Just a quick note about 3.1.13

This is a small changes release, it tries again to address some paths issues that people have had (and as far as I can see, it does, but only time will tell). 

We've also released two new plugins. They're very simple but they do what they're designed to do:

1. featured_properties Does what it says on the tin. Adds a new button to your administrator Jomres so that you can choose which properties are featured. Search results will be re-calculated so if a featured property is in the results, then it will be pushed to the front of the list.

2. frontpage A nice simple plugin that offers a new front page that non-registered users will see if they're not navigating the Jomres pages via a search (ie if $task=""). Currently it offers 2 rows of properties that Hazel's done a lovely layout for (thanks mate).

Finally, can I remind people that we get a heck of a lot of our business from the Joomla Extensions Directory, and we rely heavily on reviews to produce business. If you're a fan of Jomres (or even, if you're not) then please visit our page on JED and pass on your experience of us to others.

Thanks.

Jomres 3.1.11 has been released. As well as a few bug fixes, there's also a new license for Jomres:

Jomres Unlimited.

This license should be considered the daddy of them all. The other licenses require that your server communicate with the license server on a regular basis to confirm that your license is still valid, whereas the Unlimited license does away with all that. You can even download the installation and integration scripts in their unencoded formats and edit them to suit your own requirements.

This is the ideal license for the web developer who wants to provide multiple installations of Jomres to multiple clients. The price is set so that after you've installed Jomres 3 times you're effectively using it for free.

Subscriptions!

It's now possible to add subscription functionality to your website, enabling you to charge your property managers for the properties they host on your Jomres powered server.

The new features work around the concept of property limits. You create subscription packages which can have a range of options, and set a limit to a number of properties for that package. Property managers then can have N published properties on their system for the number of properties the subscription package(s) they have signed up for allows. If they want, they can subscribe to multiple packages.

This functionality is new and should be considered beta, which means that whilst we've tested it for functionality there may still be bugs with it so use it at your own risk.

More information can be found on this forum post: http://forum.jomres.net/index.php?topic=464.0

Just to let you all know, the manual's been finally updated for Jomres v3.1+

It's been broken into two parts, a System Administrator's guide and a Property Manager's guide. 

The Property Manager's guide takes a much more tutorial style approach, guiding you through your initial steps you need to take to set up a property, then touches on other settings that you might want to consider when performing further configuration. If you're a site admin providing services to your users you might have other suggestions as to what can be included in that guide, if so please raise a support ticket with your thoughts.

Jomres 3.1.8 is now available for download via the license server or updates server. Apart from a few more bug fixes 3.1.8 finalises, for the most part, the remote plugin functionality.

Remote plugins are installed directly from the update server so you can be sure of getting the most up to date versions of your favourite plugins (if curl is enabled). It also installs mambots (aka plugins on Joomla 1.5), modules and Jomres minicomponents (these are stored outside of the Jomres directory tree so if you upgrade Jomres the files aren't changed). Naturally, all these plugins are free.

There's still a little work to be done with plugins as some are incompatible with each other and managing this needs to be worked out, but in general it's all there and working and Hazel and I can finally move onto other stuff like building an invoicing system for the site administrator.

Have fun folks.

I'm calling this the  John Inman** special because it's Jomres' third birthday and there's a yummy discount to be had again!

Vince is moving home between the 16-23rd of February so he will be offline while the ADSL is moved from his old house to the new house. This shouldn't be a problem as Hazel will still be around to manage tickets and forum queries.

Because there will be reduced support for the next week or so we do ask that you first raise any questions you might have on the forums. Hazel's definately going to be snowed under so don't be surprised if there's a delay responding to those questions. If you're a Jomres/Jombok user and you can answer any of the questions you see on the forum please don't be afraid to jump in with a reply yourself.

Wish me luck, quitting smoking's hard enough without the added fun of moving home!

I'd like to remind folks that we get the vast bulk of our traffic from JED so your reviews and votes are very important to us. If you have the time, please visit the Extensions Directory and let other people know your experiences of Jomres.

Jomres v3 is ready for download from the license server.

