Zap Calendar 3.1 Reaches Production Status
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- Created: 25 June 2013 25 June 2013
The production version of Zap Calendar version 3.1 is now available, and it provides several new features and add-ons. One exciting new feature is the ability to display a monthly or weekly calendar display in list mode in addition to grid mode. Users can easily toggle between the list mode and grid mode and print in either mode, as well as download events directly from the list. New plugins include an e-mail reminder plugin (all versions), which automatically sends e-mail reminders to event owners prior to their event, and gravatar (Pro version), which utilizes a user's avatar uploaded to gravatar.com (used with event owner field and with the comment and RSVP plugins). This version also includes an updated plugin for Zap Weather version 8, which will display weather forecast icons and temperatures within on your calendar (Zap Weather is a free Joomla component for displaying U.S.A. weather developed by Z Content).
Version 8 of Zap Weather Now Available, New Module and Plugin
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- Created: 22 June 2013 22 June 2013
We are excited to announce Zap Weather version 8 is now available. This version adds some new features to the recently redesigned component for displaying U.S.A. weather for Joomla sites. These features include:
- New 3 hour display of the weather forecast
- New module to display weather forecasts and observations
- New plugin to display weather within an article or custom HTML module
The plugin has some exciting possibilities. Users can now create their own customized weather module using the Zap Weather plugin and the custom HTML module. Read the Zap Weather plugin examples page for some examples.
As always, Zap Weather provides weather information to Joomla sites with "no commercial interruptions", which means there is no advertising or links to external commercial sites of any kind. Zap Weather utilizes weather data from the National Weather Service (NWS), a U.S.A. government agency that provides weather to consumers as well as many commercial companies.
Also, look for a new Zap Weather plugin for Zap Calendar that supports version 8 of Zap Weather, coming out soon.
Zap Calendar 3.1 Now Available
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- Created: 19 May 2013 19 May 2013
The next major release of Zap Calendar, version 3.1, is now out in beta. This version provides several new features and add-ons. One new feature included is the ability to display a monthly or weekly calendar display in list mode in addition to grid mode. New plugins include an e-mail reminder plugin (all versions), which automatically sends e-mail reminders to event owners prior to their event, and gravatar (Pro version), which utilizes a user's avatar uploaded to gravatar.com and displays it (used with event owner field and with the comment and RSVP plugins included in the Pro version).
This is the last version of Zap Calendar that will support Joomla 1.5 . Zap Calendar version 4 will be available this summer, which will include support for Joomla 3.0.
Happy Birthday Zap Weather!
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- Created: 05 March 2013 05 March 2013
Zap Weather today celebrates its 7th year on the Joomla Extensions Directory (JED). You can visit the Zap Weather page at the JED by clicking here. While you are there, why not vote for it? According to the JED, Zap Weather has received over 200 thousand hits and is the most popular weather application for Joomla. Thank you!
Zap Weather (formerly Z Weather) was developed to provide a free, non-commercial method of displaying weather on a Joomla site. This is accomplished through use of data provided freely by the National Weather Service (NWS), which provides the weather information at weather.gov . Zap Weather retrieves this information and formats it for display on a Joomla site.
Interestingly, there have been attempts to curtail the free use of the NWS data by Congress and commercial weather interests. The "National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005" bill was introduced by Former U.S. Senator and 2012 presidential hopeful Rick Santorum to eliminate the free dissemination of taxpayer-paid weather data from the NWS. Many believed his legislation was influenced by the owner of Accuweather, a constituent and political contributer to Santorum's campaign. The bill died in committee.
Version 7 of Zap Weather was recently released to support Joomla 2.5 . This version is a nearly total rewrite of the previous version of Zap Weather, which was originally written for Joomla 1.0. This version includes 12 and 24 hour forecasts, current conditions and weather alerts, and cronjob support, with more features planned.
Z Content will continue to support Zap Weather and will continue to support the free dissemenation of weather data for "commercial free" weather reporting.
Z Weather Is Now Zap Weather, Now With Joomla 2.5 Support
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- Created: 26 February 2013 26 February 2013
The title pretty much says it all. There is a new version of Z Weather in town, and it is called Zap Weather. Why the name change? Well, the name fits well with our other product, Zap Calendar, and, the zapweather.com domain was available. Version 7 of Zap Weather is now available for download here. A short installation guide is available in the Zap Weather support section.
