New features in HCL Sametime 12 for Android

HCL Sametime® for Android version 12 has new features and enhancements.

12.0.21

This release focuses on improving your meeting stability and chat experience.

  • Chat: Improved chat search performance
  • Meetings: Smoother, more reliable Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode
  • Scheduling: Enhanced, easier-to-use scheduling interface
  • Interface: Cleaner meeting information banner and optimized meeting view layout.
  • Display: Better display on tablets and improved text formatting (Markdown)
  • Stability: Fixed several crashes and errors for a more stable experience
  • Context: Quick context in chat list—see who sent the last message instantly.

12.0.20

This release contains bug fixes only.

12.0.19

This release contains bug fixes only.

Note: In version 12.0.19 support for Android 15 (API level 35) has been included.

12.0.18

This release contains bug fixes only.

12.0.17

This release contains the following new enhancements.

  • Chat Search
  • Read Receipts
  • Notification Updates
  • Updated Theme
Chat Search
Search Rules
  • Search is done server side
  • Results are from all conversations
  • P2P chats, group chats, meeting chats
  • If you have “left” a group chat, the search will not return results from that conversation
  • Search terms are not case sensitive
  • Can be numbers or characters
  • Requires a 12.0.3 or newer chat server
  • When you select the new group chat fab icon in the chat list screen, you can add the group name, participant, and message.
Starting a search
Managing Recent Searches
Selecting a Search Result
Read Receipts
Tell you when others have read the conversation
Notification Updates
Reaction Notifications and Groupings
  • Requires server version 12.0.3 or newer
  • The reaction is displayed with the title of the conversation
  • For group chats, you only receive notifications for messages which you are the owner
Theme Updates
Color and Icon updates
  • Accent color is now blue
  • Group icons are now blue
  • Meeting icons are now light orange

12.0.16

This release contains the following new enhancements.

Enhancements
  • Failed Sent Message Support

12.0.15

This release contains the following new enhancements.

Enhancements
  • Tablet's Contact User Interface
  • Tablet's Group Chat User Interface
  • Tablet/Phone Meetings User Interface
  • Dynamic Type - Scable Text
Tablet's Contact User Interface
Enhancements to the tablet's contact user interface:
  • By default, the right pane displays the logged-in user's details
  • The left pane contains the list of contacts in that group
  • When you click on any contacts, their information is presented on the right
  • You can create a new personal and public group by selecting the FAB icon.
Tablet's Group Chat User Interface
The tablet's group chat user interface has been enhanced:
  • When creating new group chat in tablets
  • When you select the new group chat fab icon in the chat list screen, you can add the group name, participant, and message.
Tablet/Phone Meeting User Interface
The user interface for the Meetings on Tablets and Phones has been enhanced:
  • The meeting types are displayed as list.
Dynamic Type – Scalable Text
Your font sizes are now adaptive based on your device's font size setting:
  • The text sizes in the application are scalable based on your setting
  • When you alter the font size, the user interface will not overlap.

12.0.14

This release contains the following new features in addition to bug fixes.

Enhancements
Sametime Andriod now provides Tablet and Foldable phone UI support.

12.0.13

This release contains bug fixes only.

12.0.12

New navigation
Sametime now uses tabs to access Chats, Meetings, Contacts, and Settings.
Creating group chat enhancement
Group chat can be started from the message icon at the bottom right of the screen.
Leave conversation message enhancements
After you leave a conversation, you must be invited again to participate further in the conversation. When you leave a conversation a message is displayed indicating that you are leaving the conversation. You have the option to turn off the message from displaying. Displaying the message can also be controlled by a Chat Preference setting. If you are the last person to leave a conversation, the message is displayed regardless of the setting.

12.0.11

This release contains bug fixes only.

12.0.10

HCL Sametime version 12.0.2 includes several new features that are available when installing the Sametime app version12.0.12. For a complete list of new features, see HCL Sametime and HCL Sametime Premium 12.0.2 Release Information.

The following list highlights several of the new features.
Status updates
A new setting added for status messages. You can select to have your status automatically updated when you are in a meeting. After you leave the meeting, the message is changed to your previous status message.
Chat reactions
As part of a chat message you can long press on a message bubble and add a reaction.
Delete messages
You can delete a sent message and also undo the deletion within a time frame that has been set by the administrator.
Additional meeting settings available
Meeting owner can customize their meetings with various advanced privacy settings. For example, the owner can decide if recordings are allowed for the meeting, and whether the recording can be downloaded or shared in the associated group chat.

The meeting owner can not allow meeting reports and chat discussion after the meeting ends.

12.0.9

This release contains the following new feature in addition to bug fixes.

Enhancements
The number of current meeting participants is displayed prior to joining a meeting. This number refreshes every fifteen seconds.
The video and microphone settings can be set before joining a meeting.

12.0.8

This release contains bug fixes only.

12.0.7

Notification improvement
When the app is in the foreground, notifications are suspended.
Driving mode enhancement
When in driving mode, you can join a meeting using a data channel. Previously joining a meeting was using dial-in. Selecting a meeting from the Meetings page, information about the meeting displays. You can join or start the meeting by clicking Join or Start.

12.0.6

Emoticon palette updates
The Sametime emoticon palette contains new emoticions. You can also use the Android emoticon palette, however some emoticons are not supported on all platforms the message is received on.

12.0.5

New mobile meetings capabilities
The mobile meeting moderator can do the following from the main meeting window:
  • Lower a participant's hand
  • Toggle the participant view between tile and filmstrip view
  • Hide and show all meeting participants in the meeting window
The participants list in the meeting now has a menu icon () that provides additional moderator features. From this menu, the moderator can:
  • Download attendance report
  • Mute everyone else
  • All cameras off
  • Lower all hands
Preview transferred files
If the Sametime administrator has turned on the im.mobile.allowReceiveFiles policy, you can preview a file that has been transferred to you. Previewing a file allows you to view a file without having to use another application. To prevent downloading and sharing a file with other applications, the Sametime administrator can turn the policy off.
Driving mode enhancement
The driving mode feature has been improved to detect when you are in a car and join a meeting. In driving mode you participate in a meeting without distraction from your driving. You interact with the meeting using audio. Previously, driving mode was activated when a bluetooth device was detected and you joined a meeting.

12.0.4

Android OS versions
Android version 13 is now supported. Support for Android version 8 is no longer supported
Meeting attendance report
Meeting owners can view and download load a list of participants when in a meeting. The report can be shared with other apps provided that the Sametime administrator has enabled this feature.
File transfer update
The Sametime administrator can restrict the type of files that can be transferred. When a restricted file type is specified to be transferred, a message is displayed and the file is not sent.

12.0.3

The following new features are only available when using the 12.0.3 version of the mobile app.

Meeting duration timer

A meeting time display as part of the title bar allowing you to see how long a meeting has been running. The timer is available if the administrator enables the meeting timer display feature.

Photo size selection
When sending a photo from the camera or gallery in a chat, you are prompted to choose the size of image to be sent. Choices are small, medium, large and actual size. Note that the actual size is sent during a file transfer to preserve the photo's clarity.

12.0.2

The following new features are only available when using the 12.0.2 version of the mobile app.

Content sharing
Content such as images, URLs, files, and text can be shared with the Sametime app using the mobile device sharing feature.
Filter your active chats
When viewing active chats you can filter on one-to-one chats, group chats, and meeting chats.
Managing the waiting room
Mobile moderators can manage the waiting room. Moderators who attend a meeting on a mobile device can admit other participants who are in the waiting room.

12.0

The following new features are only available when using the 12.0.2 version of the mobile app.

Server based Recent Meetings
With version 12.0 the Recent Meetings list queries the server to get recent meetings update. This update means that your Recent Meetings list is same no matter which client you use to display them. Because you can use mobile clients can to join meetings on multiple servers you might see some discrepancy between the Recents list on a mobile client and the Recents list on the browser or another mobile client. This discrepancy happens because the mobile client also lists joined meetings on other servers whereas the browser only lists joined meetings that are on the server you're connected to. Meetings that you joined on servers prior to version 12.0 are still stored locally and then merged with the version 12.0 meetings in the Recent Meetings list.
New meeting filters for viewing the list of recent meetings
By default, when you view meetings listed in Recent, all meetings that you joined while logged into the app are listed. The list includes meeting that used a Sametime 12 server or an earlier version. With the Sametime mobile app version 12.0, you can customize the list by using the following filters:
My Meetings
Lists the meetings that you own. The list includes meetings that you joined and those that you didn't join.
Recordings
Lists the meetings that you have joined and have an associated recording.
Calls
Lists the calls that you participated in.
Meeting reports and recordings
Meeting owners have access to reports for their meetings. You can access these reports by opening the Recent tab and then tapping the More menu icon. You can view two reports: Summary Report and Full Report. If the meeting was recorded, the More menu includes the recordings.
Muting conversations
With version 12.0, you can mute individual conversations. The ability to mute is helpful when you participate in a group that that is very active.
Click to call
With this feature you can connect directly with a contact or group by clicking the call icon in the upper right of the chat window. When you place a call, a new meeting starts. Those you call receive a join message and are placed into the meeting when they join the call.
Version 12.0 includes notification settings for incoming calls.
Meeting modes enhancement
When you create a meeting, you can select a mode for the type of meeting. Each mode has a set of options with the most common mode setting already selected. You can choose from three modes:
  • Collaboration: Flexible and fully customizable
  • Confidential: Maximum level of security
  • Lecture: Ideal for large moderated meetings
File transfer
In addition to sending pictures from the camera or a photos app, in version 12.0 you can send files in a chat. The files are uploaded and saved as a link in the chat that you or a chat partner can download later. The HCL Sametime mobile app uses the Files app to select the file to send. Files that you download are also saved in the Files app.
Note: The mobile client does not support the previous file transfer method, where you had to be online to receive the file.
Token Login
When you log in to the Sametime server with login credentials, secure tokens are sent to the client for use throughout the session. These tokens are also used to authenticate with the Sametime meeting service. The tokens can also be used to authenticate the session instead of using login credentials. The use of secure tokens permit a login session to persistent while the secure tokens remain valid. The session ends when you use the Logout menu option or when the token expires.
The Remain online setting takes precedent in determining how long to remain logged in when the HCL Sametime app runs in the background until the setting expires. When the HCL Sametime app is running in the foreground, the secure tokens are used to login if they haven't expired.
Meeting waiting room support
When you join a meeting that was configured with a waiting room, you enter the waiting room until you are either admitted or denied access to the meeting. Messages from the meeting owner are displayed in the waiting room.
Custom branding for meetings
Business customers can use their own branding for meetings. Administrators can configure the Sametime server to use a business logo which is displayed on screens that display during the join process.
New policy default options for the mobile app
Policies that the login process passes down specify the behavior of the HCL Sametime mobile app. The Sametime administrator uses policies to turn on and off features. For example, administrators can use file transfer policies to turn off file transfer when they assess that the security risks in the customer's environment are too great.
In Sametime 12.0, the default settings for many mobile policies are updated to enable all mobile features. However, an administrator can modify them to meet the needs of the organization. For details about policies, see the HCL Sametime Administrator Guide. The Mobile client policies topic describes the policies that the mobile client uses.