CommFort 5.97 release

May 23, 2023

Main points

The calendar is a new core feature of CommFort, on the same footing as features such as messaging, videoconferencing, bulletin board, and computer remote control.

The update proves one-click access not only to the calendar - so often needed in everyday tasks - but also to create events. Individual and group events are both included. As reminders, or as elements of work planning or daily activities, at the user's discretion.

The new feature appears in permissions settings, in the admin panel, and even in the settings for additional server functions (Standard and All-In license holders will be able to add holidays and restrict access to creating and editing group events). All events occur according to server time, taking clients' time zones into account. Events will therefore occur simultaneously on all workstations, regardless of differences in local time.

The calendar is now a core feature of CommFort, and will be expanded and developed in the future. All always, the focus is on interface and usability.

Other changes

• Added the ability to invite offline users to channels.

• Added the ability for a moderator to disconnect users from channels with one click. Including offline users.

• Added options to block regular users from various actions with channels, including the ability to disable the creation of channels completely.

• The maximum number of channels has been increased from 10 to 20 thousand.

• Improved channel forcing system.

• Notifications regarding correspondence logging, active processes and some network errors have changed.

• The "Advanced" server options window has been redesigned.

Bug fixes and other minor changes.

CommFort 5.96 release

May 17, 2022

Main points

• The new version allows offline users to be displayed in channels alongside online.

• The limits on files posted in channels, messages and posts have been substantially increased. The maximum size of a single file has gone up from 200Mb to 16Gb, and the total storage size has increased from 10Gb to 2Tb.

• A whole series of improvements have been made to the User Information function. The user details window has been restyled; photos are now stored on the server and are available to offline users; and an administrator can now edit all details including photos and icons in the users list.

Other changes

• A Copy option has been added to the user menu to make it easy to copy names and IP addresses, including as a list.

• It is now possible to minimize the message send/receive and computer management request windows.

• A close channel button has been added to the main window: it pops up automatically if you hover over it.

• Progress sending and receiving files to/from the server is now also displayed as a percentage.

• The logic for going to earlier or later messages has been improved (Ctrl+UP and Ctrl+DOWN hotkeys).

• Support for ultra-low sound latency (20-40 ms) has been added to video conferencing and video calls.

• The video call interface has been slightly modified.

Fixes

• Fixed an error that meant accounts were not deleted after remaining inactive for the time period specified in settings.

• Fixed an error that meant mailout lists were not updated to reflect user name changes until the client was restarted.

• Fixed an error that meant in rare cases a moderator did not receive messages from users who had failed authorization.

• Fixed an error that led in rare cases to users being sorted incorrectly.

Many other minor amendments and fixes have also been made.

CommFort 5.95 release

May 26, 2021

• There are now no restrictions on deleting messages. It no longer requires the current session with the server to be saved. It is now possible to delete your messages from private channels.

• The system for confirming message delivery has been redesigned. Instead of a notification if a message could not be delivered, delivery is carried out automatically in the event of any connection failure.

• There is now an option to request confirmation that private messages have been read (displayed).

• Private channels are now saved in the event of client restart.

• A user icon is now displayed on the private channel button.

• A quick reply system has been implemented. Templates mean you no longer have to type the same messages every time.

• Mailing lists have been implemented. They provide the ability to save and load recipients of messages to multiple addresses.

• It is now possible to type text, work with smiles, and open private channels without being connected to the server.

• The input field now displays a hint reminding you which channel the message will be published to.

• Several dozen minor changes and fixes have also been made.

CommFort 5.94 release

July 7, 2020

Improvements to administration

• The new version provides the ability to add and rename user accounts centrally. Renaming affects the client side and all server databases.

• The channel administration window has been redesigned. New channel options have been added: permission to publish to moderators only and inclusion of video conferencing directly from the channel administration window.

• Management of channel forcing has got easier. Now you can not only assign channels to specific users, but also specify users for channels individually or in a list.

Improvements for users

• Performance in conditions of unstable network operation has been significantly improved. Connection checking has been redesigned: reconnection in case of loss of connection now occurs as quickly as possible. In events, information about identical unsuccessful connection attempts is no longer displayed.

• Added the ability to forward a message to another user. With all attached files and images.

• Several dozen minor changes and fixes have been made.

CommFort 5.93 release

May 30, 2019

User list

• Improved grouping Nested groups (sub-groups) are now supported. It is now possible to add one user to multiple groups at the same time.

Messages

• You can now delete your own messages/images/files that have been posted in the current session to public channels.

Bulletin board

• You can now enable notifications about bulletin board updates in the form of a blinking button on the taskbar.

• The size of the images in the bulletin board has been doubled.

• The interface in the window for adding announcements and comments has been improved.

