Umbraco 14.3.0 brings a mix of new features, improvements, and bug fixes that aim to streamline the user experience, both on the back-end and for developers working with the CMS. Here’s a detailed overview of what this release offers:
Key New Features in Umbraco 14.3.0
- Read-only Mode for Property Editors: Umbraco 14.3 introduces a read-only mode for various property editors, including dropdowns, radio button lists, checkboxes, and more. This allows developers to lock specific fields, making it easier to manage content where editing certain properties isn’t necessary or recommended. This update enhances content control and security by restricting modifications where needed.
- Document Type and Media Type Import/Export: One of the highlights of this release is the ability to import and export document and media types. This feature is particularly useful for teams managing multiple Umbraco environments, enabling more seamless transfer of these assets across different projects or environments, saving time during setup and migration.
- Member Picker Search and Read-only Documents: Umbraco 14.3 has refined its member picker functionality by adding a search feature, making it easier to find and select specific members. Additionally, documents can now be set to read-only, further enhancing content governance for editorial teams managing collaborative projects.
- Content-Security-Policy (CSP) Health Check: Security remains a priority, and Umbraco has included a CSP health check tool in this version. This helps ensure that your site’s security settings are in compliance with modern web standards, reducing vulnerabilities to cross-site scripting and other security threats.
Developer Enhancements
Developers will appreciate the improvements in Umbraco 14.3, particularly the SQLite Connection String Adherence. The release improves database handling, ensuring SQLite connections follow best practices, reducing errors during deployment. Another significant improvement is the virtual ExecuteAsync method, providing more flexibility when building custom workflows and integrations within Umbraco.
The validation system has also seen enhancements, allowing more flexibility in defining validation rules across different sections of the CMS. This, coupled with block grid validation, adds a layer of robustness to form handling and content structuring.
UI/UX Improvements
Umbraco 14.3 introduces multiple UX improvements. A notable change is the new file upload preview extension, allowing users to preview files directly within the media picker. This feature enhances the user experience by reducing the need for additional clicks to verify file uploads. Additionally, the login experience has been improved with the stripping of unnecessary spaces from usernames before login attempts, streamlining the authentication process.
Umbraco 14.3 Bug Fixes and Performance Enhancements
As always, a significant part of this release focuses on bug fixes and performance improvements. These include:
- Fixes related to block grid layout styles, ensuring the correct rendering of content blocks.
- Enhancements to inline editing modes for the block list editor, providing a smoother content editing experience.
- The resolution of issues where users could not log in after removing a UI culture.
Umbraco 14.3 and Beyond: Future Umbraco Updates
As Umbraco continues to evolve, we can expect more flexibility in handling environments, especially with the Flexible Environments feature coming up for Umbraco Cloud. This will allow users to create and manage custom environments tailored to their project needs, a departure from the fixed development, staging, and live environments. Furthermore, as the platform moves toward Umbraco 15, asynchronous API support is expected, which will improve performance and scalability.
In summary, Umbraco 14.3 is a comprehensive update that enhances both user and developer experiences. The improvements in property editors, document handling, and security features solidify its position as a leading CMS for flexible content management. With these updates, it continues to be an excellent platform for building and managing robust, secure, and user-friendly websites.
Update 11/14/24: Umbraco 15 released. Umbraco 15 is packaged with feature updates that help Umbraco scale.