OpenProject 13.1: Share work packages, dynamic meetings and much more

We are happy to present to you OpenProject 13.1. With this release, in addition to many smaller changes and improvements, we are offering our users a great update to our Meetings module. Enterprise customers will benefit from two more features that will make it easier than ever to work efficiently with OpenProject: Share work packages with users outside a project and a brand new OneDrive/SharePoint integration. Apart from new features, we have expanded accessibility by further integrating Primer and providing a high contrast mode.

Also, OpenProject is fully compatible with openDesk - The Sovereign Workplace. Start using OpenProject now, and seamlessly migrate to openDesk later to integrate additional components.

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Let’s take a closer look at the biggest feature changes for OpenProject 13.1:

• Dynamic meetings and agenda items linked to work packages
• Share work packages with external users and groups (Enterprise add-on)
• Link work packages with files and folders in OneDrive/SharePoint (Enterprise add-on)
• Attribute help texts are released into Community edition

Dynamic meetings and agenda items linked to work packages

If you are already a user of OpenProject, you are probably familiar with the Meetings module, which allows you to document meeting details. Previously, it was only possible to use this module to create the agenda of a meeting in a single text block. This made it somewhat inconvenient to work collaboratively on an agenda.

With the introduction of OpenProject 13.1, this functionality is being rethought by offering a choice between the traditional meeting format and a more dynamic approach. This enhanced module enables the creation and management of individual agenda items.

In addition, it is now possible to create direct links to specific meetings from a work package. To do this, a new “Meetings“ tab is added to every work package, providing a comprehensive overview of the discussions and linking directly to the meeting associated with the work package.

This feature, designed with the latest Primer UI components and UX patterns, is funded by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs (BMI) as part of the openDesk project.

See our user guide to learn more about the updated meetings module and how to use it.

Share work packages with external users and groups (Enterprise add-on)

The new version 13.1 of OpenProject introduces a new work package sharing feature available as an Enterprise add-on. With this feature, work packages can be shared with users or groups that have no permissions to see this project, while maintaining confidentiality and data integrity. This way, stakeholders can get easy access to relevant project information without having to see all of a project’s work packages.

However, this sharing is limited to users who are already part of the instance or who can be invited to join the instance. Guest accounts for sharing with external parties are not part of OpenProject 13.1 - but may be considered in a future release.

Want to know more? Read another blog article about the Sharing feature or see our user guide for instructions on how to use this new feature.

Link work packages with files and folders in OneDrive/SharePoint (Enterprise add-on)

Document sharing is an important aspect of collaboration, and OpenProject has long been integrated with Nextcloud, a well-known open source collaboration platform. However, OpenProject has recognized that some customers use other document storage solutions, such as Microsoft SharePoint, and has therefore developed integrations as an Enterprise add-on. With OpenProject 13.1, users now have the option to upload, link, and open files from work packages in OpenProject to OneDrive/SharePoint.

See our user guide to learn more about this Enterprise add-on and how to use the SharePoint integration.

Attribute help texts are released into Community edition

We remain committed to our Community and believe that continuous development of the OpenProject Community edition will benefit everyone. Therefore, we plan to regularly publish Enterprise add-ons for the Community version. With OpenProject 13.1, we release Attribute help texts for the Community.

For all project attributes, including status, accountable, or any custom field, you can set up explanatory help text. This will be represented by a small question mark icon positioned next to the attribute, aiding in the input process and helping to reduce mistakes:

Further improvements and changes for 13.1

We have included more features and improvements in this new release, such as:

• Accessibility test and improvements according to WCAG 2.1 AA (High contrast mode)
• Continued integration of Primer Design System

Please refer to the OpenProject 13.1 release notes for an overview of all the new and improved features, as well as a list of fixed bugs.

Migrating to OpenProject 13.1

Follow the upgrade guide for the packaged installation or Docker installation to update your OpenProject installation to OpenProject 13.1. We update your hosted OpenProject environments (Enterprise cloud) today, December 13, 2023.

Installation, Updates and Support

• New to OpenProject? To test all features of OpenProject 13.1 right away, create a 14 days free trial instance for our OpenProject Enterprise cloud.
• Prefer to run OpenProject 13.1 in your own infrastructure? Here you can find the Installation guidelines for OpenProject.
• Want to upgrade from a Community version to try out the Enterprise add-ons? Get a 14 days free trial token directly out of your current Community installation.

You will find more information about the new features in the OpenProject Documentation or you can post your questions in the Community Forum, or if you are eligible for Enterprise support, please contact us and we are happy to support you personally.

Credits

A very special thank you goes to our sponsors for features and improvements of this release:

• Deutsche Bahn – for the OneDrive/SharePoint integration
• AMG – for the feature to share work packages
• German Federal Ministry of the Interior and Home Affairs (BMI) – for the dynamic meetings module and the Accessibility test and improvements

A big thanks to Community members for reporting bugs and helping us identify and provide fixes: Jeff Tseung, Richard Richter, Daniel Elkeles, Jörg Mollowitz, Christina Vechkanova, Sven Kunze, Jeff Li, Mario Haustein, and Mario Zeppin.

And of course a big thank you to every other dedicated user who has reported bugs and supported the Community by asking and answering questions in the forum as well as to all the dedicated users who provided translations on CrowdIn and last but not least the whole OpenProject team.

Let’s keep up this fantastic collaboration in 2024!