Concord CRM v1.5: Upgrade to Laravel 11 and PHP 8.2

July 6, 2024 updates

We are excited to announce a new update for Concord CRM! This update brings several new features, improvements, and fixes to enhance your experience. However, this update also comes with an important requirement: PHP version 8.2 or higher. Please read through the following guide to ensure a smooth transition.

What's New?

Here's a summary of the changes and new features in this update:

New Features

  • Last Contacted Date: A read-only field has been added for contacts and companies, allowing you to easily see the last time each was contacted.
  • Clone Web Form: You can now clone existing web forms, saving time when creating similar forms.
  • Delete Options: When deleting a record, you can now choose to either permanently delete it or move it to trash.
  • Disable activity guests sync: Add option to disable sync event guests as contacts.
  • Default landing page for user: Add the ability to choose the default landing page for a user.
  • Apply All Patches: Add the ability to apply all patches at once.

Updates

  • Laravel 11: We have upgraded to Laravel 11, bringing performance improvements and new features.
  • Document Index Brand Column: A new brand column has been added.
  • Views Instead of Filters: Filters have been replaced with views for a more intuitive experience.
  • Clickable Caller Person Name: The caller person's display name is now clickable, making it easier to access their information.

Fixes

  • Fixed an issue where notifications were not sent after a web form submission.
  • Fixed an issue where the placeholder URL was incorrectly decoded.
  • Fixed an issue where the sidebar close button did not work on mobile devices.
  • Fixed an issue where comment content was not updated after saving.
  • Fixed time attribute in HTML content causing error.

 

PHP 8.2 Upgrade Guide

Important Note

You will need to update your cron job to point to PHP 8.2. Simply change the PHP version number in your already configured cron job from php81 to php82. For example:

/usr/local/bin/php81 /path/to/concord/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

to

/usr/local/bin/php82 /path/to/concord/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

If you are using a specific cron job guide from our documentation, make sure to perform the cron job update as explained in the docs.

In most cases, changing the PHP version number in your CRON job configuration will be enough, for example, change 81 to 82.

 

Updating PHP Version in cPanel

If you are using cPanel, follow these steps to update your PHP version and cron jobs:

  1. Log In to cPanel: Access your hosting account's cPanel.

  2. Find PHP Selector: Use the cPanel search feature to find the PHP Selector.

  3. Select PHP Version: Choose PHP 8.2 from the available versions and apply.

  4. Update Cron Job:

    • Go to the Cron Jobs section in cPanel.
    • Update your cron job command to use PHP 8.2: /usr/local/bin/php82 /path/to/concord/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

In most cases, changing the PHP version number in your CRON job configuration will be enough, for example, change 81 to 82.

 

On some shared hosting you may need to specify the full path to the PHP executable (for example, /usr/local/bin/php82 or /opt/alt/php82/usr/bin/php instead of php)

 

Updating PHP Version in Plesk

For Plesk users, follow these steps:

  1. Log In to Plesk: Access your Plesk control panel.

  2. Select Domain: Choose the domain where Concord CRM is installed.

  3. Go to PHP Settings: Find and select PHP Settings for the domain.

  4. Select PHP Version: Choose PHP 8.2 from the list and apply.

  5. Update Cron Job:

    • Navigate to Scheduled Tasks.
    • Edit the cron job for Concord CRM.
    • From the PHP selector dropdown, select PHP 8.2.
    • Save the cron job configuration.

 

Update PHP Version on Self-Managed Server

  1. Install PHP 8.2:

For Ubuntu:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install php8.2 php8.2-bcmath php8.2-ctype php8.2-mbstring php8.2-openssl php8.2-pdo php8.2-tokenizer php8.2-curl php8.2-iconv php8.2-gd php8.2-fileinfo php8.2-dom php8.2-imap php8.2-zip

For CentOS/RHEL:

sudo yum update && sudo yum install php8.2 ....

  1. Make PHP 8.2 active for your installation:

Based on your server environment, you will need to activate the newly installed PHP for your Concord CRM installation and consult with your server administrator on how to achieve this.

  1. Verify PHP 8.2 Installation:

    php -v

    You should see PHP 8.2 listed as the installed version.

Update Cron Jobs

After updating to PHP 8.2, you need to update your cron jobs to use the new PHP version.

  1. Open Crontab:

    crontab -e

  2. Update PHP Path in Cron Jobs:

    Find lines that look like this:

    * * * * * /usr/bin/php8.1 /path/to/concord/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

    And update them to:

    * * * * * /usr/bin/php8.2 /path/to/concord/artisan schedule:run >> /dev/null 2>&1

  3. Save and Exit.

 

Confirming Environment Changes in Concord CRM

After updating PHP, Concord CRM will notify you that the environment has changed. You will be able to see and confirm the updated requirements, ensuring everything is correctly set up. For more details on the requirements, please refer to the Concord CRM Requirements documentation.

 

Changelog

  • Added ability to clone web form
  • Added ability to when deleting a record to choose whether to permanently delete or move to trash
  • Add option to disable sync event guests as contacts
  • Added "Last Contacted Date" read-only field for contacts and companies
  • Add the ability to choose the default landing page for the user
  • Add the option to apply all patches at once
  • Updated: Laravel 11
  • Updated: Add brand column to document index view
  • Updated: Replace filters with views
  • Updated: Make caller person display name clickable
  • Updated: Show a list of all fields in the form field dropdown instead of only creation fields
  • Fix: Notifications not sent after web form submission
  • Fix: Mailable template placeholder url not properly decoded
  • Fix: Sidebar close button does not work on mobile
  • Fix: Comment content not updated after save
  • Fix: time attribute in HTML content causing error