Connect desktop app release notes

This topic describes the new features, fixed issues and known limitations in the current and previous supported releases of the Connect desktop app:

What's new?

New in v1.12.4

Version 1.12.4 of the Connect desktop app was released in June 2023.

Version 1.12.4 contained no new features or changes.

New in v1.12.3

Version 1.12.3 of the Connect desktop app was released in May 2023.

Below are the new features and changes in v1.12.3:

Feature Description More information
Changes in functionality
Run location

Running the Connect desktop app no longer requires access to a "temp" folder, allowing it to be used in environments where running from temp folders is restricted.

All settings are retained on upgrade.

  

New in v1.12.2

Version 1.12.2 of the Connect desktop app was released in April 2023.

Version 1.12.2 contained no new features or changes.

New in v1.12.1

Version 1.12.1 of the Connect desktop app was released in March 2023.

Version 1.12.1 contained no new features or changes.

New in v1.12

Version 1.12 of the Connect desktop app was released in February 2023. Below are the new features and changes in v1.12:

Feature Description More information
New features
Citrix virtual apps support The Connect desktop app for Citrix virtual apps is now generally available. It was a technology preview feature in the previous release.  
Changes in functionality
Background blur It is now possible via branding to remove the option to enable or disable background blur from within the Connect app, using the disableBackgroundBlur application setting. disableBackgroundBlur
Radio buttons replaced with ticks Under the Advanced settings menu, users now click on a tick (rather than the previous radio button) to enable and disable each setting.  
Accessibility improvements General improvements to the user interface to increase accessibility.  

Secure check code

 The Secure check code used to verify end-to-end encrypted calls now has a copy button, allowing it to be easily shared between participants.  

Fixed issues

Fixed in v1.12.4

Ref # Resolution
33101

(Windows client only)

Resolved an issue caused when the app was minimized and then restored by double-clicking the taskbar icon, which meant it did not restore correctly.

Fixed in v1.12.3

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

Fixed in v1.12.2

Ref # Resolution
29955 For Citrix clients, the UI option to view a presentation in a separate window has been removed as this feature is not supported in these clients.

Fixed in v1.12.1

Ref # Resolution
32814 Resolved an issue when the Connect desktop app for Windows was not already running, whereby clicking a pexip:// or pexip-provision:// link did not trigger the app to open, and clicking it twice prompted the app to open as a blank screen.

Fixed in v1.12

Ref # Resolution
31611 The toolbar will now wrap when required to accommodate additional plugin icons.
31495 Resolved an issue with provisioned Connect desktop apps using AD FS SSO for authentication whereby if the app became unregistered, it would need to be re-provisioned in order to re-register.
30498 Resolved an issue whereby settings enabled via branding were not always applied until after the page was reloaded.
30299 Resolved an issue where under some circumstances when a participant is previewing a presentation from a vertical monitor, the previewed image went off screen.
30086 Resolved an issue where in some circumstances the Connect desktop app window would not close.
29899 When changing the layout, the currently selected layout is now indicated.
29887 When an incoming audio-only call is answered with video, the call no longer fails.
29813 Opening an invalid pexip-auth link will no longer result in an error.
29811 Calls to an alias that does not include a hostname will now result in a user-facing error message.
29364 When two or more participants perform the same action on another participant at almost the same time, the second and subsequent participants will no longer see an error.
29339 Participant names in chat messages in end-to-end encrypted calls now use the name provided by IDP authentication.
29130 Resolved an issue whereby when a call from a participant into a Virtual Meeting Room was transferred to an end-to-end encrypted call, the participant may see the spinning animation instead of the welcome screen while waiting for other participants to connect.
25868 Resolved an error with microphone sampling when enabled via branding.

Known limitations

Ref # Limitation
28799

Call history and preferences data for versions 1.8.x, and 1.9.1 and later of the Connect desktop app for Windows are stored in a folder under C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming called Pexip Infinity Connect. All other versions (i.e. versions 1.7.x and earlier, and v1.9.0) store this data in the same directory in a folder called pexip-infinity-connect.

