15
Apr, 2016

s2Member v160414 (Release Candidate)

Posted by: in: News/Updates, Release Announcements

This early pre-release of s2Member & s2Member Pro v160414 adds full compatibility for WordPress v4.5 and it improves compatibility with PayPal IPN URLs (i.e., a new https:// requirement introduced by PayPal, discussed in the changelog below). This release also corrects a few bugs, including an issue that was impacting Multisite Networks during an upgrade to WP v4.5, as well as a File Download bug that was causing [s2Stream /] and [s2File /] to fail in the previous release under certain scenarios. If you would like to help us test, please review the instructions (and the changelog) below.

Download Release Candidate

  • s2Member Framework v160414 — s2member-160414-RC.zip (i.e., the free version and framework required by s2Member Pro).
  • s2Member Pro Add-On v160414 — s2member-pro-160414-RC.zip (must be logged into your s2Member.com account as a customer).

Installation Instructions (i.e., to test this early release)

On a test site, please follow the manual upgrade instructions provided by these articles:

Reporting Problems w/ this Release Candidate

Please report bugs and feedback on GitHub.

Unified Changelog for s2Member & s2Member Pro v160414-RC

  • (s2Member/s2Member Pro) WP v4.5 Compatibility. This release offers full compatibility with the latest release of WordPress v4.5. Nothing major was changed for standard WordPress installations, but there were a few subtle tweaks here and there to improve v4.5 compatibility. We encourage all users to upgrade right away.

    NOTE: WP v4.5 for Multisite Networks running s2Member Pro: This release corrects a bug first introduced in the previous release of s2Member Pro that resulted in an error message (Uncaught Error: Class 'c_ws_plugin__s2member_mms_patches' not found) when updating to WP v4.5. It has been corrected in this release, but in order to avoid this problem altogether please follow this procedure when upgrading WordPress.

    WP v4.5 Multisite Upgrade Procedure:

    • Upgrade s2Member and s2Member Pro ​before​ updating WordPress core.
    • Then upgrade WordPress core and observe that Multisite Patches are applied properly.

    If you have already upgraded to WP v4.5 and worked past this issue by patching manually, that's fine. You can still upgrade s2Member and s2Member Pro. After the upgrade you may feel free to enable automatic patching again if that's desirable.

  • (s2Member/s2Member Pro) Bug Fix: This release corrects a bug first introduced in the previous release which was causing a PHP warning about cf_stream_extn_resource_exclusions. A symptom was to have mysterious problems with [s2Stream /] or the [s2File /] shortcode. Fixed in this release. Props at @raamdev @renzms for reporting. See also this GitHub issue for details.

  • (s2Member/s2Member Pro) PayPal SSL Compatibility: This release of s2Member provides an https:// IPN URL for PayPal IPN integrations. It also provides a helpful note (in the Dashboard) about a new requirement that PayPal has with respect to the IPN URL that you configure at PayPal.com. s2Member has been updated to help you with this new requirement.

    New PayPal.com IPN Requirement: PayPal.com is now requiring any new IPN URL that you configure to be entered as an https:// URL; i.e., if you log into your PayPal.com account and try to configure a brand new IPN URL, that URL must use https://. PayPal.com will refuse it otherwise.

    However, the notify_url= parameter in standard PayPal buttons should continue to work with either http:// or https://, and any existing configurations out there that still use an http:// IPN URL should continue to work as well. So this is about planning for the future. We have been told that PayPal will eventually require that all IPN URLs use an https:// protocol; i.e., they will eventually stop supporting http:// IPN URLs altogether (at some point in the future), they are not giving anyone a date yet. For this reason we strongly suggest that you review the details given here.

    Since PayPal is moving in a direction that will eventually require all site owners to have an SSL certificate in the future, s2Member's instructions (and the IPN URL it provides you with) will now be presented in the form of an https:// URL with additional details to help you through the process of configuring an IPN handler for PayPal.

    See: WordPress Dashboard → s2Member → PayPal Options → PayPal IPN Integration

    Props @codeforest for reporting. See this GitHub issue for further details.

  • (s2Member/s2Member Pro) Bug Fix: Email field on Registration page not shown as required via * symbol like other fields in this form. Caused by a change in WordPress core. Fixed in this release. Props @spottydog63 @renzms. See also: this GitHub issue for details.

  • (s2Member/s2Member Pro) Bug Fix: E_NOTICE level errors in cache handler when running in WP_DEBUG mode. Props at @KTS915 for reporting. Fixed in this release. See also: this GitHub issue.

  • (s2Member/s2Member Pro) i18n Compatibility: This release of s2Member moves the load_plugin_textdomain() call into the plugins_loaded hook instead of it being run on init. Props @KTS915 for reporting. See also: this GitHub issue for details.

  • (s2Member Pro) Multisite Patches: Fixed a bug (Uncaught Error: Class 'c_ws_plugin__s2member_mms_patches' not found) whenever WordPress was being updated and Multisite Patches were being applied in the pro version of s2Member. See: this GitHub issue for details.

  • (s2Member/s2Member Pro) Security Enhancement: This release of s2Member defaults PayPal Button Encryption to a value of on instead of off; i.e., there is a new default behavior. Existing s2Member installations are unaffected by this change, but if you install s2Member on a new site you will notice that (if using PayPal Buttons), Button Encryption will be enabled by default.

    Note that in order for Button Encryption to work, you must fill-in the API credentials for s2Member under: WordPress Dashboard → s2Member → PayPal Options → PayPal Account Details

Please note that when this version leaves beta and an official release is made, the WordPress Plugin Updater will automatically detect the new version on WordPress.org and ask you to upgrade. If you're using s2Member Pro, you will also be asked to complete an upgrade of the s2Member Pro Add-On right after you upgrade the s2Member Framework. For more information, please review Automatic Updates Through WordPress (Recommended).