InstantForum.NET v4.1.4InstantASP Community Forumshttp://community.instantasp.co.uk/sales@instantasp.co.ukFri, 21 Nov 2008 22:09:20 GMT20http://community.instantasp.co.uk/Topic4751-9-1.aspxHi All, <P>After several months of development we very excited and pleased to announce a BETA preview of our latest product update InstantForum.NET v4.0.</P><P>A full demonstration is available with access to the improved admin control panel at...</P><P><A href="http://demos.instantasp.co.uk/InstantForum40/" target=_blank>http://demos.instantasp.co.uk/InstantForum40/</A></P><P>This is currently only a release preview and as such we encourage feedback. </P><P><STRONG>Please post all comments and bug reports to our </STRONG><A href="http://support.instantasp.co.uk/displaygroup.aspx?GroupID=7" target=_blank><STRONG>dedicated v4.0 forums</STRONG></A><STRONG>. Do NOT post bug reports within the online demo.</STRONG></P><P>We are not currently providing any downloads or code to customers whilst the product is in BETA. Once we gather all feedback and resolve reported issues we will be providing a release candidate for download within the My.InstantASP download area.</P><P>Once the release candidate is available we may work through several other release candidates until all reported issues are resolved. Once everyone is happy we will be providing the final product to all existing v3.4 customers who purchased after the 30th September 2004. </P><P>Customers who did not purchase on or after the 30th September will have to purchase the v4.0 final upgrade when released. This is a small upgrade fee of $40 EUL or $80 Developer License. If you have made special arrangements in the past with InstantASP or you've previously been pro-active with assisting InstantASP during testing you will receive the update free of charge. We fixed the cut off date of 30th September 2004 back in November 2004. This was the date development began on v4.0 and when we basically weaved the upgrade fee for all new InstantForum.NET v3.4 customers. </P><P>The normal discounts will be provided for customers with support plans. Any customers who are not entitled to the next update free of charge but provide helpful feedback during the beta and release candidate phases for v4.0 will receive the update free of charge. This is to encourage plenty of quick feedback to help speed release.</P><P>Once the final version is available we send an email to existing InstantForum.NET customers and our newsletter list. Also please keep an eye on this forum we will also be posting all important announcements here.</P><P>A brief list of new features that can be found within v4.0 is provided below...</P><H3 class=dtH3>Ease of Use</H3><UL><LI>Familiar InstallShield Installation Wizard <LI>Eloquent Intuitive Design <LI>Comprehensive Web Based Administration </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>High Performance</H3><UL><LI>Designed from the ground-up for massive performance &amp; scalability <LI>Custimizable data caching (greatly reducing database trips) <LI>SQL Server parameterized stored procedures, Well designed tables, optimized indexes &amp; fk constraints <LI>Strongly typed data objects &amp; custom data collections (No heavy, slow System.Data.DataSet) <LI>Bench marked paging algorithm supporting hundreds of thousands of pages &amp; millions of records <LI>Email queuing system, email's are queued and polled in the background at set intervals <LI>Unique page compression feature (smaller pages, saves overall bandwidth) <LI>ASP.NET Viewstate is disabled for 99.9% of pages (smaller pages, less serialization) <LI>100% compiled, managed .NET assemblies (No COM or other dependencies) </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Highly Scalable</H3><UL><LI>Unique SQL Server based state management (no dependency on the session or application objects) <LI>Well defined architecture (separate presentation, application &amp; data layers) </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Well Designed</H3><UL><LI>Object Orientated Architecture <LI>Implements many best practices (singleton objects, data factory, facade objects, custom data collections) <LI>Over 40 standard server controls (textbox, datagrid, repeater etc) have custom implementations <LI>Over 70 custom server controls (PanelBar, SimpleMenu, WYSIWYG, BreadCrumb, etc) can be easily reused <LI>Takes advantage of the InstantASP.Common base library and shared InstantASP authentication model <LI>Enhanced error handling, choose if you want to receive an email for errors or simply log exceptions <LI>URL Rewriting ensures forum addresses are search engine friendly and easier to remember </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Developer Friendly</H3><UL><LI>Integrates with Microsoft® Visual Studio.NET 2003 (or above) <LI>Intuitive API with intellisense support within Microsoft® Visual Studio.NET <LI>Fully commented, clean structured code with class