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Squiz Matrix Newsletter #422

It's Easter, that wonderful time of the year when indulging in chocolate is simply part of the holiday!

Squiz Labs celebrated yesterday with our traditional Easter barbeque, which included some pretty delicious burgers, as well as more than just a few chocolate eggs (just getting into the spirit of the season, of course...).

So, as we head toward the holiday break, we would like to take this moment to wish everyone a very happy and blessed Easter! 

Due to the Easter long weekend, our April releases of Squiz Matrix will be released a day later on Tuesday, the 2nd of April. Versions 4.12.5 and 4.14.1 of Matrix each contain a variety of new functionality, enhancements and bug fixes. 

Some of the features set to be introduced in our v4.14.1 release include a new SOAP function to retrieve the available keywords for a Paint Layout asset and a new option to configure a custom verification email subject header on the Bulkmail Subscribe Page.

Be sure to check the Squiz Labs blog on Tuesday for all the latest on these releases, including download links and patch notes.

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Due to the shortened work week, as well as preparations for the aforementioned releases of Matrix, we unfortunately do not have any new features to report on this week. We are, however, looking forward to hopefully bringing you some great new functionality in next week's edition. So stay tuned!

In the meantime, have a wonderful Easter break and we will see you next week!

Squiz Matrix Newsletter #421

This week we have two new enhancements to report, including an extension of Matrix's workflow system to include the editing of metadata. Continue reading below for more information on all this week's developments.

Workflow Approval on the Editing of Metadata 

Due for release in versions 4.14.1 (April 2nd 2013) 

Squiz Matrix's workflow system allows you to configure and manage the approval process of changes made to the assets within your site.

Previously, however, this only included content changes and did not apply to the editing of metadata. This meant that editors would be able to edit the metadata of Live assets, even if a workflow schema had been configured on the asset.

This minor enhancement extends the usage of workflow to include asset metadata, preventing the Live editing of metadata on assets with an applied workflow schema. Just like the editing of content, changes to metadata will require users to first put an asset into Safe Edit mode. These changes will then go through the designated workflow approval process.

Show in Asset Map Icon to Highlight Current Asset Only

Due for release in version 4.14.1 (April 2nd 2013)

The Administration interface within Squiz Matrix includes the Show in Asset Map binoculars icon, allowing you to highlight the specified asset within the context of the asset map. This allows you to locate an asset within the system and review its lineage.

Previously, clicking this icon would highlight the entire lineage of the asset, i.e. the asset, it's parent, and so forth up to the site level. This posed an issue, however, as users could inadvertently delete their entire site structure by either intentionally (when attempting to trash the current asset) or unintentionally hitting the delete key.

This minor enhancement modifies the way the Show in Asset Map icon functions, instead now highlighting only the current asset within the asset map. While this means that the lineage of the asset won't be highlighted, it mitigates the risks involved with the accidental deletion of your assets.

Squiz Matrix Newsletter #420

This week we launched our new version control tool on the Squiz Matrix User Manual Library. This tool aims to provide users with version-specific documentation by marking content not relevant to the user's current version of Matrix.

For more information on the new version control tool, view the release blog post.

As earlier reported, version control is now live on the User Manual Library so be sure to check it out! If you have any further suggestions on this or any other features you'd like to see on our documentation, you can let us know via the Suggestion Box form on the Manuals site.

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This week we have two new enhancements to report, including improved performance for the generation of base queries on the Calendar Events Search Page. Continue reading below for more information on all this week's developments.

Calendar Package: Improved Performance for Base Query Generation

Due for release in versions 4.12.6 and 4.14.1 (April 2nd 2013) 

The Calendar Events Search Page within Squiz Matrix's Calendar package allows users to search for event assets by a specified search query or date.

When a user makes a query on the Events Search Page, Matrix runs either the calendar_common library's getSingleEventQueryBase() or getRecurringEventQueryBase() functions to generate the base query to find the events based on the user's search criteria.

As a part of this process, these function call the getParents() function in order to ascertain the permissions of the current user. Previously, this function call could potentially be quite slow, especially when dealing with LDAP users who are often linked in multiple places throughout the system.

This enhancement improves the performance of these functions, by removing the use of the getParents() call and instead retrieving this information from cache.

