| |
 What to Expect using FirstClass 8.3
Note: click on images to enlarge.
Unlike past 'Things to Expect' tech notes, this tech note will deal mainly with the changes from previous versions rather than the upgrade procedure. This procedure is outlined in detail where the FirstClass 8.3 upgraders and installers are found on FirstClass online as shown below. You should review this document and the upgrade procedure before attempting to upgrade to 8.3.
 Brief Overview of Significant Changes
Client Interface
Prior to 8.3, a typical user desktop looks like this:
 With the 8.3 Client, a typical user desktop looks like this:
 We will cover the client interface changes in detail later in this document.
Navigation Pane Applications Available to All Users
 The navigation pane applications will always be available to all users, but the applications can be limited to personal use only (no ability to share, collaborate or communicate with other users via these applications). The applications and their controls are covered in greater detail later in this document.The navigation bar cannot be customized, but the user does have the ability to hide it, and the setting will be remembered.
The Desktop "L"
 The first time a user logs into a FirstClass 8.3 Server (by any method other than an 8.2 or older client) the desktop "L" will be modeled to their account. All existing desktop icons are moved 96 pixels down and to the right to make room and prevent overlap. These icons, their locations and size, and the background image are controlled via a new group called:
All Desktops
 The All Desktops template determines the Desktop view properties for all users — new and existing. This provides administrators with a much more powerful way of managing the look and feel of their users' Desktops since All Desktops view property changes made by the administrator will be sent out dynamically to each user each time they log in.
As in the past, users are free to further customize the view properties of their own Desktops if they choose to do so. If they do, these changes "stick" even when the All Desktops template is changed to avoid resetting these power users' Desktops. However, there is now an easy way for end users to restore their Desktop view back to the system default as set by All Desktops by simply clicking on the "default" button in the View Properties window of the Desktop.
Icon Size
In previous clients, default icon sizes were 16x16 (small icon) or 32x32 (icon), plus various other "custom" icon sizes. With 8.3 the default icons are 64x64 .png images which allows for seamless scaling from 16x16 up to 128x128. The administrator (or end user) has the ability to easily resize icons to whatever suits their needs best via the View menu/Change View Properties.
 Deleted Mail Removal
 In previous versions of FirstClass, deleted or expired items were always purged during the next daily audit. In FirstClass 8.3, the administrator may specify, on a group-by-group basis, how many days after deletion or expiry these items are purged. This makes recovery of files that may have been inadvertantly deleted a great deal easier. The Default is one day (the email will be permanently deleted on the next daily audit). This feature works in conjunction with the new Trash Can application which will allow a user to undelete items. If you wish to check when an item was deleted, you can enable the Expiry column in the Trash Can.
 Automatic Client Updates
While the initial 8.3 Client updates will need to be done manually, all future Client versions will be available to the end user via automatic updates. The updates are delivered from each local FirstClass Server, allowing the administrator full control over the deployment of new releases to their users. The details on using the updater will be provided in a supplementary document.
Batch Folder Processing without server restart
 You can force batch folder processing without a server restart.
SMTP Authentication for Internet Services routing (and outbound SMTP TLS)
 Internet Services now supports SMTP authentication for outbound routing of email. This means that sites that route email through a third party email server can now take advantage of authentication to improve security.
Outbound SMTP TLS is also supported. If the destination mail server has a TLS certificate, Internet Services will use it for authentication.
Drag and drop licensing via System Profile
 Licenses can now be added via a new Licensing tab on the System Profile.
Therefore there are now three ways to add licenses: FirstClass Tools, Batch Admin, and System Profile.
Special Icon Animation
A special animation has been introduced when opening icons when configured. To see a this, please do the following. Log in to your account using the 8.315 client and ensure that under the View menu, it is set to View By Icon.
 Now select the View menu again and choose Change View Properties. The View Properties window will popup.
 Place a checkmark in Open icons with single click and click on OK.
Now when you click on an icon on your FirstClass desktop, you should see it animate when it opens.
End-user Features, Changes, and Enhancements
The FirstClass Applications
The 8.3 Client will greatly enhance the visibility and accessibility of all applications available within FirstClass. All applications will be available to all users at all times, but the administrator may apply restrictions that will limit what the user can do within a given application. An overview of the applications follows:
 MailThe Mail application is the foundation application of FirstClass, and is required for all users. The administrator can apply restrictions to the user's mail features such as prohibiting user to user mail, or prohibiting the sending of mail to the internet.
 CalendarIf the administrator enables the Calendar application, users may invite other users to calendar events. If the calendar application is not enabled, users are restricted to using it for personal scheduling only. A separate permission, Share Calendars, controls the ability to share calendars with others.
 ContactsAll users have a Contacts folder on their desktops. With the Contacts application enabled, users may address mail to any entries located within their Contacts folder. If it is not enabled, the Contacts folder can still be used as a storage location for personal contact information.
 Documents Users can use this application to create and store FirstClass documents.
 File StorageUsers can store any personal files in this folder. Administrators have the ability to restrict (at the group level) what types of files a user may upload/download.
