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Wednesday, January 11, 2017

AVAIL Version 3.0 Released

From the AVAIL blog:

AVAIL Release 3.0

There is a lot to cover in this one, so get ready. We’ve been hard at work over the past few months making some major improvements to AVAIL. In continuing to build more of the core building blocks of our platform we’ve integrated a lot of really very cool features with this release.

THE BIG PICTURE

The serious technical details are described below, and for those of you who like to talk, read, and ponder life’s mysteries, head over to our blog to read AVAIL CEO Randall Steven’s post about our theories behind all of this. His post is the rug that really ties the room together.

AVAIL as a System of Engagement


NEW FEATURES

  • UI / UX updates
    • Channels Panel list can be customized and searched
    • Graphic interface updates
  • Flags and Comments system added for User Feedback
  • Ability to have Multiple Publishers / Editors per Channel
  • Role definitions can now be customized for Enterprise customers
  • Per-Channel Permissions for shared users can now be modified: Can View, Can Edit
  • Index multiple operations at once
    • Indexing is now done passively
    • Enhanced UI feedback that a data synchronization is in progress
  • AVAIL Content Browser for Revit is reporting data to your Analytics account
  • Push parameters from AVAIL Content Browser for Revit into AVAIL Desktop as tags for content

Most of the UI changes you’ll just have to experience for yourselves, but we always strive to achieve a beautiful modern user interface and user experience because we truly believe that it makes a difference. In this release we addressed some of the user feedback about the not-quite-right terminology that we previously used in the Channels Panel by introducing tabbed lists, and Channel names can now be searched. Let us know what you think!

Optionality in Content Management

Through our new Flags and Comments system you can really dig into the why behind opinions about content. Don’t just rate a piece of content ‘1 star’ and move on…  We believe that someone needs to know why a piece of content is rated unfavorably. Flag that content, and Comment about what is wrong so that it can be addressed. Or, maybe read that Comment that says “for rendering use only” and don’t use it for a purpose that it’s not intended for in the first place.

A great new feature allows you to specify Multiple Editors per Channel so that you can collaborate with others on curating your Channels of content. Now you can share the management of your Channels with other individuals in your firm.

AVAIL originally shipped with two Roles: Publisher and Consumer. For Enterprise customers, we can tweak the definitions of what each of these Roles can, and can’t do. For example, a Consumer wasn’t originally allowed to create their own Channels, but could only see Channels that had been shared with them. If you want to change this to allow Consumers to create their own Channels, but not be able to share them, you now have that capability.  This could be useful to let everyone use AVAIL to organize their local “stash” as we call it.

You can also set what Permissions people have within any single Channel. Users, even if they are in a Consumer Role, can now be assigned the rights: Can Edit, and alternately, Can View per Channel that has been shared with them. These permissions are helpful for those one-off cases where you do want someone in a Consumer only Role to be able to have greater permissions than they’re assigned by default, but on a per Channel basis. Publisher/Consumer are firm wide settings that a Channel Publisher can override with Can Edit to specific members of their team.  This is great for workflows where you’re using AVAIL to help manage projects.

(See chart below for Roles and Permissions definitions)

Multiple operations can now be indexed at the same time. Basically, you can drag ‘n drop a bunch of files into a Channel, and it will process in the background while you move on to index or tag the next set of content, perhaps in a different Channel. This is really useful as you’re getting started or trying to index lots of content. You no longer have to sit and wait for AVAIL to actively process that content in the foreground.

On the AVAIL Content Browser for Revit side of things, we’ve laid the groundwork for future capabilities and opened a connection from the Content Browser plugin to your AVAIL Desktop application and Google Analytics account. You can now see advanced Analytics about what your users are doing! Want to know which wall types are being used regularly, or which details are always being used (or not being used…)? AVAIL Analytics can tell you. Time to get educated about your Revit content, and NOT just family files but content buried inside of .rvt files too!

Because of this bi-directional data flow ability, Publishers can now easily push parameter data that’s buried within a Revit family, as tags in AVAIL. Want to add all your OmniClass number parameters as tags back into AVAIL? Great, just pick that parameter from the AVAIL Content Browser for Revit and push it into AVAIL Desktop as a tag! I know… that’s a little bit too manual of a process for most of you to be satisfied with, but don’t worry, we’re not done yet! 😉

AVAIL Role Definitions Table



AVAIL is brought to you by ArchVision. Pricing is as follows:

Basic
Free
  • Create up to 2 Channels
  • Up to 1,500 items per Channel
  • Share Channel Previews with users within your organization
  • Browse shared Channels
  • Automatic backup of tags
  • Revit Plugin support (Local Channels only)

REGISTER

Professional
User License: $100/YR
  • Create up to 100 Channels
  • Up to 50,000 items per Channel
  • Share Channels with users within your organization
  • Browse & consume shared Channels
  • Automatic backup of tags
  • Revit Plugin support (Local & Shared Channels)

Enterprise
Call or Email for Details
sales@getavail.com
+1 859.963.1616

There's more information available on the AVAIL blog.

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