Last updated on March 03, 2017

6.0 Release Notes

Release Information

Appspace 6.0 is a major release that contains various new features, platform optimizations, enhancements, and bug fixes. With a release date of July 23rd, 2016, this version is for Appspace Cloud and On-Premises.


What’s New

Introducing Cards

New to the Appspace platform, cards make it simple for anyone to create, manage, and publish information and content in Appspace, with easy (customizable) theming options and automatic formatting for different devices and aspect ratios.


With Appspace 6.0 an initial set of card templates help you communicate your message:

  • Announcement: A multi-purpose card template that can be used for corporate messaging such as product updates, event promotion, employee birthdays and much more.

  • Data Table: Import or manually enter your tabular data and stylize it with this Card.

  • Donut Chart: Import or manually enter your data and stylize it into a donut chart.

  • Facebook: Display the news feed from any Facebook page by linking it to this card.

  • Line Chart: Import or manually enter your data and stylize it into a line chart.

  • RSS: Display any RSS news feed by linking it to this card.

    Note

    Cards are only supported by the Appspace App and can be published through in a channel or as part of a sign.

Introducing Channels

Leveraging a workflow that was previously known as Play, channels make it simple to get relevant content and information to specific users or devices. Create channels for any special group you can think of—like individual departments or programs—and their channels automatically appear in the easy-to-use Appspace App.


As part of this enhancement a number of terms have changed. For a full list of terms see our Glossary.

  • Spaces have been renamed to Channel Groups.
  • Live Channels have now been renamed to Live Video Streams.
  • On-Demand has now been renamed to Playlists.

In addition to the terminology changes there have been the following feature enhancements:

  • The Appspace App now uses channel groups as the primary method of organization.
  • Playlists are created by simply choosing a folder from the library, and channels will automatically set a layout duration for content such as images.
  • The Appspace App shows content within playlists in alphabetical order.
  • Folder-based navigation is no longer needed thanks to playlists.
  • Signs as a channel. You can now include one or more signs in a channel group.
  • For existing users of Play, library folders are automatically converted to playlists.
  • Additionally, with the support of multiple user groups, folders from multiple libraries are available when creating playlists.

Note

The web app URL remains unchanged (https://play.appspace.com or https://{appspace-server-domain}/play).

Multiple User Group Support

Users can now be members of more than one user group.

  • Users inherit roles that are applied to each user group they are a member of.
  • Users do not necessarily need to belong to a user group, and can be left ungrouped.
  • Users can access networks belonging to the user groups, if they have the right role.
  • Users can access multiple libraries belonging to the user groups, if they have the right role.

Multiple Library Support

  • Users now have access to multiple libraries since they can be members of more than one user group.

    • Each user group has a library which can be enabled or disabled.
    • The rules of shared folders between one user group to another remains the same.
    • A minimum Content Producer role is required to access a library.
    • Existing user groups that transition into Appspace 6.0 will retain all their content and those user groups will have libraries enabled.

  • Introduction of the new default Library, which is a communal library that can be accessed by everyone within an account.

    • The default Library is listed as the first library that all users in an account have access to.
    • Users will still require the minimum Content Producer role to access this library.

Simplified User Invitation

  • The user invitation interface has been simplified to just two columns:
    • User email
    • Group membership assignment
  • Users can now be assigned to one or more groups during the invitation process.
  • Assigning roles to a user is no longer part of the user invitation process, and is now only done after a user is invited.

Updated Users Interface

The Users dashboard has been simplified to only show the following columns:

  • Name
  • Roles
  • Member of
  • Login

Updated Installer (On-Premises)

  • During installation, upon the detection of a database script failing, an installation failure error message will be displayed, and the installation process will discontinue. In addition, administrators may review the detailed error log in the standard Appspace log file.


  • An Appspace installation will automatically be halted if the installer is unable to automatically kill agents for the Appspace software that are still running in the background. This check is to ensure these background agents are also updated to the latest version during the installation. Administrators may manually kill the background processes to resume installation.


Bug Fixes

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2154: Unable to add more than four tags on a content.
  • AE-2205: When importing a sign, the size of the sign increases by 300MB.
  • AE-2288: Online/Offline status does not show for certain devices.
  • AE-2354: Unable to select rows in the Table Listing widget.

Updates

6.0-ac.1

General bug fixes and performance improvements.

6.0-ac.2

General bug fixes and performance improvements.

6.0-ac.3

Enhancements

  • Appspace software packages will conduct version checks prior to installation. If the installation package has the same version as the installed Appspace software, installation will not continue.
  • Channels resources API and app scripts have been updated to exclude default port values when returning URL values.

