What's New in Centro

Dark UI Theme

As an experimental feature, Centro offers a dark theme resembling

Update Catalog Name with CAD Info

The option Rename Part within the "Check In Resource" dialog instructs Centro to rename the Catalog Part using the name from the CAD component.

Importer Updates

Centro updates SolidEdge, and SolidWorks file versions.

Configure ProgramData Folder

The Centro log files and license file default to residing in the c:\ProgramData folder. Centro 8.3.0 permits system administrators to configure the location.

Comments to Older SpinFire Web Versions

Centro 8.3.0 now allows adding comments to older SpinFire Web versions.

Bypass Filehash Check

Ignore if Centro’s check on finds a duplicated check-in file.

Append Check-In Comments

Add to check-in comments after the resource file was already checked-in.

Importer Updates

Centro updates Revit, JT, NX, SolidEdge, and SolidWorks file versions.

Change Summary File in SDK

View a summary of changes in the SDK with the changlog.md file in the SDK package.

Check-in Comments Differentiated with Comment Threads

The two different comments are distinguished with italic font styl.

LDAP to Azure AD Migration

Moving to AzureAD from LDAP is made easier in the Admin area.

Project Improvement

The Display Name when showing username in project permissions

Mesh Architecture Improvements

• Introduction of Mesh rules for file type restriction.

• Activity tracking on Mesh rules.

• Upload resources from on-prem locations to cloud locations.

MESH Technology

Configure Centro with a hybrid cloud / on-premises combination solution. Contact Actify for more information on migrating to Mesh.

Import Version Updates

Share Resources in Microsoft Teams

Share rsource links in Microsoft Teams to others with with Centro accounts to increase communication and productivity.

ArangoDB 3.10.x Support

Centro has been veriified against ArangoDB 3.10.x.

New Look and Feel

Centro lightened the look and feel of the application which makes it more consistent and easier to use with other Actify offerings.

Breadcrumbs added

Additional improvements to user navigation with consistent “breadcrumbs”, easing user interaction with Centro.

Pipeline Activity

Filter and view the actions taken on a selected Pipeline on the new pipeline Activity tab.

Importer Updates

Configuration Addition

Configure Centro to limit access of certain areas in the application based on IP address.

Hide Section Cut Planes

Centro now allows to show the model without the section cut plane(s).

Invalid Log FIle Paths Detected

Invalid log file paths are now detected and reported creating log files in a default location.

Password Reset Email Link Duration

A small note indicating temporary password reset links are only valid for 24 hours on receipt of the email.

HTTP/URL Validity Checks

For fields that require a URL or URI, Cento shows an error message indciatng the fomat is not a valid http-URL combination.

Prevent Infinite Inactivity Timeouts

A minor change no longer allows the Inactivty Timeout to be infinite.

Importer Updates

Allow deletion of a Part and its descendants in one operation

Users can now delete complete assemblies by performing a recursive deletion on the root part:

Allow deletion of an empty Project

Users can now delete accidentally created projects and any other projects with no Catalog Parts (except the Default Project):

Actify Learning Center Link

Quickly get to Actify’s Learning Center clicking on the Actify Learning Center link on the About page.

Show (child) item versions and instance counts in Assembly view

Instance counts and version numbers appea next to parts' names in the assembly view on the Catalog Part page:

Allow multi-selected resource downloads

Assembly Revision Comments

Promotintg and enahancing an organization's collaboraton, project members can leave comments on Assembly Revisions.

Project View Page Navigation

Navigate quickly to a Project View page from the Catalog home Favorited Projects section.

Live Activity Manual Refresh Button

Added along with other Live Activity chart improvements, a manually refresh the activitychart with the Refresh button.

Importer Updates

Convert to glTF

The CAD2CAD pipeline action now supports the GL Transmission Format.

Part Project Activity Logging

Centro records when Catalog parts are moved from project to project.

