JCE Editor 1.5.0 beta 4 has been released along with an update to the Admin Component, File Manager and Media Manager plugins. The Image Manager Extended also joins the bunch with its first beta in 1.5.0!
This is sort of a milestone release as it includes the new JCE Groups Permissions System, which adds a powerful and versatile method to control acces to the JCE Editor's features. There is a full tutorial on JCE Groups , I suggest you go through it after installing the new versions. Like sharks with lasers, the new JCE Groups system is awesome, but the concept can be a little confusing at first, especially to users used to the old system.
Another new and exciting feature is the Advanced Code Editor plugin, included in the core, which adds syntax highlighted code editing to the HTML view (the popup, not the toggle view). Its got a similar icon to the HTML view, but is red instead
One other change to take note of is that the AdvLink icon has changed. This is to differentiate it from the Link icon. The new icon is
None of the versions released to day are compatible with anything released before. The required versions are:
JCE Admin Component 1.5.0 RC3
JCE Editor Plugin 1.5.0 beta 4
JCE Media Manager 1.5.0 beta 3
JCE File Manager 1.50 beta 3
JCE Image Manager Ext 1.5.0 beta 1
Please report bugs where you find them and post suggestions etc in the forum. Please remeber that this is still beta code, so use with caution (ie: test it before using it live!)
There has been a lot of interest, requests and concern regarding the current status of JCE 1.5, and in particluar the Image Manager Extended plugin. I haven't been too good about communicating the status and progress of the project recently, and for this I apologise. Rest assured, JCE 1.5.0 is alive and very well, and a release is imminent. It will also feature one of the most important feature updates to JCE yet, (inspired by conversations at the Dutch Joomla!day) JCE Groups!
Image Manager Extended
Creating this plugin for JCE 1.5.0 has been quite a lot more work than anticipated, and has required some extensive modifications to the JCE 'API', mainly the inclusion of an event systems to trigger actions after events, eg: onUpload, onFileDelete etc. to handle Image Manager Ext thumbnail and resize operations without having to duplicate existing functions used by all the Manager plugins. For example, after a successful file upload, the onUpload event is triggered which in the Image Manager Ext's case calling an onUpload function to do the resizing, rotating (yes, rotating of images has been added!) and thumbnailing to the uploaded file. A similar thing happens onFileDelete to delete the associated thumbnail and possibly thumbnail folder.
Image rotating has also been added, and is available in the Upload dialog, (see screenshot popup) as well as in the Transform dialog (which includes resizing).
There have been one or two minor improvements too, such as the ability to have rollover images and tooltips at the same time, as well as some general fixes and improvements to the Manager plugins code in general.
The Image Manager Extended will be released as beta 1
JCE 1.5.0 beta 4 and JCE Groups
Included in the next JCE 1.5.0 beta 4 and JCE Admin Component RC 3 will be the new Groups system. This is a major change to the way permissions are handled in JCE and presents what is essentially the ability to create individual user and/or user type profiles, each have a unique layout and button configuration, as well as specific editor and plugin parameters. Groups can contain a mix of user types and individual users.
For example, you can create a group for Authors which only has access to Bold, Italic, Underline and the Image Manager. You then set the Image Manager to be restricted to a folder with the groups name, as well as disabling file and folder deleting, set via the plugin's group parameters. For this group you also disable the ability to insert javascript and php code (via the group's editor parameters), and just for good measure, add the user Joe Schmo to this group, because despit the fact he is an Editor, he just no ready for all the features you have assigned to your Editor group.
A default group exists for all default editing user types (which can be edited). Super Administrators have access to everything (always, regardless of what group they are assigned to), and Guests and Registered users are not in any group by default and are therefore presented with a blank editor (you can change this by assigning them to a group or creating a new one).
Here are a couple of screenshots of the JCE Groups Admin.
The site will be down tomorrow (21/05/2008) between 08h00 and approximately 11h00 GMT (hopefully back sooner) in order for it to be moved to its shiny new dedicated server!
Unfortunately the move to the new domain has not been without its troubles, and with me in various cities of 2 different countries over the last 2 weeks (still on holiday!) hasn't made the move and subsequant problems any easier to overcome. Nevertheless, I think everything should be working as expected now, and I apologise for any inconvenience caused.
If you are still experiencing any problems, please contact me.
On another note, I have released JCE Admin Component 1.5.0 RC2, which moves the Control Panel buttons and News Feed section to a set of modules. Further modules will also be developed. This should fix the 'fatal error' issues experienced in RC1.
I have just managed to squeeze out a few updates for JCE 1.5.0 before leaving on a bit of a holiday (including the Dutch Joomla!day on Saturday). I will still provide support via the forums during this period.
These updates should fix the Admin Component install issues (in the JCE Admin Component 1.5.0 RC1 release) and a number of important issues in the Editor Plugin and Media/File Manager plugins.
I hope these releases can bring us closer to a Release Candidate for the Editor Plugin and stability for the 1.5.0 project.
I know I promised the Image Manager Extended and Template Manager plugins too, but these aren't quite ready. I hope to have them out very soon.
There is also a little secret project in the works involving JCE Utilities and the Media Manager....
Thank you for your support, encouragement and help finding and squashing bugs!
Please use only the latest releases of each plugin/component together. Do not mix and match versions. The new Media and File Manager plugin versions are only compatible with beta3 of the Editor Plugin
