* **[IMPROVED in Free and Pro] Admin Interface >> Hide Admin Notices**: notice/ad from BdThemes Element Pack Pro plugin is now properly moved to the notices panel. Props to Alexander P. for reporting the issue.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Content Management >> External Permalinks**: add an option to enable the module "only on", "except on" or "on all" post types. Props to Martin S. for prompting this improvement.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Content Management >> Media Categories**: add an option to disable the media categories features for some or all non-administrator user roles with access to the media library, i.e. user roles with `upload_files` capability.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Admin Interface >> Admin Logo**: add an option to replace the home icon in the admin bar with the site logo set in "Settings >> General". Props to Martin S. for prompting this improvement.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Content Management >> Custom Content Types >> Custom Field Gropus**:
- add a top sticky bar with title and publish / update button when the custom field group creation / edit screen is scrolled down.
- in the custom field groups listing page, for the Placement colum, labels are now added before the raw values, e.g. 'post' becomes "Post (post)".
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Optimizations >> Image Upload Control**: when "Only apply resize and conversion to media library and block editor uploads" is checked/enabled, only uploads done directly in the media library or within the context of creating or editing pages and posts will go through conversion (to JPG or WebP). This provides better isolation, so that plugins that incorporates the block editor in creating something, e.g. MailPoet creating newsletter in wp-admin (not frontend form), will no longer have image uploads automatically converting to JPG / WebP, where conversion to WebP may result in blank image in some email clients. Props to Lee B. for prompting this improvement.
* **[FIXED and IMPROVED in Pro] Admin Interface >> Clean Up Admin Bar**:
* fixed an issue where admin bar menu item from the Paymattic plugin is not being properly detected and listed for removal. Props to Maik E. for reporting the issue
* add a button to clear and rescan the list of extra admin bar elements that may have piled up over time and no longer reflects the current state of the admin bar.
* **[FIXED in Pro] Custom Code >> Code Snippets Manager**: fix category filter not working in the snippets listing page. Props to Mirko S. for reporting the issue.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [38 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free - Updated Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, French, Dutch,.
* ASE Pro - Updated Polish.
* **[ADDED in Free and Pro] Content Management >> Media Files Visibility Control**: in ASE Free, this module will limit media library in a way that only administrators can see all media files. Non-administrator users will only see media files they uploaded themselves in the media library and in the modal window to add/insert media. ASE Pro adds an option to specify which non-administrator user roles will be limited to only seeing media files they uploaded themselves.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Content Management >> Custom Content Types >> Custom Field Groups**:
* In the Placement tab, post types now shows the label as well. e.g. 'post' now becomes 'Posts (post)'.
* In the Placement tab, user roles now shows the label as well. e.g. 'administrator' now becomes 'Administrator (administrator)'.
* Fixed PHP warnings related to custom field group creation / update process.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Utilities >> File Manager**:
* Add the option to set FM_READ_ONLY constant to true in wp-config.php if you want to activate read-only mode, i.e. only Open and Download actions are available.
* Add a note in the module to quickly explain about enabling the read-only mode by setting FM_READ_ONLY, DISALLOW_FILE_MODS or DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT to true in wp-config.php.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Custom Code >> Code Snippets Manager**:
* add an "Export / Import Snippets" button in the snippets listing page and an "Export / Import Snippets" submenu item inside the "Code Snippets" admim menu. Both link to the snippets export / import section in the main ASE settings page, at the bottom. Props to Henry R. for prompting this improvement.
* for CSS snippets, there's a new option to load the snippet within the block editor. It's located under the "Frontend >> Type of page" conditional. Props to Emmanuel A. for prompting this improvement.
* add a note in the module about manually activating safe mode to regain access to wp-admin when a PHP snippet triggers a pervasive fatal error.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Admin Interface >> Admin Columns Manager**:
* When all active columns are set to auto width, horizontal scrolling will automatically be disabled in the list table of posts. This ensures that the righ-border-line for the first column will not be displayed in such a scenario.
* Add an option to make the column header row sticky (on top) on scroll.
* Add an option to set the number of (first) columns to freeze when horizontal scrolling is enabled.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [38 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free - Updated Vietnamese, Russian, Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Norwegian, Dutch (Belgian), Dutch, Bengali (Bangladesh)
* ASE Pro - Indonesian, Vietnamese, Polish, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil).
