vBulletin 3.7.0 Beta 2 Released

[vB.Org System]

vBulletin 3.7.0 Beta 2

After a period of extensive testing and improvement while running the forums here on vBulletin.com, the time has come to move on to the next phase and allow customers to download vBulletin 3.7.0 Beta 2 for themselves, to install on their own servers for another period of testing.

We have been extremely pleased with the feedback we have received since vBulletin.com was upgraded to vBulletin 3.7 Beta 1. We are also grateful for the time many people have spent reporting problems to us and suggesting how certain features could be better implemented or presented. Many of these suggestions have been taken on board and the features changed accordingly since Beta 1..

With the exception of a few changes and features still in the pipeline, vBulletin 3.7.0 Beta 2 is essentially feature complete and there will be no major changes between this version and the final, though we would certainly not recommend that people spend hours and hours customizing the style or writing new plugins until the release candidate stage.

I won't go into an extensive discussion of all the new features vBulletin 3.7 introduces, as the majority have already been covered in the First Look thread.

Significance of a Beta Release
This is beta software. If you are not fully at home with backing-up and restoring your forum, dealing with bugs and regular upgrades, do not install this beta version.

Customers should bear in mind that this is a public beta, not a certified 'stable' release so the following caveats apply:

• Beta software is unsupported and you install beta versions at your own risk.
• Some minor bugs remain unresolved at this time, so beta software should not be on production sites.
• You should always back up your database fully before attempting to install beta software.
• If you choose to install this version, you should be aware that we plan to release new beta versions in rapid succession as bugs are fixed and holes are plugged. Do not install this beta version if you are not willing or able to keep up-to-date with new releases.
• The ImpEx import system does not support the 3.7 code yet, and will not support it until the release of 3.7.0 (stable).

Javascript Compression
Although it has been stated that we intend to compress vBulletin's javascript files with 3.7, during this testing phase when we expect bugs to be reported, the javascript files will not be supplied compressed in order to facilitate bug reporting and debugging.

Installation / Upgrade
If you are accustomed to the install and upgrade procedure used by vBulletin 3.6 then the 3.7 install and upgrade process will be familiar to you. Please refer to an earlier release announcement for full instructions.

Hacking / Plugins
While there have not been extensive changes to the underlying architecture of vBulletin 3.7 from 3.6, it is possible that certain hooks may have changed. Therefore you should check with the author of whichever plugins and products you may add to your vBulletin installation in order to inquire about their compatibility with vBulletin 3.7.

Plugin authors are advised to wait for the first release candidate before adapting their plugins to work with 3.7, though there is of course no harm in testing for compatability now.

Reporting Bugs
Please use the vBulletin 3.7 Bug Tracker to report any bugs you find in vBulletin 3.7.


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