Manchmal muss man etwas grafisch darstellen, was mit Worten nur schwer zu vermitteln ist. Mit dem digitalen Whiteboard von Nextcloud ist das jetzt auch ohne Zeichen- oder Designkenntnisse möglich. Wir haben die neue App mit Nextcloud Hub 9 vorgestellt, um die digitale Zusammenarbeit weiter zu verbessern.

Nextcloud Whiteboard, ein digitales Online-Whiteboard

Genau wie ihre analogen Vorgänger sind digitale Whiteboards sind in vielen Situationen nützlich – vom Klassenzimmer bis hin zu Team-Meetings. Sei es für Brainstormings, um Strategien zu skizzieren oder Arbeitsabläufe zu visualisieren. Bei der Projektplanung helfen Whiteboards mit Zeitplänen, der Zuweisung von Aufgaben oder um den Fortschritt zu verfolgen. Whiteboards sind auch für den Online-Unterricht und -Schulungen hilfreich, da sie es Lehrkräften ermöglichen, den Unterricht durch Interaktion, Anmerkungen und die gemeinsame Visualisierung von Konzepten ansprechender und dynamischer zu gestalten.

Mit Nextcloud Whiteboard können Sie all dies in Ihrer eigenen sicheren Umgebung tun. Gleichzeitig profitieren Sie von der nahtlosen Integration in Dateisystem und Videokonferenz-Lösung.

Nextcloud Whiteboard ermöglicht die digitale Zusammenarbeit im Stil handgezeichneter Skizzen basierend auf der Excalidraw-App. Das Whiteboard bietet zahlreiche Bearbeitungsfunktionen und die unterstützt die Einbettung von Bildern, Web-Elementen, verschiedenen Formen und anderer Objekte. Sie können ganze Whiteboards und einzelne Skizzen einfach speichern und teilen, um Ideen auszutauschen oder Ihr Team zur Zusammenarbeit einzuladen. Nextcloud Whiteboard ist Teil von Nextcloud Office, einem Paket verschiedener Tools die gemeinsame Bearbeitung von Dokumenten in Nextcloud Hub.

Unendliche Fläche zum Zeichnen und eine Vielzahl von Werkzeugen

Nextcloud Whiteboard bietet eine unbegrenzte Fläche zum Zeichnen. Nutzer können so viele Skizzen, Entwürfe und Illustrationen erstellen, wie benötigt werden – und das alles in einer Datei. Sie können dutzende Benutzer zur Zusammenarbeit einladen und ihnen einen eigenen Bereich auf dem Whiteboard zur Verfügung stellen. Oder von einer Aufgabe zur nächsten wechseln ohne bereits skizzierte Entwürfe zu löschen.

Viele Elemente wie einfache Linien, Formen und Texte sind so gestaltet, dass sie händischen Zeichnungen ähneln. So können Sie im Whiteboard entspannt arbeiten und frei gestalten, ohne sich um Perfektion sorgen zu müssen. Was zählt, sind Ideen und die Gestaltungsmöglichkeiten für die Nextcloud Whiteboard zahlreiche Tools bietet.

Ein digitales Whiteboard aus Nextcloud Files erstellen

Wo am besten anfangen? Nextcloud Whiteboard öffnet sich automatisch, wenn Sie eine vorhandene Whiteboard-Datei öffnen oder eine neue erstellen. In Files müssen Sie lediglich das „+“-Menü öffnen und Whiteboard auswählen.

Whiteboard in Nextcloud Talk

Möchten Sie während eines Anrufs oder einer Videokonferenz in Nextcloud Talk an einem Whiteboard arbeiten? Sie müssen nicht nach einer neue Datei suchen – erstellen Sie einfach ein Whiteboard direkt über das Anhangsmenü des Chats. Wie üblich können Sie eine der verfügbaren Vorlagen auswählen, um Zeit bei der Erstellung der Struktur zu sparen. Anschließend erscheint das neue Whiteboard im Chat und ist für alle Teilnehmer zugänglich.

Interaktive Meetings mit Whiteboard

Wir haben die Integrationsfunktionen von Nextcloud Whiteboard in Nextcloud Talk eingeführt, um zahlreiche neue Möglichkeiten zur Nutzung unserer Videokonferenzplattform zu ermöglichen. Sie können Ihr Meeting beispielsweise in ein virtuelles Klassenzimmer verwandeln oder einen interaktiven Online-Workshop organisieren. Dank der unbegrenzten Fläche zum Zeichnen können Sie ein Whiteboard für viele verschiedene Aufgaben verwenden – unabhängig von Umfang und Anzahl der Mitwirkenden.

Wenn Sie ein Whiteboard öffnen oder erstellen, sehen nur Sie das Dokument, nicht die anderen Teilnehmern in der Videokonferenz. Um das Dokument zu öffnen, klicken die Teilnehmer auf die Whiteboard-Datei im Chat und aktivieren den Editor. Dieses ermöglicht die Zusammenarbeit im Chat in Echtzeit oder die Live-Präsentation. Tipp: Probieren Sie unbedingt das Laserpointer-Tool aus!

Zeichnungen erstellen

Mit einem Handzeichenwerkzeug können Sie alles zeichnen und Einstellungen für automatische Hintergrundfüllung, Farben für Linien und gezeichnete Objekte, Deckkraft sowie Strichbreite vornehmen. Der Pinsel ist dynamisch und reagiert auf Bewegungen sowie die Zeichengeschwindigkeit. Dadurch fühlt sich Zeichen in Whiteboard an wie von Hand – und sieht auch so aus!

Erstellen und Anpassen von Formen

Um beim Zeichnen von Entwürfe, und Skizzen Zeit zu sparen, können Sie eine der verfügbaren Voreinstellungen für Formen verwenden: Rechteck, Raute und Kreis. Anschließend können Sie das Aussehen der Form anpassen, indem Sie ihre Einstellungen im linken Bereich konfigurieren.

Sie können auch Formen und andere Objekte in Ihrer persönlichen Bibliothek speichern, um sie später wiederzuverwenden, oder Formen, die von anderen Benutzern erstellt wurden, aus der Excalidraw-Bibliothek zu Nextcloud Whiteboard hinzufügen.