This version is a complete rewrite of version 6, whose heritage goes back to Joomla 1.0. Version 7 supports Joomla 2.5 (finally!). We haven't tested it with Joomla 3.0 but it is on the to-do list. We first want to add some additional features to make Zap Weather version 7 as feature complete as version 6. This initial release supports 12 hour and 24 hour forecasts, zipcode lookups for latitude/longitude coordinates, and cronjob support.
Also, did we mention Zap Weather is still completely free? We didn't? Well, now you know. Go ahead and try it out and post your comments in the forum.
Zap Calendar Product Roadmap
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- Created: 14 November 2012 14 November 2012
Zap Calendar is being updated continuously to meet the needs of our customers. Here is the product roadmap for Zap Calendar in the coming months:
Zap Calendar 3.1 - (estimated release date: Spring 2013) This release will support Joomla versions 1.5 to 2.5 . It will not support Joomla 3.0. Due to the removal of many 1.5 compatibility calls, this version can not support Joomla 3.0 while maintaining compatibility with Joomla 1.5, so this version will be the last major release that will support Joomla 1.5. Future development will be focused on Joomla 2.5 and 3.0 support. We have strived to support Joomla 1.5 customers for as long as possible (while other extension writers have not), but the writing is on the wall. The Zap Calendar 3.1 update will include, among other features, support for an event list mode in the calendar browser (with the option to toggle between list mode and grid mode).
Zap Calendar 4.0 - (estimated release date: Summer 2013) This will be a native Joomla 2.5 and 3.0 Joomla release. It will not support Joomla 1.5 due to the removal of 1.5 compatilbility calls in Joomla 3.0.
Has your subscription expired? Renew today so you can receive future Zap Calendar updates for the next 12 months. Existing Pro and Standard customers can renew at half the price of the original subscription by clicking on the "Renew" button on the subscription page.
Using Facebook Comments With Your Events
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- Created: 14 September 2012 14 September 2012
A tutorial is now available in the Zap Calendar support web page detailing how you can create a Facebook comment box for events on your website. The procedure described works for ALL versions of Zap Calendar and does not require any additional add-ons. Click here to read the tutorial.
Enhanced Google Maps Plugin, ICal Subscribe Changes, New Plugin Released
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- Created: 27 May 2012 27 May 2012
Several enhancements have recently been made to Zap Calendar. This includes an enhancement to the Google Maps plugin, changes to the iCal Subscribe plugin and a new plugin for Zap Calendar Pro users.
Read more: Enhanced Google Maps Plugin, ICal Subscribe Changes, New Plugin Released
New Google Maps Plugin Supports Category Icons, HTML5 User Location
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- Created: 09 March 2012 09 March 2012
The production release of Zap Calendar 3.0 may have been only a few weeks ago, but we already have a beta release available of version 3.1 of the Google Maps plugin. Available to current Zap Calendar Standard and Pro subscribers, the Google Maps plugin adds mapping capabiltiies to your calendars. This beta 3.1 release contains the following new features:
- Support for Google Maps API v3 (plugin version 3.0 and below uses API v2)
- Use of category icons in the map
- Use of HTML 5's location feature to automatically locate website visitor and display nearby events
Read more: New Google Maps Plugin Supports Category Icons, HTML5 User Location
New Zap Calender Demo Site Now Live
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- Created: 27 February 2012 27 February 2012
The Zap Calendar demonstration site, ZapCalendar.com, recently underwent a facelift and has been upgraded to run the latest versions of Zap Calendar and Joomla. The site is now live and visitors can test drive the site with the next generation of calendar and CMS software, Zap Calendar 3.0 and Joomla 2.5. Also, a new Joomla 2.5 template, the Clarion template from Rocket Theme, was used for the site. The new site demonstrates Zap Calendar running under Rocket Theme's Gantry Framework, a popular template framework used by many sites. Many of the add-ons for Zap Calendar are also demonstrated on the site.
From the site, you can display several different calendars, view events by location, comment or RSVP to existing events, and even add new events (all postings are still removed automatically after 48 hours). The back end screenshots for Zap Calendar 3.0 and Joomla 2.5 are now available too. You can also purchase Zap Calendar from the site. Try it out and let us know if you find any problem areas. Thanks!