Hi all,
here is the second release candidate version of Icy Phoenix.

What's New Respect To RC 1

• CMS Standard Pages now is more flexible... can also handle new pages (even if a little code should be added to those pages to work correctly)
  
• Removed the old CMS Pages Permissions section in CMS which has been replaced by the new Standard Pages section
  
• Event Registration feature has been added
  
• Fixed a lot of bugs in IE
  
• Fixed some minor bugs

What's New Respect To Latest Stable Release

• CMS Administration recoded with new features (some AJAX) and restyled
  
• CMS Blocks and Layouts recoded from scratch to increase flexibility and performance (now block style is in a single file to help designing new styles)
  
• New template structure: it is now possible to create brand new templates by just creating a CSS and a CFG file, this will reduce the number of files needed for each template, reducing also the job in case of updates or customizations; not only, you will be able to easily create combinations between different templates without having to duplicate directory structure
  
• Common CMS and ACP templates now fully independent from all other templates
  
• Common JS and CSS in common folder and possibility to include extra CSS and JS via PHP without editing TPL
  
• Some Functions and other common includes splitted among several files to reduce memory charge and increase performance
  
• Created new overall vars and switches to increase flexibility and performances (old switches were based upon loops, new ones are based on conditions, which are faster to be processed)
  
• English language files grammatically reviewed (thanks Lopalong!) and in some cases updated to the new phpBB 3 format
  
• New Junior Admin permission which gives full admin power while in the forum but restricted in ACP and CMS (ACP modules can be assigned via Junior Admin management and CMS permission for CMS management)
  
• Brand new Statistics system which integrates new features and replace also old Site History page
  
• Bots Parsing now is DB dependent and bots can now have REG access... also you can now add a switch for bots in TPL files to avoid bots spidering something you don't want them to
  
• URL Rewrite modified to be more efficient
  
• Print Page improved
  
• Added Google Search page to be used alternatively the standard search system, this will reduce the charge on your server
  
• Colorize username function recoded to reduce looping and cache issues with a large userbase
  
• Recoded caching system which in older Icy Phoenix version was proved to fail for high traffic sites: this new way to cache should be more efficient and should reduce CPU charge under stressing condition
  
• Birthdays and Calendar should now use less resources than before, again big sites will benefit from this
  
• New CRON system which should be easier to be customized and improved... basic functions already added, new features to come with future versions...
  
• Created new user related functions to simplify Icy Phoenix integration and coding: user_get_avatar, build_im_link, PM Class, generate_user_info
  
• AJAX Sorting in some ACP and CMS pages to speed up things in administrating things
  
• New Recent Topics page allowing admins to track latest users activity
  
• Forums Sorting capabilities both by adding alphabetical sorts and columns headers links
  
• Higher Lang Encoding compatibility
  
• Mass PM feature integrated in Mass Email section
  
• Brand new Ads and Banners system
  
• Mass Email supports now full HTML format for nicely formatted newsletters
  
• Smileys Categories section... it is hardcoded to improve performances even with thousands of smileys
  
• Step by step DB Backup System similar to MySQLDumper... to avoid nasty timeouts when backing up the site
  
• HighSlide JS (http://highslide.com/) integration
  
• Many smaller updates and features... install the release candidate to discover all of them!

• Requirements
  
  Spoiler: [ Show ]

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  Before trying to install Icy Phoenix make sure you have the following STRICTLY NEEDED requirements:

  • At least 20 MB of free space in the folder you would like to install the package.
  • Web server with PHP (4 or higher) installed and running (works best on Linux + Apache). You can find appropriate PHP hosting providers from a guide such as Web Hosting Search.
  • MySQL (3 or higher) database with at least 1MB of free space (of course the space needed depends on how big your site will be... 1MB is enough for a basic empty setup).
  • Ability to set CHMOD permissions.

  
  
  These other requirements (even if not strictly needed) are suggested for optimal performance of Icy Phoenix:

  • Webserver with .htaccess capability.
  • Apache Rewrite Mod installed and running.
  • GD Libraries (at least 2.0.28) installed and running.
  • Register Globals set to OFF.
  