Schemata mit Linien und Pfeilen zeichnen

Pfeile und Linien in Nextcloud Whiteboard bieten viele Freiheiten. Sie können diese frei verwenden, Beschriftungen hinzufügen oder sie mit anderen Objekten verknüpfen. Werden diese bewegt, werden die Pfeile und Linien angepasst.

Sie können schnell einen geraden Pfeil oder eine gerade Linie erstellen, indem Sie den Cursor drücken und einfach das Ende des Pfeils loslassen. Um einen komplexen, verbundenen Pfeil oder eine komplexe, verbundene Linie zu erstellen, klicken Sie einmal auf den Startpunkt, um mit dem Zeichnen zu beginnen, und führen Sie dann Ihre Linie, indem Sie auf jede Stelle klicken, an der Sie sie verbinden möchten. Wenn Sie beim Zeichnen mit der Maus in die Nähe eines Objekts fahren, können Sie es an der gewünschten Stelle an dieses Objekt heften.

Verschiedene Aktionen mit Objekten und Linien ausführen

Mit gezeichneten Objekten und Linien können Sie verschiedene Aktionen ausführen. Sie können beispielsweise mehrere Strich- und Formateinstellungen anpassen, die Farbe ändern, sie duplizieren, Hyperlinks hinzufügen und vieles mehr. Sie können auch auf ein Objekt klicken, um es nach Belieben zu drehen, zu vergrößern/verkleinern und zu verformen. Auch die Drehpunkte bei gebogenen Linien lassen sind veränderbar.

In einem komplexen Whiteboard, kann es schwierig sein, Objekte und Skizzen neu anzuordnen. Aber das Frame Tool hat für dieses Problem eine Lösung parat: Im rechten Menü in der oberen Symbolleiste aktiviert, lassen sich beliebige Objekte gruppieren und zusammen bearbeiten.

Texte eingeben und formatieren

Mit dem Textwerkzeug können Sie beliebige Texte zu den Whiteboards hinzufügen. Wenn Ihnen die voreingestellte Schriftart nicht gefällt, können diese ändern. Gleiches gilt für die Textausrichtung, Deckkraft und Farbe. Machen Sie sich keine Sorgen bei eventuellen Tippfehlern – Texte bleiben nach dem Speichern bearbeitbar.

Bilder und Videos einbetten

Laden Sie mit dem Bildwerkzeug ein Bild hoch oder ziehen Sie einfach eine Bilddatei in das Whiteboard. Sie können auch Videos und andere Webobjekte hinzufügen, indem Sie das entsprechende Tool aus dem Dropdown-Menü ganz rechts in der Symbolleiste verwenden.

Digitales Whiteboard speichern und teilen

Sie können Ihre Whiteboards und sogar einzelne Objekte schnell als JPG- oder SVG-Bilder exportieren, um sie zu teilen, einzubetten, zu drucken oder an einen beliebigen Ort hochzuladen. Klicken Sie einfach auf das kleine Menüsymbol auf der linken Seite und exportieren Sie Ihre Inhalte als Bild mit den gewünschten Einstellungen. Sie können sie auch einfach in die Zwischenablage kopieren, um sie schnell ohne Download in einer E-Mail oder einem Chat zu teilen.

Genau wie mit anderen Dateien können Sie Whiteboards in Nextcloud Hub für Teammitglieder oder externe Mitarbeiter freigeben, um sie zur Zusammenarbeit einzuladen oder Ihre Ideen zu demonstrieren. Dies ist über das Freigabemenü in der Seitenleiste möglich, wo Sie Empfänger auswählen, Ihren Link mit Passwörtern sichern, ein Ablaufdatum festlegen und andere Einstellungen vornehmen.

Nextcloud Hub 9: Be connected!

Nextcloud Whiteboard ist nur eine der neuen Apps und Funktionen, wir mit Nextcloud Hub 9 veröffentlicht haben. Mit dem neuesten Update können Sie mit Nextcloud Hub wie nie zuvor in Verbindung bleiben – mit neuen Automatisierungsfunktionen, Federated Calls, neuen Tools im Nextcloud Assistant, verbessertem Nexcloud Mail und Nextcloud-Kalender und vielem mehr.

Hinweis: Nextcloud Whiteboard ist Teil der Ultimate-Stufe von Nextcloud Enterprise. Kontaktieren Sie uns, um ein Angebot zu erhalten. Erfahren Sie mehr über Nextcloud Enterprise auf der entsprechenden Seite.

Neu bei Nextcloud? Es gibt keinen besseren Zeitpunkt, um es auszuprobieren! Übernehmen Sie noch heute die Kontrolle über Ihre Daten mit der sichersten Open-Source-Plattform für digitale Zusammenarbeit.

Zu Nextcloud Hub 9

Nextcloud Hub 9 hier herunterladen und installieren!

Herunterladen

The post Digitale Zusammenarbeit mit Nextcloud Whiteboard appeared first on Nextcloud.

At Nextcloud, we believe in user-centric design and keep on improving our platform every day to make it even more accessible, intuitive and powerful. If you are a developer or a UX designer and want to contribute to Nextcloud design or improve the design of your own app, we invite you to participate in or weekly design review call. Read on for details.

What is the Nextcloud design review?

Our design review call happens every Tuesday in our Design team public conversation. On the weekly basis, we review the design of Nextcloud apps among fellow teammates and community members.

We invite everybody with UX design experience, including developers and designers, to participate in the reviews to listen and speak, share ideas, exchange feedback and collaborate with us on making Nextcloud apps even more awesome

*We can adjust the meeting date and time for your review if this combination doesn’t fit your day schedule.

Why join the design review?

• Participate in open discussion: Bring your app or feature to the table and engage in an open, constructive dialogue with our design team.
• Exchange feedback: Receive valuable feedback and insights to refine your designs and improve usability.
• Grow and learn together with Nextcloud!

How to participate

To join our weekly design review, become a member of our open conversation and simply drop us a message. Our team will assign you the next available slot in the call schedule.

