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UPDATE: 20/04/2022 - The new Synology Drive 3.0 (beta) app is now available on mobile platforms. Keep in mind that this is still a beta version and you will have to have Drive server 3.0.2 or higher installed in order to be able to use it.

Info on the new mobile Drive 3.0 app can be read here

Keep in mind that at the moment (April 2022) this app is still in beta and subject to change.

Notes:

  1. Synology Drive 3.0 mobile app is currently in Beta with all features available for evaluation.
  2. Upgrade to Drive Server 3.0.2 on your NAS to access all functionalities on the mobile app. You can download Drive Server 3.0.2 from DSM Package Center or Download Center.
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NOTE: In case you do not have the Drive server on version 3.0.2 or higher, the new Drive 3.0 mobile app will still work, but you will not have all features accessible to you!


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WARNING: the packages described in this article at the moment of writing are in beta. Please read the following before proceeding to install these versions on your main devices.

Please read the following before installing this beta software

  1. For evaluation only - This beta software is for evaluation purposes only and should not be installed on critical equipment or in production environments. We strongly recommend reading the Release notes section before installing it. Synology cannot be held responsible for any damages, such as accidental data loss, caused by this beta software.
  2. Not downgradable - After installation of this beta application, you will not be able to downgrade to a previous official version of this software.

To install the beta software on your Synology NAS

  1. Log in to DSM using an account belonging to the administrators group.
  2. Open Package Center.
  3. Now you should be able to find and install packages that currently have a beta version available and compatible with your Synology NAS for public testing.
  4. Remember to click from Installed > Synology Office > Send Feedback to help us out and report any issues or suggestions.

In April 2021, Synology Drive v3 along with the Office v3 package came out of the beta channel. Now it is time for them to once again enter that circle, and allow the bravest of users to test the new bugs and features.

In the anticipation of the new DSM 7.1 (42555), Synology has updated a large number of their apps in the regular, production stream, but also in the beta channel.

Some apps you can't even manually update unless you are not on DSM 7.1 (that is not even out for manual install, just selected auto-update systems), but with the before mentioned tools, there is no problem. Their requirement is the current DSM 7.0.1.

Manual update of Snapshot replication app fails unless you are not running DSM 7.1

So what's new with Office & Drive?

Considering that Drive and Office were always connected and you couldn't have one without the other, it comes as no surprise that now we got a 3rd member that is a mandatory support app that gets installed when you install Synology Drive.

Meet Universal Viewer.

New support app for Drive and Office, Universal Viewer

In its initial version 1.0, Universal Viewer is the support element for Drive web portal usage. Specifically for these tasks:

  1. Universal Viewer must be installed for Synology Drive to fully function.
  2. Supports previewing different file formats from the Synology Drive web portal, including:
  • Image (e.g., .gif, .jpg, .png, .psd)
  • Text (e.g., .json, .md, .txt)
  • Document (Synology Office, Microsoft Office, .pdf)
  • Others (e.g., .zip, .html, .css, .js)

Now truth be told, Drive was always able to view PDF files for example, but not PDS or ZIP, so this addition is more than welcome, and will prevent those unnecessary downloads just so you can examine the file. Now you can do it in a browser, great addition if you ask me.

Some CSS, YML, and JSON files for preview

Opening for example YML or CSS file (as opposed to downloading it) will by default open the file in the new "preview mode".

YML file presented in preview mode
Sharing, print, download, and any other supported options (depends on the file)

In the upper right corner of the preview, you will have multiple options, but those will vary depending on the type of file. So for example, you will have search options for a PDF file, but not for CSS or JSON.

Search option when looking at a PDF document

In any case, a great and powerful addition that will IMHO, only get better as Synology implements more and more supported formats.


Synology Drive as a platform also learned a few new tricks across all three modules.

What's New

Synology Drive Admin Console

  1. Supports converting the indexing scope of "My Drive" from "/home/Drive" to "/home". For the newly installed Synology Drive Server, this setting is applied by default.
  2. Supports exporting sharing link reports that include detailed information about all sharing links in the selected folders. This function is located in the Sharing tab in Settings.
  3. Supports displaying the software versions of client devices in the Client List.
  4. Restructured the sharing configuration page in Settings for a better user experience.
  5. Supports only exporting logs that have been filtered.

