Gravity Geolocation 3.5 Beta 21 is an important maturity milestone for the upcoming 3.5 release.
Earlier in the beta cycle, we introduced major additions including Gravity Search, Distance & Duration, Address Validation, and Nearest Locations. Since our Beta 13 update, our focus has shifted toward making the entire platform easier to install, safer to upgrade, and more reliable across real-world workflows.
Gravity Geolocation 3.5.0-beta21 includes WPGeo Framework 1.0.0-beta27 and, for the first time, the framework is included directly inside the Gravity Geolocation plugin package.
That means one plugin to install, update, and maintain.
Beta 21 also introduces important reliability and security improvements for Gravity Search and Nearest Locations, safer migrations for existing Gravity Geolocation 3.2.x sites, and several useful importer and integration updates.
This remains a beta release. Please back up your site and test the update on a staging or development environment before using it on a production website.
One Plugin and One Simpler Update
WPGeo Framework provides the shared foundation used by Gravity Geolocation and other compatible WPGeo-powered plugins.
In previous 3.5 beta releases, WPGeo Framework was installed as a separate WordPress plugin. Starting with Beta 21, it is included directly with Gravity Geolocation.
For most customers, the practical benefit is simple:
- Install and update Gravity Geolocation as one plugin.
- No separate WPGeo Framework download is required.
- No additional framework plugin needs to be maintained.
- Compatible WPGeo-powered plugins can share the same framework foundation.
Existing sites that already have the standalone WPGeo Framework plugin are handled through a safe transition process.
On an ordinary single-site installation, if WordPress detects that the separate framework plugin is redundant, it can deactivate it and indicate that it is safe to delete. The standalone plugin is not automatically deleted.
WordPress multisite installations are handled more conservatively. A network-active framework plugin will not be blindly deactivated because other sites or plugins on the network may still depend on it.
This change reduces the number of components customers need to manage while preserving compatibility between plugins that use the framework.
Gravity Search Is Becoming Safer and More Consistent
Gravity Search turns Gravity Forms entries into searchable directories, listings, maps, portals, and other frontend displays.
Since Beta 13, we have concentrated on strengthening how public Search requests are processed and making results more consistent across different layouts and datasets.
Public results and information-window requests are now resolved and authorized by the server using the administrator’s configured Search Settings. Visitors cannot use a public request to freely substitute configuration that was not made available through that Search.
Public sorting is similarly limited to the choices configured by the administrator, while requested page sizes are constrained by the maximum defined for the Search.
These safeguards help ensure that public controls remain within the boundaries established in Search Settings.
We also improved Searches that work with entries containing multiple qualifying locations. Totals, pagination, sorting, map markers, and information windows now stay consistent when more than one location associated with an entry can match the Search.
Information-window caching is location-aware as well, preventing content for one qualifying location from being reused for another location belonging to the same entry.
Additional Gravity Search improvements include:
- Search-only packages load only the functionality included with that package.
- Result counts, pagination, markers, and information windows remain aligned more consistently.
- Public sorting and results-per-page controls respect administrator-defined limits.
- A Search can display predefined results, directories, maps, or entry details without requiring visitor-facing Search Form fields.
The last point is worth emphasizing: a Search is not required to present visitors with a form. Search Form Builder fields are optional. Administrators can configure initial results and predefined filters through Search Settings and use Gravity Search purely as a frontend display, directory, map, or details experience.
Explore the Gravity Search documentation.
Nearest Locations Security and Reliability Improvements
The Nearest Locations field, introduced earlier in the 3.5 beta cycle, finds the closest configured locations relative to an address or set of coordinates.
Beta 21 strengthens how these location requests are processed.
Public requests no longer provide the database configuration used to locate records. Instead, the server resolves the trusted field settings saved by the site administrator before querying available locations.
We have also improved:
- Parsing of manually configured locations.
- Latitude and longitude validation.
- Handling of locations with a zero-distance result.
- Enforcement of configured result limits.
- Google Routes Matrix options.
- Short-lived caching for identical Matrix requests.
Together, these changes improve security, consistency, and efficiency without changing the field’s core purpose or requiring customers to rebuild their forms.
These are proactive hardening improvements. They do not indicate a known customer-data compromise or an emergency security event.
View the Nearest Locations documentation.
