The VGuitarForums site has been upgraded to the latest version of our forum software, SMF 2.1!
There are LOTS of new features in 2.1, such as likes, mentions, drafts, online notifications, proper timezone support, far better mobile support, etc., etc. There are also many security & platform enhancements.
For the forum junkies out there, a more complete list of enhancements may be found here:
https://wiki.simplemachines.org/smf/Differences_between_SMF_2.1_and_SMF_2.0
Things you might want to look at:
- One of the biggest differences is the introduction of online alerts, so it is recommended that you review your notification settings. To do so, click on the profile menu at the upper left (where your name is) & select Notifications. There you can select which items you want to see real-time vs by email (or not at all!).
- Since one of the enhancements is proper timezone support, you may want to review your timezone under your profile as well.
Superb! Thanks!
Thank you for the upgrade!
I appreciate all of the work that you guys put into taking care of this forum.
Another donation for the cause is on the way!
Looks a lot cleaner. Shame that the likes notifications has gone from the profile and post pages
Quote from: Nobulusprime on May 15, 2022, 02:32:00 PMLooks a lot cleaner. Shame that the likes notifications has gone from the profile and post pages
Yep. In 2.0, likes was a plugin, and that plugin came with a couple of statistics pages.
In the latest version of SMF, the good news is that likes are built-in, and tied into the notification system, etc. But no stats pages. They *may* come back. We'll see...
I was a little surprised to see the updated site. I don't recall seeing any notice that an update was pending, but I appreciate the work all of you put into keeping the site updated and running.
One thing that seems to be missing, unless I'm just overlooking something, is the responses to topics I'm watching. Is that now "Updated Topics"? I'll assume I will still get the email notifications, but sometimes email notices get lost in the shuffle.
Yep, Updated Topics.
Thank you Shawn, for all the obvious work behind the scenes in pulling this off...most appreciated !
One teeny (?) question.....where do I find my bookmarks... ?
Cheers,
Peter
Quote from: gumbo on May 16, 2022, 01:20:35 AM...
One teeny (?) question.....where do I find my bookmarks... ?
...
I can't see anywhere to create bookmarks either :(
Cool 8)
Quote from: kenact on May 15, 2022, 04:24:22 PMI was a little surprised to see the updated site. I don't recall seeing any notice that an update was pending, but I appreciate the work all of you put into keeping the site updated and running.
One thing that seems to be missing, unless I'm just overlooking something, is the responses to topics I'm watching. Is that now "Updated Topics"? I'll assume I will still get the email notifications, but sometimes email notices get lost in the shuffle.
testing to see if you were notified of this quote.
There was mention of this upgrade in a thread where we were discussing accidentally hitting the "spite" button while scrolling down a page. Shawn said that button feature would be gone in new edition. Yay, Thanks!
Quote from: chrish on May 16, 2022, 06:05:35 AMtesting to see if you were notified of this quote.
There was mention of this upgrade in a thread where we were discussing accidentally hitting the "spite" button while scrolling down a page. Shawn said that button feature would be gone in new edition. Yay, Thanks!
I was not. The last email notification I received was on 5/14, about Gumtown's GR-55 Floorboard.
Well the new upgrade gets me outta here a lot quicker as the most recent posts are nowhere to be seen. It does look a lot cleaner though.
Quote from: alexmcginness on May 16, 2022, 11:03:24 AMWhere do ya find those?
"Updated Topics" is a link way up at the top, under the logo. Right next to "Unread Posts". On the desktop, it's over to the right.
Quote from: philjynx on May 16, 2022, 03:46:15 AMI can't see anywhere to create bookmarks either :(
I'll check to see if there is a way to resurrect the Bookmarks feature.
Quote from: alexmcginness on May 16, 2022, 11:42:57 AMWell the new upgrade gets me outta here a lot quicker as the most recent posts are nowhere to be seen. It does look a lot cleaner though.
Click the RECENT icon graphic left of the word RECENT at bottom left of page takes you here
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=recent
It's the one URL I use 5 times a day
All -
Unread Posts & Updated Topics are up at the top, just underneath the logo.
On the desktop, it's to the right.
Maybe a pic will help:
OK, I was able to get some of the old "Likes" functionality back. On your profile menu, you will now see an entry for "Posts I Liked", that will provide a lists of posts you liked.
