Hello, and welcome to the FileCloud 20.2 update: a complete rehaul of our Sync, Mobile and browser UI and functionalities. We at FileCloud have been working on this update for a very long time, and so today, we’re incredibly excited to present to you: FileCloud Aurora.

We’re introducing two major changes in this revolutionary new update: a new redesigned UI for all our platforms, and DRM functionalities.

Without further ado, let’s get into things!

The UI Update

Brand New, Reimagined UI

Our brand new UI is one of the most significant changes that this update will bring about. This gorgeous reimagination of our browser, sync and mobile clients features a sleek and responsive design to provide you and your team with a powerful, fluid and comfortable file-sharing experience. Seriously, the design team knocked this one out of the atmosphere. 

But of course, we can wax lyrical about our new design till we’re blue in the face, but what better way to show you design changes than to well, show you? Here are a few screenshots of the new UI, and our old one to compare. Now, the old UI served its purpose solidly, but it certainly can’t hold a candle to Aurora. 

Not only does the UI look really, really good, it’s been specially designed to expedite your workflow with color and animation cues, streamlined information and clearer navigation. Every tool or tidbit of information you might ever need is clearly displayed right when and where you need them. But we’ll cover all that below.

Color Palette / Personalization

On the note of the UI design, you can also completely change the color palette of your workspace! Don’t like the default color themes? Change them to any hue and varying saturation levels in the settings like so:

Not only are the colors customizable, so is almost everything else on display, such as date format, time format and language. Of course, FileCloud Aurora also boasts our usual branding capabilities, in which admins can change every aspect of the workspace, including URL, login background, templates and more.

We’re confident that no other file-sharing solution offers remotely the level of customizability to your own workspace. Naturally, we also have a clean dark theme ready for you to use. #DarkThemeMasterRace, after all. 

Single-Click Actions

We’re all about helping you and your team save time. FileCloud Aurora brings workflow efficiency to the next level with tons of quality of life updates that help you work fast. One of these is the introduction of single-click actions. When you hover over any file or folder in your library, a toolbar appears that lets you choose from all the most commonly used actions that you could ever need. 

What does this mean? Gone are the days of tedious right-clicking and dragging stuff around. Need to copy or download something? Just hit the corresponding button! Need to move something to another folder? Before you start dragging it all over your screen, just hit the single-click action for it and a window will open for you to choose your destination folder. 

It might seem like a subtle change, but when your team is shaving seconds off every file action, it all adds up to save you and your team tons of time.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Another example of the aforementioned quality of life updates include keyboard shortcuts: for when you really want to cut down on the time needed to navigate and interact with your library. You won’t even need to move or click your mouse to perform actions, nor will you need to take your hands off your keyboard in between typing — instead, you’ll just need to tap a key or two to do everything you need.

Of course, we all know the common shortcuts like the trusty old ctrl-x, ctrl-c and ctrl-v to cut/copy/paste. And if you’ve ever used them, you’ll know just how much time and effort you save — not to mention the convenience. Aurora introduces a ton of keyboard shortcuts like that, which you can view by navigating to the top-right and clicking “Show Shortcuts”. 

All those shortcuts might seem a bit overwhelming if you’re not familiar with using keyboard shortcuts, but trust us, once you get the hang of it, they’ll be such a timesaver that you’ll wonder how you ever lived without ‘em.

Sidebar Navigation + Infinite Scrolling

These are minor changes in terms of appearance, but adds so much to user experience when sharing and interacting with your files and folders. Firstly, the sidebar navigation: all directories in your library are now accessible on the left side of your screen, and can be revealed or hidden via drop-down arrows. This gives you complete control over the information on your screen, and makes it much easier to navigate your files and folders for interaction.

Your library also now has infinite scrolling, meaning that you can scroll and scroll forever, as long as there are files and folders for you to scroll through. There are still page numbers indicated at the bottom of the screen, but you’ll never need to click on a back or forward arrow — just scroll to navigate between them!

