select2/docs/announcements-4.0.html

---
layout: default
title: Select2 4.0.0 Released
slug: announcements-4.0
---

<div class="container">
  <section id="pre-release">
    <h1>Pre-release notes</h1>

    <hr />

    <p class="lead">
      The 4.0 release is ready for early adopters interested in testing it out.
      You can use the development version, available on GitHub, by getting the
      source code available in the <code>select2-ng</code> branch. The source
      code can be
      <a href="https://github.com/ivaynberg/select2/archive/select2-ng.zip">
        downloaded as a <code>zip</code> archive
      </a> as well.
    </p>
  </section>

  <hr />

  <section id="release">
    <h1>Select2 4.0.0</h1>

    <p>
      The 4.0 release of Select2 is the result of three years of working on the
      code base and watching where it needs to go. At the core, it is a full
      rewrite that addresses many of the extensibility and usability problems
      that could not be addressed in previous versions.
    </p>

    <p>
      This release contains many breaking changes, but easy-upgrade pathes have
      been created as well as helper modules that will allow for backwards
      compatibility to be maintained with past versions of Select2. Upgrading
      <em>will</em> require you to read the release notes carefully, but the
      migration path should be relatively straightforward. You can find more
      information on the modules that have been created to make upgrading easier
      by <a href="compat.html">looking at the compatibility guide</a> for older
      Select2 versions.
    </p>

    <p>
      Below is an in-depth review of what is new in Select2, as well as some of
      the major changes that have been made.
    </p>
  </section>

  <section id="new">
    <h2>New features</h2>

    <p>
      The notable features of this new release include:
    </p>

    <ul>
      <li>
        A more flexible plugin framework that allows you to override Select2 to
        behave exactly how you want it to.
      </li>
      <li>
        Consistency with standard <code>&lt;select&gt;</code> elements for all
        data adapters, removing the need for hidden <code>&lt;input&gt;</code>
        elements.
      </li>
      <li>
        A new build system that uses AMD to keep everything organized.
      </li>
      <li>
        Less specific selectors allowing for Select2 to be styled to fit the
        rest of your application.
      </li>
    </ul>
  </section>

  <section id="plugins">
    <h2>Plugins</h2>

    <p>
      Select2 now provides interfaces that allow for it to be easily extended,
      allowing for anyone to create a plugin that changes the way Select2 works.
      This is the result of Select2 being broken into four distinct sections,
      each of which can be extended and used together to create your unique
      Select2.
    </p>

    <h3>
      Container (selection)
    </h3>

    <p>
      This includes the primary container that users interact with to open the
      dropdown.
    </p>

    <h3>
      Dropdown
    </h3>

    <p>
      This includes the dropdown that is opened when the container is clicked.
      This also includes the results list, which is a separate component.
    </p>

    <h3>
      Results
    </h3>

    <p>
      This includes the list of possible options that can be selected.
    </p>

    <h3>
      Data set
    </h3>

    <p>
      This is how the options are calculated.
    </p>
  </section>
</div>