To install K2 for the first time or update your existing K2 based website, just grab the latest package here: https://getk2.org/downloads/?f=K2_v2.10.1.zip
The process to update K2 is fairly simple. If you are on Joomla 1.5, grab the zip file from the link above and install it on top of your existing K2 version. If you are on Joomla 2.5 or 3.x, go to the Joomla update manager, purge the update cache, re-check and you'll see the new release available to instantly update.
So what's been added, changed or updated in this new release?
Here's a list of the important things added, changed or updated in K2 v2.10.1.
- Improves and refines the backend user interface, following the changes that were introduced with v2.10.0. Messages follow a uniform (app-like) style on all supported Joomla releases and they auto-hide after 5 seconds.
- The K2 Settings page has been re-organized into more logical groups, to make configuring your K2 site even easier. A new option has also been added to disable item hit tracking in the frontend (e.g. for those that use caching or -most commonly- an external analytics system).
- The search view (for K2 results only) has ben upgraded to include a search bar. Previously you were forced to combine that view with the search option of the K2 Tools module to have a working "search & browse" functionality for your K2 content.
- Meta tags (common, opengraph/social etc.) have been re-worked to produce a uniform set on all K2 views (minus any elements that are missing by default - e.g. a tag view cannot have an image meta tag for Facebook/Twitter sharing).
- Updated all 3rd party JS libraries and elFinder (which powers the K2 Media Manager) to their latest versions.
- Flatpickr, the JS widget for date insertion in K2 has been configured to also load a localized version if you use a language different to Engish. So if your backend is in French, Flatpickr language strings (e.g. the days) will also load in French.
In more detail...
Bugs fixed:
- Fixed the main K2 menu router as the changes introduced in 2.10.0 left some multilingual Joomla with partially broken URLs (specifically to content pointing to secondary languages).
- Fixed a permissions bug in Joomla 1.5 which caused "managers" not to be able to assign a different author to a K2 item.
- Fixed a visual bug where the new K2 sidebar was being loaded in the item edit form's extra fields when switching category to load a different set of fields.
- Missing or incomplete meta tags have been fixed. All views will now display common, opengraph (Facebook) and Twitter meta tags based on this inheritance pattern: category settings > item settings > menu settings. In other words, any changes to meta tags in the menu items will now always prevail over any other setting. For any missing meta tag content, K2 will generate automated content (e.g. for the tag view when a tag does not belong to a menu item and thus it does not contain data like meta description or keywords) and supplement any missing details from whatever is configured in Joomla's global configuration.
Backend:
- Re-organized all K2 settings into new logical groups to make initial K2 configuration easier. The plan is to further extend the options available especially for the frontend layouts/views to allow e.g. for using a grid layout (setup) for the tag view or for loading a different image size for the search results. In other words, bring the "generic" layouts closer to their category layouts in terms of configuration and templating flexibility.
- New styling for system messages, now common to all Joomla versions supported by K2. These messages will also auto-hide after 5 seconds.
- Fixed list offset in smaller screens or when tag filtering is enabled in "Items". The list will now be properly placed when filters increase in height.
- Further layout/design improvements to all edit forms, especially those for item, category, user and extra field.
- Overall it's the most refined K2 backend ever built. What is planned for the next update is to swap the "move" feature under "Users" to the more flexible "batch" dialog which is also used in "Items" and "Categories".
Frontend:
- Major improvements in meta tags (as referenced earlier).
- Search bar in K2 search results.
- Page heading for date/search/tag listings.
- The pagination container now wraps both navigation and "page X of Y" to div containers to make different layouts easier (e.g. stacked or side by side) with pure CSS overrides.
- Feeds now have a personalized title instead of the boring "RSS 2.0" or "Atom 1.0" which has been a commonplace in Joomla components for over a decade.
- Hit tracking for items can now be disabled, especially for sites that don't need to sort items by popularity, sites with caching enabled or just sites that use external analytics. Disable hit tracking will also improve performance slightly, especially for sites still with K2 still on MyISAM tables (less transactions for the items table).
API / For developers:
- The item image object now holds more details to allow better image manipulation, e.g. if you wish to build custom meta tags in your K2 template overrides you can easily grab the file name path sans the size suffix. Just do a var_dump on the $item->image or $this->item-image objects to get the additional properties and use them however you like.
- Structured data (which were introduced in v2.10.0) can also be overriden by third-party extensions to allow for different data types to be created/integrated.
Upgrading
If you use v2.7.x to v2.9.x already, then it is (as always) safe to upgrade to K2 v2.10.1. If you use a version before 2.7.0, refer to the 2.7.0 upgrade notes.
If you already have your own K2 CSS and/or HTML template overrides then there's nothing to worry about. If you use "stock" K2 CSS and HTML template overrides, just browse your site after the upgrade to make sure nothing's misalligned. In any case, exceptions may occur but they are usually easy to resolve. If you need any help, just post about your issue in the K2 Community Forum.
Since the release of K2 v2.7.0 we have added an update notification for new releases of K2 within the K2 backend (viewed only by super admins) to make it easier to spot new releases and update accordingly.
Before upgrading, it's always a good idea to get a backup of your site (just in case):
- To upgrade in Joomla 1.5, just install v2.10.0 on top of any existing K2 installation.
- To upgrade in Joomla 2.5 or 3.x, either install on top (as with Joomla 1.5) or use Joomla's extension updater (you should already see the notification for v2.10.0).
We also highly recommend that you update AllVideos to version 5.x (the most recent).
DO NOT uninstall any older K2 version first, as this will wipe out your K2 content!
HTML & CSS Template Overrides
Have a look here: https://getk2.org/documentation/tutorials/77-k2-template-override-package-comparison
There are minor changes in the tag.php and generic.php sub-templates due to the addition of page headings and the search bar (in generic.php).
What's next
The next update (v2.10.2) will finalize the backend UI to be completely responsive, even for very small screens. Expect that within 30 days.
That was the plan all along ever since the refreshed backend UI was introduced in K2 and frankly this is made a lot easier with the use of CSS Grid properties, which are already partially used after 2.10.0. For example, this is how we got K2 in Joomla 2.5 to look so nice in module parameters, menus etc. without overriding the core parameter renderer.
Then we're onto version 2.11.0 (Jan/Feb 2020) with more refinements primarily in the frontend. This basically translates to improvements for view layouts & more control options to make setup easier and more flexible. These changes will be coupled with some design changes (e.g. the removal of the item toolbar in the item view).
Of course in every update we'll always do micro-improvements and refinements to existing features (e.g. new filters, view/layout options etc.).
Enjoy K2 v2.10.1!
