Robert Angle

And I am looking forward to getting my hands on it 🙂

As showcased in our past blogs, Invision Community 5 introduces a brand new, modern interface which brings improvements to performance, aesthetics and mobile usability.
An optional side navigation panel, new view modes, light/dark modes, customizable header layouts, a search modal and a mobile navigation bar are some of the things we've showcased previously. Today, lets take a closer look at some other miscellaneous changes that we've been working on while developing Version 5, including some of the code reductions and performance improvements that we've been able to achieve in the process.
For those of you who are developers, we'll also give some simple explanations of how (and why) we've implemented these changes.
 
Widgets
Sidebar widgets are perfect for displaying content feeds, featured members, announcements, advertisements and more on your page. In version 4 however, the widget column would often become an empty space once the widgets had been scrolled past:
  widgets-v4.mp4  
In version 5, widgets now stick to the screen once the last widget has been reached, ensuring your readers have more convenient  access to your widgets rather than a void space:
  sticky-widgets-v5.mp4  
 
Messenger
The Messenger is a great way to reach out to members when a private chat is more appropriate than a topic. Inspired by modern email clients, the messenger in Version 5 has been revamped with a full-height, sticky inbox, a longer message snippet, mini profiles and a more polished UI - all with a 25% reduction in CSS and a 100% reduction in Javascript.
messenger-v5.mp4
 
Sticky elements
We've mentioned sticky elements a couple of times now, so lets take a look behind the scenes at how they're created, and some of the performance improvements with Version 5. Traditionally, sticky elements were created using Javascript which would calculate the position of the element on the page and adjust it's stickiness every time the page was scrolled. Scroll events can be quite taxing for browsers, and when it comes to Javascript, the less, the better (especially when aiming for great page speed scores)!
With that in mind, all sticky elements are now handled using sticky positioning via CSS, which is a native and much more performant way of controlling these elements. We've been able to replace an entire 400 line Javascript component with just 3 lines of CSS.
 
Grids and Masonry
Grids have previously been handled in a similar fashion. Javascript would scan all elements within a grid to determine how many could fit on a single line, and would then shuffle these elements into position after the page was loaded or resized. CSS has since introduced its own grid properties, which has allowed us to replace more than 350 lines of Javascript with just a few lines of CSS, resulting in more performant page rendering and nicer looking grids (especially on small-medium displays such as mobiles and tablets).
 

 
Fun fact: We first introduced a similar performance improvement to "masonry grids" in our Gallery update from January this year, by replacing more than 400 lines of Javascript with, you guessed it, just a few lines of CSS.
 

 
 
 
Click targets
We wanted to make Version 5 as simple as possible to navigate, and one way of doing that has been by implementing larger click targets. Clicking anywhere inside an entry in a table or grid will now take you to that entry (you can still click on other links like normal within the click target, such as subforums or profile links). Click targets are optional and can be disabled via your theme settings if necessary.
 
click-targets.mp4
 
Data Lists (tables)
Speaking of tables, they too have been revamped. Tables automatically adapt to the space they've been assigned to (for those curious, this is done using CSS container-queries), so they're always neat regardless of the screen size, with no overflow or squashed layouts. Behind the scenes, the two columns below are created with identical code, yet they're quite different visually due to the size which they've been allocated. Even with these improvements, tables have received a 25% reduction in CSS.
 

 
Profiles
Profiles have been polished for Version 5 and include some nice improvements such as sticky widgets and tabs. 
profile-desktop.mp4
 
On mobiles, the side column collapses into a carousel, and the sticky tabs allow you to easily flick between content types without scrolling to the top of the page.
profile-mobile.mp4
 

Tabs
You may have noticed in the above clip that tabs on mobiles are now scrollable, compared to a dropdown menu from version 4. We made this change to ensure that tabs are given more equal exposure on small devices, and have managed to reduce the CSS by a whopping 80%.
 
