Linchpin Essentials
Release Notes
Discover the latest releases of Linchpin Essentials
We've ensured the compatibility with Confluence 8.6 with this release.
Linchpin User Profiles: The macro People Search & List now features an expert mode to select People via CQL statements. Furthermore, you can now insert a birthday list for today or this week using the People Search & List macro!
And of course this release also brings a lot of other improvements and bugfixes.
Make sure to check out the full release notes!
We've ensured the compatibility with Confluence 8.5 with this release.
There's a new macro in town: a combined search and list macro for users called People Search & List Macro. Functionality, look and feel are inspired by the people directory.
Whether you need a list of upcoming birthdays, team or company anniversaries, or an overview of all colleagues sorted by location or skill, you can customize the display in the macro. You choose which users to show, whether the list is static or even searchable and filterable. As always in the Linchpin intranet, the profile details are used as filter options in the macro.
And of course this release also brings a lot of other improvements and bugfixes.
For this release we put the emphasis on new features in Linchpin Theme as well as improvements, to be more specific on the gender neutral language in the German version.
For Linchpin User Profiles we've added an info message concerning LDAP filled profile fields as well as improved the display of the profile macro when the column, in which it's in, is not wide enough. Information won't be cut off anymore in this case.
For Linchpin Theme we've extended the footer configuration, so you can now add a custom rich text footer column, change the order of the columns as well as show and hide any existing column, including the default columns. We've also worked on the Linchpin Teaser macro: They can now use anchor links, have fixed height and width in all three variants and links will now be registered as incoming links on the targeted pages.
And of course this release also brings a lot of other improvements and bugfixes.
This release ensures compatibility of all included apps with Confluence 8. Compatibility with previous versions of Confluence is of course still a given.
Confluence 8 introduces a number of breaking changes. Those are ultimately a good thing, since they modernize some of the technical pillars Confluence rests on. At the same time, this meant a lot of work for everyone creating Confluence apps like the Linchpin apps to ensure compatibility with Confluence 8 and 7.x at the same time.
Please make sure that, before you upgrade to Confluence 8, all your apps are compatible with it. Since the changes are so fundamental, a non compatible app might very well break completely if you try to use it with Confluence 8. Also, please make sure to test everything thoroughly in a test environment, before deploying Confluence 8 to your prod system.
If you still run on Confluence 7.x, you should be able to install this version with no worries. However, we still recommend testing it in a test environment before deploying to your prod system.
For this release we put the emphasis on accessibility - or to be more specific on screen reader compatibility. Examples for this are the "add profile picture" button and links to profiles in various places. The "headline with menu" macro and the "action drawer" button both work better with screen readers now, als well as various icons within the Space Directory and the Linchpin Sidebar.
For Linchpin User Profiles we've added the ability to use several more field types as filters in the user directory. We've also adjusted the logic of link detection to avoid false positives (e.g. for academic titles).
An of course this release also brings a lot of other improvements and bugfixes .
The biggest star of this update is without a doubt: Accessibility!
Navigate through Linchpin in read mode via keyboard now! Use the Tab key to navigate through the whole system. Skip links will help to get to the desired content faster. We also added focus frames to elements, so that it's easier to see which element is focused and where on the page you are. Use the Enter key to perform actions and the Escape key to close elements like pop-up windows. We improved screen reader compatibility of Linchpin, too! We still have some work to do here, but it's already way better than it was before this update. 
Of course, while accessibility is a very important topic for both you and us, we also worked on bringing you some quickwins, improvements and bugfixes with this update.
This release of the Linchpin Essentials drops the support of IE 11 & Microsoft Edge Legacy and introduces exciting new features, improvements and, of course, takes care of some bugs.
We prepared a short summary of the most important changes, so you can keep track of them.
The Linchpin Essentials 2.1 release focuses on various improvements.
We prepared a short summary of the most important changes, so you can keep track of them.
Linchpin Theme allows you to tab through the header, the navigation menus and the page content now. We also worked on improving the app's performance and thus made some changes to caches.
