Schedule
Please note that due to unforeseen issues encountered during our QA testing phase, Release 2023.021 has been canceled. and the features and improvements planned for release 2023.021 will be integrated into our upcoming release, 2023.022. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Here are the dates for 2023.022:
- To staging sites, the week of October 31st
- To production sites, the week of November 6th
- To Enterprise client sites, the week of November 13th
Customize Category Pages with Layout Editor
We are thrilled to announce the latest update to Layout Editor - Category Pages. With these updates you can design and structure your category pages the way you envision them, and tailor each category's appearance and content to match its individual personality and purpose.
Connect Community Events to Zoom
With this release we are also introducing our Zoom integration designed to make your event experience seamless and hassle-free. With this update you can connect community events to Zoom, and allow users to register and join your events with one-click. Learn More.
Layout Editor Updates & Improvements
With the release of Customizable Category Pages you can expect to come across a few other updates & improvements to Layout Editor widgets and templates including:
Enhanced Control Over Category Widget Metadata
Our Categories Widget settings has been updated to provide you with even greater flexibility and control over the metadata displayed in your category lists. With this update, you can now tailor the information shown on a per-widget basis, allowing you to enable or disable the following metadata elements:
- Category Descriptions: Choose whether to display or hide category descriptions.
- Post Counts: Opt to show or conceal discussion and comment counts, or enable Post Count to showcase the total number of discussions + comments within the category.
- Last Post Information: Choose to include or exclude information about the latest post within each category including its name, author and date.
- Subcategories: Determine whether subcategories are shown in your widget.
- Follow Category Menu: Control the visibility of the follow category menu.
- Follower Counts: Decide whether to show the number of users following categories
This level of customization empowers you to craft a Categories Widget that perfectly aligns with your content presentation and user experience goals.
⚠ Please note that these updates have replaced and override the following Theme Variables:
- "homeWidgetItem.options.display.description"
- "homeWidgetItem.options.display.counts"
If these are configured in your style guide they will no longer impact Category Widgets.
New Layout Types: Site Home vs Subcommunity Home
Previously, we had a single homepage layout that could be applied to both your site homepage and subcommunity homepages. In response to user feedback, we've split this into two distinct layouts to enhance clarity and customization.
- Site Home can be used to customize your site homepage, making it uniquely yours.
- Subcommunity Home can be used customize the appearance of individual subcommunity homepages, tailoring the experience for specific subcommunities.
This change ensures that you have more control over the design and organization of your subcommunity homes, while preserving the flexibility to choose a default subcommunity homepage.
⚠ Please note that the Subcommunity Home Layout option will only be available if
- you are using our subcommunities feature
- you have not configured a specific subcommunity as the default
Enhanced Application Workflows for Custom Layouts
We have refined the application workflow for custom layouts, offering you the ability to set a custom layout as the default view, and to apply customized layouts to specific subcommunities or categories. This enhanced flexibility allows you to curate unique and engaging experiences throughout your platform, whether you're aiming for a consistent look and feel or want to deliver specialized designs for distinct content areas.
Copy Custom Layouts
We're excited to introduce a new feature that simplifies the customization of your platform's appearance - the ability to copy a custom layout. Now, you can effortlessly replicate and tweak your existing layouts, saving you time and effort when creating a consistent look or experimenting with variations.
Customize Breadcrumb Location in Custom Layouts
You now have the power the add breadcrumbs to your custom layouts and have complete control over where these breadcrumbs appear on the page.
Updated Banner Widget Settings
We've fine-tuned our Banner widget to provide you with more flexibility and crystal-clear configuration options. The latest updates encompass:
- Streamlined Presentation: Now, you can easily hide banner titles and descriptions, ensuring a clean and uncluttered design.
- Dynamic Adaptability: Choose to pull banner titles, descriptions, and images dynamically from site settings, subcommunity settings, or category settings. This adaptability is based on the type of layout and precisely where the layout is applied, allowing you to curate the perfect look and feel for each corner of your platform.
These updates ensure your banners are not only eye-catching but also adaptable to different contexts.
