Totara Release Notes

Totara TXP 18.11, 17.24, 16.30, 15.36, 14.41 and 13.49 are now available

 
Angela Kuznetsova
Totara TXP 18.11, 17.24, 16.30, 15.36, 14.41 and 13.49 are now available
by Angela Kuznetsova - Monday, 21 October 2024, 9:24 PM
Group Totara

Hello everyone,

The following versions of Totara have now been released:

Each of these releases includes various bug fixes and improvements.

A big thanks to the following people for their contributions to this release:

  • * Noemie Ariste at Catalyst - TL-42082 - Noemie Ariste at Catalyst, Noemie Ariste at Catalyst

Kind regards Release Team

Release 18.11 (22nd October 2024):

Important:

    TL-42109       Added a new setting to control whether uploaded HTML files can be viewed in-page when consistent cleaning is disabled

                   Previously when the consistent cleaning feature was disabled HTML files could be
                   uploaded to File activities and directly viewed/linked in the page. This is a
                   security risk, and so a change was made in TL-38232 which disabled this
                   behaviour. However this change broke some sites using File resources or custom
                   code to upload custom HTML content in the site.

                   With this change we are introducing the configuration option
                   {{$CFG->allow_inline_uploaded_html = 1;}} which when set will revert back to the
                   previous behaviour, allowing HTML files to be loaded without force downloads,
                   for those sites that use custom content. We do not recommend using this flag
                   unless it is critical to your site's operation. If enabled it will appear as a
                   warning in the sites security report.


    TL-40710        Added tool_usagedata (Product Usage Analytics) to Totara

                   Product Usage Analytics (usagedata) is an analytics tool used by Totara to 
                   collect and query usage data of Totara instances to be used to improve the
                   product.

                   Collected data will never include personally identifiable information (PII) or
                   sensitive data. All data is anonymous other than:

                   * The site identifier: Used to allow us to identify subsequent usage statistics
                     sent from this site.
                   * The site’s URL: Used to allow us to match the site's usage data to a
                     subscription. This is only used should we identify an issue with your site and
                     need to contact you.

                   For the full list of data collected by Product Usage Analytics, see the overview
                   page (Quick Access Menu > System Information > Collect Usage Data)

Performance improvements:

    TL-40865       Resolved issue where unnecessary updates were executed for course completion aggregation
    TL-41684       Refactored the mod_approval dashboard N/A filter for better performance
    TL-41704       Updated the update_record_of_learning_task task to split the queries up so the tables will not be locked for very long
    TL-41867       Added missing indexes on notifications and message_metadata tables

                   Without these table indexes, notifications and message_metadata were performing
                   full table scans when retrieving read notifications which could cause
                   performance problems on larger sites.

    TL-41965       Updated the capability map generator for approval workflows to reduce the number of table joins
    TL-42082       Fixed the 'XSS trusted users security' report to run faster

Improvements:

    TL-41288       Improved approval workflow administration options menu by grouping similar items together

                   Grouped the options in the dropdown menu.


Bug fixes:

    TL-40389       Fixed an error when awarding a badge that includes over 60 courses in the criteria
    TL-40400       Fixed a UI issue on your library where add resource button was not respecting engage/article:create and engage/survey:create capability
    TL-40940       Fixed a case where course cards in Engage were not updating when a course's name was changed
    TL-41051       Fixed a problem where an audience could not be cloned
    TL-41052       Fixed export of audience's enrolled learning to files
    TL-41727       Fixed a problem where the playlist count would be wrong when more than one course is added to a playlist

                   The underlying issue was caused by duplicate resource records in a playlist.
                   Playlists are only allowed to have one instance of any given resource, and this
                   requirement is now enforced at the API level. Duplicates were not displayed
                   previously.

                   Duplicate resources will be removed from all playlists on upgrade, and any
                   impacted playlists will also have their counts reset.