We improved the performance of Linchpin User Profiles - the "Profile" macro should load better when used multiple times on the same page. We also tweaked the caching and some profile settings.
The Linchpin Essentials 2.0 release contains several new features for Linchpin. Of course, we always try to improve our apps, so you can count on some patches, bugfixes and overall feature improvements.
We prepared a short summary of the most important changes, so you can keep track of them.
First of all - Linchpin Essentials is compatible with Confluence 7.12 now.
Linchpin Theme allows you to filter menu items by space categories, too, now. Furthermore we solved an issue which would change the sorting of landing spaces when a system is restarted.
We added a new profile field type to Linchpin User Profiles - the "date input" field which now can include or exclude the year! This field's data can also be used in filters, now.
Furthermore, we improved the structural charts - you can map users to nodes based on text input profile fields now, too. And since we're already at it: Another great news is that this release of Linchpin Essentials & Linchpin User Profiles introduce a brand-new macro - the "Structural Chart" macro!
We also introduce measurements of anonymous app usage in this release.
The Linchpin Essentials 1.5 release contains several new features for Linchpin. Of course, we always try to improve our apps, so you can count on some patches, bugfixes and overall feature improvements.
We prepared a short summary of the most important changes, so you can keep track of them.
Let's begin with Linchpin User Profiles.
A new feature is here and we are sure that you will love it – Structural Charts. You already know Org Charts. Structural Charts are similar but more powerful and versatile, since they can display the whole structure of your company. We also improved the handling of cascade select profile fields. You can upload CSV data for cascade select profile fields directly in the field configuration dialog now. Changes to LDAP are also part of this release. Firstly, we added a synchronization report view which will display detailed information about the sync. Secondly, phone fields can write data back into your LDAP now. And last but not least, we improved the search within the People Directory. Exact searches are possible now.
Linchpin Theme also received some love.
We improved the "Linchpin Teaser" macro in various ways. Firstly, the macro works better on multi-column dashboards now. Secondly, we added a help text to it. Thirdly, we fixed a bug which removed the chosen URL when re-editing the macro. A great new addition is also the live preview for the configuration of Linchpin Enterprise News colors! Watch how the changes on the color configuration affect your news in real time and choose the right look for your news more easily! We also improved the performance of the app. We enabled browser caching and optimized both the logo and the header image.
The Linchpin Essentials 1.4 release contains several new features for Linchpin. Of course, we always try to improve our apps, so you can count on some patches and bugfixes, too.
Let's begin with a new addition to Linchpin Essentials - the Collapsible Admin Menu: Collapsible Admin Menu improves the usability of the Confluence admin menu. It allows for a much faster and easier navigation by adding collapsible menu headers and a search bar to the regular admin menu. It also stores the settings for each user individually.
Next in line is Linchpin User Profiles: We added more filters to the people directory and improved the search. The search updates while you type, now, and almost all profile field types can be searched. The Org Charts received a new feature. You can now include Org Charts in the people directory and on any Confluence page thanks to the new Org Chart macro.
We simplified the profile data synchronization administration.
- When changing a profile field with LDAP or XML data source, you can start a sync right from the configuration. We will also remind you that in some cases it's useful to deactivate the incremental LDAP sync.
- When configuring profile pictures to be retrieved from URLs, you can directly check the availability and run the sync. Also, users can start the profile picture sync for themselves from their profile when they see that profile picture and small avatar don't match anymore.
- We clarified the configuration of LDAP directories and incremental sync a little bit.
- And last but not least, deleted users leave no personal traces within Linchpin User Profiles anymore (GDPR / DSGVO conformity).
Linchpin Theme comes with some new features, too. You can set the logo image of your system much, much easier now. We included a "What you see is what you get" interactive tool which helps to find the perfect logo size and placement within the header. The sidebar modules can be ordered in any way, now. Also, the Teaser macro received a neutral color - gray.
