Sendai Systems, Bern - Switzerland
December 2, 2005
GroupVille 2.1.2 for Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4 (Server) Release Notes
GroupVille is a web-based groupware solution. GroupVille allows your organization or workgroup to share and retrieve information all from one central server repository. For more information, please visit http://www.groupville.com/
A FREE non-expiring license for up to 3 users is included with the software for unlimited productive use and testing/evaluation.
Additional user licenses (6, 12, 25, 50 users...), third-party modules and support can be bought as needed online at http://www.groupville.com/store.html
• What's new in GroupVille 2.1.2 and known bugs in GV 2.1.2
• System requirements: Server Hardware, Software (WebObjects) and Database (FrontBase)
• Upgrading from GroupVille versions 1.x
• GroupVille HTML desktop and mobile clients: Supported browsers and operating systems and Palm Sync
• Feedback
• Additional downloads, documentation manuals and information (Mailing lists...)
• Legal information
What's new in GroupVille 2.1.2 / Known bugs in GroupVille 2.1.2
GV 2.1.2
- Added support for Tomcat deployments (http://tomcat.apache.org/, Tomcat Release 5.5.12). This removes the need
to install WebObjects on the deployment server. A separate download file is available (GV Servlet Single Directory) is available.
- Added separate deployment guide for Tomcat.
- GV Chooser popup window: User Preference option to open Chooser on login
- GV File uploads: Added browser check to allow for traditional http://-uploads in case the GV plugin is not available.
- Fixed small bugs and UI issues in user interface
GV 2.1.1
- Added support for WebObjects 5.3 on OS X 10.4 servers
- Updated the two smallest License sizes (now 6 and 12 users)
- Fixed bugs with upload browser plugin (fixed permission issue)
- Fixed smaller UI issues throughout GV
- Fixed bugs in Wiki and Tasks
- Tested release with upcoming GV Mobile 2.1 release
- Fixed problem with GV calendar weeks (week numbers 1 - 52) in some calendar views
GV 2.1
- Fixed issues in deleting GV user(s)
- Updated Help and all installation and user manuals for version 2.1
- Updated GV license for GV 2.1
- Updated bug collection mail address to bugs@sendaisystems.com
- Updated default user SMTP settings to the SMTP settings of GV admin (to facilitate users setting up POP3 accounts)
GV 2.1RC1
- Fixed PDF generation issue (see admin manual -> new setting required in Java Monitor) to create PDF reports
- Fixed problem when wrong week numbers were shown for some years
- Updated language settings in GV Preferences to German/English
- Added new Installation guide update for GV2.1
- Admin authentication UI fixed
GV 2.1b5
- Added WebDAV interface with Alpha GUI in 'GV Data' (please use only for testing with this version, German UI only)
- Added 'Trouble tickets' feature in GV Mails and Messaging. Issues/Inquiries are labelled with a unique ID number; a trouble ticket issue is tracked by the associated number and all mail/messages exchanged with the person inquiring are collected in its GV Task.
- Added time spent per GV user spent in GV Tasks with default time measuring (time units), also total time spent is saved.
- Added updated Help texts in English and German
- Added new Installation guide with additional screenshots for GV2.1
- Fixed various HTML issues main window and GV Chooser
- Fixed missing / misplaced icons/buttons in English and German localizations from 2.0 versions
- Added PDF action to virtually all GV list views (except GV Calendar)
- Added iCal import for GV calendar for admins and users. Admins can share imported calendars.
- Added new filters in GV calendar to sort by multiple calendars and imported calendars
- Added status option of events (tentative, confirmed, cancelled) to GV events
- Added title truncation for better visibility in GV calendar
- Added support/testing for deployment on WebObjects 5.2.4 on OS 10.4 Server in addition to OS X 10.3
R13 - R15:
- Updated new features in GV Wiki and GV FAQ
- Applied various bug fixes in FAQ, Wiki and GV Calendar.
- External visitors with no GV login can now suggest GroupVille items (News items, FAQ and event entries...) as well as update their personal contact information.