Video conferencing

• The name and icon of the speaker is now displayed on the podium during audio conferencing (without video).

• Notifications about missed video calls have been implemented. Information about the beginning and end of video calls are now displayed as events.

Transferring the desktop and controlling it with a computer

• It is now possible to delimit access from the server to this function.

Load

• The limitations on files, images, and messages stored on the server have been significantly increased.

Interface

• New graphical shell

• Drop-down lists have been added to all fields for adding a channel on the server.

Many other changes and improvements have been made.

commfort.com redesign

July 19, 2018

We are pleased to introduce our redesigned official website commfort.com

CommFort 5.92 release

December 7, 2016

Video-conferencing

• The new version makes it possible to appoint a manager of a video channel to take charge of who has the stand: invite users to speak or stop them from speaking.

Admin

• It is now possible to isolate users of different channels or groups from one another.

• Channel and user group forcing is now possible from the client part of the program.

• Channel forcing no longer requires the server to be restarted.

• It is now possible to ban users from creating public channels.

Other changes

• If file transmission stops, the corresponding window now closes automatically without preventing new transmission sessions.

• Users' emoticon kits are now loaded automatically.

• Clipboard support has been added for remote management of the computer.

CommFort 5.91 release

April 11, 2016

The key changes in the new version are pivoted around the interface of the CommFort client part.

Scalable interface is one of the most important changes. CommFort now looks good on screens with any pixel density, including 4K monitors, 2K laptops and FullHD tablets.

Apart from this, the interface of the following program components has been improved:

Authorization;
Message sending and receiving;
File transfer;
User information;
Message log.

CommFort 5.90 release

November 16, 2015

It's possible to disable account password protection. This may be useful for small isolated networks with trusted relationships between users.

User registration can now be configured on the server side. Now it is also possible to disable additional registration steps and enable automatic name assignment.

Integration with Active Directory. The new version helps automatically deploy CommFort in a network with Active Directory.

Added a new server-side work time monitoring feature that logs information about active applications and idle time on client computers.

The new version further improves the convenience of administration and adds a number of tools for efficient list management.

Added a number of other changes and improvements.

CommFort 5.87 release

May 20, 2015

Substantially improved the sound quality for regular and conference calls. Removed clicks that occasionally occurred before. Noise and echo are now filtered out. The speed of compression/decompression has been improved.

The video conference interface has been improved. Implemented the indication of an incoming sound signal, added a pause button for sound transmission.

Added a spell-checker for typed texts.

The interface of the main window on the server side has been modified. Besides, it is now possible to manage accounts and add user restrictions from the server.

CommFort 5.85 release

December 15, 2014

The new version enables clients to share their desktops and allow remote computer management. Screen sharing improves the efficiency of collaboration within the same project, while remote computer management without additional programs simplifies system administration in corporate networks.

From now on, all graphic elements, including tray icons, have been moved to separate files, thus allowing even more flexibility in configuring the appearance of the client part.

The user menu and options have been regrouped for extra convenience. Audio and video settings are now also available in the main options section.

Individual user settings now include one for ignoring image publishing and requests for screen broadcast and remote management access.

It is now possible to hide the program exit button for corporate licenses.

CommFort 5.83 release

May 27, 2014

Server linking. The new version allows users to join servers on the master-slave basis.

Considerable improvement of private messaging, including better private channels and a message notification system. Users can now move an existing private conversation into a separate private channel.

CommFort 5.80 release

December 3, 2013

Videocalling interface has been completely revised. You can now scale applicable windows; there is also a full screen mode. A new function for transmitting the desktop as a video has been added. There is now an option for a one-button toggle of the front and back camera on tablets. Video and sound settings have been modified. The new version of video calls is fully compatible with the current version.

The main menu and the tray menu have been updated. There is now an option to install a standard Windows frame for graphic shells. This enables compatibility with the parking function of the Windows 8.1 applications. A graphic shell optimized for touch-control (with a standard frame) has been added.

File transfer has also been improved. Now, the computer does not go into sleep mode if file transmission or reception has not been completed. The time for verification of direct connectivity has been significantly reduced if the server only allows file transmission through the server in the event that direct connection is not possible.

Videoconferencing has also been improved. There is now an indicator imbedded in the list of users which shows which attendee is currently transmitting the audio. The ban on video transfer now works for web cameras only and does not ban desktop transmission. Videoconferencing full screen mode performance has been improved.

Many small changes and improvements have been implemented.

Articles for administrators and users

October 17, 2013

The website now has a new section with articles that will help managers and administrators organize data exchange in their networks. It will also help users use communication functions more efficiently.

CommFort 5.75 release

July 22, 2013

Full videoconferences in a single window were implemented.

