What is new in FirstClass

From TechHelp - MCLA's Technology Help Center

The NEW MCLA FirstClass 8.3

The NEW MCLA FirstClass Desktop: Starting View

Below is a screenshot of an MCLA FirstClass desktop that is similar to the one you will see in FirstClass Version 8.3 when you first open it.

Note the list at the top left side of the screen, and the navigation bars below it. The list links to specific containers. the bottom half launches FirstClass applications.

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New Buttons - Plus Text

Those small icons at the top of your screen or your windows that you didn't give you much information about their reason for being have been replaced with a larger set of icons, labeled with the related function.Yea!

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Explore View!

In FirstClass 8.3 users can switch between explore and classic modes at the click of a button, and in fact can run both modes simultaneously, as shown below.

Also illustrated are the new scalable icons and buttons along with the expanded set of applications in the applications launch bar.

Note the small square icons at the very bottom left and right of the window. You click these to "toggle" among different views."

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Workspaces

Workspaces is a new application designed with the same principles of group collaboration as FirstClass Conferences, Workspaces are collaborative areas in which multiple users within a small workgroup can easily and securely access and share resources. Each Workspace provides out-of-the-box templates for shared content, including a discussion conference, calendar, contact database, document storage, and bookmarks folder.

Please note - not all MCLA users will be able to share workspaces with others.

Workspaces can be created by your administrator, yourself, or other users. All workspaces that you have created are stored by default in the Workspaces container on your Desktop. You can drag a workspace out of this container if you wish to store it in another location.

If this feature is not enabled by your administrator, you can still use this area to create and organize personal projects, but you will not have the ability to add any workspace members.

Below is a view of an open Workspace and the form that allows users to easily share workspaces they have created:

You can add applications to an existing workspace with the click of a single button.

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Documents Application

FirstClass has always provided a rich word processing application for mail and collaboration, and the 8.3 release will be extended to provide a full document editing environment.

Specific improvements include:

A Documents container on the FirstClass Desktop to manage FirstClass documents. FirstClass documents are internal FirstClass word processing documents that you cannot mail - but you can drag them into different locations on your desktop.

Note: This is different from the My Documents container that was created for you in the earlier version of FirstClass. My Documents is now called: File Storage

Document templates to ease the creation of new documents. You can now choose from a list of templates when you create new objects. When you create a new object (for example, calendar, container, web page, document, presentation), you are prompted to choose from a list of templates. The selection list depends on the object you are creating, and assigns properties or permissions to the object so you don't have to configure it each time.

Save/Save As functionality that enables you to rename and choose a location for your newly-created documents within FirstClass.

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Trash Can

You will now find documents you deleted in the Trash Can on your desktop. They should remain in the trash can for 2 weeks before expiring and disapearing.

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Mail

Mailbox Changes - Use preferences to automatically separate your Inbox from your Sent Mail.

You can now choose to display either a unified Mailbox or a separate Inbox/Outbox in the "Mailbox style" field of your Preferences form. Choosing a separate Inbox/Outbox displays the contents of your Mailbox in four separate containers: Inbox, Drafts, Junk Mail, and Sent Items.

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File Storage Application

The new FirstClass File Storage application is an easily-accessible location to store files and documents of any type. File Storage replaces the My Documents folder we have been using at MCLA

Below is a view of the File Storage container on the FirstClass Desktop. Note the "upload" button in the toolbar for uploading your documents. Also note that FirstClass now automatically recognizes and indicates the type of file in the Type field and with its appropriate icon.

New Icons have been added to show the file type in the list view.

Photo Thumbnailing is available for quick and easy management of pictures.

Your disk quotas for FirstClass will remain the same, and items stored in File Storage will count toward that quota.