CERF ELN 5.3 is proving to be a workhorse, and CERF 6 is now well underway.

CERF 5.3 is another big step forward for Lab-Ally and CERF users everywhere. With the challenges scientists and labs everywhere experienced during the pandemic, CERF has become more valuable than ever, since the solution is uniquely pre-adapted for managing work-from-home scientists, technicians and other staff who need to access data and documents securely in ways that allow managers to retain outstanding, top-down awareness of who has been working on what, when they accessed the files, and what they changed.

Some of the new features added since CERF 5.0 include:

file viewer

View files and your folder hierarchy immediately in the center panel or in a new CERF window.

View files from notebooks in separate full-size windows to allow efficient comparison, examination and multitasking.

File viewer supports multiple windows to allow users to quickly compare any number of files.

File viewer is integrated with right-click throughout system to allow easy examination of versions, search results or any resource in CERF.

Better support for files of all types and viewing unsupported files using “official print copy” combined with the file viewer throughout the system.

search

More complete and logical columns to display more information about search results.

More useful search parameters with better organization. New parameters include signature status, activity status and edit status.

Export of results as .csv

More features associated with saved searches to make it easier to use them to generate reports.

Easier to reset searches.

Better options for learning more about characteristics and location of items in search results.

usability

Parity of features inside and outside notebooks

Extended list of template files to allow for creating content more easily in any location, including “standalone” text editor files in file cabinets and more.

Increased flexibility for making notebook entries of various types including plain text and RTF.

Menus, buttons, workflows, speed and stability reworked throughout.

New features to monitor, maintain and fix network connectivity and alert user to network problems.

Ability to instantly export .csv summaries from various locations including file info, audit trail.

Improved performance, especially for mature servers storing many thousands of files, documents and collections.

print to PDF 

Numerous improvements to print to PDF process.

compliance and security

More complete information in audit trail with new section for access logs showing failed login attempts.

Hashing of resources in flight to prevent man-in-the-middle interception.

Improvements to controlled documents allowing for automated access to new items based on user acceptance of terms.

Exporter application for intuitive processing of exported xml files.

Full release notes for CERF 5.3 (current official release) can be tested by anyone - visit our website for instructions:

https://cerf-notebook.com/resources/getting-started-with-cerf-free-trial/

ongoing projects / CERF 6

Update to latest java, tomcat and mysql versions.

External helper apps for performing various actions on files stored within CERF.

Customizable user interface “themes” to allow users to control look and feel.

CERF 6 has of course turned into a massive project as we have jumped from Java version from 1.8 all the way to java 21. To give our customers maximum flexibility, we plan to support both the server and the client software on windows, mac and ubuntu environments with the server hosted either on-premise or on a private AWS instance managed by Lab-Ally. We also now offer customers TWO purchase options: Customers can choose our standard perpetual license, with an annual support plan, or to reduce up-front costs, customers can opt for an all-inclusive annual subscription model.