Easy Digital Downloads Version 2.0 Beta 1 Released

Version 2.0 of Easy Digital Downloads has been in development for more than six months and is finally approaching its final release date. Today we’re happy to announce that the first beta version of 2.0 is ready for testers to start playing with.

Unlike some of our major releases in the past, EDD 2.0 has not been focused on new features, instead it has been focused on refining our existing feature set. We have taken the time to really look at some of our features and UI in-depth in order to better identify the pain points and weaknesses. While it’s never possible to address every single hardship in a release, I believe EDD version 2.0 has made some great strides at improving the platform.

I’ve recorded a brief demonstration video that walks through some of the most significant changes. There is a summary of the most significant changes below for those that prefer to read.

Testing the Beta

You can use the link below to download the beta. To install it, either upload it from the Plugins > Add New screen to a site that was not previously using EDD, or use FTP to upload the files to wp-content/plugins/easy-digital-downloads/

Once you have the beta installed, EDD will let you know that there is a minor upgrade routine that needs to run, please run it:

After the upgrade routine is complete, which should only take a moment or two, you can begin testing the plugin. We’d love for all of the improvements listed below to be tested, but the most important test to can perform is to simply use it the same way that you do on your live site(s).

We have worked hard to ensure that 2.0 upgrade process is as seamless and painless as possible. At this time, we are not aware of a single breaking change. It’s important to stress that this is a beta version, so there is almost guaranteed to be something that has slipped through the cracks. If we get enough eyes on the beta before the official release at the end of next week, we should be able to easily shore up any last minute bugs.

This is a beta, so please do not run this on a live site that is actively processing sales.

Download the Beta

Reporting Bugs

If you find a bug or have a suggestion you’d like to submit, please leave a comment below or open a ticket in the support forums. If you open a ticket, please prefix it with “EDD 2.0 Beta – “. This will help us identify issues in the beta and will help us address them appropriately.

Improvements in Version 2.0

There are numerous improvements and bug fixes in Easy Digital Downloads version 2.0, over 110 in fact. These are some of the most significant changes that will be important for users.

Discount Codes

We have spent a lot of time work with discount codes in EDD version 2.0 and have dramatically improved two aspects of how discount codes are created and applied. First, we’ve dramatically improved the UI for how the product requirements are configured:

Second, we have improved the redemption process for discount codes during checkout. When an invalid discount is entered, an inline message is displayed with the reason the discount code is invalid. Gone forever is the obnoxious browser popup. Along with improved validation messages, we’ve improved the UI for applying a discount code. Previously discount codes were applied as soon as the input field lost focus. While this was great for the users that understood that, many users felt it was not intuitive, so we have introduced an actual Apply button.

Checkout

There are three significant improvements to the checkout screen.

First, when cart item quantities are enabled, there used to be an “Update Cart” button displayed for updating the quantities and prices after quantities were changed. This occasionally caused purchase errors because customers didn’t always realize they needed to click “Update Cart” in order for the checkout to reflect their changes. We decided it would be dramatically better if we simply updated cart prices (subtotal, taxes, discounts, and total included) automatically any time cart quantities are adjusted. This all happens in the background with ajax to provide the customer with a live-refresh of their checkout screen.

Second, we’ve introduced an option to control exactly how the registration / login forms are displayed on the checkout screen. You used to only be able to enable or disable the login and registration forms. Now you can enable just the login form, just the registration form, both, or neither form.

Third, we’ve added an option to enforce SSL on checkout. This will take care of redirecting non-https requests to https and will also ensure that all assets, such as images and script files, are loaded via https.

Payment History

The Payment History screens have received several significant improvements.

First, we’ve added the option to generate new file download URLs for any purchase directly from the View Order Details screen. We’ve also added a link between the View Order Details screen and the File Downloads log section in Reports that lets you easily jump from the order details to the file download history for any purchase.

Second, we have introduced Sequential Order numbers in EDD core. You can enable sequential order numbers from Downloads > Settings > Misc. There are also options to define the starting number, the prefix, and the postfix for order numbers. Along with providing sequential order numbers, we’ve also included an upgrade routine that will allow you to upgrade all previous payment records with sequential numbers.

The third major improvement we made is the introduction of improved search routines that allow you to search by payment transaction IDs. If you have the transaction ID from PayPal, Stripe, or some other payment gateway, you can now easily locate the corresponding EDD payment record by simply searching by the transaction ID.

EDD REST API

The EDD REST API has received a few minor improvements, including performance improvements and the ability to search for specific payment records in the API requests.

We have fixed a few issues with how the API Request logs are generated and displayed, as well as several other minor UI elements.

The most significant change with the REST API, however, is the introduction of the new API Keys tab in the Tools page:

Since the introduction of the EDD REST API, the API keys have been pretty well hidden in the depths of the user edit screens, so many, many users were not even aware that it existed. This UI will help to bring one of the most powerful pieces of Easy Digital Downloads into the light, making it even more valuable as more and more users utilize it.

With the new API Keys UI, site admins can easily view all API keys for the site and even reissue or revoke keys as needed. New API keys can also be generated from this screen. In the case that you suspect you may have a compromised API key, or one that is being abused by its user, there is a simple link for each API key that takes you to the API Request log for that particular key.

Tools

The Tools page has received some significant improvements and now holds several features that were previously spread out through the plugin. The System Info section is now in a tab under tools, as are the export / import tools for the EDD settings.

With the new Tools UI, we’ve introduced the option to blacklist specific email address. If you have email addresses that are used to make fraudulent purchases, you can now put those emails onto the banned list, preventing them from ever making a purchase again. This feature was previously offered as a free extension but was so useful for so many people, we chose to put it into core.

Export

The export options EDD provides have received three nice improvements.

First, we’ve introduced the ability to export Earnings and Sales stats overtime for a specific date range. This allows you to generate a CSV of monthly earnings and sales between two points, such as January 2013 to March 2014.

Second, we’ve improved the payment history export option so that it now includes the customer’s billing address for wach payment record (if collected).

Third, the customer export option now supports exporting customers of a specific product AND a specific price option. Previously it was only possible to export customers of a product, not the price option as well.

Other Improvements

There have been numerous other improvements throughout the plugin that really help bring it to a new level of polish, but a couple of the important ones to note are:

• The shopping cart template is now much more flexible.
• There is a new template file for the [edd_login] short code
• There is a new short code and template file for a stand alone registration form, [edd_register]
• The checkbox anti-pattern throughout the plugin has been mostly reversed
• Numerous new action and filter hooks have been added
• 100% discount codes now work with credit card payment gateways, such as Stripe and Authorize.net
• The [purchase_link] short code can now be used with SKUs
• The EDD_Fees API now supports “item” and “fee” types for virtual product purchases. The checkout process also allows purchases that only contain an “item” fee. Products are no longer required to be in the shopping cart to make a purchase.
• The EDD_Fees API now allows for fees to be marked as non-taxable
• The Sales Summary widget has received some nice improvements

Download the Beta