Resolved Bugs

  • PLAY-3598 - Back button in the Channels web client does not work in Chrome when viewing video within a playlist, and videos are looped.
  • PLAY-3594 - The thumbnail on a playlist folder is missing if the folder contains only external content or dynamic media types.
  • AP-11371 - A background image deleted from a card’s theme is still displayed in the preview.
  • AP-11347 - When a Table Listing widget is deleted, the workbook related job still exists in the database.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2358 - Diagnostics tool incorrectly displays ‘Unable to send email’ in the Email section, when indeed emails are being sent.
  • AE-2365 - Dynamic media does not upload on cloud.

6.0-ac.4

Enhancements

  • Implemented an API to retrieve key performance statistics at an account or global level.
  • Improved error message in Library when uploading unsupported file formats.
  • A new error message is displayed when importing corrupted .aspkg files.
  • Terminology change: The ‘Dynamic Theme’ tab in Channels has been changed to ‘App Theme’.

Resolved Bugs

  • SIGN-510 - Reordering media zone items fail when there are a large number of items, in a sign.
  • SIGN-513 - In Signs, when editing the content properties of a content that was added from a shared folder (in the Library), the title, description, and tag fields become un-editable.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2335 - External content in Table widget refreshes too frequently.
  • AE-2397 - Content in a sign with a linked media zone does not update, when content in the original sign is updated.
  • AE-2401 - Unable to reorder layouts and slide content in a large linear playlist in a sign.
  • AE-2416 - Content in a sign with a linked media zone does not update, when content in the original sign is updated.
  • AE-2421 - Changing content duration in a sign results in a coffee cup error.
  • AE-2423 - Unable to import an application.

6.0-ac.5

Enhancements

  • Created logs for DynamicMedia updates.
  • Dynamic Media agents updated to support parallel updates.
  • Removed PreRender code which contains deprecated logic, to improve performance.

Resolved Bugs

  • AP-11528 - User with Account Owner permissions is able to create a user group with a default Portal Administrator role.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2307 - Calendar does not display data on Private Cloud.
  • AE-2365 - Dynamic Media content does not refresh on Cloud.

6.0-ac.6

Enhancements

  • Optimized login initializations and database connections.

Resolved Bugs

  • AP-11551 - Dynamic media updated in the Library, does not update in all media zones that the content is allocated to.
  • AP-11554 - The Appspace header menu is not responsive.
  • SIGN-415 - The Event Calendar widget fails to retrieve content from the Outlook event calendar.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2307 - The Calendar widget does not show data on Private Cloud.
  • AE-2453 - The Appspace menu is not responsive on Public Cloud.
  • AE-2490 - The Signs Visual Editor (VE) does not load any graphics in a very large sign with numerous layouts and widgets.

6.0-ac.7

Enhancements

  • Optimizations to the Alerts handler requests and responses, to reduce internal HTTP calls.
  • Display an error message when user uploads an unsupported .json file.
  • Fixed various connection leaks to improve performance.
  • Optimizations to cards, as follows:
    • Announcement card
      • Added support for Samsung SSP device.
      • Added Logo Upload feature.
      • Added Upload Custom Font feature.
      • Revised card layouts.
    • Data Table Card
      • Added Upload Custom Font feature.
    • Facebook card
      • Added Layout Options feature.
      • Added Upload Custom Font feature.
      • Added ability to remove or customize the Facebook logo.
    • Donut Card
      • Added support for Samsung SSP device.
      • Added Upload Custom Font feature.
      • Added Upload Logo feature.
    • Line Chart Card
      • Added Upload Custom Font feature.
      • Legend items are stacked and displayed on the side for visual appeal.
    • RSS Card
      • Added Upload Custom Font feature.