R11 and R12:
- Fixed missing icons in GV calendar, home page and various link pages and icon menus
- Fixed issues in Mobile client in GV People and GV News (please see separate 'Mobile' download for details)
- Added basic PDF support (creating PDF reports in list views)
- Added downloads and installation guides for the upload plugins and Palm plugins (for both Macintosh and Windows clients)
- Fixed most of the text buttons (new button layout in 2D)
- Added import option for FAQ and News items by external people
- Finished basic GV Wiki and GV FAQ functionality in 'GV Data'
- Removed issue where administrator couldn't change users' passwords.
- Fixed issues and exceptions in GV Tasks
- GV Tasks now support time (minutes to weeks), task work items can be either billed or unbilled
- Added new Help information system, new menu layout and new icons for Mobile and Desktop clients.
R10:
- Fixed issues in Mobile client after login (please see separate 'Mobile' download for details)
- Added e-mail category sorting for POP mail and internal GV messages in Inbox and Outbox
- Improved POP and SMTP compatibility with mail serves who require authentication
- Added personal weblogs ('blogs') for GV users (MyNews) and general RSS news export functionality
- Added new Help information system, new menu layout and new icons for Mobile and Desktop clients.
R9:
- Fixed issues in task templates and tasks (especially User Interface and Save buttons)
- Task Templates now appear in Action menus
- Improved Labels and Label values in Memos and tasks
- Fixed issue when deleting users
- Improved Messaging (Inbox) stability
- Added new license for 3 free users instead of 2 users
- Fixed several issues in the Mobile client (please see separate 'Mobile' download for details)
- Improved compability and layout with NewsReporter RSS and news feeds. To download NewsReporter (MacReporter) for use GroupVille, please go to http://www.inferiis.com/products/mrserver/
R4-R8:
- Added a database synchronization mechanism so that DB layout changes in future releases / updated are automatically adapted.
- Added the first mobile client release with a separate download and installer.
Please use your normal login username and password to access this (GVMobileClient.woa). You can test this best on an Opera browser on a Sony Ericsson P800 or P900 phone resolutions (reference devices), but any other mobile HTML client should work as well on Palm, Linux or PocketPC devices.
- Fixed the upload plugin issue on the server side. Plugins for Windows and Macs to follow in the download pages on www.groupville.com.
- Fixed typos in install.pdf (installation guide)
- More than one GV installation on one server machine / directory must be installed by hand.
(since the database is currently always called GroupVille). Use the following procedure to install a new instance after you installed a first running version on a machine:
1. Adapt the database install script in database.sh and give your database a new name in the line CREATE
2. Adapt the script start.sh and give your GV database the same new name as in 1. in the line -GVDatabaseName "New Name". Keep all the other lines intact (resetting the database etc.); please see installation manual for detail
3. Start the Java Monitor. Start a new instance and rename GroupVille.woa
In the additional arguments for that instance - still in Java Monitor - adapt the database name again with the same name you chose in 1. (the arguments details are given in the installation guide). This way, the renamed GroupVille application will know where to find its database.
- Known issues and limitations in GV 2.1.2:
Desktop browsers:
- Some portions of the German localizations do not show the correct German 'Umlaute'.
- No PDF printing from GV Calendar list views and all detail views
- In the GV Calendar the tabs '14 days ' and '31 days' as well GV Messaging - GV Mail polling large numbers of mail (POP3) - can produce errors if timeouts and Java virtual memory are not set according to the GV installation guide. Please refer to the manual and the included screenshots on settings.
- Upload plugin: Uploading pictures, user icons and vCards may not work at the moment on some browsers - error for missing plugin is not supressed in all browsers.
- The Part 'GV Data' part is only present with an alpha GUI (with German text). This feature allows the management of large to very large files through OS X Finder or Windows Explorer.
- Some portions in GV People, FAQ and Wiki import/export aren't fully tested and documented in all details.
- Unsupported browsers and supported browsers will not correctly upload images through the upload plugin (eg. in GV News)
- Some list views and logs may show incorrect summer times or other times/dates (one or two hours off server time or chosen timezone)
- Frontbase 4.1.6 (relational DB used for storage of GroupVille data) needs to be downloaded and separately before installing GroupVille. A tryout copy is available from www.frontbase.com for free.
- Icons and text buttons were fixed, some localizations will not yet show all correct icons and localization texts.
