VikRestaurants 1.8 - Major Release

VikRestaurants 1.8 is finally here!
This major release aims to help restaurants to coexist with the current COVID-19 pandemic and to bring further stability and enhancements to the existing features.

What's new in VikRestaurants 1.8?

Here is a list of the major new features and enhancements.

System

• Introduced a new Dashboard (and Statistics page) with customizable widgets and positions.
• Added support for friendly URLs.
• The reservation codes now support some rules to trigger specific events, when selected.
• The operators area in the front-end has been improved in style and functionalities.
• It is now possible to specify the maximum number of times that a coupon can be redeemed by the same user.
• Certain payment methods can be visible only by trusted customers.
• Introduced the new internal Media Manager.
• Added support for a self-confirmation via e-mail of pending reservations/orders.
• Cancellation requests are now accepted also when the request has been made within TOT minutes since the purchase date and time.
• It is now possible to limit the future bookings (e.g. receive reservations only for the next 7 days).
• Added support for e-mail templates preview.
• Some configuration settings can be translated in multiple languages (e.g. the privacy policy link).
• Improved the look&feel of the whole back-end.
• Included hundreds of events to improve the functionalities of VikRestaurants with external Joomla plugins.
• It is now possible to use a different sound for dashboard notifications.
• Refactoring of the API Framework.
• Fixed encryption error that could occur when using the Offline Credit Card payment method with PHP 7.1 or higher.
• The whole framework has been improved in terms of stability.

Restaurant

• Tables are automatically merged together in order to host groups that cannot fit any tables.
• The system is now able to consider a "safe distance" between the guests as a result of COVID19 prevention measures.
• Guests are now able to order the courses directly from their mobile devices.
• The dashboard overview now displays the full name of the customers and includes the rooms closures.
• It is possible to force the customers to choose the same menu for all the guests of the group (special days only).
• Operators can be assigned to certain reservations.
• Added support for rooms filtering within the reservations list.
• It is now possible to ask a deposit only to large groups.
• The details of the rooms can be translated in multiple languages.

Take-Away

• Custom fields now support a CITY rule.
• Custom fields now support a PICKUP rule in order to show the fields only when the delivery service is not selected.
• Added support for concurrent special days, so that it is possible to have different menus and services on different shifts of the same day.
• It is now possible to allow the time selection within the menus list page.
• Deals can be applied depending on the selected check-in time and/or type of service (delivery or pickup).
• A new setting lets you accept orders only when the restaurant is currently closed (pre-orders) and/or a few days in advance.
• The details page of a product now supports the date selection.
• The toppings now support a description, which can be used to write, in example, the allergens.
• The address fields now support the Google Auto-complete services (back-end only).
• Optimized the calculation of the meals that can be prepared in each interval.
• The stocks of the variations can be disabled to always rely on the stocks of the parent.

Modules

• Improved the look&feel of almost all the modules.
• The Working Times module is now able to display the opening hours of the take-away section.
• All the modules have been adjusted to support the new 1.8 framework.

Any recommendations?

Since this new version changed a lot of things in terms of framework, it is strongly recommended to delete any overrides that you are currently running (e-mail templates included). If you ignore this recommendation, you might face errors due to deprecated functions that no more exist. In addition you might not see some new features that have been introduced. In case of any modifications applied through the overrides, they could be re-applied step by step starting from the new version of the views, layouts and modules.

Finally, remember to update all your modules to the latest version in order to support the new framework of VikRestaurants.

Enjoy your new VikRestaurants!