Zimbra

Zimbra’s open source roots have always been of great importance to both the company and the Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS).  When we set out to build a new collaboration system over five years ago, we wanted to bring a fresh perspective to the market, and a big part of that was our commitment to being open source.  We understood sharing ideas within the open source community keeps you a one step ahead of competitors by iterating faster to give users what they want.  A great example demonstrating how the community has flourished is the Zimlet development program.

Zimlets are simple but powerful extensions of ZCS that connect users’ email, calendar, and contacts with any number of outside services (for a couple of recent examples see Alfresco and Peru and TripIt).  Zimlet development growth in the community has been strong and steady, and we are excited to continue supporting the community’s work by providing a place where developers can feature the best of their integrations to share with other Zimbra users.   So, today we are launching an updated Zimlet Gallery where you can pick and choose from many handy new ZCS extensions.

At the same time, we also love seeing our Yahoo! friends continue to embrace openness as part of the Yahoo! Open Strategy. In addition to this announcement today, a number of our Yahoo! brethren are extending their platforms to become more open. Today, Yahoo! Mail is introducing applications which enable people to make online payments, access personal photos and more easily send large files directly from their inbox. In addition, My Yahoo! is adding even more third-party applications, driving enhanced personal productivity for users directly from their My Yahoo! start page. You can read more about the Mail and My Yahoo! updates on the Yodel and YDN blogs.

As part of the Zimlet Gallery launch today, we’d like to introduce you to a few new third-party Zimlets, including:

Xythos Zimlet - The Xythos Zimlet allows you to drag and drop email messages and file attachments directly into Xythos’ Enterprise Document Management System.  Secure document management is popular in the enterprise and universities; integration in email is key for ubiquitous adoption.

Processmaker Zimlet - The Processmaker Zimlet helps streamline workflows, like time-off requests, all within Zimbra email (see above).  This Zimlet is already becoming popular and is being deployed at Access America Transport and Ministerio de Vivienda by our Zimbra Partners.

In addition, Zimbra developers have created a handful of new Zimlets, including:

Place Sticky Notes on Email - The new Sticky Notes Zimlet allows you to attach and tag emails with “notes.” One can leave comments, reminders, additional info about the email and more. And Zimbra’s powerful search can search through emails based on the contents of the tags/notes attached to the email.

Email Highlighter - The Colored Emails Zimlet allows you to apply personally assigned colors to emails from specific senders such as a family member, your boss, etc. You can identify senders by color, but you can also create colored emails through tags, making it easier to prioritize any inbox.

Save Email as Documents - With one click, the Email-2-Doc Zimlet lets you save an important email as a Zimbra Document; it will automatically save any attachments as links in the Document as well. The email can then be edited and shared with others.

At Zimbra we’re always trying to provide our community with the most efficient tools for organizing email, address books, calendars and web documents, so it’s only natural that we look to work with other with companies who are as enthusiastic about streamlined processes as we are, and share the same commitment to open standards.

One of the latest things you can now do with Zimbra is integrate with TripIt – an innovative service that organizes and shares your travel itinerary. With TripIt, users simply email their booked travel plans to TripIt, and the service will create a master travel itinerary plan. Users may then access or share this itinerary online, via their mobile device, or from their personal calendar.

This is where we step in. Because Zimbra is an open platform, users of TripIt can instantly access flight times, hotel arrivals, and much more from the convenience of their own Zimbra calendar automatically.  The integration is especially useful in business settings, as Zimbra’s shareable schedule options and synched group calendars allow employees to view their own work-related travel itinerary alongside their co-workers’ in a shared Zimbra calendar. This way, all are kept in the loop regarding everyone’s travel whereabouts at work.

This integration also takes advantage of a number of open standards that are supported by Zimbra and TripIt including email and iCal.  Here’s how you can get TripIt integration within your Zimbra account:

1.   Go to TripIt.com and create an account
2.   When you receive an email from your travel company, forward it to plans@tripit.com
3.   Go to TripIt and find the iCal feed URL and find the URL to subscribe to your calendar
4.   Go back to Zimbra and create a new calendar called “My Trips” or whatever you prefer to call it
5.   Paste in the iCal URL after you select sync with external cal
6.   Right click refresh and your trip calendar should appear!

One of the great things about being an open source company is that we have a passionate community that goes beyond the boundaries of any one location (Zimbra HQ, for example), with community members that participate and contribute from all over the globe.  We saw this early on with the help the community gave us for international translations,  and several of our early partners hailed from as far as South Africa, Brazil and Germany.