ArangoDB 3.8 Support

Centro updated to accomodate ArangoDB 3.8.x.

Orbit Point Rotation in SpinFire Web

Rotate around a selected point in the model in SpinFire Web.

Catalog Resource Permissions

Control who can read, write, and change permissions on each individual resource in a Catalog part.

Download Assembly Improvements

A number of of enhancements downloading assemblies such as version number listed and being able to download assemblies from different locations.

Resource Version History Lists Version

Centro lists the version on the resource version history window.

Imporer Updates

Importer Updates for 7.11.1

Importer Updates for 7.11.2

View in Catalog from Job Explorer

Go from monitoring a pipeline to viewing the file in the Catalog with a push of a button.

Archive Pipelines

Remove seldom used pipelines off the main list by archiving to the Archived Pipelines tab. 

New User Application Page

When new users login they are taken to the application page for easy navigation.

Manifest File in Assembly Download

A manifest file is now included in assembly downloads that lists the files and version found in the .zip.

Catalog Part Primary Resource

If you have more than one native CAD file in a catalog part, you can now indicate which is the primary which then shows the correct Data Grid and duplicate shapes found information.

Pin Part for Duplicates

Pin parts for comparison directly from the Catalog Part duplicates tab.

Centro CAD Publisher

The Centro CAD Publisher module allows simple conversions of CAD files to ACT3D, PNG, and other CAD formats.

Simplified Chinese Support

Simplified Chinese (Mandarin) has been added as a supported language for the Centro application and its related installation dialog windows.

ArangoDB 3.6 Support

Centro now supports the latest ArangoDB 3.6.x database engine.

More Intuitive Controls for Adding to DataDocs

Adding controls with descriptions for easier and more intuitive usage for Data Docs.

Importer Updates

Importer Updates for 7.10.1 

Importer Updates for 7.10.4 

Physical Properties

The physical properties calculated from the PhysPropToCatalog action uses similar calculations as SpinFire Ultimate providing greater accuracy. The bounding box calculation is a minimum bounding box measurement rather than an axis-aligned bounding box measurement.

Admin Activity Logs

Centro now records activities performed with

• LDAP configurations

• Project changes

in the Admin area improving security and auditing of changes to the system.

Comments Save and Recall More

For SpinFire Web comments, the background color, part color, and render mode are saved and can be recalled when clicking on the snapshot.

Super User Permission

Previously administrators could assign or remove permissions for anybody including themselves. To close this loop hole, Centro now has a "super user" permission. Without this permissions, ordinary administrators can only assign permission that they already have.

Jobs Explorer UTC Time

In the Jobs Explorer, switch between local time and UTC time. This may be especially helpful for organizations with multiple Centro locations around the globe.

Project View Page Lists Count Expanded

On the Project View page, the number of items retrieved has been increased from 1000 items to 10,000 items allowing those organizations with large numbers of assemblies and parts in their projects to view and work with all their items.

Collaboration

Take measurements, adjust the camera angle, and take a snapshot to add to a discussion about the CAD part/assembly. Your co-workers can chime-in to add to the discussion to give the criticism, feedback, or praise to move the project forward.

Multiple SpinFire Web Navigation

When your catalog part has more than one SpinFire Web file to view, clicking on the SpinFire Web icon reveals a menu of available SpinFire Web files to select from.

Generate CAD Attributes and Physical Properties

Centro now provides an easier way of generating CAD attributes and physical properties when manually uploading a file or checking in a file. You no longer need to run the file(s) through a pipeline watching a folder.

Facet Browser

View your data as an aggregate and browse through it, selecting and pivoting on a different facet (project property) to find your projects and catalog parts in a way your users understand. 

LDAP Improvements

In previous versions, system administrators needed to manipulate config files to configure LDAP connections. Centro 7.8.0 moves those settings into the database, allows configuration via a new user interface, and empowers a user to immediately test the connection.

