In our previous post regarding version 2.3 beta1, we mentioned the Contao compatibility as well as other features in the upcoming version 2.3. The RC version has been slightly delayed due to some special demands from our Circle members, but on the positive side, it is also shipping with some nice new features.
New features in RC 1
Cumulative filter reworked again
We had drastically improved the Cumulative Filter in the beta version of Isotope 2.3 already.
Shortly after the release of the beta version, 47GradNord's Holger Neuner joined the Isotope Circle. His customers liked the filter, but they wanted it to work like it does on Amazon. In particular, the indication of the number of products was somewhat limited in the beta version because "all" products were always counted, and the number did not adjust to the actual results from the product list.
We then analyzed how well Amazon calculates the display and - as a result - came up with the following new configuration:
Now you can configure whether a multiple selection of the field should lead to an AND or OR search for every single attribute. In the beta version, this feature was available already, but was only a global setting instead of a per-attribute configuration.
From now on, you can also configure if there should be a display of number of products and if so, how it should behave:
- Show difference shows the difference of how many products will appear on the product list if the option is clicked. This option is mainly useful for OR filters as an AND filter would lead to a negative number.
- Show total indicates how many products will appear on the product list in total when clicking the option.
- Do not show corresponds to the previous behaviour and shows no number at all.
New gallery type «Elevate Zoom»
Elevate Zoom brings back the zoom gallery we had back in Isotope 1.4! The gallery is useful in the product detail view (reader view) and allows zooming in on the main image. An extended description of this jQuery plugin can be found on the developer's website. Note that this feature was added thanks to our Circle member via creativa.
Note that for this new gallery type you must have jQuery included in your page layout settings.
Reworked invoice template
Granted, the default invoice template we have had so far was rather primitive and not terribly practical. You'll understand why this was when you look at the new template. It's based on HTML tables, and quite complicated, as unfortunately TCPDF (the PDF generator we use in Contao) only supports a very limited amount of HTML.
Again, via creativa tasked us to implement their own invoice template and then gave us the permission to port over the appropriate changes for the general public. In the image on the right, you can see a "before and after" comparison. We think the results speak for themselves, and hope that this template will serve you well as an example for your own customizations!
Payment method for PensoPay / QuickPay
The fourth main feature was built - again - thanks to a Circle member. This time it was a member from Denmark. With PensoPay we have added the 17th payment provider Isotope supports by default! Since PensoPay is technically based on the same system as QuickPay, it is very likely that with the new payment method we can support both providers (we did not test QuickPay, however).
What's next?
The Roadmap plans for the stable version to be released in late July.