Looking forward to seeing you there

Meet in person at the Nextcloud Community Conference

Want to meet with the Nextcloud community to share your work, design and develop Nextcloud apps together, and have lots of fun while at it?

Lucky you, because this September the Nextcloud community gathers for the annual Nextcloud Community Conference and Contributor Week in MotionLab.Berlin. Register for free today and start packing — an exciting week of meeting, speaking, coding and learning awaits!

If you develop your own Nextcloud apps, work on a project involving Nextcloud, or just love open-source and privacy, we welcome you to become a speaker! We provide the speakers with travel support which covers up to 80% of your travel costs.

The post Call for contributors: participate in Nextcloud design! appeared first on Nextcloud.

With the release of Nextcloud Hub 8, you can build apps without code to expand your Nextcloud Hub environment with many custom features. Think automating any paperwork process for employees, coordinating teams with tasks and requests organized in one place, or handling event registrations — with Nextcloud Tables app, there’s more to your Nextcloud than you know!

In this article, we explain how to organize data and collaborate using Nextcloud Tables, and how to create your own applications for any purpose.

Simplifying data processing with Nextcloud Tables

Nextcloud Tables is a no-code platform that lets you design and share tables to streamline data processing and workflow management in your team. You can create tables with individual column presets, adjust table views, and share your tables and views with other users and groups.

Available column types are quite versatile, letting you design tables for a multitude of purposes:

• Text line or rich text
• Link to URLs or other Nextcloud resources
• Numbers
• Progress bar
• Star rating
• Yes/No tick
• Date and/or time
• (Multi) selection

Create a custom table from scratch or use one of the templates for popular use cases such as checklist, team member management, customer management, and more.

You can access all your tables from the Nextcloud Tables app, filter them and add to favorites to make navigation much easier when you have a lot of data.

Want to migrate data from your spreadsheets to the Nextcloud Tables app? You can import tables from CSV and spreadsheet files, automatically detecting data format like dates, percentage, currency, and more. Just use the file upload feature or choose an option in the file menu in Nextcloud Files.

How to build apps with Nextcloud Tables

Using Nextcloud Tables, you can build apps without code and make them accessible to select user groups from your top toolbar in Nextcloud Hub. This feature allows you to combine several tables and table views in one, creating a single point of access for all the data.

Let’s assume we run a non-profit organization that needs to organize volunteer teams for our ongoing activities. Using Nextcloud Tables, we can streamline this process by creating a a dedicated Volunteer Management Application.

1. Create or select tables to combine

First, let’s create a Volunteer Registrations table to record personal and contact information of the volunteers, and the Travel Expenses table to track volunteer travel costs at the events and manage reimbursements.

To create a table, click a icon next to the table list. Give your table a name and description, then design and populate it with the data you need.

2. Create additional table views

Let’s add ‚Pending Approval‘ and ‚Pending Reimbursement‘ views for the Travel Expenses table to make it easier to track approvals and reimbursements for the volunteers.

To create a new view for the table, click on the table menu and click ‚Create view‘. A new window will open where you add view settings. Choose columns you want to include in the view, and apply rules to filter contents, for example, only to show rows containing a certain item. You can also add custom sorting presets for items in the view.

For example, approval of the reimbursements for our volunteers is mandatory when their expenses include flights. That’s why in the ‚Pending Approval‘ view we added a rule that filters out volunteers whose expense types include ‚Flight‘.

3. Combine views and tables into a new app

Now, we can create our new application by combining the Volunteer Registrations table and the Travel Expenses table. We will also add the ‚Pending Approval‘ and ‚Pending Reimbursement‘ views from the table, giving instant access to most important filter presets.

To create an application, click a icon next to Applications. In the application menu, add a name and a description, and select one of multiple app icon designs. In Resources section, search tables and views you want to add to the app. Finally, select users and groups to share your new app and click ‚Create application‘.

With the new Volunteer Management Application, we can have a more streamlined and integrated approach to managing our volunteer workforce. This application offers a one-stop solution for us to access, update, and manage all aspects of volunteer engagement and related expenditures. And importantly, everybody can build this app without code!

Other improvements in Nextcloud Tables

Besides app creation feature, with Nextcloud Hub 8 Nextcloud Tables received many other improvements, including:

• Favorites and table archiving
• Transfer table ownership in the UI
• Data import improvements

Regain control over your time with Nextcloud Hub 8

Interactive widgets are only one of the exiting new features in Nextcloud Hub 8. From new AI tools in Nextcloud Assistant to new apps and serious performance improvements throughout the platform, there are many reasons to upgrade to the latest Nextcloud Hub.

New to Nextcloud? There’s no better time to try it out! Get control over your data today with the most secure open-source collaboration platform.

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

More articles about Nextcloud Hub 8 features

The post How to build your own apps with Nextcloud Tables appeared first on Nextcloud.

Nextcloud Teams (fka Nextcloud Circles) is a team management app in the Nextcloud Hub ecosystem that, together with a new name, also received a host of new features.

The purpose of Nextcloud Teams app is to streamline team activities within your cloud by setting up group sharing features for various apps like Nextcloud Files, Nextcloud Talk, Nextcloud Deck, and Nextcloud Collectives — all from a single place.

What makes it different from casual group sharing? Nextcloud Teams is perfect for smaller, temporary projects and can combine users from different groups into any number of teams. Teams can also be created by any user, making work much more flexible and saving the precious time of your admins.

Read on as we explore this hidden gem of Nextcloud Hub that can amplify your team’s productivity and enhance core sharing capabilities.

Manage teams like a pro

Any user can create a Team to share files, Deck items, Collectives and other Nextcloud Hub items. Accessible through Contacts app, Nextcloud Teams adds versatility to user management: you can invite not only the users of your Nextcloud, but also federated users from your network, contacts from your address book, and even the external people by email.

When creating a Team, you can set the following rules in settings:

• Invitation policy: Define who can request membership and invite others to the team, whether new members need to accept the invitations, and if the Moderator confirmation is needed to accept new members.
• Visibility: Make the Team publicly visible or private.
• Membership policy: Decide if members can participate in other teams.
• Password protection for shared files: Set up a password protection policy for teams working with sensitive data by making password protection mandatory, and even set your own unique password for all the shared files.

