JomSocial 3.2.0.4 With a Fix to Facebook Connect Issue
We had a busy week at JomSocial. First, Joomla released version 3.3 and lots of customers were fast to upgrade, many without even knowing they were doing so (see my previous post). This Joomla version created a few new issues around user login/sessions in not only JomSocial but also Guru, Ad Agency and Publisher, so it’s probable that many other Joomla extensions are affected by this version.
We quickly released a new version 3.2.0.3 with a fix to this issue but then the next day, customers started reporting a problem with Facebook Connect. At first we thought it was a result of the changes we made but then we found that Facebook API itself was modified and created this problem. This issue was tricky because they simply stopped supporting certain function so we had to find a way around it, and so we did.
New Version Available!
Today we released version 3.2.0.4 with a fix to the Facebook Connect issue and a few other minor issues. Read our change log here.
Dependencies
It can be a problem when the software you're dependent on is making big changes that affects your own softwware, but we are on top of it and work as fast as we can to fix issues as they come up.
Don’t hurry to upgrade Joomla
Even though the Joomla organization encourages users to upgrade fast, we don’t. Take a few days/weeks and see what kind of issues come up and make sure the extensions you use, are compatible, before you upgrade, this is my recommendation. However, when it comes to Facebook API, since the problem arises even without your taking any action, there's not much you can do except for reporting the problem to us so we can fix it quickly and then turning it off till we have a fix for the problem, as we do today.
Always un-install JomSocial before upgrading
One of our customers who has a very successful community had some major issues on his site and first assumed it was the fault of the latest JomSocial upgrade. After a careful investigation he found out that he had old files from previous versions still lingering, not replaced by the new and updated files (for whatever reason). Once he did a proper uninstall and then re-install, the problems were gone.
Conclusion: Even though Joomla allows you to install JomSocial ON TOP of your current installation, it’s safer to first un-install JomSocial itself and then it’s plugins and modules to ensure no old code stays behind.
This of course, can be a bit of a problem if you have lots of hacks and changes to the code. You’d have to have a list of these files with their changes and restore those changes after the upgrade.
iJoomla Installer - Please Upgrade
iJoomla Installer has a new version and if you’re using it, please re-download it and reinstall it because it has some important fixes. You will find it in the package you download from us when you download JomSocial.
Upgrade JomSocial Today
Because it’s likely that you’re going to upgrade to Joomla 3.3 soon (knowingly or un-knowingly), or if you’re using Facebook Connect, be sure to upgrade to JomSocial 3.2.0.4 to avoid any login/session issues.
Steps for upgrade:
- Backup your site
- Download the latest version
- Uninstall JomSocial, its plugins and modules
- Re-install JomSocial
Upgrading with a patch:
If you're upgrading from a previous version from the 3.2 series (3.2.0.0, 3.2.0.1, 3.2.0.2, 3.2.0.3) you can use a patch to upgrade, this is useful if you have lots of hacks/changes to your files. Access the patch file here.
Support this weekend
If you haven’t upgraded to Joomla 3.3 yet and you’re not using Facebook Connect, this upgrade is not super urgent and can wait till after the weekend, when our entire support staff is available if you need help. If the upgrade is urgent for you, go ahead and upgrade, we will have 2 support guys working this weekend, keep in mind, it may take longer to get to you over the weekend.
Any comments? Please post them below!