Safer Upgrades from Gravity Geolocation 3.2.x
Gravity Geolocation 3.5 introduces a dedicated migration system designed to protect existing settings, forms, field configurations, and saved location data during the upgrade.
The migration process has been verified using a complete upgrade from Gravity Geolocation 3.2.3 to the new 3.5 version.
During the upgrade, the migration system preserves and updates:
- Global Gravity Geolocation settings.
- Existing license information and feature access.
- Form-level geolocation settings.
- Auto Locator settings and selected Geocoder fields.
- Legacy geolocation fields and field options.
- Coordinates field inputs, placeholders, and saved values.
- Custom-field configuration used by existing fields.
- Routing and travel-mode settings that need to be adapted to the current Routes API configuration.
The migration checks active, inactive, and trashed forms so older forms are not excluded simply because they are not currently active.
Preserving Existing Coordinates Values
Historical Coordinates values are preserved rather than unnecessarily rewriting every saved entry.
Gravity Geolocation 3.5 includes compatibility handling that keeps those values available in entry displays, Gravity Forms merge tags, entry lists, and exports.
This reduces unnecessary changes to historical entry data while allowing existing Coordinates values to remain usable with the new version.
Incomplete Migrations Can Continue Safely
If a migration cannot finish during its first attempt, it can retry instead of being marked complete prematurely.
The process is also designed to be repeat-safe. Once settings, forms, fields, and values have been migrated, another migration check does not repeatedly modify the same data.
If a migration needs attention, Gravity Geolocation can notify an administrator without unnecessarily preventing the public-facing website from continuing to load.
The obsolete Google Maps China endpoint setting is intentionally not carried forward because it is no longer part of the current Gravity Geolocation configuration.
Beta 21 also supports Gravity Forms 3 submission behavior and custom-field saving while retaining compatibility with earlier Gravity Forms behavior supported by Gravity Geolocation.
Although the migration has been extensively tested, every WordPress installation can contain different forms, fields, custom code, and stored entry data. A complete backup and staging test remain essential before upgrading production.
Importer and GEO my WP Integration Improvements
Beta 21 includes several workflow improvements for sites that exchange location information with GEO my WP or import location data from existing Gravity Forms entries.
Advanced Post Creation and User Registration feeds can now select either the default GEO my WP location or a specific typed location where supported.
The entry-location importer also includes a new optional setting for entries that contain an address but do not yet contain coordinates. When enabled, the importer can geocode those addresses and save the missing location data.
Please use this option carefully: geocoding can consume API quota and may result in charges from your selected mapping or geocoding provider.
When an entry already contains coordinates from a Geocoder field, the importer can use those saved values without sending another external geocoding request. This can reduce unnecessary requests and preserve existing location data.
We have also restored legacy PHP and JavaScript extension hooks where appropriate to support existing customizations and integrations during the transition to 3.5.
What Existing Customers Should Do Before Updating
Before installing Gravity Geolocation 3.5 Beta 21:
- Back up your website and database.
- Test the update on a staging or development site.
- Verify important forms, submissions, maps, Searches, feeds, and custom integrations.
- Confirm that Places API (New) is enabled where required.
- Confirm that Routes API is enabled for routing, Distance & Duration, and relevant Matrix features.
- Review any optional importer geocoding settings before running an import.
- On multisite, review the status of the standalone WPGeo Framework plugin before making network-level changes.
For Google API setup instructions, follow our Google Maps API setup guide.
Existing plan allocations and site allowances remain unchanged from the Beta 13 announcement.
Download Gravity Geolocation 3.5 Beta 21
Gravity Geolocation 3.5 Beta 21 represents an important step toward a simpler and more dependable 3.5 platform.
The embedded framework removes a separate maintenance step, while the Search, Nearest Locations, migration, importer, and compatibility improvements address many of the practical details required before the stable release.
Existing customers can download Gravity Geolocation 3.5.0-beta21 from their account under File Downloads.
Not a Gravity Geolocation customer yet? You can review the available plans and purchase a license on the Gravity Geolocation pricing page.
This is still beta software. Please use staging, create a backup, and verify your workflows before considering an update to a production site.
Your feedback remains an important part of this beta cycle. If you encounter an issue or have a workflow we should test before the stable release, please contact support.