Nextcloud Hub 8 improves performance

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The new Nextcloud is here with Hub 8: the list of changes is long – and the developers summarize them under the motto "Performance is now". And even if the backend changes are not at the top of the release notes, the provider seems to be taking the recurring criticism of Nextcloud's speed seriously. Not only should the interface now run more smoothly, but individual Nextcloud clusters should be able to manage up to ten times more users.

With AI, of course

But of course, as with every new release, the fresh tools are at the top of the list. Like other AI assistants, users can ask it general questions and the answers are based on the data and documents stored in their own Nextcloud instance as well as information from the linked emails and calendar entries and so on. Based on the texts already written by the user, the assistant can generate texts automatically - and, for example, create other types of documents such as a CV or minutes from meeting notes on instruction. The AI is also available in emails, where it displays suggestions for replies. It can also make automatic entries in the calendar. The chat summaries offered in Nextcloud are a standard feature of every AI assistant.

If you want to have more control over the AI assistant, you can view the complete prompt history. Here, for example, you can select particularly successful prompts and save them for later or delete ongoing tasks if you no longer need them. All details about the Nextcloud Assistant 2.0 can be found in the release notes.

Work more fluidly thanks to widgets

The interactive widgets for files, folders, deck boards and calendar entries are also new. The aim is for users to no longer have to switch between Nextcloud applications. The widgets can be inserted into other apps, such as Chat, so that files can be viewed and changed from there or tasks can be assigned in Deck. Planning with the calendar is also universally available, but only third parties with access rights can see the entries – otherwise, the widget remains empty for everyone else.

In Nextcloud Office, Teams is at the forefront, the next update of Circles. New features include a revised overview of your own team, the new dashboard widget and enhanced user management options. The developers plan to add shared files and calendars soon. Also, new in Office: wikis with collectives can now be shared with a simple public link; those responsible can manage links in the sidebar, for example to adjust access rights. Other smaller updates, including for the spreadsheet, are also listed in the release notes.

Tables, which was launched as a SharePoint alternative, is evolving into a comprehensive workflow management tool. For example, users can create their own hub applications based on Tables. One example would be an app for entering and managing vacation requests, as can be seen from the announcement. Furthermore, all tables can be viewed and filtered in a single list, and users can also mark favorites. Users can upload data from external files directly or import data from files into tables; the developers have enhanced the automatic conversion of CSV and table entries.

As a central component of Nextcloud, the file management system Files has also been given new features. Personal data can now be stored in a dedicated area. Also, new are the recommendations at the top of the Files app, which lists recently changed files. Anyone who wants to assign a one-time link to a specific user can now do so in Files. This also works via QR codes. The Photos app has a dedicated folder for your own photos – the overview previously showed all image files, including those shared by third parties. Finally, Hub 8 adds a suitable photo widget for the dashboard.

Talk for chats and video conferences now has messages that can be edited afterward – errors can be corrected or updates added up to six hours after they were first sent. In Federated Talk, i.e. the linking of different Talk instances, group chats can now be set up. Functions such as tagging users, surveys and notifications are already available here. Practical for longer texts: users can easily add tables and checkboxes to their messages using Flavored Markdown- or simply format the chat more clearly. Finally, the developers have also updated the Meetings interface, including the ability to move the video transmission of the current speaker.

The groupware component has also received some updates. With Hub 8, the email client should synchronize messages twice as fast, even for IMAP accounts without the CONDSTORE extension. The designers have redesigned the window for entering calendar events. In addition, Nextcloud can now automatically suggest suitable times for all participants based on the occupied and free times in the calendars of the users concerned.

Updates for clients and apps

Finally, the clients themselves also receive updates. The factory-integrated MDM support of the Android app is important for companies. The macOS version receives support for the Virtual File System (VFS); furthermore, thanks to the new sync engine, the client no longer has to download all files from the server, but only those actually opened by the user. Windows clients can now be updated without user interaction, and the designers have fundamentally revised the iOS app.

Many other small updates as well as some changes for extension developers can be found in the Hub 8 announcement. Nextcloud appears as open-source software that users can operate themselves; however, the GmbH of the same name also offers a cloud version with Nextcloud One. The enterprise version based on Hub 8 is not yet available, but its release should follow soon after additional tests and certifications.

(fo)