Q1 2024

Here's what's new to Files.com in January through March 2024.

The list of features highlights the most notable updates, including key improvements and new capabilities. It also includes changes that may require action, such as updates affecting security, compliance, or system configurations. Reviewing these updates ensures you stay informed and can take any necessary steps to maintain smooth operations.

Permission Fences

We've added the ability to "fence off" a folder from its parent so that recursive permissions do not apply to the fenced folder. You're most likely to find this feature useful if you're trying to make access permissions match a previous storage solution without reorganizing your folder structure.

Permission fences are available now for all sites. You can create a new permission fence folder behavior using any SDK, or use the Permissions display within the web interface.

Learn more about Permission Fences.

Desktop Client Improvements

You can now use the Files.com Desktop Application's preferences menu to turn debug logging on and off. This simplifies troubleshooting with our Support Team. Upgrade to the latest version of the Desktop Application to use this feature.

Learn more about the Files.com Desktop Application.

Minor Updates

Override Subfolder Locking for Administrators

We've added a new site-wide setting that lets administrators ignore subfolder locking. Locking the folder structure of a folder prevents users from making changes that can break your automated processes, but disabling and re-enabling subfolder locking each time a site administrator needs to add folders is friction. The new setting keeps users out of critical folders while letting site administrators add folders when they need to. The setting is off by default; any site administrator can turn it on.

Learn more about locking folder structure.

Append Timestamp Setting Included In Rename Uploaded Files

We've consolidated the "Append Timestamp" folder setting into the more widely-used "Rename Uploaded Files" folder setting. All existing Append Timestamp settings have been converted to the Rename Uploaded Files setting and behave exactly the same as before the conversion. No action is required on your part.

Learn more about the available folder settings.

New Copy Files Automation Setting to Always Overwrite When Copying

Copy File Automations avoid wasteful transfers by not overwriting a file with another file of the exact same size. In rare cases this caused files not to transfer. We've added a setting that forces the Copy File Automation to always overwrite destination files that have the same name and size as the source file. Review your Copy File Automations to confirm the setting reflects the behavior you want. If you do not intend to repeatedly transfer files with the same name and size but different contents, we recommend leaving the option disabled.

Learn more about the Overwrite Files settings for Automations.

Automation Performance Optimizations

We've increased the efficiency of Automations that work on extremely large folders. Copy Automations that previously took a long time to run are now much faster. No action is required to take advantage of this improvement.

Learn more about using Copy Automations.

Improved Inbound Emails Log

We've improved the readability of error messages in your Inbound Emails Log. It's now easier to see exactly which files could not be stored, along with the reason they were rejected. No action is required; new log entries use the new formatting.

Learn more about receiving files via email.

Better Logging for Move Automations

We've improved how automations that move files to multiple folders are logged. All file transfers are captured in the action history logs: the last transfer of a file is recorded as a Move, and any other transfers are logged as Copies. No action is needed to enable the new logging. Old automation runs are not updated to reflect this change.

Learn about Automation Run Logs.

AS2 Changes Included in Settings Changes Log

Changes to your AS2 setup are now included in the Settings Changes Logs. This simplifies troubleshooting AS2 issues. No action is required to take advantage of the new logging. AS2 settings changes made before this update was released are not included in the logs.

Learn more about Settings Changes Logs.

Wasabi Remote Server Connection

We've updated our Wasabi Remote Server integration to match changes made by Wasabi. No action is needed to take advantage of the updated connection. Existing connections are automatically upgraded.

Learn more about our Wasabi integration.

Zapier + Regional Data Routing

We've improved how Regional Data Routing settings interact with Zapier integrations. Zapier servers can connect even when your Files.com site is using regional data routing. The update applies to existing Zapier connections and takes effect automatically for new ones.

Learn more about using Zapier with Files.com.

Decryption Auto-Rename Timestamp

When a GPG Decryption operation would overwrite a file, the timestamp is now appended to the file's base name rather than the full name. For example, when file.txt.pgp is decrypted but file.txt already exists, the new file is named file_20240208192850.txt rather than file.txt_20240208192850. This makes it more convenient to edit or preview your decrypted files within Files.com. No action is needed to enable this behavior.

Learn more about configuring GPG Decryption and Encryption.

Support for Binary MDN Signatures

Our AS2 feature now supports MDNs signed with binary (DER) format rather than Base64 (PEM) format. This makes our AS2 processing compatible with a wider range of AS2 Partners. No action is required to enable this behavior.

Learn more about using AS2.

Last Modified Date on Public Hosting

When you enable Public Hosting on a folder, the page visitors see now includes the date each file was last modified. This reduces confusion for visitors looking through a long list of files with similar names. No action is required to enable the updated view.

Learn more about Public Hosting.

Separate Submissions Compatible With Subfolder Locking

Share Links that allow visitors to only upload can automatically organize those uploaded files into subfolders using a dynamic template to generate the subfolder names. You can now use this feature with a folder that has subfolder creation locked. Users can't create unexpected folders, and your Share Link uploads are still automatically organized. If you're using upload-only Share Links, consider whether locking subfolders also makes sense.

Learn more about subfolder locking.