Carousels
Last and certainly not least, are carousels. Carousels are great for displaying large amounts of data in a confined space and they've been rewritten from scratch for version 5. Previously, a Javascript library was used to create the "scroll effect", however this has never been the smoothest experience on laptop trackpads and touch devices.
In version 5, carousels are powered by native smooth-scrolling and scroll-snapping, which results in a much nicer user experience, especially on touchscreens. We've been able to remove a staggering 95% of the Javascript, substituting it with just a few lines of CSS.
 
carousel.mp4
 
To be honest, we've only just scratched the surface here! In addition to these changes, we've modernized (and reduced code) in almost every component throughout the suite including avatars, cover photos, dropdown menus, forms, inputs, buttons, lists, off-canvas menus, side menus, columns and more!
Combined, these changes result in not only a significant reduction in code, but also a polished UI that performs smoothly on desktop and touch devices. We're excited to continue modernizing Invision Community well into the future as new technologies and techniques become available to us, and are looking forward to getting it in your hands in 2024.

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This ability to schedule a future publish date for Topics was actually added sometime over the last year or so.

This is definitely a much needed feature. My Staff would love the ability to schedule posts in advance. Seems like it would be an easy implementation. Swap it out with that scheduled unlock feature which I can't fathom ever having a use for.

Once your member group has permission to post HTML in group permissions, you should see a "Source" button in the editor in the top left:

No
The one titled 'Source' - you said that
...so it had to be assumed that you had. If you didn't then you should check your group to see if you have the "Can post HTML?" setting is enabled for it.
You're adding whatever your html code is
 

You used the HTML option within the Code box button...that literally just posts code as text.
Click the Source button in the editor to edit the html.

Randy, Nathan - that did it, thankyou both so much
All seems to be working now - unless I find anything else. It also solved the linking to pages in long threads and certain admin pages not loading and the change Profile photo not working too   👍
Thanks Chris - didn't need it this time but have saved but hopefully won't need it in the distant future but thanks again 👍

Sweet.  This helped me work through the issue.   I agree, I no longer need to create a subdirectory and I am up and going.
Thanks!  I appreciate you helping me so quickly!!!

No way. Courses is a relatively newer feature for Invision (Cloud only). All of the worthwhile competition community services also offer courses. Expect to see this remain and probably tweaked and developed even more.

No way. Courses is a relatively newer feature for Invision (Cloud only). All of the worthwhile competition community services also offer courses. Expect to see this remain and probably tweaked and developed even more.

Certainly not 🙂 
 
Actually the "cloud only" part is a common misconception. It's not available on some cloud plans too.

Just six short weeks ago, Ehren hit record on a video that changed everything for Invision Community.
The blog was called "Introducing a fresh new vision for Invision Community 5," and it ripped up the rule book on what forums should look like and revealed a slick new look featuring a new forum home feed view and sidebar navigation.
A lot has been discussed, but we're not even close to done!
Before we bring you news of more features after Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a mid-season break to recap what we've seen so far.
First up was the introduction video, which gave a broad overview of the new UI Invision Community 5 would be sporting. Ehren takes us through many new elements, including the sidebar navigation, forum feed view, simplified post view and more.
 
 
Up next was a focus on dark mode, accessibility and mobile views. Invision Community 5 features the ability to have native dark mode without additional themes or complex variables to set up. Our aim with Invision Community 5 is to hide the complexities and technology and just let you focus on creating a great community experience for your audience.
 
 
Bringing complex theming to everyone was the message in the blog talking about the new theme editor. Now, you can make wide-ranging changes to your theme without the need to edit CSS or manage HTML templates, all driven by a smart and simple interface.
 
 
Next, it was my turn to talk about a new feature. I introduced two new features designed to help those who run support-based communities. Finding the most helpful answers and identifying community experts help your members do more with less time and frustration.
 
 
Last week, Ehren demonstrated our new icon and badge builder, which is an amazingly powerful tool to produce slick and professional badges along with the ability to customize your community further with emojis and icons for menus, reactions and more. Building ways to reduce the barrier to customization has been a strong theme for Invision Community 5.
 
