TMM Insider Newsletter November 2008 (Vol. I, Issue 8)
Recent News and Beta Features
New NATS3 Biller: Oakbill
We just finished integrating Oakbill into the NATS biller framework. You can learn more about their services or read about how easy they are to setup in NATS using the following URLs, or you can submit a ticket to start using them today.
NATS4: GXBill Canada 900 Changes
To correctly record Canadian GXB900 transactions, you'll need the transaction patch we're currently testing. Please submit a ticket if you're interested.
NATS3: Netbilling Free Initial Authorization Amount
We've received complaints that members can activate a free initial sign-up using Netbilling with an account that can't pay the rebill charge -- so the member gets the free trial without ever intending to pay. A new configuration option allows you to set the credit card authorization amount (up to the rebill amount), which can help prevent sign-ups from members without enough money to pay the rebill.
If you want to take advantage of this feature, please submit a ticket and we'll install this upgrade on your system.
Recent Additions and Bug Fixes
NATS 4.0
Extended Sales
Extended sales in NATS4 let you pay affiliates based on actions that happen outside of NATS. If you're interested in the feature, please read the article or submit a ticket and we can enable it in your program.
Fraud Report
If you're used to the NATS3 Fraud Report, you're going to love the improvements we've made to the NATS4 Fraud Report. The new fraud report loads faster because NATS now updates the statistics once a day instead of every time you generate the report. And NATS now lets you give specific weights to particular actions so you quickly find affiliates that engage in a small number of high-probability fraudulent activities.
Epoch Color Settings
We changed the color settings for NATS4 Epoch in the biller info so that they match the rest of the page layout.
Auto-Campaign Creation Date
When a new campaign is created using auto-campaigns, NATS now stores the creation date and displays it on the Affiliate's My Account page.
Faster Uploads
NATS now downloads remote files without using as much memory. You'll definitely notice the speed increase when you upload large adtools. You might not notice it, but your system will now use less memory when performing other tasks also.
Extraneous Transaction Types Removed
Old and unnecessary transactions types have been removed from the Biller Charges screen.
Linkcode Fallback Sites
When a surfer follows a linkcode to a site that isn't in the program used to create the linkcode, NATS finds the next program with a similar type that both the affiliate and the site belong to.
New Multiple Choice Options in Admin Adtools
If you edit or create a new adtool type and configure a multiple choice option, you can now also setup the multiple choice options in the adtools admin. You can add, delete, and change the order of options in the list.
Affiliate Duplicate Email Address Error
If an affiliate tries to sign-up up with an email address that is already in the NATS database, NATS now displays an error.
Linkdomain URL Validation
NATS now checks for a redundant "http://" or trailing "/" when you enter a linkdomain in the Sites Admin.
Updating Adtool Types No Longer Requires New Name
Updating an adtool type previously required that you change the name of the type because of an extraneous duplication check. We removed that extra check.
No Logging Enabled
NATS4 ships without any logging enabled in the Logging Admin. After enabling logging, you previously couldn't completely disable logging. Now the most recent versions of NATS let you disable all logging.
Automatic Adtool Thumbnail Field Creation
NATS now automatically creates the thumbnail field when you create an adtool type with images so that you can display a thumbnail image on the Affiliate Adtools page.
All Template Functions Accept Prefix Parameter
Every Smarty variable NATS creates using a template function can now be assigned a custom prefix. Please see the NATS4 template function reference manual for details.
Tour-Specific Join Info Bug Fixed
In some recent versions of NATS, NATS printed an error when you tried to adjust the tour specific join information. We've fixed this bug.
Detailed Program Payout Display
The affiliate linkcode breakdown (Code Info) now displays information about option- and biller-specific payouts. For example, the page now shows you information about Build Your Own Anything program options.
Build Your Own Anything Module for NATS4
We've finished the Build Your Own Anything (BYOA) module for NATS 4. Like most NATS4 features, it's substantially easier to use. Feel free to read the updated documentation at the following URL or send us a ticket to purchase the BYOA module.
