You could very well say that Theia 1.0.0b7 is undoubtedly the most improved version of Theia to date.

 

It hosts a huge number of bug fixes and security updates as well as more newly introduced features than any recent release.

 

So without further adieu - new features include:

 

- IM (Instant Messaging); though chat has been built into Theia for some time now, until now it hasn't been possible to have one-on-one conversations. Instant Messaging is as simple as clicking a button on a user's profile and chatting away.

 

- In-browser avatar cropping, thanks to jCrop; now whenever a user wants to update their avatar they are automatically brought into an interface that helps them crop out the portion they want to use.

 

- Added "floating mode" display for members list; previously viewing the members list would only display members within a structured table, but now you have the option to use "floating mode" instead, with a focus on larger avatars.

 

- Improved image processing now allows for preservation of alpha transparency with GIF and PNG images!

 

- Spiffy new control panel with easy to use interface allows users to add buttons (from a list of buttons the administrator creates/allows) to build their control panel as they see fit. Users can also remove buttons they don't want and reorder them through dragging and dropping.

 

- Improved session handling fixes a few major login issues which were effecting IE users.

 

- New admin tool for controlling what fields are available during sign-up.

 

- New admin tool for controlling what fields are available while creating/modifying items.

 

- New admin tool for controlling what settings and options users are allowed to configure for their personal settings.

 

- New admin tool for managing the social bookmark services your items can use (though the bookmarks were there before, there was no interface for managing them as they were just setup during installation).

 

- Added theme-binding support; items & sections can now be bound to specific themes (if permitted by the administrator). The admin can also now specify which theme-binding priorities take precedence.

 

- A generator utility is now included which makes automatically generating member accounts a breeze, loaded with lots of customization allowing you to state what kind of people you want generated.

 

- Greatly improved theming! There are literally hundreds of new CSS classes introduced which allow for far superior customization in your site's look. Many CSS classes don't even need to be touched for simple changes like colors, and there are also many new "universal" classes allowing you to change the colors/look for many elements within one class (though you also have the ability to set elements' styles independently as many elements contain multiple class names).

 

- Attachments with private messenger; you can now attach any number of files to private messages with ease.

 

As well as all the added functionality, some of the notable bug fixes and security updates include:

 

- Several bug fixes with the friends system have been added, including a rather annoying one which previously allowed users to accept any requests they sent to other users.

 

- File-input fields are no longer nulled out when adding new file upload fields in the item creation/modification form (the longest running bug).

 

- Post processing output is now done at a level which prevents anyone for extorting variable data from the site. I don't want to go into detail about this exploit since no one caught it, but needless to say it posed a security risk from knowledgeable hackers with bad intentions.

 

As usual, for a complete list of additions and fixes please consult our history log.