Redis Cache Storage: Improved Error Handling and Persistent Connection

Due for release in version 4.14.1 (April 2nd 2013)

Earlier this month, we launched our 4.14.x branch of Squiz Matrix, including brand new support for Redis cache storage, as an alternative to Memcache and the system's default Matrix cache.

This minor enhancement adds a couple of improvements to Redis cache storage within Squiz Matrix:

• Improved Error Handling: Redis cache storage will now be able to catch read and write exceptions without throwing fatal errors.
• Use Persistent Connection: a persistent connection will be provided to Redis cache storage to deliver improved performance due to the avoidance of creating a new connection to Redis for each transaction.

What's Your Version? Take Control of Your Matrix Docs!

When we first launched the Squiz Matrix User Manual Library (way back in 2010!), we decided to keep our documentation current for each new release of the product. This was great, in the sense that all Matrix functionality available was outlined and explained, however, for those on earlier releases, the documentation didn't always match up to the product they were using.

We've heeded your calls and are happy to today release our new version control tool on the Squiz Matrix manuals!

The best thing is that this tool is extremely simple to use. Version control can be enabled on any page of documentation via the Show Version Info toggle (found at the top right of the page content).

Enabling version control will prompt you with a pop-up where you can select the version of Squiz Matrix that you are using. The tool currently supports from Squiz Matrix 4.8.0 right up to our latest 4.14.0 release!

A great feature is that this selection will be remembered throughout your entire session within the Manuals site and on any subsequent visits, so long as you have cookies enabled in your browser. If you do not have browser cookies enabled, don't worry, you will still be able to use the tool, however your selection will not be remembered as you navigate throughout the site.

Once a version of Matrix has been selected, the Squiz Matrix User Manual Library will mark and highlight any documentation that is not relevant to your selected version. Hovering over this content will display further version information, as shown in the image below.

So, for example. If you are using version 4.10.5 of Squiz Matrix, enabling version control for this version will highlight any features that was added AFTER your current release. That way, you are aware of any fields or functions that might not be appearing in your system.

We hope that everyone will be able to take advantage of the new version control tool. As always, if you have any suggestions to improve this feature, or any other documentation comments, please feel free to send us feedback via the Suggestion Box on the Manuals site.

Squiz Matrix Newsletter #419

This week was headlined by the release of Squiz Matrix version 4.12.4 and the launch of our 4.14.x branch of Matrix.

New functionality introduced in our new 4.14.0 release included a new SOAP API System Service to display the Matrix version number, a new SOAP API function to retrieve the thesaurus tags of an asset, a new Upcoming Events fuzzy date option on the Calendar Event Search Page, and a new CSS Safe keyword modifier. 

• View the release notes for v4.12.4
• View the release notes for v4.14.0 

Both these releases are currently available for download via the public CVS repository (http://public-cvs.squiz.net/) and our 4.14.0 release is additionally available as a VM image on the Squiz Matrix site.

View the release blog post for further information on these releases of Squiz Matrix, including patch notes and download links. 

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Last week we revealed the upcoming inclusion of version control on the Squiz Matrix User Manual Library. This new feature will allow users to select their current Squiz Matrix version and then highlight content that is not relevant to their selection (i.e. features added in a later version etc.)

We're pleased to announce that version control is on schedule to be released next week! Be sure to keep an eye on the User Manual Library and right here on the Squiz Labs blog for all the latest.

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This week we have one new feature to report, the ability edit the subject header of Bulkmail Subscribe Page's verification email. Continue reading below for more information on all this week's developments.

Bulkmail Subscribe Page: Custom Verification Email Subject Header

Due for release in version 4.16.0 (July 1st 2013)

Squiz Matrix's Bulkmail Subscribe Page asset allows your users to subscribe and unsubscribe to bulkmail emails.

As part of this subscription process, an optional verification email can be configured, requiring users to confirm when subscribing or unsubscribing from bulkmail. Previously, however, the subject header for this verification email was unable to be manually configured; by default, the subject of the email was: Please confirm your subscription / unsubscription request.

This feature adds a new Verify Email Subject to the Details screen of the Bulkmail Subscribe Page, allowing you to configure a custom subject line for verification emails.