If you have not already noticed, we pushed the FreePBX 2.8 Upgrade Module out to the online repository. This means that you can download and upgrade your 2.7 systems to the current beta as you would any other module! This was done earlier this week and we've already seen a significant number of new systems upgrade to 2.8 as a result of this.
We are really excited about this new release and all that it brings. Just as exciting is the extremely low bug rate since we “opened the flood gates” by enabling the Version Upgrade module and all the new systems it has brought online. If the incident rate remains as low as it has we will probably be looking at a Release Candidate as early as next week! We’ve had early beta testers actively using the system for a few months now so confidence is high that this release is in a good state to move forward!
We provided a Sneak Preview of the release in an earlier blog, and have discussed just a few of the exciting features such as the Company Directory Module and the enhanced Remote Backup (e.g poor man’s HA) capabilities in earlier blogs as well.
There are way too many enhancements both big and small to try and list them here, and some of them you may find are quite “hidden” without digging though. For example, did you know that you can now collapse/expand categories in the Left Navigation bar by simply clicking on the category? If you are really picky, have a look at the new “secret” freepbx_admin.conf INI file, which lets you completely re-arrange the layout and names on the Left Navigation bar. (Sorry, there’s no GUI or module for that yet, maybe in the future…).
For those of you who have followed the attempts to get the Custom Contexts module ported to 2.8, you will be glad to know that the upgrade has happened and the module now functions properly on 2.8. In addition, it has had a handful of minor enhancements and other fixes that were previously not there. You’ll notice, for example, that the context text box is no longer present on extensions/devices; and on device types that can’t have a custom context assigned, the select box no longer shows up. You’ll also find that the context orders are now properly sorted based on the assigned priority and Outbound Routes default to the proper route order as dictated by the Outbound Route’s module when given equivalent priorities.
For now, we are looking forward that you to spend some time exploring all the small and big things we have done with version 2.8. As we wrap up this milestone, we are really excited to start planning for the next one. We have some great ideas in mind and as always we’ll be sifting through the trac system looking at open tickets to consider when planning the next release. We’ve also been thinking about a new facelift as it’s been a while, maybe we’ll get motivated … stay tuned!
Philippe - On Behalf of the FreePBX Team