Change Log - Rate 'n' Review (www.shortfun.co.uk)


Rate 'n' Review is continually being updated with new features and code improvements/bug fixes.

The following is a complete change log for each of the stable versions released to date.

Note: The latest upcoming release may also be shown on this page.


Version 4.6

 - Extra Custom Profile Fields for additional info to be added on the site profiles.
 - Changed Back Up feature in admin area to make it easier to use.
 - Some External Content functions modified.


Version 4.5.3 (Bug Fixes Only)

 - Google Search is now implemented with updated unmodified code to abide by their new Terms & Conditions.
 - Manage Members > Add Account has been fixed to allow accounts to be added by an admin at any time.
 - Date Format error has been corrected to prevent errors occuring with newer versions of PHP.


Version 4.5.2 (Bug Fixes Only)

 - Fixed error when attempting to retrieve the list of members in the admin area.


Version 4.5

 - Fixed error with the 'Graphs' section of admin area found after the last release.
 - Fully integrated the members area into the actual script so it's no longer a seperate add on.
 - New "Manage Members" section added to admin area allowing management of members.
 - Individual Login and Members Area merged replacing the old system. All old login details removed.
 - Members additions include: settings in admin area, edit details for user + edit sites assigned to user.
 - In admin area under Manage Sites > Add/Edit Site you may assign each site to an existing member.
 - Altered the display of the External "Login Box" - its now for the Members Area.
 - New members list and member profiles feature. A template to edit the display of member profiles added.
 - Warnings added on Settings & Templates admin pages if multiple admins are viewing at the same time.
 - Improved the layout of the admin area search results under Manage Sites.
 - Added a contact page and the ability to link to it from the category index.


Version 4.4

 - Fixed the admin area 'Graphs' section so it is now compatible with PHP5.
 - Added Members Area Add On support. This add on can be purchased seperately.


Version 4.3

 - New option to display up to 5 related amazon.com products on site profiles.
 - Several settings added for the Amazon.com Related Products feature.
 - All "Checkers" in the 'Manage Sites' section have been moved under one sub-area refered to as 'Perform Checks'.
 - Fixed the link for the 'Create/Edit Profile' after modifying a website.
 - Now supports the 'Times New Roman' font in Settings.
 - Improved the admin area login/logout interface.
 - Fixed a bug with the 'Site Display' > 'Delete Existing' admin area option.
 - The Graphs section of the admin area has had various bugs fixed.
 - Extra customisation options have been added for all the custom profile fields.
 - 'Quick Manage' added to the 'Manage Categories' section making it quicker to edit/delete categories.
 - Ability to exclude each site from all search results when adding/modifying one.
 - Setting allowing the individual login changes to either be approved by administrator or instantly changed.#
 - Any changes awaiting approval appear under the 'Manage Sites' section of the admin area.
 - Check All/UnCheck All links added for 'Clean Up' on index.
 - Re-arranged the 'Add/Modify Site' form slightly.
 - Option to change the "From" e-mail address in the 'E-Mail Webmaster(s)' section under 'Manage Sites'.


Version 4.2

 - Ability to enable/disable warnings, version, news/updates, security and url finder on index for each admin account.
 - Ability to enable/disable stats, suggested+reported sites, update screenshots, edit reviews+profiles on manage sites for each admin account.
 - Category Folders option added - allows each category to be viewed at www.domain.com/cat/
 - Fixed bug when adult warning and profile options for site are BOTH set to 'Yes'.
 - Option to import/export the Word Filter list under Settings.
 - Templates added for action pages - rating, review, report and tell-a-friend.
 - New External Content function which creates a list of sites added within a specified number of days.
 - Another External Content function added allowing a random site from a specified category to be shown (with and without screenshot)
 - Setting added which allows you to set what should be displayed when there are no sites in a category.
 - Extra content icons and more custom fields for the site profiles have been added.
 - It is now possible to change the date that a site was added.
 - WYSIWYG editor removed from Messages Manager (interactivetools.com discontinued it).
 - Name, URL and Category may now be removed from the Suggest Site form.


Version 4.1.3

 - Copyright notice updated for 2005 (now made automatic for future years).
 - Minor cosmetic alterations and changes to wording of several areas.


Version 4.1.2 (Bug Fixes Only)

 - An error with the external JavaScript codes has been fixed.
 - The 'Lock' security feature has been fixed so it no longer stops access to the admin area.
 - When deleting a category the one being deleted no longer appears in the 'Move' menu.


