Nextcloud 22 gets new features for groups and PDF signing

Nextcloud Hub 22 is out. Among other things, this version adds new group features and lets users convert chat messages into tasks. The open source file hosting platform will also have an integrated PDF signing feature.

The new version of Nextcloud Hub will include ‘circles’. These are kind of groups that users can create. Nextcloud users can then add people to such a circle and, for example, start a chat room and share files with members of that group, or assign tasks to the circle. Users can choose whether circles are visible to other members of a Nextcloud server, so that they can request access if necessary.

The developers are also adding some other collaboration features. For example, the workflow for approving documents is being overhauled. An administrator of a Nextcloud server can set up an approval flow . Such an approval flow determines, among other things, which users can request approval for which type of document, and which users can subsequently approve these documents. Administrators can also automatically add tags to approved or rejected documents. For example, the developers of Nextcloud mention submitting vacation requests as a possible use case for this feature.

As an extension of this, Nextcloud integrates support for signing PDF documents into its software. The Nextcloud Hub will receive support for three PDF signing tools in version 22; DocuSign, the European EIDEasy and the open source signing software LibreSign. The software also gets new task management features. This allows users to convert chat messages into tasks and vice versa.

Nextcloud Groupware’s calendar feature gets a recycle bin, which allows users to restore deleted calendar events within a month. Users can also empty the trash in the meantime, which permanently deletes the calendar points. Nextcloud’s calendar function also introduces a feature that allows users to book a meeting room, company car or other resources of an organization.

Furthermore, Nextcloud Mail features improved threads , email tagging, and support for Sieve filtering. The Nextcloud project management tool Deck gets an improved search function, integration with Talk and support for adding documents directly to a task from Nextcloud Files. Nextcloud Hub 22 and its updated components are available immediately.