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As we mentioned a couple of posts back, the team is super excited about the new web client capabilities released with the Q3 Subscription Update. Perhaps long overdue, the old web interface has been given a complete makeover, delivering a cleaner, easier to navigate interface with increased access to file and folder properties as well as simplified document preview, download and printing – all the basic stuff web client users need to do their thing.
We will spend some time diving into each of the different areas of the upgrade in subsequent posts, but this week I want to focus on the navigation experience.
The first thing most will notice after they move through the smart new log in screen and flip through the new "front and center" Web Client help section is the big clear navigation icons for Project Explorer, Item Master and Search Results (This section is empty until you search of course).
Selecting the project explorer exposes all your files, and yes, your folders. The new Web Client has done away with the file hyperlinks and limited tree navigation allowing users to traverse the folder structure by drilling down directly into the displayed folder or backtracking through the breadcrumb across the top.
These Vault folders, files or items can also now be displayed in a number of ways, as the traditional file grid (list view) for the reading types, for the more visual we can display tiles (thumbnail view) and for the conflicted we have the new plank mode allowing you to display the file thumbnail and the most important file or folder details.
Not happy with the detail shown? Not a problem, with the new web client, keep an eye out for the little gear icon at the top of the window you are in (main view, file or item details etc) and you will get access to change your property settings – change the properties in the file grid, properties in the plank view or file detail header. These settings are only for your own machine, so you do not need to be an admin to configure your interface and can now set up the web client experience per machine or have the administrator choose for you and lock the default property view down.
With your view configured, we can now sort the file list by column, or even organise the tiles and planks by any of the selected properties bringing this new configurable, data rich interface much more in line with the Vault Explorer client and making it far easier to browse content.
As you move around your new nicely set up interface you will no doubt be discovering the moustache – yeah that's right, we have moustaches now – but we will talk about that one next time.
-Allan
