Connect web app release notes

This topic describes the new features, changes in functionality, and fixed issues in the current and previous supported releases of the Connect web apps. It is divided into sections for Webapp3 (the currently supported version) and Webapp2 (the previous version).

Webapp3 release notes

New in v36 Webapp3

Following are the new features and changes in Connect Webapp3 in Pexip Infinity version 36:

Feature Description More information
New features
Pop-up-free authentication Administrators can now opt to remove the use of pop-up windows for Webapp3 participants when authenticating using SSO in order to join a meeting. About pop-up windows
Participant authentication indicator Webapp3 users can enable an option that indicates to them which participants were required to authenticate using SSO in order to join the meeting. Show authenticated participants
Option to disable keyboard shortcuts Users can now disable keyboard shortcuts to avoid potential conflicts with screen readers. The default setting for this option is configurable via customization.

Disable app shortcuts

Customization option: disableKeyboardShortcuts
Changes in functionality
Mute sync improvements
  • Mute indicators now show whether participants muted themselves or were muted by a Host.
  • Hosts can decide whether Guests who have been muted by a Host can unmute themselves.
  • Guests who have been muted by a Host are warned when they are later unmuted by a Host, and must choose whether or not to stay muted.

Muting a participant's audio

Prevent guests from unmuting

View a participant's status

Participants panel improvements
  • Meeting-wide controls (such as muting all guests and ending the meeting) are now under the participants panel Settings menu.
  • Participant-specific controls that were adjacent to participant names (such as muting and disconnecting) are now under the options menu for each participant. Icons next to participant names are now indicators rather than controls.
 Participants panel
Chat panel improvements
  • Information about participants joining and leaving the conference is now shown in the chat panel.
  • When writing messages, pressing Shift+Enter on the keyboard enters a new line.

View information about participants joining and leaving the meeting

Send and receive chat messages, and share links

Direct media improvements

When a call changes from a being a direct media call to a transcoded call and vice versa:

  • chat messages are preserved
  • any active presentations are preserved.
  
Default branding colors Some colors used in the default branding package have been updated. Default branding packages

Fixed in v36 Webapp3

Ref # Resolution

40796

GL5045

 Resolved an issue whereby a Webapp3 participant whose video or audio was administratively muted and who then experienced connectivity issues would subsequently start sending video or audio.

39138

GL4902

 Resolved an issue that affected direct media conferences joined via a webapp3 path with branding applied which included shouldMaskConference, whereby if a third participant joined, none of the participants received media after it was escalated to a transcoded conference.

38808

GL4871

 When a Webapp3 participant joins a conference with their bandwidth set to `Auto`, change their bandwidth to a different setting, and then change their bandwidth back to `Auto`, the correct bandwidth limitations are now applied.

37887

GL4743

 There is now a differentiation between administrative muting and self-muting of participants, and these states are now controlled separately.

Known limitations in Webapp3

Ref # Limitation

39045

GL4896

 Users of Chromium-based browsers on Windows devices with an Intel GPU may experience black video or frozen self-view when enabling background effects such as blur or replacement. As a workaround, we recommend you disable hardware acceleration in the browser.
GL4797 The Browser close confirmation option is shown to users of Safari on iOS, even though it is not fully supported and therefore does not take effect.

19889

 When using the Connect web app in a browser on a mobile device in landscape mode, in some cases the video and presentation is cropped. To work around this, we recommend using the Connect mobile apps on mobile devices.

New in v35 Webapp3

Feature Description More information
New features
Improved in-call experience

We have updated the visual presentation and location of in-call meeting controls, settings and meeting information to improve the user experience in terms of responsiveness, security, ergonomics and accessibility.

For a full overview of what's changed, see www.pexip.com/blog/update-enhancing-user-experience.

 Using the Connect web app
In-app language selection There is a new option within the web app Settings menu that allows users to select the language used for text throughout the web app. Change your language
Browser close confirmation Users and administrators can now enable a pop-up confirmation message that appears whenever the browser window or tab is closed. This prevents users from accidentally disconnecting themselves from the meeting.

Browser close confirmation

Customization option: enableBrowserCloseConfirmationByDefault
Accessibility improvements

  • Components within the web app UI can now be controlled with keyboard input. This includes using the ESC key to close menus and modals, using the TAB key to move between options, and using the ENTER key to toggle and select options.

  • Users can elect to have call controls remain visible at all times.

Keyboard controls

Always display call controls

Customization option: alwaysDisplayUIInterfaces
Send feedback

Users can now send feedback to a URL that is enabled and customizable by administrators (by default this is https://www.pexip.com/feedback).

When enabled, the link is available from Settings > Send feedback, and from the post-meeting page.

Send feedback

Customization option: feedback

Mirrored self-view Administrators can now configure whether users' self-view is shown as other participants see it, or shown mirrored.

