New version of WebAsyst Photos is available!

WebAsyst Photos application has been redesigned from scratch.

Initial release of the new version was planned to be done a couple of months ago, but we decided to postpone it until we integrate some cool features like thumbnails sharpening, crop, slideshows, various view options, etc.

Thanks to everyone who has been awaiting! We hope that the new WebAsyst Photos application will fully meet your expectations.

Take a closer look:

• new WebAsyst Photos website: http://www.webasyst.net/photos/
• feature list with descriptions
• demo photo gallery
• WebAsyst Photos user manual

New customers

Special $20 discount offer for WebAsyst Photos as PHP scripts is now available. Offer ends on September, 13th (sunday).

Existing users
(how to upgrade?)

— If you purchased WebAsyst Photos PHP scripts earlier, you may install this update using WebAsyst Installer, or download the new version from your WebAsyst Customer Center account (for free). Before you start updating your installation, see our how to upgrade guide (there are a couple of important things you need to know).

— If you use WebAsyst Photos as a hosted service, just login to your WebAsyst account. The update will be applied automatically.

Updated pricing plans

Good news regarding pricing plans for the hosted service: we have cancelled limitations on the number of images. Now the number of photos in your WebAsyst account is only limited by the free disk space. 

We have also increased the free disk space for every pricing plan of the WebAsyst Photos service:

My Photos — increased from 1 to 2 GB,
Photo Gallery — from 5 to 10 GB,
Photographer — from 10 to 25 GB,
Photo Studio — from 25 to 50 GB.

Prices have remained unchanged.

Access rights

We have added new screens to WebAsyst Photos : “Design” and “Settings”. After you update, go to the “Users” application, and set appropriate access rights to these new screens for users of your WebAsyst account.

• Enhanced payment and shipping modules now allow adding their respective logos which makes checkout process visually more accurate for your clients. Each payment and shipping method now has a Logo field where its URL can be posted. You can use free icons for shipping and payment type which we posted earlier in our blog: http://blog.webasyst.net/payment-type-icons/.
• Added “Shipping summary” form which includes order details and customers location
  according to Google Maps service. This is very useful for local courier deliveries. Modified Tag cloud code. It works faster now and search of the tag terms is performed only in actual tags assigned instead of product name and description as before.
• Minor improvements:
  — Shrink large product image option in the Settings / Products. It allows to automatically downsize original images to the expressly specified size, instead of keeping them as is.
  — RSS feed of the product reviews now includes the product name and its page link.
  — Fixed site maps URL issues when original one ending with “?app=SC” resulted in errors with some submission services.
  — Predefined order statuses (Cancelled, Pending etc.) now can be translated using standard language tools of the administrative back end.
  — Fixed a number of minor bugs reported by users since the last update.

We have released a new version of WebAsyst Mail. In fact, WebAsyst Mail is now a fully functional mail web client with advanced capabilities. You can use it to receive messages, send private or bulk email messages, keep and organize corporate email archive, etc.

What’s new:

1. Inbox folder. Now you can use WebAsyst Mail to receive messages. In the Inbox folder you can add mail boxes of two types: internal – based on your WebAsyst account domain name (e.g. alex@youraccount.webasyst.net), and external – linked to an email address residing at a remote mail server. It allows you to gather in your single WebAsyst account all messages which you receive in your boxes that may reside on different mail systems; e.g. @aol.com, @gmail.com, @yourcompany.com. It allows you to access all your correspondence from the same place. At the same time you may continue using proprietary web clients of these mail systems, as well as desktop mail programs like Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook.
   NOTE: To see Inbox folder in an existing WebAsyst account, you must specify proper user access rights to your Inbox folder. To do so, navigate to user access rights page and enable “Can access Inbox” option in the Mail service section.
2. Compose and send message functions have been fully redesigned. Previous version had been designed primarily for bulk message sending and consisted of several steps. Our new compose message form features a convenient recipients selector, enhanced message editor, and fast one-click Send button. Sending function has been significantly improved, and now works stably and quickly both for immediate and scheduled sending, no matter how many recipients you have added to your message.
   NOTE: Recipient addresses, specified in “To” and “Copy” fields will be visible for all recipients of your message. If you want recipients to see only their own addresses, you must use “Lists” option. Create contact list in WebAsyst Contacts and then send your message to this list from WebAsyst Mail.
3. Drafts, Pending, Sent and Templates. These are new private folders which appear in your navigation panel. These folders are available only for the current user. Every new message, which has not yet been sent, appears in “Drafts”. Once sent, this messages moves to “Sent” folder, and etc. From these private folders you can move messages to any shared folder in “Available folders” section.

