Dear AODocs users,
We're pleased to announce the release of AODocs version 54.
This release offers an improved user experience and interface, streamlined low code configuration features, and enhanced capabilities that cater to enterprise-level deployment.
Please find the list of changes and features that will impact the end user and administrator experience.
Note: Subscribe to our announcement list to receive our Release notes.
Launch details
Rollout pace: From 9 November to 10 November 2020
Video: AODocs R54 highlights
Check out the video highlighting the major changes we made: AODocs release 54 highlights.
Automate your business needs with calculated properties
Calculated properties were introduced as a private beta in release 53. In this release, we’re pleased to announce that this feature is now available for all AODocs customers.
Calculated properties are custom properties whose values are calculated from a formula. As a library administrator, you can use existing custom properties in your formulas for a wide variety of use cases. For example, to:
- set a unique identifier for your procedures
- determine the expiration date of a document
- calculate the VAT price of your commercial proposals
For which users?
Library administrators
Why it's important
By applying a precise formula to properties, you ensure data consistency across all your documents.
Calculated properties can help you:
- meet compliance requirements
- lighten the manual work for end users
- apply complex rules to enrich recorded data
- replace a significant number of custom scripts
Additional details
Using customer feedback in the private beta, we made some improvements:
- In the Edit formula pop-up: sequence IDs, workflow states and category values are now available in the list of items you can add to the formula.
- There’s a new syntax for the reference of custom properties, system properties and workflow states in the formula.
- The character limit for a formula is now 2,000 characters (previously 500).
- Cycle dependencies are now prevented.
- Outdated values can be used to calculate categories.
Availability
All AODocs customers
Getting started
1. Access the library administration.
2. In the Document classes section, press a document class name to open its configuration page.
3. On the Properties tab, create a new custom property.
4. Activate the toggle Calculate the value of this property. The Edit formula pop-up opens.
Resources
Automatically generate document titles with calculated titles (beta)
We continued work on speeding up your data input process and in this release, we're introducing calculated titles. Using the same mechanism as calculated properties, you can now set document naming conventions using a formula.
Document in creation mode with a calculated title.
For which users?
Library administrators
Why it's important
Having a standardized naming convention on your documents prevents human error during the creation process and enhances the end user experience when searching for documents in the library.
Note: This was the number one request by the beta users of calculated properties.
Additional details
This feature is only available for Document Management libraries.
Availability
AODocs customers who are part of the private beta program.
Note: To request access to the private beta, reach out to us: aodocs-beta@aodocs.com.
Streamline your AODocs homepage by restricting the visibility of your libraries
You can now restrict the visibility of libraries for selected user types. When libraries are hidden, users won’t see them:
- on their AODocs homepage
- when they search for libraries using keywords in AODocs
- in the library picker drop-down menu, when using Google Drive with the AODocs Smartbar extension – learn more: Access AODocs libraries in Google Drive
The library visibility settings are:
- Visible (default): all users see the library on their homepage and in search results
- Hidden from readers only: users with read access to the library don't see the library on their homepage or in search results
- Hidden from readers and contributors only: users with read access and users with write access don't see the library on their homepage or in search results
- Hidden from everyone: readers, contributors and library administrators don't see the library on their homepage or in search results
For which users?
- Library administrators
- Super administrators
Why it's important
This feature is useful to avoid cluttering the homepage and search results. For example, a library may be used to share read-only documents with all employees but isn't designed to be explored by all users.
Additional details
- The library visibility setting doesn’t restrict access to libraries or their documents. For example, documents in libraries with restricted visibility are listed for all users when they search for documents across all their libraries; all users can access these libraries from the list of results.
- Super administrators can always see all libraries (regardless of their visibility restriction)
Availability
All AODocs customers
Getting started
1. Access the library administration.
2. Select General settings.
3. Select the required option in the Library visibility drop-down menu.
Resources
Restrict the visibility of your library
Enhanced experience with the visually revamped library homepage
The library homepage has been visually revamped. You can enjoy all the usual features but with a new and crisp design!
For which users?
All users
Why it's important
The new library homepage provides AODocs users with an improved and modern user experience which is seamlessly integrated with the rest of the user interface.
Availability
All AODocs customers
Resources
Tip: Library administrators can now edit the library description directly on the library homepage (instead of in the general settings, in the library administration interface). Simply press the Edit description button on the Home tab.
Scale, archive and improve compliance by storing attachments in Google Cloud Storage (beta)
For some specific use cases, it is now possible to store document attachments in Google Cloud Storage (GCS) instead of Google Drive. GCS attachments are accessed through a secure link provided in a URL property of the AODocs document.