Customization option: mirrorSelfview
FECC control improvements When controlling another participant's camera, the control panel is draggable and stays visible even when the Participants panel is closed. Control another participant's camera

New in v34 Webapp3

Feature Description More information
New features
Portrait mode support for WebRTC devices in all layouts *

Any WebRTC device with a portrait aspect ratio (such as 9:16) can now receive a layout specifically designed for a portrait display in all layouts (previously this was limited to the Adaptive Composition layout).

This is still a technology preview feature and can be enabled via Platform > Global settings > Tech preview features > Enable portrait layouts.

 Enabling portrait layouts
Custom layout selection Users can now select any of the custom layouts that are available to the current conference when changing the layout via the Meeting layout tab. Using the Connect web app
Presentation in Mix support

Webapp3 users can control whether to view presentation in mix automatically when a supporting layout is in use. This option is off by default.

Administrators can customize this option to be on by default.

Prefer presentation in mix

preferPresInMix

Far-End Camera Control (FECC) support

  • Webapp3 users can control the camera of another participant if that participant's camera supports FECC.

  • Webapp3 users can choose whether their own camera can be controlled by other participants.

Control another participant's camera

Far-end camera control

Lower a raised hand Meeting hosts can "lower" another participant's raised hand. Lower a participant's raised hand
Prioritize motion over sharpness When sharing content with other participants, Webapp3 users can choose whether to prioritize motion (best for videos and moving images) or sharpness (best for static presentations and images). Prioritize sharing motion
Custom favicon Administrators can customize the image used for the Webapp3 favicon. favicon
Hide UI elements Administrators can use customization to hide selected UI components. hiddenFunctionality
Support for third-party authentication Support has been added for features (such as plugins) that require authentication to a third party using an OAuth 2.0 / OpenID Connect flow. The redirect destination is webapp3/oauth-redirect. handleOauthRedirects
Custom join flow * Administrators can use customization to add an extra step to the join flow to show additional information (for example, terms and conditions of use) and which can optionally require acceptance or confirmation from the user in order for them to proceed with the call. customStepConfig
Support for screen capture API updates

Administrators can use customization to override default screen capture parameters, supporting recent changes to W3C's Screen Capture API.

For more information, contact your Pexip authorized support representative.

  
Changes in functionality
Background images require path

When background replacement images are specified in the branding manifest, they must now include the path to which the image will be applied.

If you have previously applied any branding packages that specify bgImageAssets values, after upgrading to v34 you must download the package, edit the manifest file to include the images' paths, and then re-upload the branding package. For more details, see Specifying image locations.

 bgImageAssets
Processing improvements The blur algorithm has been improved, reducing the local processing overhead when background blur is enabled.  
Improvements to permission requests Various improvements to the way in which requests for blocked camera and mic permissions are presented to users.  
Plugin improvements Various improvements and additions to enhance support for visual elements used in plugins (for example forms, prompts, toasts, buttons).  

* Technology preview only

New in v33 Webapp3

Feature Description More information
New features
Portrait mode for Adaptive Composition layouts *

Any device with a portrait aspect ratio (such as 9:16) now receives a layout specifically designed for a portrait display when in a conference that is using an Adaptive Composition layout, if AC Portrait Mode has been enabled on Pexip Infinity.

 Enabling AC Portrait mode
User background image upload Users can now upload their own image to use as their personal background replacement. This is in addition to any default background replacement images added by the administrator. Blurring or replacing your background
Breakout room support *

Webapp3 now includes support for the breakout rooms feature available in Pexip Infinity v33, allowing Host participants using a Webapp3 client to manage room assignments.

 Breakout rooms
Restrict available languages Administrators can now restrict the Webapp3 client to use a subset of available languages, reverting to the default if a user's browser is set to use a language not on the list. availableLanguages
Control sending and receiving audio or video Administrators can now control whether a participant can send or receive video or audio. This can be done either by the callType parameter in the join URL, or via the branding manifest.

Creating preconfigured links to launch conferences via Connect apps

Advanced Connect app branding and customization

Assign a call tag to a participant Administrators can now use the callTag parameter in the join URL to assign a call tag to a participant.

Creating preconfigured links to launch conferences via Connect apps

Tracking usage via service and participant call tags

Plugin support Plugins are now fully supported for Webapp3. Creating and deploying Connect app plugins

* Technology preview only

Fixed in v35.1 Webapp3

Ref # Resolution

40110

GL4994

 Participants using a Surface Pro laptop with a detached keyboard (i.e. in tablet mode) are now offered the "Share screen" button in the toolbar.

39794

GL4963

 Resolved an issue that sometimes caused duplicate plugin icons to appear in the toolbar.

Fixed in v35.0 Webapp3

Ref # Resolution

38255

GL4790

 A Connection quality of Auto now respects any bandwidth limits requested by Pexip Infinity.

38645

GL4850

The outbound frame rate is no longer limited to 20 fps.