Ability to attach files to channels was added.

CommFort 5.70 release

March 28, 2013

Interface of message-recipient selection has been completely revised. It is now much easier to send multi-address messages.

Support of imbedded media content has been implemented: YouTube, Vimeo, Music.Yandex. Media content is displayed on channels automatically when links are published.

New features: it is now possible to disable the display of offline users when grouping by user groups, you can now make all incoming messages important (will be displayed on top of other windows).

Several improvements have been implemented to facilitated the use on Tablet PC with Windows 8, such as support of scaling of interface items, ability to increase user lists item size, ability to increase font on the bulletin board.

Features have been re-grouped. Display settings in Task menu have been moved to General. All font settings are now in the same window, "Pop-up messages" section has been incorporated with the"Channels" section.

Management of administrative upload of entire accounts database has been changed.

For corporate users, management of access to user activity information has been implemented. That is, now it is possible to disable employee access to display of supervisor's activity status.

Finally, version 5.70 now supports automatic updates. Subsequent versions can be downloaded and installed automatically at user's request.

CommFort 5.60 release

October 23, 2012

The biggest innovation in version 5.60 is a feature that allows you to exchange images in their original sizes. As before, a reduced copy is displayed in the channels or messages, but now you can click it to open a full image in a new window. The exchange protocol for original images has been fully optimized so that it can be used even on the busiest servers. The reduced image copy view takes place thanks to a specially designed program that is included in the package where all management is done with the mouse (scroll wheel—zoom, middle mouse button—original size, double-click—full screen). All of these actions can also be made with the keyboard or through the menu, which you can open with a right-click.

Other changes in the new version:

Reduced client launch time.

Reduced demand on client memory resources.

Modified format for image display in channels.

Improved the performance of video communication via the server.

Support for multiple selections while administering user accounts.

Duplicated account activation management in the server interface.

For Business/All-In licensees, we added a function to log message board notices, file exchanges, and video communication sessions.

CommFort 5.50 release

July 24, 2012

User groups are the main improvement introduced in version 5.50. For earlier versions, we recommended using channels (rooms) for user grouping. Since they had lists of users associated with them, it allowed you to create proper grouping and organization. This approach is largely efficient in that it supports association with channels (possibility to send messages directly between all group members using channel capabilities). However, the approach had some problems that could only be solved using a system of user groups that was first introduced in 5.50. The list of users can now be switched to the user groups mode and be fully configured. However, you can still group by channels. Moreover, since there are two groups of users, you can configure one to use grouping by channels and the second one to use user groups (default setting). Introduction of the user groups system was not just a regular update - it's a deeply integrated system that affected lots of other related functions. For example, it's now possible to leave a multi-recipient message on the server (to a user group). Each group member will get a message regardless of their server connection status. Another modified aspect of the program is individual user configuration. Now you can choose any color/sound/ignore mode for the entire group. Owners of corporate licenses will be able to define groups from the server. Administrators can also manage clients' group editing rights.

Various interface elements have also been modified, and specifically:

User list options that had been accessible through the context menu only are now accessible in the program settings window as well. Therefore, owners of corporate licenses can set them from the server.

You can now use the program settings window to individually configure users, groups and channels. Therefore, virtually any changes can be made from the main program settings window.

Improved the interface of file exchange in messages.

The received messages window now has buttons for quick navigation to the first and last messages.

Added a quick search block to the list of limitations.

When deleting a message, the list of the most recent reasons is now saved.

When deleting a rights object and removing a limitation, the scroll and the value in the search field are no longer reset.

New options are available:

Possibility to activate logging of both file reception and file sending events.

Possibility to disable the automatic overwriting of received files. If matching files are found, the program will show a warning.

Possibility to disable the display of history in public channels for traffic-saving purposes.

Other new features:

Separation of temporary files with UAC support became possible. The new separation type is activated using the -appdata_TEXT key.

If access to a server is forbidden with a ban, you can change your account name.

When an account is deleted, all associated legal objects are automatically deleted as well.

Added a possibility to select specific channels for server-side logging.

Finally, one of the most important new features. A new portable version of the program is now available for download. It differs in that there is no installer, that it stores all temporary files in its own installation folder, disables the autostart option in Windows. Therefore, this version can be transferred from one computer to another on an optical drive and it won't leave any signs of use.

CommFort 5.40 release

March 1, 2012

The main innovations

Individualized channel settings. Now for any channel you can individually allow or disallow pop-up ads, sounds, new ad indications, and options of history records and display of specific system messages. Being active in large channels will no longer interfere with the functionality and comfort of communicating in small ones.

The feature of attaching files to messages. Sometimes it's necessary to send files to a user who isn't connected to the server. This function will come in handy in cases like this.

