February 2011 Archives

Easier Downloads

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7dt-download-mess.jpgIsn't that a mess? All those links for one product? That's what nearly every product download page on 7DollarTools.com looked like until today.

By eliminating support for old versions, I was able to remove three of those links. And the documentation link I was able to remove by putting all the documentation for my products on the website. (Why I didn't do that before, I don't know. It makes updating the instructions for all existing users very easy.)

Lastly, I eliminated any choice for new and existing users of my products--that was just confusing for most people. I was trying to keep users who were already using my products from downloading SourceGuardian loaders and another copy of Admin Expansion Lite, but by asking new users to check for the loaders before buying I am able to avoid providing the loaders at all.

(Admin Expansion Lite is now always provided as a separate download, which allows me to update it without creating new packages for the other Expansions.)

Once all that was done, here's what the same download page looks like:

7dt-download-cleanup.jpgLesson to learn: make things easier for your customers and users.

Support For Older Versions of 7DSS Ended

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Back in 2007 when I started $7 Tools, I was supporting $7 Secrets Scripts version 2.6; in fact, Admin Expansion was specifically written to fix bugs that were present in that version.

When I took over $7 Secrets, I corrected those bugs and I removed the bug fixes from later versions of Admin Expansion, but I kept available the version (1.1.2) compatible with 7DSS 2.6. Versions of other Expansions dependent on AE 1.1.2 also remained available.

As of today, though, I'm no longer supporting any Expansion that doesn't work with 7DSS 2.8. Older versions of all Expansions have been removed from the site and users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to 7DSS 2.8 and update their Expansions. And new users won't have the confusing choice of download options when they reach the download page.

Are We Compatible?

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Most products available through $7 Tools are protected by a tool called SourceGuardian, which I use to encode my PHP scripts. Every once in a while I'll get a refund request from someone whose hosting company won't install the SourceGuardian extension and, as a result, the purchased Expansion won't run. I think it's a poor provider that won't install this common software (particularly since they usually have Zend Optimizer and ionCube installed -- two extensions that have a similar purpose), but I'm stuck giving the refund.

To prevent these requests in the future, I've put a link on each Expansion's sales page indicating there are some system requirements. There's also a reminder after the user clicks the order link. The requirements are simple:

  • You need to be running 7DSS
  • You need to be running SourceGuardian

Buyers are encouraged to download a test script to make sure their server supports SourceGuardian. If the loaders aren't already installed, the user is given a link to download them or, if the server doesn't support user-installed loaders, instructions are provided to pass to the hosting company.

I've been working with Inovica (the publishers of SG) the past couple weeks to make the test script more user-friendly, by clarifying various messages and adding additional logic. I hope you find it useful; please let me know if you have any issues as you use it.

Additional reading:
Installing the SourceGuardian Loaders
System Compatibility

Admin Expansion 1.3.1

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Admin Expansion and Admin Expansion Lite have been updated to version 1.3.1. The most significant change is the destination of the "Fix" links in the 7DSS admin panel: since $7 Secrets Forum moved from the YaBB platform to Simple Machines, those topics have new addresses.

Additional reading:
Admin Expansion Change Log
Admin Expansion Lite Change Log

About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from February 2011 listed from newest to oldest.

November 2010 is the previous archive.

March 2011 is the next archive.

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