This isn't a huge build functionality wise. It has a few scrummy features like frontend stats and html emails, but the main changes are, once again, under the hood. These are 1. Refactoring of the file system so that virtually all of the files now exist under /components/com_jomres allowing you to .htaccess password protect the administrator login, and 2. Making it Joomla 1.5 ready (that'll raise a few eyebrows).

If you're planning to upgrade to this version you are strongly advised to read this forum post as there is important information in there that you will need to know. Also, unlike previous versions you should not simply run the executable/upload and overwrite existing files. Instead, uninstall Jomres using the Joomla/Mambo component installer then run the executable/upload the new build again. Ensure that you run install_jomres.php once the files have been uploaded so that you can bring your database tables up to date with the current version.

Note, after upgrading you'll need to re-add Jomres to your main menu. Once that's been done, note the new Itemid in the main menu and add that to Jomres's Site Config as you'll get a lovely annoying warning about the Itemid not being correct otherwise.

As always, it is advised that you do a file and database backup before performing an upgrade, and it is recommended that you test an upgrade against a development installation on localhost. 

There's a new forum at http://forum.jomres.net for those users who've been nagging me. Have fun and don't break it!

The newest version of Jomres is now available.

There are no front end changes. Instead the changes are bug fixes and integration of the portal into the backend, so if you have previous versions of any portal functionality you'll need to uninstall them.

Loosely referred to as the portal functionality, it extends the backend options so that you now have the ability to set commission levels, and if you have nbill installed commission invoice items will be inserted into nbill for you. You can also view stats both overall and for individual properties and create new properties.

Additionally, we've implemented token checking for property manager and administrator functionality. This is a security feature designed to combat CSRF (See here for more information) Note that this feature only affects Jomres functionality, it does not cover all of Joomla/Mambo.

Normally, when I find a really good service I'm rather inclined to keep it to myself. After all, chances are good that the service is excellent because it's not overstretched. Praise them too highly and (if anybody cares what you say) you'll soon find that they're soon swamped with other customers.

Keeping the light of United Hosting under a bushel would be an exception to that rule. Sure, they're not cheap but ever since I moved over to them about a month ago after the debacle at Fasthosts they've answered all my questions extremely quickly (and there have been quite a few), regardless of the time of day, accurately and with good humour.

So, if you're looking for a top notch service (hosting Jomres based servers with them works without any problems whatsoever) I highly recommend United Hosting, who prove that you really do get what you pay for.

Thanks Wilson, Matt and everybody else for all your hard work.

Jomres 2.7 Stable can now be downloaded from the license server. Key points of interest are in the news release for 2.7RC1.

Please note the following:

This version includes some small changes to the booking form therefore if you are running a customised set of templates you will need to upgrade your existing templates to work with this new version. Typically, all you'll need to do is add a "discount" div to the form, which you can see in the new core form underneath the messages div.

Also, do not use the 2.6.2 plugins as most of them are superseded by this version.

If you already have some minicomponents installed, please read the list in the 2.7RC1 news release as many have now been integrated into the core system. If you have one of these minicomponents installed it is recommended that you uninstall them before upgrading. 

As always, make sure you backup your file system and database before upgrading, and ensure that you run "install_jomres.php" after uploading the new files as there are necessary table changes to be made. Also, please note the warnings after install_jomres.php has been run.

Jomres 2.7RC1 is now available. Given the huge number of changes we've opted to bump the version number direct to 2.7, instead of just calling it 2.6.3, which it was previously.

Note : This version includes some small changes to the booking form therefore if you are running a customised set of templates you will need to upgrade your existing templates to work with this new version. Typically, all you'll need to do is add a "discount" div to the form, which you can see in the new core form underneath the messages div.

Also, do not use the 2.6.2 plugins as most of them are superseded by this version.

This is mainly a consolidation build where we've imported a whole bunch of plugins into the core system now that we're content that these complicated plugins work as anticipated (integration however is a whole different ball game). That said, there are a few additions like the much anticipated Edit Booking functionality, SSL switching and a minimalist General Configuration setting.

The language files have taken something of a battering with scores of new lines added to take into account the new functionality so if you have customised your language files make sure that you back it up before upgrading. 

A quick summary of changes since 2.6.2:

Added booking editing functionality. Well played Hazel!

