PublishPress Checklists 2.4 Has New Approval and Link Features
PublishPress Checklists is a plugin that we've been working on throughout 2020. With this plugin, you can define tasks that users must complete before content is published.
For example, you can make sure your posts have a minimum or maximum number of words. Or you can ensure that all your posts have a featured image.
After working on PublishPress Checklists all year, the plugin is finally at a point where honestly I can say, “This is awesome!”
Version 2.4 of Checklists is now available with new features that I've been looking forward to for a long time.
New feature #1. Allow only some user roles to approve content
With this new requirement, you can stop content from being published unless it has been approved by a user in a particular role.
This is an excellent way to allow some users to “sign off” on content before it's published.
The image below shows the “Settings” area in the new version of Checklists. With these options selected, posts can't be published unless they are approved by an Administrator or Editor.
If a user is in one of the selected roles, they will see a checkbox like the one shown below.
If the user approves the post, they can check the box and the content can be published.
New feature #2. Select which roles can complete custom tasks
This second improvement is very closely linked to the first. The “custom tasks” are now much more useful. You can now choose which users can complete these tasks.
Custom tasks are for more complex requirements that can't always be completed automatically. They do rely on the users' honesty.
In the example below, I've added a task called “Please run a spell-check”. This will not happen automatically: users can run a spell-check tool and then check the box to show they have completed the task.
New feature #3. Min and Max number of external links
In previous versions, you could require a maximum and minimum number of internal links in each post. Yon can now do the same thing for external links. Many sites don't want their users to be linking to many external sites.
New feature #4. Check all the links use a valid format
This new requirement can make sure that all the links (both external and internal) use a valid link format. This won't check the destination URL, but it will check the link format to make sure you haven't used htpps// or .nt in your links.
Admin area improvements
The Settings area of Checklists is now simpler and easier to use. The choice for tasks are now: Disabled, Recommended, or Required.
We also added form validation for Required fields. This means you can't accidentally forget to fill in some key settings for a task.
We also changed the order of tasks on the settings page to more closely match what you'll see when editing a post. For example, “Number of characters in title” is now the top task because it appears first on your editing screen.