In Nextcloud Teams, you can set a fine-grained control adding an extra layer to rights management. Within a Team, users can be simple Members, Moderators, Admins or Owners (only one per team):

Set up team sharing across apps

Starting a new project, or maybe an internal group of friends? Set up up your Team and work together in other Nextcloud Hub apps — feels as natural as normal group sharing! To share an item in any Nextcloud Hub app with a Team, just search the Team name in the Sharing menu and create the share.

What items can be shared among your Team:

• Documents, folders and media in the Nextcloud Files app
• Collectives pages
• Talk rooms
• Deck boards and cards
• Coming soon: Calendar items

Browse Teams and resources from one place

With Nextcloud Hub 8 release, we reworked the app, adding a few new features. This includes the redesign of the Team overview in the Contacts app for easier access to team data. Besides, you can now browse all resources from Nextcloud Hub apps shared between team members for quick access to project files, Deck, related Collectives pages, and more.

Boost team management and sharing with Nextcloud Hub 8!

Interactive widgets are only one of the exiting new features in Nextcloud Hub 8. From new AI tools in Nextcloud Assistant to new apps and serious performance improvements throughout the platform, there are many reasons to upgrade to the latest Nextcloud Hub.

New to Nextcloud? There’s no better time to try it out! Get control over your data today with the most secure open-source collaboration platform.

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

The post Nextcloud Teams: essential hacks for better team sharing and management appeared first on Nextcloud.

An ultimate shortcut between the apps

In Nextcloud Hub 8, we introduced interactive widgets, a completely new feature that lets you share, access and interact with items from various apps in a compact widget format throughout your platform. Now you can share documents in Talk to to browse and edit them in the chat, embed calendars in your Text files, or add entire deck boards to Collectives — and those are just a few examples.

Let us explain how interactive widgets work, what items can be shared as widgets, and what apps support them.

What items you can share as widgets

With Nextcloud Hub 8, you can already use the interactive widget feature for several items across the Nextcloud Hub ecosystem: Office files (text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, Text files), Deck boards, and calendars in the Calendar app.

To add a widget, you just need to paste a link to the item to a location that supports widgets (e.g. a Talk chat), and a widget will be embedded automatically. Users will be able to access and browse content right away, without a need to switch between the apps. In different apps, we added individual widget actions and parameters to make the interface run smoothly and without interruptions.

Files

Interactive file widgets let you view, edit and even collaborate on the files via mini editor window. Although they are not meant for full-featured editing, the widgets come in handy when you need to quickly browse or update a file.

Use widgets in Talk to streamline your team tasks. Collaborate on a To-Do in the team chat, review a content plan while having a video meeting, or add qick meeting notes — you name it! In Text, you can embed one file into another to keep your drafts, notes, sheets, schedules, documentation and any resources at hand. And finally, you can embed documents in Deck card descriptions and Collectives pages to make notes, schedules, reports, sheets, and any other related files easily accessible.

Deck boards

Deck widgets let you add your boards where you need them. Previously, you could already use previews to quickly view the linked cards, and now you can embed entire boards to browse and manage your planning.

Add boards to Text files, ensure quick access to planning on any Collectives pages, or discuss your tasks while browsing them during team meetings in Talk. Deck widgets give you more than just scrolling: you can adjust view settings as you desire, search items, and even open your cards to access the details.

Calendars

Embed your calendars in other apps to let users browse events and planning with ease. The Calendar widget gives access to an entire calendar in read-only mode, allowing you to navigate dates, scroll events and do even more.

Now you can plan events and check availability while working on your other tasks or having a team call. Less tabs and less clicks!

How widgets work in different apps

Nextcloud Talk

When you paste a link in a chat, Talk loads the widgets for all supported items automatically. File widgets are displayed in view-only mode by default, and you can click Edit to edit the document.

Nextcloud Text

Widgets in Text let you preview items in-line, with an opportunities to hide widgets to display the link only. Now you can also hide previews for items such as Deck cards, web pages, and more.

Nextcloud Collectives

Widgets in Collectives give way to more informative and rich pages. Enable the “Full width” view to browse linked calendars and Deck boards with even more comfort. Just like in the Text app, you can disable any link widget selectively.

Nextcloud Deck

Add widgets to Deck cards in the Description field to link important assets associated with your tasks and workflows. The widget can be collapsed when you need a compact description.

Regain control over your time with Nextcloud Hub 8

Interactive widgets are only one of the exiting new features in Nextcloud Hub 8. From new AI tools in Nextcloud Assistant to new apps and serious performance improvements throughout the platform, there are many reasons to upgrade to the latest Nextcloud Hub.

New to Nextcloud? There’s no better time to try it out! Get control over your data today with the most secure open-source collaboration platform.

Get Nextcloud Hub 8

Download and install Nextcloud Hub 8 here!

Get Hub 8

The post Guide to interactive widgets in Nextcloud Hub appeared first on Nextcloud.

You ask yourself, what features do I need?

Can it scale up and still be reliable for my whole company?

In today’s world, we demand only the highest caliber online communication tools to meet our needs.

They need to bring you to the next level and break barriers.

That’s why in this blog, you’ll discover why individuals and businesses alike are turning to Nextcloud Talk for its unmatched features, security and seamless collaboration.

A collaborative video conferencing tool

Nextcloud Talk is an open-source video conferencing and chat application. Designed to keep all your online conversations private, whether by video or chat, all data is kept on your own servers and no data – not even metadata – can be leaked.

The features you need for your meetings:

Video conferencing in Nextcloud offers essential and purposeful features to make video calls optimal.

Screen sharing with profile view

Let others in the call see you while you share your screen to foster a more personal encounter.

Easy recording

Record your video conferences for record keeping or later use. Before anyone joins the call, a popup to consent for recording is delivered to ensure full transparency to participants. Download and save your recording in your Nextcloud.

Support for large group conferencing

Lots of participants? No problem. Large groups are well-managed and you won’t be able to tell the difference.

