Previous releases

In this release, we introduced the following enhancements:

Ability to send text messaging in bulk - Limited Availability

Note: The text messages in bulk feature is currently on limited availability. Contact 8x8 Support for more help.

You can now send text messages in bulk to up to 50 external numbers simultaneously, significantly improving from sending each text message individually. This feature benefits customers who send the same message to multiple contacts, saving time and increasing productivity.

To send text messages in bulk:

1. Click Messages .

2. Click New > Bulk Text Message.

   

3. In the Bulk Text Messages window, add the external numbers and the text you wish to send to these numbers.

   

4. Click Send separately to create individual 1:1 conversations for each external number you added to the To list. You can send your message to up to 50 external numbers.

5. Additionally, a new Bulk Text Room is created when sending text messages in bulk, providing information on when each bulk message was sent and to whom it was generated. You can share additional information with all contacts previously reached through bulk text messages.

   

When a new message is sent from the Bulk Text Room, it is delivered individually to all contacts in bulk. When one of these numbers responds, the message will appear in the 1:1 conversation with that number, not the room conversation.

Note: You can change the room name, but you cannot remove the participants from the room.

To learn about sending and receiving messages, see IM and SMS messages.

Ability to silence incoming calls

You can now silence incoming calls instantly by clicking the X button on the incoming call banner without declining the call. The call will continue to ring on the caller's side until they hang up or call forwarding rules kick in. The ringtone will stop playing immediately, and the incoming call banner will be dismissed automatically, giving you a more seamless and distraction-free experience. The call will continue to ring on the caller's side until they hang up or call forwarding rules kick in.

To learn about placing a call, see Place and receive calls.

Enhanced file access in conversations

When files are shared in 8x8 Work Desktop conversations, you can now open them with one click using your computer's default application.

Previously, opening files in 8x8 Work Desktop conversations required several steps: downloading the file, locating it on the device, and then opening it, making the process inconvenient and time-consuming.

To open an attachment from an 8x8 conversation, click Open to launch the file in your default application.

Note: You cannot open an executable file, but you can download it by clicking Download .

To learn more about downloading attached files in conversations, see Attach files in chat.

Other enhancements

• Improved accessibility for screen readers in areas like Calls, Call controls, and General areas.

In this release, we introduced the following enhancements:

Enhanced keypad navigation experience

While on an active call, you can now paste large numbers copied directly into the keypad when entering an account or phone number into the IVR menu.

To learn more about managing receive calls, see Place and receive calls.

Display incoming call pop-up on top of full-screen windows

When an app is in full-screen mode and covers the 8x8 Work for Desktop app, the system displays a notification for incoming calls. Users can now accept or decline incoming calls in full-screen mode within another app. In addition, users can view the caller's name and number.

To learn more about managing receive calls, see Place and receive calls.

Introducing the dynamic app title bar

In the 8x8 Work for Desktop app, the title bar now dynamically updates to show the name of each navigation area when switching between product sections, maintaining accessibility compliance. Previously, the title bar showed a static title, 8x8 Work.

Ability to override caller info pop-up settings by IT admins

IT admins can override the Caller info pop-up settings for multiple numbers in the 8x8work-config.json file.

The IT admins now can override the following settings:

{

“app-enable-popup-on-answer”: true,

“app-enable-popup-on-warm-transfer”: true,

“app-enable-popup-on-internal-calls”: true,

“app-enable-popup-on-outbound-calls”: true

}

Within the 8x8 Work apps, users can configure the Caller Info Pop-up in the Settings > Caller info pop-up page, determining its display behavior. To learn more about settings, see View call info pop-up.

To learn more about setting default values for some app settings by IT admins, see About system requirements.

Updates on importing contacts from Microsoft Outlook

Important!8x8 Work for Desktop and 8x8 Work for Web supports only the classic Microsoft Outlook version.

Only contacts from the previous classic Microsoft Outlook can be imported and displayed in the 8x8 Work for Desktop and 8x8 Work for Web apps. The contacts created in the new Microsoft Outlook version cannot be imported into the 8x8 Work for Desktop and 8x8 Work for Web apps.