In addition to the major changes described above, we have significantly redesigned, enhanced and accelerated Mail interface, using AJAX. On the compose and view message pages we have removed all unnecessary elements and devoted as much space as possible to the message content. We have added new functions to reply and forward messages. Template selector now shows a thumbnails gallery to make choosing a template easier.

Refer to WebAsyst Mail Manual for detailed description of new Mail.

Create WebAsyst account and start using new Mail.

The long awaited Shop-Script update is now available.

How to install:

• Users of Shop-Script PHP software (please read before you run software update!):

  Before you run software update in WebAsyst Installer, apply chmod 777 to index.php file that is located in the root of your WebAsyst installation to allow WebAsyst Installer to rewrite this file (enable write permission for this file; you can do this using your favorite FTP client software). Write permission for index.php should be enabled before you start software update to allow update routine to be applied successfully.

  Please contact customer support if you have any questions.

• Users of WebAsyst Shopping Cart hosted service:

  Update has been successfully applied to your accounts. You don’t need to do anything.

Below is the list of changes in this update:

1. Support for time zones (storefront time zone is configured in your store back-end settings screen, server time zone — in WebAsyst Installer settings).
2. New screen “Tools — Sitemaps” which allows creating XML Sitemaps for your storefront. Sitemaps file is an XML file that lists URLs of your website and allows search engines to crawl your site more intelligently.
   After you install this software update, you should manually activate “Sitemaps” screen. To do this, go to WebAsyst Users application and grant your WebAsyst user access rights to the new “Sitemaps” screen (you may allow other users to access Sitemaps as well).
3. New screen “Tools — Print forms” which allows configuring various order forms that you can print directly from your order info page. Some of the forms are available for customer in “My account” tab in storefront.
   After you install this software update, you should manually activate “Print forms” screen. To do this, go to WebAsyst Users application and grant your WebAsyst user access rights to the new “Print forms” screen (you may allow other users to access print forms configuration screen as well).
   Currently there is only one order form — invoice. We are working on adding new order forms such as shipping labels for UPS, FedEx and other supported shipping carriers. We appreciate your feedback regarding order forms; please tell us which print forms would you like to have in your online store (email us or post in our forum). We are open to your suggestions.
4. SEO, improved page layouts, JavaScript optimization.
5. WYSIWYG-editor: new features, ability to add custom JavaScript code, widgets and iframes directly to your texts.
6. 5 new skin templates: Lucid, Aqua, Sale, Tableware, Flowers.
7. Bulk image upload in “Design — Image Uploader” screen.
8. A lot of tiny features and improvements:
   — product search in back-end,
   — settings option for enabling/disabling product code (SKU) display in storefront,
   — the ability to define text direction for a certain language (left-to-right, right-to-left),
   — improved product import from CSV files,
   — order’s “Print version” now includes all customer data including custom registration form fields (e.g. phone number),
   — product duplicating feature,
   — now your customers have the ability to enter how many items to add into shopping cart when ordering something in your storefront (to enable this feature, go to built-in design editor’s “Product info” tab, double-click “Add to cart” element and enable corresponding settings option),
   — in the back-end “Settings” — “Catalog” tab there is a new option that allows you to define the quality of product thumbnail images which are created automatically when you upload product images.
9. Improved stability and security, slightly increased performance, code optimization.
10. Many bug fixes and insignificant improvements:
    — bug fixes in product image uploading,
    — homepage category sorting issue,
    — proper display of special offer products on storefront homepage (products with long names will now be displayed properly; this feature requires your action to be enabled: go to “Design editor”, double-click you special offers block that is displayed not as expected and enter a right value for height of the product image+name block in pixels),
    — update of some payment modules according to the latest integration documentation changes (Paypal Payflow Link, HSBC, Paymentech),
    — and more.
11. PHP software users: in WebAsyst Installer settings you may now configure whether to display “Powered by WebAsyst” or not.

