Dada Mail 4.4.0 Release Candidate 2 Released
From:
"Justin J" <justin@PROTECTED>
Date:
February 13th 2011
v4.4.0 rc2 has been released:
Download:
https://github.com/downloads/justingit/dada-mail/dada-4_4_0-rc2.tar.gz
uncompress_dada.cgi script (Save Link/Page As...)
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/raw/v4_4_0-rc2-2011_02_12/uncompress_dada.cgi
Install Docs:
http://dadamailproject.com/support/documentation-4_4_0-rc2/install_dada_mail.pod.html
The updated changelog is below - the major changes in this version have to do with two sore areas in the program:
The first is a problem found when you want to add/invite or delete a bunch of addresses at once. If what you submit to Dada Mail isn't in valid CSV, the program can barf in most unhelpful ways - basically by showing you a blank/semi-blank Verify screen. This could even happen if you submit perfectly valid data, with just some blank lines - no good! This should be fixed. It's really easy to recreate - just go to Manage Subscribers -> Add/Invite or Remove and submit just a double quote in the, "Bunch of Addresses" textarea.
The other problem was with syntax errors in email messages. If you submit a message with a syntax error in the template tags - which is easy to do, you'd be wouldn't be presented with any error message, but you'd have a message that would seem to never send in your mass mailing queue.
Now, you'll at least be given an error message in the browser about the syntax error. You'll also get a similar error message in the browser if you forget to add any message body content, or - if you're sending a webpage, if there was a problem with grabbing the page.
These are small changes to be sure, but should help to give everyone a smoother ride. I could really use some verification that these are working ;)
Changelog for 4.4.0 rc2:
http://dadamailproject.com/support/documentation-4_4_0-rc2/changes_4_x.pod.html#4_4_0
Changes 4.4.0
Closed-Loop Opt-In Subscription Not Enforced by Default, Anymore
----------------------------------------------------------------
In v4.3.0, Closed-Loop Opt-In Subscription model was applied in Dada Mail to mailing list by default and by default you were not able to change these list settings to tailor it to your needs, without first changing the config variable, $ENFORCE_CLOSED_LOOP_OPT_IN to, 0.
It was also noted that in future versions of Dada Mail, features that did not conform to Closed-Loop Opt In would be removed from Dada Mail.
The, $ENFORCE_CLOSED_LOOP_OPT_IN variable is now shipped with a value of, 0 by default, making Dada Mail's behavior the same as pre-4.3.0 versions of Dada Mail.
We're also opening up the dialogue to all users of Dada Mail on how they see is the best way to balance power and versatility of Dada Mail, with accountability and adherence of the rules of a legitimate mailing list. We will put on hold the plan to deprecate these features, until we got more feedback from the users of Dada Mail. Please join the discussion:
http://dadamailproject.com/support/boards/viewtopic.php
Code Cleanup
----------------------------------------------------------------
Code cleanup has trimmed 500+ lines from the mail.cgi file. Many of the changes can be seen from moving from the DADA::MailingList::Settings::save method to the, DADA::MailingList::Settings::save_w_params method and from moving from the DADA::Templates::Widgets::screen sub to the DADA::Templates::Widgets::wrap_screen sub.
Mass Mailing: Better Error Reporting
One problem when sending mass mailings - especially one using Dada Mail's templating system, is that you may make an error when using the template tags. This was a difficult error to even know about, since no reporting was made, if an error was found - Dada Mail would simply error out and your message would seem to be, "stuck" in the mass mailing queue, forever.
Now, many syntax errors should now be caught when sending a mass mailing, a webpage, or a list invitation.
Dada Bridge: Reply and Reply-All Behavior
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dada Bridge has simplified some of its options to make it more inline with other discussion mailing list apps, when it comes to discussion lists. You now have two choices:
* Have replies always be addressed to the mailing list (with an option to reply-all), or,
* Have replies addressed to the discussion list
View List: "Open List in New Window" button renamed to, "Download List"
----------------------------------------------------------------
The list will also be given back as a CSV file, so most likely, you'll get a little dialog box asking if you want to either open it in some application, or just download it.
View List: Email Your List Button is Gone
----------------------------------------------------------------
You may still download your mailing list in csv format.