* **[IMPROVED in Free and Pro] Admin Interface >> Admin Menu Organizer**: added an option to make the "Collapse Menu" toggler sticky at the bottom of the admin menu. Props to [@outdoorsdev1](https://wordpress.org/support/users/outdoorsdev1/) for [suggesting this](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/request-make-expand-collapse-menu-item-in-wordpress-admin-navigation-sticky/) and sharing the code snippets this improvement is based upon.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Utilities >> File Manager**:
* When DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT is set to true, only 'Open' (read-only) and 'Download' actions are available within the plugins and themes folder.
* When DISALLOW_FILE_MODS is set to true, only 'Open' (read-only) and 'Download' actions are available across all folders and files.
* 'Open' is now properly hidden in the right-click context menu for non-text files.
* Main folders and files list has been made more compact and styling polished to make it more useful (more items in view) and more comfortable (less busy look).
* Fix alphabetical sort of sub-folders on clicking a parent folder in the folder tree navigation.
* Right click to paste into a folder now works properly.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Disable Components >> Disable Comments**: when comments are disabled for all post types, the admin bar counter/link and the admin menu item for comments will automatically be removed as well. Props to Kenneth S. and other users for propmpting this imprvement.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Content Management >> Content Order**: add an option to show featured image thumbnails in the Order page. Props to Hans R. for suggesting this improvement.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Content Management >> Custom Content Types >> Custom Field Group**:
* added an option to show sequence number for repeater field row label. This is useful for when you have a lot of rows in your repeater field and would like to keep track of the sequence / position of each row. Props to Igor K. for prompting this improvement.
* fixed PHP fatal error that occurs in a certain scenario. Props to Stefan for reporting the issue with the debug/error log entry.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Admin Interface >> Admin Columns Manager**:
* Add a new 'Template' column within the 'Default' category for the Pages (page) post type. This will show the template in use by a page, whether in the context of a block theme, or a classic theme. Props to Hans R. for prompting this improvement.
* Make the first column sticky when horizontal scrolling is enabled.
* If a plugin registers a sortable column, it is now recognized as a column that can be used as the default sort.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [38 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free - Updated Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Persian, Danish.
* ASE Pro - Updated Portuguese (Brazil).
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Utilities >> File Manager**:
* 'Download' a file previous would open the file URL in a new browser tab for several file types. It will now properly initiate a download.
* When a file is selected via it's checkbox, 'Open' and 'Download' buttons will now be shown.
* Sync the order of actions between the toolbar buttons and right-click context menu.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Custom Code >> Code Snippets Manager**: when creating a PHP snippet, 'Hook' is now selected by default for "Where to execute / insert".
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Optimization >> Image Upload Control**: add an option to limit resize and conversion only to media library and block editor uploads. This may be useful for a scenario where a frontend form has an upload field that was resizing and converting image files being uploaded, and that behaviour is not desired. Props to Stijn V. for prompting this improvement.
* **[FIXED and IMPROVED in Pro] Content Management >> Media Categories**:
* Fixed layout shift issue in the list view of the media library caused by the categories tree being loaded into view a bit late.
* After drag-and-drop operation to a category, the page no longer reloads and the counter for the category will be updated live.
* Category tree state preservation across page reloads is now more robust, making use of browser localStorage.
* Uploading multiple files to a specific category or sub-category now properly shows a placeholder with progress bar for each file.
* Categorizing via bulk select and drag-and-dropping selection to a category is now more stable, preserving the media grid in view (with infinite scrolling enabled) and keeping the bulk select mode active. This makes it easier to perform sequential categorization operations. Props to Ramyt I. for prompting this improvement.
* **[FIXED in Pro] Utilities >> Local User Avatar**: fixed a typo in javascript code causing issue with updating another, non-admin user's avatar. Props to RJ Ramey for reporting the issue.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [38 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free - Added Azerbaijani, props to [Saeid BGrn](https://profiles.wordpress.org/saeead/), and Dutch (Belgium), props to [Pieterjan D.](https://profiles.wordpress.org/nekojonez/). Updated Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Persian, Norwegian, Indonesian, German (Formal), Dutch, Arabic.