NetBilling Poll Updates
We've made a number of changes to the NetBilling poll so that it works correctly on NATS4. We fixed the last polled date's display and ensured that rejected rebills are handled correctly.
SegPay Poll
We updated the SegPay poll so that it works correctly on NATS4.
International Address Checking Reduced
We reduced or eliminated several automated checks on international addresses so that you can accept affiliate sign-ups from countries with address formats we didn't expect. You can re-enable or adjust these checks in the NATS Payments Admin. Please see the article for details:
NATS Now Records Tour Creation Date
NATS keeps track of when you created a tour. The tour creation date is now displayed on the Edit Tour page.
Jettis International Gateway Cross-Sales Now Supported
You can now make Jettis International Gateway Cross-Sales in NATS4.
Recurring Historical Payouts
As mentioned in the September newsletter, NATS4 now lets you make payout changes that persist for the life of the members. This enables special, limited-time, promotions that affect rebills.
Additional Debugging Information Added to Payout Table
When NATS records a payout, it now records an identifier which points to the payout information. This makes the above recurring historical payouts work and will make it easier for TMM technical support to diagnose problems.
License Verification
When performing your regular license updates, NATS will now verify that the license it downloads looks valid before trying to use it.
Admin Areas and Support Pages Daily Update
As mentioned in the October Newsletter, every time you log in to NATS4, it updates the Support Admin and generates a list of links to other TMM products you own -- the Admin Area links. Updating this every time you log in wastes time if you log in frequently and gives you outdated information if you stay logged in for a long time. We updated the back-end architecture so that the links are updated once a day no matter how often you login in. We also check that the updated links are actual URLs so you don't get bad information.
Combined Data Array for Gateway Sign-ups
You can now get variable data about the member from the {$combined} data array.
Epoch Instant Upgrades
You can now make Epoch Instant Upgrades to NATS4.
CCBill Paid Program
NATS4 now lets you pay your affiliates for sending sign-ups to a CCBill join from through the CCBill reseller system. This system works the same in NATS4 as it did in NATS3.
Displaying CCBill Paid Program Members on the Active Member Report
Because CCBill paid programs don't have payments in NATS, the program members are excluded from the Active Member report, but you can add the following configuration variable to include them on the report:
$config['ACTIVE_MEMBERS_CCBILL_PAID'] = 1;
Faster Results When Searching for Specific Transaction Types
The members search report will return much faster now when you search by transaction type.
Input Forms Accept Foreign Languages
You can now enter special and foreign language characters into all NATS forms.
Billers Can Create Members That Never Expire
Billers can now send an expiration data of "0" to create members that never expire.
strack Links Missing http://
A display bug printed strack links without their leading "http://". We fixed it so links print correctly.
CARMA 1.3
Variable Content Escaping
CARMA now escapes specific characters when you copy and paste text into CARMA so that special characters don't cause errors later.
Memory Cache Option Limited to Supported Servers
The CARMA memory cache option is now only displayed on servers that support memory caching.
Flash Movie Regeneration
The Flash movie regeneration feature, mentioned in the August TMM Insider, is now included in all new versions of CARMA.
Watermark Resizing
You can now change the size of a watermark in CARMA before placing it on an image.
Site Copying
For some releases of CARMA, sites couldn't be copied. Trying to copy a site generated an error. We've fixed this error, and if you encounter this error, please submit a ticket so we can upgrade your CARMA.
Actor Photos
You can now add photos to an actor and display that actor's photo anywhere you display actor data. Interested? Please read the Actor Photos article on TMM Wiki.
Video Name Now a Template Variable
The template function, carma_show_video now outputs the filename in the $name variable.
Video Size Now Output in carma_list_videos Function
You can pass the full_metadata parameter to carma_list_videos to get the filesize for each video in carma_list_videos's output.
carma_show_video Respects TOUR_ALL_VIDEOS
You can now enable the configuration option TOUR_ALL_VIDEOS to force the CARMA template function, carma_show_video, to show all videos on tours.