This means that after upgrading from a version that stores data in one folder to a version that stores data in a different folder, call history and preferences will be lost. To work around this, after installation, copy the contents of the previous folder (i.e. pexip-infinity-connect or Pexip Infinity Connect ,as applicable) into the new folder.

Note that upgrades between versions that use the same folder for storing data are not affected.

18210

 The Connect desktop app may not attempt to re-register if it de-registers while minimized.
18119 Long display names are truncated when there is space available to show the full name.

11854

 In some cases when sharing Office apps, the Connect desktop app does not capture all portions of the application window. The workaround is to share the entire desktop rather than those specific applications.

What's new in previous releases

New in v1.11

Version 1.11 of the Connect desktop app was an internal-only release.

New in v1.10

Version 1.10 of the Connect desktop app was released in August 2022. Below are the new features and changes in v1.10:

Feature Description More information
New features
Support for Citrix virtual desktops

The Connect desktop app for Windows can now be installed and used in a Citrix virtual desktop environment.

The Connect desktop app version 1.10 for Citrix Virtual Desktops is compatible with Pexip Infinity version 28 or later.

 Deploying the Connect desktop app under Citrix
Background replacement Individual participants can now replace their own local background with an image of their choice. Background replacement
Change layout during a conference and show/hide participant names

Host participants can use a new Change layout option in the side panel's Control menu. This lets you dynamically change the layout used during a conference to any of the support layout options, and to toggle the display of participant names.

Change the layout and show/hide participant names

Chat messages indicator

A visual indicator is displayed when a new chat message is received. It is displayed against the Events tab If the side panel is open and showing the participant list, or above the button used to show the side panel if the side panel is closed.

  or 

Send and receive chat messages, and share online videos and images

Push spacebar to talk If a participant has muted themselves, they can press and hold down their keyboard spacebar to temporarily unmute themselves. This does not apply if the participant has been administratively muted. Stop/start sending your audio to other participants
Customize the participant list sort order The participant list can be customized to be sorted alphabetically via a new sortAttendeesAlphabetically application setting (instead of the order that the participants joined). Advanced Connect app branding and customization
Changes in functionality
Presentation content defaults to full motion HD Incoming presentation content is now viewed in full motion HD video by default. The user can switch to the previous default behavior of a series of still images / JPG format if required. View a presentation at a lower (or higher) refresh rate

New in v1.9.1

Version 1.9.1 of the Connect desktop app was released in May 2022. Below are the new features and changes in v1.9.1:

Feature Description More information
Changes in functionality
Installation file format The Connect desktop app for Windows is now installed using a .MSI file (rather than the previous .EXE) Installing the Connect desktop app

New in v1.9

Version 1.9 of the Connect desktop app was released in February 2022. Below are the new features and changes in v1.9:

Feature Description More information
New features
Background blur

(Connect desktop app for Windows only)

Individual participants can now blur their own local background on the image they send to a conference.

 Background blur *
Allowing Far End Camera Control (FECC) on your own camera Individual participants can enable their own local camera for Far End Camera Control (FECC) i.e. they can allow their own camera to be controlled (pan/tilt/zoom) by a remote participant (typically another Connect app user). Enable far-end camera control *
Receiving a presentation stream as part of the layout mix

When receiving presentation content in an Adaptive Composition layout, the presentation stream is now shown as part of the layout mix (replacing some of the other video participants), providing the client is receiving video at a medium or higher bandwidth setting (otherwise it is displayed as one large separate stream).

You can toggle the presentation content between the "in mix" and "separate" streams via the new maximize and reset buttons in the bottom-right corner of the presentation.