Reactions in calls

Express your feelings in a call to acknowledge someone’s statement, but not go as far as disrupting.

Track call duration and speaker talking times

After one hour, you’ll get a notification that you’ve hit the hour mark so you can stay aware of your time and others‘. You’ll also never have to guess how long you’ve been talking, as speaker talking times will be tracked and noted at the end of the call.

Available on web and mobile devices

Take video conferencing from your office, home or on mobile with iOS and Android like never before.

Why it works: Integrated with your Nextcloud

Nextcloud is unique in the sense that everything is connected. You can explore incredible integration capabilities with the rest of your Content Collaboration Platform.

Not sure what that entails?

Nextcloud operates as a one-stop-shop platform integrating its own file storage, email, chat/video platforms and more so you can work efficiently and flexibly.

For example, if you’re in the middle of a call in Nextcloud Talk with a colleague and want to share a proposal your team has been working on, you can open the document directly from the chat sidebar. This is due to Files and Talk being integrated which saves you a lot of time and effort.

The astonishing advantages of Nextcloud operating as a single platform doesn’t stop here – enable hundreds, even thousands, of integration possibilities across all apps with Nextcloud as a Single Platform.

High Performance Backend

Take it a step further with Nextcloud Talk’s High Performance Backend (HPB).

Designed for larger organizations, Nextcloud Talk’s High Performance Backend offers the capacity, reliability and features enterprises need to conduct their business privately, securely and efficiently.

Unbeatable convenience

• Dial-in by a phone line to join a call with SIP bridge
• Conduct large scale webinars, public broadcasting or video conferencing with lobby

As a HPB customer, you will notice improved connection speed and network efficiency after the implementation due to lowering the load from calls on the Nextcloud server.

Why open-source video conferencing

With open-source technology, you have the opportunity to have full reign over your data. Whether you self-host on your own server or use a trusted hosting provider, your communications data happens and remains on your server, unlike popular alternatives like Microsoft Teams or Slack.

This unique protection extends further with our encrypted technologies by even keeping metadata at bay.

The post Nextcloud Talk: Open-source online video conferencing software appeared first on Nextcloud.

About Sendent for Outlook

Sendent offers a host of powerful solutions for Outlook users, allowing them to easily integrate Nextcloud into their workflow for secure and easy sharing of any files with Nextcloud links. Thanks to the user-friendly setup, administrators and users can get started with Sendent for Outlook in just a few clicks, avoiding any learning and training. That makes the add-in a handy addition for teams leveraging multi-app environments.

Sendent for Outlook works with Microsoft Outlook 2013, 2016 and 365 for Windows, Outlook for Mac, and Outlook for the Web.

With this Outlook add-in, you can:

• Convert email attachments into Nextcloud links for easy sharing.
• Insert upload links directly into emails, enabling recipients to upload files with ease.
• Add passwords and expiration dates to links for added security, with the option of customizing password and expiration settings.
• Configure the add-in to automatically upload attachments over a certain size, streamlining the sharing process.
• Use the easy file selection dialog to insert links to files stored on their Nextcloud account.
• Save valuable storage space on email servers by reducing the need to store large amounts of attachments in multiple email boxes.

Secure email attachments with Sendent

Apply custom security measures

System administrators can customize the add-in’s rules to meet their specific needs, including triggers on a specific attachment size to automatically upload attachments, adjust email templates, and maintain compliance with retention policies. By utilizing these features, businesses can maintain complete control over their data and keep it safe from potential threats.

Keep costs in control

The add-in also helps IT departments save valuable storage space on email servers. By reducing the need to store large amounts of attachments in multiple email boxes, the add-in decreases network traffic and frees up server resources, leading to improved performance and efficiency.

How secure is Sendent for Outlook?

We are committed to keeping your data protected while allowing you to share files with ease. When it comes to data sharing, privacy-conscious organizations require privacy-centered solutions.

The Outlook add-in offers various ways to enhance the security of your data:

• Secure file sharing: You can exchange data with clients and partners without compromising your security. Create a Public Share to allow collaborators to upload files and folders to your secure server.
• Password protection for your emails: You can set Sendent to generate a unique strong password every time you share data through Microsoft Outlook. The stronger the passwords you use, the harder it is for hackers to crack them and gain access to your data.
• Expiration dates for file access: When you’re working with people outside of your organization, you might want to limit their access to your server when your projects are complete. Control access to your data by putting an expiration date on all your shared files and links.
• Withdrawing shared files: Accidentally sent a sensitive file to the wrong person? With Sendent, you can withdraw the data straight from Outlook to keep it secure.
• Activity Tracker: If you host a lot of important files on your private server, you want to know who else has their hands on your data. You can check the Activity Tracker to verify if the file has already been accessed.

Feature highlights: Secure Mail and Guest Accounts

Secure Mail for guaranteed compliance

Elevate your email security with Sendent’s Secure Mail feature specifically designed for data-sensitive industries like banking, law, and healthcare.

Secure Mail allows users to protect their email content from interception by uploading the email and its attachments to their Nextcloud instance. No sensitive content is shared via the mail server. Additionally, they can password-protect the link for added security.

Guest Accounts for private sharing

With Guest Accounts, you can create a secure and private account for anyone who needs access to your data on a frequent base. This could be a client, a vendor, or a partner who requires access to specific files or emails. The recipient will receive an email invitation with a link to your Nextcloud instance where they can access the secure guest account that contains all earlier shared correspondence.

Guest accounts can be customized to suit your specific needs. You can set permissions for each guest account, allowing you to control what files and folders they can access. This ensures that sensitive information remains confidential and that you have complete control over who can view and download your data.

Secure your mail with Sendent

Sharing and storing files via email can be a risky business, but with Sendent for Outlook, you can streamline your workflow and reduce the IT headaches caused by risky email attachments. By using Nextcloud to store and share files securely, companies can enforce data availability, retention, and safety policies to ensure that sensitive information remains protected.

Why use Sendent Outlook add-in:

• Boost productivity with a user-friendly interface
• Enjoy a fully integrated solution with key Nextcloud settings
• Benefit from centralized control for administrators
• Protect your email content and attachments with Secure Mail
• Customize email templates to your liking
• Implement easily and quickly for customers, employees, and IT departments

Make collaboration easier within your organization by implementing Sendent for Outlook. Reach out to our sales team to learn more about this Outlook integration and get the app.

