Announcement Moderate software update 4/10

[Greg Bernhardt]

We're going to be updating PF's core software this coming Thursday in the AM. Style and addons may break, so we'll need time to fix any issues. We've tried to anticipate as much as we could. We expect a downtime as long as 1hr. Thanks!

 

[jedishrfu]

Wow, that's sound cool, exciting and mentors are going to be mopping the floors from the flood of complaints. :-)

 

[berkeman]

mopping the floors from the flood of complaints bug reports].

Fixed that for you.

 

[jedishrfu]

Now why couldn't @Greg Bernhardt do this update on April 1st? Or for more dire results on May 1st? Or really exciting times like the Ides of March?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Delaying to next week

 

[Tom.G]

And here I thought it was a Perfect update!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

We're aiming for Tuesday this week. We're adding a dark mode that depends on your mobile settings, so you may see dark mode initially. It can always be switched.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Broken record, but need to delay again by a week to iron something out

 

[Tom.G]

Broken record, but need to delay again by a week to iron something out

Be sure the iron is plugged in.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Still planned for today in roughly 2 hours

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Hey broken record here, work is killing me. pushing to Friday AF cst

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Update is complete. It was significant on the backend. Lots of things broke. Cleaning up the mess now. Report any issues you come across.

 

[berkeman]

It looks like the link at the top of the page to Featured Content is broken:

https://www.physicsforums.com/featured/

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

It looks like the link at the top of the page to Featured Content is broken:

https://www.physicsforums.com/featured/

yeah this was an addon that went defunct. Xenforo now has it's own built in version. Our previous list of featured threads is lost and we'll need to rebuild with the inhouse version.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

featured content link has been fixed

 

[Ibix]

Text doesn't seem to clear from the editor when I post.

 

[Ibix]

Example:

 

[Ibix]

...oddly, that one did clear.

Edit: but this one did not.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I notice the behavior too

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

ah and some duplicate posts

 

[Ibix]

I wonder if duplicate posts is human error - if the post text doesn't vanish it looks like it didn't post so you hit post again?

 

[berkeman]

ah and some duplicate posts

Yeah, that happened to me a couple hours after the upgrade when my replies did not seem to be going through. I think I clicked Reply a couple of times and got ~3 replies posted eventually. The Edit window where I had composed the reply also was not cleared automatically when the Replies posted. I think that is working better now, though.

 

[berkeman]

QUOTE="berkeman, post: 7258297, member: 8921"]
The Edit window where I had composed the reply also was not cleared automatically when the Replies posted. I think that is working better now, though.
[/QUOTE]
Oops, that's still happening:

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

test test

 

[Ibix]

There's also something screwy with the alert counter. If I have a red notification of one alert and I follow it, I still seem to have one alert until I open the alert dropdown.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I suspect these are caching issues

 

[Tom.G]

I suspect these are caching issues

 

[berkeman]

It looks like the little OP notification icon next to the OP's username has disappeared now:

M

Post in thread 'Increase horsepower with steam in piston gasoline engine?'

May 5, 2025

As the combusted gas expands in the cylinder from its max temperature at top dead center, the pressure has decreased at 90 degrees of the power stroke because an increase in the volume of the combusted gas decreases the pressure of the gas. At that point, the injected water mist will further cool the combusted gas, but the steam produced by the injection of the mist of water would possibly increase the pressure. So, will the result be an increase or decrease in pressure? One must take into account that the heat to produce the steam comes not only from the hot gas, but also from the hot...

• mikeholcombe

 

[berkeman]

Hmm, and when I try to add a link to that post in my reply above, it changes it to a preview of the thread, rather than just a link to the thread...

 

[renormalize]

Just want to point out the the super- and subscript icons in the toolbar above the edit window are now invisible! But you can still hover the cursor over the blank spots and select those functions. (Windows Chrome)

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Just want to point out the the super- and subscript icons in the toolbar above the edit window are now invisible! But you can still hover the cursor over the blank spots and select those functions. (Windows Chrome)

got them back in, thanks

 

[pines-demon]

I am getting very weird interface when I go on PF (Mac, Chrome), it's been a week:

Same for the icons near the search bar.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Introducing dark mode! If you choose "system" your system will manage when light and dark mode switch.

 

[jtbell]

I use dark mode on my iPad and iPhone, so the forum switched automatically for me yesterday. It made me do a double-take!

 

[Dale]

Introducing dark mode! If you choose "system" your system will manage when light and dark mode switch.

Thanks for this one! I prefer dark mode so I was happy to see this

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

There are a number of small design/color fixes for dark mode. I'll be chipping away at them throughout the next few weeks.

 

[DrChinese]

What happened to the link to symbols? That was previously on the edit bar next to the "table" icon...

 

[symbolipoint]

Style Variation - the different lighting or colorations modes

Visitors who not normally visit the site might not recognize the lighting or coloration arrangement can be changed.
They might think that the site will be black background with some blue and white text, and a few other colors
to symbol icons. We members may notice that when logged-in, we see the ordinary coloration, mostly bright pages
but upon logging-out, the style variation changes to the black background arrangement.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

What happened to the link to symbols? That was previously on the edit bar next to the "table" icon...

Similar issue with the latex previewing. The editor changed and I'm struggling to figure out the fixes.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Badges are now looking better in dark mode. Thread prefixes will be next.

 

[Klystron]

Been using dark mode on sister site CivicsWatch since inception. Seriously prefer dark mode on PF. Easier on the eyes than bright mode and, subjectively, appears more profound. Noticed a few quirks but generally seamless. (Windows 11 on Framework 16 laptop)

Great job, Greg, on both websites. Thanks.

 

[symbolipoint]

I just find regular mode (not the dark mode) looks ordinary and easier to see. I did not ever know Physicsforums had any other coloration mode until a couple days ago when I saw that new symbol button between the bell icon and the "search" tool icon.

 

[symbolipoint]

Current "style variation" finding:
Visit the forum, it shows in dark mode initially.
Sign-in, and forum is in regular mode.
Sign-out, and pf returns to dark mode is still in regular style mode.

 

[symbolipoint]

Coming back again to PF, presently with Firefox brzr.
Starts in regular style mode.
Sign in and is still regular style mode.
Sign out, and is still regular style mode.

 

[gmax137]

I far prefer the regular mode, don't like dark mode at all. Thanks for making this user choice!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

There is an issue with a section of the profile for dark mode. That and dark mode prefixes will be fixed next week.

 

[Klystron]

I far prefer the regular mode, don't like dark mode at all. Thanks for making this user choice!

With you most of the way. I find dark background easier on my aging eyes than bright white. Colors and details stand out better in white mode along with most typing and editing features such as selecting a word. Dark mode seems more soothing for protracted reading. Last night I toggled my Android E-book tablet to dark mode for easier reading at night (called "Invert Colors" toggle).

Edit to previous post: I view PF and CW with Chrome browser on Windows 11, sometimes MS Edge.

 

[symbolipoint]

The Styles Variation is inconsistent. Just now on Google Chrome (incogn. mode) visiting PF showed in dark mode. Once signed in, mode is regular normal mode; the light blue gray background and black text.

 

[Swamp Thing]

The toolbar for "Post reply" isn't working. Nothing happens if you click any button (Bold, italic, insert image, whatever. Is it due to the maintenance in progress, or is it just me? Chromium on Raspberry Pi.

 

[berkeman]

The toolbar for "Post reply" isn't working. Nothing happens if you click any button (Bold, italic, insert image, whatever.

Is your toolbar mostly red or mostly grey? If red, you need to click the "[ ]" toggle BB Code icon to make them grey/active. Red version seen here: