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SME File Fabric v1901 Release Notes

Released: 24th Jan, 2019

Document last updated: 28th Feb, 2019

For new deployments see Enterprise File Fabric Appliance Installation Guide version 1901.

For upgrades see upgrade-guide.

New Features

MS Office Online Integration

MS Office Online has been integrated with the File Fabric. Web-based editing of Microsoft Office documents from any storage provider using Office Online is now supported for File Fabric customers that have Office Online accounts. Documentation

Accelerated Uploads from Web File Manager

The File Fabric's M-Stream file transfer acceleration feature has been extended to provide accelerated uploads through the Web File Manager when storage for which M-Stream transfers are supported is used. Depending primarily on the available bandwidth for upload, performance increases of 2x to 5x are typical. Additionally, these uploads can be paused by the user and resumed later at the user's convenience. Mobile workers can start an upload from one location, move to a different location on a different network and resume the upload.

Watermarking of PDF Files for Data Loss Prevention

The File Fabric now supports the watermarking of PDF files when they are previewed and when they are shared via sharing links. Watermarks, which are translucent, can be placed in the centre of the page and in the document's footer. Unique references numbers can be included in the watermarks in the centre of the page. Customized messages can be added to the footer watermarks, for example “This document is the property of AcmeCorp. Sharing is not permitted to any unauthorized persons”. When the watermarking feature is used in combination with the File Fabric's internal document preview feature, watermarked PDFs of Microsoft Office and LibreOffice documents can easily be created. Documentation

Accelerated Transfers With Azure Blob Storage

The File Fabric's M-Stream file transfer acceleration feature has been extended to include support for Azure Blob Storage. Support is enabled for both M-Stream File Transfers, and Uploads from clients.

Other New Features

  • [SME-3816] - Generation of short URLs can now be disabled at the package level by appladmin or, if enabled for the package, at the organization level by the org. admin.
  • [SME-3916] - The list of results from a Search can now be exported .
  • [SME-4057] - The File Fabric's API has been extended to provide access to M-Stream accelerated uploads.
  • [SME-4095] - The File Fabric's search feature now supports searching by modification date and time.
  • [SME-4328] - Metadata embedded in MP4 files can now be found by the Content Search feature.
  • [SME-4265] - Copy or move operations involving mutliple file or folder transfers can now have their items processed in parralel, reducing the time to complete the overall operation.

