Kollaborate Server 2.7.1 - more customization, restore deleted files, print view and more

Kollaborate Server 2.7.1 adds some great new features and changes to our self-hosted workflow platform.

Server-specific changes

More style customization

You can now customize more of the UI and even use different logos for the site and email headings if you choose.

Disable features

You can now hide pages completely or only make them available to admins. So for instance if you never use the Dashboard feature it can now be hidden from the UI.

You can also hide features from the player page such as making it so that only admins can see viewing statistics.

Prevent non-admins from creating projects

By default everyone has the ability to create a project. You can now limit this to site admins only from the Configure page of the admin area.

Other changes

Kollaborate Server 2.7.1 has the same features as the cloud version, including:

Restore deleted files and projects

Files are no longer deleted instantly and can now be restored by an admin for up to 14 days. To view deleted files, click the Show dropdown at the top right of the Files page and select Deleted Files (note: only admins can see this option).

Deleted projects can be restored by choosing Deleted Projects from the dropdown at the top right of the Projects page. You will only see projects you created here and they can be restored for up to 14 days.

File expiration

To protect your content, files can now be given an expiration date from the Metadata page. The file will be deleted once this date passes, but can be restored by an admin for up to 14 days.

Comment print view

You can now view comments in a printable view complete with thumbnails. To do this, click Actions in the player, then go to Export Comments and choose Print.

New Share options

There are two new options on the Share page:

Force users to download - This forces the user to download the file instead of playing it in the browser. This is useful for situations where you don't intend to keep a file up for a long time and want to make sure the client downloaded it before it gets deleted.

Automatically relink to latest version - In earlier versions of the site, if you sent out a link and allowed the user to view all versions, the link would still default to the version it was originally linked to even when newer versions exist. This option makes sure that the first file shown is the latest version but still gives the option to view earlier versions.

There is also a new option when emailing a link to send the password in a separate email. This was requested by users who were concerned about link recipients forwarding the link to others.

New Workflows

There are two new Upload Workflow actions:

Don't combine versions - This prevents the uploaded file from being part of a version stack, even if the filename matches that of an existing file in the folder. Files will always be independent with this option switched on.

Remove original file after conversion - This automatically deletes the original file after it has been converted by our encoding servers and replaces it with the highest-quality proxy. This is useful for saving storage space. Note that deleted original files cannot be restored by the new file restoration features. 

There is also a new File Workflow action:

Set file expiration date - This allows you to automatically change the file's expiration date. This is very useful for creating content lifecycles - you can now create multiple File Workflows and set expiration settings automatically depending on the file's sensitivity or importance. 

Kollaborate Encoder 1.3

There is also a corresponding update to Kollaborate Encoder. You must install this version if using Kollaborate Server 2.7.1 as older versions are not compatible.

Changes include support for password-protecting encoders and better support for image and multi-track audio files.

Full release notes for Kollaborate Server 2.7.1 and Kollaborate Encoder 1.3 are available on the Updates page or on the Kollaborate Server page after logging in.

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 (Server trials are available on request).