EGroupware version 20.1
EGroupware 20.1 Release is comin on Wednesday August 12th 2020.
EGroupware 20.1 simplifies learning and teaching in times of home office and brings many technical innovations and real-time communication with the push services. Here you will find an overview of the most important innovations:
- smallPART: Video-based teaching and learning
- Push Server with PHP Swoole: View calendar changes, Infolog, timesheets, new Emails and video calls directly
- TypeScript instead of JavaScript: Minimize errors through better support of the developer environment
- Homeoffice ready: Due to Corona, functionalities were already implemented with the 19.1
- General information: new functions in some applications
smallPART: Video-based learning and teaching
smallPART is an application where you can learn directly “in video”. Pupils or students can ask questions or give feedback directly in the video. They are guided through the learning process within the video. There are various application possibilities for learning and teaching with smallPART.
EGroupware 20.1 can be additionally authenticated via Shibboleth (e.g. to connect the EGroupware to any university computer centre) or individual smallPART courses can be integrated into other learning platforms (e.g. Moodle) via LTI.
Technical innovations
EGroupware as a pure web application in the past only showed changes when the application was reloaded (manually or per 5 minutes interval). With the new push server (permanent websocket connection) new information is integrated into the existing page as soon as an update is necessary – without the user having to reload the page. For example “Receipt of a new email” or a “new appointment” or a “cancellation of a participant”. In the area of the status application & Videoconferencing EGroupware now rings directly instead of after about one minute, because that was the update interval in the 19.1 in the self-installation.
The PUSH notifications for emails are enabled automatically in the EGroupware cloud for email customers. In general, Dovecot mail servers can be configured accordingly, so that PUSH notifications are also sent. The further expansion in the area of PUSH for email in the cloud will come soon, for any email server only later.
In the course of the next few weeks, all missing applications will be successively converted to PUSH changes.
A technically important step was the switch from JavaScript to TypeScript. The better support of the developer environment enables higher productivity and lower error rate – thus making EGroupware 20.1 even more stable and secure.
Home office made easy
New functions in some applications
In the email application, you can specify a BCC address or folder, which will then be set automatically when you compose.
You can now have suggestions for setting passwords or create a user-defined field of the type password to store passwords, for example. The password is automatically hidden and stored encrypted in the database. As soon as you want to display it, the user password is requested.
A new start screen for EGroupware 20.1 has been added, as long as no own picture is stored.
The new authentication option via Shibboleth is especially interesting for universities. Alternatively you can connect EGroupware to Moodle or other learning platforms via LTI or OpenID-Connect.
Webinar recording home office
package for Linux environments.
Guacamole for safe use of the office workstation also from the home computer. Of course, all applications of the office workstation can be used with very good performance. All data remain on the office workstation (important for DSGVO conformity) and no additional programs or connections need to be installed on the home computer.
Further information on installation variants such as those based on Univention Corporate Server can be found in the Technology area.
