Product Guide

Changelog and Open-Xchange Release Support Commitment

Open-Xchange Releases Support Commitment Overview

OX App Suite – Overview

OX App Suite is a versatile platform that works seamlessly across different devices and is highly adaptable. It encompasses a wide array of applications for group collaboration and cloud-based tasks, including features like cloud storage, document editing, email, and calendar management.

OX App Suite adopts a modular approach, providing core functionality through its various components. Availability of certain functionality described herein is contingent upon versioning and combination of middleware and the email server backend respectively. Company may be consulted to determine the potential impact of Customer’s setup on the functionality of OX App Suite. Further, Customer’s right to use certain modules or features described hereunder may be subject to custom packaging, limitations or separate fees, as may be set forth in the license agreement.

OX App Suite Middleware

The OX App Suite Middleware, built on Java, serves as a pivotal layer in the architecture. Its primary functions encompass user authentication, data storage, retrieval, and the enforcement of permissions across the entire spectrum of OX App Suite Applications.

A noteworthy aspect of the OX App Suite Middleware is its seamless integration with pre-existing infrastructure. It seamlessly interfaces with existing services, including authentication, provisioning, billing, and in certain instances, email storage. This integration approach obviates the need for a complete overhaul of these systems.

To facilitate integration with providers' existing control panels and billing solutions, Java RMI and SOAP APIs are made available. These APIs cover various aspects, including user creation, modification, and command line tools for provisioning.

OX App Suite Frontend

The OX App Suite Frontend is fundamentally crafted to present and interact with data stored in the OX App Suite Middleware. This application leverages JavaScript to dynamically manage HTML, the Document Object Model (DOM), and stylesheet properties. When a user initiate changes to the data's state, such as uploading a new document, the application promptly synchronizes and updates the information stored within the OX App Suite Middleware.

Client Support

OX App Suite is designed to support different browser platforms and versions. Details about supported versions are documented here. OX App Suites supports the three standard categories of device (Smartphone, Tablet and PC) with a web based responsive interface. Details about supported versions are documented here.

OX App Suite Deployment with Kubernetes

OX App Suite is constructed within containers that operate on a Kubernetes framework, which Company employs as its standard for orchestrating containers.

Containers offer the advantage of streamlining the development process for end-to-end software solutions. Within these containers, the OX App Suite along with all its components is encapsulated within Helm charts.

A Helm chart serves as a set of instructions for deploying a service within a Kubernetes cluster. A Helm chart can have dependencies on other Helm charts. These dependencies are resolved during the build phase and are bundled together with the parent chart, which includes the sub-charts. Each chart references specific images, and collectively, the software comprises both the Chart itself and the Images it points to. The image holds the actual software, while the Helm chart primarily contains configuration details and the connections between various components.

Details about supported versions are documented here.

Key Benefits of OX App Suite v8 vs OX App Suite v7

Major enhancements in OX App Suite v8 include:

• New Design
  We are very happy to introduce this significant revision of the OX App Suite user interface. We have updated both small and large elements of the user interface to bring your users this updated, contemporary and user experience focused update.

• Dark Mode
  Let there be darkness! Simply put dark mode is the opposite of traditional user interface design. It uses bright text on a very dark background, as opposed to black text on a bright white screen. Apart from personal preference, Dark Mode has significant benefits. A device, or application, using dark mode emits less light which improves better readability in low light environments thus reducing eye strain.

• Themes
  Your dashboard customized your way. Your users can now color and theme OX App Suite the way they want! We have added a set of default themes. These themes provide the most commonly used color preferences. In addition to the themes, they can, of cause, combine different background and accent colors to really personalize their user interface.

• New Search
  Searching is one of the most used functions within OX App Suite. For this reason, we have simplified and updated the search feature. It is now located in the most prominent position: upper, top central navigation bar. It can be used directly, as an intelligent text entry field, but it now also has a sophisticated filters feature found in a separated dropdown.

• Introducing OX App Suite for Mobile
  This is the first phase of many updates to come, all designed to make using OX App Suite on mobile devices even easier and more intuitive. It is now possible to add OX App Suite to your mobile, and even desktop, as a stand-alone application. It can then be launched directly from your home screen. In addition, Open-Xchange has subtly redesigned various elements of the UI to better match the mobile form-factor and experience. The redesigned components in this release include: an enhanced mobile mail UI, updated compose windows, new launcher design and faster switching between apps.

