Version 4.0.0 RC7 (Release Candidate 7) is now available for download in the client area of our site. Refer to this post for more information on what the release number means, and specifically what we mean when we say that this is a "Release Candidate".

For those of you who have already read previous release information for the 4.0.0 platform, I've made all information new in RC7 in red so you can easily skip down to info specific to RC7.

This new version includes a lot of new features compared to the 3.1 line, you can see more info on them in the release notes linked below. Between this and RC6 there have been a lot of bug fixes, the majority relating to listing renewals, listing upgrades, "copy listing" beta feature, and listing edits. See the RC7 specific release notes further down for more info.

Requires PHP 5
The new version requires at least PHP 5.2.0. We highly recommend the latest stable version of PHP 5.2, currently PHP 5.2.6.

You can see the discussion about changing to require at least PHP 5 here. We also gave advanced warning of the minimum requirement change to current clients in our blog and more details in the forums. If you do not meet the new minimum requirements, you will still be able to download the latest version of Geo 3.1 that requires PHP 4.3, we will continue to support the 3.1 line and keep making maintenance releases as needed, but no new features will be made for the 3.1 line.

Who Should Update

Anyone using any of the prior 4.0.0 release candidates should update to this new version, as it fixes problems found in previous release candidates.

For anyone currently using 3.1.9 or below:
This is a major feature release, with many new features, and changes to how existing features work. We have made the update process as seamless as possible, but it is still not as simple as updating a maintenance release. There are a few new pages that will require your attention after the update is complete, refer to the user manual for more info on that.

Code modifications: As always, if you have any PHP code modifications, to update you will need to re-apply those changes after you update, and custom code modifications are not supported in the helpdesk system. Keep this in mind when deciding whether you want to update or not. This is even more important for this version, since there have been so many changes to how the software works, more than likely changes will need to be made to make your modifications or addons compatible with Geo 4.0.

High traffic sites For high traffic sites, it is recommended to first test the update on a test location, so that the update on the live site is as seamless as possible.

Software Update Cost
If you have purchased the software within the last year, this will be a free software update. If you are outside of your 1 year of downloads, or are not sure, contact the sales department at sales@geodesicsolutions.com to get a free price quote for this new feature release.

Geo Client Area
If you do not have an account to log into the client area, you will need to be added to our new client area in order to download the new version. Send the following details to sales@geodesicsolutions.com when you are requesting the software update:
First Name:
Last Name:
Address:
City:
USA State:
Non-USA Province:
Zip / Postal Code:
Country:
Phone:
E-mail Address:
Release Notes:
Specific to RC6 (not credited in release notes for 4.0.0)
  • Listing Edit, Renewal, Upgrade, and also the beta "copy to new listing": All of the noted processes have had changes to make sure they are much more reliable on legacy listings (any listing placed on the 3.1.9 platform).
  • Fields that were previously missing from the listing edit have been added back (such as editing the URL).
  • Fixes to seller to buyer settings to be slightly more intuitive in the admin.
  • Steps during the place new listing, listing renewal/upgrade, listing edit, etc. share some of the same pages and page text (for example, listing details page is shared between place a new classified, new auction, and edit listing). Now though, those steps that share pages like this now have their own page title, description, and button text depending on what is currently happening.
  • Improvements made geared for sites that have the "Charge for Listings?" setting set to off. Among them include different text specific to if that setting is off so that the default text makes no reference to money (like the cart is renamed to My Queue).
  • Category specific questions have returned to the search, edit-my-info, and edit listing pages
  • [FEATURE] The Payscape payment gateway is now available for use
  • Fixed listing edit when using "convert newlines to line breaks" setting
  • User-selectable templates have returned to the Storefront
  • Fixed a bug where SEO settings didn't save properly
  • Fixed subcategory links not appearing in main cat nav module
  • Fixed category descriptions missing on browse pages
  • Fixed rare IE6 browser crash bug in checkout page
  • Added interactive template assignment for new pages during upgrade
  • Fixed pre/post currency values not changing during listing edit
  • Fixed bulk-uploaded listings unable to be Upgraded

Read the release notes for information on new features and bug fixes between 3.1.9 and 4.0 in the linked page.

Changed Files:
Files changed between 3.1 to 4.0:
N/A
Since this is a major feature release, it would be impractical to give the changed file list, as most if not all of the files have modifications to them between 3.1 and 4.0.

Update Instructions:
  1. Perform the update as specified in the User Manual.



Update Wizard Issues:
Firefox, and potentially other browsers, seems to add .gz or similar to the install/update executable when downloaded from the client area of our site. If your download ends in anything besides .exe when downloading a wizard package, remove it so that it ends in .exe. Also, if you have problems when you use the wizard, see this post.

Example Addon:
The Example Addon is used by developers as a starting point and as "working documentation" to build 3rd party addons.

The Example Addon is not yet updated for Geo 4.0 (as of this post). We will be updating the Example Addon's documentation to match changes made for Geo 4.0, and a version specific for Geo 4.0 will be released soon.

You can get the example addon (instructions may change):
  1. Purchase the example addon (for free) in the cart, by logging into the client area, and viewing the details of an enterprise order, find the link that says "Buy new addons, support and upgrade packages" and click on it.
  2. Go to the order details page for the order you just purchased.
  3. There should be a download for the example addon on this page.

If you have any problems, start a support ticket, or post a reply to this thread.

Troubleshooting
  • Troubleshooting will be located in the tools available in the support section of our site, the main resource being the updates user manual. Currently there are no troubleshooting tips specifically for this release.


Known Issues:
  • Listing renewal/upgrade/edit "locks" still function as before, but should be less troublesome now. In a future release, when something is blocked because it is "locked", it will give the user more info about why it is locked, for example "you cannot edit this because you previously editing the listing on 5/5/2009 and that edit is still waiting for admin approval."
  • Due to changes in how the site balance works, there is currently no invoice list that is viewable by users. Related to this, if you are using what used to be referred to as "negative balance" or "invoice me", that has been removed and replaced with the ability for the account balance to go positive or negative. Anyone in the system that still has unpaid invoices, the unpaid invoices are converted over to negative account balance during the update to 4.0. We will be adding more features to expand on this in upcoming releases.