Java Edition Beta 1.7

Beta 1.7 is an update that was released on June 30, 2011, adding pistons and shears, as well as other changes.

Blocks

 * Pistons
 * Can push blocks when powered by redstone.
 * Sticky Pistons
 * Can push and pull blocks when powered by redstone.

Items

 * Shears
 * New tool.
 * Used to pick up leaf blocks.
 * Used to obtain wool from a sheep without harming it.
 * Yields more wool than killing sheep.

Mobs

 * Sheep
 * No longer drop wool from punching them, they must be either sheared or killed.


 * Silverfish
 * Skin was added (for Beta 1.8).

Blocks

 * General
 * The gray textures in the breaking animation have been replaced with opacity.


 * Bricks Revision 3.png Bricks
 * Texture changed from Bricks Revision 2.png.


 * Cobblestone Revision 4.png Cobblestone
 * Texture changed from Cobblestone Revision 3.png.


 * Cobwebs
 * Now requires shears or a sword to be broken properly, and drops 1 string when destroyed.


 * Fences
 * Can now place any block on the top.


 * Redstone dust
 * Now will connect to a redstone repeater.
 * Now is required to trigger TNT.


 * Slabs
 * Single slabs now use the bottom half of the full block's texture.

Items

 * Flint and steel
 * Now required to trigger TNT.

General

 * Controls
 * When pressing in-game, a value ("F") from 0 to 3 will appear to indicate direction.


 * Texture packs
 * The bed side texture has been moved in the texture pack file, as well as the cake texture.

Fixes
2 bugs fixed
 * Fixed clay generation.
 * Squid can now despawn.

Trailer
An official video documenting some of the Beta 1.7's major features was released on Mojang's official YouTube channel on May 24, 2011. The video was made by Hat Films.