Release Announcement and Overview of New and Updated Features

This represents a signficant upgrade from the current version and reflects the work of a new developer who, we believe, has taken RMnet to the next level.

Enhancements can be grouped in the following categories:

• Cosmetic changes - cleaner, more intuitive, and better placed drop down boxes, titles,  descriptions, columns, etc.  Our goal is to make RMnet very intuitive so any user can find the application extremely useful with minimal or no training.

• "Under the hood" bug fixes.  These changes address error reports and feedback we have been receiving over the past many months with the current functionality.  User feedback is always extremely helpful in any Version 1.0 application and we believe that these version 2.0 enhancements, which are quite comprehensive, make this application substantially more stable and "glitch free."

• New Features.  While the focus of version 1.5 has been to address version 1.0 bugs, we have added some additional functionality.  Below are some of the most signficiant changes:

• Policy Status Options Box. You now have the ability to categorize a policy or resource as "Not Started," "In Progress," or "Approved."  This allows for easier management to review and create new policies and resources.  We are committed to giving you a tool not just to house your policies and key resources, but also that provides a process to get your policies done.

• Policy and Resource views.  In the All Policies and All Resources views, you now see the person or people to whom the Policy or Resource is assigned, the due date, and the status.  Again, these views provide an excellent tool to manage the policy review and creation process.
   
• Resource creation.  A significant change in version 1.5 is that only the Organizational Manager is allowed to add and edit a new resource.  This change was made for several reasons.  First, it is important to the purpose of RMnet, that your organization is publishing resources that are appropriate for staff and volunteers.  To allow mutliple users to add resources (files, PDF’s, videos, graphics, etc.) can easily turn RMnet into an on-line filing cabinet that is quickly filled with all sorts of documents and files, perhaps unrelated to your organization’s policies and key resources.  By forcing resources to be added only by the Organizational Manager, a self-screening mechanism is implemented.  Second, due to how RMnet was programmed, making this change ensures that all users only see the resource directory folders that contain resources assigned to them.  This ensures that people see only what they should see, and nothing more, a crucial part of RMnet security.  In the current version, users are only able to see resources assigned to them, but they can also see folders that may be unrelated to their role.  This has been corrected.

• Ability to delete a policy and/or resource.  Believe it or not, you couldn’t do this in version 1.0.  Now you can.
  

 We hope you find this upgrade to be helpful for your organization to get your policies and key resources drafted, keep them up-to-date, and publish them to the staff and volunteers who need them.