Log View: Download the Raw Log
----------------------------------------------------------------
You can now download the entire log file, through the log viewer.
Installer: Old Screen Cache Files Removed
----------------------------------------------------------------
If you use the installer to upgrade Dada Mail (as it is noted you may do), old screen cache files will be removed, so that old information/templates won't be shown, with the newer version of Dada Mail.
Template System: initial "tmpl_set support", template wrapping
----------------------------------------------------------------
There's initial support for what's called the, tmpl_set template tag, that basically allows you to set a variable within your template, to be used somewhere else within your template.
This is interesting when coupled with initial support with wrapping one template, with another.
In one way, Dada Mail already supports this - many template screens you see use either the default list template, or the default admin template and add content to another template inside it.
Internally, this was done in a very kludgey way and has now been cleaned up. There could be a potential for a 33% speedup for screen creation (which is nice)
What has also been cleaned up is a problem with the title of many HTML screens in Dada Mail being saved within the program files itself. You can now set the title of the HTML screen from within the template that gets wrapped. You'll see a line like this near the top of many of the templates:
<!-- tmpl_set name="title" value="I am a title!" -->
Since moving to this way of setting the title for HTML screens, many, many of the templates have been changed. If you've made custom changes to the templates, you will want to do a diff on your version, with the version that ships with Dada Mail.
AJAX: internal changes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Many instances of using a package called, CGI::Ajax (http://search.cpan.org/dist/CGI-Ajax/) has been replaced to use prototype (http://www.prototypejs.org/)
The only place that CGI::Ajax is still being used is in the, ajax_include_subscribe.cgi extension - and we'll most likely remove it from there, soon as well.
Mailing Monitor: AJAX
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Mailing Monitor in the list control panel is now refreshed via AJAX, so that only a portion of the screen you see needs to be updated, instead of a refresh of the entire screen. This seems to make things appear much more snappy.
Subscription/Unsubscription Custom URL Redirect API Change
----------------------------------------------------------------
If there's an error with a subscription/unsubscription request, Dada Mail would add a list of the errors it came across by passing them in query string with a paramater named, errors. This name has been changed to, errors[] to help out php folk. This is tied to this bug:
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues#issue/109
Web Services Examples
----------------------------------------------------------------
Examples for initiating a subscription request have been updated and added to. Currently there are server/client examples in SOAP and REST. There's also a command line example. Profile Fields are now support for all clients and servers.
The example scripts can be found in the distro, at:
dada/extras/scripts/subscribe
Documentation can be found at:
dada/extras/documentation/pod_source/COOKBOOK-subscriptions.pod dada/extras/documentation/html_version/COOKBOOK-subscriptions.pod.html
Test Mass Mailings, Mail Merging
----------------------------------------------------------------
If the email address you're using has a profile, its fields ("First Name", "Last Name", etc) will be used in test mass mailings, instead of not using any fields. This is also true if the list owner email has their own profile.
Bug Fixes 4.4.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
* blank "Verify" screen when adding/removing addresses in the list control panel
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/closed#issue/113
There seems to be a few small problems with both the add/remove verification screens, if the information given is not formed correctly.
Among things that can cause problems: * Invalid comma separated values format * blank lines * blank lines, except for spaces * incorrect information - such as HTML. This HTML will then be viewed in the verification screens, without the HTML be escaped.
This causes a lot of problems with submitting addresses, as there isn't any notification, by Dada Mail that anything is wrong, except part of the screen having no information, what so ever.
* Email Address submitted with mixed cases can break the unsubscription mechanism
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/closed#issue/112
* Sending Test Messages does not pick up on any profile fields of the test recipients email address
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/issue/111
* Beatitude: Yearly repeating schedules repeat in less than a year
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/issue/110
* Multiple use of parameters in redirect to URL
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/issue/109
* Discussion List Reply/Reply-All behaviour is broken
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/issue/96
--
Justin J: Lead Dadaist.
url: http://dadamailproject.com
email: justin@PROTECTED
phone: 720.341.4963
Download:
https://github.com/downloads/justingit/dada-mail/dada-4_4_0-rc2.tar.gz
uncompress_dada.cgi script (Save Link/Page As...)