Version 4.1

 - Extra options available for the 'Full Info Page' feature including custom fields.
 - Description and Sub Categories on the listings pages now align correctly.
 - 'Default Sort By' option added for 'Recent Sites' and 'Click List' features - under Settings.
 - 'Statistics' link can now be displayed on the listings pages showing stats for each category.
 - The username for the individual login area can now be changed by the user (if enabled under Settings).
 - Drop down menu added to 'Select Site' under 'Manage Sites' area allowing you to choose your action (ie: Copy/Delete).
 - A new template has been added allowing the layout for the external content function 'sitedisplay()' to be edited.
 - 'Multiple Reviews Block' option added to stop users submitting more than one review per site per IP address.
 - 'Notifications' section added in settings allowing you to receive email messages each time a report or suggestion is submitted.
 - Added 'Form Field' options allowing field fonts, sizes, colours and more to be altered.
 - 'Send Login Details' feature added under 'Manage Sites' which allows all individual login information to be sent in one go.
 - The subject of the Individual Login e-mail can now be altered on the Settings form.
 - New category type added - Redirect - allowing a category to redirect to a website when clicked on.
 - Revamped drop down menus to now cater better when sub categories are present.
 - Extra Link Seperators added to the Settings form.
 - Ability to edit the Blocked IP Message via the Settings > IP Blocker area.
 - Certain non-alphanumeric characters are now allowed in category names.
 - Improved security option section on admin index. Allows you to password protect the database area.
 - 'Link Finder' added to admin index. Retrieve links to the various sections of Rate 'n' Review.
 - Setting added allowing the e-mail addresses in reviews to be hidden to prevent spam.
 - A template for the Category Listings has now been added allowing the display of categories on index to be altered.
 - New security settings area added to the admin index.
 - The system will no longer count the 'Default' category if it has been disabled in settings.
 - Extra table options have been added to the settings form.
 - New external content functions - Random Site with Screenshot, Newest Site with Screenshot, Last Modified Site with Screenshot, Random Ratings and Narrow Login Box.
 - It is now possible to search for an e-mail address from under Manage Sites.
 - 'Top Sites' feature added allowing the top x sites to be shown based on clicks, reviews and user ratings. Settings added.
 - Option added in Settings to display 'Random Ratings' on the category index.
 - The search box 'Match Case' option can now be displayed on the category index from under Settings.
 - Improved external rating code - it is now javascript so the information (ie: site name) will be updated on the website the form is being shown on.
 - Statistics Box available for visitors to display on their site - external use.
 - 'Full Info' feature now refered to as 'Profile'.