Available plans

	Free	Standard	Plus
Available for Outlook for Windows (VSTO add-in)
Available for Outlook for Windows, macOS, and Web (web add-in)
Share large files and create Public Shares
Nextcloud Talk integration
Withdraw shared files
Activate triggers to automatically activate Sendent
Activity Tracker
Default Sendent branding
Custom branding and theming
Custom email templates
Advanced UI branding*
Send passwords separately
Secure Mail
Create and connect files to Guest Accounts

*Currently available for VSTO add-in only.

Sendent for Outlook is available for business and private use. Businesses can directly contact our Nextcloud sales team to test Sendent for Outlook. You can download the free version of the add-in on Sendent website.

The post Sendent: An Outlook add-in to protect your data appeared first on Nextcloud.

About Sendent Outlook add-in

Leveraging Nextcloud’s powerful sharing capabilities, Sendent simplifies and enhances file sharing by sending secure Nextcloud links instead of traditional direct attachments. The Sendent Outlook add-in seamlessly integrates your Nextcloud with Outlook, facilitating the efficient sending of emails without the need to switch between applications.

Why use outlook add in?

• Simplified Collaboration: Streamline Nextcloud file sharing seamlessly within Outlook. 
• Enhanced Productivity: Save time and minimize the risk of data leaks.
• Secure Emailing: Protect your emails and attachments from unauthorized access.
• Compliance Control: Set central company policies for sharing files via email for all users.
• Cost-efficiency: Save on exchange storage costs.

New: macOS and web compatibility

The most important upgrade in the app is cross-platformity. The new version is available for Windows, Mac, and web users alike, ensuring a consistent and productive experience for everyone. It’s a small step for technology but a big change for businesses using multiple operating systems, as the add-in is not exclusive to Windows users anymore.

To achieve this, the app has been rebuilt from ground-up, with the app’s features streamlined in the new code base. More features and improvements are coming soon, including a Nextcloud talk integration.

New user interface

The update brings a completely new UI that makes sharing even easier and more user-friendly. You can edit emails inline while uploading files at the same time.

There’s also a wizard that guides you through all the steps so that even for new users, you will be able to use Sendent within a matter of minutes.

Migration and old version support

Acknowledging the diverse user base, Sendent remains committed to supporting the old Outlook add-in for users who have yet to migrate to the latest version. However, users embracing the new Outlook will find themselves seamlessly transitioning to the new web add-in, unlocking a host of new features and improvements.

Microsoft has indicated its intention to phase out COM/VSTO add-ins, with the latest version of Outlook 365 no longer supporting them. While users of Outlook 2021 and older can still utilize COM/VSTO add-ins, Sendent subscribers are required to switch to the web add-in when upgrading to the new Outlook.

For those moving to the new version, Sendent is ready to address any limitations and facilitate a smooth transition. Everyone is encouraged to provide feedback on the new app and its features via community forum.

Get the free app

The app is already available with a free plan for all users to explore all improvements and new features free of charge. Paid options will be released in the upcoming weeks, offering business-grade features for corporate clients. To try the new free add-in, sign-up for the app on the Sendent website.

Please note that in order to use the add-in, Outlook must be connected with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com. IMAP and POP3 account support is limited by Microsoft at the moment.

Your feedback is appreciated!

You have a chance to help Sendent improve the app and request desired updates directly. Submit your feedback and suggestions on the Nextcloud Community forum to let the developer team know what they should work on next. The Sendent team will monitor your feedback regularly.

The post Major update to Nextcloud Outlook add-in is now available appeared first on Nextcloud.

The Nextcloud Polls App is a social and communication tool that allows you create, share, and implement access options for polls. For example, if you want to create a poll only open to a specific group of users, this app makes it simple.

In this special edition blog, we’ve interviewed the creators behind the Nextcloud Polls app: Vinzenz and René. Read on to discover their stories and how the Polls app came to be!

Meet Vinzenz and René

Tell us about yourself!

Vinzenz: I studied Computer Science in Tübingen, Germany focusing on 3D topics and graduated in 2015. During my studies, I was amazed by free and open source software, so I began to switch to Linux on all my work-related computers. I discovered alternatives to proprietary software but also still had to be able to work together with other students and their proprietary software. This wasn’t always easy – especially back in 2009! Back then, MS Windows and it’s Office suite were the default and could be acquired by students for free at the university. Now, over the last six years, I work as a software developer at the university and help institutions that want to have cultural heritage digitized in 3D. Besides my job, my hobbies are playing football (soccer) and (landscape) photography.

René: First, I have to mention, that I never learned programming and never wanted to be a programmer. I have an economic education and studied economics. However, I always loved to automate things and make routine work easier; out of pure laziness. In the 80s, I started to try programming in GW-BASIC and pure batch files, later dBase and Clipper, VBA and VB. I sometimes earned some money with that, but it was all just for fun or done as a hobby.

Why did you develop this app and publish it?

Vinzenz: Back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, there wasn’t much awareness for data privacy and cloud services such as Dropbox or Doodle offering easy to use and „free“ applications. Learning groups and even professors have been using these services to share documents and schedule appointments or exams. By then, my web development skills were far from good and I only used HTML, PHP and other (outdated) web languages at school and the university. However, I wanted to create a better and FOSS Doodle. There have been some alternatives like Dudle, but I wanted to have a solution where all polls I attended on, created or shared with me are in one place. That is, not have to have another account or host another software. At the time, I used ownCloud despite the learning curve for such a big app. Luckily, someone already had the same idea as me and released a polls app for ownCloud. This allowed me to start working on smaller parts of the app instead of starting one big project. This was back in 2014. In late 2015/early 2016, unfortunately the developer no longer had time to maintain the polls app so we decided that I take over development and released „my“ first version (0.6.9).

