As we start the new year, it’s worthwhile to reflect on how the past year has been for Filr and share the plans we have for the new year.
In 2015
In the first half of the year Filr 1.2 was released with some very significant additional features, such as support for multiple Filr administrators, complex password policy, simplified conflict resolution, mobile conflict resolution, CAPTCHA support to deter brute force attacks, mobile PIN code support and KeyShield SSO support. The release was an important milestone in Filr’s journey to greater adoption and was very well received.
During the second half of 2015 the Filr iOS v1.3 app was released with support for iOS 9 and with enhanced integration to the iOS document provider extension with the result that most of your well known iOS apps are now better integrated with Filr!
The iOS Document Provider extension acts as the interface between the files that your app manages and the ones other apps manages on your iOS device. It lets other apps import or open files, uploading and downloading them from your server as needed. Apps can also export or move their documents into your app/extension’s shared container.
So it is now possible for an app to open a file that resides in the Filr sandbox without moving the file out of Filr’s sandbox. A user can edit a file and when the file is saved – the original file stored in Filr’s sandbox is updated. iOS has done this in a way that other apps are only able to access files in the Filr sandbox through the use of special APIs.
The user interface provided for the user to browse Filr files is provided by the Filr extension. When a user selects a file to open, the other app is only able to open the file through one of those APIs. So other apps are not able to access other files in the Filr sandbox. The end result is a more secure application.
Because the Filr extension is directly related to the iOS Document Picker, only apps that implement the Document Picker have access to the extension. Different apps may implement different features.
For instance, if an app only implements the import feature, a user could select a file and a copy of that file will be made available for the app to import into its own sandbox. Likewise apps that implement the open feature allow the user to open a file directly in the Filr sandbox.
Apps like Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point along with Apple’s Pages app implement the open feature. Figures 1 and 2, illustrate what the Filr extension looks like from Microsoft Word while a Filr document being edited with the Pages app could look similar to that shown in figure 3.
One of our biggest learning curves in 2015 has been support for Mac OSX 10.11 (El Capitan). Like many others in this industry – we too were challenged to support OS-X 10.11 soon after its release. Originally we began the work to support the Filr client on OS 10.11 with early betas.
Unfortunately, we found the Finder and other framework code we integrate with was changing drastically between betas. As such we had to wait for the code to stabilise, and that didn’t happen until shortly before Apple opted to release the product.
Though we turned around and released the Mac Client with 10.11 support on Dec 1st 2015 - we learned a very important lesson with this experience and have been on our toes testing and enhancing support for upcoming OSX releases.
We also had to adopt new changes in Android with the result that Zenwork Mobile Management support was enhanced to support the new Android security model.
We also added support for Windows 10 for the Filr Desktop Client as soon as Windows 10 was released.
Looking ahead to 2016
In first quarter of 2016 you can expect Filr 2 with the following new features and enhancements:
- Files on Demand Desktop Clients
- Support for new data stores for: SharePoint OnPrem 2013 (figure 4) & OES 2015 NSS AD
- Support for new hypervisor: Citrix Xen
- Proxy Identity Vault: for ease of managing NetFolders
- More customisations for file share email notifications
- Support for a new database: MariaDB
- Security improvement to enforce access restrictions to Filr Virtual appliance
- AD NetFolder performance enhancements.
- SDK: Client and Admin REST API (follows Filr 2.0 release).
We delayed the Filr 2 release to accommodate the feedback you shared in the beta programme of Filr 2. Consequently, new features other than what we planned to release in Dec 2015 are:
- Support for upgrading Filr from Filr 1.1 to Filr 2
- Improved built-in product feedback feature
- Ability for administrators & users to control which applications can and can’t download files using the Filr 2 (“Files on Demand”) Desktop Client.
We‘re also working on enhancing the Filr Windows Mobile app based on your requests. So, stay tuned for a further release.
In future releases of the Filr iOS app, we will provide the ability to take advantage of the split-screen multitasking feature on iPads. It will include the Slide Over feature and also the Split View feature for those iPads that support it.
Also on the horizon is the capability to support the new 3D Touch available on some devices. This gives the ability to provide quick access to specific features along with other possibilities.
Overall we are very proud of the value we were able to add to our customers with Filr in 2015. We are also excited to integrate and keep pace with the useful ecosystem enhancements focused on security and productivity that we are making in Filr. But we are most excited to help you have your users leverage the capabilities of the evolving Filr ecosystem to be more secure and productive during 2016.
We at Micro Focus really value your trust, patronage and support for Filr and look forward to continue our partnership in 2016. Wishing you a very happy and successful new year.
This article was first published in OH Magazine Issue 32, January 2016.