classAd 4.0 - user manual

Version overview / ChangeLog

Version 4.0

Due to the great demand for ClassAd and the multitude of webservers running PHP4, we changed our plans and released a revision of ClassAd.

Version 4.0 directly builds on version 3.5 regarding usability and performance. Changes in details are:

  • New, structured templates
  • Completely new handling of languages
  • New category handling with better performance
  • 'Optional-in' user registration (user activation)
  • New and more user-friendly login system for users
  • Simple statistic module
  • Ads can now be categorized as 'Offering' / 'Searching' / 'Misc'
  • Maintenance script (needs cronjobs installed on webserver)
  • RSS-feed with latests ads (including category filter)
  • Language-dependent badword filter
  • General mail form
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Ads can now be filtered by ad type and sorted by various criteria
  • Display of latest ads on frontpage
  • Lots of bugfixes and programmatic improvements

Version 3.5

This version does not implement a lot of new features but ensures compatibility with PHP5 interpreters. It also fixes problems with REGISTER_GLOBALS - this setting does not need to be activated in php.ini anymore. Version 3.5 also changed templates and CSS files for easier customizing and more stablity.

Version 3.0

Integrated user management including the following functions:

  • Adding users to database with assignment of unique user names. Address data, passwords, ICQ-number, e-mail address, and an initial language selection are minuted.
    • User´s overview of ads including the possibility to change, delete, and prolong ads
    • Selection of user´s favorite language and display of all user interface texts as selected
    • Change of user data by user himself and administrator
    • Forgotten password function incl. generating a random temporary password
    • Blocking of user accounts by administrator
    • User information for admin and user (number of ads, views, contacts, tells, etc.)
    • Login / logout of users
  • Integrated security and rights management
    • Right to submit ads to database
    • Right to submit ads directly into database or ads have to be checked by administator first
    • Right to view ads or categories belonging to the closed user group
  • User management and recognition is not necessarily based on cookies: it makes no difference whether cookies are activated on client side
  • Featured articles as eye-catchers on front page (assigned by administrator)
  • Multilevel category structure (for optional use)
    • unlimited number of categories with an unlimited number of sub categories
    • flexible display of category overview by number of column definition and sorting order
  • Advanced search (incl. combinations of indate, ad title and text, zip-code and city, ad writer and picture availability) with different sorting orders
  • Integration of ICQ in user and ad data, direct contact to ICQ users via ICQ webpager
  • Definition of 10 globally used free fields
    • type definition for every single field (DropDown, listbox, textbox, textarea, option list or simple checkbox)
    • status definition (mandatory field, search field (not yet implemented))
    • text definitions (field name, description, standard text and initially selected element)
  • Release of non-directly submitted ads by administrator via e-mail with unique security code or via administrator´s console
  • Possiblity to filter user or ad lists by a keyword in the administrator´s console
  • Logfiles are now deletable (every log category individually)
  • Database maintenance included (only MySQL 3.23 or higher), included are database backup and restore, database table check, database optimization (repair and re-index)
  • Building time of pages now can be displayed
  • Performance gain with caching and persistent database connections
  • various smaller changes

Version 2.0

  • Listing of ads in a cateogory can be interrupted after a specified number of ads
  • Multilingual support of ClassAd (included are English and German versions)
  • Administrators can now edit articles including picture change/delete and ad re-assign to a category
  • E-mail texts are now encapsulated in special templates including parsing of variables
  • Integrated 'View'-counter
  • Listing of ads in a category can have an alternating background color for a better overview
  • Installation and update script added/edited
  • If configured, ads now can be stored for an unlimited period of time (to be more exact: 10 years)
  • Logfile for special events (add / delete / edit ads, login, failed login, etc.)
  • Outdated ads now can be deleted automatically
  • Various small changes and bugfixing
  • Improved upload function (advanced recognition of Jpeg pictures)
  • Improved picture scaling with optional suppression of picture upsizing, if smaller than default

Version 1.0

  • Unlimited number of categories
  • Unlimited number of ads
  • Upload of pictures and management (Jpeg, Png-format)
  • Automatic creation of thumbnails as preview pictures
  • Secure web-based administration (delete, add and edit categories, delete articles, php info-display)
  • Integrated management of outdated ads
  • Well-designed user input forms with easy input-error detection
  • Ad search (AND/OR-Combination)
  • Integrated form mailer to keep the ad-writers e-mail address anonymous
  • Integrated tell-a-friend-function
  • Display of new ads since last visit
  • Easy configuration and installation
  • Design encapsulated in template files

Future versions

The main line of development will face version ClassAdX, which is the commercial version of ClassAd for professional use. It will include a lot of new features, including a commercial module giving you the possiblity to charge users for inserting ads. Additionally it will be more secure and have an improved performance.

ClassAdX will also introduce a new user and picture management, allowing to add more than one picture and charge them optionally. We believe that ClassAdX will be available in early 2007.