I am pleased to announce the availability of the first and only public release candidate of ListMessenger Pro 2.2.0, which is now available for download to users who have previously purchased a licence of ListMessenger Pro. You can download ListMessenger Pro 2.2.0 RC1 by logging into the ListMessenger Members Area, and clicking the “My Downloads” link on the right.

It should be noted that this is a release candidate, meaning that I do not consider it stable for production environments just yet, although your help with testing it is greatly appreciated.

I am happy to remind you that all upgrades for ListMessenger Pro are free.

ListMessenger 2.2 introduces several new features, and enhances overall long term stability by preparing for the future of PHP (PHP6) and continuing to support legacy PHP (PHP4).

The key highlights for ListMessenger 2.2 include:

  • New Rich Text Editor
    We have had long standing issues with various rich text editors through ListMessenger’s history, and we are delighted to announce we have moved to TinyMCE 3.1.0.1 and the MCImageManager plug-in. This rich text editor is incredibly flexible, and supports all major web-browsers including Safari.
  • Send to Subscriber
    The old Send To Address testing message function in the Message Centre has always presented some confusion, so we have re-purposed it into “Send to Subscriber”. It is now a find-as-you-type drop down box that allows you to send the specified message to that single subscriber, custom fields and all.
  • Custom Field Search
    An often requested feature was the ability to search for specific data from within custom fields, so here it is! So if you want to see a list of subscribers whose favourite colour is blue, go right ahead and search for it.
  • Basic Subscriber Statistics
    We have brought into the interface some basic statistics on your subscribers. You can now see month-by-month, and day-by-day how many people have subscribed and unsubscribed for your ListMessenger groups.
  • Forward To A Friend
    You asked for it, and you got it. You can now add a [forwardurl] variable to your messages, which will give your subscribers a formatted link that allows them to forward the message they received to one of their friends, with the option of allowing the friend to subscribe to the group as well.
  • Multi-part Forms
    In some circumstances you may want to collect additional information from your subscribers, but you don’t want to take up extra screen real estate to do it. With ListMessenger 2.2, you can have your subscribers fill out this additional information on “page 2” of the form.
  • Interface Improvements
    Lets face it ListMessenger has never been an ugly duckling, but we can always find ways to make it look even better. This release has some nice touches, you’ll see.

Full Changelog

2.2.0 Pro (Build 20080713) RC1

  • Added option to enable/disable the group_id in the unsubscribe link.
  • Added Forward To Friend support and introduced [forwardurl] variable.
  • Added ability to make private groups that users cannot subscribe to.
  • Added basic graph for new subscribers and unsubscribe statistics.
  • Added examples of advanced SMTP connections in E-Mail Configuration.
  • Added the ability to search custom fields data for subscribers.
  • Added jQuery 1.2.6 javascript framework.
  • Added ability to resize text message textarea (compose and edit).
  • Added catch to catch invalid CAPTCHA codes in listmessenger.php.
  • Added ability to finish/correct a subscribe form in listmessenger.php.
  • Added TinyMCE 3.1.0.1
    • Added MCImageManager 3.0.9.1 plug-in.
    • Added TinyMCE PHP SpellChecker 2.0.2 plugin.
  • Added option to not reimport subscribers who previously unsubscribed.
  • Added [unsubscribe] variable to e-mail variable list.
  • Added the ability to make the first and last name required fields.
  • Added multiple template support to the end-user tools.
  • Repurposed “Send to Subscriber” feature in the Message Centre.
  • Added ability to use RSS 0.91, 1.0, 2.0, OPML or ATOM archive feeds.
  • Added ability to use any of the e-mail variables in admin notices.
  • InnovaStudio 3.0 is now a separate download from listmessenger.com.
  • HTMLArea is now a separate download from listmessenger.com.
  • Setup now checks to make sure that MySQL is installed.
  • ListMessenger can now run with PHP’s short_tags disabled (Go PHP6).
  • Replaced all usage of ereg() functions (Go PHP6).
  • All dates in ListMessenger now use your default PHP Date Format.
  • Changed tooltip libraries from DomTT to jQuery Cluetip plugin.
  • Replaced all help tooltips with the ListMessenger Help window.
  • Manage Fields shows only the required details for selected control.
  • Upgraded PHPMailer to 2.0.2.
  • Upgraded ADOdb to 4.98.
  • SQL_MODE is reset to nothing on every page execution.
  • Moved rich text editors to javascript/wysiwyg.
  • Fixed bug when upgrading minor versions and SQL_MODE is strict.
  • Fixed problem with unsubscribing when confirmation was disabled.
  • Fixed bug that prevented registration and updates on new server.
  • Fixed issue that prevented subscriber field searches within a group.