Bug Fixes & Improvements
- VNLA-4920: Fixed Header-type categories not appearing as Headers in Category widgets
- VNLA-5042: Created default layouts for new layout types
- VNLA-5148: Improved application process for Category Layouts
- VNLA-5149: Added workflow for switching between Legacy & Custom Category Layouts
- VNLA-5160: Reorganized Layouts Side Panel
- VNLA-4661: Updated presentation of dates on Events Widgets & List View
- VNLA-4344: Enabled copy & paste from GoogleDocs into Rich2 posts
- VNLA-5078: Reviewed robots.txt for Vanilla CDN
- VNLA-5086: Enabled Events Feature Flag by default
- VNLA-5162: Removed feature flag dependency for new headings/meta layout in Categories widget/asset
- VNLA-5181: Ensured Events enhancements are compatible with Zapier
- VNLA-5032: Fixed 'redirect is deprecated. Use redirectTo instead.' error
- VNLA-2261: Fixed Flood Control Spam Popup when joining certain private groups
- VNLA-2812: Fixed inaccurate post count in Site Totals Widget
- VNLA-2967: Fixed issue where subcommunities with a default category were not showing in the Subcommunities widget
- VNLA-3169: Fixed Share image functionality for discussion links on LinkedIn/Twitter
- VNLA-3313: Addressed observations in Swagger API v2 documentation
- VNLA-3727: Fixed issue in passing custom profile field information from Client-side drop-down to Vanilla drop-down
- VNLA-3856: Fixed profile fields not displaying when using Invitation registration
- VNLA-3860: Restored 'Random Password Generator' in Add User UI
- VNLA-4161: Fixed popup notifications not displaying on Layout Editor pages
- VNLA-4213: Fixed Analytics CSV to show Discussion Names instead of IDs
- VNLA-4263: Fixed Skimlink Custom Plugin not showing on Edit Profile Page
- VNLA-4343: Fixed pasting from Excel not preserving links
- VNLA-4391: Fixed absence of welcome email when adding user through Dashboard
- VNLA-4546: Fixed Ideas not filtering out in Posts chart
- VNLA-4666: Fixed Password Reset Issues on Staging Site Login Page
- VNLA-4724: Fixed search for categories to correctly include subcommunity or node in URL
- VNLA-4762: Fixed Leaderboard User not displaying correct reputation points
- VNLA-4871: Fixed missing Q&A follow-up notifications
- VNLA-4957: Improved notification preferences when unsubscribing
- VNLA-4965: Fixed alignment issues in new user management page when zoomed in
- VNLA-4966: Fixed 'Include in email digest' behavior when digest preferences are selected
- VNLA-4973: Fixed inability to bypass Applicant role through SSO
- VNLA-4990: Fixed category moving to non-existent parent during Utility Update
- VNLA-5102: Fixed editing of non-Rich2 events clearing the event description
- VNLA-5111: Fixed 'Register for Event' not working as expected after logging out
- VNLA-5151: Fixed DELETE /reactions API Call issues
- VNLA-5153: Fixed 'Manage Followed Categories' link navigation issue
- VNLA-5156: Fixed discussions checkbox blocking posts in custom Categories layout
- VNLA-5161: Fixed SessionIndex set twice in SAML request
- VNLA-5166: Addressed XSS (cross-site scripting) security report
- VNLA-5168: Improved error handling when unregistering from a Zoom Event
- VNLA-5169: Fixed case sensitivity issues in Zoom endpoint for firstName and lastName
- VNLA-5170: Fixed error when unregistering for events with identical Zoom IDs
- VNLA-5178: Fixed search functionality for published outcomes
- VNLA-5179: Fixed empty location display in result page for Zoom sections
- VNLA-5182: Fixed quotes in posts intermittently showing backend code
- VNLA-5183: Fixed HTML in Rank label displaying in Reaction data stream
- VNLA-5188: Removed filtering options from discussions asset
- VNLA-5194: Fixed sub-communities and layout issues
- VNLA-5198: Fixed inconsistencies in Event cards displaying meta data
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