Other improvements

Administrators of home networks with access to an Internet server will benefit from the new function of SPAM protection with a request to change the server address. If the protection is activated, the connected clients will have extreme difficulty changing the server address in the options.

One additional function has been implemented for owners of every special license as well. Owners of the Business license can now distribute users by channels on the server in a centralized manner. Owners of the HomeNet Unlimited Premium license can activate the sending of automated messages that they specify with a demand for an update if a client of an outdated version connects to the server.

Many minor changes and corrections have been implemented as well.

CommFort 5.30 release

November 9, 2011

Interface improvements

Support for multiline pop-up messages has been added.

Support for animation when pop-up messages appear has been added.

Support for searching channel contents has been added.

Numerous minor additions and changes: administrators can view information about users offline, drop-down menu for the subject field, channel name is displayed in user list, warning when a suspicious link is clicked, support for drag-and-drop to the window of a received private message, support for copying the name and IP address of unprocessed activation requests, and much more.

Additional features

The new server version implements three additional functions for owners of special licenses: two for corporate use, one for home network use.

Correspondence in common channels is saved. If this function is activated, then when entering a common channel, the preceding correspondence for the set number of days will be displayed.

Forcing of client options. Client options can now be managed from the server.

Replacement of system messages. When used on home networks, much of the information published on channels consists of messages about users entering/exiting. For the sake of variety, it is now possible to replace the standard system messages with a list of messages compiled by the administrator.

Additionally, we have started offering new options for the server component. See the purchase page for details.

CommFort 5.20 release

July 26, 2011

Changes to enhance audio and video chat and file transfer

Added transferring files and video chat traffic via the server. Activating this function enables using these services between clients in different networks.

Added audio data compression. Highly efficient compression reduces the consumption of network resources by audio chat up to 10 times without noticeable deterioration.

Changed the way of configuring the format of transmitted video stream. The format is now configured by means of CommFort, no longer by means of webcam software. This not only makes it more convenient, but also resolves the issue of the format change failure that occurred with some webcams (popping the "Format not supported" message).

Added initiating video chat with multiple peers by a single click. The implementation is similar to sending a message to multiple recipients.

Other changes

Added exclusions to the limitation on the number of accounts by computer ID.

Fixed logging of administrative operations over the message board on the server.

Added listing addresses entered earlier in the "Server address" field of the client options.

Furthermore, many minor changes and fixes have been made. Be reminded that the new versions are fully compatible with the other versions of the 5.хх family.

CommFort 5.10 release

April 6, 2011

Changes aimed at improving the usability of the software

Changed indication for read board messages. Earlier, to mark a board message read, it was necessary to show its title at least once; now, besides that, it is also necessary to close current board session. Of course, board messages opened earlier are also considered read.

Added selecting conversation history by time only. It is now possible to get, for example, messages from all users, received during the last day. Or, messages in all channels, posted during the last hour.

Added receiving files without prompt from certain users. You can now select specific users, whose files are going to be received automatically.

Added selecting playback device for voice chat. This improvement is helpful when using separate independent devices for voice chat, such as headset.

Changes aimed at improving the administration

Added viewing server logs from client computers. Added viewing server logs from client computers. The logs are available only to administrators with the respective privilege.

Added exclusions for mandatory activation of user accounts. For example, you can now set moderator account activation only to users connecting from the Internet.

Added restricting the maximum number of accounts per computer ID.

Added canceling restrictions (bans) on server. This is helpful when a malefactor gains access to an administrator account and restricts (bans) the administrator.

Besides these, tens of other minor changes and fixes have been applied, enhanced interoperability with plugins. Be reminded, the new versions are fully compatible with other versions of the 5.хх. family.

CommFort client 5.03 release

November 2, 2010

Improvements

— Redesigned rights management interface

Bug fixes

— Fixed a bug which led to the rare appearance of black lines instead of the choice of poll answers

— Fixed a bug related to changes in the state of user account activation

— Fixed a bug that affected items on the user menu when the video connection was lost or files were transferred on the server

An additional 14 modifications and fixes.

CommFort server 5.03 release

November 2, 2010

Improvements

— Redesigned rights management interface

— The moderator’s name is now shown in the restrictions list if an anonymous restriction is set

Bug fixes

— Solved a problem with granting moderation rights to channels with names containing uppercase characters

An additional 5 modifications and fixes.

CommFort 5 release

August 30, 2010

5.00 is a new, fully revised version of CommFort that is incompatible with previous versions.

Main new features:

Smaller changes have been made to other components of the program: file transfer, user information, individual user settings, and administration.

As before, the upgrade is free for the owners of a license for the server side of the previous versions. These registered users will receive a link to the new version within 48 hours of release.