Since implementing reCAPTCHA, there have been some complaints about its looks, limited customization and difficulty reading the words.  While it does do a very good job at eliminating spam, its not perfect. Recently, there have also been issues on some servers where the outgoing connection to the reCAPTCHA server was blocked by a firewall. I never liked the idea of relying on a 3rd party server for this exact reason.

So today I am releasing a new version with a custom captcha that is very simple, can be customized and will stop spammers.  It is based on a question and answer system that you can edit in config.php.  For example, what color is the sky?  What is 3+5? If the user does not answer with the answers you choose, they cannot submit a comment.  You can have as many questions in your config as you want and they will randomly rotate.

The new system is already on the Pulse blog as well as the demo so feel free to try it out.

Only two files changed, blog.php and config.php so if you want a quick upgrade, just replace those files. I would be a good idea to just rename the old files in case you need to revert.

A few users brought up the idea of a tips and tricks section a few weeks ago and I thought it was a good idea.  So I have created a new page within the support section for this purpose.  There are just a few basic tips for now, but I will continue to build out this section as we go.  Let me know via the contact form if you have anything you would like to see in there.  Thanks.

Folders

This release of Pulse Pro brings several highly requested features, most notably, folders.  For those with larger collections of blocks, folders will be a big help in organizing content. Blocks can now be created inside a folder or outside in the root as before. Another new feature is that you can move blocks from one folder to another in case you need to reorganize. The third new feature related to block management is the ability to delete blocks. 

Language

Many users have requested Pulse to be translated into their native language and some have even generously submitted translated versions of Pulse.  While there will not be any official translations included with Pulse, there is now a central language file so that it can be more easily translated.  Instead of having to search through and edit 30 different files, all the wording in Pulse is now condensed into one file (lang.php) making the task of translating quick and easy. I encourage users to upload and share their “unofficial” translations in the forum.

Upgrade Notes:

Due to the new folders feature, a slight change to the file structure had to be made.  All user data is now stored in a folder called “data”.  Within that are 4 folders:

-backups
-blocks
-blog
-img

Unfortunately, this means that existing embed codes will need to be modified to work after you upgrade.  To fix this, just add “data” before “blocks” in the path like so:

include("/homepages/12/d278165188/htdocs/pulsecms/demo/blocks/Events.html"); 

include("/homepages/12/d278165188/htdocs/pulsecms/demo/data/blocks/Events.html"); 

This update fixes a security vulnerability that could potentially allow an unauthorized user to delete a blog post.  If you want to replace only the changed files, they are as follows:

-edit-post.php
-del-post.php
-manage-blog.php

Yesterday it came to my attention that Pulse Pro had been leaked onto some illegal file sharing sites.  After some digging around, I identified the customer who was responsible.  The files have been taken down and the user has been contacted and warned.  So because of this, I had to change the assigned download URL's to lock things down a bit.  Please use the contact form and send me a message to receive your new download link.  Make sure to include the email address you used to place the order through paypal.  I apologize for the inconvenience.

Pulse Pro has been updated to version 1.3.7.  This is a small release with only one minor feature.  You can now use the link tool to upload and link to PDF files.  If you wish to do a manual upgrade of your existing install, download the new version and update the following files:

-/includes/view.php
-/includes/post.php
-/includes/edit-post.php
-/plugins/ckeditor/

Pro users: Download via the URL in your sales email.

Pulse Pro has been updated to version 1.3.6.1 to address a vulnerability in which someone could view the email addresses of people who posted a comment on the blog. The patch does not alter any files, it only adds a .htaccess file to the "blocks" folder to prevent this.

If you wish to manually upgrade your install without reinstalling everything, simply download the new version and copy the .htaccess file into the "blocks" folder on your site. Also remember, .htaccess is considered a hidden file on some systems so you might need to turn on "view hidden files" in your FTP client in order to see and upload it.

Pulse Pro 1.3.6 brings support for multiple galleries.  You can now create as many individual galleries as you want, each with its own embed code. 

Two other minor features are themes for ReCaptcha and CKEditor v3.3.

Since many people did not like the default look of ReCaptcha, the default "theme" has been changed and you can choose from 3 different looks. This is accomplished by editing a line near the top of blog.php:  theme : 'blackglass'.

You can choose from blackglass, clean, and white.

As always, if you encounter any bugs, please let me know via the contact form, thanks!

Starting with Pulse Basic v1.2.7, you can no longer remove the Pulse branding and link to PulseCMS.com.  This license change only affects the Basic free version and you can continue to do so with Pulse Pro.

Pulse Basic has always been 100% free and will continue to be so.  It has been downloaded thousands of times and helps to spread the word about Pulse CMS.  But more and more, users are stripping out all branding and references to Pulse CMS.  This dilutes the brand and gives no credit where its due.

I feel it's a fair tradeoff for a free product that I have spent hundreds of hours developing.  Users get a free content management system, and I get a little brand recognition and a link back to my site in the hopes it may lead to a purchase of Pulse Pro.

This also helps keep the development of Pulse Pro going.  There will be some new features coming your way in the next 3-4 weeks so stay tuned.

Pulse Pro 1.3.5 is now out and available for download.  Existing license owners, use the URL provided in your sales email.

Whats new?

The biggest change is that the blog now has a commenting system. Comments was one of the most widely requested features, so I listened and here it is.  There are other minor visual/css tweaks, but nothing of great importance.

Updating:

If you are currently using the blog on your site, you will need to make some slight changes to your "blogfile.txt" file in order to make it compatible with Pulse Pro 1.3.5.  Each blog is now preceeded by a unique id #.  Here is the new format:

1¦1¦Fri, 02 Mar 2010 19:48:00 -0400¦Sample Post¦

This is a sample blog post.

1¦1¦Fri, 02 Mar 2010 19:48:00 -0400¦Sample Post¦

This is a sample blog post.

1¦0¦Fri, 02 Mar 2010 19:48:00 -0400¦Sample Title¦This is a sample post.

And here is what the previous format looked like.

Fri, 02 Mar 2010 19:48:00 -0400