The release notes for the DSpace 7.0 Beta series highlight significant advancements in functionality, performance, and security throughout the development process. Here are key features and improvements introduced in each of the Beta releases:
7.0 Beta 5 (Released April 2021)
- UI Themes & Accessibility: Support for custom themes in the UI, improved accessibility in the base theme, and introduction of a new default "dspace" theme.
- Performance Improvements: Major enhancements in UI performance through better caching and smart reloading.
- Video/Image Content Streaming: Embedded video streaming and full-screen image viewing, configurable via mediaViewer settings.
- New Administrative Features:
- Modify Community/Collection resource policies.
- Edit and delete user Groups.
- Visual badges for private/withdrawn items.
- Configurable Entities: Custom submission forms for different entity types, performance improvements, and enhanced URL paths for entity types.
- Upgrade Process: New submission form migration script for DSpace 5/6.
- Security Enhancements: CSRF protection added to REST API, improved permissions validation, and various security fixes.
- Dependency Upgrades: Upgraded to Angular v10, Node v12/v14, Solr v8, ORCID v3, and more.
7.0 Beta 4 (Released October 2020)
- Live Import Framework: Added support for importing metadata from external sources directly within the submission form.
- Controlled Vocabulary Support: Autocomplete, dropdowns, and hierarchical tree views in submission forms for better metadata management.
- Curation Tasks: Available via Admin UI, allowing metadata import/export, and usage statistics.
- GDPR Compliance: Enhanced GDPR alignment with user agreements, cookie preferences, and language preference management.
- SEO Enhancements: Addition of robots.txt, sitemaps, and Google Scholar tags for better search engine optimization.
- Security Fixes & Dependency Upgrades: Enhancements to REST API, fixes for Shibboleth login, and more.
7.0 Beta 3 (Released July 2020)
- Processes Admin UI: Allows administrators to run and monitor backend scripts/processes.
- User Account Management: New user registration, password reset, and profile management features.
- Impersonation Feature: Allows admins to impersonate other users for troubleshooting.
- Authorization & Template Management: Manage item templates, and authorization policies directly from the UI.
- Active Workflows Management: Admins can manage and oversee the workflow approval process.
- CC License Selection: Integrated CC license selection during submission.
- Bug Fixes: Numerous fixes including session management, performance improvements, and enhanced drag & drop functionality in the submission process.
7.0 Beta 2 (Released April 2020)
- Administrative Search: Combines retrieval of withdrawn/private items with quick action buttons.
- Group and EPeople Management: Admins can now view, create, and manage Groups and EPeople.
- Security & Authorization: Ongoing improvements to the REST API and UI security.
Each of these Beta releases brought critical new features, enhanced user experience, and addressed key security and performance issues leading up to the final release of DSpace 7.0. The Beta process also involved extensive testing and feedback from the community, ensuring a robust and feature-rich final product.
DSpace 7 Release Notes History