Virtuemart 2.6 has just released and according to  virtuemart.net, it works under Joomla 2.5.xx

It might be little disappointment for those who are willing to run the Virtuemart with Joomla 3.x, but there is a good news for you. Virtuemart 3.x is on the way and it will support both Joomla 3.x and Joomla2.x

The version numbers might confuse you somehow, you may ask, why the version number go up from 2.0.26d to 2.6. But look at from the bright side, the new release numbers are also similar to Joomla release numbers.

Quick & Simple summary:

• Virtuemart 2.6: interim between VM2 and VM3 (new features, no API changes, only compatible Joomla 2.5)
• Virtuemart 3: coming soon, will be compatible Joomla 2.5 and Joomla 3, contains API changes (mainly custom fields)

Until yesterday the latest version of Virtuemart was VM2.0.26d. It is highly recommended to update Virtuemart 2.0.26d to Virtuemart 2.6.0. But there is one thing you need to be cautious before updating.

The NEW VM2.6  requires minimum PHP5.3.10 so check your hosting and learn what PHP version your hosting has.

New Features:

VM2.6 has so many improvements on existing features, as well as brand new first time offered features. Here are some of them:

– Moved language to the component folder
– new Sample Data
– Joomla Virtuemart Complete Installer
– Added GTIN and MPN
– automatically encryptes storing of fields in the database.
– stockable Plugin: Added functionality to order/reorder child products
– vmText,vmRequest and vmjsapi.php in own files/added them for BC to vm2.0
– added plgVmCouponInUse
– Added check in cart to get cart variant if not in productdetails form
– Added login for ask a question, recommend a product
– added multiple products for add to cart popup
– added cleaning of cache if config is stored
– added recaptcha for registration and ask a question/recommened to a friend
– Proper use of MyISAM and InnoDB according to its intended use.

For instance, adding reCaptcha for registration and ask a question/recomment to a friend feature was one of the most commonly asked feature in our forum as well. People were complaining about it a lot. There were some 3rd party extensions to implement reCaptcha to those forms but as you might guess, they weren’t working as expected. Beside, the more 3rd party extensions you have, the more likely you will have compatibility/conflict issues you will face eventually. It is always better to keep things simple and if possible add the desired features by yourself with custom codings.

Bug Fixing

The VM2.6 also includes some bug fixing. For more info please visit official Virtuemart blog page.

Flexible Web Design Templates/Extensions + VM2.6. Do they compatible?

Of course, yes 🙂 not all of our extensions right away, but eventually all of them will compatible with VM2.6 eventually. We are working hard to make all of our extensions/templates to be well-competible with VM2.6 as soon as possible. As of today, (just a day after VM2.6 was released) the Virtuemart 2 Template – CleanMart has been updated and it is well compatible with VM2.6.  So, please make sure you have the latest version of our extensions/always before updating your Virtuemart to this new version.

When will it be possible to use Virtuemart with Joomla 3.x?

When the Virtuemart3.x is released. It is coming soon. We are all eager to see the stable VM3.x. Be patient 😉

To download VM2.6 visit here: http://www.virtuemart.com/download