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/raw/v4_4_0-rc2-2011_02_12/uncompress_dada.cgi
Install Docs:
http://dadamailproject.com/support/documentation-4_4_0-rc2/install_dada_mail.pod.html
The updated changelog is below - the major changes in this version have to do with two sore areas in the program:
The first is a problem found when you want to add/invite or delete a bunch of addresses at once. If what you submit to Dada Mail isn't in valid CSV, the program can barf in most unhelpful ways - basically by showing you a blank/semi-blank Verify screen. This could even happen if you submit perfectly valid data, with just some blank lines - no good! This should be fixed. It's really easy to recreate - just go to Manage Subscribers -> Add/Invite or Remove and submit just a double quote in the, "Bunch of Addresses" textarea.
The other problem was with syntax errors in email messages. If you submit a message with a syntax error in the template tags - which is easy to do, you'd be wouldn't be presented with any error message, but you'd have a message that would seem to never send in your mass mailing queue.
Now, you'll at least be given an error message in the browser about the syntax error. You'll also get a similar error message in the browser if you forget to add any message body content, or - if you're sending a webpage, if there was a problem with grabbing the page.
These are small changes to be sure, but should help to give everyone a smoother ride. I could really use some verification that these are working ;)
Changelog for 4.4.0 rc2:
http://dadamailproject.com/support/documentation-4_4_0-rc2/changes_4_x.pod.html#4_4_0
Changes 4.4.0
Closed-Loop Opt-In Subscription Not Enforced by Default, Anymore
----------------------------------------------------------------
In v4.3.0, Closed-Loop Opt-In Subscription model was applied in Dada Mail to mailing list by default and by default you were not able to change these list settings to tailor it to your needs, without first changing the config variable, $ENFORCE_CLOSED_LOOP_OPT_IN to, 0.
It was also noted that in future versions of Dada Mail, features that did not conform to Closed-Loop Opt In would be removed from Dada Mail.
The, $ENFORCE_CLOSED_LOOP_OPT_IN variable is now shipped with a value of, 0 by default, making Dada Mail's behavior the same as pre-4.3.0 versions of Dada Mail.
We're also opening up the dialogue to all users of Dada Mail on how they see is the best way to balance power and versatility of Dada Mail, with accountability and adherence of the rules of a legitimate mailing list. We will put on hold the plan to deprecate these features, until we got more feedback from the users of Dada Mail. Please join the discussion:
http://dadamailproject.com/support/boards/viewtopic.php
Code Cleanup
----------------------------------------------------------------
Code cleanup has trimmed 500+ lines from the mail.cgi file. Many of the changes can be seen from moving from the DADA::MailingList::Settings::save method to the, DADA::MailingList::Settings::save_w_params method and from moving from the DADA::Templates::Widgets::screen sub to the DADA::Templates::Widgets::wrap_screen sub.
Mass Mailing: Better Error Reporting
One problem when sending mass mailings - especially one using Dada Mail's templating system, is that you may make an error when using the template tags. This was a difficult error to even know about, since no reporting was made, if an error was found - Dada Mail would simply error out and your message would seem to be, "stuck" in the mass mailing queue, forever.
Now, many syntax errors should now be caught when sending a mass mailing, a webpage, or a list invitation.
Dada Bridge: Reply and Reply-All Behavior
----------------------------------------------------------------
Dada Bridge has simplified some of its options to make it more inline with other discussion mailing list apps, when it comes to discussion lists. You now have two choices:
* Have replies always be addressed to the mailing list (with an option to reply-all), or,
* Have replies addressed to the discussion list
View List: "Open List in New Window" button renamed to, "Download List"
----------------------------------------------------------------
The list will also be given back as a CSV file, so most likely, you'll get a little dialog box asking if you want to either open it in some application, or just download it.
View List: Email Your List Button is Gone
----------------------------------------------------------------
You may still download your mailing list in csv format.
Log View: Download the Raw Log
----------------------------------------------------------------
You can now download the entire log file, through the log viewer.