Converted booking notes functionality to work as part of Jomres Core.

Converted my user plugin to work as part of Jomres Core.

Converted Extras Models to work as part of Jomres Core.

Converted Wise Price to work as part of Jomres Core.

Converted Wise Price to work as part of Jomres Core.

Converted remote availability plugin to Jomres Core.

Converted enhanced tariffs to Jomres Core as "Micromanage" tariff editing mode.

Converted cheque/payoffline plugin into the Jomres Core.

Added SSL switching for booking form.

Added option "Minimise configuration options" in site config.

Added code for flash area. This is a less featured but more robust alternative to the sometimes buggy javascript editors.

Added new functionality whereby default room/tariff administration is the new "Normal" mode. Provides a simpler way of administering tariffs for new users. Experienced users can switch to Advanced mode (General Config -> Tariffs and Currencies tab) to edit rooms and tariffs and create room features.

Lots more in the changelog in the manual.

The newest version of Jomres is now available. In addition to those items mentioned in the previous post regarding the Beta 1, there's also the option to enable SSL when at the booking form stage.

We look forward to receiving feedback.

A few cool new features in this version:

Simplified Tariff handling.

Flash text editors for those people who find the javascript editors too buggy.

Handful of minicomponents integrated into the Core system including wise price and extras models, so if you have this component installed you'll need to uninstall them if upgrading.

NOTE: This is a beta release, which means it will be buggy. Feedback as always is welcome, I can't un-bug it without your help. As it is a beta release, don't install it on a live server.

A new beta service: Gafian

A few weeks ago we ran a survey at jomres.net and one of the results of that survey was that a good percentage of Jomres users would appreciate a "Super Property List" that their sites could register with, enabling them to enhance the visibility of their businesses on the .net.

To that end Hazel and I have been working on a new service, tentatively called GAFIAN (Get Away From It All Now) where you install a script that allows our server to connect with your Jomres servers and request property details, and offer those properties via our search offerings . We're now ready to invite users to help us test the service.

It's open to all Jomres types except demo users, and to the best of my knowledge it will run on all version of ! Jomres greater than version 2.0. You can find the download by viewing your license downloads when you log into My Account at jomres.net. The service is free for a standard listing, although we may be able to offer enhanced listings in the future, this is yet to be decided. The only thing that we ask is that you maintain a link to the gafian service on your Jomres pages (this will be added automatically by a minicomponent, you don't need to add it yourself).

If you wish to participate in this project, please go here: http://newsletters.jomres.net/gafian_subscribe.html and register to join the Gafian Tester's mailing list. I'll then be able to update users when various changes take place. It's likely to be a fairly high traffic mailing list, to begin with. A new department has been set up on the ticket system called Gafian testing, please direct any comments/questions/suggestions to that department.

To get the gafian client, log onto your account at jomres.net My Account and view your license downloads. All full/solo/development license holders should now see a download called gafian_dev.zip. Install this via the component installer on your Joomla/Mambo server. There should not be any problems installing this on a live server as it does not make any table changes (although Mambo/Joomla does) but it is good practice to always backup your server anyway before making changes.

How it works

The gafian_dev.zip file is installed using the Joomla Component/Mambo Universal installer. On installation your server will contact ours advising us of the md5 hash of your license key number and your mosConfig_secret. Once the license key has been confirmed as a valid number our server contacts yours asking for your published property details and each property is added to our property list, then your server is polled from time to time to keep your details up to date. The secret is hashed and passed back to your server every time ours contacts yours. This prevents other people from abusing the system, so do not share your mosConfig_secret with anybody.

Your published properties should then be available through a geographic search (more options should be available later). The server is undergoing constant development at the moment so what you see will change, but you can get your first look by visiting http://dev.gafian.com and doing some searches.

There will not be (in the short term anyway) any advantage to registering at http://dev.gafian.com as you will not be able to change any of the data listed on our server. If you want to change the data, do it on! your own server, it will be updated on ours after a while.

The gafian_dev.zip file is open source, so you are free to extract the files and view the code therein. We request that you DO NOT change any of these files. If you have a bug/problem please contact us using the ticket system.

As always, feedback and comments are welcome.