Release Notes - Version 1.8

1.8.2-e

Removed the dated introductory notice blocks from Legal and Privacy.
Made collection tables and prefaces use all available page width for every role.
Applied full-width table containers and introductory blocks across public pages.
Restored the visible record-level Bookmark/Bookmarked button for signed-in users.

redirect to their PHP replacements.

status and unique-password controls.

with a fallback call and honest delivery-failure feedback.

Note: lettered builds such as 1.8.1-a are trivial polish builds and are not documented as separate release-note entries.

Replaced the document-centric Upload label with New record across contributor navigation and forms.
Added a unified Edit records page for choosing any collection.
New records may use uploaded PDFs, an external primary-source URL, or both.
Record ID is now explicitly required and server-validated in every collection, including Other FOI and Documents.

Renamed visible Favourites language to Bookmarks while keeping the existing favourites.php and internal/favourites.csv storage.
Added collection-row checkboxes for all visitors.
Added selected-row CSV export and print tools for all visitors.
Added visible star Bookmark/Bookmarked row buttons and bulk “Bookmark selected” for signed-in users.

Promoted the 1.7 production-candidate branch to 1.8.
Merged the advanced-search work from the 1.5 test branch.
Added SQLite FTS5 search support with multi-word AND search, Boolean operators, quoted phrases, ranked excerpts, prefix matching, and typo-tolerant fallback.
Added CLI tools to rebuild and test the search index: tools/rebuild_search_index.php and tools/test_search.php.
Kept the 1.7 public-account, role, Bookmarks, contributor, curator, and admin features.

Added confirmed public accounts, password confirmation, and email-confirmation messaging.
Added the signed-in user left task panel with Bookmarks, Request Contributor role, and Logout.
Added first Bookmarks support in collection tables and favourites.php.
Integrated the latest 1.6 public design into the account/role branch.

Summarizes the 1.6 line: cumulative assigned roles, admin as superuser, contributor/curator/admin tooling, contributor left task panel, portal-native document processing, batch upload improvements, related-record suggestions, sortable contribution review, sync-status filtering, user manual, minimalist search-first public viewing, global header search, and empty-collection guidance.

Advanced-search test branch using SQLite FTS5 over canonical CSV metadata and optional extracted PDF text.
Added ranked snippets, Boolean/phrase/prefix queries, typo-tolerant fallback, and search-index rebuild/test tools.
This work is now merged into 1.8.

Summarizes the 1.4 line: centralized shared repositories under /r, root index CSV support, /etc public route for Other Documents, self-hosted PDF.js, secure image/CSV/XLSX previews, public API and RSS groundwork, richer upload/edit workflows, cited sources, related evidence, topic/concern taxonomy, curator superuser controls, and public design refinements.

Summarizes the 1.3 line: four file-based collections, shared PHP upload/edit/collection renderers, public metadata search, contributor authentication and CSRF hardening, public JSON API foundation, local curator synchronization support, portal identity cleanup, and related-review upload support.