A clear breakdown of Osclass 4.0 improvements and what they change for administrators, developers, and site operations.
It has been some time already original osclass team stopped to release new versions and, unfortunately, community did not do good job as well. It is almost year there was last community release of osclass (v3.9) with just very small steps forward. There were created other branches of osclass those, again unfortunately, are just unprofessional attempt to somehow enhance osclass itself. So we put a lot of effort into something great...
Today, we are proud to say OsclassPoint team has released first Osclass released powered only and only by our team. We've decided to do next step in osclass & classifieds era and to bring osclass into next decade. You are definitely looking for information what is new and if it is worth to update... yes it is!
6 years ago, bender theme has been created and noone ever touched this theme. We've taken bender engine, simplified it and completely redesign bender theme into Sigma. Objective of this theme is not to be ultimate for everything with never seen functionality and design, instead it's lightweight theme with just minimum of styling and javascript to be great start for new classified websites as well as great start for new themes to be created.
Sigma theme will work only on osclass 4.0 and higher, as it use functions those were not available in osclass v3.9 and before.
Few months ago we've release our first (and actuall first and only one backoffice osclass theme) called Omega for free. All feedback we've received was collected and Omega was redesigned into v2.0, inspired by wordpress and it's intuitive backoffice. Everything has been redesigned starting on login page, user sidebar menu, inputs, select boxes, backgrounds... And it was worth, working in oc-admin with Omega theme provides much better experience.
As original osclass backoffice theme (called modern) was not updated since 2010, it was time to do next step! Note that omega backoffice theme v2.0 will work just on osclass 4.0 and higher.
Same story as before... it was time to update installation process design that is matching to Sigma theme (independent) and provides much better experience when performing osclass installation
Checkout new installation layout
You might notice new osclass home page has been created to group-up osclass "only" related stuff into one place.
There are basic updates in script itself those were requested by community for years, but nothing was delivered yet:
You are curious what "best crop" means? it simply crop maximized center area from image, keeping osclass media settings aspect ratio, but not adding any white spaces/transparent backgrounds into generated thumbnails.
Hope you like our work ;)
Next release notes: Osclass 4.1.
Question: Does Sigma theme work on Osclass 3.9?
Answer: Sigma is the Osclass 4.0 default front-office theme and uses functions that do not exist in 3.9. It will not run on community 3.9. Bender stays the old 3.x default. Install Osclass 4.0 or newer before you switch to Sigma. Upgrade core first, then activate Sigma in Appearance.
Question: What does best crop do to listing images in Osclass 4.0?
Answer: Best crop in Osclass 4.0 takes the largest center area of the upload and keeps the Media settings aspect ratio. It does not add white bars around the thumbnail. Enable it in Media settings. It is not a Sigma theme option. Regenerate thumbnails after you change the switch.
Question: Is Omega the Osclass 4.0 backoffice theme or the front theme?
Answer: Omega is the Osclass 4.0 oc-admin theme. Sigma is the public catalog theme you activate under Appearance. Omega 2.0 does not run on 3.9, and it does not replace Sigma on the front office. Upgrade to 4.0 before you expect Omega in backoffice. Front templates stay on Sigma or another theme.
Question: What new listing contact fields landed in Osclass 4.0?
Answer: Osclass 4.0 adds listing phone number, a show or hide phone switch, and another contact field such as WhatsApp. Categories also gain icon and color. Sigma can print those item fields; older themes need markup. These are core item fields. Check the item page after upgrade.
Question: Does upgrading to Osclass 4.0 affect existing listings and themes?
Answer: Upgrading to Osclass 4.0 keeps existing listings in the database, but Bender-era themes may not print new item fields until you add markup. Sigma and Omega need 4.0. Plan a core upgrade, then a theme check on item, search, and publish. Test on staging before you switch production PHP or theme.
Question: What changed in the Osclass 4.0 installer compared to 3.x?
Answer: Osclass 4.0 ships a new installer layout for new classifieds sites. Existing 3.9 sites upgrade through the usual package, not by rerunning that installer on a live database. Backup first. After upgrade, confirm Sigma or Bender still renders listings. The installer screens are for empty installs only.