    TL-41831       Fixed a problem where an error could appear on approval workflow dashboards when multiple workflow types exist
    TL-41858       Fixed uploading subtitles to videos in weka editor
    TL-41935       Fixed program enrolment cohort rule with multiple assignments

                   When a user was assigned by more than one method, the rule excluded the user.

    TL-41941       Updated MS Teams bot to provide a valid response to 'help,' 'sign in', 'sign out' command typed in lowercase or uppercase or a combination of both.
    TL-41964       Resolved the issue of report builder exports becoming unresponsive

                   When the report builder encountered an exception during export, it could enter
                   an infinite loop instead of returning the exception and completing execution,
                   leading to degraded application performance. This issue was caused by the
                   ob_gzhandler output buffer not reducing the buffer level to 0 when cleared. The
                   fix now checks the buffer level during each clean cycle and exits early if the
                   level is not reduced.

    TL-42002       Fixed a problem where suspended tenants were not handled on login correctly with OAuth2
    TL-42047       Fixed a problem where a login page error could get lost when the redirect to SSO option is enabled
    TL-42193       Fixed caption track not being passed to video in some situations

Technical changes:

    TL-41506       Coding style in language strings has been fixed and strings have been alphabetically ordered

Contributions:

    * Noemie Ariste at Catalyst - TL-42082



Release 17.24 (22nd October 2024):

Important:

    TL-42109       Added a new setting to control whether uploaded HTML files can be viewed in-page when consistent cleaning is disabled

                   Previously when the consistent cleaning feature was disabled HTML files could be
                   uploaded to File activities and directly viewed/linked in the page. This is a
                   security risk, and so a change was made in TL-38232 which disabled this
                   behaviour. However this change broke some sites using File resources or custom
                   code to upload custom HTML content in the site.

                   With this change we are introducing the configuration option
                   {{$CFG->allow_inline_uploaded_html = 1;}} which when set will revert back to the
                   previous behaviour, allowing HTML files to be loaded without force downloads,
                   for those sites that use custom content. We do not recommend using this flag
                   unless it is critical to your site's operation. If enabled it will appear as a
                   warning in the sites security report.

    TL-40710        Added tool_usagedata (Product Usage Analytics) to Totara

                   Product Usage Analytics (usagedata) is an analytics tool used by Totara to 
                   collect and query usage data of Totara instances to be used to improve the
                   product.

                   Collected data will never include personally identifiable information (PII) or
                   sensitive data. All data is anonymous other than:

                   * The site identifier: Used to allow us to identify subsequent usage statistics
                     sent from this site.
                   * The site’s URL: Used to allow us to match the site's usage data to a
                     subscription. This is only used should we identify an issue with your site and
                     need to contact you.

                   For the full list of data collected by Product Usage Analytics, see the overview
                   page (Quick Access Menu > System Information > Collect Usage Data)

Performance improvements:

    TL-42082       Fixed the 'XSS trusted users security' report to run faster

Bug fixes:

    TL-40389       Fixed an error when awarding a badge that includes over 60 courses in the criteria
    TL-41858       Fixed uploading subtitles to videos in weka editor
    TL-41935       Fixed program enrolment cohort rule with multiple assignments

                   When a user was assigned by more than one method, the rule excluded the user.

    TL-41941       Updated MS Teams bot to provide a valid response to 'help,' 'sign in', 'sign out' command typed in lowercase or uppercase or a combination of both.
    TL-42002       Fixed a problem where suspended tenants were not handled on login correctly with OAuth2
    TL-42193       Fixed caption track not being passed to video in some situations

Contributions:

    * Noemie Ariste at Catalyst - TL-42082



Release 16.30 (22nd October 2024):

Important:

    TL-42109       Added a new setting to control whether uploaded HTML files can be viewed in-page when consistent cleaning is disabled

                   Previously when the consistent cleaning feature was disabled HTML files could be
                   uploaded to File activities and directly viewed/linked in the page. This is a
                   security risk, and so a change was made in TL-38232 which disabled this
                   behaviour. However this change broke some sites using File resources or custom
                   code to upload custom HTML content in the site.