I was also able to find a Bookmarks mod (plugin) similar to our old one, and migrate old bookmarks into it. That will also be found on your profile menu, under "My Bookmarks".
The primary difference between the new & old bookmarks is that the new one allows you to bookmark individual messages (via the little green heart you will start seeing...) where the old one was tied to entire topics. When migrating the old bookmarks over, I just used the first message in each topic.
Quote from: admin_shawnb on May 16, 2022, 01:32:30 PMAll -
Unread Posts & Updated Topics are up at the top, just underneath the logo.
On the desktop, it's to the right.
Maybe a pic will help:
But none are equivalent to this
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=recent
Recent allows me to see 10 pages of ALL RECENT POSTS - including those I've already read - which I'm happy to still see
(https://i.postimg.cc/fWV7DcWp/Screenshot-20220516-134412-Chrome.jpg)
Quote from: admin on May 16, 2022, 01:41:28 PMBut none are equivalent to this
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=recent
Recent allows me to see 10 pages of ALL RECENT POSTS - including those I've already read - which I'm happy to still see
The "Recent Posts" link still works:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=recent
And it is found in its same old location as before, at the bottom of the forum home screen, just click on "Recent Posts":
Quote from: admin_shawnb on May 16, 2022, 01:45:04 PMThe "Recent Posts" link still works:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=recent
And it is found in its same old location as before, at the bottom of the forum home screen, just click on "Recent Posts":
Agreed
Just wish there was a hyper link at top of page
Quote from: admin on May 16, 2022, 01:47:35 PMAgreed
Just wish there was a hyper link at top of page
I've put a bookmark submenu in my browser toolbar, called VGuitar, with my most frequently used links. Since that follows me on any device I use, it acts like an extension of the site. Also means that if I just want a quick look at the most recent posts, it's just a click away.
A BIG thank you, Shawn, for being able and taking the time to migrate the Bookmarks.....that has saved me HEAPS ! :-*
Kind regards,
Peter
Oh my gosh! What an update. Now I have to figure out all of the changes. Bravo.
Yay, I like the new look. I really didn't care for the way it used to look but now it's much better!
Im glad that you guys can find where to access recent posts. "The same place it always was" was never at the bottom of any page. It was always at the top. There were two links...one for recently unread posts and the other for replies to threads that we'd replied to. I dont need instructions on how to find where theyre burried now. As I said, now that theyre hidden, Im spending less time.
Is there a dark theme?
I may be wrong, but it appears that all the email alerts have been reset.
It used to be that replying to a post, by default, set you up for email alerts when a reply has been posted. My reply to this thread did not set me up for alerts for this thread. It also looks like previous alerts, like the deal alert thread, are no longer sending alerts. I just changed my status to Receive Email and Alerts for the Deal Alert Thread. I'll report back on that status.
Quote from: kenact on May 17, 2022, 10:23:00 AMI may be wrong, but it appears that all the email alerts have been reset.
It used to be that replying to a post, by default, set you up for email alerts when a reply has been posted. My reply to this thread did not set me up for alerts for this thread. It also looks like previous alerts, like the deal alert thread, are no longer sending alerts. I just changed my status to Receive Email and Alerts for the Deal Alert Thread. I'll report back on that status.
Yep. I would double-check your Notification settings, on your profile menu. Make sure "Follow Topics I Create and Reply To" is checked.
I strongly encourage everyone to double-check their Notifications settings (as mentioned in the initial announcement).
Shawn
Quote from: shawnb on May 17, 2022, 11:17:06 AMYep. I would double-check your Notification settings, on your profile menu. Make sure "Follow Topics I Create and Reply To" is checked.
I strongly encourage everyone to double-check their Notifications settings (as mentioned in the initial announcement).
Shawn
Before I changed my profile, I had changed my status for this thread, to send alerts & email. I didn't receive an email regarding your reply.
Quote from: shawnb on May 17, 2022, 11:17:06 AMYep. I would double-check your Notification settings, on your profile menu. Make sure "Follow Topics I Create and Reply To" is checked.
I strongly encourage everyone to double-check their Notifications settings (as mentioned in the initial announcement).
Shawn
And check your email SPAM folder
@kenact - check your Notification setting for "Receive forum newsletters, announcements and important notifications by email".
It's the very first setting, under Notifications | General Settings. You can see it in the screenshot above.
