We are pleased to announce the release of PhonePad Version 5.56.5. This is a maintenance release.
A lot of work was put into this release. Like with many businesses, COVID-19 has had an impact on the amount of time it has taken to produce these changes. If you experience any issues please let us know as soon as possible.
Notification Service
One of the most important changes in this release is the removal of the Notification Service from the Server or Host PC.
Through a number of support requests we have received over the last few months, we have encountered situations where security software installed on clients’ computers and various network configurations have been blocking notifications (using the UDP protocol) from the server. The result of this was that PhonePad was not receiving notifications of new messages, message list refreshing, and other types of updating.
Although we are not responsible for anything on client systems that prevent PhonePad working correctly, we have done our best to try to assist these clients. This has resulted in an enormous support workload for us and delays in responding to other client’s support needs.
In this release a new Workstation Notification Service is installed on each workstation. This new service connects directly to the server and doesn’t use UDP broadcasts.
Changes in This Release
- FIXED – Forward by Email in popup menu doesn’t work.
- FIXED – Marking messages as read or unread stopped working.
- FIXED – Error message when moving messages to Group folders.
- FIXED – Follow up completion wasn’t working correctly.
- FIXED – Error when importing.
- CHANGED – The Server Notification Service has been deprecated. On some computers and networks, the UDP protocol was being blocked by routers, firewalls, security software, etc., preventing message lists and lookup lists from being updated. This caused us support nightmares trying to work out what on our clients’ networks were causing these problems. In this release, each workstation now has a Workstation Notification Service. This is to ensure delivery of server notification messages that are responsible for updating message lists and lookup lists in PhonePad.
- Minor fixes and improvements.
Installation Information
Please note: Server Updates must be installed on your Server or Host PC, not your workstation (unless your workstation is also the Host PC) – they cannot be installed directly on your workstations. Make sure all users are logged out of PhonePad as the PhonePad Server will be stopped during the update and then restarted once it has completed. Workstations will be automatically updated when PhonePad 5 Workstation is started on each workstation. Important: When downloading and installing an update from your My PhonePad account, make sure it’s actually the update and not the server setup program.
How Updates Work
You do not need to install every update between this one and the last update you installed. PhonePad uses a smart update system that compares your current PhonePad system with what’s in the update, and then works out what changes are required, then makes those changes.
Updates and Anti-Virus Software
Depending on the anti-virus software you use, when you install a Server Update your AV software may class the updated software as a different program due to the change in binary signature. If you experience speed or freezing issues after an update, you may need to reconfigure your AV software to stop real-time scanning of PhonePad. This may need to be done on the both your Server or Host PC, and your workstations.
Downloading the Update
You can download the update from your My PhonePad account or by selecting Server Updates from the System Admin menu and clicking Check for Update (you will need to log in as an administrator). If you are a trial user you can also download the update by selecting Server Updates from the System Admin menu and clicking Check for Update (you will need to log in as an administrator). Please contact Support if you have any problems or questions.