René: Initially, I was searching for an app that could help me organize meeting polls for a sports club where I was volunteering at. I found polls and ownCloud and judged it as quite usable for our purpose. Vinzenz was the maintainer of the app in these days, which he forked from another app. In 2017, I wrote my first change request for this app. A few months later, I contributed my first pull request and then things evolved.

How was the development experience?

Vinzenz: It was really easy to start working on smaller parts and fixing bugs in existing features. Later on, it took more time to keep the app up-to-date. When I started my job in late 2016, I had to accept that developing a large software from scratch as well as learning a couple of web frameworks already took a lot of time. Nextcloud also has their own frameworks and APIs. With every new release and possible changes, I had to do a lot more research and investigation of these changes. Doing this after doing the same in a full-time job I realized that I can not work on the polls app the way I’d like to, to get a feature-rich polls app.

René: It was tough in the beginning because the learning curve was very steep and all I used was git and a text editor. However, it was quite impressive how low the barrier for cooperation of total strangers was. The communication on GitHub was straightforward and there was an absolute understanding of the people involved. This cured the pain with the local dev environment. I really enjoy the focused way development within the community works. As the development environment developed further, it was more fun. For me personally, all experiences help me to keep up with the times and handle developers at the same eye level.

What are Nextcloud Polls best features?

Vinzenz:

• Flexibility with different poll types
• Integration into the Nextcloud ecosystem

René: I would say it (Nexctloud Polls) is an absolute replacement for comparable commercial tools. Also, the features you have to pay for when using the competitors tools are included in ours for free.

Have you had any feedback from the community yet?

Vinzenz: There has always been a lot of feedback from the community which I really, really appreciate! This showed me that this app is needed and helps a lot of users in their daily routine. Also the feedback from the dev community was awesome! Especially René helped to push the app forward and in 2018 he took over development when I couldn’t find the time to maintain it. Since then, he’s puts in a lot of work and effort into it to develop new features and keeping everything up to date.

René: Unfortunately, not as much direct feedback as I’d wish. However, since Polls was voted in the top 20 apps of Nextcloud, I think we did a good job until now.

What are your plans for the future with the app?

Vinzenz: Whatever René’s plans are!

René: There are still some key features missing that I would like to make a reality. One thing is a smart calendar integration (a heavily desired feature judging from the change request on GitHub). The other thing is to offer public poll creation.

The post The Nextcloud Polls app: Meet the developers! appeared first on Nextcloud.

To keep up with today’s rising quality standards and enjoy the new level of working comfort, you may want to introduce a few AI tools in your software deck. Even more so, when your content collaboration platform seamlessly integrates those like Nextcloud does.

AI-powered content collaboration tools

In modern workspaces, a very fast cycle of implementing new generation productivity and collaboration instruments is evident. AI software is not an exception here. Artificial intelligence has proved to be useful in groupware and content creation apps, integrating seamlessly into the office IT. This diversity of apps allows teams to choose the tools that suits their workflow best, promoting efficiency and creativity.

One of the key benefits of integrating AI into content collaboration platforms is the significant boost in productivity and quality. AI can automate repetitive tasks, such as data analysis and formatting. This enables team members to focus on more creative and strategic aspects of their work. Moreover, with an ability to train the generative AI models on selective datasets, the outcome is technically configurable. Adding a custom touch, you can make the final content adhere to the desired industry standards and best practices.

Ethical AI concerns

However, ethical concerns surrounding the use of AI, and especially the publicly available cloud tools, are valid. One of the primary issues is the potential for bias and misinformation. AI may inadvertently generate content that perpetuates stereotypes or inaccuracies. Secondly, models provided by proprietary vendors often receive the training data in real time. It comes from the very users of the software, putting your data and your privacy commitments at risk.

And the law might not be there to protect you, at least not yet. AI companies keep successfully appealing international privacy charges to continue capitalizing on your pictures in someone’s interest.

Can AI be used ethically? The solution to the efficient and safe use of the AI in creative work is to promote conscious choice of AI-powered content collaboration tools. Equally important is to encourage continuous training and upskilling of the users.

At Nextcloud, we believe that ethical AI should:

• Be open source when it comes to the code behind the solution and the training routine.
• Be available as a self-hosted AI model within user’s infrastructure to provide ultimate control over the data.
• Grant open access to the training sets to ensure ethical and legal compliance.

Let’s discover eight AI-powered instruments that you can start using today and learn how to make informed decisions with principles of AI ethics in mind.

AI text generation

Let’s start with the simplest and the most widely applicable use for generative AI — text generation. Text tools see a booming success in creative writing since it takes a very little effort to achieve high quality results. And it doesn’t need a detailed input: even a very short prompt will bring you a rich, informative text based on massive knowledge database it has been trained on. Accessed from a browser tab or embedded in a text editor, text generation AI software is a handy addition to your routine.

However, developers of artificial intelligence models, including text generation tools, achieve the impressive delivery through exhaustive training. Very often they train the language models using your own input data. This makes online AI tools a questionable choice when working with sensitive business information.

At Nextcloud, we try to challenge this culprit. We give you freedom to choose what model to use and how your AI-powered content collaboration tools will handle your data.

Nextcloud Assistant is a text generation tool integrated in the Text app and the navigation bar that can write, summarize, and create headlines for any texts. You can host it on-premises, making sure your data doesn’t leak out to any third party. How? Read the Nextcloud AI guide to learn more about all AI apps you can use to power Nextcloud Hub.

Try it in Nextcloud Hub

AI Image generation

Image generation, though less applicable in wide use scenarios, gains popularity due to rapid advancement of GANs (Generative Adversary Networks). AI delivers contextually accurate visuals that look appealing and mostly natural. With the right prompt, it can easily troubleshoot problematic image search. Image generation with apps like Dall-E and Replicate can become a staple in creating artworks for articles, social media, web pages, and even ads.

In comparison to text generation, casually creating an image using artificial intelligence requires more skill. In practice, a detailed prompt with clear structure promises a much better result. Plus, in many cases, it takes lengthy trial and error practice before you receive the anticipated outcome. That, and still a not-so-perfect state of training make professionals reluctant to use it for more serious purposes like big budget advertising, for example.