New Bright & Clean Design

Contemporary User Interface design tends to focus on brightness and cleanliness. With this revision of OX App Suite, Open-Xchange has adopted these design concepts and subtilty reworked the whole user interface to give it a more modern and fresher feel. Here are the more noticeable updates:

• More whiteness and brightness to the user interface. This gives it a sharp, clean, and contemporary feel.

• More 'White Space' (distance between items). This lets the eyes, and the brain, to effortlessly focus in on the most important items in the user interface.

• Improved content-to-chrome ratio. We have reduced the amount of visible UI elements, such as buttons, menus, and other components to help visual and cognitive usability

• Border/corner radius is back to helps soften the visual impact.

New Modern Icon Set for All Modules

We have updated the icon set for the whole user interface to make the user experience much cleaner and more intuitive. With this icon set update we have also managed to also provide better consistency between the use of icons across all the modules.

The icon set provides a very clean visual queue for the user. In this example see how easy the eye finds items in the new dropdown list of apps. This coupled with intelligent use of colors dramatically enhances the user interface.

More Individuality via Themes and Dark Mode

With OX App Suite v8.0 Open-Xchange wants to encourage the user to personalize their User Interface.

Users react very differently to colors and backgrounds. Sometimes it can be a culture thing, sometimes it is an inbuilt phycological reaction, sometimes it can be a physical reaction and sometimes it can be "just one of those things".

By letting users change their UI colors and backgrounds you gain personal investment from the user and the user feels instantly more at home with the product. This then leads to better adoption, less friction in onboarding and less willingness to change away from the newly adopted product.

This new version of OX App Suite now provides a set of predefined themes (some including background images) as well as giving the user the ability to individually select colors and backgrounds used in the user interface.

In addition to the standard themes the user can also select "Auto dark-mode". This setting is also available in the theme setting area. Auto dark-mode adjusts the users interface based on the time of the users location.

Of course, we also integrated Provider based theme adjustments, such as support for "Dynamic Theming" with this new way of personalizing the interface, these Provider based theme adjustments will be applied to the default theme of OX App Suite.

Primary Action Buttons

Another feature to help with Visual and Cognitive enablement (make life easier for users) is the addition of a "Primary Action" button. This is a larger, prominent, easy-to-find, call-to action button located in the top left corner of each module's screen.

This Primary Action button is also enhanced with "Secondary Actions". These take the form of a dropdown off the Primary Action button and provide quick access to another module. For example, the Primary Action button in the email module is "New email", while the Secondary Actions include "New appointment". "New contact" and "New task".

This will greatly improve the user experience, reduce clicks, and improve efficiency. This new behavior also significantly improves round-trip working between all apps.

Always Available Sidebars

As mentioned before, one goal of this release is to improv the content-to-chrome ratio. This does not mean remove all elements, it means striking a good balance. For this reason, it is now possible to close the side panel, but it still leaves the new primary action buttons visible.

For example, in the mail module the side panel, contains both the folder tree and the new Primary Action button. Now if the side panel is collapsed the user is then presented with a "Sidebar". This Sidebar still shows the Primary Action button as well as the standard mail folders. This reduces chrome without reducing functionality. The user can still create emails and switch between the standard mail folders.

Status Illustrations with New Icons

Now instead of just writing "Empty" or "No items selected" the interface now shows an illustration. These illustrations also serve to visually disrupt large expanses of white space that can sometimes occur.

Finally, the use of illustrations instead of text significantly helps users gather a faster overview of the state of a situation.

New Search and Positioning

Searching is one of the most used functions within OX App Suite. For this reason, we have simplified and updated the search feature. It is now located in the most prominent position: upper, top central position of the navigation bar. It can be used directly, as an intelligent text entry field, but it now also has a sophisticated filters feature found in a separated dropdown.

The new search is present in all core apps such as OX Mail, OX Calendar, OX Contacts, OX Tasks, and OX Drive. It is also context aware and knows which app it has to search in based on which app the user is currently using.

