Read this before updating!
Dear developers,
Today is a great day. Today is the day version 1.4.11 of FED has hit TER - and this version brings a foot long list of bugfixes and improvements. A full and detailed list of these will be compiled shortly.
There is one action you must perform immediately after you update the FED extension through TER. I have split the procedures into two cases: people using the TER version and people using the Git master version.
Warning
Although you may find it tempting to just go ahead and update and try to squash your way through, please listen to this warning: read the entire news article closely before you begin updating. I guarantee that you will be happy you did. And sorry if you didn't.
Another warning
From today and a while forward the online documentation regarding FlexForm usage will be slightly off. Read the previous migration instructions to understand the difference - basically, whenever you before used a fed:page, fed:fce or fed:flexform or any ViewHelper used for FlexForm definitions, inside these three scopes - you must now use the corresponding flux:flexform ViewHelper.
Preparations
To minimize the possible downtime caused by the actions you must perform you may want to test the migration on a clone of your intended target site first. I estimate that you should be able to restore the site in about 10-15 minutes, reasonably estimated - but I sincerely recommend you test this migration beforehand to give you a chance to fix any problems before they go on to cause even more problems.
So sit back and read closely these instructions.
Here is what you need to know before you update to FED 1.4.11:
Git master users: if you have NOT updated your local repositories since around January 20th because you were worried about your existing templates, you can simply do a git pull and if you do not already have it installed, get the latest version of EXT:flux either from TER or Git - and then continue on with the instructions for TER users. If you HAVE updated your Git master since, your templates should already be in perfect shape for the new TER version. You can however still follow the instructions below to ensure that all your templates are in working order.
TER users: Proceed by first installing the extension "Flux" (extension key flux); this is a new requirement for FED. Flux contains the FlexForm processing features used by FED. Ensure that you now are able to execute the following TYPO3 CLI command:
./typo3/cli_dispatch.phpsh flux migrate
Executing this command will display a brief help text and syntax explanation. Remember this as you might need it for later reference.
Now through Extension Manager, proceed with the FED update but stop right before you finally click "update" or "import". At this time, clear all caches and immediately install FED and continue with the next steps.
If you need to perform a special migration - for example if you placed your template files not in an extension but in fileadmin - study the arguments closely and then use --dry-run to experiment until you get the right result. The most common way of migrating which should work for almost all cases is:
./typo3/cli_dispatch.phpsh flux migrate [myext] -i --dry-run
Replace [myext] with your extension key (lowercase_underscored) and execute the command with the --dry-run argument to inspect the changes before executing them. The changes are reported using a standard diff format, which means that the top part of lines being displayed are the ones that will be removed and the bottom part is the ones that will take their place.
Make your backups now!
Backup any files you want to be able to restore. This migration process only touches HTML files (and optionally file types you specify) inside Resources/Private only (or optionally any additional paths you specifiy).
Once you have confirmed that the replacements are good, run the command again but this time remove the --dry-run argument.
Home free.
Assuming the migration script worked, your templates have now been migrated to the new format used by FED and Flux. Should you need to perform manual fixes you will most likely find the <link http: fedext.net overview fed-news git-master-updated.html external link in new>previous upgrade instructions very helpful. If you experience any problems with the migration script please report the problem immediately - I am standing by to take care of any issues as quickly as possible.
Note: this migration approach can also be used on extensions that are not your own but are preventing you from using your site due to version incompatibilities - simply run the migrate script on each extension that is causing problems and please, notify the extension owner about the problem after you check <link http: forge.typo3.org>forge.typo3.org for an existing issue ;)
Most important changes:
Syntax: The FlexForm ViewHelpers have changed to now exclusively use the Flux ViewHelpers. You can find documentation for these on this site.
User interface: all selectors have been improved with a more human friendly display. The nice names of extensions are now used as option group titles. Flexible Content Element selection in the new content element wizard has been improved and now allows you to add a description to each content element type (attribute "description" on flux:flexform).
Integration: Integrators now have control over the default page template to use if no page template has been selected anywhere in the rootline. In addition, an extension configuration option has been added which allows disabling the default page template fallback completely.
Localization: The first sprint of improving localization has centered on the Flexible Content Elements and Page templates. You can now use LLL:EXT:myext... locallang references in FlexForm "label" arguments, enabling you to translate the labels that are presented in the backend - just like you would in a traditional FlexForm.
Compatibility: Compatibility with TYPO3 4.5 is now even better, preventing access to unsupported features and implementing an automatic class file autoloader to never again risk errors due to missing entries in ext_autoload.php. Also some blockers in the way of using FED alongside TemplaVoila have been removed - you can now use FED's Flexible Content Elements with TemplaVoila, although the nested content elements feature is still not supported (and most likely will not be - blame TemplaVoila, for forcing a separate API for even the most basic things such as previews).
Widgets: The ImageCrop, RecordSelect and MultiUpload Widgets have received some important bugfixes and additions. These quickly add highly customizable user interface components that fit perfectly with your Extbase models.
Plus around 50 bugfixes focusing on ViewHelpers and TYPO3 integration. Making this the most stable and compatible version of FED to be released so far.