Product updates

We’ve revamped the Drive menu to make file management faster and more intuitive. Here's what's new:

File Details Flyover Menu

• Access comprehensive file information with a single click, including file name, type, thumbnail, uploader, unresolved feedback, review status, and sharing details.
• Perform quick actions such as downloading or sharing directly from the flyover.
• Close the flyover easily by clicking anywhere outside it.

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Selection Mode

You can now enter Selection Mode from the main Drive menu, allowing you to select multiple files or folders at once using checkboxes, keyboard shortcuts, or the convenient "Select All" option.

• Enter Selection Mode by clicking the "Select multiple" option in the Drive top menu.
• Trigger Selection Mode by multi-selecting files or folders using Ctrl/Cmd+click or Shift+click.
• Checkboxes are now always aligned to the far-left column, regardless of nesting, and no longer replace file/folder icons.
• Checkboxes also appear for revisions when they are expanded.
• Click the checkbox to select a file; single-clicking elsewhere on the file still opens the details flyover.
• A "Select All" option has been added to quickly select all files in the current view.
• Press ESC to exit Selection Mode instantly.

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Improved Folder Navigation

• Navigate into folders by double-clicking or using a new “Step into folder” option in the context menu.
• Folders now display nested contents with tree-like indicators for added clarity.

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Improved File and Revision Display

• The size of file and revision containers has been reduced, allowing you to view more files and revisions in the Drive menu.
• Revisions are visually connected to their parent file with a clear tree-like structure.

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We’re introducing Configurable Feedback, giving you the ability to create custom feedback types with tailored fields and markup tools. This capability is designed to help you capture specific details that align with your unique workflows and project requirements.

Custom Feedback Types

With Configurable Feedback, you can now create new feedback types that reflect your team's specific needs. 

• Assign unique names and icons to custom feedback types for easy recognition.
• Tailor feedback fields to capture relevant information for each feedback type.
• Enable or disable markup tools relevant to that type of feedback

Custom Feedback Fields

When creating or editing feedback types, you can choose from CoLab’s default field types or create your own custom fields to capture the necessary information. Available field types include:

• Text input (for short or long responses)
• Date picker
• Number input
• Currency
• User pickers (single or multiple users)
• Dropdown selectors (single or multi-pick options)

These customizable fields help ensure you’re capturing the exact details needed for better decision-making during reviews.

Configurable Markup Tools

Users can choose which markup tools are available when a feedback type is selected. Only the markup tools chosen will appear in the markup toolbar.

Tracking Custom Feedback Types

Configurable Feedback allows users to organize and filter feedback by type, making it easy to find exactly what you need. With the ability to create custom categories and fields, teams can quickly narrow down feedback to specific issues or suggestions relevant to their design processes.

• Filter feedback based on custom types or fields, making it easier to locate critical information.
• Sort feedback by type to streamline how feedback is reviewed and addressed.

To learn more about how to create and use custom feedback types, visit this article in our knowledge base.

This update brings several enhancements to the markup and feedback creation experience in CoLab.

Here’s what’s new: 

New User Preferences

Keep markup tool selected after use

We’ve added an option to retain your markup tool selection after creating or canceling feedback. This setting keeps your chosen tool active until you manually switch to a different one.

Hide feedback card from viewer when feedback panel is open

You can now choose to display only one feedback card at a time. Enabling this preference will hide feedback cards within the viewer whenever the feedback side panel is open, and show feedback cards within the viewer when the feedback side panel is closed. 

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Draft Feedback

CoLab now automatically saves in-progress PDF feedback as a draft, ensuring your feedback is preserved even if you navigate to another page before saving.

*In order to display draft feedback, you must have the Hide card from viewer when feedback panel is open setting enabled.

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Display Markups with Feedback

Markups are now directly linked to their corresponding feedback cards, which display the number of associated markups, allowing users to easily navigate between all markups related to a specific feedback item.

Selecting Feedback Displays Markup with PDF View State

PDF view state is now recorded with your feedback markup. Viewers of your feedback will be brought to the same page, zoom and rotation as when your markup was created.

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We’ve added file thumbnails to CoLab, making it easier to quickly find specific files as you navigate through workspaces.

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We’ve rolled out several new features to make PDF files easier to navigate in CoLab:

Automatic Microsoft Office File Conversion

Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files will now automatically convert to PDFs upon upload, giving you the ability to share and review Office files as PDFs alongside your 2D and 3D CAD files.

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Page Thumbnails, Bookmarks, and Tables of Contents

‍We've added a side panel containing page thumbnails, interactive table of contents, and bookmark support. Use these features to quickly navigated to specific sections of large PDFs, or bookmark important sections for future reference.

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New Search Capabilities

We've upgraded the PDF search feature. The new PDF search now includes result previews, case sensitivity, and whole word matching for faster, more precise searches.

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Marquee Zoom

You can now focus on specific areas of a PDF by selecting a section to magnify, providing a detailed view of the selected content.

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For more information on how to navigate and interact with PDFs in CoLab, check out this article in our knowledge base.

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Workspace admins can now create reusable review templates to streamline the review creation process. Here’s how it works:

• Create Templates: From the workspace settings menu, you can create templates that include predefined review titles, descriptions, checklists, and reviewers.
• Apply Templates: When starting a new review, simply select a template from the "Select a template" menu to apply all the predefined settings.

For more details on using review templates in CoLab, please refer to this knowledge base article.

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You have a review in CoLab. Your team added high priority issues. Now,  you’re moderating a design review meeting to assign these tasks. While the issues live in CoLab, you have action items from this meeting that live in Word or paper.

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Not anymore.

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Starting today, every review in CoLab includes a “live” collaborative notebook. With review notebooks, you can create review pre-reads, track meeting minutes, and assign action items without leaving CoLab – or even your review. 

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You can also see any reviewer leave notes, resolve action items or add follow-up tasks right on the document. 

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Made a mistake? Not to worry. CoLab also saves the version history of every edit made to the notebook. 

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More key features include:

• Rich text capabilities: Add hyperlinks, lists, text formatting, and tables.
• Image support: Attach images to support your notes.
• Collaborative editing: Like in Google Docs, you can see the cursor and activity of other users in real time.

To learn more about review notebooks, check out this knowledge base article. It includes feature walkthroughs and FAQs.