To learn more about importing contacts, see Import contacts.

Other enhancements

• Improved accessibility for screen readers in areas like Calls, Call controls, and General.

• Ability to refresh the entire Contacts directory by users - the Company Contacts section displays a new Refresh button.

  

• The Call Park option is disabled for contacts from different PBXs.

• Azure Integration with 8x8 Work for Desktop- Starting with the 8.16 version, the 8x8 Work for Desktop and 8x8 Work for Web is integrated with Azure to improve the quality of audio calls. This optimization focuses on telephony users working within an Azure Virtual Desktop environment. See the Azure Integration with 8x8 Work for Dekstop/Web article to learn more.

• Various bug fixes.

In this release, we introduced the following enhancements:

Enhanced keyboard navigation experience

As a user of 8x8 Work, you can switch focus between the Call Control Always On Top and the main window of the Work app any time during a call.

You can locate this shortcut key combination by navigating to Settings > Keyboard shortcuts.

To find all keyboard shortcuts available in 8x8 Work for Desktop see, Use and manage keyboard shortcuts.

The Call Control pop-up includes a Go back button you can use while on a call. Click Go back to switch the focus to the main window of the Work app to navigate using the keyboard.

To learn more on how to manage calls, see Place and receive calls.

Other enhancements

• Improved accessibility for screen readers in areas like Calls, Call controls, and General.
• Various bug fixes.

In this release, we have introduced the following enhancements:

• Introducing the unsafe protocol warning
• Ability to disable startup pop-ups by IT admins
• Enhanced experience for typing into the dial pad

• Ability to mask macro values in the caller info pop-up by IT admins

• Improved display of phone number used by multiple contacts in active call user interface and call history
• Other enhancements

Introducing the unsafe protocol warning

8x8 Work for Desktop now shows a warning pop-up that alerts users when an unsafe protocol is used to display caller details. Although this pop-up feature is beneficial, an unsafe protocol can potentially compromise the user's computer by accessing the command utility and executing arbitrary commands.

Notes:
- All protocols that do not start with ‘http:’, ‘https:’ or ‘mailito’ are considered unsafe.
- To avoid any security vulnerability, enter only commands approved by your IT administrator in your pop-up.

To learn more about caller info pop-ups, see View caller info pop-up.

Ability to disable startup pop-ups by IT admins

IT administrators can disable startup pop-ups in the 8x8work-config.json configuration file to avoid disruptive startup pop-ups upon opening 8x8 Work for Desktop. This feature benefits customers who engage in remote sessions and frequently clear their user cache.

The IT admins can now disable the following startup pop-ups at the specified locations using the indicated config keys:

{

“app-disable0aauto-showing-product-tour”: true,

“App-disable-sus-popup”: true,

“App-disable-voicemil-greeting-recordiong-popup”; true,

“App-disable-new-audio-saource-popup”: true

}

To learn more about setting system requirements by IT admins, see About system requirements.

Enhanced experience for typing into the dial pad

You can now type extension numbers into the dial-pad without formatting interruptions, ensuring precise input.

Ability to mask macro values in the caller info pop-up by IT admins

Admins can now hide the macro values i the caller info pop-up. Only the value of the query parameter called param will be encoded with base64. This feature returns an encoded base64 response for the provided URL.

The admins can set the new configuration for a specific user via the 8x8work-config.json file and for all users through the 8x8 Admin Console’s Work Apps Settings page.

Note: Users cannot change the caller info pop-up value/URL when this configuration is set up.

The example below demonstrates this configuration and its outcome:

To learn more about setting system requirements by IT admins, see About system requirements.

Improved display of phone number used by multiple contacts in active call user interface and call history

To eliminate confusion about the contact name displayed for a phone number used by multiple contacts, the active call interface and call history will only show the phone number, similar to the current practice with the incoming call banner.

To learn more about call logs, see Access call history.

Other enhancements

• Improved accessibility for Screen Readers in areas like Calls, Contacts, and Call controls.
• Web Dialer is officially supported in Firefox. To learn how to install the 8x8 Web Dialer Firefox Extension, see Install the 8x8 Web Dialer Firefox Extension.