This update is all about making your content look its best with minimal effort. From a brand-new "Clean" style for our popular Columns layout to smart image handling that automatically fixes photo orientation, we’ve focused on the details that make your website stand out.
We've always focused on the details that make your website stand out, and we'll continue to do so.
New features:
- A new 'Clean' style for the RAXO Columns layout, featuring a minimalist design.
- Support for auto-rotation and flipping of images based on EXIF orientation flags.
Improvements:
- Fix: Output actual generated thumbnail dimensions for <img> tag attributes.
- Only important error messages are logged when Joomla Debug is off.
- Fixed PHP 8.5 deprecated warnings in the GD image driver.
- Spatie Image processing library updated to the latest version.
Layouts:
- All module layouts have been converted to modern Nested CSS.
- Columns: replaced the Flex-based grid with CSS Grid for more stable results.
- Bricks: items position recalculation after all images have been loaded.
Meet the New "Clean" Style for Columns Layout
We always listen to our users, and many of you asked for a simpler, more versatile look for the Columns layout. While the original design is rich with stylish borders and decorative elements, we understand it doesn’t fit every project. Sometimes, less is more.
The new "Clean" style strips away the extra visual weight, such as colored borders and lines, leaving you with a minimalist, professional grid. It’s the perfect choice when you want your content and images to speak for themselves without any design distractions.
How to enable it:
It’s incredibly easy! Just go to the module settings and add style-clean into the Module Class field. The layout will instantly switch to the new refined look while keeping all the powerful functionality you rely on.
Perfect Photo Orientation: Auto-Rotation Support
We know how frustrating it is when a portrait photo taken on a smartphone appears sideways or flipped on your website. Manually editing every image is a waste of time.
With this new release, this is no longer a problem. The module now fully supports EXIF orientation flags. This means it automatically detects how the camera was held and rotates or flips the image to the correct position during thumbnail generation. Whether your users upload photos from an iPhone, Android, or professional camera, your content will always be displayed with the correct orientation.
What about other improvements?
Modern CSS Architecture: We’ve converted all module layouts to Nested CSS and moved the Columns layout from Flexbox to CSS Grid. This provides better stability and more predictable layouts across all modern browsers.
Smart Logging: To keep your server healthy, we’ve optimized the logging system. When Joomla Debug is off, only critical errors are recorded, preventing your log files from bloating with minor warnings.
PHP 8.5 Ready: We’ve updated the GD image driver to eliminate deprecated warnings, ensuring your site is ready for the latest PHP versions.
Bricks Layout Recalculation: We’ve added an extra recalculation step for the Bricks (masonry) layout. It now runs automatically after all images are fully loaded, ensuring every item is perfectly positioned and preventing any layout overlap.