Version 4.0

 - New 'Site Status Checker' option under manage sites which displays the status of every site (either on or offline).
 - Re-organized settings and manage categories page.
 - Notes/Reminders alert option added.
 - 'Table Width' field under settings now supports percentages as well as a fixed number.
 - 'Number of Clicks' field placed on add site form. Previously only on modify site form.
 - Manage sites now has a drop down menu with all the sites in alphabetical order. Selecting one and pressing on the 'Go' button will allow the site information to be edited. As well as this there is a drop down menu allowing sites to be listed by letter/number.
 - 'Ignore All' buttons added to suggested sites, report sites and update screenshots. Using these will ignore all the files under a section (ie: Ignore All under Reported Sites will remove all report files).
 - 'Graphs' section added to admin area. This allows the administrator to create image charts automatically using data taken from all the sites in the system.
 - New 'IP Blocker' feature under Settings.
 - Extra Help Links added.
 - Custom usernames are now supported for individual login. Previously the username was always the site ID.
 - 'Username List' added under manage sites. The page will tell you which sites are using the Site ID's as the username.
 - 'Delete Multiple' feature added under manage sites allowing several sites to be deleted at one time.
 - 'Warnings' notices added to index of admin area. Many different warnings will be displayed here when necessary.
 - Several errors which can occur when permissions of certain files are incorrect have been made more user-friendly.
 - New side navigations added on Rate, Review, Report, Update Screenshot pages as well as the category index.
 - Ability to turn on and off the side navigation on the Rate, Review, Report, Update Screenshot pages (not category).
 - Drop down menu showing all categories can now be displayed on the category pages. Option available under Settings.
 - Re-vamped 'External Content' section as well as several new functions added to it.
 - 'Link Seperator' field added to customize how the site action links (rate/review etc) are seperated (ie: using a | )
 - 'Restore Original' options now available for all the templates.
 - The Alt Text on the content icons of search results now appears when enabled. Previously only appeared on category listings not search results.
 - An option has been added to the settings page which allows cookies to be disabled meaning the system will not be allowed to set cookies on users computers (excludes admin area). If set to 'No' some features wont work correctly.
 - New search setting which allows the 'Last Search Query' feature to be turned on and off. Previously this was always done and couldn't be turned off.
 - Extra 'Clean Up' options added - one to reset usernames for individual login to unique ID, another to rebuild the 'Default' category and one to rebuild all keyword files.
 - A bug with the 'Dont Ask Me Again' feature for Auto Retrieval has now been fixed.
 - 'Maximum Characters - x' fields added under Individual Login. Allows you to set a limit on the number of characters for certain fields.
 - 'Word Filter' option added under settings allowing 'bad' words in the site reviews to be replaced with an alternative (ie: hell with h*ll). Button available to delete all words and option to make all words case-sensitive.
 - Option added which allows the description of the category to be added to the site listing page for it.
 - Support for Sub Categories added. Easily changable from under Manage Categories and listed automatically on category index under the main category.
 - Ability to change welcome message in admin area.
 - Option added allowing 'Google Site Search' to be used instead of inbuilt system search. Also option to add adsense affiliate code to the box.
 - 'Highlight New' buttons added to some areas of the admin area. When buttons are clicked all new options will be highlighted.
 - 'CHMOD Checker' feature added which lists all files/folders with their size and shows which ones are CHMOD correctly and which ones aren't.
 - 'Add Site' form moved to under 'Manage Sites' section.
 - New 'Back Up' types added - 'Individual Activity Logs' Only and 'Search Logs' Only.
 - Now supports sites with URL's beginning with httpS. Previously caused errors when adding/modifying etc.
 - Site Statistics section added to the 'Modify Site' form.
 - New log option added - 'IP Logs'. This will log each IP address and the location(s) visited. Also option to log all recommendations sent.
 - 'Category Check' under 'Manage Sites' allows you to view a list of sites that are in a category which does not exist any more.
 - Suggested Sites, Reported Sites and Update Screenshots alert options added under Manage Sites.
 - 'Mask URL' and 'Redirect Method' settings added under Misc. Both useful options to have available.
 - Option allowing the review count to be turned on and off (example: on = Review (2) | off = Review).
 - 'Tell-A-Friend' feature added allowing each site to be recommended by a visitor to another person - via e-mail.
 - HTML coding corrected on 'Templates' and 'E-Mail Webmaster(s)' sections of admin area.
 - Under Settings there is an 'Admin Accounts' link which allows accounts to be created for use with the admin area so a seperate username and password can be used if more than one person needs to login. Priviledge options are also available for each account. NOTE: Admin accounts are seperate to those of the individual login.
 - WYSIWYG editor now on Messages Manager section under Templates which can be turned on and off. Compatible with IE 5.5+ only.
 - A bug when editing reviews was found which meant it didn't always save the changes made. This has now been corrected.
 - 'Display URL' field added to add site and modify site forms.
 - 'Full Info Page' option added allowing an extended profile to be created for each site. The template for this has been added under the 'Templates' section.


Version 3.4.3 (Bug Fixes Only)

 - This version was released shortly after version 3.4.2 as there were compatibility issues with PHP4.3.8 found in older versions of Rate 'n' Review.


Version 3.4.2 (Bug Fixes Only)

 - A bug with the 'Allow Reviews' setting has been fixed. This was causing a problem as when set to 'No' (version 3.3 or above only) sites would not appear under any catergories.


Version 3.4

 - Several new clean up options added.
 - Default sort by options for category listings and search results.
 - Extra search customization options.
 - Customizable suggestion form fields.
 - Helpful links on index of admin area.
 - Adult warning message option available for each site.
 - Individual category statistics added in admin area (ie: total number of clicks in certain category).
 - User personal preferences (requires cookies enabled on users browser).
 - Full list of sites.
 - Search result counting.
 - Improved recent sites feature and fixed bug which made some old sites appear new.
 - Click list now apart of the do.php file rather than being stored in a seperate one.
 - Several improvements made to the coding and display of the sort by options.
 - 'Number of Sites' reporting fixed in admin area.


Version 3.3.2 (Bug Fixes Only)

 - Fixed option for displaying search result positions.
 - Slight fix to Messages Manager.


