Release: The Events Calendar 2.0.8

This release comes a bit later in the month than normal, and we’ve been putting the finishing touches on The Events Calendar 2.0.8 the past few days. As you’ll see there were a ton of translation files submitted this month and we’ve worked as many of them in as we received before codefreeze. We’ve also added a number of minor backend enhancements based on the results of last month’s usability test. (We’ll be publishing an article walking through exactly what those changes were later this week, but in the meantime let us know if you notice them / find them useful.)

There are also a handful of bug fixes, including improvements to the AJAX loader’s speed and a tweak to how time is output in the iCal feed. Now that the plugin is live we’re immediately shifting our focus back to 2.0.9, so we can get August’s monthly maintenance release out on time.

Release Notes for WordPress Events Calendar 2.0.8:

Small features, UX and Content Tweaks:

• Integration with Presstrends.
• Added an prominent message showing where the calendar lives on your site, appearing immediately upon initial activation.
• Added prominent links to the frontend calendar throughout the backend: on the admin Events list, within the admin bar Events menu, on the plugins list and in the Events panel in the main left-hand admin menu.
• Updated Events panel in main left-hand admin menu to include “Settings” and “Help,” & to rename “App Shop” to “Event Add-Ons.”
• Added info boxes with descriptions & explanations on each tab in the Events settings.
• Set Events menu options (under Appearance -> Menus) to appear enabled/visible by default.
• TRIBE_HIDE_UPSELL code in wp_config now also hides “Event Add-Ons” links.
• Incorporated ECP version into iCal feed (thanks for the tip, Andy Fragen!)
• Incorporated tribe_settings_above_form_element_tab_{$currentTab} to ease integration of third-party add-ons with the Events Settings tabs. Note that as a result the tribe_settings_form_element filter was changed to‘tribe_settings_form_element_tab_’.$this->currentTab.
• Warning messages now appear when attempting to publish custom recurring events with the “Every (X)” field left blank.
• Added filters to the various title generators within the TribeEvents->maybeAddEventTitle method, so users can control calendar-related title tags in their functions.php file.
• General audit-trail/post-origin improvements & tweaks.
• Removed address/venue queries from views/table.php.
• Included new Hebrew translation files (free & PRO), courtesy of Sagi Shrieber.
• Included new Japanese translation files (free only), courtesy of Matthew Meyer.
• Included new French translation files (free & PRO), courtesy of Arno Faure.
• Included new Lithuanian translation files (free only), courtesy of Vincent G from Host1Free.
• Included new Czech translation files (free & PRO), courtesy of Petr Bastan.
• Included new Serbian translation files (free & PRO), courtesy of Marko Manojlovic.
• Included new Bosnian translation files (free & PRO), courtesy of Marko Manojlovic.
• Included new Croatian translation files (free & PRO), courtesy of Marko Manojlovic.
• Included new Finnish translation files (free & PRO), courtesy of Petri Kajander.
• Included new Catalan translation files (free only), courtesy of Fran Rosa.
• Included updated Italian translation files (free & PRO), courtesy of Filippo Montanari.

Bug Fixes:

• Cleaned up gridview queries to improve AJAX loader speed on sites with multiple events.
• Clarified an incorrect message regarding template override instructions for the list widget.
• Removed unclear/confusing message warning message regarding the need for plugin consistency and added clearer warnings with appropriate links when plugins or add-ons are out date.
• iCal feed no longer adds an extra minute to the event’s end time (thanks for the fix, Andy Fragen!).
• Fixed star rating icons that appeared broken on Settings -> Help as a result of the WP 3.4 update.
• Users are no longer taken to a “Page not found” screen after submitting comments on recurring events.

One last point worth noting: we realize there were a good number of bugs reported this past month that we’d planned on patching for 2.0.8, but are not included on the list above. Unfortunately we ran out of development time this month before we could fully address some of those bugs. But anything that didn’t make the cut this month is now a top priority for 2.0.9, which will be more heavy on the bug fix front than 2.0.8 and will be out the first week of August. If you have questions about the status of an existing bug report or want to report a new one that came about with this release…let us know in the comments below or over at the forums.

Thanks, as always, for your support so far.