(Languages other than English and German are currently still being tested and improved).
- Assistant: Personal Preferences: The 'Subscription' functionality isn't finished and will be moved to Preferences.
- Assistant: General Admin preferences: The admin setup for session duration (15 minutes is the default value) is found in personal prefs if you are logged in as admin.
- Assistant: Calendar Admin preferences: Calendar administration is found in the personal
administration for calendar admins. Admins will just see more available options on that screen.
- Export/Import documentation is missing in part.
Mobile browsers:
- The GV Mobile Client is being tested with the new GV 2.1.2 release; it is released separately as GV Mobile 2.1
- There are 2 known issues:
- Calendar start date (list of events) does not start with current date
- Some detail views do not show up correctly (Foreign language encoding, HTML markups)
System requirements: Server Hardware, Software (WebObjects) and bundled Database (FrontBase)
Server / Operating Systems:
OS X 10.3.9 with WebObjects 5.2.3 or OS X 10.4.x with WebObjects 5.2.4 / WebObjects 5.3
Download links for WebObjects:
WebObjects Deployment 5.3 is available as part of OS X Server 10.4
_or_ if you download the file "Servlet Single Directory" option (no need to install WebObjects deployment)
OS X 10.3.x or OS X 10.4.x with Tomcat 5.5.12
Download links:
Tomcat 5.5.12 Deployment files
http://tomcat.apache.org
_or_ http://www.sisuworks.com/page3/page3.html (more comfortable package)
Other deployment server platforms will follow shortly.
Apple Power Macintosh with at least 512 MB RAM (minimum)
with the following software installed:
WebObjects 5.2.3 (10.3) or 5.2.4 / 5.3 (on 10.4) Deployment (available at www.apple.com/webobjects or most likely included for free with your Apple server or OS X server software for free) - WebObjects 5.3 is not supported at this time, do not update
Java 1.4.2 (included in the OS or free update available from Apple software update)
Frontbase 4.1.6+ for OS X. A free copy is available for download at www.frontbase.com
Note: Due to an issue with Frontbase 4.1.4, we advise all current users to update and use Frontbase 4.1.16 or later. Currently, the installation only supports Mac OS X Server. Other Server OS installations are available upon customer request.
WebObjects version 5.3 requires OS X 10.4, please use WebObjects 5.2.3 on OS X 10.3 servers.
Client(s):
- Web browser on your client and Internet/Intranet connection to your server.
Please see the detailed list of supported browsers on Windows and Macintosh clients
in Appendix D of the install manual or on our support pages.
You may also need to install the plugins as option later on supported browsers for file uploads.
Hint: For testing or demonstration purposes, your client may be the same machine as your server. You can then access GroupVille without an Internet connection on your local host machine.
Important: The above specification, especially the 512 MB, represent the absolute minimum to run GroupVille. This may be enough for basic evaluation of the software with 2-10 users for organizations with no current Apple hardware available. You may need to install a lot more RAM if the number of users is increased, the number of stored data and/or the access frequency is increasing.
Also keep enough free disk space for basic backups. The use of a dedicated server machine is recommended for larger installations (eg. Apple Xserve) as well as physically separated and regular backups according to your needs. This is an absolute necessity in productive use.
A special FrontBase license is bundled with commercial licenses of GroupVille 2.x . If you already have FrontBase 4.1.6+ installed, you do not need to run the FrontBase installer. (Simply follow the GroupVille installation manual in this case to create a new database for GroupVille).
After the Frontbase installation is complete, you will need to get a FrontBase license. You won't be able to use GroupVille without a correctly running FrontBase database.
To get a free E-Starter license for FrontBase/GroupVille evaluation purposes, please follow this link:
http://www.frontbase.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/FrontBaseLicense.woa/wa/purchase .
A license code will be sent to you by e-mail. When you receive the license code, use the FBManager tool to apply it.
Upgrading from GroupVille versions 1.x
Since the platform, application server and programming language (now Java, used to be Objective C), and database versions completely changed since GroupVille1.x versions were released, you will need to reimport your users, groups and access privileges.