                   With this change we are introducing the configuration option
                   {{$CFG->allow_inline_uploaded_html = 1;}} which when set will revert back to the
                   previous behaviour, allowing HTML files to be loaded without force downloads,
                   for those sites that use custom content. We do not recommend using this flag
                   unless it is critical to your site's operation. If enabled it will appear as a
                   warning in the sites security report.

    TL-40710        Added tool_usagedata (Product Usage Analytics) to Totara

                   Product Usage Analytics (usagedata) is an analytics tool used by Totara to 
                   collect and query usage data of Totara instances to be used to improve the
                   product.

                   Collected data will never include personally identifiable information (PII) or
                   sensitive data. All data is anonymous other than:

                   * The site identifier: Used to allow us to identify subsequent usage statistics
                     sent from this site.
                   * The site’s URL: Used to allow us to match the site's usage data to a
                     subscription. This is only used should we identify an issue with your site and
                     need to contact you.

                   For the full list of data collected by Product Usage Analytics, see the overview
                   page (Quick Access Menu > System Information > Collect Usage Data)

    TL-40389       Fixed an error when awarding a badge that includes over 60 courses in the criteria
    TL-41941       Updated MS Teams bot to provide a valid response to 'help,' 'sign in', 'sign out' command typed in lowercase or uppercase or a combination of both.
    TL-42002       Fixed a problem where suspended tenants were not handled on login correctly with OAuth2



Release 15.36 (22nd October 2024):

Important:

    TL-42109       Added a new setting to control whether uploaded HTML files can be viewed in-page when consistent cleaning is disabled

                   Previously when the consistent cleaning feature was disabled HTML files could be
                   uploaded to File activities and directly viewed/linked in the page. This is a
                   security risk, and so a change was made in TL-38232 which disabled this
                   behaviour. However this change broke some sites using File resources or custom
                   code to upload custom HTML content in the site.

                   With this change we are introducing the configuration option
                   {{$CFG->allow_inline_uploaded_html = 1;}} which when set will revert back to the
                   previous behaviour, allowing HTML files to be loaded without force downloads,
                   for those sites that use custom content. We do not recommend using this flag
                   unless it is critical to your site's operation. If enabled it will appear as a
                   warning in the sites security report.

    TL-40710        Added tool_usagedata (Product Usage Analytics) to Totara

                   Product Usage Analytics (usagedata) is an analytics tool used by Totara to 
                   collect and query usage data of Totara instances to be used to improve the
                   product.

                   Collected data will never include personally identifiable information (PII) or
                   sensitive data. All data is anonymous other than:

                   * The site identifier: Used to allow us to identify subsequent usage statistics
                     sent from this site.
                   * The site’s URL: Used to allow us to match the site's usage data to a
                     subscription. This is only used should we identify an issue with your site and
                     need to contact you.

                   For the full list of data collected by Product Usage Analytics, see the overview
                   page (Quick Access Menu > System Information > Collect Usage Data)

    TL-41941       Updated MS Teams bot to provide a valid response to 'help,' 'sign in', 'sign out' command typed in lowercase or uppercase or a combination of both.



Release 14.41 (22nd October 2024):

Important:

    TL-42109       Added a new setting to control whether uploaded HTML files can be viewed in-page when consistent cleaning is disabled

                   Previously when the consistent cleaning feature was disabled HTML files could be
                   uploaded to File activities and directly viewed/linked in the page. This is a
                   security risk, and so a change was made in TL-38232 which disabled this
                   behaviour. However this change broke some sites using File resources or custom
                   code to upload custom HTML content in the site.

                   With this change we are introducing the configuration option
                   {{$CFG->allow_inline_uploaded_html = 1;}} which when set will revert back to the
                   previous behaviour, allowing HTML files to be loaded without force downloads,
                   for those sites that use custom content. We do not recommend using this flag
                   unless it is critical to your site's operation. If enabled it will appear as a
                   warning in the sites security report.