Use Clickwraps Created By Other Admins

Creating or managing Clickwraps is restricted to site administrators because Clickwraps represent legally enforceable agreements. This didn't provide enough flexibility for all our customers, so we've updated the "Availability" settings for Clickwraps, adding an option to make a Clickwrap available to non-site administrators for use with Inboxes or Share Links. Site administrators can edit a Clickwrap's availability settings to make it selectable by other users.

Learn more about Clickwraps.

Image Preview Orientation Improvements

Previews of image files now use the EXIF information embedded in the image file to automatically orient the preview. This helps workflows that rely on the preview thumbnail grid. Because previews are generated only when files are first uploaded, you may need to re-upload an image to recalculate the preview.

Learn more about previewing images in our web interface.

Better Performance For Automations With Mounts

We've improved the reliability of Automations that act on very slow Remote Server Mounts. Some remote SFTP Servers were taking a long time to respond, and we've made Automations more patient, making the process much more likely to succeed. No action is required to take advantage of this improvement.

Learn more about using Automations.

Improved Preview Performance

We've optimized how image previews and thumbnails are generated behind the scenes. Viewing thumbnails and previews in the web interface is faster, particularly in folders with many image files. No action is required to enable this.

Improvements to Editing Common Business Document Types

We've made the document editing workflow more resilient. If another user or automatic process deletes a file you are currently editing, your changes are saved when you close the editor. This prevents lost work when someone changes the file while you're working in it. No action is required to enable this behavior.

Learn more about editing documents with the Files.com Editor or Microsoft Office.

Notifications Require History Permission

As a security enhancement, we've tightened the permissions required to create Email Notifications. Users without admin rights now need the History permission on a path to create notifications on that path. Existing notifications are unchanged. Site administrators and folder admins can still create notifications on a path for any user.

Learn more about Email notifications.

Webhook Signature Verification

Webhooks can send a x-files-signature header with each webhook request that can be used to verify the sender. This provides extra protection for your webhook listener. To enable the signature header, update your webhook to add a verification token, which is used to generate the header.

Learn more about verifying webhook authenticity.

New 2FA Method Available

Files.com now supports Email Verification as a two-factor authentication method. This new method is disabled for your site by default, so an administrator must enable the method for your site before it can be assigned to any user.

Learn more about 2FA methods.

SMS for 2FA Support for NZ and FI

We've added New Zealand and Finland to the list of countries compatible with SMS 2FA messages. If there are other countries you'd like us to support for SMS two-factor messages, please let us know.

Learn more about 2FA.

Desktop App Updated

New updates to the desktop app address issues relinking a file while using InDesign. For the best experience working with InDesign, upgrade to the most recent version of the Files.com Desktop app.

Learn more about the Desktop app.

CLI App Support For Automation Custom Schedules

The Command Line Interface (CLI) Application has been updated with new flags for creating Automations. You can now specify a custom schedule when creating an Automation using CLI. Update to the most recent version of the CLI to take advantage of this feature.

Learn more about CLI.

Export Login History Button

The Users page includes a button to export a listing of all user logins within a date range. The button used to sit at the bottom of the page; we've given it its own tab on the Users page to make it more visible.

GPG On-Demand Key Generation

When configuring auto-encryption or auto-decryption for a folder, the web interface lets you create a new key and store it in the GPG Key Manager without interrupting your workflow. This reduces the friction of configuring encryption settings for your site. No action is required to take advantage of this feature.

Learn more about automatically encrypting or decrypting files.

Improved Display of SSH Keys

By popular demand, the web interface can now include the SHA256 Fingerprint in the list of SSH Keys. You can toggle the visibility of this column whenever you like.

Learn more about configuring SFTP/SSH Keys.

New WebDAV Settings Page

We've added a new page to the web interface for your WebDAV-related settings. We recommend the Desktop app over WebDAV whenever possible, but settings and information belong where you already look for them. No action is needed to enable this update, and no settings were changed.

Learn more about using WebDAV for your site, or about using our Desktop app instead.

Improved Usage Dashboard

We've updated the Usage dashboard in the web interface to make it clear that the user counts displayed represent Billable Users. There's nothing you need to do to enable this update.

Learn more about how Usage is calculated.

User Page Reflects Disabled Protocols

While editing a user in the web interface, the form for a user's allowed protocols no longer lets you grant a user access to a protocol (FTP, SFTP, WebDAV) that has been disabled for your site. Granting access to a disabled protocol never actually allowed that user to connect, so the form now reflects the site-wide limitation that is enforced.

Learn more about enabling and disabling FTP, SFTP, or WebDAV for your site.

Developer Documentation Updates

We've clarified that the restapi_permission for users grants access through the API, the web interface, and the desktop application. The property name has caused confusion in the past, and we're always working to improve the developer experience.

See our developer documentation.

SDK READMEs Updated Regarding End-Of-Life Frameworks

We work to keep our SDKs up-to-date, secure and ready-to-use. Because of that, we do not support frameworks or dependencies that have reached end-of-life status. Our READMEs have been updated to better reflect which versions of frameworks are supported.

Check out our SDKs on Github.