Posted on by Matthew

Backlight 1.2.2 – Shining the Pangolin

Backlight update 1.2.2 is now available for download, and recommended for all users.

This update puts a coat of polish on the recent 1.2 “Pangolin” release, bring fixes and changes based on user feedback, and myriad new customization options.

Lead photo by Jon Evans.

New versions available include:

  • Backlight, Backlight + Pages 1.2.2
  • Cart Add-on 4.1.2
  • Client Response Add-on 7.1.2
  • Pages Add-on 1.2.2
  • Theater Add-on 1.2.2
  • WordPress Add-on 1.2.2

So, everything.

New Feature, “Search Handoff”

A new feature has been implemented for users of Backlight’s WordPress Add-on; we’re calling it “Search Handoff”. The feature is implemented automatically.

The first thing to understand is that Backlight and WordPress are separate systems running in parallel. Because they are separate, Backlight cannot run searches in the WordPress database, and vice versa. Search Handoff provides a bridge over this gap.

On Backlight’s search results page, a button appears allowing you to pass the search terms over to WordPress’ search; on WordPress’ search results page, a button appears allow you to pass the search terms over to Backlight’s search.

So if you search Backlight’s galleries for “Seoul”, you can then press a button to also search WordPress for “Seoul”, making searches more convenient than ever, whether searching for images or blog posts.

New Customization Options …

… for the Top Pallet
The top pallet’s options have been expanded and moved out of the Layout control group, into a new “Top Pallet” control group.
Items appearing in the top pallet (buttons, navigation, identity, etc.) can now be aligned and/or floated left, right or center.
The top pallet no longer blocks underlying elements when it has no height.
… for Breadcrumbs
Padding and text-alignment options are now available for breadcrumbs.
… for Pallets
A “Pallet(s) Gutters” slider is now available, affecting the padding for the left and right pallets.

Polish heaped on to …

… Navigation
Lingering z-position issues with pallets’ fly-out menus are resolved.
Flat menus now have text-alignment controls, and sub-menu indicators.
… the Album Sets’ “Descriptive” layout
The descriptive layout for album sets has been revamped, with improvements made to the overall layout and responsive aspects.
… the core styling
The page stylesheet has been combed over line-by-line, cleaned up and tightened.
Form styling is much improved, with an eye toward squashing browser inconsistency and unintended inheritance of “global” styling properties.
We’ve upgraded Normalize CSS from 3.0.3 to 7.0.0.
Updated color inheritance for buttons.
Typography improvements.
… Localization Options
In Backlight and its add-ons, we’ve added localization options for various text strings new in 1.2.x that didn’t have such options until now.
… the Cart Add-on
Cart checkout pages have been given a significant visual upgrade.

So, those are the most interesting things in the 1.2.2 update, though not everything. For a complete list of changes, fixes and improvements, check the changelogs or the readme files included in the downloads. If general, though, if an issue has been raised in the forum since the 1.2.0 release, then it should now be addressed in one way or another.

One thing to watch out for in upgrading from 1.2.x to 1.2.2, the buttons in your top pallet may change color. And this is because of the adjustments made to color inheritance, which we’ve done to improve the color cascade for buttons, from settings base colors, to typography, then to top pallet customizations. This flow was out-of-sequence previously, and it now more naturally presented in top-to-bottom fashion as one moves through the designer.

To customize the top pallet buttons, edit your page template, then look for button options in the new “Top Pallet” control group.

Install Updates

To update from Backlight+Pages 1.2.0 or 1.2.1 to Backlight+Pages 1.2.2:

IMPORTANT: Do NOT replace the entire backlight directory! Doing so will remove ALL data and settings!

Remove and re-upload the following files and directories:

  • backlight/admin/
  • backlight/designer/
  • backlight/framework/
  • backlight/publisher/
  • backlight/modules/module-pages/
  • backlight/modules/okapi-core/
  • backlight/modules/pangolin-album/
  • backlight/modules/pangolin-album-set/
  • backlight/modules/pangolin-core/
  • backlight/modules/pangolin-page/
  • TTG-Publisher.lrplugin

Visit each of the Backlight, Designer and Publisher admin sections to allow Backlight to run any
necessary database updates.

Clear the Designer Template Cache by visiting Backlight -> Designer -> Templates -> Clear Template Cache.

Upgrade instructions for Client Response, Cart, WordPress, Theater:

  • Replace respective modules within backlight/modules.

Visit each of the Client Response and Cart admin sections to allow Backlight to run any necessary database updates.

Clear the Designer Template Cache by visiting Backlight -> Designer -> Templates -> Clear Template Cache.