Quote from: admin_shawnb on May 17, 2022, 04:07:08 PM@kenact - check your Notification setting for "Receive forum newsletters, announcements and important notifications by email".
It's the very first setting, under Notifications | General Settings. You can see it in the screenshot above.
Thanks, I checked that a little while ago. Not uncommon for settings to change after an upgrade. Been a computer programmer since 1973. :)
Above, I think we may have confused "Unread Posts", "Updated Topics", and "Recent Posts".
"Unread Posts" and "Updated Topics" map to what you used to see at the top of the forum under 2.0.
My thoughts on navigation - (particularly on a wide desktop monitor).
The layout forces a lot of mouse movement to select different options (first picture).
The second picture is a suggested alternative layout - adding a 'Recent' buttton.
Splendid upgrade! Thanks for all the hard work :)
To the folks asking about dark mode & various theme/layout changes...
There are lots of themes out there, I keep evaluating them. When I find a couple that work we can try them out here!
For the folks who have asked about the "like" statistics...
First, you should now see "Posts I Liked" under your profile.
Note also that "like" stats are on the main stats page here:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=stats
The stats page is one of a few helpful pages (like "Recent Posts") that are listed at the bottom of the forum's home page.
New "interesting" behavior. I received a "Topic Reply" email. Instead of clicking the link in the email, I opened VGuitarForums in my browser and clicked Updated Topics. That showed "No updated topics found since your last visit."
The thing is, the email came at 8:24 PM and I hadn't been on since 5 PM.
Clicking the link in the email, brought me to the topic.
It's great that the 'Who's Online' feature now remembers the last filter chosen. Previously, it was a pain choosing Who's Online and then having to change it from 'everyone' to 'members only'.
Not so great, the unnecessary 'are you sure' after clicking 'mark all messages as read'.
That's two clicks to do one thing eliminated from one task, great! But added to another task.
Overall though, it's a better interface.
Thanks.
:)
Quote from: philjynx on May 19, 2022, 01:57:14 AMNot so great, the unnecessary 'are you sure' after clicking 'mark all messages as read'.
I have accidentally pressed this button quite often, so I am happy for the extra check.
It is now possible to make a selection and quote just a selection of text. Just discovered it writing this reply!
The upgrade looks great, thanks! A lot easier to browse on smaller screens.
I might be missing something here, but there used to be a way to delete a post entirely -- an X in the upper right corner. Where is that feature now?
Thanks.
Quote from: Dalai_llama on May 21, 2022, 07:25:13 AMI might be missing something here, but there used to be a way to delete a post entirely -- an X in the upper right corner. Where is that feature now?
Thanks.
Still there. Under the MORE... menu!
Not a complaint, just an observation. In the previous version, you would only get one email alert for a thread you were following. I just got two alerts, one for Dalai_llama's post, and a second for admin_shawnb's reply.
Quote from: sixeight on May 19, 2022, 06:25:58 AMIt is now possible to make a selection and quote just a selection of text. Just discovered it writing this reply!
Nifty feature, but only appears to work on desktop, the 'quote selected text' button doesn't show up on my phone. In both cases the browser is FireFox.
Quote from: philjynx on May 21, 2022, 08:23:22 AMNifty feature, but only appears to work on desktop, the 'quote selected text' button doesn't show up on my phone. In both cases the browser is FireFox.
I've always manually edited what I wanted to quote, once the reply screen comes up.
Quote from: kenact on May 21, 2022, 08:01:49 AMNot a complaint, just an observation. In the previous version, you would only get one email alert for a thread you were following. I just got two alerts, one for Dalai_llama's post, and a second for admin_shawnb's reply.
I think it will attempt to do so if your notifications are set to "Immediate" (as opposed to "daily summary", "immediately for the first unread", etc.).
Quote from: admin_shawnb on May 21, 2022, 07:47:12 AMStill there. Under the MORE... menu!
Thanks for your reply, Shawn. But I tried that already. It only shows "Modify" and "Report to Moderator" for some of my posts, but not "Remove". Could that be a bug?
Screen Shot 2022-05-21 at 10.14.23 PM.png
Quote from: Dalai_llama on May 21, 2022, 01:19:48 PMThanks for your reply, Shawn. But I tried that already. It only shows "Modify" and "Report to Moderator" for some of my posts, but not "Remove". Could that be a bug?
Are they "topic starter" topics?