Star Files & Folders

This is a long overdue feature, but you can now favorite, or star, files and folders! This helps you mark out files that you frequently have to access, use or download, letting you access them more easily and quickly in the future. To do this, simply hover over the file you want to favorite / star, and click on the empty star. You’ll know that you’ve done it right when the star fills in yellow.

Recently Viewed Files

FileCloud now also shows all recently viewed files and folders right on the homepage of your dashboard, right next to all your starred items. This means that if you want to make a quick change to a document you just had open, you won’t need to go wading through all of your organization’s files and folders. Another minor addition that’ll really make interacting with your files quick, easy and convenient.

Visual Hints, Cues & Animations

As mentioned before, there are tons of little cues and hints that we’ve added into FileCloud Aurora during the redesign process of the UI. Not only are there now animations for each little action you take with your files, there are also colored visual cues that mark out each separate area of your library. 

For instance, Team Folders are marked with a dark blue dot in this workspace. Navigating to Team Folders adds a dark blue line across the top of the screen, indicating which area the user is currently in. This means that the more you use Aurora, the easier you’ll find to navigate the workspace, and you’ll never need to scrutinize the URL or header to figure out which area you’re viewing — you’ll just subconsciously know!

Built-in Markdown Editor

Markdown is quickly taking the internet by storm as a convenient, easy-to-use formatting language. Aurora introduces its very own built-in markdown editor for when you want to add notes, or wiki / about pages to any of your files and folders. 

If you’re not familiar with markdown yet, here’s an awesome little guide to get you started on your learning journey. 

Direct Clipboard Image Copy/Paste

Last but certainly not least, you can now directly paste images in your clipboard into the page to upload image files. This is especially useful for when you have a print screen or web image that you’re looking to upload — this saves you the time of having to download the image, save it somewhere in your computer, then upload it. 

DRM Capabilities

Secure Document Viewer

If the new UI was the biggest change in terms of appearance, FileCloud Aurora’s new Digital Rights Management (DRM) capabilities are unquestionably the most significant change in terms of functionality. 

Your data security has always been FileCloud’s number one priority. We’ve got all the files you’re storing with us safe and sound, but what happens when you need to send out or distribute important documents, such as external contracts, reports, or training materials? Our new DRM solution ensures that nothing you send out gets used in a malicious or abusive manner, even after it’s left your system and entered others. 

Our secure document viewer helps you protect confidential files from unsolicited viewing with FileCloud’s restricted viewing mode. Show only selected parts of the document and hide the rest of it — or choose to reveal sections only as the user scrolls, minimizing the risk of over-the-shoulder compromisation.

For more details, read more about the FileCloud DRM solution here! 

Screenshot Protection

Utilize the Screenshot Protection feature to prevent recipients from taking screenshots of secure information and documents.

This is an option that can be selected when you create your DRM Document or Document Container, and prevents any recipients from taking screenshots of the document. Not only that, the recipient won’t be able to share screens or screen-record to share the documents either, nullifying any chance of your documents being distributed without your permission or consent.

Document Container 

Easily and securely export multiple documents in an encrypted document container (AES 256 encryption), and share it via FileCloud or third party emails. 

Support for Multiple File Formats

Protect your Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, Excel), PDF, and image (jpeg, png) files, and include multiple types of files in a single encrypted document container! FileCloud’s DRM solution doesn’t discriminate, ensuring all your most regularly used file, folder and document formats can all be easily handled by our containers and viewer. 

Anytime Restriction of Access to Your Files

Remove the risk of accidentally transmitting confidential files and enforce your policy controls even after distribution. You can revoke file access or change view options (screenshot protection, secure view and max account) anytime, via the FileCloud portal.

Thanks for Reading!

We at FileCloud thank you for being a part of our journey to creating the most revolutionary user interface and experience on the market. We’d love to know what you think about these changes. For full information about all these changes, release notes can be found on our website here. 

We hope that you’re as excited about these new changes as we are. Stay safe, and happy sharing, everyone!