Improvements

  • [SME-3667] - Login screens for the File Fabric and for SME Tools connected to the File Fabric have been changed to work better on small devices and provide an enhanced user experience. Customers who have branded their File Fabrics should consider the impact of this change and adjust their branding accordingly.
  • [SME-3533] - Auto importing and updating of roles is now provided when an AD Auth System is integrated with the File Fabric using SME's AD Proxy program.
  • [SME-3538] - AWS Signature Version 4 is now supported by the File Fabric's OpenS3 connector.
  • [SME-3912] - Support for adding the following storage services has been deprecated: email including Gmail, iCloud, ICloudDrive, PogoPlug and Dump Truck. Existing File Fabric providers using these storage services may continue to work.
  • [SME-4253] - Content indexing for a provider can now be activated after the provider has been added and used.
  • [SME-3918] - Content indexing has been accelerated significantly when more than one file is to be indexed. Organisation Administrators can also now view the queue of items renaming in the content indexing queue.
  • [SME-4144] - The “a > b >” notation that the File Fabric used to represent paths has been replaced with the more standard “a/b/” notation.
  • [SME-4146] - The OpenStack provider now manages tokens more efficiently.
  • [SME-4187] - The Amazon Cloud Drive provider has been renamed the Amazon Drive provider.
  • [SME-4220] - The configuration screen for the Content Search feature now has a button for testing the connection between the File Fabric and the Solr enterprise search platform.
  • [SME-4222] - Credentials are now validated when appliance default storage is being added.
  • [SME-4225] - On multi-tenant appliances where SAML authentication is in use by at least one tenant, each org. branded login screen now shows only the SAML login buttons for that org.
  • [SME-4230] - Wording has been improved in the explanatory text on the org. admin's Content Discovery management page.
  • [SME-4239] - The Category and Detector controls on the Search page have been reworked to make their interactions easier to understand and manage.
  • [SME-4242] - Several new detectors have been added to the File Fabric's built-in set of Content Detectors.
  • [SME-4255] - WebDAV file locking is now available through the WebDAV provider.
  • [SME-4256] - The CIFS connector now let you specific the SMB version to be used.
  • [SME-4261, SME-3687] - The Audit Event Logs page's layout and controls have been improved.
  • [SME-4272] - When an external authentication system (LDAP, AD or SAML) is used and new roles are encountered when a user logs in, the roles can now created automatically in the File Fabric.
  • [SME-4295] - The email backup feature has been changed to greatly reduce the likelihood that deleting emails in the source email system will cause a full re-sync between the email account and the File Fabric's email backup.
  • [SME-4304] - File downloads, which previously were slow to start when many org. encryption keys had been used, now begin quickly regardless of the number of org. encryption keys that have been used.
  • [SME-4323] - The Amazon S3 DES-CBC3-SHA provider has been renamed to “Amazon S3 GovCloud US FIPS”, and the “Amazon S3 RC4-MD5” provider has been renamed to “Amazon S3 GovCloud US Non-FIPS”.
  • [SME-4326] - The wording of the email message that is sent automatically when an S3 provider is added has been improved.
  • [SME-4334] - Tags management has been revised to reduce the likelihood of stale tags being displayed.
  • [SME-4338] - The File Manager's “Create new file” feature now creates Excel and Word files using modern Office file types (.xlsx and .docx respectively).
  • [SME-4354] - Automatic generation of notification emails by the Audit Watch feature no longer interferes with other activity.
  • [SME-3969] - Custom email templates are now checked for validity before they are saved.
  • [SME-3914] - Users can now download the Audit Log records related to them from the Personal Information page.
  • [SME-4313] - Org. admins can now specify maximum sizes above which files won't be versioned or moved to Trash.
  • [SME-4367] - The path is now shown for files that are returned by searches on the File Manager's Search tab.
  • [SME-4390] - The format of the license key has been changed to support new settings, some license key based feature options have been added or renamed and the license key management page has been updated.
  • [] - For new installations only, the SSL certificate fields on the configuration server's Overview page have been made read-only.
  • [] - For new installations only, the Check for Updates button on the configuration server's SME Appliance Configuration page has been removed. The feature had previously been deprecated.
  • [SME-4401] Recipients of Drop Folder sharing links can download the shared folder or any of its subdirectories as archive (zip, tar or gzip) files.
  • [SME-4443] - Performance of certain operations including logging in and loading the Shared Team Folders has been improved.
  • [SME-4410] - The contents of the File Manager's Tasks page are now refreshed more frequently.

