Beta2 is now released, I’m running CVS so got it automatically, download it and check it out!

WordPress 2.7 Beta 2 is ready.  Here is a quick rundown of changes since beta 1.

• The Upload button didn’t always show. Fixed.
• JS on the Dashboard broke for blogs with no comments, causing several UI elements to “freeze”. Fixed.
• Recent Drafts Dashboard module didn’t show correct times. Fixed.
• Various Autosave fixes.
• Redirect after deleting a page from the editor went back to the deleted page. Fixed.
• Fixed loading of translations for default TinyMCE plugins.
• Added avatars to the edit users list.
• Added some missing translations.
• Fixed some validation errors.
• Fixed some PHP warnings and notices.
• Handle inconsistent file permissions during auto upgrade
• Change Publish box layout to better accommodate internationalized text
• Fix quick editing of the last page in the Edit Pages list
• Fix Screen Options for IE
• Fixes for choose tag from tag cloud
• Rewrite rules fixes for certain hosts
• Don’t check for updates on every page load
• Easier post box dropping
• Preview fixes
• RTL fixes
• Fixed broken wp-mail
• Plugin update and install fixes
• First draft of contextual help tab

If you have already installed beta 1, you can update to beta 2 via the Tools -> Update menu.  Beta 1 does have a bug in the automatic upgrade that breaks certain setups, so be prepared to download and install Beta 2 manually if you experience problems.

Get 2.7 Beta 2.
Check out the full story here: http://wordpress.org/development/2008/11/wordpress-27-beta-2/

There have been a lot of posts and twitter announcements by people checking out the WordPress 2.7 Beta since it was announced yesterday. What’s your favorite thing about 2.7 so far? Or if you haven’t made the leap yet, to which feature are you most looking forward? Check out the poll here:
http://wordpress.org/development/2008/11/whats-your-favorite-thing-about-the-27-beta/trackback/

http://wordpress.org/development/2008/11/wordpress-27-beta-1/trackback/

The first public beta of WordPress 2.7 is here at last. Join the thousands of people already testing 2.7 by downloading 2.7 Beta 1. As previously mentioned on this blog, 2.7 is bringing a new visual design. This design is almost completely implemented, but there are still a few areas that aren’t quite finished in Beta 1. There are also several glitches in certain browsers. Beta 1 provides the best experience in Firefox and Safari. Don’t worry, we are working on IE and Opera and will have those looking good in time for the final release.

Speaking of the final release, it will not be available on November 10th as originally scheduled. We are two weeks behind schedule at the moment. We need a little more time to finish the visual design, do a round of user testing against that finished design, and do a proper round of public beta testing. Our plan is to keep working as if Nov. 10 is still the release date. However, instead of releasing the final 2.7 on the 10th, we will make a release candidate available instead. The release candidate is intended to be a high-quality, almost-finished release that we are comfortable recommending for broad use. After Nov. 10, the focus will be on fixing high impact bugs turned up by those of you testing the release candidate. I suspect 2.7 will be ready for final release by the end of November. A specific date will be set as we progress through the public beta cycle and get a feel for how solid the release is.