2.1.0 Alpha!

[Ben]

Hi all,

So, I just released the first version of the 2.1.0 alpha, which you're welcome to download here:
http://alpha.formtools.org/

Please use this forum for any and all discussion about the new version.

WARNING: this is a very early, buggy release!!! It is in no way ready for production use. The purpose of releasing it now was so that I can start soliciting general feedback and questions.

I'll be starting on the documentation soon. Honest! I realize this is a big impediment to making sense of the new features, but hopefully the few of you that do download it can muddle through.

I'm exceedingly interested in your comments: negative, especially! Find something utterly bewildering about the new version? Find anything deeply unintuitive or overly complicated? Now's the time to let me know! I'm very open to incorporating your changes.

Oh - and I've bundled a new "JS Error Logging" module with the first alpha release. It's a (very) simple module that just collects javascript errors that occur within the interface. Form Tools 2.1.0 now uses jQuery and jQuery UI, and the client-side code is considerably more complex than it's predecessor. That module has been very helpful locating problems that occur in your browser.

Anyway, enjoy! :-)

- Ben

[crunchers]

Thanks, Ben. I'll take a look see when I have a chance.

Is there anything in particular that makes this particular release stand out from the previous 2.0x versions?

[Ben]

Oh yes! There's a LOT of stuff that has changed. I'll expand on all these in the documentation later, but as a quick overview:

- New field types for use in your forms (Phone Numbers, Dates, Times, Code/Markup fields) as well as the fact that the field types are now extensible via modules. (I'll be coming out with a few in the coming weeks). Lots more options on each field type.
- Internal/External forms
- A lot of interface updates (client-side sorting, submission, consistent look & feel to tables)
- Grouping option added to Views, Option Lists, View Fields and others.
- now uses jQuery instead of Prototype
- significantly improved Edit Form -> Fields page.

Basically I re-wrote a large portion of the Form Tools code.

Again, sorry there's so little info out there right now. It will be remedied soon!

- Ben

[crunchers]

Jesus wept! That certainly is a significant update (and a half). Sounds exciting, Ben. I hope it won't affect my PayPal Integration script that I'm furiously perfecting.

What's the upgrade pathway going to be like from previous 2.0 versions?

And is there anything I need to consider besides updating the formtools form fields table when adding new fields to an existing form table outside of the control panel?

:q

Many thanks.

Keep up the great work.

[Ben]

Hey Crunchers!

When it's ready, you'll be able to upgrade to it directly from 2.0.x - just like before. Looking over the changes made since the original 2.0.0, there have been a LOT of files that have been being removed and moved, so what I think I'll do is create a "Clean Up" module that identifies old and redundant files from earlier Form Tools versions and attempt to remove them. It won't be strictly necessary, but I think it'll be nice to keep your installation as clean as possible.

And is there anything I need to consider besides updating the formtools form fields table when adding new fields to an existing form table outside of the control panel?

Good question! So the from_fields table contains all the main values & settings for the fields (N.B. the structure changed a bit in 2.1.0 - let me know if you have any questions about it). However, form fields may now have any number of additional (optional) settings, found in the field_settings table - but since they're optional, I think you're fine.

I can't see any problems with what you're doing, but definitely give it a go and check it works!

- Ben

[crunchers]

Thanks, Ben. That's great news. When I finish up writing the PayPal integration script, I'll be sure to check out the 2.1.0 alpha build and send you some feedback (can't wait to try it).

Thanks for replying to my original question; everything seems to work fine in testing. What I thought might be useful would be to have a dynamic helper function in formtools that automatically retrieves any admin email accounts; useful for notification purposes when writing integration scripts.

Perhaps something like:

PHP Code:

function ft_get_admin_emails()
{
    global $g_table_prefix;
    
    $link = ft_db_connect();
    
    $query = ("SELECT email ".
              "FROM ".$g_table_prefix."accounts ".
              "WHERE account_type='admin'");
    $result = mysql_query($query);
    $row = mysql_fetch_row($result);
    
    $to = implode(", ",$row);
    
    ft_db_disconnect($link);
    
    return $to;
} 


I find it really useful.

Any chance of including it in the api?