  
• Fresh Installation
  
  Spoiler: [ Show ]

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  1. Unpack Icy Phoenix package to one folder on your HD.
  2. Copy all Icy Phoenix files in one folder on your webserver (i.e. /icyphoenix/)
  3. Set the permissions to CHMOD 777 to the following files and folders (please note that you may not have all of them in your setup):
     
     • backup/
     • cache/
     • cache/forums/
     • cache/posts/
     • cache/sql/
     • cache/topics/
     • cache/users/
     • ctracker/logfiles/logfile_attempt_counter.txt
     • ctracker/logfiles/logfile_blocklist.txt
     • ctracker/logfiles/logfile_debug_mode.txt
     • ctracker/logfiles/logfile_malformed_logins.txt
     • ctracker/logfiles/logfile_spammer.txt
     • ctracker/logfiles/logfile_worms.txt
     • downloads/
     • files/
     • files/album/
     • files/album/cache/
     • files/album/med_cache/
     • files/album/users/
     • files/album/wm_cache/
     • files/posted_images/
     • files/screenshots/
     • files/thumbs/
     • images/avatars/
     • logs/
     
     
  4. Launch the setup from the install folder: install/install.php (i.e. http://www.mysite.com/forum/install/install.php)
  5. Follow all the instructions on the screen, fill all requested data and complete the setup.
  6. Delete or rename install folder.
  7. Customize what needs to be customized in files and db (some files needs to be edited manually, while most of the options may be set in ACP and CMS).
  8. Enjoy your New Site .
  
  
• How To Upgrade From phpBB
  
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  If you're already using phpBB, you can easily upgrade your board by following these instructions:
  

  1. Make a full backup of all files and database (if you don't do a backup, don't dare to ask for support! )
  2. Did you backup everything? If you didn't make the backup, please, step back to the previous point.
  3. Copy your current config.php and keep it in a safe place.
  4. Check again that your backup is ok and keep it in a safe place.
  5. Login as administrator.
  6. Unpack Icy Phoenix package to one folder on your HD.
  7. Upload install folder to the root of your phpBB forum and launch database_update.php (i.e. http://www.mysite.com/phpbb/install/database_update.php).
  8. Delete install folder.
  9. Remove the following folders (make sure you don't have in those folders some files you may need for some mods you have installed in standard phpBB, but in any case you should have a backup ):
     • admin
     • db
     • includes
     • language
     • templates
  10. Remove all files but config.php in your forum root (make sure you don't have some files you may need for some mods you have installed in standard phpBB, but in any case you should have a backup ).
  11. Upload all Icy Phoenix files (all but config.php) in the same folder where phpBB was installed and running. Pay attention that all older files eventually still there must be replaced by new ones.
  12. Apply all permissions listed in Fresh Installation.
  13. Customize what needs to be customized in files and db (some files needs to be edited manually, while most of the options may be set in ACP and CMS).
  14. Unlock your site.
  15. Enjoy your New Icy Phoenix Site .
  
  
• How To Upgrade From Old Icy Phoenix Versions
  
  Spoiler: [ Show ]

  Spoiler: [ Hide ]

  If you're using Icy Phoenix 1.0.9.9 or above, you can upgrade your board by following these instructions:
  

  1. Make a full backup of all files and database (if you don't do a backup, don't dare to ask for support! )
  2. Did you backup everything? If you didn't make the backup, please, step back to the previous point.
  3. Copy your current .htaccess and config.php and keep them in a safe place.
  4. Check again that your backup is ok and keep it in a safe place.
  5. Login as administrator.
  6. Lock your site.
  7. Unpack Icy Phoenix package to one folder on your HD.
  8. Upload install folder to the root of your Icy Phoenix and launch database_update.php (i.e. http://www.mysite.com/ip/install/database_update.php).
  9. Delete install folder.
  10. Remove the following folders (make sure you don't have in those folders some files you may need for some mods you have installed, but in any case you should have a backup ):
      • adm
      • includes
      • language
      • templates
  11. Remove all files but config.php in your Icy Phoenix root (make sure you don't have some files you may need for some mods you have installed, but in any case you should have a backup ).
  12. Upload all Icy Phoenix files (all but config.php) in the same folder where Icy Phoenix was installed and running. Pay attention that all older files eventually still there must be replaced by new ones.
  13. Apply all permissions listed in Fresh Installation.
  14. Customize what needs to be customized in files and db (some files needs to be edited manually, while most of the options may be set in ACP and CMS).
  15. Unlock your site.
  16. Enjoy your New Icy Phoenix Site .
  
  
• How To Upgrade From Icy Phoenix Beta OR RC Versions
  
  Spoiler: [ Show ]

  Spoiler: [ Hide ]

  Upgrading from Beta versions is really easy... just upload all new files and run install/database_update.php.
  Pay attention to customized files, CHMOD permissions and config.php when overwriting.

Available Packages



This is only the standard package, should you be interested in having extra languages or styles, currently they are only available @ SVN (check the SVN topic to have more info about this).