Resolved Defects

  • [SME-4043] - Email addresses containing underscores were not handled correctly by the Filebox feature. This has been corrected.
  • [SME-4018] - Whitelisted IP address ranges could not be established for users with the Administrator role. They can now be established.
  • [SME-4022] - When an FTP provider was used as the appliance default storage provider, there were problems with uploading files to that provider or saving files to it from Zoho. Those problems have been resolved.
  • [SME-4111] - Storage Auto-provisioning did not work for users who logged in through API client programs. It now works as expected for those users.
  • [SME-4157] - An error occurred when a user's email address was changed if the File Fabric's SMTP server connection had not been configured correctly. This error no longer occurs.
  • [SME-4159] - Files stored on a Swift (v3) provider that had special characters in their names could not be moved to Trash. Now they can be moved to Trash.
  • [SME-4206] - When a new user package was created and a payment option other than the default was selected, the payment option was not saved when the package was saved. The payment option is now saved.
  • [SME-4215] - The roles lists for users with many roles were not displayed properly on the Shared Team Folders page in the list at the top of the page or in the selection drop-down at the bottom of the page. They are now displayed correctly.
  • [SME-4228] - The Filebox options appeared on the User Governance tab of the org. admin's Policies page although Filebox was disabled in the org's package. Now those options are hidden.
  • [SME-4231] - Moving files to Trash on a Rackspace provider sometimes resulted in HTTP 504 errors. Those errors no longer occur.
  • [SME-4235] - The list of storage providers from which the org. admin selected the initial Team Cloud for a new organization included deprecated storage providers. The deprecated providers no longer appear.
  • [SME-4238] - When a file for which sharing links had been create was moved to Trash, the links remained active. Now the links become inactive.
  • [SME-4240] - When exclamation marks ('!') were used in passwords for Filebox email accounts, the exclamation marks were stripped out when the passwords were saved. Exclamation marks are no longer removed.
  • [SME-4244] - Using the content detector for Spanish NIF numbers resulted in errors. Detection of Spanish NIF numbers now works as intended.
  • [SME-4246] - When the “Show Discovered Content” link in the File Manager's Info panel had been used once, it did not work again until the File Manager page had been reloaded. The button now works for subsequent requests.
  • [SME-4247] - Archiving audit logs sometimes resulted in HTTP 504 errors when large numbers of log entries were being archived. Those errors no longer occur.
  • [SME-4248] - Some operations did not work properly with the Google Cloud Storage provider. Those operations now work correctly.
  • [SME-4259] - The instructions on the Content Search setup screen for configuring the connection to the Solr enterprise search platform were incorrect. They have been corrected.
  • [SME-4270] - Cancelling a copy background task was not always successful. Those tasks can now be cancelled.
  • [SME-4274] - Several issues interfered with an appladmin setting up an Internal URL shortener. These have been resolved.
  • [SME-4279] - The File Manager's directory listing reverted to the root directory when a user navigated from the Search tab to the Files tab. Now the listing of the expected directory is displayed.
  • [SME-4286] - Org. admin's “Edit user” page incorrectly exposed the control to change users' logins for users who were imported from external authentication systems and whose logins therefor could not be changed. The control is now hidden.
  • [SME-4291] - Under some circumstances buckets and subfolders were duplicated when a user with the Administrator role added an object storage provider. They are no longer duplicated.
  • [SME-4292] - Some error messages extended beyond the boundaries of the windows in which they were displayed. This has been corrected.
  • [SME-4293] - No Audit Log record was created when a provider was removed. These events are now recorded in the Audit Log if the applicable option has been selected.
  • [SME-3744] - Two background tasks were created when an org. member with the Administrator role restored files or folders from Trash. Now only one task is created.
  • [SME-4296, SME-4372] - Org. members with the Administrator role sometimes saw duplicate tasks in the list of background tasks when there were no such duplicates. Duplicate tasks are no longer displayed.
  • [SME-4297] - Updating the Filebox email address sometimes failed when org. encryption was active. This has been corrected.
  • [SME-4303] - Renaming a file in the File Manager's Tags tab did not cause the file name to be updated on the Files tab. Now the name changes are reflected on the Files tab.
  • [SME-4309] - A fixed domain name was included in a logged error message instead of the actual domain name. The actual domain name is now used.
  • [SME-4310] - The “Show discovered content” link on the File Manager's Info tab did not return content discovered in the file's name if the file was empty. That content is now returned.
  • [SME-4317] - A feature for reading sections of large files (“range reads”) did not always work correctly, sometimes resulting in errors when videos were being viewed and potentially causing errors in API clients that use the feature. That range reads issue has been resolved.
  • [SME-4330] - Large encrypted PDF files sometimes could not previewed. They can now be previewed.
  • [SME-4349] - Users to whom permission had been granted to access Shared Team Folders on private clouds were sometimes unable to access them. They are now able to access those folders.
  • [SME-4351] - An API call that should have returned only a long URL also returned a short URL. It no longer returns the short URL.
  • [SME-4356, SME-4382] - Two errors in the Content Search feature which had no deleterious effects but caused error messages to be sent by email have been resolved.
  • [SME-4374] - Bookmark (HTML link) files were downloaded when double-clicked from the File Manager instead of the page referred to by the link file being opened. Now the page is opened.
  • [SME-4376] - In some cases the results of synchronizing Azure Blob storage providers were incorrect. Now the results of synchronization are correct. Also, in some cases large files were uploaded to Azure Blob storage incorrectly. These uploads now work correctly.
  • [SME-4383] - The download icon was displayed for Group Workspaces and Group Members, although downloads are not supported in these contexts. Those icons are no longer displayed.
  • [SME-4352] - In some cases an error occurred while files were being restored from Trash. The error no longer occurs.
  • [SME-4380] - When policies had not been accepted, certain actions involving Business Groups did not work as expected. They now work correctly.
  • [SME-4396] - When OAuth authentication was being used and appladmin had selected “Always use HTTPS” and turned off “Generate secure server side links”, the getTempAuthToken API method incorrectly returned an HTTPS link. It now returns an HTTP link.
  • [SME-4404] - After an encrypted file had been downloaded or exported once, in some cases subsequent attempts to download or export the same file were unsuccessful. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4409] - A dark rectangle sometimes appeared in the File Manager's path area in Firefox due to Flash. This no longer occurs.
  • [SME-4421] Org. admins were unable to see Shared Team Folder folders created by other users on private clouds. The folders are now visible.
  • [SME-4435] - The option to skip SSL verification didn't work for OpenS3 and similar connectors including the Cloudian connector. The option now works as expected.
  • [SME-4435] - The accelerated file transfer feature (M-Stream) was inactive if “Download/Upload Resume/Stream” was not enabled in the user's package. Transfer acceleration is no longer affected by that setting.
  • [SME-4435] - The storage of IP addresses under very specific network topology setups would trigger an application exception. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4385] - When copying a file from a directory to that same directory, the automatically generated name for the new file was generated incorrectly under some circumstances. This has been corrected.
  • [SME-4427] - Files in Trash but that would otherwise have qualified for inclusion in the results of an Advanced Search were included in the count of results reported by the search. They are no longer included in the count.
  • [SME-4445] - Custom home page messages sometimes disappeared. This has been corrected.
  • [SME-4429] - Depending on the appladmin Site Functionality setting for which of a user's files should be deleted when a users account is deleted, an organisation's files could be deleted when the org. admin account is removed. This defect has been resolved. Please see this page: Org. Admin Deletion Advisory for additional information.