New Settings Dropdown

The settings dropdown has also been significantly updated. It now works in a two-stage mode. When you click on the setting's "cog" (top right side of the screen) it displays configuration options right away. This view is separated into three sections: top section contains the theme options; the middle section contains the most used features of the current app; the bottom section shows "Connect your device" and "All settings". The options in these sections will adjust based on the module that the user is currently navigating in.

This structure is much more efficient and helps users find and config the app that is in current use. This make configuring the app much easier and less obscure.

Note that less common configurations can still be reached by going to "All settings".

Folder Information

With OX App Suite 8.0 we have now added supplementary information regarding currently opened folders. Now at the top right-hand side of all Detail Views it shows the name of the currently open folder, in the folder tree, as well as the number of items in that folder.

This information is especially helpful when the Side Panel is hidden, and the Sidebar is only visible. This helps the user to identify where they are without having to open the Side Panel again.

Consistent Icon-Centric Toolbars

One of the design changes adopted by the new OX App Suite v8.0 is to move from text-based buttons to commonly known, icon-based buttons (including tool tips). This provides a much clean and consistent look for all available apps.

In addition to moving to icon-based buttons the number of toolbar items has also been reduced in many modules. For example, in Contacts only the most common actions, such as Edit (pencil icon) and Delete (trash icon).

Improved OX App Launcher

OX App Suite 8.0 has also had the App Launcher redesigned. There are several significant changes:

• The Apps are listed in a single column

• The App Icons have been updated to the new icon set

• The App Icons are now also colored

The new color grading of apps provide a better contrast to the overall bright appearance and makes it much easier for the user to quickly access the desired app.

In addition to the design of the App Icons, the new App Launcher now also contains key global functions. These include "Help", "Settings" and "Sign out". They are located here to make improve usability and make it even more intuitive.

OX App Suite Accessibility

In addition to staying put on striving to meet Level AA conformance as defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 with OX App Suite v8, Open-Xchange also adds the ability to use 200% Text-Zoom.

Improved "Connect your Device" Wizard

Based on customer feedback Open-Xchange has made a small, but significant update to the "Connect your Device" wizard. It is now possible to add the server addresses (URL) to the wizard. With this additional information, it becomes much easier for the user to connect devices for the different services that require, for example, username, password, and server.

Additionally, the improved "Connect your Device" wizard will use a breadcrumb navigation and a nice header graphic.

Redesigned Notification Area

The notifications area has received a major design update. Based on customer feedback we have redesigned this feature to be much clearer, easier to use and less intrusive.

The notifications area is now divided up into clear sections (e.g., Invitations, Birthdays etc.). The sections can now be expanded and collapsed like a drop-down. Now each separate notification also has a very clearly structured:  notification title, notification data and links, action buttons (e.g., Accept, Decline, Maybe for appointments) and where appropriate avatar images.

Finally, the underlying code has also been rewritten. This increases performance, improves stability, and makes it easier to enhance going forward.

Upload Attachments from OX Drive to Appointments, Contacts and Tasks

When a new appointment, contact or task is created, or an existing one is updated, it is now possible to add attachments from OX Drive. In the past, the functionality was only available for an upload from the local file systems.

Resources and Groups in the address book picker

Users can search for resources and groups in the address picker in OX Calendar. If users create an appointment while a resource or resource group is selected, all selected resources will automatically be added to the appointment.

New Updates Window

App Suite provides a window that displays the latest feature updates. Click the question mark and select "Updates" from the dropdown menu to view the latest updates.

Improved Search for Contacts

Users can now search for contacts using search terms they've entered into the notes field.

Encryption mechanism S/MIME

OX App Suite introduces S/MIME as an additional encryption and signature mechanism in OX Guard, giving users the flexibility to choose between PGP and S/MIME. While having two encryption options might lead to confusion in certain cases, end users now have the option to enable S/MIME alongside PGP or simply stick to PGP as the sole encryption method.

Additionally, it is possible to upload S/MIME certificates for recipients. Also the OX Guard settings have been enhanced so as to make them more user-friendly, as well as bringing them in line with our current design principles.

