Release Highlights/3.1.0-a1

This page highlights important changes in phpBB 3.1.0-a1

For a complete list of changes, please refer to this report.

New Features

 * Extensions - Replacing MODs, Extensions are a new contribution type that require no file edits for installation. They can be easily installed via the ACP.
 * AJAX - Several functions use AJAX to perform actions without a page reload.
 * Notifications - Certain actions users perform while using your board will generate notifications to affected users. For instance, users can be notified when they are quoted in a post. There are multiple notification methods, including board notification and email notification. This feature can be expanded upon by extensions to add notification types (e.g. mentioning a user) and notifications methods (e.g. text message).
 * Soft Delete - Posts and topics can now be "soft" deleted (i.e. removed from public view but retained in the database) to allow greater control over access of potentially unwanted posts and topics. Permissions dictate separately who can soft delete and who can hard delete posts.
 * Gravatar - Avatars may now be fetched from the Gravatar service, in addition to the previously available options (upload, URL, and gallery).
 * Attachment Improvements - Attachments can now be uploaded and downloaded in batches. Images that are too big can be resized before upload.
 * OAuth Login - Login or register using Google, Bit.ly, or Facebook. Extensions can take advantage of this feature to add new authentication services.
 * More Search Plugins - Besides MySQL Fulltext and phpBB native, PostgreSQL Fulltext and Sphinx are now supported.

Notable Changes / Bug Fixes

 * Better Timezone handling - After selecting a timezone in the user control panel, daylight saving time adjusts automatically.
 * Last topic in forum list - The title of the topic with the most recent post is now displayed as a link in the forum list along with the username and date.
 * Improved Team Page - The team page is now better organized and can be customised via the administration control panel.
 * Increased Maximum Subject Length - The maximum length of topic titles is now 120 characters.
 * Improved Global Announcements - Global announcements are now linked to the forum they are posted in (and can be moved), allowing easier permission management.
 * Improved MySQL Fulltext Search - A MySQL Fulltext Search Index now requires about 40% less table space.
 * Resumable Attachment Downloads - Downloads of attachments can now be resumed after being interrupted or paused.
 * Improved Page Titles - Browser page titles now begin with the forum/topic name, rather than the site name (which is now at the end).
 * Improved Plural Support - Languages with non-trivial plural rules (e.g. Bosnian) are now properly supported by the language system.
 * Text-based Buttons - Large buttons, such as Post Reply and New Topic, are now CSS and text, rather than images.
 * Various prosilver Improvements - CSS3 rounded corners, removed duplicate colors, much more ...
 * Improved Style Inheritance - Inheritance depth for template files is now unlimited (e.g. prosilver > awesomesilver > mysilver > yoursilver).

Notable Backend Changes

 * Namespacing & Autoloading - New and refactored code is now namespaced and can be autoloaded.
 * Migrations - Database update management. [More Information]
 * Dependency Injection - New and refactored code is now consistently following the Dependency Injection design pattern.
 * Composer - Dependency manager.
 * Routing and Controllers - Any views included by extensions (and, in future releases, all front-facing core pages, such as viewtopic and memberlist) can be given more "user-friendly" routes (e.g. something like /gallery/album/1 instead of something like gallery.php?view=album&id=1).
 * Twig Template Engine - The template engine has been replaced with Twig while maintaining syntax compatibility.
 * Modular Cron System - The cron system is now modular and extensions can supply cron jobs.