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JustJoomla.com launched and EZ Realty version 6 released

I've finally launched JustJoomla.com which has traditionally been the site I use to distribute software that I license under the gnu gpl compatible licenses - and EZ Realty version 6 has been released over on this site too today.

A lot of clients have asked me about the changes that have taken place in EZ Realty version 6, and I suppose these changes can be classified as new features and changes, and performance changes. So, I'll go through the differences you'll see with EZ Realty version 6.

 

1. Performance changes

EZ Realty version 6 has some significant improvements in memory over version 5, and this has been one of the biggest benefits of rewriting the code base into the new MVC code structure. The data listed below has been derived by using the core Joomla debug function, to get a reading of the memory in bytes used during page loading. In the far right column is the difference - and all areas examined showed significant improvements.

  Version 6 memory used Version 5 memory used Reduction in Memory used
Admin Area      
cPanel 6954008 11005304 4051296
Property listings manager 893704 11470592 10576888
Add/edit property form 8917024 11462096 2545072
Configuration area 7624176 11261768 3637592
Profiling manager 7354184 11382960 4028776
       
Frontend Area      
Multi-layout entry page 8158792 9901680 1742888
Category list 7146536 9913696 2767160
Main search form 8133944 9913352 1779408
New listings page 8534320 10214648 1680328
Full property details page 8427656 10195512 1767856
Members EZ Panel 8293744 9997352 1703608
Add/edit property form 9980048 11607696 1627648

Remember these are just fairly baseline readings though, so the memory consumption will change as you enter more data.

 

2. New Features and Changes

EZ Realty version 6 has been coded to make use of payment system plugins now - rather than being tied to the payment processor code that was a part of EZ Realty. This will provide a more flexible means for users to select a payment processor that suits them, as not everyone has access to PayPal. A PayPal payment plugin will come standard with EZ Realty, and alternative payment processors can be obtained from Rob Joyce at osdcs.com.

The old system of generating decimal coordinates for google mapping during the save listing process had the occasional problem for some users, as some web hosts didn't permit the method used to connect to google. In light of this, I've replaced the old coordinates generation system with an embedded clickable map, so you'll only need to click the map to find the necessary coordinates - and the coordinates will populate the necessary fields. The old popup coordinates finder has gone as a result, so there's now one consistent system which should be trouble-free for all users.

Gone are the tabbed pages in the admin area add/edit property listing form, and they've been replaced by a more compact page layout with 2 columns and sliders. It's a complete change to how it used to look, but I'm sure you'll find it far easier to add listings using this layout than the previous layout.

The admin property listings manager has also had a number of changes as a result of the rewrite - the first being the column headers are now clickable and will order/re-order the columns. The delete listing link is also gone - to be replaced by a delete button at the top - which will allow you to delete individual or multiple listings. One other link to have some changes is the admin print listing link. It used to open a popup browser window, and this has been replaced by a Moodle popup - so the printable page opens on a nice darkened background.

When you enter EZ Realty for the first time, the biggest change you'll notice is the admin cPanel has been redesigned. It has new larger graphics and a cool green colour scheme, so it's much easier on the eyes to look at. It's also less cluttered, as a number of functions have been integrated, and others removed for various reasons. For example - the export subscribers function is no longer available, as I've simplified many areas to simply integrate with something else - rather than provide secondary backup systems. So, rather than having the choice of saving newsletter subscribers to an EZ Realty table, receiving a notification that someone would like to be added to your newsletter, or the option to save subscribers to ccNewsletter - there is now the single choice to save subscribers to the ccNewsletter system. The external site feed exports for google, propsmart and other sites have also been removed from EZ Realty, as I'll be writing a new component to handle these types of feeds.

The frontend of the site has also had a number of changes. The first is the view profile page - it used to have a link to view the seller's listings - but now those listings are contained on the same page as the profile details. The frontend member's EZ Panel has had some minor design changes and new graphics, as has the frontend add/edit property listing page. It too now has sliders rather than tabbed pages, and this has resulted in a more compact layout too. The "wanted" properties page has also had some minor design changes.

 

 

New release date for EZ Realty version 6

It's the Queen's birthday long weekend here in Australia - which means many other parts of the world will also be taking Monday off.  So, I've decided to delay the release of EZ Realty version 6 over at JustJoomla for another week.  I'll spend the extra week checking over the code to catch any bugs I may have missed and to do another round of testing - because it's always a worthwhile activity - and it lessens my pre-release nerves ;-)

I know there are many who've been eager to see the new version, so I'll post more news about the changes and performance improvements in EZ Realty version 6 in the coming days.

 

Follow-up Q&A on EZ Realty version 6 news

I know any change can be a bit of a challenge to cope with for some - and while most of my customers have been very positive and see huge benefits to the changes with licensing and distribution of the upcoming EZ Realty version 6 - I thought now would be a good time to do a follow-up.  This follow-up is to answer many of the questions that may be on your minds - so please take the time to read everything carefully and comprehend it fully.

As I mentioned in my earlier news release - EZ Realty version 6 will be officially released on Monday, 14th June - and at that time there will be changes to licensing and distribution from version 6 onwards.