* ASE Pro - Updated Indonesian.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Admin Interface >> Admin Logo**: admin logo is now loaded in a way that prevents layout shift in the admin menu panel.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Custom Content Types, Code Snippets Manager, Form Builder**: top level admin menu icons added by these modules are now rendered with the correct admin color scheme's color on page load, no longer briefly rendered with black color.
* **[IMPROVED in Free and Pro] Admin Interface >> Admin Menu Organizer**: when at least on menu item is hidden until toggled, the "Show Less" menu item is no longer briefly shown on admin page load.
* **[IMPROVED in Free and Pro] Optimization >> Image Upload Control**: prevent an image (JPG, PNG or WebP) with dimension smaller than max width / max height set in the module, from being re-saved, and thus, prevent it from being re-compressed upon upload. Props to Monika W. for prompting this improvement.
* **[FIXED in Pro] Content Management >> Content Order**: fixed a fatal error that occurs in a certain scenario. Props to John S. for reporting the issue in detail, copying the exact error message, which helped with troubleshooting.
* **[ADDED in Pro] Utilities >> File Manager**: A comprehensive file manager for WordPress with folder tree navigation, file and folder operations, and code editing capabilities.
* **[FIXED in Free and Pro] Admin Interface >> Enhance List Tables**: fix an issue where the Title column is no longer sortable when the Last Modified column is shown. Props to [@pierre1wp](https://wordpress.org/support/users/pierre1wp/) for spotting and [reporting](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/ase-disabled-the-ability-to-sort-posts-by-title/) this.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Content Management >> Custom Content Types >> Custom Field Groups**: added an option to use wpLink modal (that allows for manual URL insertion, or search from existing posts) to render the hyperlink field input UI. Props to Mohammed Z. for prompting this improvement.
* **[FIXED in Pro] Admin Interface >> Admin Columns Manager**:
* Fixed column for an ASE repeater field showing empty value for time and datetime sub-fields.
* Fixed PHP deprecation notice that occurs when trying to render repeater sub-fields with `null` value.
* **[FIXED in Pro] Admin Interface >> Admin Menu Organizer**: fixed a javascript error that occurs when viewing wp-admin in a language that uses multi-bytes characters, e.g. Japanese. The error prevents the option panel to always hide menu items by user roles to properly show up and function. Props to Taro O. for reporting the issue in detail and with relevant screenshots.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [36 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free - Updated Spanish (Spain), Chinese (Taiwan), Greek.
* ASE Pro - Completed Greek. Special props for [Stelio C.](https://profiles.wordpress.org/scprojectsgr/)!
* **[IMPROVED in Free and Pro]** Prevent FOUC (Flash of Unstyled Content) in the admin (side) menu when either the Custom Content Types, Admin Menu Organizer or Admin Logo modules is active. Props to Jake H. for prompting this improvement.
* **[FIXED in Free and Pro] Admin Interface >> Wider Admin Menu**: fixed admin menu overlap with several of FluentCart's admin pages. Props to Richard B. for reporting the issue.
* **[FIXED in Pro] Security >> Email Address Obfuscator**: prevent removal of strings in post content that looks like an email address but is not, e.g. some-@-image.jpg, important@document.pdf, etc.. Props to Joe S. for prompting this fix.
* **[FIXED in Free and Pro] Utilities >> Multiple User Roles**: fix PHP warning when an admin is viewing another user's profile screen. Props to Bas B. for reporting the issue.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [36 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free - Updated Persian, Romanian, Hungarian, Turkish, Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Japanese
* ASE Pro - Added Persion (partial). Updated Catalan, Greek, Hungarian.
* **[IMPROVED in Free and Pro] Disable Components >> Disable Gutenberg**: fixed an issue where 'global-styles-inline-css' internal CSS is still being output despite checking "Also disable frontend block styles / CSS files for the selected post types.". Props to Mike D. for reporting the issue, facilitating the troubleshooting process, providing analysis of why it occurs in certain scenarios (e.g. Bricks builder), and proposing the fix for it!
* **[FIXED in Free and Pro] Content Management >> External Permalinks**: Fixed a PHP warning. Props to Tanja K. for reporting it with the debug log entry.