reference documentation </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Multi-Lingual</H3><UL><LI>Localize every aspect of the forum (UI, Email Templates, Dictionary) <LI>Drag &amp; Drop Language Packs (automatically detected, no configuration required) </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Security &amp; Roles</H3><UL><LI>Role based permissions provide control over which forums, topics &amp; events are visible <LI>Unique overriable "Permission Sets" provide comprehensive control over available features <LI>Protection on all user input from malicious code (injection attacks, cross-site scripting) <LI>Ban abusive, problem members or limit their permissions within the forum <LI>Ban problem IP addresses from any further new registrations or login attempts </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Permission Sets</H3><UL><LI>Unique Permission Sets feature offers unrivaled control over board permissions &amp; features <LI>Over 120 configurable permission set options <LI>Permission sets can be associated to any member group or overridden when associated to a specific member <LI>Permission sets can be assigned to member groups within a forum, controlling what a group can access within a specific forum </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Skinning &amp; Template Driven</H3><UL><LI>Portable skinning model <LI>Each skin can have a completely unique layout and visual appearence <LI>Drag and Drop Skins (automatically detected, no configuration required) <LI>Easily create &amp; edit skins within the admin area <LI>Assign skins &amp; wrappers globally or to specific forums <LI>Unique EmotIcon &amp; MessageIcon collections can be associated with each skin <LI>Wrappers can be used to easily wrap header and footer HTML around any skin <LI>Takes advantage of the ASP.NET v1.1 MasterPages implemention </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Search Features</H3><UL><LI>SQL Server Full-Text Search Support (both FreeTextTable &amp; ContainsTable) <LI>Highly optimized TSQL &amp; full-text search queries </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Forum Features</H3><UL><LI>Unlimited number of forums, sub-forums, groups, events, posts &amp; polls <LI>Only forums associated with the visitors current member groups will be accessible <LI>RSS feeds available for all forums <LI>Upload images directly into posts using the WYSIWYG editor <LI>Redirect Forums for linking to external information <LI>Subscribe to forums and receive email notifications of new posts <LI>Track read forums and topics within the database <LI>Optional admin defined forum notes, for providing information within forums <LI>Each forum can be customized using a unique skin or wrapper <LI>Support for Closed forums (no new posts) <LI>Define default sort preferences and display options for each forum <LI>Optionally exclude forums from searches <LI>Recent and popular posts options within main navigation <LI>Easily sort forums or groups within the admin area <LI>Easily propagate member group, skin or wrapper changes to all child forums <LI>Each member group can have a unique permission set within any specific forum </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Topic Features</H3><UL><LI>Flat and threaded views for topics <LI>Rate topics within forums <LI>RSS feeds available for all topics within each forum <LI>Printer friendly versions of topics <LI>Support for nested quoted replies <LI>Posts can be reported to the forum admin or any available forum moderators <LI>Members can edit or delete existing posts based on admin defined permissions <LI>Subscribe to topics and receive email notifications of new replies <LI>Email topics to other forum members or external email addresses <LI>Message icons can be association with posts </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Poll Features</H3><UL><LI>Single or multiple choice polls <LI>Administrators or moderations can easily close polls <LI>Graphical view of poll results with total vote count </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Post Features</H3><UL><LI>Familiar Word® like, WYSIWYG editor or standard IFCode editor (based on browser or permission settings) <LI>Multi-lingual spell checker with ability to preview post before submitting <LI>Upload images from you hard-drive directly into posts using the WYSIWYG editor <LI>Multiple attachments supported per post, configurable attachment types and upload permissions <LI>Expand or collapse posting area when working with posts, have this remembered for next time <LI>Admin defined permissions control what members can post, ie IFCode, Images, HTML, JavaScript, EmotIcon's &amp; more... </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Search Features</H3><UL><LI>Highly optimized search implementation for lightening quick searches <LI>Ability for admin to define ignore search terms and maximum search string length <LI>Limit the