As I also mentioned - version 6 represents a rewrite of the code base into MVC code structure - and because of this major amount of change, this upgrade has been designated a major release point.  Version 6 does NOT represent a massive number of new features though - and I've done this intentionally - so that existing commercial customers do not feel they're missing out on something or feel they have to upgrade right away.

 

Availability of upgrades for EZR version 5x:-

Will there be any further upgrades to the EZ Realty version 5x packages?

Yes there will be further upgrades.  Even though version 6 will be released in the coming week - version 5 will go into maintenance mode - so I'll be releasing bug fixes as customers report bugs to me.

 

Price:-

Will license holders of previous EZR products receive a discount when upgrading to EZR6?

No, there won't be discounts available as existing customers don't really need to upgrade at this time.

How much are you planning to charge for EZR6?

Pricing of EZ Realty version 6 will be tied into support services and access to downloads, and this is due to changing from a commercial licensing business model to an open source licensing business model.  EZ Realty version 6 will cost about $99 (USD) for a one month support plan and access to downloads for that period, and once the support subscription has expired - you'll be able to make use of the community forum for support from other users if you don't want to pay for additional support and downloads.  You will be able to install EZ Realty version 6 on as many sites as you want - due to the change in licensing - and it's for this reason that access to downloads and support services will change to a time-based plan.

What will the new license include?  As in will the product be ion cubed or open for editing?

EZ Realty version 6 is to be released under the terms of the Creative Commons GNU GPL license.  This means you will have all of the freedoms associated with GNU GPL licensing - so there will be no encryption and no limits on how many sites you can install EZ Realty version 6 on.  You can read more on the Creative Commons GNU GPL license here:- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/GPL/2.0/

 

Upgrade process:-

Will the upgrade process from EZR5 to 6 be automatic or are the systems incompatible?  In so much as, will changes or custom modifications be incompatible in EZR6?

EZ Realty version 6 is a rewrite of the code base into MVC code structure - so there is little in common between the file structure of version 6 and previous versions.  Upgrading will be a simple process - however you will lose all custom modifications made to the version you're currently using.

Will the database structure and naming change potentially invalidate any custom scripts?

There have been no changes to the database structure, so 3PD scripts that interact with the EZ Realty database should not be affected.  This statement is based solely on the premise that the 3PD script only interacts with the database - and not the EZ Realty files.

Will the upgrade invalidate custom addons, like Denis Dulicis SEO plugin?

It will depend on the addon.  EZ Realty version 6 uses controllers and views in the frontend URL's in line with the new MVC code structure - so addons for SEF systems will potentially be affected.

 

Changes:-

As mentioned in the initial news article - the major change is version 6 is a rewrite of the code base into the MVC code structure used by Joomla 1.5, and this work was done in preparation for Joomla 1.6x.  Now, as for other changes and new features - version 6 has a couple of changes - but nothing significant in terms of features.

The admin cpanel has been redesigned and has new graphics, the autocalculation of decimal coordinates has been removed due to problems some customers have with server settings not permitting use of the fopen() php function - and as a result - the popup find coordinates map is now embedded in the add/edit page and will populate the coordinate fields when the map is clicked.  External feeds to property sites have been removed - as I'll be writing a new single component to handle feeds for all EZ* components.

 

Specific questions regarding functionality that have been asked:-

Will there be any way to import an XML feed of property information to EZR?

No.  If you are in need of XML import functionality - contact Jose Maria ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Will it be possible to differentiate between floor plans from property images?

No - not in the initial version 6 release.

Will there be the option to include a link to the agent's website and include their logo in the full details?

No - however you can modify EZ Realty to do this.

Will the search radius function work with locations/cities/towns rather than just postcodes?

No - not in the initial version 6 release.

 

Users and Permissions:-

Will there be any flexibility in the way the user privileges work?  for example - could specific users be given the ability to upload xx properties per month?

User privileges will remain the same in version 6.

Could a selection of users be added into a group (eg. their office), so that a group quota can be set on how many properties can be listed at any one time?

No - the way users are managed in version 6 is currently unchanged.

 

Current commercial customer support services etc:-

What will happen to support services for commercial customers?

Support services for commercial customers will continue as normal at www.raptorsupport.com for now - as there is still much work to be done for EZ Autos and EZ Rider.  It is expected that EZ Realty support should begin to taper off in the next 1-2 months as customers get their sites built and launched - however that is just an estimate of how much demand I think there will be for EZ Realty-related support and nothing more than that.

What about the licensing server?  What will happen to my site?

Keeping up with news is important - so all customers should have upgraded their sites to the unencrypted versions that I made available over a month ago.  These packages can be downloaded from your customer accounts at http://www.raptorservices.com/customers/ - and they do NOT connect to the licensing server.  Unencrypted packages are ONLY available for J1.5x installations - so if you're still running EZ Realty on Joomla 1.0x - you should think about upgrading.  Apart from making the unencrypted packages available - the licensing server is not going to cease functioning - so you're not going to wake up and find your site not working if there is a delay in getting your site upgraded to the latest version 5x package.

 

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