APAN is on schedule to launch a software upgrade Saturday, October 31, 2015.

APAN 8.0  - New Features

1. Group Owners will have the ability to:

• Go to one location to enable and disable features such as Chat, SharePoint, and GIS
• Use the Group Setup Kit to quickly create group applications including blogs, forums, media galleries, wikis, and calendars
• Highlight important content using the Content Slider widget 

2. New Responsive Design within APAN 8.0 provides:

• Easier and more intuitive navigation
• Users with the same experience when accessing APAN via desktop and mobile devices 

3. Application specific...

• Media Galleries - Provides the ability to create folders to assist with intuitive file organization
• Calendar - Ability to create individual and/or group events that allows users to invite members to participate 

4. Content Specific...

• Document preview - Preview uploaded Microsoft Office and PDF documents within the web browser
• Pinning - Pin a URL or file to your group's Activity Stream and Media Gallery
• Drag and Drop - Drag and drop content into any blog, forum, media gallery or wiki post from your desktop 

5. Chat/Connect

• Easier access to chat rooms and connect rooms 

6. New Community Maps

• Group owners can create and share maps with their group
• Build custom content on a map in the form of points, lines, and polygons
• Assign map creation and editing rights to different group roles as a group owner
• Upload geospatial data files and add publicly hosted geofeeds to display on community maps 

7. Login and Security Updates

• Improved password recovery which allows users to provide a secondary email if users are unable to access their primary email
• Two-factor Authentication - Optional feature that provides increased security by allowing users to prove one's identity by requiring the user to enter a code

The upgrade to APAN 8.0 will improve the entire user experience. The benefits of the deployment include:

• A cleaner, sleeker interface
• Communities will enjoy new features
• And the overall performance of APAN will be faster and mobile friendly

Throughout the months of September and October, users will receive status updates and instructions on how to successfully transition groups into the new platform. Notifications will be posted on the APAN Support Blog. Users can subscribe to the blog to get new updates instantly via email, or read the newest updates on their My APAN page.

Frequently Asked Questions:

• Where do I go for updates?
  APAN Support Blog https://community.apan.org/support/b/support_blog/default.aspx
• Where do I go for specific questions about features and functions?
  APAN Knowledge Base https://community.apan.org/support/w/kb/default.aspx
• I’m still confused. I need to ask questions. What can I do?
  Submit an APAN Support Ticket https://community.apan.org/support/p/supportticket.aspx
• I need to talk to a human being in person! Whom should I call?
  The APAN 24 hour Support Desk at (808) 472-3361
• I need to tell my superiors about this change. Do you have materials I can present to them?
  Download the PowerPoint brief titled “APAN 8.0 – Less is More” on the right side of this page.

For more FAQs please click here.