Browser back/forward navigation Usability

With this feature, the user can seamlessly switch between apps using your browser's back and forward functions, providing a level of convenience and flexibility that was not previously available.

Introducing OX App Suite for Mobile

This is the first phase of many updates to come, all designed to make using OX App Suite on mobile devices even easier and more intuitive.

It is now possible to add OX App Suite to your mobile, and even desktop, as a stand-alone application. It can then be launched directly from your home screen. In addition, Open-Xchange has subtly redesigned various elements of the UI to better match the mobile form-factor and experience. The redesigned components include: an enhanced mobile mail UI, updated compose windows, newlauncher design and faster switching between apps.

To try this new feature, simply open OX App Suite in your browser and:

• On Android with Chrome, tap the three dots in the top right, and select "Install app".

• On iOS with Safari, tap the share icon at the bottom, and choose "Add to Home Screen" to install.

After that, you will see the OX App Suite logo on your home screen and the app is ready to use.

Additionally, what was once a desktop-exclusive feature, the year view, is now accessible on mobile devices as well! This enhancement brings increased flexibility and quicker navigation to your mobile calendar experience.

We are thrilled to introduce an exciting enhancement to your mobile calendar experience. Allow us to present our dynamic mobile week view, carefully crafted to streamline your weekly navigation effortlessly. Our updated mobile monthly view is also ready to enrich your daily routine with its enhanced details. Enjoy the journey of efficiency and elegance as you effortlessly navigate through your schedule with style and ease!

Additionally, the following improvements are also available:

• Visual consistency has been improved across apps with updated button styling, folder icons, and cleaner sender drop-downs on mobile.
• iOS compatibility has been enhanced to ensure content is always accessible. The update also includes refinements to labels, default values and wording in various modules.
• Improved stability for Safari users and better handling of retry logic further enhance reliability.

New Category Browser

We have introduces a completely new concept of information tagging and browsing. It is now possible to "Tag" any item in OX App Suite (e.g. emails, appointments, tasks and contacts). For example, you can tag items as "Urgent", "For Meeting X", "For End of Year Tax" etc. You can then, in a new search view, simply look for a category and see all the related items. For example, search for "For Meeting X" and you will see all the relevant emails, appointments, tasks and people needed for that meeting. List of category objects with name, icon and color can be configured. More information here.

Improved First Start Wizard

We are pleased to introduce the new "First Start Wizard" that is designed to guide a new user through the basic account setup process. A new user, when they use OX App Suite for the first time, can find themselves a little lost by the product's extensive functionality. This new wizard now guides them easily through the basic settings for OX Mail and OX Calendar.

OX App Suite on your device

As part of our ongoing efforts to improve usability and onboarding, we have introduced a new feature to help users install OX App Suite on their devices, just like an app. The new wizard automatically detects the device and provides tailored instructions on how to install it.

The wizard can be triggered from the settings menu ("Install OX App Suite like an app...") or, if you are on a mobile device, a header banner appears asking if you want to "Install OX App Suite like an app". By installing OX App Suite like an app users get app-like experience, a home screen/dock icon, and a faster experience.

We continue to improve user onboarding and general user experience. We have added a new way to authenticate users across devices. Logging in on another device is now as easy as scanning a QR code.

In addition, it is now possible to get notified about new emails even if your browser window is closed. This feature requires OX App Suite to be "installed" on your device.

Users can now organize their inboxes more effectively on mobile, with support for inbox categories, and benefit from automatic contact cleanup via a new setting for deleting items in Trash.

View "XRechnung" files in XML that are attached to emails, or stored in OX Drive

OX App Suite introduces the ability to view "XRechnung" files in XML that are attached to emails, or stored in OX Drive. This feature enables the identification and processing of XML data in the XRechnung format.

Additionally, OX Mail now detects XRechnung XML attachments and shows a helpful visual indicator.

In Mail, attachments using the XRechnung format are now detected and highlighted, and handling vCards has been improved to support adding multiple contacts.

OX Mail

OX Mail - In General

OX Mail is a web-based email solution that can be accessed from any mainstream web browser. The differentiating factor of this product is that it looks, and feels, like a client-based product despite being in a browser. It boasts features like Drag and Drop, threading as well as standard functionality like creation, replying, and smart/economical connectivity through the HTML5 based interface.

