in the logout.
- Payment icons in shopping cart, with ACP option.
- Can now detect cURL more properly.
- Can now add (unlimited) new screenshots to existing portfolio/product entires.
- Main site now supports individual titles, customizable through language system.
Enchantments
- Fixed invoice in CCP for Firefox support.
- Helpdesk breadcrumbs' linebreak after nav.
- Breadcrumbs on portfolio and categories.
- CCP's client news bottom border is now showing.
- New helpdesk icons.
- Main ACP page in Firefox no longer has bullets in the middle of nowhere.
- Client's "Your information" made more proper looking.
- ACP's todo list padding.
- CCP's "Your Projects" made more proper looking.
- ACP/CCP login page fixed for IE7.
- Latest invoice in CCP now uses Javascript.
- Project files that are images, now use the title's ALT.
1.5.0 Beta 1 has been released & Beta Upgraded
July 15th, 2007
After many hours of fighting tonight, I managed to get the beta out and the demo uploaded.
For some reason a lot of files was being copied over old, which resulted in many issues while I was testing it out on my test servers. There was also a testing site of mine, where a function did not work, so I had to rewrite that entire code base. And then I had to test the demo to ensure everything was fine.
I then wrote the beta script, and the emails were just sent out to all of the beta testers who applied. It has been a very eventful, stressful day, but 1.5.0 Beta 1 is now out after many months.
Go play with it yourself, if you're not a beta tester! demo.freelancerpanel.com
I look forward to everyone's thoughts on it!
Beta 1 will be released on July 15th
July 13th, 2007
Beta 1.5 will be released on Sunday, most likely in the evening. It will be opened exclusively to those who have applied to the beta, so please remember to apply before Sunday!
If you do not wish to apply for the beta, the demo will also be running the beta to help find bugs. So if you wish, you can also help us out by finding bugs through that.
During each stage of the beta, we will add new applicants if needed. So if you apply on Monday, you will be eligible to beta test the second version of the beta.
An email will be sent out later this evening with more details.
Full Manual Coming Soon
June 29th, 2007
Currently there is only documentation for installation and common issues (knowledgebase). So a manual will help to add even more documentation.
The manual will cover every little thing from installation to how to configure the WYSIWYG editor properly. There will also be screenshots to help for those who prefer to follow along visually. The installation instructions will also be more in-depth than the installation file (install.html).
The manual is currently being written. I have the basic outline of the manual and the first page. I hope tomorrow to finish the installation, and then spend a week or two on the ACP/CCP. Then an editor will come in and clean things up. It will not be released with the 1.5 beta, but most likely slightly before 1.5 goes stable.
Hopefully the manual will help even you grasp what I was thinking when I was writing that certain piece of code that you always wondered what it does!
1.5 Beta 1's Code is now Complete
June 20th, 2007
Today I finished up my pre-beta 1 testing. A bit ago I finished up the work of the installer, and I tested that today to ensure that I got all of the SQL changes (there were over 60). I believe I have completed all of it.
There is still no definite date on the beta 1 release however. The designer is still working.
Freelancer Panel 1.5 Beta & Beta Testers
June 17th, 2007
I'm sure you have heard about 1.5, but let me say what it is just in case you haven't. 1.5 is the next major release of Freelancer Panel. It is actually the only major upgrade yet. It will feature some design tweaks, and many new features, and a complete recoding of two aspects.
The Name
Why doesn't 1.1.0 exist? The simple answer is that this is a major upgrade, and I wanted to show it through the version. This is not just an average upgrade. 1.6 will (most) likely exist, I don't plan on making major upgrades too often.
The Features
Unfortunately, someone lately has been stealing my work. I'm all for competition, I love it. I think it makes products better, and makes people work harder, allthewhile making the consumer's experience better. But just copying off of someone else is very wrong. I have only seen previews, so I am hoping they finally see that stealing is wrong. To get back to the heading, it's still too early to release the features in fear of them being stolen yet again. Sorry guys. :-(
The Status of the Beta
All of the coding features have finally been completed for the alpha. The designer still has a few things left to do. I also need to upgrade the installer to support the new SQL changes (about 60 in all). I will do that sometime this week. I am hoping for a beta release in the oncoming weekend. But the designer's work is out of my hands, I'll do my best to try and have him get it done by then.
Beta Testers
Beta testers really help make the product much better! The original beta team was fantastic. They found many bugs before the stable version was released. In over 6 months, only 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 was released. That's very good! I would love to have existing clients join the beta team.
Beta testing is free of course. There is generally no compensation either. However, you really do make the product that much better for yourself, and for others. It is also a good way to get your name listed on the ACP, if I feel you've made quite a contribution to the software.
Beta testing is basically using non-stable software. You would act like it's a production environment (not suggested to actually run it in one), and try to break the software. If you find a bug, you report it to be fixed before everyone else gets their hands on it. Feature requests, security issues, and all the like is also welcomed and encouraged.
As I already said, 1.5 alpha is pretty much finished. There is very little time left for feature requests left! Minor features will be included in 1.5.x, while major features will be included in 1.6.0, which is a long way's off. So please join the beta team and request features!
Just fill out this form to become a beta tester.
Welcome to the Freelancer Panel Blog!
June 13th, 2007
Firstly, I would like to welcome you to the Freelancer Panel blog! I am very glad you have decided to look at it. Now let's dive into why the blog is here, and what it will be used for.
The Why
I have always been a firm believer in customer satisfaction. I always try to do my best, no matter what. I believe the main key to success is customer satisfaction. And the best way to obtain satisfaction is communication. I have replied to many tickets in about a minute or two -- but I wanted to expand outside of the realm of "formal support", and email communication. I always try to get to know each and every one of my customers, I like to show people that I truly do care. And this is precisely why this blog was created - to increase my level of communication.
The What (that will be posted on the blog)
A variety of things will be posted on the blog. I will do my best to explain the why's, and my thoughts on the matters you may hear about from a press release, an email announcement or anything of that sort. News, tips, tricks, pipeline, my thoughts are just a small sector of what will be posted.
For the next few weeks the main topic of the posts will be concerning the next major release - 1.5. Instead of sending out a variety of emails concerning the version, I thought a blog would be nice. So for those who would want to stay in the "in", can do so by subscribing to the blog (just enter your email address over there <<<<). In fact, the very next post will be about the beta, which is extremely close, did I mention extremely?
Why is this blog not like the others?
I believe in the concept of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). If it works, and looks great, I think that's all that needs to be done.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. I did not use the traditional form of CAPTCHA (It's a miracle if I get it right on the first guess), so instead there is a question/answer form instead.
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