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SpringyNews: I Didn't Know That!

August 2018

Upcoming Updates to Springshare Tools

It's a busy time here at Springshare! Check out the new features we'll be releasing in the coming months. Want to know when these features will be available? Subscribe to the Springshare Blog and get the latest blog posts delivered straight to your inbox.

Appointments Updates:

  • Bulk Adding Availability - Admins can add availability on behalf of other users in bulk.
  • Email Notifications on Availability Gaps - Users will now receive an email notification when their availability is about to run out, so there are no gaps in availability for your patrons.
  • UI Improvements - We're updating the Appointments landing page to more clearly distinguish between past and future appointments, and adding a quick switch button so you can easily swap between past and future view.
  • Clarifying Appointment Time vs. Padding Time - We're clarifying appointment time versus padding throughout the admin UI, so it's easier to tell what time is booked with the user vs what time is padding.

Calendars/Events:

  • Bulk Event Publishing - Bulk publish multiple events at once, from the Event Explorer page. In the future we'll add additional bulk change options (like assigning categories and audiences).

Spaces/Equipment:

  • Switching Reservations - We're adding support for switching an existing space/equipment reservation to another space/piece of equipment.
  • In Development (coming in 2019) - We're working on implementing Billing rules for Spaces and Equipment (and eventually Events as well) so you can keep track of how much patrons should be charged for certain reservations.

LibChat Dashboard Updates:

  • More Prominent Alerts - New/waiting chats will be more prominent in the list of chats, so it's more clear which users are awaiting an answer.
  • Reduced Clicks - Reducing the number of clicks required to claim a chat, by adding a new and very handy "Claim" button in the list of chatters when a chat hasn't yet been claimed.
  • Improved UI - We're cleaning up the chat view pills, so it's easier to switch views between all chats, my chats, and chats that belong to other people.
  • Basic HTML Supported - We're updating the Operator chat interface to support basic HTML in the chat area, so it will be easier to create bold/italic/underlined text without needing to code your own HTML.
  • View Full List of Operators - Department chats will now include a full list of "Who's in this chat", so you know everyone who could be part of a department chat along with their current online/offline status,
  • Pre-Chat Questions Include in Transcript - We're updating chat transcripts so that any custom pre-chat questions are included as part of the transcript.

Additional Updates:

File Uploads for Transferred Tickets - We're working on adding support for file uploads when transferring a ticket to another user. 

Coming in 2019:

Cobrowsing/Screensharing is coming! We're hard at work to bring true cobrowing/screensharing functionality to the LibAnswers platform.

New Module - Workflows:

We're cooking up a new tool to help you manage job and volunteer applications! Workflows are coming to make your work life easier!

The job and volunteer application workflow is centered around a fully customizable entry form that you can use to collect applications - student employees, volunteers, you name it. 

Once each form is submitted, staff members with access to the module will be able to view and comment on each submission internally - all communication is kept together so it's easy to see all feedback in one place.

Each form can also move through a series of customizable "stages", so it's easy to track each applicant as they move from "New Application" to "Under Review" to "Approved".

Small Fixes & Features:

  • Primo Integration - We're adding Primo as a custom search source.
  • DatabaseA-Z Admin Side - Filter to show "best bets" only. View all your best bets databases or filter by subject and best bets to view databases assigned to that subject that are best bets. 
  • Bug Fix Profile Box - Adding profile names back to profile box displaying on both Database A-Z  and the By Subjects pages.
  • Blog Posts - Ability to edit blog post friendly URLs. 
  • LibApps Admins Enhanced Permissions - LibApps admins can edit profile data for other account holders.