The ability to remove topics (first post in a thread) is more restricted than the ability to remove regular posts within a thread. (As deleting whole topics could end up deleting contributions by other members.) This was true in the prior version as well.
It's there a way to mark a topic so that it doesn't show up in recent posts? If there was a topic/thread (I'm having difficulty finding the right word here) that deals with a gizmo you don't have and have no interest in, is there a way to have it left out of recent posts?
Quote from: admin_shawnb on May 21, 2022, 01:25:05 PMAre they "topic starter" topics?
Yes. So that must be the reason.
Thanks for your help.
Quote from: philjynx on May 21, 2022, 02:35:30 PMIt's there a way to mark a topic so that it doesn't show up in recent posts? If there was a topic/thread (I'm having difficulty finding the right word here) that deals with a gizmo you don't have and have no interest in, is there a way to have it left out of recent posts?
There is a feature to ignore boards, which I just enabled. You'll find it under your profile menu.
It will stop sending you "New" indicators, and it will exclude those boards from the "Unread Posts" list. I do not think it excludes items from "Recent Posts", which is kind of an audit of all recent posts, though. Worth trying.
Caution: Ignoring boards for gear you do not own will decrease GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), improve your finances, and also reduce friction with significant others over finances. Clearly not advised.
Quote from: philjynx on May 18, 2022, 12:16:49 AMMy thoughts on navigation - (particularly on a wide desktop monitor).
The layout forces a lot of mouse movement to select different options (first picture).
The second picture is a suggested alternative layout - adding a 'Recent' buttton.
We were able to accomplish a lot of that with a couple minor tweaks to the existing config. Hope it helps!
It would be good to see my new liked posts and also to display total liked posts - do you think that functionality will return?
Quote from: Nobulusprime on May 22, 2022, 01:18:52 PMIt would be good to see my new liked posts and also to display total liked posts - do you think that functionality will return?
The reports we have at this time are the "Posts I Liked" list, visible on your profile:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=profile;area=mylikedcontent
And the overall stats, partway down the stats page:
https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?action=stats
There may be more coming, but this is what we have now.
Quote from: admin on May 16, 2022, 01:47:35 PMAgreed
Just wish there was a hyper link at top of page
OK - put a "Recent Posts" up top on both the main theme and the new dark theme.
Search observation.
Previously, the default search option was to be able to search within the particular board you were looking at. It now seems the default is to search the entire forum, and if you want to narrow it down to a single board, it looks like you have manually uncheck the hundreds of boards you don't want to search in.
Quote from: kenact on June 07, 2022, 01:30:29 PMSearch observation.
Previously, the default search option was to be able to search within the particular board you were looking at. It now seems the default is to search the entire forum, and if you want to narrow it down to a single board, it looks like you have manually uncheck the hundreds of boards you don't want to search in.
(https://i.postimg.cc/sX46GDvX/Screenshot-20220607-133543-Chrome.jpg)
I have these options
I click search "This Topic" to find info on a specific thread
You probably want click search "This Board" to find info on a specific gear area
Yeah, there are two searches. The advanced search in the main menu, and the quick search at the very top.
Both behave the way they did before.
The quick search is context-sensitive. If you're on a board, it will default to searching the board. Same with topics.
BUT...
The real difference, I think, is that you don't have easy access to the quick search on mobile that you had before.
Thanks, I was looking at the search under the logo. I wasn't seeing the search above the logo.
Quote from: kenact on June 07, 2022, 01:55:06 PMThanks, I was looking at the search under the logo. I wasn't seeing the search above the logo.
(https://i.postimg.cc/mZqMNWC2/Screenshot-20220607-135910-Chrome.jpg)
While Mobile in portrait mode has zero search bar
Must rotate to Landscape mode to see Search on mobile phone
(https://i.postimg.cc/bvj4Z53m/Screenshot-20220607-140140-Chrome.jpg)
I don't see how to follow a topic in this new format. Am I missing something? thanks.
@Paresh -
On desktop, your options are to the right directly above & below the posts, in the same set of buttons that include "Reply", etc. The idea is that it shows you what your notification settings are, and you can click on that to change the options.
If you are currently receiving no alerts or emails for that thread, it will say "No Alerts or Emails". Click on that to change your notifications for that thread.
If you are receiving emails, it may just say "No Alerts".
On mobile, those options are under the "User Actions" menu, same location.
Got it, thank you Shawn!
Great job, many thanks