number of possible search results for each member group or a specific member <LI>Search flood control for each member group or a specific member <LI>Display search results as topics or posts </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Calendar Features</H3><UL><LI>Single Day, Ranged and Recurring Events <LI>Monthly and Weekly calendar views <LI>Define colors for events on the calendar to easily identify important events <LI>Ability to control show or hide events for certain member groups <LI>Optionally birthdays displayed on calendar <LI>RSS feed of all latest events posted to the Calendar </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Member Features</H3><UL><LI>Comprehensive dedicated control panel for each member <LI>Assign members a primary group and multiple secondary groups (controlling which content is visible) <LI>Assign a dedicated permission set to any member to override any other permission set <LI>Define permission sets for member groups or a specific member (controlling which features are available) <LI>Members activity displayed throughout forum (optional anonymous login feature for members) <LI>Easily configure which member group new members or member awaiting activation should be placed into <LI>Ability to define custom member level tags and / or images for each member group or a specific member <LI>Easily activate any members awaiting approval within the admin area <LI>Members can customize board language, skin, timezone &amp; many other options <LI>Personal Avatar, Signature &amp; Profile Photograph <LI>Fully searchable, sortable members list with ability to restrict access <LI>Who's On list displays anonymous and registered visitors with current board activity </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Private Message Features</H3><UL><LI>Private messaging with attachments between members <LI>RSS feed for each private message folder showing latest posts <LI>Send private messages to multiple recipients <LI>Organize and store private messages within custom folders <LI>Buddy and ignore list for private messages <LI>Private message storage limit defined within permission sets <LI>Ability to limit access to private message features or option to completely disable </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Login / Registration Features</H3><UL><LI>Easily configure registration mode (Automated, Confirmation Email or Admin Approval) <LI>Configure default member groups for new members or member awaiting activation <LI>Optional COPPA support during registration <LI>Optional Terms &amp; Conditions during registration <LI>Username or email-address can be specified as primary login detail <LI>Implements ASP.NET forms authentication with encrypted authentication ticket <LI>Well designed reusable authentication model </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Moderation Features</H3><UL><LI>Support for moderated or unmoderated forums <LI>Assign members as moderators to specific forums <LI>Comprehensive control over features available to moderators within each forum <LI>Inline post approval for moderators (see how a post relates within the thread) <LI>Easily bulk Move posts from one forum to another <LI>Easily bulk open / close topics within a forum <LI>Easily bulk pin / unpin topics within a forum <LI>Easily bulk delete topics &amp; posts within a forum <LI>Moderators can optionally close Polls <LI>Easily enforce or bypass moderation for any member group or specific member <LI>Edits are optionally tracked &amp; logged <LI>Optional email confirmations during moderation process </LI></UL><H3 class=dtH3>Administration Features</H3><UL><LI>Comprehensive control over every aspect of the forum (over 600 admin fields) <LI>Manage Forums, Categories, Members, Groups, Application Settings, Skins, Attachments &amp; much more <LI>Bulk email or private message forum members, refine mailing list with various search filters <LI>Edit over 20 optimization options to further enhance performance for very active boards <LI>Scheduled Tasks allow custom server-side code to run at scheduled intervals (automatically prune messages etc) <LI>Easily recount topics, posts, forum, members or private messages if you manually import or change any data <LI>Ability to execute TSQL statements against the database or shrink the transaction log &amp; indexes if required <LI>Preview &amp; delete email's sent from the board waiting within the email queue <LI>General diagnostics information &amp; database table statistics </LI></UL><P>Many thanks to all our customers for their help and patience through this release. You've all been delightful and your support is always appreciated. It's been many long hours however the end result is well worth the effort.</P><P>I hope you all agree <IMG title=Smile height=20 src="http://support.instantasp.co.uk/images/emotions/smile.gif" width=20 align=absMiddle border=0>Tue, 08 Mar 2005 09:56:37 GMTRyan Healey