Flash Now Uses Sort Files
CARMA now correctly updates data sort files for already existing entries when it creates Flash movies. This lets it recreate Flash movies.
Start Parameter Added to carma_upcoming
We added the standard start parameter to the carma_upcoming template function. For details, please see the article
More Statistics About Sites, Members, Content, and Actors
CARMA now tracks and displays additional statistics about your sites, members, content, and actors. Admins can narrow down searches based on different fields.
Deleting One Actor Photo Deleted All Actor Photos
The Delete Actor Photo button on CARMA's new actor photo feature accidentally deleted every actor's photos. We fixed this error.
Resizing PNG Files
CARMA can now resize PNG files.
NATS 3.1
Epoch Color Settings
We changed the color settings for Epoch in the biller info so that they match the rest of the page layout.
Uploading Changed Content Adtools by URL
In some cases, you couldn't replace content adtools by entering their new URL. We've fixed this so that you can replace content adtools by either uploading a new zip file or entering a new URL.
RSBilling Poll Changes
We worked with RSBilling to get rebill, credit, and chargeback information from RSBilling more frequently and to spread the load among several RSBilling servers.
NetBilling Processor Option
NATS previously let you send the Processor option to NetBilling for regular sales, but you can now send this option for gateways sales as well.
DHD Re-integration
As announced in the September TMM Insider, we've worked closely with DHD Media to make significant improvements to our mutual integration. Although we previously announced that these changes wouldn't affect current DHD users, we hit a snag that requires DHD users upgrade. If you use DHD and we didn't contact you directly in the last month, please submit a ticket immediately.
News Sections
You can now add news to different sections in NATS3.
CCBill Accounting Amount
CCBill is now sending an account amount in their regional pricing transactions so that NATS always knows the value of the transaction in U.S. dollars.
On the Hotplate
NATS 4.0
nats_list_linkcodes Available for Emails
We've made the NATS template function, nats_list_linkcodes, available on email you send to your affiliates. Soon you'll be able to easily send them current linkcodes. For details and examples, please see the article.
Making CCBill Refunds Expire
CCBill doesn't include expiration dates on refund transactions in its poll, so NATS didn't expire the members. New code lets NATS expire the members correctly even without that expiration date.
Extra Checking Prevents Expiration Errors
We've added extra checking to prevent expiration errors when NATS tries to guess the expiration time.
Program Owners Getting Member and Affiliate Emails
NATS was sending owners copies of affiliate and member emails instead of sending the email designed for the owner. We now send the correct emails to the correct person.
Pre-Sorting Administrator Overview Report
We now sort the administrator overview report the first time you view it so you don't need to sort it yourself.
NATS 3.0
Using the Webcams Amount
By default, NATS gets the transaction amount from the Webcams Commissions field. A new configuration variable, $config['POLL_WEBCAMS_USE_AMOUNT'], can be enabled to tell NATS to use the Webcams Amount field instead.
TMM Insider Tip
Do you hate the select box in the join option section of the NATS3 pre-join form? You can easily replace it with a set of radio buttons. On the Sites Admin, edit the Site Templates and look for the following code:
<select name="signup[optionid]" class="join_select">
{html_options options=$join_options selected=$vars.optionid}
</select>
Replace the code above with the code below:
{html_radios name="signup[optionid]"
options=$join_options
selected=$vars.optionid
separator="<br>"}
For more details, please see the article
Contact Us
If you're interested in any of the new features described in this newsletter, please submit a support ticket with a brief description of the feature and we'll upgrade your system shortly.
Is there something that you want to see here on this newsletter? Have an idea for the TMM Insider Tip? If so, please contact the editor at kevin.wetter@toomuchmedia.com
Thought of a new feature that would benefit all of our clients? If so, then please submit a support ticket.