Resolved Bugs

  • AP-11189 - Content from a shared folder in Library is not available to another user.
  • AP-11272 - User roles granted in Signs are displayed in the user listing page in Users.
  • AP-11294 - The user group library does not display in the Library after the user group is moved to a different network.
  • AP-11544 - Administrators without Portal Administrator permissions can assign the Portal Administrator role to a user.
  • AP-11610 - Content marked for deletion without expiry dates, are not deleted.
  • AP-11616 - Unable to extract ZIP files downloaded from Deployments in an on-premises deployment.
  • AP-11641 - There is a connection leak when navigating pages using the Nexus.Web.UI.Common object.
  • AP-11646 - Connectivity leaks when calling the license service.
  • SIGN-509 - The “Everyone can manage sign/content” permissions in a sign change to “Custom” after an upgrade from Appspace 5.x to 6.0 on-premises.
  • SIGN-521 - Tag lists are not displayed in the Add Media window.
  • CT-19 - Data Table Card - The ‘Expand Row to Fit’ feature does not work when creating or editing the table.
  • CT-37 - Data Table Card - No padding between the headline and the table in portrait mode.
  • CT-40 - Data Table Card - The card and theme thumbnails are not generated properly.
  • CT-42 - Announcement Card - Image uploaded goes missing when switching layouts during card creation using the Auto layout theme.
  • CT-53 - Donut Chart Card - The chart blinks and placeholders are displayed horizontally when using Samsung SSP.
  • CT-54 - Announcement Card - Anchored layout is shifted to the left when using Samsung SSP.
  • CT-56 - Donut Chart Card - Donut Chart template rendering issues when using Firefox and Internet Explorer.
  • CT-59 - Data Table Card - Data is not displayed if there is only one row in the data table.
  • CT-65 - Data Table Card - The Summary placeholder for ‘Table First, Summary Last’ is shifted to the right, causing the right border to disappear.
  • CT-104 - Donut Chart Card - Bold text does not work for the donut caption.
  • CT-109 - Donut Chart Card - The donut chart is not displayed when creating a card using a custom theme when using Internet Explorer and Safari.
  • CT-111 - Facebook Card - The Facebook post dates are displayed as “Invalid date” when using Firefox.

6.0-ac.8

Enhancements

  • Optimizations to various player and widget scripts to improve transaction performance.
  • Improved Recently Uploaded widget API request.

Resolved Bugs

  • PLAY-3627 - In Channels, when a new user account saves a playlist, an error message is displayed.
  • SIGN-531 - In Signs, when editing the card content duration in Playout Properties, the coffee cup page is displayed and the card content is corrupted.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2506 - Unable to add media if the sign contains 200+ layouts.

6.0-ac.9

Enhancements

  • Optimizations to script cache engine, script handler, and device health check service, to improve performance.
  • Improved the Token Session Provider table, to quicken user session token retrieval.

Resolved Bugs

  • SIGN-532 - A Weather widget added to a sign layout does not display in the Visual Editor (VE).

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2490 - Graphics do not load in the Visual Editor (VE) when the sign size is large.

6.0.1 (On-Premises)

This is the final build released as Appspace on-premises, and this build includes all enhancements, bug fixes, and escalation fixes, listed above.

Enhancements

  • Implemented segregation of rights on the server-side instead of client-side, during query executions, to prevent vertical privilege escalations such as the exploitation of administrator privileges via browser attacks.

Resolved Bugs

  • AP-11578 - The ‘Assign a channel’ window in networks does not load properly in an on-premises deployment.
  • AP-11597 - User groups automatically created by Appspace are not displayed in the Inherited Group table in the Edit User page in an on-premises deployment.
  • AP-11598 - The Account Administrator is unable to view the Edit User page after switching accounts in a multi-tenancy environment.
  • AP-11600 - The Account Administrator is unable to view the Invite User page after switching accounts in a multi-tenancy environment.
  • AP-11602 - An error message is displayed when editing the user profile after switching accounts in a multi-tenancy environment.
  • AP-11629 - The Account Administrator is unable to change accounts after switching accounts to an account without a sub-network in a multi-tenancy environment.
  • AP-11658 - The Content Administrator is unable to view user groups automatically created by Appspace in the Library in an on-premises deployment of Appspace 6.0.
  • AP-11683 - The Account Administrator is unable to invite users after switching accounts in a multi-tenancy environment.
  • AP-11831 - The Cards template is empty after an upgrade from Appspace 5.8.7 to 6.0 on-premises.
  • AP-11831 - The Appspace Dashboard is blank after an upgrade from Appspace 5.8.7 to 6.0 on-premises.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2537 - Unable to assign permissions in a sign after the user group was moved to another network.
  • AE-2477 - A user is able to grant himself rights to another network and change the items displayed in his players, despite having no administrative privileges.
  • AE-2481 - When several profiles are available in Private Cloud, a user with a specific profile is able to elevate his privileges by changing his profile.
  • AE-2495 - Dashboard widgets do not load on a Private Cloud deployment.

6.0.2 (On-Premises)

This is a maintenance update build released for Appspace on-premises, which includes performance improvements, API optimizations, critical bug fixes, and escalation fixes.

Enhancements

  • Added Alerts 6.0.2 to the Appspace installer.
  • Added legacy player package v7.0.69 to the Appspace installer, that resolves critical issues with Alerts in a Windows Server 2008 environment.
  • Added an optimized API library to the Appspace installer configuration.

