Hello there.

It’s time for a significant Publisher update. We are on the verge to release version 2.4 which focuses on tracking and analytics as well as general stability. See the preliminary changelog for details.

This time we decided to do a public beta test before unleashing the beast. If you feel adventurous, please try the Beta and let us know how it works for you.

How to get the 2.4 Beta

We distribute betas in a separate plugin. This plugin is not available through the WordPress plugin directory. You need to install it manually:

1. Download the latest version: https://github.com/podlove/podlove-beta-tester/archive/master.zip
2. In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add New and choose Upload Plugin
3. Upload the zip file you downloaded in step 1.
4. Once you have activated the plugin, go to Settings > Podlove Beta Tester and choose the beta you you want to join. Check for plugin updates and you should see a beta update (look at the version number). Note that you only see betas for plugins you have already installed (you need to have the "Podlove Publisher" plugin installed if you want to join its beta).

What to test

The most critical new component is a “Background Job” system.

Crunching numbers for Analytics takes time, especially for popular podcasts with many downloads. The old system was written optimistically and "let's-hope-we-finish-before-we-run-out-of-time"-ish. That was certainly good enough for podcasts with a few hundred downloads per episode, but more likely a gamble for popular shows. To solve this issue in a scaleable way, we built what is known as "background processing" or "queues". That way we can break big tasks into small chunks and process them step by step.

Since this is the new backbone of Analytics, thorough testing is required. Please check the following:

• totals per episode update (roughly) hourly
• daily/weekly aggregates in the Analytics Dashboard update daily
• in the new “Tools” section analytics recalculation can be started manually and the tasks finish within seconds or minutes (depending on how many total downloads your podcast has)

Apart from that, feel free to report any other bugs and oddities you may encounter.

Read the full changelog for details.

How to provide Feedback

Head over to https://community.podlove.org/c/podlove-publisher, open a new topic and share your issues, questions or delights.

Thank you :)