Version 3.3

 - Added 'Messages Manager' under Templates to alter page descriptions.
 - Script lock to block access to all areas except admin.
 - PHP Details box on index of admin area.
 - Sort by box available for each category allowing users to sort websites.
 - Auto Retrieval allowing you to get certain data about a website automatically (ie: keywords).
 - Listing template can now be edited allowing you to customize what data is displayed about a site.
 - Increased control over the 'Default' category.
 - Extra External Content addition allowing you to display websites information on any PHP page.
 - Counts and displays number of sites in a category when users are viewing them.
 - Suggestion Rules box removed from settings with the templates manager replacing this option.
 - Similarity message now appears when creating a new category with a name similar to that of an existing one.
 - New options available when copying a site to another category.
 - 'Filter' options added for users.


Version 3.2

 - The Allow External Ratings feature can now be turned on and off.
 - Forgot Password feature available for admin login.
 - Customizable content icons option added.
 - 'Last Login' bug fixed in the admin area.
 - Improved Image Manager and new Content Icons Manager.
 - 'Send Email To Webmasters' option now added under manage sites.
 - 'Random Site' added to the External Content options.
 - Rate, Review and Report pages all re-organized and tidied up.
 - Ability to exclude the frame from each site (only applicable if frame is enabled under settings).
 - A confirmation message has been added when deleting sites so it doesnt delete it straight away.


Version 3.1

 - The 'Default' category is introduced - cannot be deleted but only used when no others are available.
 - 'Recent Sites' feature is added allowing users to view sites added within a given period.
 - Added the option to include a frame with each site plus several settings for this.
 - Extra settings added for the font faces and sizes.
 - Individual login option added allowing a user to login to a seperate area and then edit a certain sites information.
 - Privledges and several other options for the individual login added to the settings form.
 - New Log option added for individual activity.
 - Ability to add/edit individual login usernames and password for each site on the add/modify site forms.
 - 'Script Name' field removed from settings as no longer required (as of version 2.0).
 - Contact E-Mail Addresses now asked for when adding site. Option to list sites without one added under manage sites.
 - 'Number Of Reviews' added under manage sites in the 'Listing Statistics' section of admin area.
 - Frame template added under 'Templates' section of admin area.
 - The click list feature displayed several errors when there were no sites added which has been fixed.
 - When the PHP 'allow_url_fopen' function is disabled there will no longer be errors in the admin area where the Version and News boxes are. Instead there will be an alternative method of displaying the information that does not require the 'allow_url_fopen' function.
 - Links to several different features are now included on the index of the categories file. Previously there were no links provided to some sections of the script.


Version 3.0

 - Ability to turn on and off the click list feature.
 - When modifying a site it is possible to upload a new screenshot as well as being able to edit the URL.
 - Licensing details introduced.
 - 'Only Count Unique Clicks' option added to settings. Useful to prevent click abuse on sites.
 - 'Copy' option introduced allowing a website to be easily copied from one category to another.
 - Various different options added to the management of categories.
 - 'External Content' page revamped so it's clearer to see the different functions available.
 - Several sections re-organized especially the visitor areas (ie: 'Rate' page).
 - Ability to edit and delete the user reviews for each site.
 - 'Match Case' search box introduced in 'External Content' + some others.


Version 2.0

 - Clean Up feature introduced allowing administrator to tidy up files and remove unneeded ones.
 - Improvements made to the category deletion page.
 - It is now possible to empty a category - this will delete all sites under it.
 - Ability to include the header and footer templates in the admin area (not recommended though).
 - Introduction of the 'External Content' page allowing data to be displayed on any page that can execute PHP.
 - 'Notes/Reminders' feature added.
 - The last login time to the admin area is now recorded and displayed on the index.
 - Option added allowing the table width to be changed.
 - Automatically adjusts the table background colours instead of it being manual (as in 1.0).
 - Rating IP Block added which will stop the same IP address from rating each site more than once.
 - Search logging option added. Logs can be deleted individually or as a whole using 'Clean Up'.
 - Alt Text can now be displayed over the screenshot of a site. The text will be the site name.
 - Reports and suggestions are viewable from the manage sites section of the admin area. Previously these were sent via e-mail to a selected address.
 - 'Update Screenshots' option added allowing visitors to send a notice if it's outdated.
 - Font size and face settings.
 - Suggestion Rules box included on settings form.
 - Color Manager removed as no longer required due to it being automatic in this version.
 - 'Keywords' field added on Add/Modify site forms to help improve the search results returned.



Version 1.0 was originally released in August 2003.

(c) 2003-2005 Steven Kitchen | shortfun.co.uk