Typemill 2.18.0: Kixote Redesign and Page Permissions

This is the first newsletter after switching to a two-month release period, and two months are much better for getting things done, so expect some exciting new features.

New Design for Kixote

The Kixote interface has been completely redesigned, featuring a light design that resembles other familiar AI chatbots. You can now directly access the AI interface with a button located at the top right of each article. New models like Claude 4 and OpenAI 4.1 have been added, and an error was fixed where old API keys remained visible in the password input field. Remember, since version 2.17.0, all sensitive information like API keys is stored in a separate file for security. Sensitive information is no longer loaded into the application's lifecycle; instead, it is fetched only when needed.

Hide Restricted Pages from Navigation

In the access tab of the system settings, you can now activate a new checkbox that will hide restricted pages from the frontend navigation. Here are three ways to manage permissions now:

• By default, all pages will be visible in the navigation, but restricted pages will only show the title if permissions are not granted.
• You can also manually cut the content, which is perfect if you want to tease restricted content that requires a login or payment.
• With the new option, you can completely remove restricted pages from the navigation, showing them only to users with the correct permission. This is ideal if you have different target groups with mixed access rights.

Be aware that this new option might slow down performance for larger sites due to the additional checks involved. I haven’t tested it with large websites yet, so feedback is welcome.

PHP 8.4 Support

Support for PHP 8.0 has been dropped, and the Typemill core is now updated to PHP 8.4. Deprecation errors from some third-party dependencies are suppressed to maintain Typemill functionality in debug mode. Please note that plugins are not yet optimized for PHP 8.4, so you should consider waiting for the next release before switching to the new PHP version.

Ebook Plugin and Remote Print

The ebook plugin received a significant update, now automatically transforming internal links into anchors within the ebook. Additionally, the table of contents is now generated in the backend with PHP, eliminating the reliance on JavaScript. This improvement paves the way for the long-awaited launch of the remote print service as part of the new Kixote Application Server. The basic Kixote Application is ready, and I am currently working on hosting it. Once it’s online, I will update the ebook plugin again, and it will then be ready for users with a license. A major advantage of the remote print service is that it supports side navigation in the PDF, which has been a frequent request. I will send another newsletter with all the details as soon as everything is up and running.

More Features

In the documentation, I summarized three options to run Typemill without using the author interface. A new feature introduced in version 2.18.0 is the periodic auto-refresh of the navigation, which will recreate the navigation after a specific time period so that manual changes to content files (add, delete, move) are reflected in the frontend. You will find this option in the developer tab of the system settings. In the media tab of the system settings, you can now use individual sizes for live images. This option was available for a while but had been ignored by the code; now everything is working as expected.

Next Steps: Multilanguage Websites

In the next release, I will focus on a multilanguage setup for Typemill. This is a highly requested feature and complex to implement. I will announce a showcase call in a few weeks so you can join and provide feedback during the implementation. I will also continue work on the Kixote Application Server and add more options to support you in your daily tasks. The next release is planned for mid-September.

I will continue to send the newsletter every four weeks to keep you informed about new developments, plugins, themes, and useful tips. So expect to hear from me again in four weeks.