The latest version, 7.0, equips Mattermost with much desired features, including threaded replies, voice calls and multiple instances for the apps.
With the new version 7.0, Mattermost updates its chat and collaboration platform. The update focused in particular on features requested by users: among other things, the program gets a new threaded view for replies, which can be collapsed in the service of the overview. Administrators can activate the function by default for all users if desired.
Different instances for apps
Furthermore, apps for iOS and Android can now be connected to multiple Mattermost instances. However, this is still a beta feature that users willing to test must explicitly activate. The apps and desktop clients can also be used to make voice calls in channels in the future, where the screen content can also be shared with the other participants. The chat and other Mattermost functions are available in parallel in the background. Officially, this feature is also still in a beta phase – cloud customers should receive it automatically, administrators of a local instance must configure it manually.
Furthermore, the developers expand the text input of the chat with new buttons for formatting the message. It is aimed at users who cannot or do not want to write Markdown – the program converts this to the correct syntax. Finally, a click on the preview shows the message as it subsequently appears in the channel.
Further updates are available for Playbooks, which are checklists for automating workflows. Now users can also edit them in the overview view and get statistics on the actual use of the playbooks. Furthermore, Mattermost introduces new settings for actions and triggers: With them, it should be possible to configure in more detail which people the software should inform and when, and which WebHooks it should trigger.
Finished packages for macOS and Linux
Finally, there is also a change in the interface, a panel on the right side of the application will bundle extensions and apps in the future. Installing desktop clients should also become easier for system administrators: For one, the program can now be found in the macOS App Store including automatic updates via it, on Linux DEB and RPM packages are now available.
All information about the update can be found on the project’s blog. Mattermost is open source software that can also be operated by the user. Optionally, the developers offer a cloud variant managed by the project – it is free in a small installation, for many important enterprise features and support fees are due.