Importer Updates

Centro 7.8.0 updates importers to match SpinFire Ultimate 11.7.0 adding support for new importers,

• AutoDesk 3DS Max

• AutoDesk Revit

• COLLADA

• FBX

• gITF

• Waterfront OBJ

Also, Centro 7.8.2 updates importers to match SpinFire Ultimate 11.7.1 adding support for new importers,

Admin Area State Call Back

Centro remembers the page you were last using in the Admin Area saving you some time when jumping from Catalog to Pipeline Manager, to Admin Area.

Catalog Project View Page

The Catalog project page provides organizations views into their data organized by their various projects also helping with performance as all other projects' data is not present.

Schedule Trigger

A new pipeline trigger is introduced to help facilitate when a pipeline should be started and how frequently it should repeat.

Configure Maximum Jobs per Pipeline Host

Set a maximum number of jobs for each pipeline host used rather than per pipeline. This helps minimizing server resources from being overloaded.

Security: Minimum Password Length

To improve security, now set the minimum number of characters a password must contain.

Cascading Update Improvements

Cascading updates can be controlled manually to relieve systems of mass and constant updates.

Admin Area Activity Logging

Activities from the Admin Area are now logged and displayed on a new tab.

New Permissions

There are new permissions to control changes to catalog parts.

Custom Property Project Filtering

Further group, filter, and find projects using custom project properties.

Edit Catalog Part Projects

Now move catalog parts from one project to another or add it to many projects.

Email Notifications on Pipeline Errors

Select users to receive pipeline errors via email when the happen.

UI Improvements

User interface changes have been made to make navigation and usage more intuitive, save space and evolve to application usage.

Catalog Part Tags

Tag Catalog Parts along with resources to search and find parts quicker and easier.

Tagging From Pipelines

Tag both catalog parts and resources from pipeline actions. Your initial creation and storing of parts and resources are then searchable by tags. 

Export Options in Catalog Part Generate

Exporter options were introduced in 7.5.0 in the pipeline CAD2CAD action. Control CAD2CAD exports from the Catalog part generate command now.

Create Links from a Pipeline

Add links to Catalog parts from the pipeline empowering organizations to disperse standard hyperlinks.

Downloading Activity Capture

Downloading resources are part of the activity log recording date, time, and user.

Assembly Revisions

Download assemblies and all its parts from a snapshot in time by attaching an assembly revision.

Activity Log

View the history of your Catalog parts via the Activity Log. The activity log tracks events occurring to the catalog part from every user who has taken action on it.

Catalog ID Prefix

Add a prefix to Catalog IDs to adjust Centro to fit your organization's CAD filename requirements.

Exporter Options

Use exporter options to control CAD2CAD file output.

Catalog Project Filters

Find projects easily with the new filtering controls. Narrow down your list by project name, created date, or lead engineer.

Extract BOM from CAD

Extract Bill of Materials (BOM) information from assemblies, sub assemblies, and parts.

ArangoDB Upgrade

Centro has upgraded to the 3.2.x version of ArangoDB allowing organizations to run their database server on Windows and to look forward to additional flexibility in clustering.

SpinFire Web Technology Upgrade

SpinFire Web's underlying technology has been updated to provide greater opportunity for greater alterations. Though this phase 1 has subtle changes such as three-plane sectioning and better rendering, future releases will include saving of mark ups, 2D drawing rendering, and handling of much larger files.

Delete Catalog Parts

Permanently delete catalog parts through the user interface to keep your Centro Catalog clean. One must be granted the permission to do this.

Hide Parts on Project Page

Govern the visibility of parts and assemblies on the project page to help your users find priority parts quicker.

Set Custom Homepage

Set any page in Centro as your individual landing page when you login.

New Admin Permissions

This additional security enhancement, adds new permissions to permit specified users to the various Admin Area tabs.

Extract PMI/GD&T to CSV

Extract PMI data to a csv file for additional CAD file processing.

Hyperlink Tab

Collaborate with colleagues by adding internal and external hyperlinks to a Centro Catalog part to share information.

