PowerFolder 28: tags, joining on request and a big step for Android
Version 28 is final. New, and by far the most visible change day to day: files and folders can be tagged — in the web portal, without rebuilding the folder structure. A document can belong to a project, a customer and a year at the same time instead of being filed three times. Tags are shared by everyone in a folder and sit right in the file list.
Search follows suit: filters by tag, period, size, file type and phrase, fuzzy matching for typos, several tags combined — and the search runs across all folders in parallel rather than one after another.
The second big arrival: folders you can ask to join. People who are not members yet find moderated folders through a filter of their own — only the name and description are visible, never the contents — and send a join request with a short comment. The people in charge get an e-mail with a direct link, assign the requester to existing groups and approve or decline, each with a reason. It replaces the round-robin e-mails people send today looking for the right contact.
Nested groups map grown organisational structures one to one at last. The password change and reset pages were hardened against account enumeration and automated attempts.
The Android app takes its biggest step in a long while: a grid view for folders and files, full-text search now on mobile too, a recycle bin for restoring deleted files, and protection against screenshots and screen recording — which matters wherever documents must not leave the device. Add noticeably better behaviour offline and on weak mobile networks, a reworked document viewer, and a sensible default sort order: folders first, then files.
Anyone migrating from Alfresco will find a complete toolset: folders, permissions, groups and profile data move across via CMIS, the Alfresco tags come with them, and titles and descriptions can be turned into tags. Individual folders can be taken over read-only where that is wanted. Add delta runs, a daily schedule, automatic reconciliation and a migration dashboard of its own.