Free v3.8.9 with focus on performance and usability is available

Posted on 18 May, 2014

Category:

Free-Version Releases
Attention: this is not the changelog for the latest stable version 4.29.1 (see related release notes)

This release focuses on performance improvements, fixes some nasty bugs and also hardens some security related functions.

For even more features and optimizations (see the comparision page), please use the integrated pro upgrader to start a free 30-day-trial of Maps Marker Pro.

Pro v1.6 has also been released today with the following highlights:

  • improved performance for layer maps by asynchronous loading of markers via GeoJSON
  • option to disable loading of Google Maps API for higher performance if alternative basemaps are used only
  • map parameters can be overwritten within shortcodes (e.g. [ mapsmarker marker=”1″ height=”100″ ])

Let me know what you think about this new release by submitting a review!

If you want to keep up to date with the latest Maps Marker development, please follow @MapsMarker on twitter (= most current updates), on FacebookGoogle+ or subscribe to news via RSS or via RSS/email.

I would also like to invite you to join our affiliate program which offers commissions up to 50%. If you are interested in becoming a reseller, please visit https://www.mapsmarker.com/reseller


Now lets get to the highlights of free v3.8.9:

improve loading time for huge layer maps

This is done by limiting (hidden) geo microformat tags. The more markers you have on your layer maps, the greater the performance improvement will be.

For even faster maps, please try Maps Marker Pro, where asynchronous loading of markers for layer maps via GeoJSON has been added with v1.6

added new sort order options for “list of markers” below layer maps

Due to feedback from users, I enhanced the order options for the list of markers below layer maps. You now can also sort the list by

  • popuptext
  • icon
  • created by
  • updated by
  • kml_timestamp

This allows you to create custom sort orders by adding <span>1</span>… to popuptexts for example.

You find these new sort orders in Settings / Map Defaults / List of markers settings:

list-marker-settings-new-order-options

optimized CSS classes for list of markers table

With pro v1.6 I also removed all inline-styles for the list of markers-tables and added fixed css classes which you can now better user for custom styling.

<ol> and <ul> lists were not shown correctly in popuptexts

Thanks Dan for reporting this! This is now fixed and you can also add HTML lists to popuptext, without breaking the layout of this lists.

Other optimizations and changes

  • added support for loading maps within jQuery Mobile frameworks (thanks Håkan!)
  • added support for GeoJSON-API-links for multi-layer-maps in map panels
  • update import-export library PHPExcel to v1.8.0 (changelog)
  • updated jQuery timepicker addon to v1.4.4
  • updated jQuery select2 addon for settings to v3.4.8
  • hardened SQL queries for multi-layer-maps

Bugfixes

  • automatic resizing of maps within woocommerce tabs was broken
  • wrong line-height applied to panel api images could break map layout on certain themes (thx K.W.!)
  • potential low-critical PHP object injection vulnerabilities with PHPExcel, discovered by https://security.dxw.com/
  • issues with pro upgrader on servers with PHP 5.5 and ioncube support

Translations updates

Thanks to many motivated contributors, this release comes with the following updated translations:

If you want to contribute to translations (new Hindi translators would be appreciated!), please visit https://translate.mapsmarker.com/projects/lmm for more information. Please note that translators are also compensated for their contribution – for example if a translation is finished less than 50%, the translator gets a free 25 licenses pack worth €149 as a compensation for completing the translation to 100%.

Outlook – my plans for the next release

Please see the roadmap for a rough schedule for planned features of the pro version and please subscribe to this blog (via RSS or Email) or follow @MapsMarker on twitter (= most current updates) if you want to stay up to date with the latest development news.

Full changelog

improved performance for layer maps by asynchronous loading of markers via GeoJSON
option to disable loading of Google Maps API for higher performance if alternative basemaps are used only
map parameters can be overwritten within shortcodes (e.g. [ mapsmarker marker=”1″ height=”100″ ])
added support for loading maps within jQuery Mobile frameworks (thanks Håkan!)
added support for GeoJSON-API-links for multi-layer-maps in map panels
added new sort order options for “list of markers” below layer maps (popuptext, icon, created by, updated by, kml_timestamp)
significantly improve loading time for huge layer maps by limiting (hidden) geo microformat tags
update import-export library PHPExcel to v1.8.0 (changelog)
optimized CSS classes and removed inline-styles for list of markers-table for better custom styling
updated jQuery timepicker addon to v1.4.4
updated jQuery select2 addon for settings to v3.4.8
hardened SQL queries for multi-layer-maps
<ol> and <ul> lists were not shown correctly in popuptexts (thanks Dan!)
automatic resizing of maps within woocommerce tabs was broken
wrong line-height applied to panel api images could break map layout on certain themes (thx K.W.!)
potential low-critical PHP object injection vulnerabilities with PHPExcel, discovered by https://security.dxw.com/
issues with pro upgrader on servers with PHP 5.5 and ioncube support
Translation updates
In case you want to help with translations, please visit the web-based translation plattform
updated Chinese (zh_TW) translation thanks to jamesho Ho, http://outdooraccident.org
updated Dutch translation thanks to Patrick Ruers, http://www.stationskwartiersittard.nl
updated French translation thanks to Vincèn Pujol, http://www.skivr.com and Rodolphe Quiedeville, http://rodolphe.quiedeville.org, Fx Benard, http://wp-translator.com, cazal cédric, http://www.cedric-cazal.com and Fabian Hurelle, http://hurelle.fr
updated German translation
updated Italian translation thanks to Luca Barbetti, http://twitter.com/okibone
updated Latvian translation thanks to Juris Orlovs, http://lbpa.lv and Eriks Remess http://geekli.st/Eriks
updated Polish translation thanks to Tomasz Rudnicki, http://www.kochambieszczady.pl
updated Romanian translation thanks to Arian, http://administrare-cantine.ro and Daniel Codrea, http://www.inadcod.com

show previous changelogs

How to download / update 

The easiest way to update is to use the WordPress update process: login with an user who has admin privileges, navigate to Dashboard / Updates, select plugins to update and press the button “Update Plugins”. Alternatively you can also download the current version here, unzip the package and overwrite the plugin´s files on your webserver.