Resolved Bugs

  • AP-12011 - Alerts does not broadcast the selected Alerts template on Edge 340 devices.
  • AP-12024 - The Alerts feature only syncs the first 50 or visible groups, when there are a large number of groups created.
  • AP-12029 - Unable to add media if the sign contains 200+ layouts.
  • SIGN-544 - Tag rules on Playout Properties do not behave correctly in a basic sign.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2438 - The MediaVue SureVue D6 player displays a black screen, even when it is online and in sync.
  • AE-2636 - Only the first 50 player groups are shown after syncing with Alerts.

6.0.3 (On-Premises)

This is a maintenance update build released for Appspace on-premises, which includes performance improvements, API optimizations, critical bug fixes, and escalation fixes.

Enhancements

  • The Appspace installer has been improved to handle more upgrading scenarios, to prevent failures and false installations, with the following checks:
    • Installation is aborted when the system returns an error.
    • SQL script version is checked first before proceeding with the installation.
    • SQL script version is added after the scripting is executed successfully.

Resolved Bugs

  • AP-13135: The Appspace.configPath file is not encrypted for secure mode.
  • AP-13253: MSSQL Max Pool Size connection strings are not configured for connection pooling.
  • AP-13254: The Content Library is broken after the 6.0.2 upgrade.
  • PLAY-3666: Edge 340 IPTV: The Guide button displays a blank screen when pressed on the Home Screen Preview, and in full screen.
  • PLAY-3669: Edge 340 IPTV: Unable to switch channels when using remote control.

Resolved Escalations

  • AE-2577: Unable to add location in Weather widget, when using WWO premium API keys.
  • AE-2593: Unable to add location in Weather widget, when using new WWO API keys.
  • AE-2600: In Downloads, an extra checkbox appears in the Tags drop-down menu.
  • AE-2601: Content does not change on DMP 4400 players.
  • AE-2611: When importing a sign, a duplicate is created without a name.
  • AE-2648: Users unable to switch networks after the 6.0.1 upgrade.
  • AE-2654: Portal Admins unable to delete users.
  • AE-2656: The Google Analytics feature on Appspace on-premises does not retrieve data
  • AE-2660: List of synced contents are not displayed in the Player properties, even when player is in-sync and online.
  • AE-2664: “No content scripts available” message is displayed on the PC Player Sync tab.
  • AE-2665: Network Administrator unable to switch networks, even when network is viewable.
  • AE-2672: The ‘http://’ prefix is automatically appended to the input data when adding a URL or webpage in the Library.
  • AE-2687: “Device is loading the channel” is displayed on the Appspace App for Chromebox.
  • AE-2688: User unable to switch networks, even when network is viewable.
  • AE-2690: Diagnostic fails, and unable to add location when using the WWO provider in Weather widget.
  • AE-2693: The Content Library fails to load when Appspace 5.8.7 is upgraded to 6.0.2.
  • AE-2711: Alerts causes 100% CPU utilization when activating or deactivating.
  • AE-2727: Unable to delete a user in Appspace Cloud.
  • AE-2741: Unable to delete user in Appspace 5.8.7.
  • AE-2744: The ‘Link Media’ link in the Media Zone widget is missing after the 6.0.2 upgrade.
  • AE-2752: The order of content in a playlist randomly changes after the playlist is saved.
  • AE-2755: Changes to text in the HTML ticker widget are not updated on the media player.
  • AE-2772: Deleted content within a library folder or channel still remains, even after a re-sync
  • AE-2773: Unable to find an existing user to add to player notifications, as only the first 50 users are displayed.
  • AE-2778: Signs channel content size shows as 0KB.
  • AE-2780: Content Producer permissions does not work correctly.
  • AE-2837: Unable to move user to a different network.
  • AE-2842: Players do not display updated content.
  • AE-2849: Unable to install Appspace due to a database upgrade error.
  • AE-2850: MS SQL queries no longer function, after upgrading to Appspace 6.0.1.
  • AE-2875: Logging out from Appspace does not redirect to the custom login page.
  • AE-2879: Content Administrators unable to switch networks after the 6.0.2 upgrade.
  • AE-2888: High CPU utilization.
  • AE-2904: Content allocation is sluggish, and freezes at the loading screen.
  • AE-2911: The layout order does not save when updated in Layout Scheduling.
  • AE-2932: Unable to add locations on the Weather widget for any provider (WDT and WWO).
  • AE-2964: Appspace IDs are still being consumed by users that have been deleted.
  • AE-2973: Unable to delete user in a Multi-tenancy environment.
  • AE-2974: Appspace Windows PC client is not listed in Networks, if registered via the wizard.
  • AE-2983: Unable to find an existing admin user to add to player notifications.
  • AE-3039: Duplication of widgets in Sign Visual Editor.