The Linchpin Essentials 1.3 release contains several patches for Linchpin. We introduced some new features, improved some more features and took care of several bugs.
We prepared a short summary of the most important changes, so you can keep track of them. If you want more info about a specific function, use the navigation to jump to this function's release notes.
Let's begin with Linchpin User Profiles. We redesigned the Org Charts.
The Org Charts received a complete overhaul and redesign. Now, the Org Charts are more dynamic - you can zoom in or out, move the view field via drag & drop and collapse or expand individual paths/branches.
The Linchpin Manager API is now called the Linchpin Suite API. Linchpin Manager (as a standalone app) is history now, so we see it as fitting to rename the API, too.
Finally, we fixed a bug in Space Directory which caused column layouts to break when Internet Explorer 11 was used.
The Linchpin Essentials 1.2 release contains several patches for Linchpin. We introduced some new features, improved some more features and took care of several bugs.
We prepared a short summary of the most important changes, so you can keep track of them. If you want more info about a specific function, use the navigation to jump to this function's release notes.
Let's begin with Linchpin User Profiles and probably the biggest change in this release. We completely reworked the profile editor (within the configuration). It is now more intuitive, easier to use and it's also a lot faster. The creation of profile fields and section (formerly known as groups) now happens in a sidebar so you never have to leave the editor.
We also removed the formerly deprecated "Phone" profile field. It is replaced by the "Phone with number validation" field type which was already introduced in LUP 2.20. Furthermore, we opened the user profile API to read and write data into profile fields.
Navigation menus received support for internal links with query parameters and we fixed a bug in Linchpin Theme concerning small issues with the sidebar icons and tooltips in some environments.
Read only mode for Confluence Data Center
This release of Linchpin Essentials brings full support for the read-only mode on Confluence Data Center. In addition, we addressed some issues with Linchpin User Profiles.
You may ask yourself - what's that? What does it do? And we are happy to tell you all about it!
Linchpin Essentials is the brand new introduction to Linchpin and a better solution to your default Confluence. Linchpin Essentials bundles three powerful apps to make your Confluence instance more structured, good looking and informative.
Let's start with Linchpin Theme. The Linchpin Theme app will make your Confluence truly yours. Your system deserves a long-needed make over! Linchpin Theme allows you to quickly integrate your corporate design into your Confluence instance. Customize the look of buttons, links, teasers. Change the header and footer design and create space layouts to give every space a custom theme. Macros like the 'Layout box' and the 'Teaser macro' allow you to structure your information in an organized and good looking way. The theme wizard will even create a theme for you! Provide it with a primary color and a logo and the wizard will do the configuration magic (which you can later edit manually). The sidebar is your quick access point to your favorite contacts, pages and your open tasks. It also includes a history of viewed and edited pages and spaces.
Secondly, the navigation menu. The navigation menu allows you to create complex, yet simple to use menus. Choose from different styles and create web-like menus with simple drag & drop procedures. You can, of course, decide freely how complex your menu should be - it can consist of single items displayed next to each other or include several submenus. And naturally, you can style and personalize your menu to your liking. Change the color of the links, the background color, the opacity and so on. It's your system, so it's your choice how it looks like!
And last but not least, Linchpin User Profiles. Linchpin Essentials expands the Confluence user profiles with thirteen new profile field types - from simple text input to language selection, instant messenger integration, validated phone field (which automatically verifies if the input is correct!) and LDAP/XML fields. Display more information in your profile - be it your expertise, certifications or personal informations like hobbies or your favorite cake.
Also, the XML & LDAP import make it possible to obtain user profile data from a file stored locally or on another server. Furthermore, the profile picture can be imported, too. URLs or LDAP fields can serve as sources. And the Content responsibility macro allows you to display the responsible person(s) for every project. The macro includes the responsible user's name, profile picture and a custom field which you can choose freely (be it their mail, phone number or something else). Users will always know who to ask for support.
Link to this page: https://seibert.biz/linchpinessentials-release-notes