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Announcement
Visual Form Builder Pro 2.3.3 released
Visual Form Builder Pro has been updated to 2.3.3. This release is mostly bug fixes and updates to existing features, but a few new things sneaked in!
The most interesting feature is the ‘Display Entry’ option on the Confirmation section.
If you have the Display Entries add-on installed and active, you will now have the ability to display the user’s submitted data in a nicely formatted table.
There’s also an update to the HTML field. Instead of the super simple Quicktags implementation, you’ll now get an editor that is more like the WordPress Visual Editor.
These are just a couple of the new features that made it into this release. There are also a bunch of bug fixes, so be sure to update!
Release Notes
- Add Print button to Entry Detail view
- Add Duplicate link to Form List view
- Add vfb_skip_email email filter which allows email to be skipped
- Add meta keyword for plugin version number
- Add Form Designer and Payments add-ons to export/import
- Add additional language transaltions
- Add Display Entry option to Confirmation section
- Update HTML field to use CKEditor instead of Quicktags
- Update CSS to include :focus styles
- Update Entry Detail to link File Uploads
- Update color picker JS to use included file instead of wp-admin version
- Update vfb_submissions_off_message filter to include entries count and entries allowed
- Update conditional logic and form output to use simpler IDs
- Fix bug during Export for duplicate field names
- Fix bug on Export page where Page to Export option may not appear
- Fix bug on Export page where Fields were not limited to 1000 in an edge case
- Fix bug where details would not display when updating Entry
- Fix bug where delete link did not work in Form List view
- Fix bug where Instructions data would not appear in email when included in vfb_removed_field_types
Visual Form Builder Pro 2.2.5: now with more languages
Visual Form Builder Pro has just been updated to 2.2.5. There are several new features, hooks, and bug fixes. The most notable new feature is the inclusion of over 20 language translation files. Check out some of the languages included:
- Deutsch/Deutschland
- Ελληνικά/Ελλάδα
- English/United States
- Español/España
- Français/Canada
- Français/France
- עברית
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Italiano/Italia
- 日本語
- Nederlands / Nederland
- Polski/Polska
- Português/Brasil
- Português/Portugal
- Română/România
- Русский/Россия
- Svenska/Sverige
- Türkçe
- 中文(中华人民共和国)
- 中文(台灣)
Building a contact form in your country’s language (or the language of your client) shouldn’t require an extra layer of work. Including these language packs should alleviate some of that extra, tedious work.
Since these are brand new, please let me know if you experience any bugs!
As for the other features, please check out the release notes:
Release Notes
- Add over 20 language translations
- Add customizable Header Text to email design
- Add ‘Pages to Export’ option when more than 1000 entries detected for a single form
- Add vfb_redirect_query_args filter to allow custom query arguments to be appended to redirects during Confirmation
- Add logged on user_id to entries. Default is always 1.
- Add more private custom validation methods
- Add vfb_pre_get_entries_formlist filter for Entries months dropdown
- Update and normalize Entries list queries
- Update Export when large amount of fields are present
- Update color pickers in email design to new Iris picker
- Update admin to require WordPress 3.5
- Update Entries Display to only print text instead of options when user does not have edit permissions
- Update email function to wrap lines longer than 70 words to meet email standards
- Allow Hidden field to use vfb_field_default filter
- Allow links to be used in Radio and Checkbox options
- Fix missing akismet and entry_approved during the XML export
- Fix minor output escaping on Conditional Logic screen
- Fix bug affecting radio button Allow Other not being sent properly
Visual Form Builder Pro: Akismet support and new Add-Ons
I’m happy to announce that Visual Form Builder Pro now has two new great features: Akismet support and Add-Ons.
Akismet
Your forms now have the ability to be protected by the awesome power of Akismet. The same technology that protects your blog’s comments can now do the same for your forms. For the best protection, it is recommended that you include the following fields:
- Name
- Textarea
That’s all it takes to have some of the best spam protection around.
Add-Ons
Next up is a way to extend the functionality and power of Visual Form Builder Pro. To start with, there are four add-ons you can purchase:
- Create Post
- Create User
- Display Entries
- Payments
These add-ons start at just $5. Head on over to the website to learn more.
Why add-ons? This allows Visual Form Builder Pro to stay affordable without introducing more complexity. The plugin can grow as your needs grow.
I will have more information about the add-ons (even some videos!) on the blog, so be sure to look out for those posts. Lastly, check the Release Notes to see what else is new. If you have any questions, let me know.
Visual Form Builder Pro 2.0.1 released
A quick bug fix here for Visual Form Builder Pro.
Version 2.0.1 fixes the bug where notification emails were not being sent. There is also a fix for Textarea formatting in the HTML email.
One interesting change I’m making in this maintenance update is to the email headers. Without getting too technical, the email headers are basically saying who this email gets sent to. As some of you may know, depending on your server setup, receiving the emails may be inconsistent or may not happen at all. Version 1.9 took aims to correct some of these inconsistencies but it wasn’t the “cleanest” way to go about it.
