Bootstrap 3 RC2

@mdo August 13, 2013

We’ve just cut a new release for Bootstrap 3, RC2. It’s a big release as lots has changed, but that should all be for the better. Thanks everyone who’s given feedback and submitted pull requests thus far—we’re getting super close!

Key changes from RC1

Without listing all the minor changes (there have been over 500 commits since RC1!), here’s a quick overview of the changes.

• Docs changes:

  • The Customizer is back! Still needs some work, but functionality has been rewritten and will be improved as we head to final release.
  • Added new mention to our browser compatibility docs to highlight the workaround for Internet Explorer 10 in Windows Phone 8 not picking up media queries. See #9171.
  • Added new section to the Getting Started page for documenting third party and addon compatibility issues. See #9175.
  • Added new Accessibility section, lots of new aria and role attributes, and more for improved 508 and WCAG compliancy. See #9186. Also improved used of more semantic HTML5 elements in docs per #9332, #9347, and #9352.
  • Added HTML validation tests, and made any existing failures pass. See #9396.

• Global CSS changes:

  • Update vertical and horizontal gradients to make start and end color parameters come first, then start and end positions. Fixes #9049.
  • Make .pull-right and .pull-left classes use !important to avoid needing overrides due to specificity (like in navbar, button groups, etc). See #8697.
  • Lots of variable additions to components.
  • Updated gradients to not include background-color for improved use of rgba() colors within mixins. See #8877

• Grid system:

  • Overhauled grid system to include four tiers instead of the original three of RC1. We now have .col-xs (phones), .col-sm (tablets), .col-md (desktops), and .col-lg (large desktops). Responsive utilities have been updated to match these new tiers as well. See relevant commit.
  • .rows only have negative left and right margins if they sit within a .container. This resolves the horizontal scrollbar issue for folks with full page containers (restoring the full behavior of the old fluid container from 2.x). See #8959.
  • Grid now includes offset, push, and pull classes for each break point See #8974.
  • Updated mixins to include ability to specify gutter width as a second parameter. See #8935.

• Buttons:

  • Buttons and inputs, and their large counterparts, are now a bit shorter.
  • New default button styles and higher contrast on :hover and :active states. Fixes #8786.
  • New classes for size modifier classes—instead of .btn-mini, .btn-small, or .btn-large, we now have .btn-xs, .btn-sm, and .btn-lg. See #9056.
  • New button group sizing classes: just add .btn-group-xs, .btn-group-sm, or .btn-group-lg to any .btn-group and you’re good to go. See #9295.

• Forms:

  • Similar to the new button classes, we have new input size classes: .input-sm and .input-lg. See #9056.
  • Input focus states now generated via variable and mixin. Use the @input-focus-border variable and .form-control-focus mixin to generate a custom border-color and box-shadow.
  • Size modifier classes for large and small components—including buttons, form inputs, pagination, and wells—have all been standardized to use -sm or -lg. See #9056.
  • Inline forms now require the use of .form-group, per #9382, to properly align and size all (native and custom) form controls. This also helps make form markup more consistent and flexible (just swap a class), so woohoo!
  • Added .static-form-control to account for static, placeholder text in horizontal form layouts. Fixes #8150.
  • New input group sizing classes: just add .input-group-sm or .input-group-lg to any .input-group and you’re good to go. See #9295.

• Dropped accordion for updated panel.

  • We’ve removed the accordion and instead chosen to extend the panel component to provide the same functionality. See #9404.

• Navbar:

  • Overhauled navbar to always be responsive and mobile first.
    • Navbars now require a .navbar-header to wrap up brand and toggle.
    • .nav-collapse has been renamed to .navbar-collapse and automatically hits a max-height and will overflow to keep your nav content in the same viewport.
    • See details in #9403.
  • Navbar’s no longer use .pull-left or .pull-right, but rather .navbar-left and .navbar-right. This avoids issues with specificity due to chaining classes and enables easier styling.

• Miscellaneous component changes:

  • Alerts that are to be dismissed now require .alert-dismissable to properly pad the alert and align the close button. See #9310.
  • Responsive utilities are now mixin-able thanks to #9211.
  • Dropped .alert-block for a simpler .alert.
  • Linked panel titles now inherit their color. Fixes #9061.
  • List groups in panels no longer require .list-group-flush.
  • Labels now require .label-default for the “default” gray option. See #9123.
  • Labels now collapse automatically (not in IE8) when empty. See #9241.

What’s left?

RC2 takes care of nearly all our bugs that have been filed thus far, but we have a few more to address before our final release. Check the issues to see what’s there already if you run into any problems. If you do find something, open a new issue with an example to reproduce it (jsbin or jsfiddle are awesome!) or submit a pull request.

Head on over to the docs to download and explore the new hotness in RC2.

<3