 
Phew!
We can all agree that we've showcased a lot of impressive functionality coming with Invision Community 5 already.
But what does the future hold?
Lots! We have a lot of new functionality that we're putting the finishing touches on, and we can't wait to show you more. These new features further help to reduce noise in topics, make the community feel alive and bring long-needed updates to core components such as the editor. Not to mention, there is a significant update to Pages underway.
We also have a lot of less flashy updates, such as the new consolidated Feature/Our Picks feature, which is now a single feature.
 
Feature-window.mp4
 
An improved Moderators Control Panel brings a more uniform experience across deleted, hidden, and content waiting to be approved.
 

We're still on course for a release of Invision Community in early 2024 and can't wait for you to experience the future of forums.
What has been your favourite feature so far? I'd love to know; drop a comment below!

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Please remove. Was not aware I could buy other pieces I was missing on my self hosted.

Create Pages for Terms, Privacy, and Cookies and change the links in the setting to point to those Pages instead?

Do you mean "How do I download a backup copy of my database?"
If you are self-hosted, your Admin Panel will be able to generate a backup, whether that's CPanel or DirectAdmin. 
If you are cloud-hosted, you can request a backup from the boyz at Invision.

Do we get…

Believe me; I'm painfully aware of this fact.

We do this on our one community. We have a group called "Former Members" for those who want to make it known that they have left. 

Amazing.
Now the question remains... will there be anything left for theme creators? lol. 

I have Adobe Illustrator, it doesn't mean I can produce good quality graphics 🙂 Tools are only part of the end result. Or goal was to put more power into Invision Community owner's hands, but that doesn't remove the need for professional themes and graphic sets.
It's not on our roadmap at this point, it'd be tricky given how we load the icons.

Amazing.
Now the question remains... will there be anything left for theme creators? lol. 

Lots of credit goes to @Matt Finger for this weeks update. He did a great job 👏

AGAIN some next level stuff! All these updates so far are all one by one amazing! Meanwhile all updates on a community software I won't disclose, have been nothing BUT disappointing. 
Love the work you all are putting into this. Great work, as always.
 
 

Invision Community offers fantastic ways of customizing the user experience for your members, and today, we’re excited to introduce some new and really simple ways of customizing Invision Community 5 even further using our new icon tools.
 
Icon Picker
Lets begin with our brand new icon picker. Containing both Font Awesome icons and emojis, the new picker allows you to easily search and assign icons to specific areas throughout your site. Lets take a look at some examples!
icon-picker.mp4  
Navigation icons
Adding icons to the navigation list has been a highly requested feature, so we're happy to announce that you can now use this new picker to do exactly that, for both the horizontal and vertical navigation panels, without needing to modify your theme.

 
Forum icons
Uploading forum icons is a great way to personalize individual areas of your community. In the past, these icons have typically been images, uploaded via the admin panel. In addition to the upload form, the icon picker now makes it a breeze to assign icons to forums - and if a Font Awesome icon is chosen, it'll even inherit the featured forum color.

 
Forum Feature Color
We have brought the existing forum feature color to feed view allowing for a flash of color and personalization that helps associate a color with a specific forum. The feature color pairs really well with the card image to lift the forum display.

 
Icon creator for badges, ranks and reactions
Creating unique badges, ranks and reactions is a great way to boost activity within your community by encouraging members to share more engaging and frequent content - but designing these icons from scratch using a graphics program often comes with hurdles of its own.
With our new icon creator, you can now design your own custom icons for badges, ranks and reactions straight from your Admin panel, using a combination of colors, icons and shapes.
icon-creator.mp4  
 
We think this new icon creator will make the rank, badges and reactions features even more accessible for everyone, allowing you to create a user experience that is uniquely yours. With Invision Community 5, bringing in customization and personalization moves beyond adding new themes.
We're excited to see how you can take advantage of these new tools, and we look forward hearing your feedback in the comments below!
 


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