With 2.0.1, I’m aiming to fix this problem once and for all. So, be sure to test your forms after updating and let me know if the emails are sent like you expect.
Release Notes
- Add filter for removing attachments from email
- Update email headers
- Fix bug where notification email did not send
- Fix textarea value formatting in HTML email
Visual Form Builder Pro 2.0
This is a huge update, everyone! So much to cover, it’s just easier to read the release notes 
Release Notes
- Add Entries Allowed feature
- Add Form Schedule feature
- Add Duplicate Field feature
- Add Name field
- Add Other text input option to Radio field
- Add Word Count feature to Textarea field
- Add Tab Delimited option to Export
- Add CSS Class option to Submit button
- Add confirmation box to delete field
- Add more sanitization to form inputs
- Add new filters: Address labels, prepend confirmation message, CSV delimiter, word count message
- Update some filters to now include form ID
- Update jQuery UI CSS to pull locally instead of CDN
- Update first fieldset warning and output a more noticeable error
- Update tooltip CSS
- Update design of field item action links
- Fix bug where paragraph tags were added to Textarea in Plain Text emails
- Fix placeholder size when creating a new form item by dragging
- Fix media button to use correct action
- Fix mismatched translation strings
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.9.2 is now available
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.9.2 is now available for download.
This release aims to fix a few key problem areas, most notably the ability to reliably send the email.
Widget
One major feature included in this update is the new Visual Form Builder Pro widget. Now you can add forms to widgetized areas in your theme. And, because the form inputs are responsive (they use percentages), it should render correctly in a sidebar without any extra CSS.
About that email fix
A common problem I’ve noticed among some VFB users is that emails may not be sent. This is usually because of your server’s email setup and can be solved by configuring WordPress to use SMTP instead of PHP’s mail function. However, some servers will decide to block outgoing email if it doesn’t comply with certain rules. Such a rule might be that the sending email must be from the same domain.
Version 1.9.2 fixes this.
Front-end CSS updates (important!)
This version also changes the class names for the front-end CSS in attempts to help eliminate theme conflicts. Some of the class names were really generic and shouldn’t have been, but it’s been that way for so long.
If you have customized the Visual Form Builder Pro CSS, you will want to make sure that you check the new CSS file for the latest class names. Basically, just about everything was prefixed with a vfb-.
Please make sure you update to get the latest features and bug fixes!
Release Notes
- Add widget
- Update CSS to now prefix all classes to help eliminate theme conflicts
- Update email function to force a From email that exists on the same domain
- Update form/email previews to better anticipate where wp-load.php is going to be
- Update Email Designer and Analytics pages to check if forms exist before outputting content
- Fix bug affecting File Upload field validation
- Fix bug where inline form preview would not be visible if switching to third column layout
- Fix database install to use PRIMARY KEY instead of UNIQUE KEY
- Fix bug where JS may not work in IE
- Minor code cleanups
Visual Form Builder Pro: Conditional Logic
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.9 is now available for download and includes some major updates, the most notable being Conditional Logic.
Your forms just got a little bit smarter
The Conditional Logic interface in Visual Form Builder Pro 1.9
Conditional Logic is perhaps one of the most requested features I hear about and I’m happy to say it has finally arrived. Conditional Logic is a way to apply rules to your form based on the user’s input and behavior. If you need a way to show or hide particular fields (or even entire sections) based on the what users have selected, then conditional logic is how you do it.
Previously, this was a manual process that involved having to know jQuery, CSS, and HTML. Let’s face it: not everyone knows any or all of these languages and getting it exactly right can be difficult. No longer is that the case
How to add a conditional logic rule
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.9 introduces an interface that makes adding conditions super easy. All you need to do is go to the field, fieldset, or section that you want to be shown or hidden and click on the Conditional Logic link in the bottom right of that field item box.
From there, you can add rules such that when a user checks (or unchecks) certain values from any number of fields, it will be displayed/hidden.
Wait, there’s more
Conditional Logic isn’t the only thing that’s been added. Here’s just a few things you can expect to see:
- Templating: dynamically replace special template tags with data filled in from the form in the subject and confirmation messages (more on how to use this soon)
- Sort and group forms by alphabetical order (very useful if you have a lot of forms)
- Improvements to email data formatting (especially Textareas)
- Tons of bug fixes, new filters, and updates
This update has been in development for quite a while and brings to the table some much needed features which you all have been clamoring for. I hope you all enjoy!
Release Notes
- Add new Conditional Logic feature
- Add new Templating feature to subjects and confirmation messages
- Add Bulk Add filter for custom lists
- Add action vfb_after_email
- Add server-side input sanitization
- Add line breaks to textarea values in email/entries
- Add new template tag function and a template action
- Update forms listing to now sort by alphabetical order
- Update JavaScripts to now pull from Microsoft AJAX instead of Google and use SSL
- Update email function to no longer use mail_header filters
- Fix username validation to match WordPress requirements
- Fix bug where a single form export would always force the first form
- Fix bug where form export would fail in Safari
- Fix NetworkError 404 that appears when viewing the Form Preview
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.8 is available
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.8 is now available for download and I think you’re going to like it.