Sort Models within Projects

Sort the parts and assemblies on the project page within a specified project with a simple click.

Apply Importer Options for CAD2CAD

Apply a specific set of importer options on how CAD files are read in when conducting CAD2CAD operations.
Note: this does not necessarily affect how CAD files are written.

Importer Information

View the CAD file formats and the supported versions for the version of Centro being used.

Countdown Timer on Idle Use

Users now receive a warning when their session has been idle too long and are about to be logged out.

Tag Searching

Search for tags attached to resource versions from the Centro Catalog search page now. Save, favorite and even share your search with others.

CAD2CAD in Generate Options

Convert CAD files located in the Centro Catalog to other CAD formats with the simple menu option in the Catalog Part view. Choose from the variety of formats found in Centro.

Comments Listed on one Page

View all comments on a single dialog for a given resource, reflecting on changes to the file or identifying a key moment in the resource's history.

Export Project

Export all the resources and their previous versions from a project to save to another location for safe keeping.

Centro Connect

Centro Connect, a small client side app, extends Centro Control allowing a user to check-out and check-in files directly from their Windows File Explorer for those that prefer to work outside of a web browser. User permissions are enforced and users can enter comments upon check-in.

UI Changes in the Catalog for Small Mobile Devices

Use the Centro Catalog part and search pages on phone sized mobile devices. The user interface accommodates these smaller resolutions for those connect to their network but still on the move.

3D Search

Centro adds the ability to compare 3D models based on the geometry of a 3D model. This important feature can help your organization identify duplicate parts and similar parts to help reduce possible waste and redundancy

Distributed Deployments

Distributed deployments allows multiple instances of Centro 7 to exist at different locations but to share content via Centro Catalog searches.

Importer Options

Use importer options to control how CAD files are converted to .ACT3D files.

Resource Categories

Centro introduces categories which are used to organize one's resource files so they are easier to find and/or resemble an organization's structure(s)

Project Locations

Centro helps organizes projects and thus the Catalog parts associated to projects by location/Centro sites.

Mandatory Comments

Comments on check-in can be made mandatory by your organization.

Assembly Resource Manager

The assembly resource manager allows users to check in/out many files at once related to a given assembly.

Scheduled Pipelines

Now, schedule pipelines to start at given days and times of the week.

SpinFire Web Attributes

View and filter meta data and file attributes directly within SpinFire Web.

Localization

Users can change the language between English (U.S.), German, and Japanese.

LDAP Support

Load user from your LDAP server allowing your user base to use their email address and domain password.

Shattered Assembly Support

Create shattered ACT3D files from within the Centro Catalog.

Tags

Add a tag to your resource check-in to help label versions.

Catalog Home Page

The Catalog starts with a list of a user's selected favorites based on parts, projects or searches for easy and efficient navigation.

Resources

Upload any file types to your Catalog parts. Store and associate them in the Resources tab.

Centro Control

Eliminate overwriting changes for CAD files and any associated files. Centro keeps a history of all versions with the simple-to-use Centro Control.

Advanced Search

Create and save searches based on a greater variety of attributes.

SpinFire Web Views

Use Standard, User, or imported CAD views in SpinFIre Web for quick camera changes.

BOM Manager

Compare uploaded CAD files, CAD from the Catalog or Bill of Materials from other sources in this graphical comparison of BOMs.

Pipeline Editor

Drag-and-drop to construct and edit pipelines through a web based interfaced. Pipelines are the Centro 7 improvement on Centro 6 sentinels.

Quick Publisher

Use the one-page Quick Publisher to create a pipeline for converting CAD files to ACT3D (and other) files as well as fill the Catalog.

Jobs Explorer

Search, filter, examine, and resolve job errors through the Jobs Explorer. Predefined filters allow quick and simple searches based on status.

Administration

Easy access to administer users, roles, and projects from a web browser to manage user access and security.