28 Jun Iteration 2024.02

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Streamline your workflow with smarter controls, deeper insights, and enhanced customization!

This release focuses on improving usability, workflow efficiency, and enhanced control over key processes. Users can expect new features like pinning the visibility of side panels in Tina, filtering the CHILD column in Global Manager, and unlocking the Universal flag in layout selections, which streamlines content management across multiple events. We’ve also addressed specific workflow needs by adding a page input option in Content Selector and introducing a Remutate function for forced mutation logging. These updates ensure a smoother experience with more control and customization in daily operations.

FOR USERS

Forced Mutation with Logging

To address issues with compulsive logging in the mutation mechanism (and to make life a bit easier for the photo team), a new Remutate option has been introduced in the context menu for selections that have attached mutation templates.

Key Updates:

  • New “Remutate” Option:
    • This option is added to the context menu (appearing after “Approve”) and will trigger a forced mutation for the selected child item.
    • It logs the entire operation process, enabling users to trace and review the mutation’s flow and outcomes.
  • Traceability:
    • The new operation ensures that the “Selection tracelog” can display the execution and results of the mutation process, helping to diagnose why specific images didn’t propagate to child selections as expected.
  • Available for Mother Selections:
    • The “Remutate” option will also be available for photos in the mother selection, offering full visibility into why a photo might not have been transferred to a child selection.

This feature provides better control over mutation processes and makes it easier to track and troubleshoot selection propagation.

Pinning the Visibility of the Side Panel in Tina

To meet editorial team requests, we have introduced the ability to pin the visibility of the side panel in Tina, allowing users to control whether the panel remains open or collapsed.

Pinning Feature for the Side Panel:

  • A toggle button with a pin icon has been added to the top of the side panel.
  • Users can now pin or unpin the side panel, making it visible or collapsible based on their preference.
  • The pin icon displays the current state:
    • Pinned: A solid icon is shown (with visual fill) when the panel is fixed in an open state.
    • Unpinned: A regular icon is shown when the panel is not fixed.
  • Tooltip support has been added for the toggle button to clearly indicate the function

This feature ensures that the editorial team has flexibility in managing their interface without affecting other users globally.

FOR ADMINSTRATORS

Drag-and-Drop Feature for Libraries

In response to user feedback, we’ve significantly enhanced the drag-and-drop functionality for font libraries. These improvements ensure a more seamless and efficient experience when uploading font files, especially for complex file structures.

  1. Improved Drag-and-Drop for Font Libraries: Users can now drag entire folders, including the full structure of font families and files, directly into the library. This update resolves the issue where attempting to drag a file into the library only resulted in the file opening in the browser without being added.
  2. Multi-File and Folder Support: The drag-and-drop feature now supports dragging and dropping entire font folders with subfolders. They can now be added as complete, maintaining the necessary folder structure and metadata, which is crucial for accurate font identification.
  3. Multi-Selection: We’ve introduced mandatory multi-selection, allowing users to drag and drop entire font families (e.g., 38 different fonts) into the library in one go. This feature ensures that the library correctly handles the upload of large font collections while preserving their folder organization and metadata.
  4. Visual Drag-and-Drop Indicator: When users begin dragging files from outside the library, a visual cue such as a “Drag me here” mask will appear, indicating where the files should be dropped.

These updates greatly improve the efficiency and reliability of uploading fonts into the library, especially for users managing extensive font collections. We hope this makes handling your font files smoother and more intuitive.

Editable External ID in Preselections

We have introduced an update to enhance flexibility in managing Preselections by allowing users to edit the External ID field, which was previously set to read-only.

  1. Editable External ID Field: In response to user requests, the External ID field in the Preselections section is now editable. This feature allows users to manually adjust or correct the External ID when necessary, improving the accuracy and flexibility of preselection management.

