On Thursday, August 22, 2024 we will release Matador Jobs 3.8.20 to all our users. This hotfix release contains minor updates to improve the function of Matador Jobs Pro while our team is hard at work finalizing our next minor release, due shortly.

Where is .19?

Curious minds want to know… where was 3.8.19? Our last update release was 3.8.18 and after 18 is not 20. Well, there was an error during the compilation of 3.8.18 for the Matador Jobs Lite users, so we rebuilt the release and called it 3.8.19 to mitigate those issues. For all intents and purposes, 3.8.18 and 3.8.19 are the same version. Matador Jobs Pro users were not impacted by the release build error.

Where is 3.9.0?

Matador Jobs uses semantic versioning, which means we generally make the following types of releases:

  • Patch (or Hotfix) Releases, that fix bugs and make minor backwards-compatible enhancements. These increment the “z” in an “X.Y.Z” versioning pattern.
  • Minor Releases, offer new features and changes that are backwards-compatible. A user of the software after a minor release should expect to pay some attention to their install to consider how to leverage new features but should expect no changes in how old features work. These increment the “Y” and set the “Z” to 0 in an “X.Y.Z” versioning pattern.
  • Major Releases offer new features that require backwards-incompatible changes. A user of the software should expect to need to make changes to how they use the software during and may see old features removed. Customization code may not work any more. These increment the “X” and set the “Y” and “Z” to 0 in an “X.Y.Z” versioning pattern.

Under normal circumstances, we would never want to get to a .20 patch release, or for that matter, a .10 patch release, but we also believe that working hard for you is responding to the needs of our users while balancing long term development goals!

We are working hard to finish our next minor release, which we typically release every 6 to 12 months (and it is 12 months last week since 3.8.0), and are actively planning and working on features for our first major release since 2018. That said, it is taking time because we are making a lot of changes to the Matador Jobs core code for the 3.9 release, and until that is done, we have continued to need to make minor fixes to the current minor release so your experience does not degrade waiting for our work to be done.

So, soon you will have pre-release 3.9.0 in your hands. In the meanwhile, please keep doing your great work with these minor updates meant to keep your site running smoothly!

Minor Bug Fixes & Enhancements

The changes in this release are simple but helpful for users impacted by the bugs we identified.

  • Enhancement: Added client-side scripting that appends the CSS class value `file_added` to the file input box on the application form when a file is added by the user. This gives developers and designers more tools to impact the user experience of the site. Matador’s default presentation will not change with this update, but may in the future.
  • Enhancement: (Bullhorn Integration) Added text field character limit truncation for the following fields: candidateWorkHistory->companyName and all fields under candidateEducation. The Bullhorn resume processor can return data that contains invalid with values which exceeding the maximum character limits for these fields, which would result in an API error when Matador submits the data as returned to us for saving. Now, invalid fields returned from the Bullhorn Resume Processor API will be truncated to the character limit if they exceed the allowed maximum values.
  • Enhancement: (Bullhorn Integration) Added a fallback to use the value from dateLastModified as the job posted date/time if the dateLastPublished is selected by the user as the field to use for job date, but that value isn’t set. This protects the user from impacts from unintentional misuse of the Bullhorn system, which can have jobs be set as public (published) via an API call and/or manual user override without the dateLastPublished being set. Proper use of the Bullhorn ATS is to use the “Publish Job” routine which sets various “published” fields including dateLastPublished, and which prior to this enhancement Matador assumed. This enhancement protects the user’s Matador Jobs powered site from failing when this is encountered, but may result in unexpected outcomes. It is strongly recommended that users utilize Bullhorn platforms via its best practices, as Matador, and other Bullhorn Marketplace Partners, optimize for these behaviors.
  • Bugfix: Reduced the firing of unnecessary javascript remote calls during page loading.
  • Bugfix: Fixed a bug causing Matador Jobs job listing schema data to be included in the graphs generated by two SEO plugin integration tools when we not on Matador Jobs job listing single pages. Reminder: Matador’s integration with various WordPress SEO plugins is provided as-is due to the dynamic environment the major SEO plugins operate in. Best results for Matador is to disable SEO plugins and rely on Matador’s built-in SEO graph.
  • Bugfix: (Bullhorn Integration) Fixed issues that could arise when candidate data was missing a Bullhorn ownerID value by adding checks and protections around reference or manipulation of Owner data.
  • Bugfix: Fixed a PHP WARNING encountered only by Matador Jobs Lite users.
  • Internationalization: Added several new language packs based on work by clients and volunteers, some developed with use of AI translation tools.
  • Developer: Upgraded our build routines which required some stylesheet and javascript files to be renamed. While this should not impact our users, it is possible some custom caching configurations could be negatively affected.

Update Now!

Matador Jobs 3.8.20 is released for automatic* update to all subscribers as of Thursday, August 20, 2024. If your subscription has expired, renew it on your account page. If you find any issues, please send a support request.

* Please Note: if your current installed version is 3.8.0 up to 3.8.4, you will need to manually install this update.