eXeLearning 3.0 Beta 8: Pre-release

With Beta 8, the eXeLearning Project Continues Its Evolution Toward a Mature 3.0 Version This update introduces notable improvements in real-time collaboration, interface robustness, development tools, and security management. These advancements strengthen the software’s position as a more professional and reliable educational authoring platform.

Main Highlights

• Enhanced collaboration in the new interface: The collaborative editing mode has been optimized for a smoother experience when multiple users work simultaneously on a project.
• Temporary file cleanup: A new mechanism has been introduced to automatically delete temporary files (“cleanup”) along with their associated documentation, helping keep the workspace tidy.
• Configurable user avatars: The system now allows customization of how user profile avatars are displayed, providing greater visual flexibility.
• Support for automated and improved E2E testing: A data-testid attribute has been added to various interface components to facilitate automated testing. In addition, end-to-end tests have been refactored with improved outputs and realism.
• Guest access security: The guest login endpoint is now restricted to authorized origins, reducing potential abuse or unwanted access.
• New CSS commands for development and production: New commands, make css and make css-dev, are available to compile CSS in production or development mode, streamlining the styling workflow.
• “Base Style” colors: A configurable base color scheme has been introduced for the overall interface, enhancing visual consistency.
• Improvements in iDevices: New icons and styles have been added to iDevices to match the new interface.
  • • In the “Checklist” and “Progress Report” iDevices, users can now download reports in PDF (with a PNG fallback when PDF is not available).
    • Some iDevices now include a tab for generating questions with AI (artificial intelligence) assistance.
    • In the “Identify” iDevice, a new button allows users to play audio help.

Notable Fixes

• Adjusted PRAGMA handling in SQLite to improve compatibility with internal operations.
• Reduced excessive log outputs from Mercure and the application in general.
• Changed the default shell to /bin/ash for better Alpine compatibility and error handling.
• In the Windows installer (NSIS), active polling for the eXeLearning.exe process was added to prevent race conditions during installation.
• Fixed issues in publishing via Chocolatey.
• Improved packaging and version management to facilitate future updates.
• Adjustments in the new interface to fix presentation and usability issues found during testing.
• In iDevices:
  • • In “Complete”: fixed jQuery UI loading issue.
    • In “AZ Quiz Game”: added support for accents and special characters in questions and answers.

Importance of this beta and towards the stable version

• Beta 8 introduces changes that go beyond minor fixes: it implements structural improvements that strengthen collaboration, security, and usability — all essential for a modern educational environment.
• Restricting guest login and enabling automatic cleanup of temporary files reinforce system security and maintenance.
  Enhancements to iDevices and new development commands make the tool more appealing to both end users (teachers, authors) and developers looking to extend or integrate it.
• Adaptations for automated testing and new testing attributes will allow future versions to be validated more rigorously and with reduced risk.

In summary, Beta 8 brings eXeLearning 3.0 closer to a solid, well-tuned state — ready to support the everyday creation of digital educational content.