openDesk 1.7: Modern project management and better stability

This release places a special focus on modernising the project management UI, and also introduces a number of improvements to openDesk's overall stability and administration to further strengthen digital autonomy.

Projects

The biggest new feature in this release is the extensive update of the project management component to version 16.2.1. The header and sidebar were redesigned to make navigating in projects noticeably easier. Important buttons like Search and Create were repositioned for a more intuitive workflow. Now the design is even more closely aligned with the openDesk user interface, resulting in a more uniform and focused experience overall.

The forms for creating and copying projects were updated to make them clearer and more accessible. Admins will appreciate the optimised process for creating custom fields, which now allows the appropriate format to be selected from the get-go, thus saving time. Other small but effective improvements, such as a clearer menu structure for work relationships and a relative time specification for reminders ('tomorrow' instead of a fixed date), round off the update and help make your workaday run more smoothly.

Email, calendar and contacts

The update to Open-Xchange version 8.39 further improves how email attachments are handled. The XRechnung format is now more reliably recognised and surfaced in the inbox, which simplifies digital invoice processing for administrations. The way vCard attachments are handled was also optimised.

To enhance security when using external programmes, dedicated app passwords can now be activated for access via CalDAV and CardDAV when two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled.

File storage

It's now easier for IT admins to adapt openDesk to the design of their own organisation. File management theming is more easily controllable via the central deployment settings. To improve compatibility in heterogeneous IT landscapes, the use of Windows-compatible file and folder names can also be enforced by default. This helps prevent potential problems when exchanging files.

Document management

Several improvements rolled out with the Collabora update to 25.04.4.3. A bug which sometimes prevented custom fonts from being uploaded was fixed. In addition, links in PDF documents are now handled as consistently as other document types, which standardises the overall user experience.

Identity and access management

Under the bonnet, the integration of Keycloak 26.3.1 provides a stronger, more future-proof basis for the system. Additionally, a bug in the intercom service that could cause stability issues in certain scenarios was resolved. These adjustments contribute to the security and reliability of the entire platform.

Other improvements and bug fixes

Our maintenance release 1.7.1 specifically addresses system administration and fixes a variety of bugs. Admins can now control the mail quota centrally via deployment. If an optional mail domain was configured, it can be used as the sender for system-generated emails. Finally, to make the UI even clearer, elements for CalDAV and CardDAV support are automatically hidden when this feature is deactivated.

Changelog

You can find the entire changelog for openDesk 1.7.0 and 1.7.1 on openCode.