OX Mail provides both a standard folder structure as well as the creation of more complex folder sub-structures. The folder view can be hidden to provide wider viewing when screen space is restricted.

OX Mail is a web-based email solution including:

• A unified inbox, importing social and business accounts into one view
• Folders and tabbed inbox to organize emails
• Feature-rich sorting, searching, and flagging functionality
• Attachment view for a quick overview of all received and sent email attachments

OX Mail Design Update

The OX Mail app inherits all the design changes that come with OX App Suite v8.0. These include the use of the new icon set, the new look for the various views (list views and detailed messages), the tree and sidebar etc.

In addition, it is worth mentioning the following updates:

• The Thread View has been enhanced

• The toolbars now use icons-based buttons instead of text-based buttons.

Update Information of OX Mail Folders

It is sometimes very useful to know when the mailbox has been last updated (i.e., emails have been downloaded). In OX App Suite v8.0 this information is now displayed at the bottom of the list view.

Drafts Usage

In OX App Suite v8.0 we have added two new features to Email Drafts. First the number next to the Drafts folder in the folder tree shows the number of drafts that are in progress. Second, if you are working on a draft and you close the OX App Suite UI down and then log back in, draft emails are not automatically reopened. This has been changed based on real-life feedback on how the product is used. Note that the drafts are not lost, they are saved in the Drafts folder where you can continue working on them.

Mark as read

It is possible to set how quickly an email will be marked as read. Users can choose to have it marked as read immediately, after 5 seconds, after 20 seconds or never. The user can find these options in Settings > Mail > Mark as read.

Increased options for creating an email reminder

Users can now select the day and time to receive a reminder for an email. The new list contains settings like in x minutes, in one hour, this afternoon, tonight or late in the evening.

Smarter participant sorting

The order of participants has been adjusted to better suit different use cases: When viewing appointment details, participants are now ordered by their participation status, prioritizing those who have accepted or declined. In contrast, when creating or editing an appointment, participants are sorted alphabetically by name for easier reference.

Undo Send Mail, Delete, Archive, Move and Copy

The "Undo send" feature offers you the convenience of retracting a sent email shortly after clicking the "send" button. It proves to be extremely useful in situations where you've made an error, such as forgetting to attach a file, sending the email to the wrong person, or mistakenly hitting the "send" button. To customize the duration for undoing sent emails, you can navigate to Settings > Mail > Undo Send.

Additionally, you can undo actions like delete, archive, move, and copy for added convenience.

Reply To

When you reply to an email, you usually respond to the person who sent it. But sometimes, it's better to send the response to a different group of people, like a team or a whole group. In these situations, the original sender can specify one or more email addresses in the "reply-to" field. This tells the email system who the response should go to.

If you frequently need to send responses to the same group of people, you can set default "reply-to" addresses to make things easier. To do this, go to the Settings menu and select Accounts.

Add attachments from existing mail

With OX App Suite, reusing attachments from your previous emails is now effortless! The platform automatically stores your recent attachments, making them readily available while composing a new message. Bid farewell to the inconvenience of downloading and uploading files repeatedly.

Mail Categorization

In OX App Suite, users can view various message categories displayed in tabs above the inbox list. They have the option to let OX App Suite automatically organize their emails for them. Categories like Work, Travel, Purchases, and Social enhance usability. The latest version introduces a new category to further enhance the user experience. With this new tab, users can prioritize messages from specific senders within their inbox. By manually selecting (drag and drop) the desired sender, they can add them to the VIP section. This feature enables a more efficient and streamlined email management process.

The latest version introduces the option to add further personal categories to the overview list.

Introducing Schedule emails

Scheduled email functionality allows users to compose a message and designate a specific time for it to be sent, requiring no additional interaction once scheduled. This feature streamlines the email sending process, and is particularly beneficial for users collaborating in teams across different time zones. By enabling scheduled email sending, users can ensure timely communication without the need to coordinate schedules or remember to send messages manually. This feature could be enabled, based on the product package and process offered. Additionally, the feature requires Dovecot Pro MasterAUTH. More configuration information is provided here.