* **[FIXED in Free and Pro] Log In/Out | Register >> Redirect After Login / Logout**: fixed an issue where if the target has query parameters, e.g. /account/?tab=profile, the redirect will append a slash at the end, e.g. /account/?tab=profile/, which might break the functionality dependent on the query parameter value. Props to [@robo1999](https://wordpress.org/support/users/robo1999/) for [reporting this](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/redirect-on-login-trailing-slash-problem/).
* **[FIXED in Free and Pro] Admin Interface >> Enhance List Tables >> Last Modified Column**: make sure the date time is using the timezone set in "Settings >> General". Props to [Mikka](https://wordpress.org/support/users/miikkamakela/) for [suggesting](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/timezone-for-last-modified/) this improvement.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [36 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free: updated Danish, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil)
* ASE Pro: updated Greek
* **[IMPROVED in Free and Pro] Admin Interface >> Hide Admin Notices**: notices on Meta Box plugin's admin screens are now properly hidden in the notices panel.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Custom Code >> Code Snippets Manager**:
* Public-facing snippet category archive pages have been disabled as they do not serve any purpose. Props to Martin S. for prompting this improvement.
* XML sitemap for the snippet category archive pages have been removed as they do not serve any purpose. Props to Robert F. for prompting this improvement.
* Added an option to disable the Code Snippets Editor custom user role. Props to David M. and Martin S. for prompting this improvement.
* **[IMPROVED in Pro] Security >> Email Address Obfuscator**: add a new 'mailto' option for the 'link' parameter, that will output the plain `mailto:obfuscated@email.address` string, which may be useful for scnearios where you need this added to a block editor or page builder widget/element/component that accepts a shortcode for the URL. Props to Ramyt I. for prompting this improvement.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [36 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free: updated Swedish, Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Dutch, Norwegian, Korean, Italian, German (Formal)
* ASE Pro: updated Chinese (China), Portuguese (Brazil), Norwegian, Hungarian, Greek
* **[IMPROVED in Free and Pro] Utilities >> Password Protection**: added a note about caching being disabled when this module is enabled. Props to Ralf L. for prompting this improvement.
* **[IMPROVED and FIXED in Pro] Content Management >> Custom Content Types >> Custom Field Groups**:
* the relationship field is now supported in Elementor integration, in a similar way repeater field is already integrated. You can use the Loop Grid widget to select the relationship field as data source, and a Loot Item template to display dynamic data, including ASE custom fields, for each related post. Props to Ian B. for prompting this improvement.
* fixed an issue where taxonomy term custom fields are not displaying their values in Bricks builder Query Loop (for terms). Props to Michael S. for reporting the issue in great detail (also with a screen recording) and facilitating the troubleshooting process.
* **[FIXED in Free and Pro] ASE Settings**: in a rare scenario, ASE settings page is not properly loaded because of a Javascript error. This fix adds a simple check to prevent the error from happening. Props to Connor B. for reporting this and facilitating the troubleshooting process.
* **[FIXED in Free and Pro] Utilities >> Email Delivery**: fixed an issue with [changes in WP v6.9](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2025/11/18/more-reliable-email-in-wordpress-6-9/) to ensure the `Envelope-From`, `Return-Path` is properly set via `$phpmailer->Sender` and `$phpmailer->ReturnPath`. Props to Pavlov P. for reporting the issue and doing the research towards the fix, and @denisgomesfranco for [reporting the issue](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-6-9-changed-things-on-wp_mail-and-mail-delivery-is-causing-errors/) separately.
* **[FIXED in Pro] Utilities >> Redirect Manager**: fixed a bug where redirecting to an external URL, e.g. https://www.google.com, is not working. Props to Mathijs v.d.B. for reporting the issue in detail and helping to test the fix.
* **[FIXED in Pro] Utilities >> Form Builder**:
* fixed raw HTMl being shown in entry listing's "Preview" column, in entry view screen's field labels, and in "Form Settings >> Entries >> Content for the Preview Column" dropdown options.
* fixed "Screen Options >> Pagination" not working properly in the forms listing page.
* **[TRANSLATION in Free and Pro]** ASE is now being translated into [36 languages](https://translate.wpase.com/):
* **Added new/improved translation** for:
* ASE Free: updated Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Chile), Portuguese (Brazil), Polish, Norwegian, Korean, Italian, Dutch, Chinese (China)
* ASE Pro: updated Greek, Chinese (China), Italian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil)