XenCustomize - News Publisher 2.3.13

New Features & Enhancements:​

• Added native RSS export for the News Publisher index and news categories.
• Added new admin options to control RSS feed availability, item limit, feed order, content mode, and thumbnail inclusion.
• Added a new admin option to control how many latest headlines are shown in the News Ticker.
• Added a new admin option to control the News Ticker cache lifetime.
• Added a new admin option to control how often the News Ticker automatically cycles headlines.
• Added a new admin option to show or hide thumbnails in the News Ticker.
• Added a new admin option to limit the News Ticker to selected source categories.
• Added a new admin option to allow users to hide the News Ticker from their account preferences.
• Added a new account preference so users can choose whether to show the News Ticker when the admin allows it.
• Improved the News Ticker layout on small screens for a cleaner mobile presentation with better headline readability.
• Added a new admin option to control whether the News Ticker heading label is shown on desktop, mobile, both, or hidden entirely.
• Added a new admin option to hide News Ticker thumbnails on narrow mobile screens when desired.
• Reorganized News Publisher admin options into tabbed sections to make related settings easier to find, including dedicated tabs for News Ticker and RSS export options.

Performance Improvements:

• Optimized the News Ticker loading flow so ticker data is only prepared for valid public HTML requests where the ticker is enabled and viewable.
• Refactored the News Ticker query to use a leaner fetch process, removing unnecessary per-visitor relation joins and reducing database overhead.
• Updated News Ticker visibility checks to use viewable category IDs instead of permission cache joins inside the ticker query.
• Added permission-combination-aware ticker caching and refined it to use XenForo simple cache for broader compatibility across different installations.
• Added automatic ticker cache invalidation when news content changes.
• Added a composite database index to improve News Ticker lookups for visible news ordered by publish date.

The following templates have had changes:

• core_xcu_nwp.less
• xcu_nwp_card_grid.less
• xcu_nwp_expanded_list.less
• xcu_nwp_standout_card_grid.less
• xcu_nwp_news.less
• xcu_nwp_news_list_macros
• xcu_nwp_news_ticker
• xcu_nwp_news_ticker.less
• xcu_nwp_rss_content
• xcu_nwp_option_macros

Bug Fixes​

• Fixed an undefined variable issue in the news creation process that prevented reading time from being calculated when publishing new stories. (Reported by @PhineasD)
• Corrected duplicate title assignment in the Create service.

This update introduces several user-requested improvements and visual refinements aimed at enhancing both usability and design consistency.

You can now control how your Latest News widget orders content — by publish date, last update, or even random for variety. On mobile devices, comment action buttons are now neatly grouped into a dropdown, providing a cleaner, more intuitive layout.

We’ve also improved tag editing visibility by adding a clear edit icon beside Related Topics, making it easier to manage tags directly from the news view page.

Finally, this release debuts our refreshed News Publisher icon and updated default thumbnails, bringing a modern, polished look to the addon.

• Widget: Display Order Option (Sponsored by @hakyangler)
  • Added a new Display order control for the Latest News widget.
  • Admins can now choose how news items are ordered in the widget:
    • Publish date – Show newest published news first.
    • Last update – Show most recently updated news first (default, same as before).
    • Random – Shuffle the news order for more variety.
  • This update provides greater flexibility and control over how news is surfaced in different widget placements.
  • Notes:
    • Existing Latest News widgets will continue to use Last update automatically to ensure compatibility.
    • New widget instances will also default to Last update unless a different order is selected.
• Mobile: Comment Actions Dropdown (Sponsored by @hakyangler)
  • Comment action links (e.g., Delete, Reassign, IP, Warn) are now grouped inside a dropdown menu on mobile devices.
  • Matches XenForo’s native design and delivers a cleaner, more compact layout for mobile users.
• Improved Tag Editing Visibility (Sponsored by @hakyangler)
  • Added a visible edit icon beside the "Related Topics" heading when tag editing is allowed.
  • Makes it clearer that tags can be added or edited directly from the news view page.
• Refreshed Product Icon & Default Thumbnails
  • Replaced the official News Publisher product icon with a brand-new modern design.
  • Updated all default news thumbnail images shipped with the addon to reflect the new branding style.
    • data/assets/xcu_news_publisher/Default-News-Thumbnail-Square.webp
    • data/assets/xcu_news_publisher/Default-News-Thumbnail-Landscape.webp
• Improved Default Thumbnail Handling
  • Fixed an issue where news items without a thumbnail and fallback cover image would sometimes display no default thumbnail.
  • Templates now always show a default thumbnail image when a thumbnail and fallback cover image is missing.
  • Ensures consistent visuals across search results, widgets, carousels, and other listings.