New Email Templates

A new feature that lets users create standard replies/text as email templates, which can be used when replying to/creating an email. This helps users save time, reduce errors and look more professional.

OX Calendar

OX Calendar - In General

OX Calendar provides functionality to manage private and business appointments. Users can view, create, and edit appointments. It is possible to create a serial appointment for appointments that repeat on a regular basis. For completeness and usability reasons users can attach documents or files to an appointment.

When creating or updating an appointment it is possible to use the data from OX Contacts. Also, users can check whether OX participants are free for a scheduled appointment and whether resources, such as rooms or devices, are available. Participants are automatically notified about appointment changes.

OX Calendar provides several different views such as day, workweek, week, month and list view. It is possibility to hide the whole folder structure. When in a calendar view, a single click on an appointment displays a detailed view of that appointment. In this view users can edit, delete or change confirmation of the appointment.

OX Calendar is a time and resource management module including:

• Personal, shared, and public calendars
• Time-zone integration and visualization

OX Calendar Design Update

The OX Calendar app inherits all the design changes that come with OX App Suite v8.0. These include the use of the new icon set, the new look for the various views (list views and detailed view), the tree and sidebar etc..

Just the Appointment Colors you Need

The use of colors in OX App Suite v8.0 calendar have been reduced and the colors are now iOS compliant. This has two affects, first the colors you set in OX App Suite will now match the colors you see on your iPhone or Tablet if you use the CalDAV feature. Secondly with a reduced color palette users are less likely to end up with unpleasant and hard to view calendars. The palette still large enough to achieve its function of making calendars more readable.

Compact Appointments

Appointments in OX App Suite v8.0 have been redesigned. They now use a free-form design that dynamically sized the appointment popup. The appointment is very readable, the controls and tool bar are always visible and there is no wasted/unwanted white space.

The usability and readability of the appointments is much better and due to the fixed location of the controls the user experience has also been improved on.

Meeting Countdown Reminder

We've added a countdown that reminds users of their upcoming meetings with color, sound and desktop notifications. The user can adjust the countdown in Settings > Calendar > Countdown.

Mark participants as optional

When scheduling a meeting users can designate participants as optional if their attendance is not required.

Managed Resources Calendar

The feature of "Managed Resources Calendar" enables organizations to effectively handle and schedule shared assets, such as conference rooms and equipment. By utilizing this feature, organizations can optimize resource allocation, leading to enhanced productivity and minimized scheduling conflicts. It provides an efficient and effective way to manage resources, ensuring they are utilized to their full potential.

Missing buttons in invite mails for appointment (external accounts)

In the latest version, users gain the ability to manage meeting invitations received in additional or external mail accounts directly within OX App Suite. This means they can reply to and import invitations without the need to download and import them manually.

Import ICS files through a simple drag-and-drop interface

The Calendar App allows you to effortlessly import ICS files through a simple drag-and-drop interface. This means that you can seamlessly integrate external calendar events, appointments, and schedules into our Calendar App, making it even more versatile and accommodating for your needs.

Forward OX Calendar meeting invitations

You can now easily forward meeting invitations to others. This better helps in the coordination of appointments.

Calendar Scheduling View for Tablets

Tablet users gain access to a new scheduling view in the Calendar, and both Contacts and Calendar now include improved context menus for a smoother user experience.

OX Contacts

OX Contacts - In General

OX Contacts is used for managing private and business contacts. User can view, create, and edit contacts. It is possible to use the contact data for sending emails, for inviting participants to appointments from within the calendar and for delegating tasks to other users from within the OX Task module.

The OX Contacts can also create and manage distribution lists containing both internal and external contacts.

OX Contacts is a centralized contact management module including:

• Shared and public address books with permission control
• Automatic collection of contact data from emails
• Shared and private mailing lists and appointments accessible directly from contacts view

OX Contact Design Update

The OX Contacts app inherits all the design changes that come with OX App Suite v8.0. These include the use of the new icon set, the new look for the various views (list views and detailed view), the tree and sidebar etc.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that the general structure and look have also been updated to give it a fresh look and help usability.

"Deleted Contacts" folder

Users can now restore deleted contacts from the newly introduced trash folder and benefit from a more intuitive Address Book with updated icons.