Installer: Old Screen Cache Files Removed
----------------------------------------------------------------
If you use the installer to upgrade Dada Mail (as it is noted you may do), old screen cache files will be removed, so that old information/templates won't be shown, with the newer version of Dada Mail.
Template System: initial "tmpl_set support", template wrapping
----------------------------------------------------------------
There's initial support for what's called the, tmpl_set template tag, that basically allows you to set a variable within your template, to be used somewhere else within your template.
This is interesting when coupled with initial support with wrapping one template, with another.
In one way, Dada Mail already supports this - many template screens you see use either the default list template, or the default admin template and add content to another template inside it.
Internally, this was done in a very kludgey way and has now been cleaned up. There could be a potential for a 33% speedup for screen creation (which is nice)
What has also been cleaned up is a problem with the title of many HTML screens in Dada Mail being saved within the program files itself. You can now set the title of the HTML screen from within the template that gets wrapped. You'll see a line like this near the top of many of the templates:
<!-- tmpl_set name="title" value="I am a title!" -->
Since moving to this way of setting the title for HTML screens, many, many of the templates have been changed. If you've made custom changes to the templates, you will want to do a diff on your version, with the version that ships with Dada Mail.
AJAX: internal changes
----------------------------------------------------------------
Many instances of using a package called, CGI::Ajax (http://search.cpan.org/dist/CGI-Ajax/) has been replaced to use prototype (http://www.prototypejs.org/)
The only place that CGI::Ajax is still being used is in the, ajax_include_subscribe.cgi extension - and we'll most likely remove it from there, soon as well.
Mailing Monitor: AJAX
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Mailing Monitor in the list control panel is now refreshed via AJAX, so that only a portion of the screen you see needs to be updated, instead of a refresh of the entire screen. This seems to make things appear much more snappy.
Subscription/Unsubscription Custom URL Redirect API Change
----------------------------------------------------------------
If there's an error with a subscription/unsubscription request, Dada Mail would add a list of the errors it came across by passing them in query string with a paramater named, errors. This name has been changed to, errors[] to help out php folk. This is tied to this bug:
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues#issue/109
Web Services Examples
----------------------------------------------------------------
Examples for initiating a subscription request have been updated and added to. Currently there are server/client examples in SOAP and REST. There's also a command line example. Profile Fields are now support for all clients and servers.
The example scripts can be found in the distro, at:
dada/extras/scripts/subscribe
Documentation can be found at:
dada/extras/documentation/pod_source/COOKBOOK-subscriptions.pod dada/extras/documentation/html_version/COOKBOOK-subscriptions.pod.html
Test Mass Mailings, Mail Merging
----------------------------------------------------------------
If the email address you're using has a profile, its fields ("First Name", "Last Name", etc) will be used in test mass mailings, instead of not using any fields. This is also true if the list owner email has their own profile.
Bug Fixes 4.4.0
----------------------------------------------------------------
* blank "Verify" screen when adding/removing addresses in the list control panel
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/closed#issue/113
There seems to be a few small problems with both the add/remove verification screens, if the information given is not formed correctly.
Among things that can cause problems: * Invalid comma separated values format * blank lines * blank lines, except for spaces * incorrect information - such as HTML. This HTML will then be viewed in the verification screens, without the HTML be escaped.
This causes a lot of problems with submitting addresses, as there isn't any notification, by Dada Mail that anything is wrong, except part of the screen having no information, what so ever.
* Email Address submitted with mixed cases can break the unsubscription mechanism
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/closed#issue/112
* Sending Test Messages does not pick up on any profile fields of the test recipients email address
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/issue/111
* Beatitude: Yearly repeating schedules repeat in less than a year
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/issue/110
* Multiple use of parameters in redirect to URL
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/issue/109
* Discussion List Reply/Reply-All behaviour is broken
https://github.com/justingit/dada-mail/issues/issue/96
--
Justin J: Lead Dadaist.
url: http://dadamailproject.com
email: justin@PROTECTED
phone: 720.341.4963
Post:
mailto:[list_settings.discussion_pop_email]
Unsubscribe:
https://dadamailproject.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/dadadev/
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If you are just looking for support Dada Mail, consult the message boards at:
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Specifically, see the Error FAQ:
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To post to this list, send a message to:
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