However, the technology is already here, and everybody can use it to draft imagery for web content, illustrate ideas with sketches, and create simple visuals for social media posts. In Nextcloud, you can generate images in Talk chats and text documents using the Smart Picker feature. Choose one of several available options to run via an API or on your own server to enjoy a helpful tool that you can use for a multitude of tasks.

Text Summary

Need to skim a conversation, article, or technical document? There’s no easier way to do that than generating a summary with AI. Text processing capabilities of large language models allow quickly figuring out key points and grasping the text structure to build an accurate outline of bulky text input.

Imagine having to read a 10 page paper or a long web article just to understand key findings and conclusions. AI can save hours of work without missing important points. Based on your preference, you can get a brief one-paragraph summary or a structured rundown containing all analyzed problems, examined data and proposed solutions.

Nextcloud Assistant is not only here to help with writing, but also with text analysis. It can provide compact summaries for any texts you throw in to easily paste in a text file or a message.

Nextcloud Assistant is a great tool for text analysis. It can provide compact summaries for any texts you throw in to easily paste in a text file or a message.

Try it in Nextcloud Hub

Headline generation

A good headline is a major part of an article’s success. However, creative block or a lack of outsider’s perspective can sometimes get writers stuck with otherwise straightforward tasks. With generative AI, getting inspiration for a sharp and professional headline is a piece of cake.

In Nextcloud Hub, you can use Nextcloud Assistant to create headline ideas for your articles and web pages, summoning it from the navigation bar or right in the Text app. The command is pre-configured for you and doesn’t require a prompting skill.

Email thread summary

We all deal with bulky email threads at some point, and fairly often it is easy to get lost in the year-long conversation when you need to find certain information or provide a summary of your discussion. Just like getting a plain text summary, you can easily generate one based on the email history.

There are two ways to do it: manually via chat like with ChatGPT and by using a specialized summary tool. The ‚Thread Summary‘ feature in Nextcloud Hub powered by Nextcloud Assistant brings the quality of communication to a whole new level while caring about your privacy.

Packed in an easy-to-use interface inside your Mail app, Thread Summary is reachable right from your thread to sum up the ideas, questions and to-dos brought up by participants. Nextcloud Assistant is open-source and hosted where you want it: on your server, in a data center you trust, or in the cloud of your choice.

Try it in Nextcloud Hub

It’s not a surprise that some email threads contain sensitive business information. Exposure of such texts may threaten not only your and your company’s privacy, but also that of your valued partners and clients. We strongly advise you to only use the tools you can trust to summarize your emails unless you want to end up in somebody’s database, or even a publicly available one.

AI speech-to-text dictation

Remember the time we all dreamed of typing from our spoken word without a keyboard? In fact, the speech recognition has been around for years, but with the arrival of tools like OpenAI and Whisper it really began to shine.

Speech-to-text dictation enables you to save a great deal of time when composing texts in both communication and writing, making it a great addition to all types of AI-powered content collaboration tools. Using voice typing to compose emails, chat with colleagues, draft documents, or make notes — those are just a handful of possible applications.

In Nextcloud, dictation with AI of your choice is available suite-wise via the Smart Picker menu. It only takes one command to activate the feature, no matter where you are. Use the Smart Picker in Talk, Mail, Deck, Collectives, or other native Hub apps.

Try it in Nextcloud Hub

Speech transcription

Not quite the same as dictation, speech transcription helps convert pre-recorded audio to text. Multiple apps offer such tools to get summaries for YouTube videos, converting audio and video content into articles and more.

In Nextcloud, we found a way to improve the videoconferencing experience with the very same tool. Using the features of OpenAI or LocalAI in Talk, you can record team calls and get accurate written records of the meeting delivered to you in a text file. When enabled, the feature provides you with a transcription upon the end of the meeting together with the video recording. Use it to keep the meeting records for future reference, provide summaries to your team members, or even write interview articles based on calls.

Why use Nextcloud? If you value privacy and want to keep your collaborators at ease, you can keep the recordings and transcriptions locally. Running on your server and being open-source, AI tools available in Nextcloud are ethical, transparent and leak-proof.

Translation

Quick translation in chats, documents, marketing texts, or mail communication saves time and keeps browser tabs clean. With many AI-powered services available today, you can decide where your texts are processed and what translation model is used.

We advise you to take better care of how your work travels around the web. That’s why in Nextcloud there are different translation apps available for integration. Some of them you can even run locally.

Available on-premises tools include Local translation built using Opus models developed by the University of Helsinki and LibreTranslate. Both apps are open-source and operate independently without external processing. Another option is using the DeepL translator. It provides a wide range of available languages, but uses proprietary model and connects to the DeepL website.

Face and object recognition

A technology called ‚computer vision‘ allows the machine to analyze images and videos to understand and interpret their content. Based on the training data and methodology, the AI can identify patterns and features, categorize media, and select independent objects.

It is a truly vast field of artificial intelligence. Image analysis with AI introduces multiple useful applications of visual recognition and media generation, from image and video editing to real-time visual effects in video conferencing. For example, the iPhone camera roll puts photos in automatic categories and Zoom applies dynamic backgrounds to your streams using computer vision.

As with any AI that manipulates your content, you must be aware of the privacy risks. For instance, Zoom’s March 2023 TOS update directly states that the company is permitted to use your content to train its AI model:

In Nextcloud, we offer locally running object recognition tools that won’t share your content with third parties for training purposes. Recognize app in Nextcloud categorizes media in your Nextcloud Photos collection based on objects it recognizes on your pictures. For instance, faces, landscapes, food, vehicles, landmarks and buildings, and more. In Nextcloud Talk, machine learning is used to apply backgrounds and blur to your picture during the calls. To implement this feature, we use the Jitsu library and a model called MediaPipe. Both are open source and self-hosted, securing a Green rating among our AI apps.

What is Nextcloud’s Ethical AI Rating and how do you choose the right AI-powered content collaboration tools consciously? Read below!

Nextcloud’s Ethical AI Rating

Get Nextcloud Hub

Privacy-first content collaboration platform powered by open source AI

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The post 8 innovative AI features to use in a content collaboration platform appeared first on Nextcloud.