We are happy to officially announce a new feature for Event Espresso users that we quietly rolled out on the website a couple weeks ago: the Event Espresso pre-release channel.
What’s the Event Espresso pre-release channel?
Pre-release channel downloads
The pre-release channel is where we post early versions of Event Espresso and any add-ons for user testing. Since we are just barely rolling this new feature out and switching to a new development schedule all at the same time, the first couple versions we released on the pre-release channel were still very early in the testing. However, our new development cycle goes into effect with the release of 3.1.30, which will include a full month of testing by the support team. After we’ve gone through our testing (the alpha stage), we will post the plugin to the pre-release channel. These should be considered solid release candidates that you can use on your live site, but if you are still nervous, you can hold back, stick with the stable version, which will have had a month of beta testing on the pre-release channel. Any bugs that come up during the beta period (via your testing on the pre-release channel) will be addressed before the final release of Event Espresso.
The great part about the pre-release channel is that it installs into a separate directory on your site, so if there are any issues, you can just switch back to the stable version after reporting the issue.
We need your feedback! We are hard at work on the next version of Event Espresso, and we’d like you to take it out for a spin. When you test out a pre-release edition of Event Espresso you can:
- Help test the upcoming software release against a wide variety of server environments and WordPress installations
- Get a heads up on new features
- Ensure that your customizations will work with the very latest software
- Influence how the final product will look and function
- Help contribute to a more stable final product
- Try out new add-ons before they are officially released
Where to download
If you log into your Event Espresso account page and scroll down to the downloads section and you will see a new checkbox (tickbox) for signing up to the Pre-release channel. You can tick that and agree to the waiver and the Pre-release items will appear in a box below your regular downloads.
Pre-Release Toggle
We have set a waiver in place because we may also be using this space for new, experimental products that may not be fully stable, however, again Event Espresso core and the current add-ons will have gone through testing by our support staff before being posted to the pre-release channel. Full details can be found in the Pre-release documentation.
How to report bugs and give feedback
If you notice anything that isn’t working please report it in the Pre-release forum. There will be a new thread for each major point release.
We will be posting the beta version of 3.1.30 to the pre-release channel today with a planned release of Monday. That means you can get started with the next version a few days early and let us know in the forums if there are any problems.