Using an SVN client:


Using a browser:


Support

During the RC phase a basic level of support will be given only for standard installations. We will provide answers to general setup and update questions, configuration problems and support for determining common problems mostly related to bugs. We will not support modifications and customizations until the final release.

Please note that if you decide to upgrade your existing site with this version, you may face some problems and you may not be able to recover your datas in case something goes wrong. Make sure you have a full backup before proceeding.

Should you ask for support, please remember that this is an open source community and me and all the Staff are doing all for free and in their spare time... be kind, be patient and respect other users efforts and hard work.



Enjoy Icy Phoenix!
Luca Libralato

Hi all,
I have just released some new site sections which I'm going to explain the purpose here.

• Bugs Tracker: a brand new section where registered users may submit bugs to Developers. This is still in Beta Version, and if no bugs arise it will be officially opened. Please use that page only for BUGS, not for support requests!!! Trolls and spammers will be banned.
  
  
• Styles: the new styles section which will contain ONLY styles designed by me (Mighty Gorgon). This section will include both Icy Phoenix and phpBB 3 styles. Currently contains only styles for Icy Phoenix RC1. Please note that these styles won't work with Icy Phoenix 1.2.0.27. This section is still in Beta Version, please use the forum to report bugs. A big thank you to The Steffen for creating all the languages buttons.
  
  
• Donations: this is the new supporters page which should be automatically feeded by PayPal when donating.
  
  
• Donate: this page allows users to donate through their PayPal account and being automatically added to the Donations list. If some conditions are met they should also receive some benefits (check that page for further informations). If someone who donated through this page won't automatically appear in the Donations list, please contact me. Special thanks to Highway Of Life for having developed the basic PayPal class which I have used in this page.

I have worked on these new sections for months and now that we are approaching the final release I have decided to open them to the public, just to make sure that everything is working fine for the new coming release.

Please feel free to report feedbacks or any other comment in this topic.

Thank you.

We have created a new page on the website that presents information on how you can give back to Icy Phoenix. Donations are a great way to give back, but providing your time and expertise is much more valuable to us. Keeping the community alive with questions and solutions to further enhance Icy Phoenix is our ultimate goal.

For more details, please visit the Join Us page.

If you have questions regarding the functions of each group, please contact the team leader of the group you are interested in joining.

Hi guys,
as you know Zuker left leading the Staff last week.

Since Gary (Chaotic) is contributing so much to this project I have decided to promote him as the new Staff Team Leader.

He is doing great here, and I'm sure he will also do better in the future.

Good luck my friend, and thank you for your precious contribution to Icy Phoenix.

Hi guys,
I would just to let you know that this site will remain closed for at least a couple of days, because I'm moving it to a new server.

After many months of bad performances and also some JS and PHP injections I have decided to shut the current hosting service and buy a dedicated server.

This new solution is costing a lot more... but I hope to definitely solve all performances issues and bad server configuration.

I will try to release a new beta before moving, so you can play with it while this site is closed.

Unfortunately I really need to close the site because I not only need to move files and db, but also I need to switch registrar, and this will cause a service blackout for a small (I hope) amount of time.

I will try to have all things sorted out before this weekend.

Stay tuned.

Hi guys,
I'm really sad to announce that Zuker just asked to be removed from Leading the Staff Team here.

I really want to thank him for all the hard work he did so far for this project, and for the great support service to the community.

Thank you Zuker, I hope to see you here around even if you are not Staff Team Leader anymore.

The Staff Team Leader position will be re-assigned shortly.

THANKS ZUKER

Hi all,
I am really happy to announce that Icy Phoenix has been selected as the Featured phpBB on phpBBHacks.com for the month of November 2008.

What is the Featured phpBB?
http://www.phpbbhacks.com/features/phpbb.php

Quote:

phpBBHacks.com recognizes a different phpBB every month. They are recognized for their exceptional use of the phpBB forum software. They are the standard by which phpBBs should be measured by. The pride of phpBB.

For more information, please check out the announcement related to this event:
http://www.phpbbhacks.com/forums/co...19-vt74018.html




A big thank you to Patrick O'Keefe for the nomination.

Hi all,
I have decided to move Icy Phoenix to SVN to have a better control on the code and to provide to all that are interested a way to better follow this project.

A quick introduction on what SVN (Subversion) is:

Quote:

Subversion is a free/open-source version control system. That is, Subversion manages files and directories, and the changes made to them, over time. This allows you to recover older versions of your data, or examine the history of how your data changed. In this regard, many people think of a version control system as a sort of "time machine".

In a nutshell SVN allows developers to automatically keep track of all the changes to the package, and allows all interested users to follow the project by a different point of view.

