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Kollaborate Server 2.0 - notification digests, hoverscrub thumbs, peek in folder, Web Hooks and more

We've just launched Kollaborate Server 2.0 - a major update to our in-house workflow platform for video professionals. This is the in-house companion to Kollaborate 2.0 that launched on the cloud last month.

File management improvements


We've rebuilt the Files page to behave more like a desktop browser like OS X Finder, including arrow key navigation, click to select, shift-click to select a range of files, etc.


QuickLook is also back but this time it behaves a lot more like the one in OS X. Press Space on a selected file to preview it without opening it. You can even QuickLook folders to peek inside them.




Notification Changes

One of the key goals of Kollaborate is keeping people informed, but with the old system it could sometimes be difficult to balance the needs of people who wanted to know about every single change vs those who wanted a much looser connection to the project.

So we’ve now introduced the concept of subscriptions. By default, everyone will receive a periodic digest summarizing recent changes to the project in a single email. You can choose to receive this once an hour, every few hours, once a day or not at all. (If there are no changes to the project in that time you won’t receive an email.)

If you want to receive instant alerts like in the previous version, you can subscribe to a project, file or task. Subscribing to a project makes the behavior identical to the previous version and can be done by clicking the dropdown next to the project on the Projects page.

Subscribing to a file or task alerts you to instant changes involving that item but without switching on alerts for other files or tasks in the project. Some actions automatically subscribe you to a file - such as uploading or commenting on it. You can click the Subscribe button again on the file to unsubscribe.

 

Thumbnail view and hoverscrub

You can now toggle between the traditional list view and a new thumbnail view. This provides fewer power user options but is a great way of graphically browsing through your files. 


We've also added hoverscrub thumbnails like in FCPX so you can browse through a file just by scrubbing your cursor over it. You also get a thumbnail view when you hover your mouse over the playhead in the player.


Additionally, audio files now show a thumbnail of their waveform instead of a generic icon.

(Note: hoverscrub thumbs are currently only created by Kollaborate Encoder and the latest beta of Kollaborate Transfer.)

To-Do Comments


Tap the checkbox icon in a comment to turn it into a to-do comment, then tap it again to mark it done. 


You can filter by to-do and choose to only export to-do comments to your NLE. 


Adobe Premiere panel


We've also launched an extension for Adobe Premiere that functions as both a file browser and task manager.

You can browse files in the cloud and download them directly into your project by double-clicking them. You can also import  markers into your current sequence. 


View your current to-dos, click on them to jump to that position in your timeline and then click the tick to mark them as complete.

The extension is supported on Mac and Windows and Kollaborate Server is supported by version 1.0.2 and higher.

Dashboard

Dashboard is back - view recent project changes, assigned tasks, favorites, to-do comments and more at a glance. 


Web Hooks (Beta)

Kollaborate Server can send events such as uploads or new comments to a custom script either on the same server or another server for integrating with in-house databases and task managers.

Some examples of what you could use it for:

  • Logging every file uploaded to a database
  • Adding new tasks to your calendar management software
  • Adding comments or tasks to your in-house work tracking system
  • Sending custom email alerts to users
  • Creating keywords or hashtags in comments that trigger certain behavior in your in-house systems

Note that web hook events are not immediate and will normally arrive after a few minutes. This is a beta feature so we're keen to hear how customers plan to use this feature and what additional data they need for integrating in-house.

Web Hooks can be switched on from the Configure page in the admin area. Only super admins can access this page.

Major architectural overhaul


We've made significant under-the-hood modifications to the software, not all of which are immediately noticeable to users, but they pave the way for significant features in the future.

If you are upgrading from a previous version, be aware that this version moves a lot of things around so please be patient if the upgrade script takes a while. Playable proxies are now stored separately from original media files and thumbnails are now stored in your media storage area (expect thumbnails to take up 2-3 times more space than before due to the new sizes and hoverscrub options).

Another area we've made significant changes to is our API. This improves security by allowing you to approve or deny access to your account on a per-app basis. Did your laptop get stolen? Did you log into an app on your friend’s computer and accidentally forget to log out again? Not a problem - you will be able to revoke access on those devices remotely once we fully switch over to the new API.

We’ve made the changes in such a way that the current apps still work, but this is only intended to be temporary. We currently have beta versions of our apps available that support the new API and will be revoking access to older versions in the next few months. We’ll make a public announcement when that date is set so that users know when to update to newer versions.

Kollaborate Encoder 1.1

A corresponding Kollaborate Encoder update has been released that supports Kollaborate Server 2.0, can generate hoverscrub thumbnails and also fixes some bugs from the previous version. This is an essential update for Kollaborate Server 2.0 users with an encoding license.

Upgrade instructions

Full upgrade instructions are located in the Quick Start Guide but the basic workflow is as follows:

1. Download the new update (available after logging in).

2. Copy the contents of the Installation Files folder except the config folder to the root folder of your web server, overwriting any .

3. Visit yoursite.com/upgrade in your web browser and click Upgrade.

4. Delete the "upgrade" and "install" folders from the root folder of your web server.

Kollaborate is an essential cloud workflow platform that allows you to share files with clients and team members while integrating with Digital Rebellion apps and services. Kollaborate Server allows you to host the platform in-house on your own servers and storage. To find out more, see the Kollaborate Server overview or register for the free cloud trial.

Posted by Jon Chappell on May 12 2016 to Kollaborate, DR News, Front Page News