 Trash CanDeleted and expired objects appear in the Trash Can for the length of time specified by the administrator on the Limits tab of the Group Privileges form. Users can undelete items from the Trash Can, or can drag items from the Trash Can to other folders on their Desktop.
 ConferencesAll users have access to the conferences area. As the administrator, you can make selected conferences available to all users by placing them here.
 WorkspacesA workspace is a user-created space that can be used for a wide range of activities such as managing projects and activities, sharing files and documents and so on. If the administrator grants the Share Workspaces privilege to a user, the user can invite other users in to share a workspace. If a user does not have the Share Workspaces privilege, he/she can still use this application to create and organize personal projects, but will not have the ability to add any Workspace Members.
 Instant MessagingIf the Private Chat feature is not enabled, the user can open the Instant Messaging application, but cannot invite anyone to chat.
 Web PublishingUsers can easily create a personal web site including regular web pages, blogs, and even podcasts in this folder. Content created here can be rendered directly to the web by Internet Services if the user has Web Publishing privilege turned on. If this privilege is not turned on the user can still create content, but it cannot be accessed via the web.
 BookmarksUsers can use the Bookmarks application to store, manage, and use internal and external bookmarks/favorites. This application is available to all users. In FirstClass 8.3 the ability to import bookmarks directly from a web browser has been added.
 HelpThis Help application provides a set of help files that explain many of the basic tasks FirstClass users will want to perform. You can add additional help material if you wish by adding documents to the Help folder on the administrator’s Desktop. Users can access the Help contents by choosing Help > Help contents, or by pressing F1 at any time within FirstClass. The Help application is available to all users at all times.
Choose Outbound Alias
Users now have the ability to choose their preferred outbound alias from a pre-defined list on a message-by-message basis. The selected alias will be used as the From name when the message is transferred via SMTP.
 Admin Features, changes, and enhancements
New Permissions
  There are four new permissions related to the sharing of new and existing FirstClass Applications:
Share Contact Databases
With this permission enabled, users will be able to share their contact databases with other users. Without, users will still be able to create Contact Databases, but for personal use only.
Share Conferences
With this permission enabled, users will be able to share their conferences with other users. This permission is also required for the creation of web blogs. Without, users will still be able to create Conferences, but for personal use only.
Share Calendars
With this permission enabled, users will be able to share their calendars with other users. Without, users will still be able to create Calendars, but for personal use only.
Share Workspaces
With this permission enabled, users will be able to share their workspaces with other users. Without, users will still be able to create Workspaces, but for personal use only.
Obsolete and Removed Permissions
Create Conferences: All users may now create conferences. They will be unpublished by default (will not show up in the directory), and unless the user has the Publish Directory Names permission, they won't be able to publish them. If they do not have Share Conferences they will not be able to alias these conferences to other users, effectively limiting them to personal use only.
Create Calendars: All users may now create calendars. As with conferences, they will be unpublished and unshareable unless the appropriate permissions are enabled.
Create Shared Contacts: All users may now create contact databases. Users will require the Contacts permission in order to address messages to entries within a Contacts Database (it or it's alias will also need to reside within the user's personal Contacts folder), and will need Share Contact Databases to make this container available to others.
Object Templates
On the desktop of the admin account is a new conference named Object Templates. This conference contains all of the default "templates" used in the creation of everything from documents to web publishing to workspaces. You can modify existing templates and add your own, but be wary of deleting existing ones altogether; if there are no templates for the users, they will not be able to create that type of object.
Admin Tips
Set a Deleted Mail Removal period for all of your users of at least a few days! If a user accidentally deletes something of importance, it's far easier to restore it from the Trash Can than from a backup.
Conferences created by anyone in 8.3 (including the admin account) default to having Do not Publish in Directory checked on in the permissions. Remember to uncheck this if you wish the conference to be visible in the directory for users to address messages to.
 For the new Web Publishing features to work properly, it is sometimes necessary for a user to re-create their existing home page folder. If a user's website isn't working as intended, you may want to give this a try.
Explore View is obsolete. If you have any user group's Client interface set to any Explore option (FirstClass Explore, Explore side-by-Side, Explore no Preview), reset it to Default.
 Do Not Toggle the Nav Pane in any Model Desktop
At this time, toggling on the Nav pane of any model desktop may result in unintended consequences to the end-user's client view. Do not toggle this view on any model desktop (including All Desktops) for any reason. Undoing the issues that arise from this can be difficult. (This has been fixed in SP1 of 8.3, so if you are running Build 393 or higher, you will not have this problem).
 Admin account not affected by All Desktops
When the admin logs in under an 8.3 Client you would not expect to see the All Desktop items modeled to it. However, the majority of the default icons have been remodeled in 64x64 size, so expect to see some overlap; a few minutes spent cleaning up the desktop may be necessary.
Additional Reading
This document is by no means a complete list of the changes and features in 8.3. Further and detailed information can be found on our website at http://www.firstclass.com/FC83/
Another useful 8.3 document, which is placed on the admin's desktop after the server upgrade can be previewed here (The FirstClass Client, and a registered account on FCOL required)
| ||