So in December when the Ministerio de Vivienda - the  Ministry of Housing in Lima, Peru - began looking for new options to replace their expensive proprietary software with lower-cost, open source alternatives, it came as no surprise that the open source community eventually led them to Software Libre Andino, a Zimbra / Red Hat distributor in Peru who helped replace their outdated systems with modern ones, including Zimbra for collaboration and Alfresco for document management.

The Ministerio de Vivienda, which is responsible for all the housing, construction and sewer systems in Peru, has a mission to improve access to adequate housing and basic services to all the citizens of Peru. Saving the government money is definitely one reason for the switch to Zimbra, but another important factor in their decision to deploy open source solutions is they found that open platforms allow their users to easily integrate and build new solutions on top of this foundation.

In this case they were able to deploy the Alfresco Zimlet created by Zimbra community members and allow a simple way for employees to store documents that are attached in email on the Alfresco server, and in turn select documents from the Alfresco server and attach them to a Zimbra email. Simple, inuitive integrations like these make it easy for government agencies or companies to invest in multiple open source products to meet their needs, instead of choosing proprietary options.

We love to hear stories of how Zimbra and open source technologies travel the globe – if you have any stories you want to share, drop us a line.

(Below: Save attachment to Alfresco and add an attachment to Zimbra from Alfresco).

Zimbra Gallery Pages:
Save in Alfresco Zimlet
Alfresco Zimlet
Alfresco Zimlet Peru

Few things get our community excited like a major release version of the Zimbra Collaboration Suite. Today marks availability of the first GnR preview: ZCS 6.0 Beta 1 Open Source Edition. Admins and developers can find it over on the downloads page, for the less technically inclined we’ll also have a new hosted demo up shortly.

Some feature highlights:

» A new horizontal ‘three panel’ view with the message on the right.

» There are now tabs for individual messages as well as the compose page.

» Document & Briefcase access from the standard HTML client.

» Share management & discovery UI that lets you see all shares (email, contacts, calendar, tasks, docs, etc) at a glance. Join a distribution list late? Find all existing shares with the group.

» The ability to run existing email filters over the contents of a folder.

» Did you get it? Know instantly, as read receipts have been implemented in the web-client.

» Improved calendar resource auto-accept/decline conflict handling.

» Calendar fisheye view - previously in Zimbra Desktop, now in ZCS.

  » Auto-updating RSS feeds & ICS event URLs on a configurable schedule.

  » Per-user blacklists & whitelists are exposed in the revamped mail preferences area.

» ‘Published’ Zimlets management for end users in options. (Zimlets themselves can now define a new application or preferences tab.)

» Mobile web-client overhauls: Including a special mini logon page, better appointment creation, and six new variants based on device type and connection speed.

» Auto-complete from shared address books; and recently used contacts are presented first.

» Configurable spell check on every send.

» On-behalf-of aka sendAs option on compose in shared folders/relationship accounts.

» Appointment list view & refined print layouts.

» Full featured detached message view for the advanced AJAX client.

» Attach files during mail compose directly from the briefcase; in the briefcase UI you can now send as attachments or links.

» Pressure-based scrolling of folder and message list (within the same page).

» OpenLDAP now allows for some on-the-fly configuration changes with zmlocalconfig via a cn=config backend instead of slapd.conf text files for preservation across upgrades.

» GALsync accounts via datasource contact folders with sorting, browsing, and enhanced client usability.

» MySQL as the logger DB has been removed, in favor of more zmstat service implementation mixed with SQLite & RRD for the new logger service.

» Role based delegated permissions on every individual feature. Now you can create distribution list managers, while HSP’s can give someone permission to manage multiple domains from one login. (Available in both network and open source editions - the network edition will include easy admin console configuration.)

---

There are just too many enhancements to list here so we could only cover a few; check out the beta on a test server, then let us know what you think below or over in the Community Forums. Release notes are here. (Note: We advise against upgrading if using the Posix/Samba add-ons, the process will be documented shortly.) This is the first release of several in our testing cycle; general availability of ZCS 6.0 is targeted for the summer.

Themes that is.

Some know that you can append ?skin=name to the end of your server’s url to test a skin without changing your preference value, but here’s another way to open a bunch at once - the Skin Previewer Zimlet.

Select those you wish to try out, and new browser windows are opened for side by side comparison:

(You can download com_zimbra_skinpreviewer over in the gallery for use against ZCS 5.0.11+ or ZD RC1.)