Undo Support in the Address Book

OX App Suite v8 introduces undo support in the address book, making it easy to reverse actions like delete or move - just like in OX Mail.

OX Tasks

OX Tasks - In General

OX Tasks lets users manage private and business tasks. OX Tasks lets a user view, create and edit task information. For completeness and usability users can also attach documents/files to a task. Users can also manage task schedules by setting a start and due date as well as setting a status for the task in question.

OX Tasks is a task management module including:

• Scheduling and creation of tasks
• A progress overview
• To-do lists

OX Tasks Design Update

The OX Task app inherits all the design changes that come with OX App Suite v8.0. These include the use of the new icon set, the new look for the various views (list views and detailed view), the tree and sidebar etc.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that the general structure and look have also been updated to give it a fresh look and help usability.

Task management has been enhanced

Task management has been enhanced with improved list view persistence, updated dark mode colors, better pop-up alignments and increased notification visibility.

OX Drive

OX Drive - In General

OX Drive enables end users to synchronize files between a variety of devices (phones, tablets, laptops etc.) and OX App Suite. OX Drive consists of two components: OX Drive that is built into OX App Suite and native OX Drive apps.

OX Drive is shown the OX App Suite user frontend. The user interface provides access to all directories (including photo stream if a mobile phone client is used). All files are automatically versioned (if available on the underlying file system) on update. OX Drive also features full drag and drop functionality, letting users add and move files with ease into and within OX Drive. Finally, OX Drive provides view, preview, run and edit for a wide variety of media file types (e.g. photos, music documents etc.).

OX Drive is a cloud storage solution including:

• File handling and management
• Compatibility with synchronization clients for macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS (if available)
• File and folder sharing
• Integration with other cloud storage accounts

OX Drive Design Update

The OX Drive app inherits all the design changes that come with OX App Suite v8.0. These include the use of the new icon set, the new look for the various views (list views and detailed view), the tree and sidebar etc.

"Recent files" View in the Folder Tree

One new feature that OX App Suite v8.0 brings to OX Drive is a completely new view that shows the user their recently used files. Based on user activity studies it has been identified that user interaction with files is related to the time that they were last used. For this reason, we have added this recently used view. It helps users find files based on the time they were last changed or created. It is also possible to open the changed file directly from this view.

Thumbnail in the Details View

OX App Suite v8.0 also comes with an updated OX Drive file Details view. It still shows details like Size, Folder, Modification Date, EXIF Data and Description, but now it also includes Thumbnail Preview of the file. This greatly improves the user experience especially when in the List view.

List of Invited People

The new file detailed view in OX Drive (right hand panel above) now provides a list of invited people with whom the selected folder has been shared with. This is another usability/transparency feature that has been added. It helps the user keep track of who they are sharing what with. It is also a visual security queue too.

Improved Icon and Tile Views

Further user enhancements have been made to both the "Icon" and the "Tile" views. Two significant features are that the folders are now shortened to reduce wasted space, and that document thumbnail now shows the full page of a document, or the whole image.

Improved List View

To improve the visibility of actions that user has performed on files and folders the list view has been enhanced. Now shared files and folders can be easily identified with a sharing or link icon. It is even possible to see whether a file is shared with external people (sharing icon +). Also, if a file or folder was added to a user's favorites then they are also marked in the list view.

Improved My Shares, Favorites and Trash Views

A significant update to the My Shares, Favorites and Trash views is that they now all have the same actions available that are present in other folders and file. They are no longer limited in their functionality or treated differently.

OX Portal

OX Portal - In General

OX Portal is a personal dashboard including:

• A user-configurable widget-based portal
• Configurable appearance
• Widgets for email inbox, appointments, tasks, and files

General Portal Clean up

The Portal in OX App Suite v8 is essentially the same as before, with the main difference is it has had a full facelift. The widgets have been adjusted to match the new style, the functionality cleaned up and esthetically it is much more pleasing to the eye.

OX Documents

OX Documents Design Update

OX Documents v8.0 (OX Text, OX Presentation and OX Spreadsheet) have also inherited all the design changes that come with OX App Suite v8.0. These include the use of the new icon set, the new look for the various views (list views and detailed view), the sidebar etc.