This issue exists in versions 33 and 34 and can be worked around in those versions by adding the following settings to the applicationConfig section of the manifest file used in branding and customization:

    "applicationConfig": {
        "frameRate": 30,
        "bandwidths": [
            "576",
            "1264",
            "2464",
            "6144"
        ]
    },
GL4784 Resolved an issue introduced in v34.1 where the muted indicator was sometimes not shown, even when the participant was muted.
GL4688 When Webapp3 is used with a narrow viewport (such as on a mobile device), the Add participant modal now appears within the viewport.
GL4670 When a user joins a meeting as a Guest via a preconfigured URL that includes the role=guest parameter, leaves the meeting, and then attempts to rejoin the meeting using the "Rejoin" post-meeting option, they now rejoin as a Guest.
GL4293 Resolved an issue where any customization settings specified in the defaultUserConfig section of the manifest file were not overridden by any corresponding setting included in a preconfigured URL. For example, if the defaultUserConfig specified settings for isAudioInputMuted or isVideoInputMuted, any settings included in a preconfigured URL for muteMicrophone or muteCamera respectively were ignored.
GL3716 Incorrect translations have been improved.

Fixed in v34.2 Webapp3

Ref # Resolution

38004

GL4752

 Resolved an issue with breakout rooms that caused a Host to stop sending media after disabling background effects (such as background blur) and then moving to or from the main VMR.

Fixed in v34.1 Webapp3

Ref # Resolution

37244

GL4643

 Resolved an issue which caused the microphone to mute when the "flip camera" button was used within the self-view window.

37239

GL4642

 Resolved an issue where the infocard did not appear when using certain parameters in the join URL.

37224

GL4639

 Worked around an issue when using the web app on Safari on devices running iOS17.4 whereby the initial camera image did not appear.

36121

4469

 Resolved an issue that caused users to be locally muted after enabling and then disabling background effects.

Fixed in v34.0 Webapp3

Ref # Resolution
GL4473 If a white or light background color is in use, the post-meeting text is now black rather than white, to improve visibility.
GL4409 Resolves an issue whereby in some situations when the camera selection had toggled between two devices, the final camera selection would not persist.
GL4408 The speaker device selection now persists between meetings. Previously only the camera and microphone selection persisted.
GL4109 Resolves an issue whereby a preconfigured meeting URL resulted in the meeting being joined automatically even when join=1 was not included.
GL3822 Language parameters are no longer ignored if they are included in a preconfigured URL that also includes a custom branding path.

Fixed in v33.1 Webapp3

Ref # Resolution
4425 Changing a camera during a call no longer results in a lower video resolution being sent.

35323

GL4339

 When the browser language on Safari (on iOS) or Chrome (on Mac and Android) is set to Traditional Chinese, the web app is now correctly displayed in that language (instead of Simplified Chinese).

35226

GL4325

 Resolved an issue where the disconnectDestination link only took effect when the disconnect was user-initiated.

34842

GL4276

 Resolved an issue with Webapp3 on iOS if a disconnectDestination had been set, whereby the participant would continue to send frozen video after disconnecting.

Fixed in v33.0 Webapp3

Ref # Resolution
34979 Webapp3 clients are now able to send TURN messages to Transcoding Conferencing Nodes and Proxying Edge Nodes on port 443 when the media relay feature is enabled on Pexip Infinity (Platform > Global Settings > Connectivity > Enable media relay on TCP port 443).

34707

GL4246

 When a participant who is muted is presenting content that includes audio, the presentation audio is no longer also muted.
GL4202 When a layout change is applied to a Virtual Auditorium, the change is now applied to Guests as well as to Hosts.

34311

GL4192

 Guest participants who join a meeting using a Guest PIN are no longer offered the PIN entry keypad while waiting for a Host to join.
GL4068 When a Host mutes or unmutes themselves via the participant panel, their mute state is now synchronized locally and on Pexip Infinity.
GL4015 Users who are denied access to a meeting due to SSO authentication issues are no longer shown an error. Instead, they are returned to the post-meeting page and shown a "SSO Authentication Failed" message.
GL3991 Resolved an issue whereby a camera or microphone's mute state could become unsynchronized following a change in device while in a meeting.
GL3987 Improvements to translations.

33189

GL3928

 When an end-to-end encrypted call is between two Webapp3 clients, the secure check codes now match.
GL3908 When a chat message from a Skype for Business client is shown, the sender's display name is used rather than the name "User".
GL3847 Resolved an issue whereby when muteCamera or muteMicrophone were included in a preconfigured URL, the device joined muted even if the value was set to =false.
GL3806 Resolved an issue when shouldMaskConference was enabled, whereby meeting names were not encoded if they included the @ symbol.
GL3698 When a user unplugs their camera or microphone during a meeting, their mute state is now synchronized with Pexip Infinity.
GL3655 Usability improvements to allow Guest participants who accidentally elect to join as a Host to easily revert to joining as a Guest.
GL3178 Improvements to the usability of the PIN entry screen when an incorrect PIN has previously been entered.

Webapp2 release notes

New in v36 Webapp2

There are no significant new features in Connect Webapp2 in Pexip Infinity version 36.

Fixed in v36 Webapp2

There were no significant user-facing fixes in this release.

There were no significant new features in recent versions of Webapp2.

There were no significant user-facing fixes for Webapp2.