Known Issues

  • [SME-3615] - The Web File Manager does not correctly handle the case where the default bucket is not found during a Cloud Refresh.
  • [SME-3268] - In some cases image previews of files restored from trash are not displayed until a browser refresh has been performed.
  • [SME-4192] - For versioned files, the Options “Move to trash” and “Delete permanently” that are exposed when versioning is switched from on to off do not work as expected.
  • [SME-4344] - The configserver feature for updating the File Fabric (checking for, downloading and installing a new version) is deprecated and can not be used.
  • [SME-4442] - As a result of changes to Microsoft's API, the File Fabric's OneDrive (free) connector is no longer functional. It will shortly be replaced with a new connector that works properly with OneDrive (free). OneDrive for Business and Office 365 are not affected.
  • [SME-4469] - Under special circumstances a package may be created to which users cannot be added.
  • [SME-4477] - The “Open in containing folder” option in the File Manager's Search page may not work properly if used on a file with the same name as a file in the Trash folder.

Service Pack 1901.01

Released Feburary 2019

  • [SME-4497] - Under certain conditions, logging in to the File Fabric via desktop tools was not possible if a SAML based authentication system had been used. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4490] - The content indexing task status may report incorrect progress under certain conditions. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4488] - After upgrading from early appliances, manual importing of users from an Auth System using the AD Proxy would not be possible. This is now resolved.
  • [SME-4467] - Package selection on the self registration screen was not possible where only one package had been made visible. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4474] - RSS widgets setup on home pages may have not been displayed. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4448] - The S3 signature version setting for S3 compatible storage providers may have been ignored, and defaulted to V2 signatures for certain operations. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4463] - You can now control the permitted ciphers in the CloudFTP and CloudFTPS services.
  • [SME-4517] - On upgrading from older appliances, customers using the “Active Directory” (AD Proxy) based authentication system may have resulted in a corruption of their AD Base DN. This has been resolved. Customers using the AD proxy are advised to review their settings and reset the Base DN if it is corrupted.

Service Pack 1901.02

Released March 2019

  • [SME-4526] - Improved memory utilisation when converting a folder to team folder

Service Pack 1901.03

Released March 2019

  • [SME-4524] - Team Folder Permissions now support a “List Only” mode for users.
  • [SME-4413] - Whitelists / Exceptions are now supported in the Content Discovery module
  • [SME-4519] - Due to a restriction in IE11, files larger than 4GB could not be downloaded via the Web File Manager. This has now been made possible via the File Fabric.
  • [SME-4523] - Due to recent changes by Azure, uploading files to Azure Blob Storage may have resulted in the upload appearing to be stuck at 100%. Refer to this advisory for details. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4523] - Under certain conditions, a File Fabric check would incorrectly return an error after uploading a file if Anti-Virus scanning had been enabled. This has been resolved.
  • [SME-4542] - The Editing and Saving behaviour of the File Fabric's built-in WYSIWYG text file Web editor has been improved.

Service Pack 1901.04

Released April 2019

  • [SME-4624] - Under certain conditions, a folder marked as Web View Only may apply tighter List Ony permissions to that directory.