If you notice something weird about the functioning or the look of your store back-end, try updating your browser cache. To do this, right-click somewhere inside store back-end that works not as expected, and select “Open frame in new window” in the popup menu. Then press Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or Cmd+R (Mac) in the new window.

During this update we experienced a slow down in WebAsyst service operation caused by a batch upgrade of metadata (database structure) simultaneously for hundreds accounts of our hosted customers. This slow down continued from 3:30 am until 4:30 am EDT. We apologize for any inconveniences that could be caused by this case. This situation was unusual for us and it was a good experience which will help us improve WebAsyst software update system.

Today we have released a new version of Files.

This is not just another upgrade, this is a new product!

Works several times faster

The latest version of Files utilizes a new WebAsyst kernel. With this new kernel all data (folders tree, file lists, files themselves) are transferred from the server’s side much faster than in the old version of Files. On the client’s side, almost all user actions in the main screen of the service are implemented using javascript and AJAX without page reloading.

New user interface

In the new user interface we repositioned all control elements and important information in the most suitable and prominent places. Menus which contain access to actions with files and folders are now residing “close” to the objects to which these actions are related. Menus themselves became “live”; i.e., they immediately display a result on user’s click, or a prompt to enter additional information if necessary.

Quick links to files or folders

Only one click is now required to get a link to any file or entire folder. Address (URL) of this link is immediately available on the screen and is ready for emailing or publishing in blog. Previously created links are as easy to remove if access to these files must be revoked.

New version of Files is already on the WebAsyst server. Just login to your account and try it, or create new account.

WebAsyst Software (PHP scripts) buyers can download new version from their Customer Center account.

We have released completely redesigned WebAsyst Installer:

WebAsyst Installer is an administrative WebAsyst application used for setting up and configuring WebAsyst installation on a web server. WebAsyst Installer is included in WebAsyst delivered as PHP software. Installer is not included in WebAsyst service hosted on our servers (we handle all technical side).

New Installer is much more stable than the previous version, works on various server configurations. WebAsyst software installation and updates got much easier with the new Installer. We successfully tested this update on various platforms including most popular hosting providers (such as GoDaddy), Windows, Mac OS X, Apache and IIS servers.

Here is a brief list of new features:
— Improved installation procedure and thorough analysis of server settings,
— Server configuration diagnostics,
— Improved WebAsyst software update system,
— File manager,
— More configuration options,
— View server logs,
— New design.

To install this update: run update procedure from your present WebAsyst Installer as usual.

WebAsyst Installer will update itself. If you notice something weird about the look of your Installer, or if you get any kind of error during update, simply reload current page in your web browser by pressing Ctrl+F5 on Windows, Cmd+R on Mac. Errors may occur if local browser cache was not properly refreshed during the update installation, or if archive extraction procedure of the new Installer has not finished at the moment of the page display. Reloading current web page should fix all such issues.
Contact support if you have any questions. 

In this new version we have substantially redesigned the main frame of WebAsyst user interface, including the services selection menu and the top panel with account name and logo.

What has been changed:

1. Using an iframes technique and HTML and javascript code optimization, we enabled the system to work faster – main menu is not reloaded  when switching between services or navigating inside a service.
2. You can now choose one of four positions for the main menu: Top, Left, Bottom, and Right (before you had only Left and Bottom). For every position user can select a convenient menu view: Icons and Names, Icons only, or Names only. This flexible tuning allows you to set a layout which is most suitable for your current screen resolution. Selected view will be remembered on a local computer in cookies. To manage these personal settings, simply click your name in the top line of your WebAsyst window.
3. We changed the bright background colors in the service heading and toolbar. These elements are now in a light, white-gray palette that allows users to concentrate on the main service content. Color customizing is now possible only for top panel.
4. “Control Panel” screen has been re-named “Account”, and is now accessible from the top line, next to the current user name. Using “Account” screen you can now customize color scheme for entire account and select account name and logo appearance options.
5. Login form has been personalized – it now displays your account name and logo.