 Expand the presentation window when it is displayed in the layout mix
Support for participant authentication Support has been added for Pexip Infinity's new participant authentication feature, whereby participants attempting to access an individual Virtual Meeting Room (VMR) or Virtual Auditorium can be required to verify their identity using Single Sign On (SSO) before joining the meeting.  
Changes in functionality
Changes to toolbar icons The icons to view a presentation in a separate window and close the separate window have changed from and to and respectively. View a presentation in a separate window
The wizardOnFirstRun customization option is no longer supported The wizardOnFirstRun customization option in the settings.json branding file is no longer supported.  

New in v1.8

Version 1.8 of the Connect desktop app was released in June 2021. Below are the new features and changes in v1.8:

Feature Description More information
New audio-only and inactive-video indicators in the participant list

Each person in the Participant list now has an additional icon displayed if that participant is connected as audio-only, is a video-muted Connect app participant, or is inactive, for example, if they are away from the computer (and thus their face cannot be detected in their video stream):

where the indicators represent:

Muted video or inactive (away)

Connected via audio only

 Using the Connect desktop app
Branding and customization

As from 1.8, when branding/customizing the Connect desktop app:

  • When provisioning the client, the brandingURL parameter can no longer refer to a Conferencing Node. Instead it now has to refer to a different server somewhere else (that is hosting the branding package).
  • The branding package must be signed, and the client must upload a trusted (public) key before the branding can be applied.
  • The branding package must be presented as a branding.zip file and an associated branding.zip.sig file. (The branding.zip file produced by the Pexip branding portal is a suitable ZIP file/format, although you must still sign it yourself.)

As from 1.8, the Connect mobile apps for iOS and Android can no longer be branded/customized.

 Customizing and branding the Connect apps
Improved certificate validation The Connect app still detects any invalid/untrusted certificates on launch (and asks for acceptance if it is unknown, as before) but also now detects if the certificate changes in flight. If so it will pop up a dialog and when you close the dialog it goes to the disconnect destination. If you want to allow this new certificate you have to restart the Connect app and it then asks if you want to use the new certificate as per normal behavior.  
More bandwidth options in the app settings

There are more bandwidth selection options available in Settings > Bandwidth. You can now choose from Very Low (up to 256kbps), Low (up to 576kbps), Medium (up to 1264kbps), High (up to 2464kbps), or Very High (up to 6144kbps).

The default is Medium (up to 1264kbps).

 Using Connect web apps
Enable "raise hand" in VMRs (Connect desktop app only)

By default the "raise hand" feature is only available in Virtual Auditoriums. There is a new raiseHandInVMR customization option in the settings.json file in a web app branding package that can be used to also enable the feature in Virtual Meeting Rooms.

 Advanced Connect app branding and customization

Fixed issues in previous releases

Fixed in v1.11

Version 1.11 of the Connect desktop app was an internal-only release.

Fixed in v1.10

Ref # Resolution
29412

The following accessibility improvements have been made:

  • audio volume is now adjustable using the keyboard
  • after a modal is opened and then closed, focus is return to the initiating button

  • visible indication of focus (when High Contrast is enabled) has been added to those areas that were previously missing it

  • when transferring a participant, it is now possible to tab between the Host and Guest options.
28365 Resolved an issue where an error message would be shown when joining a meeting hosted on a v26 or earlier Pexip Infinity deployment while a presentation was being shown by another participant.

Fixed in v1.9.1

Ref # Resolution
27867 Resolved an issue where SSO credentials were not retained after the client was closed and re-opened.
27396 Improved security of registration password storage.
25848 Improved security of the Connect desktop app for macOS.

Fixed in v1.9

Ref # Resolution
26302 Resolved an issue in v1.7 and later where the Connect desktop app was unable to register using AD FS.

Fixed in v1.8.6

Ref # Resolution
25106 Resolved an issue where a branding ZIP file was not correctly loaded.
24356 Resolved an issue where a bandwidth selection of "Very High" did not always request 1080p from the camera.

Fixed in 1.8.5

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

Fixed in 1.8

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