So you’ve checked out available themes - now how to take advantage of them all? Beach, Waves, and Yahoo tend to be our favorites; but every so often a dose of Lemongrass, Hot Rod, Zmail, or Steel is in order.


Switch themes daily, or whatever frequency you desire using the new Skin Changer Zimlet:

 

 

 

 
Gallery Page: com_zimbra_skinchanger (ZCS 5.0.11+ / ZD)

 

---

Need ideas for your own themes? Checkout the theme creation guide or the chameleon attributes for simple branding.

Sometimes there’s so much going on that we can’t take time to look forward on our calendars. Which always means scrambling at the last minute to get a present, send a card, or plan a party. A few social apps have saved me - barely. While there is an RFE you can vote for, Raja has once again come to the rescue with another Zimlet.

Kick off a scan of your existing contacts via the panel:

Choose exactly who to create reminders for, then select how many alerts you want and when to display them:

Like the Email Reminder Zimlet, we make use of a separate calendar for the re-occurring events; again marked as private / not shown in your free-busy status:

A short video of the new Zimlet in action:




You can find com_zimbra_birthdayreminder in the Gallery for use against ZCS 5.0.12+ (Zimbra Desktop install directions are over here).

More Info for Alerts

Often when I have an event or meeting coming up, other relevant information (like a phone bridge, remote session information, or who’s attending) is deep within the body but hard to get to from the current appointment alert.

com_zimbra_openappointment started as a separate add-on, but is now part of the alerts dialog code. It inserts a link so you can quickly navigate to your calendar for further details:

While an enhancement like this may not seem like much, it serves to highlight the convenience of using mashups to extend the UI to your needs.

 

---

Like it? Got a great idea for a extending Zimbra? Leave a comment below or drop in over at the Zimlets forum section.

Internally of late we refer to him as “The Zimlet Machine”, since Raja has been pumping them out so fast it’s hard to keep up. Now there are so many new mashups to show off we’ve declared it Zimlet Month. So browse the gallery, try out the experimental Zimlets in the source, and even if your not a developer you can drop us an idea for new ones, or just mention tweaks you’d like to see made to existing Zimlets over in the community forums.

Ok it may not be a continuous month - a few of these will require 5.0.14, and others depend upon core changes to 6.0.x; they’ll be in your server’s zimlet directories shortly. If your not into running the 6.0 betas, teaser screencasts are attached; check them out and start the feedback rolling - we want to make these Zimlets exactly what you expect of them when it’s time to deploy.
 

Honestly how many times have you flagged something, only to forget to check your ‘is:flagged’ search? The same goes for a ‘followup’ tag. I’m definitely guilty of it. How do you not forget about those important emails? Create an appointment reminder right?

One might drag critical emails to the mini-cal, mark them private, remove the meeting invites for any pre-filled attendees, and store the events in another calendar to stay clutter free; but first you have to remember to do it, plus it’s multiple steps. The Email Reminder Zimlet solves all that without pulling you away from your inbox.

Flagging an email creates an appointment with a reminder set a few hours later by default:

You can also use it on drag to the panel icon, or when composing an email to take care of creation twice as fast:




 

 

 

 
The events show up on a separate ‘Email Reminders’ calendar so you can easily toggle visibility; they’re marked as private and set to show as free in order to not obscure your free-busy status:



 

 

 

 

A quick screencast of the Zimlet in action:




Gallery download link: com_zimbra_emailreminder

Requires 5.0.12+ (5.0.11 w/o flagging capability). It can also be used in Zimbra Desktop RC1 - we’re working on multiple ways to make them easier to install in the desktop client, but you can find current directions here.

 

---

Enjoy this Zimlet or have an idea for enhancing it?

-Perhaps a per-user setting for the default reminder time?
-Would you like us to go with just single click buttons for 1 day / 3 days / 7days / 2 weeks / 1 month?
-Or even a “silent” appointment creation setting that doesn’t prompt you?

Let us know what you think in the comments!

Version 5.0.12 of our collaboration suite is now available for download!

Some enhancements of note for admins:

• 33358 - Postfix policy on validating RCPT TO content for minimizing backscatter spam for alias domains. (postfix_enable_smtpd_policyd)
• 33720 - By mapping alias to real domains we can allow auth with alias domain addresses and send out-of-office notifications for alias domains. (zimbraDomainAliasTargetId)

For users:

• 34751 - Avoid unnecessary appointment blob access for calendar summary viewing to produce faster cal tab loading.
• 6082 - Notification for delegate stores/shared folders.