In addition, it is worth mentioning the following updates:

• All the components of the module have adopted the new white and bright look

• The three OX Documents apps (Text, Spreadsheet and Presentation) are now colored distinctly. This is done to improve the user experience and to easily identify the app according to their top-bar color
  Note, if the colored toolbars are not required then there is an option in the OX Documents settings to use the selected theme instead

• The selected toolbar is now highlighted by a colored underline

• All the components of the module now contain more white space. This makes it much easier to read

• The window borders and corners have been rounded to give it a softer look

• The general structure and look have also been updated to give it a fresh look and help usability

• Documents (text, spreadsheet, and presentation) can now be created directly from the OX Drive primary action button without having to first go to the respective apps home page

OX Settings

Search in Setting

Open-Xchange introduces a search feature in settings. With this feature the user is now able to search all the settings options to quickly find what they are looking for.

The user simply enters a search term, and the application searches for that term in all available settings. The search is performed on both the top and nested configuration sections in the settings area. This search feature also helps users narrow down "target pages". As the user types the search term, irrelevant pages are hidden, leaving only relevant target pages. Also, to help the user reach their goal faster, autocomplete suggestions are offered while typing the search term.

Finally, settings have been made context aware. When the user enters settings, it now knows which module the user was in, and displays those settings as default (e.g. if they come from the email module, settings will show the email settings).

Different Default Signatures for Each Mail Account

It is now possible to create different default signatures for each mail account that is connected to OX App Suite. The user can now define a default signature for each email address. Additionally, it is possible to define a fallback signature, in the case that there is no default signature assigned to a specific mailbox. Also, with this new feature, it is possible to specify "no signature" for email account that should not have a signature.

Finally, for complete flexibility, when a user changes the "From address", they will now be asked if the default signature should also be changed.

Improved "Connect your Device" Wizard

It is possible to connect your iOS or macOS device with IMAP, CalDAV and CardDAV at the same time with one QR code.

Introducing Our User-Friendly Settings Makeover

We've given the settings a big makeover to make them easier for you to use! The search part has been tidied up, so it's simpler to find what you need. The important settings are now right at the front, so you can see them first. We also made the words on the screen easier to understand, so everything makes more sense, making OX App Suite work for you with simplicity and ease.

Introducing additional Keyboard Shortcuts

Introducing keyboard shortcuts for a more efficient experience. With selectable presets, easily switch between Gmail and Outlook styles, streamlining your navigation and actions. Shortcuts can be configured in Settings > General > Keyboard shortcuts.

Adjustable Font Sizes for Reading Emails

In email settings users can now adjust the font size that is used by most emails. Choose from "Very small" to "Very large" to improve readability, especially for those that struggle with tiny fonts.

Configurable Section Labels for Primary Mail Accounts

To help users who frequently switch between email accounts, we have introduced a new server-side option. This feature swaps the email domain, that displayed at the top of the folder tree on the left, to the user's full email address. This will help users easily identify the specific account they are looking at. More information regarding configuration is provided here.

Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) now shows a Warning

Enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) now shows a warning that it terminates existing other sessions.

OX Deployment and Administration

OX App Suite Helm Charts without ISTIO

If it is not possible to use ISTIO for incoming traffic in the environment, appsuite-stack provides a very basic option for using the ingress-nginx controller from Kubernetes. It is strongly advisable to stick to ISTIO as the ingress method of choice, since it will be the most robustly tested and best supported of all options.

Introducing a "Software Bill of Materials" (SBOM)

Introducing a "Software Bill of Materials" (SBOM), a crucial element in bolstering software security and managing supply chain risks. This feature empowers operators with enhanced insights, enabling them to comprehensively comprehend, administer, and fortify their OX App Suite installations.

Convert a guest user account into a regular user account

Administrators have the ability to convert a guest user account into a regular user account. This means the user can then continue to access to all files, folders, contacts, calendars and tasks. More information can be found here.

Admins can now disable specific settings sections

Admins can now disable specific settings sections in the configurations that improve control over the interface. More information can be found here.

Faster Login with pre-filled Usernames

Login is also faster, thanks to pre-filled usernames via URL. More information can be found here.