Most of you won't be interested in SVN because it requires some skills and time do dedicate on it, but for the few of you which are interested in the development phase this will be a great opportunity to be an active part in this project.

If you want to be just a normal end user of Icy Phoenix you may stop reading this announce here, as what it follows requires some technical skills and time to be spent on this project.

I will try to give you a quick overview on how Icy Phoenix Project will be managed from now on (remember that things may change :-P)

Until last week I used to code on my own PC making daily backups and keeping all old files archived on several backup locations. Few months ago hpl joined Icy Phoenix Development Team, and started to code new things for the project. Of course some things changed for me: I needed to keep hpl updated with all the new files and decisions about the project. This is of course time consuming... and something it is frustrating to merge the files which have been modified by both of us...

This is why I decided to switch to a system which offers a better "communication" method between developers.

I have started a new project @ Assembla.com

Icy Phoenix @ Assembla

I have set up an SVN Repository that is always updated with the latest version of the files, so we can automatically download the latest version and update our local working copy.

Not only... I have decided to leave this repository open to the public, which means that everyone that is interested may now download the latest available Icy Phoenix code and test it.

A Disclaimer is needed...
Please note that this doesn't mean that these files are there to be used or that new release will be released through SVN!

All the files in the Icy Phoenix SVN Repository are meant for developing purpose, so if you decide to use files in the Repository you do it at your own risk.

Official release will be ONLY published on this site and you should use for Live environments ONLY the latest available version in the Download section of this site.

Now that you have understood what SVN is, here is the Icy Phoenix SVN Repository:


Some FAQs:

• What is SVN?
  Subversion is a free/open-source version control system. That is, Subversion manages files and directories, and the changes made to them, over time. This allows you to recover older versions of your data, or examine the history of how your data changed. In this regard, many people think of a version control system as a sort of "time machine".
  
  Further informations can be found here: Subversion Book
  
  Other useful links:
  Subversion: Introduction
  Subversion: Advanced
  
  
• How can I access to the Repository and keeping it up to date in my own PC?
  There are some software for doing that... and software depends on the OS you are using.
  I personally use Windows based OS and I use TortoiseSVN as a client.
  You will find the documentation to this tool here: Tortoise SVN Documentation
  
  
• Why should I be interested in Icy Phoenix SVN?
  You don't necessarily have to. Icy Phoenix is an open source project, and like all open source projects benefit by its own users contributions. Contributions may consists in:
  
  1. Helping in the development.
     
  2. Helping in finding bugs.
     
  3. Providing localizations.
     
  4. Providing customizations (both code and design).
     
  5. Helping in supporting the community.
     
  6. Making Donations.
  
  Bullets from 1 to 4 all will benefit with SVN, because having access to the whole development code of a project gives a great overview and help in developing, finding bugs, localizing (this is great when near release date), customizing/designing. Even point 5 may benefit from SVN: a good supporter will help developers and users to keep track of new features and bug fixing via SVN history.
  
  
• I have seen new features in this site, will I find them in SVN?
  If the features you are referring to are strictly related to Icy Phoenix per se, then yes, you will find in the SVN all the features of this site and probably some others which may not be reflected yet in this site. As I pointed out some lines above... if you decide to use the code in the SVN you do it on your own risk.
  
  
• Can I be an active part in Icy Phoenix development?
  Of course the answer is yes. If you have good PHP, CSS, HTML skills just start studying the package and try to actively participate to this community. After a period of "training" if you feel comfortable with the project and you think you can do more for it, then try to contact me and we will discuss about it. If you are not familiar with PHP, CSS and HTML, do not desperate, we still need you: a good project is not only made by coder. It is really important to find people with good attitude in Team Working to keep the community alive: providing support, writing documentation, creating customizations, designing styles, providing translations and so on. If you have time to dedicate to this project, then we will find a place for you in the Staff.
  
  
• How can I start using this SVN then?
  Here are some few basic steps for TortoiseSVN for Windows (steps should be similar for other programs installed in other OS):
  
  • Download and install TortoiseSVN
    
  • Create a folder on your hard disk where you want to download Icy Phoenix Project
    
  • Right click on that folder and choose SVN Checkout
    
  • When asked insert the Icy Phoenix SVN Repository address and click ok:
    
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    Code: [Show]

    http://svn.assembla.com/svn/icy_phoenix
    
    
  • After few minutes you will have all the Icy Phoenix Projects in your folder (remember that the last available version is in ip/trunk)
    
  • For any other help, please refer to the manual: Tortoise SVN Documentation

That's all for now.

Thanks for reading.

Luca Libralato