Sitefinity releases - April 24, 2019
Obiageli Ogbutor Apr 24, 2019New features:
Version Upgrade
We have upgraded to the latest Sitefinity Release. This incorporates several fixes from progress. The details are available here:
Hero Template for Research and Creative Project
We received several requests from multiple site builders and we have released a new “Hero Card” template for the Research and Creative Project widget.
Extension of the Content Block widget with new Heading styles
The H1-H6 have more styles now.
Improvements:
Relevant Image Sizes
We added several new preset image sizes last month to assist builders with using the right size image for the right purpose. We will be releasing some best practices for our builders in April/May.
Page Property Metadata Description
To help builders fill out the Metadata Description field on Page Properties, we have added a character counter and helpful instructional text.
Toolbox Widget Options
To simplify the page editing experience, certain widgets will be removed from the Toolbox as they are superfluous and confusing to site builders.
Pro version of Font Awesome
After using the free version of the Font Awesome library to deliver icons for several months, we have decided to invest in the professional version. This opens up more icons for use in Sitefinity. All of the icons available may be seen here: . Here is a link to more info:
Unlocking Pages
The ability to unlock pages is coming soon. We gained the ability to allow select permission groups to unlock pages and other resources in the upgrade to 11.2 version. This requires an update to the configuration of each site in Sitefinity. We will gradually roll out this change where few sites are updated at a time. An announcement will be made on the Sitefinity O365 build group.
Academic Program Featured Image
We received a feature request from the School of Education and Human Development and we have added a featured image to the Academic Program Detail templates.
Hero Video Widget Sizing/Scaling
The Hero Video widget has been revised to allow builders to let videos retain their natural aspect ratio without cropping. A checkbox will be available to allow the set height limit of the video to be disabled.
Warm-up Script
A new and improved server-side warm up script has been added to help cache and compile all of the Sitefinity pages. This process makes the Sitefinity pages to load quickly for our site visitors.
Accessibility updates
Test Lab
The first phase of accessibility testing will be launching at the end of April and go through early May. This pilot test will be a volunteer opportunity and we will send an ad to the Office of Disability’s listserv. We plan to have users click through various school/college sites, department/office sites, and have the users report any issues found via a template.
Bug fixes:
Image uploading through content block
In April, we received a bug report where users could no longer upload image through the content blocks. We determined that this was a side effect of a recent version upgrade. We have corrected this issue.
Horizontal Scrolling on Pages in Mobile
We inadvertently caused horizontal scrolling in an attempt to even out the vertical margins of certain content areas.This issue was corrected in early April.
Sitefinity Performance Improvements
Network Analysis
OIT recently experienced an issue with a device related to network security. In resolving that issue, some part of Sitefinity’s performance issues were also resolved. We will continue to monitor and adjust as we learn new information.
Groundwork for future improvements:
Helvetica Neue Web Font
The University has purchased a web license for the brand complaint Helvetica Neue font. After conferring with CU Boulder and CU Colorado Springs, we applied the new font to all the heading tags (h1-h6) on the Sitefinity website. The font will not be used in SharePoint.
Extension of the Content Block widget
This feature is considered BETA. This means that it is available for use, but we will continue to make improvements. Site builders can now insert a Call to Action button through the Content Block widget. Builders may also set width, color and alignment. Please note that the proper color of the button is not previewed until builders have saved the widget – this is a feature that we are still working on. All the fields in CTA button in the content editor are required so the site builders must fill out all fields, including More Options-> Margins.
Deactivating Inline Editing
We are evaluating whether or not to turn off inline editing. Despite being a popular selling point in our initial purchase of Sitefinity, our site builders do not use it regularly. The inline editing has an impact of slow page load time on site. For these mentioned reasons, we may turn it off to improve the site speed and performance for all site builders.
Multiple Buttons for Hero Image Widget
We are in the planning phase of a feature that would offer multiple buttons on the Hero Image widget.
NewEd Degree Finder Funded and Underway
The NewEd degree finder tool has been funded! We are using the data collected in November to populate these widgets and let them work on our licensed websites. Planning meetings are underway.
Hero Carousel/Slide Show Widget
The editing experience for the new Hero Slideshow/Carousel widget was planned and wire-framed. Development of this feature has been delayed. This feature is now scheduled for release in May 2019.
Possible Salesforce Integration
The OIT Web Services team is exploring the University’s needs for an integration between Salesforce and Sitefinity.
GDPR for Sitefinity
The OIT Web Services team is exploring options to align with the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
Sticky Sessions Reexamination
As part of our continued efforts to improve performance, we are working with the OIT Network and Infrastructure team to implement smarter sticky session on the load balancers.
Changing Number of Horizontally Aligned Enhanced Cards
We have received multiple requests to allow the site builders to change the number of enhanced cards that appear side by side. Some builders requested a two side by side while others requested a four side by side. We are working on a solution that allows the site builders to make these changes on their own. This will be a phase approach where we start with the CSS classes that can be added through a widget’s CSS Classes field. If you would like to use or test this option, please join us at open lab!
Known Issues
Be sure to check out for the latest on known issues.
CTA, Testimonial, and Enhanced Card changing title of the page
When a single item of content is specifically selected, it changes the title of the page. There is a work around to avoid this issue. Please see
April 2019 site launches
Department of Psychiatry launched April 10, 2019:
Assessment Office launched April 16, 2019:
Office of Professionalism launched April 16, 2019:
Mail Services launched April 16, 2019:
Office of Academic Programs and Evaluation and Reporting launched April 16, 2019: