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Changelog

This document logs the changes made in each version of Awesign. It tends to focus on the user experience rather than specific technical details, though there are some exceptions.

Version 1.2.0

  • Introduces the new, highly-configurable, Welcome Sign
  • Introduces physical accessibility controls that can slide or scale the entire sign to ensure all interactive content is reachable
  • Improves floor maps:
    • Introduces additional configuration options (offset_x, offset_y, min_scale, max_scale, default_scale, and you_are_here_detail_scale)
    • Introduces an optional orientation-synchronized compass (enabled by specifying north_rotation)
    • Introduces the optional ability for users to rotate maps (allow_rotation)
    • Improves destination pin placement accuracy
    • Emphasizes which direction the user is facing
    • Introduces the technical ability to change the destination and navigation path after the initial one is loaded
  • Minor UI improvements:
    • Adds dashed lines to visually separate hours on the room reservations sign
    • Improves the about modal's layout on large screens
    • Displays a list of possible problems when the initial connection to the server fails
    • Removes visible scroll bars from all signs
    • Prevents highlighting text on all signs
  • Minor technical improvements:
    • WebSocket clients will be disconnected after sending a message that results in an error
    • Improves Docker shutdown time to deploy updates faster
    • Implements automatic client refresh around 4 AM daily
    • Improves the reliability of client IP address determination

Version 1.1.0

  • Introduces the ability to source room reservations from an iCalendar feed
  • Introduces the "Gallery info" button for each slide on the manage gallery content page
  • Introduces the "View slides in this gallery button" on the gallery details modal
  • Introduces the "wipe" and "flip" slideshow transitions
  • Allows tapping a highlight person at the top of a department directory to view their details
  • Resolves a rendering bug when loading the "about" page before the software version has been retrieved
  • Resolves the floor map sign "teleportation" bug when zooming before panning inside a tab group
  • Improves slide upload file type determination
  • Improves scaling on high pixel density displays and when nesting signs inside each other
  • Improves various minor UI issues
  • Adds the Awesign logo to tab groups by default to increase recognition; this can be disabled in the configuration

Breaking change: The department directory external API's highlight_people configuration section must now include an email address for each highlight person.

Version 1.0.4

  • Introduces automatic image compression for large slides upon upload
  • Introduces the ability to download the original slide and view the original dimensions on the manage gallery content page
  • Introduces slide editing admin tab: allows admins to view information about slide files and update their compression
  • Warns users when uploading a particularly low or high resolution slide
  • Improves the slide uploader user interface: the image preview rectangle can be clicked to browse for files or an image can be dragged and dropped onto it to select it
  • Improves the smoothness of sign cycler transitions

Version 1.0.3

  • Introduces the "View Slide Cyclers" page for content managers to visually understand where their slides are displayed, including slide view live previews
  • Improves the smoothness of slideshow transitions
  • Increases the maximum number of concurrent connections much further (an external reverse proxy can enforce the real limits; it shouldn't be determined at the application level)
  • Improves the stability of WebSocket connections further
  • Improves the reliability of database connections during heavy load
  • Improves error handling and logging for background tasks
  • Improves validation of slide cyclers configuration
  • Centers the clock text on the room reservation sign if it spans multiple lines

Version 1.0.2

  • Increases the maximum number of concurrent connections to support a larger userbase
  • Enables internal connection statistics endpoint for diagnostics

Version 1.0.1

  • Adds support for Matomo analytics to collect sign usage metrics
  • Improves the stability of WebSocket connections via a heartbeat (to resolve connectivity bugs affecting Safari/WebKit in particular)

Version 1.0

Awesign's development began on April 25, 2024. The initial stable release was published a year later on May 19, 2025.

This version includes a wide variety of signs:

  • Interactive department directories
  • Interactive room (research laboratory) directories
  • Interactive floor maps
  • Interactive room reservation schedules (EMS integration)
  • Slide shows (with or without a clock/weather status bar)
  • Web pages
  • Videos
  • Daily overview (clock and weather forecast)
  • Emergency alerts can globally override all signage content to deliver important information
  • Special behavior signs: auto sign (for easy client deployment), dynamic signs (YAML-configured), tab groups (touch screen controlled), and sign cyclers (scheduled)

It makes uploading slides easy:

  • Anybody at UB can request to display their promotional slides on various displays throughout the hallways
  • Slides can be scheduled in advance to ensure they're approved on time and not released too early
  • Slides are required to have a reasonable expiration date to avoid promoting stale content

It provides convenient content management features:

  • Content managers (usually administrative staff) can review requested slides and approve them with one click
  • Requested slides can be filtered by gallery, time, and status. Content managers can edit them individually or in bulk
  • Content requesters can view the status of their requests, make minor modifications to their slides, or cancel a slide after it's been uploaded
  • Multiple galleries can be created for different purposes and with different content managers
  • Email alerts can be sent to content managers when new content is pending approval

It provides an extensive framework for developers to create new signs:

  • Signs are Vue components – it just takes some HTML, CSS, and TypeScript to create a totally custom sign layout
  • Any external API can be used as a data source, such as the weather.gov API providing the current temperature
  • A sophisticated topic subscription system provides efficient real-time data updates
  • Signs can be any aspect ratio, resolution, or even shape, and interactive (via touchscreen)
  • Modular components, such as Slides, Galleries, Slide Cyclers, Slide Views, and Slide Shows can be arranged in new ways to create complex functionality with relatively little code

And it's incredibly flexible for system administrators:

  • System administrators (usually IT staff) can configure everything in a well-documented YAML file and reload it without restarting the application
  • New signs can be configured by scanning a QR code, avoiding the need for a keyboard or mouse at signage computers
  • Signs can be controlled remotely in real time to identify a sign or temporarily override settings
  • Multiple signs can be synchronized to show the same information simultaneously, or purposely desynchronized to avoid showing the same content in multiple places
  • Tenant assets can be provided to customize signs for each department