The following templates have had changes:

• widget_def_options_xcu_nwp_latest_news
• search_result_nwp_news
• trending_content_item_nwp_news
• xcu_nwp_comment_macros
• xcu_nwp_news_list_macros
• xcu_nwp_news_wrapper_macros

Note: After upgrading, please check your Outdated Templates page and either revert or merge/integrate these templates to ensure that all new changes are applied.

New Features & Enhancements:​

• About the Author:
  • Added a new admin setting: "Show 'About the Author' block" with multiple display options:
    • Below the news story
    • In the sidebar (above the information block)
    • Do not show
  • Displays an elegant author block, featuring the author’s avatar, name, title, and bio.
  • Pulls bio content from the "About you" field in the user profile — shown only if filled.
  • Fully responsive and visually refined for both mobile and desktop views.
• Related Topics (Tags):
  • Tags have been moved to a new, dedicated block below the news story.
  • Revamped their visual design for better visibility and a cleaner, more modern appearance.

• Fixed a missing alert template issue causing the error: "[E_USER_WARNING] Template public:alert_nwp_news_mention is unknown".

New Features & Enhancements​

• Change News Dates & Times
  • Added the ability to modify the news publish date & time.
  • Added the ability to update the last edit date & time for accurate record-keeping.
  • Ensured that the last update date cannot be set before the publish date.
  • Implemented restrictions on future-dated entries for consistency.
  • Timezone support added to ensure accurate timestamp conversions based on the user’s timezone.
• Latest News Widget: New Display Styles
  • Carousel Slider: A dynamic slider-based display for showcasing recent news. (Not designed for sidebar positions.)
  • Carousel Slider (Card Grid): A slider using the Card Grid display mode for a more visually engaging layout.
• Avatar Display Toggle
  • Added a style property setting to toggle avatars on or off in all display modes.
  • Available separately for: Card Grid, Compact List, Expanded List, and Standout Card Grid.
  • Provides per-style control without needing template edits.
• Styling Improvements for Card Grid Display Mode
  • Prevented news title from wrapping unexpectedly, ensuring layouts remain intact.

• News view page now prioritizes the description field over message for metadata snippets.
• Open Graph and Twitter card images now use getCoverImage() instead of getThumbnailUrl(), providing a more reliable fallback for news thumbnails.

• Fixed category permission classes not matching the correct formatter pattern.
• Fixed missing template causing the error: "Template email:xcu_nwp_watched_news_update is unknown".
• Fixed a missing phrase on News category permission page.
• Fixed a couple of missing phrases xcu_nwp_news_x_watched_news_updated and xcu_nwp_watched_news_update_email_html.

New Features & Enhancements:
Scheduled News Publication

• Added new Publication options on the news creation page, allowing users to choose between:
• Publish Now – Make news live immediately upon submission.
• Schedule Publication – Set a future date, time, and time zone for automatic publishing (must be in the future).
• Added a "Scheduled" label next to news titles for clear identification.
• Added a block status message to indicate scheduled news.
• Added a "Reschedule Publication" (pencil icon) button for quick rescheduling.
• Added a "Publish Now" button to immediately publish a scheduled news item.
• Added a "Your Scheduled News" navigation link for easy access to all scheduled news.
• Added a new moderator permission: "View scheduled news" to allow access to other users' scheduled news.
• Added a new "Publish Scheduled News" cron entry, running every 5 minutes to automatically publish scheduled news. (Note: The cron runs only when site activity triggers it, as XenForo cron jobs do not run independently.)
• Improved Search Autocomplete
• Search autocomplete results now utilize the getCoverImage() method to ensure the best available image is displayed consistently. If no image is found, a default thumbnail is used.

Improved News Thumbnails

• Enhanced thumbnail display in compact mode, search results, and tag pages to maintain the correct aspect ratio using custom styling instead of XenForo's avatar classes.

Changes:
Public Navigation Enhancements

• Renamed "Your News Stories" to "Your News" and changed it to a dropdown menu.
• Renamed the previous "Your News Stories" to "Your Published News", now a sub-navigation link under "Your News".
• Added "Your Scheduled News" as a new sub-navigation link under "Your News".

Bug Fixes:
Fixed various missing phrases. (Reported by @PhineasD and others)
Fixed missing template causing the error: "Template public:alert_nwp_news_update is unknown". (Reported via ticket)
Fixed missing template causing the error: "Template public:alert_user_news_converted_thread is unknown". (Reported via ticket)
Fixed an issue where moderator action alerts for news were increasing the alert count but not appearing in the user's alert list. (Reported via ticket)
Fixed an issue where creating news without key points would save an empty key point entry. (Reported via ticket)