    TL-40710        Added tool_usagedata (Product Usage Analytics) to Totara

                   Product Usage Analytics (usagedata) is an analytics tool used by Totara to 
                   collect and query usage data of Totara instances to be used to improve the
                   product.

                   Collected data will never include personally identifiable information (PII) or
                   sensitive data. All data is anonymous other than:

                   * The site identifier: Used to allow us to identify subsequent usage statistics
                     sent from this site.
                   * The site’s URL: Used to allow us to match the site's usage data to a
                     subscription. This is only used should we identify an issue with your site and
                     need to contact you.

                   For the full list of data collected by Product Usage Analytics, see the overview
                   page (Quick Access Menu > System Information > Collect Usage Data)

    TL-41941       Updated MS Teams bot to provide a valid response to 'help,' 'sign in', 'sign out' command typed in lowercase or uppercase or a combination of both.



Release 13.49 (22nd October 2024):

Important:

    TL-42109       Added a new setting to control whether uploaded HTML files can be viewed in-page when consistent cleaning is disabled

                   Previously when the consistent cleaning feature was disabled HTML files could be
                   uploaded to File activities and directly viewed/linked in the page. This is a
                   security risk, and so a change was made in TL-38232 which disabled this
                   behaviour. However this change broke some sites using File resources or custom
                   code to upload custom HTML content in the site.

                   With this change we are introducing the configuration option
                   {{$CFG->allow_inline_uploaded_html = 1;}} which when set will revert back to the
                   previous behaviour, allowing HTML files to be loaded without force downloads,
                   for those sites that use custom content. We do not recommend using this flag
                   unless it is critical to your site's operation. If enabled it will appear as a
                   warning in the sites security report.



    TL-40710        Added tool_usagedata (Product Usage Analytics) to Totara

                   Product Usage Analytics (usagedata) is an analytics tool used by Totara to 
                   collect and query usage data of Totara instances to be used to improve the
                   product.

                   Collected data will never include personally identifiable information (PII) or
                   sensitive data. All data is anonymous other than:

                   * The site identifier: Used to allow us to identify subsequent usage statistics
                     sent from this site.
                   * The site’s URL: Used to allow us to match the site's usage data to a
                     subscription. This is only used should we identify an issue with your site and
                     need to contact you.

                   For the full list of data collected by Product Usage Analytics, see the overview
                   page (Quick Access Menu > System Information > Collect Usage Data)

Bug fixes:

    TL-41941       Updated MS Teams bot to provide a valid response to 'help,' 'sign in', 'sign out' command typed in lowercase or uppercase or a combination of both.

(Edited by Simon Coggins - original submission Tuesday, 22 October 2024, 5:24 PM)

Simon Coggins
Re: Totara TXP 18.11, 17.24, 16.30, 15.36, 14.41 and 13.49 are now available
by Simon Coggins - Thursday, 24 October 2024, 12:44 PM
Group Totara

Due to an oversight, the addition of product usage analytics was accidentally missed off the October release changelogs.

We have updated the post above to include the following entry, which was included in this release for the following versions: 13.49, 14.41, 15.36, 16.30, 17.24, 18.11:

TL-40710       Added tool_usagedata (Product Usage Analytics) to Totara
Product Usage Analytics (usagedata) is an analytics tool used by Totara to
and query usage data of Totara instances to be used to improve the
product.
Collected data will never include personally identifiable information
(PII) or sensitive data. All data is anonymous other than: * The site identifier: Used to allow us to identify subsequent usage statistics * The site’s URL: Used to allow us to match the site's usage data to a subscription. This is only used should we identify an issue with your site and need to contact you. For the full list of data collected by Product Usage Analytics, see the overview page (Quick Access Menu > System
Information > Collect Usage Data).