Background: This change was initiated after feedback from product managers and global managers during internal discussions. The update addresses the need to handle External IDs more dynamically, particularly in scenarios where automatic generation or previous entries may need adjustment.

This enhancement aims to provide more control over preselection data, helping users ensure consistency and alignment with external systems. We trust this change will improve the user experience and management workflow for all product and global managers.

Grouping Profiles in the New Profile Manager

We’re excited to announce the migration of the Grouping Profiles feature to the new Profile Manager interface, offering a more streamlined and efficient experience.

Grouping Profiles Migration: The Grouping Profiles tab has been relocated to the new Profile Manager, consolidating all profile-related functionalities into one modernized interface. This update ensures that users can manage and organize grouping profiles with the latest tools and design improvements.

This migration improves the overall consistency of the Profile Manager while providing users with a more intuitive and user-friendly environment for managing profiles. We hope this enhancement makes your profile management tasks simpler and more effective.

Form Profiles – Visibility and Default Form Version

We’re introducing updates to the Form Profiles panel in the Area Manager to enhance form management and streamline the configuration of form visibility and default versions within the Hubert CMS..

  1. Form Profiles Panel Fixes: The Form Profiles panel has been restored to full functionality after addressing several issues. The panel is now working as intended, allowing users to effectively manage which forms should be visible and which form should be set as the default in the specified context of the Hubert CMS. 
  2. Form Visibility and Default Form Selection Logic:
    • Users can now configure which form should be visible in specific profiles and set one form as the default for each profile.
    • An automatic selection mode has been introduced, which selects the appropriate form based on record data. If no matching form is found, the default form will be selected.
  3. Profile Grouping and Contextual Configuration:
    • We’ve added the option to include Form Profiles in grouped profiles, allowing selection based on different schemas, similar to the grid and search configurations.
    • The Form profile is now available in the Hubert CMS profile, and the UI reacts to these settings by displaying only visible forms in the correct order, with the default form automatically selected when the profile is activated.
  4. Automatic Form Selection Logic:
    • If a record is new, the default form is selected.
    • For existing records, the system reads the selected field’s value. If it’s NULL, the default form is used. If a value exists, the system selects the first matching form from the list, or defaults if none match.
  5. User Access and Permissions:
    • The module is now accessible to local administrators without requiring hubert_admin permissions. Permissions are based on the permissions tab, similar to logical mappers.

We have removed the ability to choose between form versions. Starting from version 2024.02, only v2 of the form will be available.

These changes ensure better control over form visibility and selection within the Hubert CMS, allowing users to efficiently manage forms in various contexts. We trust this enhancement will make configuring and using forms more intuitive and responsive to user needs.

Scaling Window

We’ve introduced a revamped Scaling Window in Hubert Apps to improve both the user experience and the visual design. These changes are intended to streamline the scaling process and offer a more intuitive interface for users.

  1. UX Design Refresh: The scaling window’s look and feel have been updated with a more modern, user-friendly design. Key improvements include:
    • Action labels have been added for better clarity, ensuring users know exactly what each action does.
    • Zoom controls have been simplified from a slider to + and – buttons, as most users prefer using the mouse wheel for zooming. However, we remain open to feedback and can consider returning to a slider if necessary.
  2. Scaling Functionality Adjustments:
    • Ratio, minimal Width, and minimal Height for crops with fixed aspect ratios have been introduced, filling the previously missing functionality for better scaling precision.
    • The “Scale photo” and “Rescale photo” action labels have been improved for clarity. When the window is first opened, the action will be labeled “Scale photo.” For subsequent adjustments, it will appear as “Rescale photo.”
  3. Preview Toggle Update:
    The preview toggle remains available, ensuring users can choose whether to see layout previews during scaling. This option offers flexibility for those who want to control how they view the layout context when adjusting photos.

These updates make the scaling process in Hubert CMS smoother and more intuitive, with a focus on improving workflow efficiency and reducing unnecessary options. We trust that this enhanced experience will meet users’ needs while allowing for greater precision in photo scaling tasks.