Pushing change notifications to the UI eliminates the need for manual refreshes. An excellent thing as we approach simultaneous editing of the same document.

---

Zimbra Desktop meanwhile will be leaving beta 5 for the release candidate stage later this month. With a new early-adopters upgrade program as well; I know many of you testers are excited for a faster release pace.

Every year, the Macworld Expo brings together a loyal and diverse base of Mac users which also happens to make up a core set of Zimbra’s customers. Once again this year you’ll find us at the show. We’re setting up house with 01.com (one of our many partners) at booth 4328 – we hope you can stop by and find out how Zimbra works seamlessly with Apple products at home or on the go. And if you can’t make it, take a look at our 2008 recap of Mac-related news, or visit http://www.zimbra.com/apple/ for more information.

December
Inquisitor, a search technology that auto-completes queries and delivers results right in the Web browser, was acquired by Yahoo! and launched for Safari 3 in May, and then for Firefox 2 and 3, and Internet Explorer 7 and 8 in October. Last month, in the Desktop Beta 5 release, we launched built-in Inquisitor support for the search bar - bringing Zimbra users access to Inquisitor’s fast, smart and flexible search experience.

October
In October, Zimbra and Yahoo! hosted the CalConnect Roundtable, a symposium on the interoperable exchange of calendaring and scheduling information between dissimilar programs, platforms, and technologies, including iCalendar (iCal) and CalDAV(3) standards. The meeting allowed us to collaborate with some big corporations including Apple, Google, Kerio, Microsoft and Sun, as well as some major universities to bring the latest CalDAV & iCalendar specs your way.

July
By mid-summer, Zimbra Mobile for iPhone arrived – bringing over-the-air synchronization to the native email, address book and calendar apps on any iPhone with 2.0 software and ZCS Network Edition with Zimbra Mobile enabled – just in time for loading up on the new iPhone 3G.

June
We’re always trying to find new ways to make the user experience faster, and this summer we put all the latest Web browsers to the test. We found Safari 3.3.1 to be the winner of the browser wars – an ideal companion to the Zimbra Web Client for the fastest collaboration experience yet.

February
In February, we launched a great improvement to Zimbra Collaboration Suite with our 5.0 release. In Zimbra’s traditionally inclusive style, we launched with support for Mac OS and for any mobile web browser, including the Apple iPhone. ZCS 5.0 also included the beta release of Zimbra Desktop, which gave all PC, Mac, and Linux machines the same rich Zimbra experience online and offline.

January
At MacWorld last year, we gave our Apple customers more to cheer about as we embraced support for Apple products and technologies, including Safari 3 and CalDAV for Mac OS X Leopard.

We look forward to 2009 and all the really cool stuff we are going to (very soon) launch.

Just a bit on new stuff that’s graced the Zimlet scene lately:

Xythos
Drag and drop your emails (including entire conversations with meta-data or just the attachments) from Zimbra into an Xythos folder of your choosing. Create new emails and link to documents stored on an Xythos content management server for internal accounts - you can even configure expiring tickets to share material with external users.

See it in action here, then contact info@xythos.com if you’d like to try it out.

Dimdim
Join a Dimdim web conference without leaving your inbox; start a meeting right from an email with a single click, drag contacts from your address book, or even drop any appointments in your calendar onto the Zimlet and instantly schedule a Dimdim session.

Dimdim is an awesome open source meeting platform that lets you share your presentations, documents, whiteboards, or desktop (currently Win & Mac with Linux on the roadmap) - and gets you connected via chat, VoIP, or webcam. Run your own server, use their hosted options, or create a free account that lets you connect with up to twenty people at once - attendees don’t even need to be registered.

Grab the Zimet here.

Alfresco
The first content management Zimlet by Starxpert let you save emails, conversations with attachments, or folders onto an Alfresco space.

A newly developed Zimlet from the folks at Alfresco not only helps you save content to ECM server, but also provides the ability to select multiple documents and attach them as links to outgoing emails; several widgets give you ease-of-use in Alfresco space selection and repository navigation. Visit the gallery page to download it.

Get your intent across.
With the new Babelfish Translator & Dictionary Zimlets:



Check them out in the source, they’re coming to your server’s “zimlets-extra” folder shortly - you can even use them in Zimbra Desktop.



 
Auto-Complete & Refined Search

Available in the main branch of perforce are com_zimbra_searchauto & searchrefine. While an updated Yahoo! search Zimlet displays results in a ZmApp tab instead of requiring you to open another browser window.