Login to your WebAsyst account – it already has the new interface!

If you purchased WebAsyst software to install on your own server, you may go to your WebAsyst Installer and upgrade.

NOTE: If you encounter a problem within your WebAsyst main menu, press Ctrl+F5 in your browser to refresh the page. If you see distortion or only partially loaded page inside a service area, open iframe of this service in new window (click right mouse button in a service area and select “Open in new window”), and then press Ctrl+F5.

WebAsyst Shop-Script has been updated today.

Design themes got better — we fixed various visual defects (e.g. font sizes, paddings).
Few bugs fixed in product image management and upload form.

WebAsyst Installer now offers manual installation option for servers which do not allow automated scripts installation due to system restrictions.

Today we have released a newly enhanced WebAsyst Issue Tracker.

New features:

1. New view added to the issue list – « group issues by projects». This allows you to display issues linked with different projects in the same list. The feature is useful for those who work on several projects at a time and wish to see all their issues.
2. Now you can add issues not linked to any project.
3. Added “Add Comment” feature. All comments are linked to issues and accessible in the issue’s  history.
4. Add, edit, and forward issue functions have been enhanced and work much faster – they do not require reloading of the issue list anymore.
5. «Issues» tab has been added to the WebAsyst Projects service. This makes it easy to switch to issues related to a project without leaving Projects service.
6. Project manager can now manage assignments directly from the Add Issue form. It is convenient when you want to assign a new employee not previously assigned to this project – it is not necessary to switch to a separate form to set assignments.
7. View «Table» has been eliminated. Now there is one view for the issue list, but with some customization options. Table view is incompatible with our further interface enhancements.
8. Some interface elements have been changed:
• Removed buttons «Add Issue» and «Customize Workflow», which were located on the panels with task description in the issue list.  Now there is one big button «Add Issue» at the top of the issue list. To customize workflow use «Workflow…» button in the toolbar
• Eliminated paging of the issue list. Instead we show only first 30 issues that satisfy a selected filter, and then «Show more…» button if  all issues do not appear
• Removed capability to hide/show issues for tasks and displaying of «empty» tasks which do not have linked issues

WebAsyst Shop-Script has been updated today.

New features:

1. New templates that were previously available only in Shop-Script PREMIUM — Glamour, Sci, Computer Store — are now added to WebAsyst Shop-Script. Now WebAsyst Shop-Script offers 13 built-in design templates.
2. Export orders to a CSV file (Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice Calc).
3. Notify customers upon order actions. When order status is changed, administrator can easily send notification to customer on this action with the ability to add optional comment. This is especially useful when shipping products and sending tracking number to customer.
4. Dedicated order tracking page in storefront allowing customer to see order status and processing history at anytime. Previously it was available only for registered customers in My Account section. Now every customer has this opportunity. To enable this feature in your WebAsyst Shop-Script, go to design editor, select your design theme, and double-click storefront main navigation component (which represents links to Home, My account, Feedback and other screens) — enable Order status option and resave your template.
5. RSS feed for storefront news, certain product reviews and all product reviews.
6. The ability to move several products to another category at a time.
7. Editable product page title tag.
8. PayPal Website Payments Standard — added test/live mode toggle.
9. New credit card processing module — Chronopay Gateway.
10. User-friendly URLs for information pages.
11. New Add to cart counter allows viewing which products are mostly added to the shopping cart by storefront visitors.
12. The ability to arrange (sort) product images.
13. More customization options for storefront homepage unfolded category list.

Plus:

1. Source code optimization — reduced number of SQL-queries in storefront operation.
2. Added new CURL proxy connection settings in WebAsyst Installer — this is required for using some of payment and shipping modules on godaddy.com hosting provider.
3. More stable installation procedure — added support for various server configurations.
4. Few backend interface new features.
5. Fixed minor bugs in advanced product search in storefront.
6. WorldPay module bug fixed.

Latest version can be downloaded in WebAsyst Customer Center.

Existing WebAsyst Shop-Script users: update your installation using WebAsyst Installer using built-in automated update system.