Continuum XFP #116 (7.0.0)

We have a number of updates in this release that we hope you like, some of the key highlights include:

• Accessibility user interface updates - improved colour contrast, responsiveness and more
• Symfony 3.4 compatibility - improved security
• JQuery 3 compatibility - improved security and modern browser compatibility

User Interface Accessibility Improvements

We’ve been focusing on ensuring the Control Center is modern, consistent and most importantly compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA. Using various accessibility tools, we have carried out extensive testing to identify and tackle the accessibility issues that previously prevented us meeting WCAG 2.1 AA. As a result there have been subtle changes to a number of our Control Center user interfaces in this release. More information is listed below and you can view more information in this video.

Please note, if you are still using the classic form builder, these interfaces have not been updated to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards. 

Forms Structure / Pages Interface

The form Pages interface has been updated to allow interactions using keyboard navigation only. The functionality remains the same. We’ve also added a splash of colour to the UI, don’t worry the colours all meet the accessibility requirements for visual contrast. 

Before:

After:

Data Retention Interface

We’ve similar changes to the Data Retention interface, this time however we have replaced the drag drop functionality with the buttons for the various form statuses.

Before:

After:

Non-technical Extensions Pages

Changes have been made to our non-technical extension pages to ensure a higher level of consistency between feature types. Users can now apply principles they learn in one feature type to a second without further training. 

One of the key differences is the use of the “Action” menu. Most CMS interfaces now include an Action menu, which includes common tasks such as “Delete item” and the “New item” button to the top right of the list. 

Areas that have been updated to a standardised interface are:

• Database Connections
• Connectors 
• Logic Definitions
• Validation Routines
• Dictionary

Example interfaces using the “Connectors” functionality

Connectors - List (Before):

Connectors - List (After):

Connectors - Add (Before):

Connectors - Add (After):

Browser Support

We have long supported older versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, often beyond the support of Microsoft themselves, recognising that our customers are often tied to using these specific versions. 

Due to security concerns around the technologies we use in order to offer this support, we will no longer be supporting Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and Microsoft Internet Explorer 10. Support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 had been previously dropped. 

We are happy to support Microsoft Internet Explorer 11, and Microsoft Edge. Support for other browsers remains unchanged.

Symfony Upgrade

We use the popular PHP framework Symfony within our Content Management, Forms and Case Management software. In order to ensure that our customers continue to receive security updates if and when required, we have updated our Symfony version dependency to Symfony version 3.4.

As part of these changes we have removed the configuration file commands.xml, this has been replaced with commands.yml. If you have previously added custom commands to your system, you will need to manually migrate these to the new file.

If you have previously created custom functionality that relies on interactions with Symfony, you will need to check that any code you maintain continues to work following the upgrade to Symfony 3.4. A number of tools are available to help you identify any potential issues, and these are linked to in the documentation below.

Symfony 3.4 upgrade guide contains further information on the changes made.

JQuery 3 Upgrade

Dropping support for older versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer has freed us to upgrade the version of JQuery that we use within our user interfaces. JQuery is a popular JavaScript library, used by many web applications to make rich, interactive sites. 

If you have created custom Control Center interfaces, you will need to check that any code you maintain that relies on JQuery 1.x functionality continues to work following the upgrade to JQuery 3. 

Deprecations and deletions

This is a major release and it contains breaking changes, if you have developed custom functionality for your forms you will need to review these custom developments. 
Prominent functionality that requires your review includes:

• Custom components can no longer use UserAnswer::setAnswerLabel when saving answers.
• Custom components will no longer show an icon unless the service definition is updated.
• Guzzle v3 via the symfony server (xfp_core.guzzle.client) is no longer available
• Snippets that use JQuery to enhance the form experience (due to upgrading to v3)
• Custom rule clauses are no longer supported.

In addition to changes outlined above a number of previously retired features, including their related functions and files, have been removed. We recommend that any references to these files and functions are removed from any custom developments that you maintain. 

Full details are available in our associated documentation.

Meteor upgrade

A new version of Meteor, our patch deployment tool, is included within this release. In order to support the upgraded version of Doctrine Migrations library, compatible with Symfony 3.4, we have released an updated version of Meteor. This should not require any action from you when deploying patches, however if you have previously written your own database migration scripts, you will need to ensure that these are compatible with the updated version.

Compatibility

This release contains both XFP 7.0.0 and the corresponding Continuum CMS 20.0.0 in a single package. There is no need to apply the Continuum CMS package separately.

If you are unsure of compatibility please speak to Jadu Support who can advise.

Semantic version number: 7.0.0