[svowl]

Dear customers,

We are excited to announce the third release candidate of X-Cart 4.1.0. Over a year X-Cart team has been working to enhance the functionality and performance offered by X-Cart e-commerce software and finally you have a chance to experience the many improvements introduced during this period.

While developing X-Cart 4.1.0, not only did we add new features, but we also paid a lot of attention to performance advancement: decreased the number of complex SQL requests, added a data caching mechanism, optimized the PHP code to reduce the required memory limit.

Our thanks to everyone who actively participated and provided feedback.


Here is a list of key features for 4.1.0 version:

RC3
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- X-Magnifier add-on module (will soon be available on a commercial basis - watch out for announcements at x-cart.com);
- a few minor design and functionality improvements;
- a lot of bugfixes

RC2
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- import/export for extra fields;
- 2-column layout of the admin/provider area;
- WYSIWYG editor for Webmaster mode

RC1
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- 'stop words filter' for products search facility (a special filter that ensures that service and link words that occur in the search pattern are ignored when search by individual words is performed - available only for the English language);
- support for MySQL 5.0.12;
- advanced (WYSIWYG) editor for product/category/manufacturer descriptions, language variables, static pages, etc;
- 'tax exemption' feature for customers;
- Smarty updated to the version 2.6.12

BETA 2
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- XHTML 1.0 Transitional compliant code;
- improved product search functionality: a new search option affecting product search by multiple words is added (Users can now specify whether the results returned by a search should match 'All words', 'Any word' or the 'Exact phrase' of the search pattern);
- enhanced control over images location: image files can now be moved to the file system during X-Cart installation;
- support for generation of manufacturers' static pages in HTML catalog;
- minor changes of the user profile page: 'Same as billing address' checkbox in the shipping address section is replaced with 'Ship to a different address' checkbox;
- improved orders/order invoices: customer notes are separated from the order details and included into the order invoice;
- optimized design of the 'Languages' section: input boxes for label values are enlarged for your convenience, description field is removed, ability to search for labels in all topics is added;
- multi-language support for extra field names;
- minor improvement in Fast Lane Checkout module: 'Register' form provided at the step of user authorization is made hidden by default (can be opened by clicking a link);
- a more convenient method of using product detailed images: a new option 'Switch detailed images in a popup window without page reloading (using the dynamic image loading)' is added.
- advanced management of customers' credit card information: admin now has the ability to discard credit card information provided by customers saving only the last 4 digits of credit card numbers in order details (Admin area -> Tools page -> Credit card information removal section)

BETA 1
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- a more user-friendly and intuitive checkout procedure (Fast Lane Checkout module);
- a new patch/upgrade center that will allow you to upgrade installed add-ons and non-standard X-Cart skins;
- export/import functionality for almost all data types (products and all related information, categories, coupons, destination zones, users, etc);
- support for simultaneous use of more than one user type in one browser session (for example, a user can be logged in as an administrator and a customer at the same time);
- ability for administrator to enter the store as another user;
- X-FancyCategories module revised to ensure stable performance of the store with large numbers of categories (over 500);
- advanced membership system: ability to assign one or more memberships to each of the products, categories, payment methods, tax rates and discounts;
- System fingerprints: ability to compare the status of the store files before and after modification and to discover which files have been deleted, added or modified;
- wholesale prices and thumbnail images for product variants;
- ability to display product detailed images in popup windows;
- Australia Post's Delivery Rate Calculator support;
- 'Same as billing address' checkbox on the user profile page (for the shipping address section);
- support for a number of new payment gateways;
- ability to create discount coupons with more options;
- multi-language support for the speed bar, payment methods, user titles etc;
- support for a more advanced encryption method for sensitive data (Blowfish);
- Smarty template engine upgraded up to version 2.6.10;


We welcome your bug reports and suggestions.

WARNING!
Although we have fixed the majority of issues reported in the beta versions, please remember that this build is a release candidate and is still NOT recommended for use in live stores. The software is still being tested and we cannot guarantee bug-free performance before the final release is out. Also note that technical support and a reference manual for RC3 are not provided.

Please be aware that patches for upgrading from RC1, RC2 and RC3 to subsequent versions will be available, so we encourage you to install a release candidate version (RC1, RC2 or RC3) as a platform for pre-production preparation of new stores or as a starting point for gradual transfer of your product database from the older X-Cart versions to X-Cart 4.1 and trying out the new functionality.

For a full list of changes, please refer to the CHANGELOG.