We intended for this release to be largely just a “bug fix” release, but we’ve snuck in a few new features, including one big one. There’s a number of things to talk about, so let’s dig in!
MATTERPORT 3rd PARTY INTEGRATION NOTES:
It has been a wild few weeks to be a “Matterport Pro”, eh? In case you missed it, a number of powerful 3rd Party Matterport Tools appeared recently, then promptly disappeared. These tools were asked to be taken down based on how they were accessing behind-the-scenes Showcase imagery & data that Matterport has since removed. This was certainly upsetting to the developers of these tools and left a number of people scratching their heads and asking, “But, why?”
The bright side of all this is that (based on the recent conversations we’ve had with Matterport ourselves) they’d just like to slow things down a bit and make sure that everything is in place for their official (forthcoming & 3rd-party-friendly) Matterport API. We can certainly appreciate wanting to do things right and we’re anxious to see what is released.
In the meantime, rest assured that Matterport does not have any concerns when it comes to the services provided by WP3D Models or the way in which we access Model data. Also note that we’re already virtually camped out in line, coffee in hand, and ready to develop our own new WP3D Models tools around the official API, once it is released.
NEW 2.1.3 FEATURES:
- Social “Play” Images
Okay…so we’re pretty proud of this one. Once enabled (in Models –> Settings –> Social), your model images can all be supplemented with a “play” icon that will appear when your content is shared on various social networks (Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest). This addition makes your social content much more attractive and “clickable” when viewed from those networks. - Iframe Embed
Alongside our custom (& inherently responsive) WP3D Models Embed code, we have introduced a new option to grab a standard <iframe> embed code as well. Depending on where/how your models are being embedded, this can sometimes be a better option. - Mattertag Link Support
Once Matterport releases the ability for everyone to add links to their Mattertags, WP3D Models content will (more than likely) already be compliant. - Faster Loading
Models that use a “WP3D Intro” are now set up to load much faster. This is auto-enabled for all of your past, present and future Models! - Customizable Fullscreen Copyright Text
You asked for it and now it is possible to customize the “Copyright” text that appears on branded fullscreen Models. You could always change this site-wide, and now this is available on a per-Model basis. - Hide Fullscreen Header Bar
You asked for this as well, and now it’s possible to completely hide the black “header bar” that exists on branded fullscreen Models. This too is available on a per-Model basis. - Disclaimer Images
This requires some HTML knowledge (and probably some graphic design sense too), but if you’ve got the chops you can now include a link (<a>) and/or image (<img>) content into your global Model disclaimer. We’re considering this to be a “pro” feature, just FYI.
FIXES / ENHANCEMENTS:
- Google Maps API Fix (Again)
Dear Google, we’re really hoping that you’ve made up your mind re: how you want to manage your Map API keys. 🙂 We’ve applied your most recent changes and found that, actually, this is much easier than what you had in place mid-summer (2016). On our end, we’ve trimmed things back to only needing ONE API Key (inside Models –> Settings –> Maps) and generating this single key is much easier now as well.Documentation on how to obtain and save your Google Maps API Key »
- Matterport API Address Fix
The way in which Matterport presented Model address data changed a bit this last week. This update “rights the ship” and everything should be working correctly, once again. - Looooong Agent Email Address Fix
We’ve fixed things up so that lengthy Agent email addresses now look/work better. - Loooong URL Fix
Similar to the Agent email address fix, we’ve tidied things up and force long URLs to behave as well. - “Skinned” Title Fix
New code has been added to allow for better unique customization of the “Skinned” SEO Title and fix duplication issues that were happening before. - Facebook Image “Too Big” Fix
In some cases, when a LARGE Image Override was used, the “full size” image was being pushed up to Facebook, instead of a trimmed version. As it turns out, Facebook hiccups when an image is too big…all should be better now. - Facebook OG Image “Size” Tag Enhancement
This gets pretty nerdy, but if you don’t tell Facebook just how big your “share” image is, they’ll hiccup on that too. In this case (w/o providing specific image sizes) it isn’t until the 2nd “share” that you actually SEE the shared image. With our new code in place, your first share of a Model should now produce a shiny new “share” image. This is especially cool if you’re taking advantage of the new auto “play” button overlay feature (noted as #1 in our “Features” above). - Longer TLD support
With all the new types of domain names, we needed to update what the Contact Form would support when one of these new domains is part of an email address.
Okay…that’s all for now. We’re going to jump back under the hood and get to work on what’s next for WP3D Models!