Version 4.8.1 brings two often requested enhancements, and a necessary break of backwards compatibility.

1. The ability to search for data in the Users table, e.g. the user ID, login name, or registration date.

The full field list is: ID, user_login, user_email, user_url, user_registered, user_status, display_name. This list can be modified using the bps_users_columns filter hook.

2. The ability to enable or disable the persistent search feature.

When persistent search is enabled, a search is cleared when the user hits the Clear button – this is now the default option.

When persistent search is disabled, a search is cleared when the user hits the Clear button, or navigates away from the results page – this used to be the default before version 4.7.7.

3. The old interface for custom profile field types has been removed, see my post On custom field types.

Unfortunately not all the affected plugins have been updated to the new interface, and in this case you won’t be able to use those field types in BP Profile Search 4.8.1 forms. If that’s a problem, please keep using BP Profile Search 4.8.