What’s new in version 5.1?

Revision of the BSCW search    
The BSCW search function has been completely revised and simplified. There is now only one single, much more comfortable search form, where you easily can enter com­plex queries. Queries to the Google search engine are no longer supported (see 3.7 Search).

Content view of folders and document preview       .        
The standard details view on folders has been extended by a new content view which may be activated alternatively. The content view offers more information on the con­tent of an object entry, e.g., for documents a preview and abstract if available, for con­tacts and user objects a photograph if available and for folders the names of the objects contained. Also, BSCW can display a preview of documents, which you may have en­larged at will – just position your cursor over the object type icon of a document (see 3.8.4 Views on folders).

User-defined metadata   
Metadata attributes of an object are summarized in a meta­data profile. Metadata attri­butes have a name and a data type (such as text or date) and can be structured into groups within a profile. For most of the existing object types in BSCW (such as Folder or Document) there are predefined system profiles. You may create your own meta­data profiles on the basis of the given system profiles and store these profiles for fur­ther use in template folders (see 3.9.1 Metadata profiles).

Simplified User Interface
The new simplified user interface allows easy access to the most basic features of BSCW and is offered to users who only sporadically log into BSCW. The simplified user interface is restricted to essential functions like navi­ga­tion, creation and deletion of documents and folders as well as searching (see 7.3 Simplified User Interface).

Microblogging       
The new microblogging component in BSCW supports the exchange of short text messages, which are dis­played in chronological order. In BSCW, also events are in­cluded into microblogging. Microblogs may be focused on single users, members of a workspace or the whole so­cial network, i.e. the users with whom one is in contact via shared workspaces (see 9.2 Microblogging).

Document review  
Document review is to be used in the production of documents that have to meet a cer­tain quality standard. After editing a document is reviewed by one or more persons re­sponsible and is eventually released or rejected. In BSCW, document review can be defined for single documents or entire folders by speci­fying the different review steps and the persons responsible. (see 12.3 Document review).

Further changes and enhancements   
The navigational action shortcut navigate that lets you browse your workspaces is now always accessible since it remains on the same spot of the browser window, even if the window is scrolled (see 3.1 The Web-based user interface).           
The online status has been extended in such a way that users may indicate in their online status that they do not want to be disturbed (see 9.1 Online status display).        
Some BSCW functions have been dropped: The Document Generator (because it is superseded by the improved website folders), the event monitor (because similar functionality is offered by the event wid­gets in portals and on the desktop) and the BSCW desktop client (because many other convenient options exist for uploading documents) (see 13.5 BSCW upload helpers). The user interface with­out JavaScript doesn’t meet mo­dern user interface requirements and is therefore no longer offered, i.e. usage of BSCW requires the activation of JavaScript in your brow­ser (also see 3.8.1 Style sheets). In addition, the optional extensions for the visualization of document events and of the relations be­tween workspaces and users (workspace maps) have been omitted for technical rea­sons.