For now, we only recommend leveraging this feature for document archival use cases where you need to store “cold” data. Document migration into GCS is currently only supported through our document migration tool, Migrate for AODocs.
For which users?
Library administrators
Why it's important
This feature allows you to handle a limitless number of attachments per library or storage account (as opposed to 100,000 attachments per storage account in Google Drive).
Storing files in GCS has a number of benefits. It provides support for:
- storage immutability, which helps comply with the Financial industry regulatory authority (FINRA) and Securities and exchange commission (SEC) requirements, for example
- data localization, to host your data in a specific geographic area
- tiered-storage, which allows you to choose from a number of data availability SLAs in order to reduce storage costs
Additional details
As this feature is in a beta version, it comes with a number of limitations that we plan to lift in the future:
- Some document control operations are not supported, or not fully supported, notably document duplication, document check-out and check-in, document export and document versioning.
- GCS attachments cannot be uploaded, updated or added directly from the AODocs user interface
Availability
This feature is currently in a beta version.
Note: For more information, you can contact your technical account manager or sales representative or reach out to us sales@aodocs.com.
Resources
Decentralize your governance with multiple AODocs instances on a single Google Workspace domain (beta)
It is now possible to install multiple, independent, instances of AODocs on a single Google Workspace domain.
Each installed instance of AODocs is entirely standalone. It gets its own domain-wide configuration, administrators and set of libraries, as well as a dedicated license pool.
For which users?
Super administrators
Why it's important
This feature will allow you to easily delegate end-to-end management of AODocs, for example to specific departments and geographical regions of your company.
Availability
This feature is currently in a beta version.
Note: For more information, you can contact your technical account manager or sales representative, or reach out to us sales@aodocs.com.
Interpret internal shortcuts in Team Folders as move operations (experimental workaround)
Due to changes made by Google (June to August 2020), files in Google Drive can no longer be in multiple locations. Instead, shortcuts are created. Learn more: Expanding shortcuts in Google Drive, reducing unorganized files.
This change impacts move operations in Team Folders if the library security setting Only administrators can change the sharing permissions is selected. As a result, contributors can no longer move files because it creates a conflict with the sharing permissions.
To resolve this issue, we have implemented an experimental workaround which we plan to continue improving in upcoming releases.
In the Team Folder security settings, library administrators can now select the option Interpret internal shortcuts as move operations. With this option active, when a user moves documents or folders using the Google Drive interface, AODocs creates a temporary shortcut and moves the selected documents and folders. When the move is finalized, the shortcut is deleted.
For which users?
Library administrators
Why it's important?
This workaround allows you to keep the sharing restrictions in your Team Folders and allows users to move files within the library despite the recent changes in Google Drive.
Additional details
As this workaround is still experimental, it comes with a few limitations. For example, it may take a few seconds for AODocs to delete the shortcut and execute the move.
Availability
All AODocs customers
Resources
- Interpret internal shortcuts in Team Folders as move operations (experimental workaround)
- Configure security settings in Team Folders from Google Drive
- Configure security settings in Team Folders from AODocs
Visual and technical revamp of the custom properties panel
The custom property panel has been completely revamped. The revamp incorporates a new slick design for all properties, notably a harmonized and clearer design for invalid and mandatory properties.
For which users?
All users
Why it's important
This migration paves the way for upcoming features, such as real-time calculation of calculated properties and dynamic forms.
Availability
All AODocs customers
Resources
Improvements and bug fixes
End user interface:
- It is now possible to preview non-Google attachments in previous versions of AODocs documents. Learn more: Manage document versions in AODocs libraries.
- On the right sidebar of the AODocs document page, on the Workflow transitions tab: transitions triggered by properties are now displayed as Automatic transitions and no longer displayed as being performed by a user.
- For documents in Secured Folders: in the Document permissions pop-up, on the
Additional Google Drive permissions tab, if incorrect or non-whitelisted email addresses are added, they can now be deleted without any issues.
Administration interface:
- In the view configuration: when you select properties to filter documents or to define the information to display in the view, if a custom property has the same name as a system property, the system property is displayed with (System) next to it. Learn more: Configure views in your library.
- Library administrators are now prevented from deleting a document class if it's used as a pre-filtering criteria in a view.
And there's so much more brewing...
- A dynamic document editor will be able to adapt to user input by displaying and requesting additional information contextually. This will guide your users by making forms shorter and prevent users from entering contradictory information.
- We’re re-building the views page from the ground up, including an extensive UI and UX revamp and additional features (for example, bulk export, user-defined views, inline property edition, and document preview).