GroupVille HTML clients
Desktop 'Clients': Any modern, mainstream web-browser (Firefox 1+, Explorer 6+, Safari 1+) with JavaScript support.
For details on supported browser versions and operating systems (currently Windows and Macintosh), please refer to the user and admin manuals and the FAQ on www.groupville.com.You can use GroupVille on most other (unsupported) browsers and platforms except for the upload plugin functionality.
Please note the following limitations on unsupported desktop browsers:
- the GV 'Chooser' window not to load properly when you have pop-up blockers in your browser (disable them or put all GroupVille URLs on the whitelist in your browser preferences).
- that unsupported browsers may show an error message when the plugin can't be loaded.
More details can be found in the admin guide and the user manual.
Mobile Clients: Any SMS capable phone worldwide for SMS reception. A "mobile" HTML browser (such as Opera for Symbian phones) needed for PDA or smartphones to access the GroupVille Mobile Client.
Feedback
You can send us an e-mail to bugs@sendaisystems.com or fill in the feedback form on our web site at
http://www.groupville.com/feedback.html.
Additional downloads, documentation manuals and information (Mailing lists...)
Download the manuals in PDF format from http://www.groupville.com/download3.html
Current manuals include:
- Installation Guide for GV2.1.2 (WebObjects)
- User and Aministration Guide for GV2.1.2 for Tomcat (new for 2.1.2)
- User and Aministration Guide for GV2.1.2
The Installation guide also includes the instructions about optional GV Palm Sync, GV Mobile client and GV browser plugin use.
Forthcoming documents:
- User Quick Guide
Please visit http://www.groupville.com/ and the Overview pagesto find additional documents as well as the latest news about GroupVille and subscribe to mailing lists.
Legal Information
A. Software License
Please refer to the legally binding document ('Sendai Software License Agreement') included in the software package before installing/downloading GroupVille and/or bundled software.
You may not install or use GroupVille if you do not accept the agreement ('Sendai Software License Agreement') before installing the Sendai client and server software and/or bundled software.
B1. Forward-Looking Statements
This document and all other materials (namely the GroupVille Betas/Previews and official releases of GroupVille and all associated materials, printed or electronic documentation and bundled software; please refer to the 'Sendai Software License Agreement' for details ) may contain forward-looking statements and may be themselves dependent on materials, events and software not available at present, for instance, but not limited to, (i) Apple's release dates of Mac OS X versions, (ii) other operating systems and software creators' release dates and (iii) further releases of used database systems and WebObjects.
While it is Sendai's best intent to make all documents, software and information as accurate as possible at the time of writing/availability, Sendai cannot be held responsible for any feature not implemented, product announcement, (announced) product not released or action not taken by Sendai, makers of bundled software or any third party.
B2. GroupVille Server and GroupVille Client and bundled software license notes
GroupVille software entitled 'Previews, 'Betas' or 'Release Candidates' are test releases. They may be re-distributed in electronic form (made available for download by FTP etc.) as long as all of the contents (complete software package and all associated documents, including this readme-file and copyright notices not altered or removed in any way) are preserved .
If you are interested in distributing test releases or the free 3-user test versions in other forms (eg. on a CD-ROM for a magazine), please contact us at marc@sendaisystems.com. Distributions must contain the unaltered, complete package file including all manuals and the Software license.
C. Copyright and Third-Party Copyright Notices
Groupville, Sendai Systems and the Sendai logo (Sendai dice) are trademarks of Oesch-Sendai, Bern, Switzerland.
GroupVille software and documentation © 1999-2005 by Sendai Systems and its licensors. Sendai Systems, Studio Sendai and the Sendai dice logo are trademarks of Oesch-Sendai, Switzerland. Apple, Macintosh, Mac OS X Server, WebObjects and all associated logos are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. FrontBase is a trademark of FrontBase, Denmark/USA. DAVObjects is a trademark of Anjo Krank, Germany. Apple, Macintosh, Mac OS X Server, Mac OS X, Quick Time, Enterprise Objects, EOF (Enterprise Objects Framework), WebObjects and all associated logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. and/or NeXT Software, Inc. Java-based trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. This product includes software developed by the Apache Group for use in the Apache HTTP server project (http://www.apache.org/). Other product and brand names mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