Synology Drive ShareSync

  1. Revamped the connection setup flow to enhance user experience.
  2. Added support to keep locally deleted files on the remote server when selecting the "Upload data to the remote Synology Drive server only" option.

Synology Drive (web portal)

  1. Revamped the mobile sharing page, allowing users to browse shared files directly via browsers on mobile devices.
  2. Modified the default keyword search to be restricted to file names only. Searching within file contents is only enabled when the option is ticked in the advanced search.

Nothing major in this list, but a few welcome additions for sure. One that comes to mind for me personally is the sharing link report. If you ever wondered what files are shared and how exactly, now you can export the report in CSV or HTML format.

Sharing export report
CSV export example for Sharing link report

From my point of view, CSV is a much more flexible solution than pure HTML, only because it's an unformatted table object with values.


Finally, Synology Office 3.4 changes. This is the element that got the most changes but not surprising as it offers the most apps and functions. I will not go into all of them but will focus on a few general elements that might be beneficial to most users.

What's new

General

  1. Allows users to add font types they have on their computers into Synology Drive Admin Console so that the font types can be used in Synology Office.
  2. Supports using the color picker to directly pick up a color in a file after Synology Office Extension is installed.
  3. Supports version rotation to save storage space and to reduce the time required for backup and restoration.
  4. Added the following font types: Yu Mincho, Yu Gothic, YuKyokasho, Meiryo, Angsana New, Cordia New, Browallia New, and TH Sarabun New.
  5. Supports filtering comments with multiple criteria at the same time, such as status, type, or "mention me".
  6. Supports replacing an image with another, while maintaining the same size and position as the original image.

Spreadsheet

  1. Supports array formulas that result in multiple values, which are automatically spilled into neighboring cells.
  2. Added support for new formulas, including SEQUENCE, SORT, SORTBY, UNIQUE, FILTER, RANDARRAY, and TRANSPOSE.
  3. Supports splitting text into columns by custom delimiters.
  4. Supports removing duplicates in selected columns.
  5. Supports the anchor of images and charts to cells, allowing them to be automatically modified whenever the cells are moved or resized.
  6. Supports filtering cells by text color or background color.
  7. Supports inserting and deleting a selected range of cells.
  8. Supports using drag-and-drop to move cells or a range of cells.
  9. Supports generating links to filter view.
  10. Supports downloading spreadsheets in .csv format.
  11. Supports retaining the comments within files when exporting and importing the files between Microsoft Office and Synology Office.

Document

  1. Supports inserting text into shapes.
  2. Supports aligning an entire table horizontally on a page.
  3. Supports inserting code block.
  4. Supports hotkeys for quickly switching between the table of content page and linked pages.

Slides

  1. Supports inserting code block.
  2. Supports using the pen tool in presentation mode.
  3. Supports importing themes from other slides.
  4. Supports snapping objects to gridlines.

Fixed Issues

  1. Fixed an issue where downloading slides as .pptx files might fail.
  2. Fixed an issue where the dates displayed in comments were not automatically updated.
  3. Fixed an issue where other users editing a file while a user is leaving a comment on the same file might cause the comment to disappear.
  4. Fixed an issue where a blank page might be printed when printing data in a spreadsheet.
  5. Fixed an issue where using hotkeys to insert timestamps failed.

Limitations

  1. Fixed an issue where printing PDF files might cause hyperlinks within the files to be lost.

Both elements that caught my eye are in the general section (in bold), and both can and should be administered first from within Drive Admin Console.

Add more fonts to your Office platform! Finally right?
Version rotation option inside Drive Admin Console

If you ever wanted to be able to use more fonts inside Office, well the time has come. Now you can finally import fonts (or disable/enable) using a downloaded/installed (.ttf, .otf, .ttc) font.

Simple add fonts by dragging, or...
... enter their name and add them to the list
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NOTE: All fonts that you add have to exist on your computer, and be installed for this import to work.

Avenir Next font - installed and ready to be used inside Office!

Pretty cool if you ask me. I was never a fan of the fonts listed by default, and even though I don't personally use Office for collaboration, this is for sure a welcome addition.

Let me know in the comments if you got into any problems, solutions as a result of this update or if you have any situations that you would like for me to test out.