Product Manager – Migration and New Functionalities

In this update, we continue the migration from Area Manager to Product Manager, Profile Manager, and Global Manager with the introduction of several new features and improvements to streamline workflow and access management. You can read all about our previous updates and improvements in the release notes – Iteration 2024.01 – Hubert System and Iteration 2023.06 – Hubert System.

  1. Access Control Lists (ACL) per Panel: We’ve introduced ACLs at the panel level in the Product Manager, allowing more granular control over access to specific areas of the application. This is particularly useful when granting access to users such as photographers or editorial heads, who require restricted access to certain features without the risk of making critical changes. The ACLs ensure that only authorized personnel can access and modify specific panels.
  2. Unified Design for Count Bars and Short History Bars: In response to inconsistent use of element counts and created/modified history bars, we have conducted an analysis across Area Manager and System Manager. The outcome is a unified and consistent design for these elements, ensuring that information is presented in a clear and standard format. This approach will be carried forward as we split Area Manager into three distinct applications.
  3. Consistent UX for Product Selection and Editing: We’ve implemented a cohesive UX design for selecting and editing products within the Product Manager. This update includes:
    • Product configuration options: Improved handling of product configurations.
    • Save functionality: Enhanced saving mechanisms for better user control.
    • ACL integration: Access controls for specific modules within Global and Config, ensuring that only users with proper permissions can make changes.
    • Minimized nested tabs: A cleaner, more efficient UI that reduces the number of nested tabs and simplifies navigation.

These updates are a significant step towards finalizing the migration and ensuring a seamless user experience across the newly separated applications. With more control over access and a more polished UI, we’re confident that these changes will improve overall productivity and ease of use.

Unlocking the Universal Flag in Layout Selections

We have introduced the ability for administrators to enable the Universal flag in layout selections. When this flag is marked, images assigned to a specific content item will automatically appear across all relevant events, rather than being limited to a single event. This enhancement streamlines the workflow for users, allowing consistent image use across multiple events without the need to manually reassign images each time new events are created. It provides greater efficiency, particularly when working with recurring or related content.

Letterbox Detection

We have implemented Letterbox Detection for identifying and processing images that contain letterbox bars (black bars typically found at the top and bottom of images to adjust aspect ratio).

Key Updates:

The new /letterbox endpoint in yola-analyze has been integrated, which returns the pixel height of the letterbox bars at the top and bottom of an image. If no letterbox is detected, the response will return 0.

Steps Involved:

  1. New Image Processing:
    • Images will be processed via the /letterbox endpoint to determine the letterbox height. The results will be used to update barcut_top and barcut_bottom fields.
  2. Database Sweep:
    • A one-time pass through the existing media files in Phoboss will detect and update letterboxes for already stored images.
  3. New Collector:
    • A new Letter Box Collector class has been added to Phoboss.Services.MessagePublisher.csproj, which processes messages from the phoboss-letterbox Kafka topic.
    • A new collector_state table in the automation schema has been added to track the state of the collector. If no state exists, it will be initialized using the earliest media_record.last_update_time.
  4. Letterbox Detection Service:
    • A new Phoboss.Services.LetterboxDetector project was introduced, which handles the detection process in the background. This service creates N instances of workers to handle messages from Kafka and query the yola-analyze service for letterbox detection.
    • The Kafka topic and the number of workers are configurable via app.settings.json.

The result of the detection process updates the relevant media file records and logs the detection state in the automation.media_file_process_state table.

CHILD Column Filtering in Global Manager’s Preselections

A new feature has been implemented in the Global Manager for preselection management, adding the ability to filter the CHILD column.

Users can now apply filters to the CHILD column within the Preselections view. This enhancement improves navigation and data management by allowing easier access to specific child selections.

This improvement streamlines selection management, providing greater control over preselection filtering.

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