Group Accounts 2.0 beta released
While adding support for multiple memberships in Restrict Content Pro core, we had to think about support for multiple groups per user. Unfortunately, Group Accounts 1.x made this very challenging because the custom tables and all the functions expected that each user could only be in one group at a time. In order to accommodate a single user being a member of (or owning) multiple groups, we had to make some major changes to the database and code.
Because of the significance of the changes in this 2.0 update, we’re releasing a beta version prior to the final release.
How to test the beta
In order to help ensure the final release of Group Accounts 2.0 goes as smoothly as possible, we need your help testing this beta version.
To test the beta version, make sure you’re running Restrict Content Pro version 3.0.5 or later, as this is required by Group Accounts 2.0. To get the beta version, log in to your Restrict Content Pro account via the account page, click the “Downloads” tab, locate Group Accounts in the list and click the link to download the 2.0 beta.
If you encounter any bugs or trouble updating to the beta version, please let us know through our support page.
Note: we do not recommend you test the beta on a live site. Use a testing site. While we do our very best to not cause issues during updates, sometimes issues do slip through unnoticed, so having a staging / testing site is very important.
Multiple groups per user
Being able to participate in multiple groups is linked to multiple memberships in Restrict Content Pro 3.1+. If you do not have multiple memberships enabled in Restrict → Settings → General then everything will function exactly as it does in 1.x: each user can only own or be a member of one group at a time.
If you do have multiple memberships enabled, then all the following options will become available:
- One person can create and own multiple groups. (Each group associated with its own membership.)
- One person can create and own one group, but also be invited to join another group as a regular member/admin.
- One person can be invited to join multiple different groups as a regular member/admin.
If one person is is an owner or admin of multiple groups, then the [rcp_group_dashboard] shortcode will initially show a table of all the user’s available groups.
Clicking the “Manage Group” link will then load the group management page you’re already familiar with.
Improved admin interface
Version 2.0 has also seen some changes to the admin interfaces. The Groups admin table now has a search dropdown that allows you to change your search from group name to group member. This is an improvement on the old method, which required prefixing your search with member:
The “Edit Group” page has been redesigned to adopt the same style as Membership and Customer pages, and has also added the “Add/Import Group Member” features directly on the page. This puts all the group management options on one page, as opposed to spread across multiple pages.
Other notable changes
- Tweak: When an owner’s membership has expired, they are now allowed to access the group dashboard to manage their members. Previously they were denied access entirely.
- New: Added support for “Screen Options” on admin Groups and Group Members tables.
- New: Allow partial name searches in the admin Groups dashboard when searching for users.
- New: Introduced RCPGA_Group and RCPGA_Group_member classes.
- Fix: Change in database prefix caused custom table upgrades to fail.
Modified templates
All of the Group Accounts templates have received significant changes. If you’ve customized yours in any way, we recommend comparing with our new versions and making changes as appropriate. We’ve done our best to preserve backwards compatibility as much as possible, but if you do encounter any issues please let us know.
Release date for 2.0
The beta version of 2.0 is available today and we hope to release the final version on or near the 22nd of October.