[Ben]

Hi Crunchers,

Ah, interesting! So you modded your script to permit multiple administrator accounts, or the code just always retrieves the single one? I admit that I'm a little hesitant adding it right now, because there's a core function that does the same thing - with the one caveat that you'd have to know the admin ID (which is always 1 right now):

PHP Code:

$admin_info = ft_get_account_info(1);
echo $admin_info["email"]; 


Do let me know if I misunderstood. I'm certainly not at all averse to adding in functionality that can help out everyone!

And yes - do let me know what you think of 2.1.0 alpha!

- Ben

[crunchers]

Ah, sorry. Allow me to explain, Ben.

It relates to the IPN script I've recently been updating (more of a structural re-write as it turns out). Naturally, there's a sizeable amount of data manipulation and database queries occurring. As such, I've included lots of error handling in the event of failure(s); both in a log file and email alerts.

Concerning email notifications, I could of course include a global variable in the accompanying config file, but I figured why bother when the information is already available in the database; it's one less variable to configure.

I then simply pass the returned variable into the mail() header as-is; it's a notification to all admins so it makes sense.

Back-peddling slightly, the idea stemmed from trying to make the IPN script as idiot-proof as possible to implement, and highly extensible with minimal set-up. So far, I've built in a lot of automation that I find extremely useful:

- dynamically auto-switch between sandbox/live paypal account without taking the form off-line
- subscription payment aware (e.g. create a new submissions when a recurring subscription payment is fired from PayPal)
- automatically create additional fields when setting up a payment form for storing relevant ipn post data.
- lots of other jazz besides

Without much knowledge of php/mysql at the time, I managed to piece together an on-line payment and booking system using FT1.5 based largely off of your tutorial and the work by M. A. Howard. Since then, I've decided to invest some time on the programming side as I've been meaning to update to 2.0x for a long while now.

Anyway, before this turns into my own personal autobiography thread, I'd appreciate any suggestions or input you may have to offer on the completed script. You may find it useful for the site and for other users to learn off of. Perhaps even develop it as an official module.

[victorycck]

Hi all,

So, I just released the first version of the 2.1.0 alpha, which you're welcome to download here:
http://alpha.formtools.org/

Please use this forum for any and all discussion about the new version.

WARNING: this is a very early, buggy release!!! It is in no way ready for production use. The purpose of releasing it now was so that I can start soliciting general feedback and questions.

I'll be starting on the documentation soon. Honest! I realize this is a big impediment to making sense of the new features, but hopefully the few of you that do download it can muddle through.

I'm exceedingly interested in your comments: negative, especially! Find something utterly bewildering about the new version? Find anything deeply unintuitive or overly complicated? Now's the time to let me know! I'm very open to incorporating your changes.

Oh - and I've bundled a new "JS Error Logging" module with the first alpha release. It's a (very) simple module that just collects javascript errors that occur within the interface. Form Tools 2.1.0 now uses jQuery and jQuery UI, and the client-side code is considerably more complex than it's predecessor. That module has been very helpful locating problems that occur in your browser.

Anyway, enjoy! :-)

- Ben

victorycck

I have been waiting for this. Thanks

The API is missing and all the modules are not there. I copied the API script from an earlier version and it worked. Is it okay for one to copy all the missing modules and etc from earlier versions to cover up the missing gaps?

Am wondering whether the system is going to accommodate forms that insert multi rows of data into the database.

I have also noticed that the tab that used to lead to the alteration of database column headers is no longer there. Where has it been put this time.

Still trying out the new system.

[Ben]

Hi Victory,

No - nothing is compatible yet, and several key pieces are still missing (you can't upgrade & the WYSIWYG and File field type have been moved to separate modules & aren't available).

The API may appear to work, but I'm certain it's incompatible in one form or other. It will definitely need to be updated to work properly.

Am wondering whether the system is going to accommodate forms that insert multi rows of data into the database.

I started designing that feature to add the API but ran into a hurdle. But yes, I do intend to solve it at some point.

I have also noticed that the tab that used to lead to the alteration of database column headers is no longer there. Where has it been put this time.

The Database tab has been merged with the Fields tab. ALL field management is done from that one location. To view the database settings, you can either use the horizontal scroll bar on the Fields tab to view the additional fields, or just click the edit icon for a single row. That opens a dialog window containing all the options. You'll note there are lot more now, and the options are dependent on the field type.

Again, sorry there's no documentation yet. I'm slowly completing things one by one and I'll get there eventually.

- Ben