MyChat 2023.2 — improved conferences

  1. Closing and removing conferences
  2. Renaming conferences
  3. Optimization
  4. Improvements for MyChat on Android and iOS
  5. Various improvements
  6. Full list of changes + development history
  7. How to update to the latest version?

1. Closing and removing conferences


It's important to explain the differences between these two actions because it's significant. If you close a conference then all users leave it and the conference gets blocked (as if you archive it). In the next versions, we plan to create a mechanism for returning such conferences back to work, if necessary:

Administering conferences in MyChat

The removing process is almost the same as closing but with one significant difference: message history is deleted forever from the server and client applications. The conference itself deletes with no option to restore it:

Removing conference in MyChat

Delete any conferences except the auto-created on the server.

As usual, all these functions are regulated with groups of rights on the server, Admin Control Panel, the section "Rights Control", and "Conferences".


2. Renaming conferences


To do this, you do not need to close a conference a create it again:

Renaming conferences in MyChat

No server restart is needed, everything is applied "on the fly". The only limitation is that conference names must not match. Moreover, even the letter case matters.

For example "Main conference" and "main CONFERENCE" are considered the same names. It's made on purpose to avoid phishing and fraud attempts.


3. Optimization


We continue the refactoring process that started a version ago. It deals with conferences that contain a large number of online users. Various caches, and smart algorithms for smoothing peak loads during mass connections/disconnections due to network hardware issues.

Besides, console server commands (remove privates, remove confs) for mass deletion of private message dialogues and conferences work way faster.

As MyChat is a self-hosted messenger it means that those commands send to offline devices too (windows, android, ios, macos, and linux). History will be deleted anyways, and local databases will be compressed for additional protection.


4. Improvements for MyChat on Android and iOS


In MyChat for iPhone we added support for an alternative server address. It is convenient when you use a messenger for work in a private Wi-Fi network, at home, or during travel. The application automatically switches between internal and external addresses which adds the speed of work and saves cellular traffic consumption.

Improved mechanisms for file uploading; added processing for proximity sensor during calls on mobile devices; added support for Android 13; updated library for working with emoji.

В MyChat for iOS we added the list of all active conferences with the option to join any of them.


5. Various improvements


When creating a new conference, to avoid input data in case a conference already exists the application displays a toast message with the error:

Error when naming a conference in MyChat

We made an automatic switch to the English input method when entering a console (Ctrl+`). It is convenient for multilingual people to avoid constant switching between languages.

Improved filter in the list of available conferences: it shows how many people are online out of a total number:

Onlime members in a conference MyChat

And finally, there is a Ukrainian Help included in MyChat Server distributional file.


6. Full list of changes + development history


Development history with developers' comments

MyChat Client

[+] (win32) a tool for closing conferences;
[+] (win32) a tool for renaming conferences;
[+] (win32) automatic switch to English input method when opening the console (Ctrl+`);
[+] (win32) tool for deleting text conferences;
[+] (ios) added a list of all active conferences with an option to join them;
[+] (websupport) sending/receiving message statuses ("sent", "delivered", "read") on the website support chat;
[+] (ios) added option to use an alternative server's address;

[*] (win32) after the complete deletion of private dialogue history on the server the database compresses for complete history deletion and reduces the size on a disk;
[*] (win32) when creating a new conference without losing input data in case a conference already exists — an error is displayed in a toast message;
[*] (win32) added a message about the lack of free space on the server when uploading a file. The message display how much free space is left in bytes and the disk's letter (error #0277);
[*] (win32) conference list does not display those conferences where a user is a member;
[*] (win32) conference list displays how many users are online from a total number;
[*] (android) added support for Android 13, an updated library for working with emoji;
[*] (win32) when opening the console (Ctrl + ~), and on the left is the list of dialogues with selected users or conference opened, then clicking on the same element in the dialogue, the program did not switch to the chat history, the console remained active on the screen. Fixed;
[*] (win32) completely disabled the built-in FTP server left from older versions when file transfer performed as "peer-to-peer";
[*] (win32) added checks for uploading user information if "noname (xxx)" is displayed. The issue occurred when updating from older versions;

[-] (win32) error when rendering the list of people in a conference (Alt+C). The hint for invitation users in the middle of a screen does not always display in an empty list;
[-] (android) sometimes the application crashes with an error on the screen for adding a server. Fixed;
[-] (win32) bug with the filter for conference names/topics in the section for joining existing conferences (Alt+E); sometimes the filter lag after the first try;
[-] (win32) in some cases MyChat Client could generate a huge load on the server by creating requests to get the information about a user's name in the chat for other users. Fixed;
[-] (android) proximity sensor disables the screen during a call only after a successful connection. Fixed;
[-] (android) fixed file and image upload via HTTP because the application was crashing and shutting down;
[-] (webupport) technical messages display as a loudspeaker. Fixed;
[-] (win32) viewing user location on the map stopped working due to the update of the OpenLayers service that we use. Fixed;
[-] (win32) a bug when switching between the primary and reserved server, HTTP(s) address for upload/download of files does not change. Fixed;
[-] (android) (ios) user list incorrectly downloads from the server after new user registration. Fixed;
[-] (win32) clicking the right button in "Notifications" (Ctrl+4) selects a menu item but without rendering in the right window. Fixed;
[-] (win32) first launch wizard does not launch after installing MyChat "from scratch". Fixed;
[-] (win32) plugins that use commands for sending/receiving raw data do not work, fixed;
[-] (win32) bug when switching to information about Android, and iOS via the main menu "Help";
[-] (macos, linux, web) names do not display in the contacts lists. Fixed;
[-] (win32) error ID: F0D0849E when attempting to exit the program, and the account manager is open after the start;
[-] (win32) if you switch to private contacts, the list is empty, and then minimize the window — MyChat Client "freezes". Fixed;
[-] (ios) fixed PUSH notifications. Now the status "delivered" is sent correctly;

MyChat Server

[+] 4 new rules in the user rights groups for the section "Conferences": "Deleting conferences", "Closing conferences", "Deleting own conferences" and "Closing own conferences";
[+] added the Help in Ukrainian to the server's distribution;

[*] increased the speed of the console command "remove privates";
[*] blocked users are not included in conference contact lists (any, user-defined or auto-created on the server);

[-] error when rendering the list of conferences on MyChat Server Admin Panel. If the conference name contains symbols besides regular letters and numbers, the server crashes. Fixed;
[-] (admin) checkboxes for enabling/disabling scripts do not display in the section "User defined scripts". Fixed;
[-] (admin) the user counter does not update when removing a user from a group. Fixed;
[-] the function for checking a user's password in Admin Panel when getting a user's QR code works incorrectly. Fixed;
[-] changing the template for usernames display in chat does not always work correctly. Fixed.


7. How to update to the latest version?


Both commercial and free versions are updated in the same way. The server is updated first, then the clients. In general, this process is performed automatically.

Instruction for updating MyChat

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