Pimcore 5.3 with many new DAM features

That makes us proud! We have just released the latest version of Pimcore 5. It includes new features and enhancements to more than 240 closed GitHub issues and pull requests. Especially in the DAM product, many new features have been added (VR/360° previews, facial recognition, focal points in images, XMP metadata support). We've been working hard on artificial intelligence and machine learning for a better customer experience and have prepared Pimcore for these areas.

Not only the DAM got a substantial upgrade. Powerful new features for the PIM/MDM product include a new component for data objects, which is capable of rendering live-previews of multiple output-channels at once. Additionally we eased structured release management for software deployment environments, by adding support for manual data object class IDs. For the CMS/UX product we added a new editable, which can be used for timed publication of parts of the contents of a website. In eCommerce we now support another payment provider - mPAY24. General new features include a quick search with integrated preview, many additional keyboard shortcuts and support for 2-factor authentication on login. Below you can find the highlights of this release.

New Features

VR / 360 ° support

360 ° images and videos can now be viewed directly in Pimcore. Based on metadata Pimcore recognizes the stored VR information (even for stereo 360 °). The image or video is automatically displayed in a VR viewer. The user can switch between standard preview (for example, to set a video preview image) and VR preview.

Focal point for images

Pimcore's single-source publishing capabilities allow editors to maintain images only once (at the highest resolution) in the system. The output formats for channels such as online shop, app, website, etc. are automatically created by Pimcore. To ensure that the customer always sees the correct part of the image, when generating these output formats, Pimcore now offers a new function. It is now possible to set a focal point for images, which always remains visible in the output. Combined with the also new automatic face recognition feature, Pimcore puts your content in the right light on each channel. Learn more

Automatic face recognition

Pimcore now automatically detects faces in images and sets a focal point. This focus point can be changed by the user should that be desired. This feature was made possible by integrating the Open Computer Vision Library. Very soon we will also integrate automatic recognition of objects in Pimcore. We rely on the Machine Learning Framework TensorFlow.

XMP metadata preview

Metadata or meta-information is structured data that contains information about features of other data. Already Pimcore was able to read and display metadata of images according to EXIF and IPTC standard. Now another format is supported. The Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) is a standard for metadata, such as embedding data about the photographer, the equipment used, and the location of the photograph into digital media.

Preview for multiple output channels

A new layout component for structured data, the preview panel, enables a live preview for several output channels. In single-source publishing, this is often extremely helpful to content editors. When enriching the data, the output for different channels can now be checked directly. Preview-Panel allows you to save the preview without actually having to save any changes and thus facilitates central data storage with automatic publishing to different output channels. Learn more

Two Factor Authentication (2FA)

Pimcore now provides more security for businesses looking to protect their sensitive data. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is used to authenticate a user by combining two independent components. Pimcore now supports the need for the user to confirm their identity with a so-called Authenticiation App in addition to the password (Google Authenticator or other products such as Facebook or Microsoft). Even with username and password, third parties can not gain unwanted access to the system. Learn more

Timed content blocks

In a regularly repeating, very tightly timed editorial plan, it may be necessary to display different, preconfigured content at a particular location, depending on the time of day and the date. The layout element Scheduled Block makes this possible. Elements can be filled with different contents and the content can be provided with date and time stamps. In the output, exactly the content is always displayed with the appropriate time stamp. In edit mode, content can be added and the timestamp configured. By means of a time slider it is possible to get a preview of the document for a certain time.

Quick-search & keyboard shortcuts

The keyboard shortcut "Ctrl & Space" allows the user to invoke a quick-search to quickly search for content stored in the system. The Quick-search also provides a built-in preview function and searches all data. Working with Pimcore will be even faster, easier and more comfortable for editors. For Developers: You can easily hook into this search and use Events to customize the displayed search results. Learn more There are now a variety of keyboard shortcuts that any user can customize.

Deployment & Cloud improvements

For developers (wink) : It is now possible to manually assign class IDs for structured data in Pimcore. This is especially helpful for multi-staging and cloud scenarios. So far, the class IDs have been consecutively numbered up. This could lead to inconsistencies when working with different environments (eg dev, qa, stage, production). The new feature not only makes deployment easier, it also improves the readability and comprehensibility of the code.

Improvements

In addition to many new features, there are also some improvements to the existing features. Here are the highlights in keywords:

UI Improvements: After extensive user testing, we made hundreds of improvements to the Pimcore user interface. Pimcore is now even easier to use than ever before.
SVG support: SVG vector graphics are no longer rasterized in the CMS frontend, but displayed in their original format. The editor can disable this behavior on request for each layout.
Preview for data objects: If an output layout has been linked using link generator, Pimcore will now automatically display the tab for previewing the output layout. That means less work for developers.
Editing documents faster: Area Bricks can now be inserted before as well as after an already inserted Brick.
Group Document Types: For clarity in the back-end, document types can now be grouped.
Manually sorting data objects: Instead of only alphabetically, data objects can now also be sorted manually.
HDPi Preview: The preview function for assets / documents / objects in the admin back-end now supports high resolution displays.
Asset Download / Upload: Images / videos / documents can now be conveniently uploaded directly in the file tree, and a group of selected files can be downloaded as a ZIP archive.
Leaflet + Open Street Map replaces Google Maps: More data security and less exchange of data with third-party providers. This is made possible by the switch to a new map provider. The transition also allows companies to host maps themselves to address policy / compliance issues.
HTML Shared Translations: The Shared Translations - for the central, system-wide administration of frequently used translations - now also support HTML (mouse right-click - "Edit as HTML") Learn more
Localized fields in object bricks: Learn more
Payment Provider mPAY24: Another payment service provider is now supported for eCommerce. Learn more