New ‘All Forms’ View
New ‘All Forms’ view with drag-and-drop reordering
Gone are the clunky tabs. The ‘All Forms’ view has been replaced with a grid of your forms. The boxes also have form specific links to give you quick access to that form’s entries, email design, analytics, and the new form preview.
Even better, you can now reorder these boxes to put your favorite or most used forms at the top.
There is also a nice, big New Form button.
New Form
The Add New Form page has been simplified and the flow improved to differentiate it from the actual form building.
The new Add New form page
Live Preview
I’m excited to bring you the Live Form Preview. When building your forms, you can now optionally view the form output in a third column. This should give you an idea of what the forms will look and work like when displayed on your site. Of course, the design and functionality may vary depending on your theme or other plugins installed.
Live Form Preview
Quick Switch and Meta Boxes
Switching to another form has never been easier. The Quick Switch tool lets you jump from one form to the next without having to return to the form list.
The boxes in the left column have been converted to meta boxes which means you can now turn these on/off, collapse, or reorder them and WordPress will remember your settings.
Click on the Screen Options tab in the upper right to access these options.
Screen Options where you can show/hide the meta boxes and/or change the number of columns visible
There have been a few other improvements, updates, and bug fixes so be sure to download this latest version. This update is all about making it easier to work with and create your forms. I hope it does just that!
Release Notes
- Add new Live Form Preview
- Add new All Forms box listing with drag and drop reordering
- Add new New Form screen
- Add new Quick Switch form selector
- Add customizable columns to admin form builder (see Screen Options tab)
- Update meta boxes to be reordered or hidden (see Screen Options tab)
- Update and clean up entry form design
- Fix bug where form rendering would behave erratically in Internet Explorer 9
- Fix bug where saving an entry in details view would redirect back out to the list view
- Minor admin CSS and JS updates
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.7 released
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.7 is now available for your download. There are three big additions and changes to this version
- Import forms, settings, and/or entries
- Export everything or just the forms. Entries export is even better
- VFB Pro menu added to WordPress admin toolbar
Import
Transferring all of your data to another site is now a thing. You can transfer everything or, if you’ve spent many moons crafting that perfect form, export only the form and all its settings and import it exactly into your other site.
Export
The new Export screen in Visual Form Builder Pro 1.7
The export feature has been updated to be more functional, reliable, and just plain useful. Previously, it was on the Entries screen and it was an all or nothing affair. The new export can backup all of your forms, settings, and entries to be transferred to another site. Exporting entries is still available and much easier. You can select the format (CSV or Excel), which form you want, and even set a date range.
If you still want to be able to export selected entries, that’s still on the Entries screen (in the Bulk Actions dropdown).
WordPress Admin Toolbar
View of the VFB Pro menu in the WordPress admin toolbar
Accessing Visual Form Builder Pro is now always visible in the WordPress admin toolbar. What’s cool about this is that it’ll pick up on if you have a form (or multiple forms!) on the page you are viewing and provide a quick Edit Form link so you can quickly edit your form.
In addition to these great new features, there have been lots of improvements, bug fixes so be sure to check the release notes.
Release Notes
- Add new Import and Export pages
- Add new capabilities for both import and export
- Add new VFB Pro menu to the WordPress admin toolbar
- Add IDs to each item
- Deprecate Export All from Entries Bulk Actions (to export entire forms, see new Export page)
- Update name attribute to remove field key in attempts to prevent POST limit from reaching max memory
- Update server side validation to check for required fields
- Update server side validation messages to denote which field is failing
- Fix bug where form name override was not being updated when copying a form
- Fix bug where address formatting broke in the email
- Fix bug where click-to-add form item didn’t properly place at the bottom
- Minor admin CSS update
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.6.1 is out
Visual Form Builder Pro 1.6.1 is now available for download. This is a minor bug fix that addresses the broken Add Form media button. One change for the better is how the JavaScript files are loaded. No longer do these files load on all pages; the JavaScript files are now loading only on posts/pages where you insert your forms.
This change aims to improve performance of sites running VFB Pro as well as curb conflicts from other themes or plugins that are loading older versions of jQuery. There’s not much I can do about that and it will always be a problem for plugin developers, but at the very least I can isolate the issue to a single page instead of the entire site.
Release Notes
- Fix media button submit button
- Update JavaScript files to only load on pages that include the shortcode
- Minor admin layout fixes
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Recent Posts
- Visual Form Builder Pro 2.3.3 released
- Visual Form Builder Pro 2.2.5: now with more languages
- Free Visual Form Builder and Visual Form Builder Pro Add-On
- Visual Form Builder Pro: Field Layout (video)
- New Add-on: Form Designer
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