What is New in SpaceObServer?

New features 

• More options for Data Lifecycle Management: you can now configure which type of file timestamp to use for maximum lifetime comparison. Choose between creation date and last modify date. This also works for existing Data Lifecycle operations.
• Each scan target can now be assigned a display name of your choice. This name will then be used for a scan target in the user interface and in reports, instead of the path. This is convenient for very long paths and provides more meaningful label. (Your request in feature voting). 
• The ability to group scan targets into "containers" has been enhanced: containers can now be nested within each other. This allows you to create a hierarchical structure of containers. This is very useful if, for example, you want to structure scan targets correctly on departments including sub-departments. (Your request in Feature Voting)
• SpaceObServer now has a Dark Mode, i.e. a dark theme for the user interface. In the options, the activation can be linked to the Windows color mode or can be switched on and off explicitly. (Your request in Feature Voting).
• With the new "Change Owner" feature, you can now quickly set a new file owner for all selected files. This is very useful if, for example, you have found a group of files with an invalid or inappropriate file owner. The function can be found in the context menu of the "Details" list.
• The demo version of SpaceObServer can now be activated by entering a license key to the full version. This requires an active internet connection. The version available via the customer area can still be installed without an internet connection. 
• The user interface is now also available in Polish, Turkish, and Czech. Please note, however, that we do not provide technical support and help files in these languages.

Improvements

• The automatic operations after the scan are now divided into two categories. In "Automatic Reports" you can now find, add and configure all actions that automatically send exports or reports via email after the scan. In "Data Lifecycle" you can configure file operations that are automatically performed after a scan. Both can now be found in the scan settings in the "Post Scan Actions" group.
• The available columns of the "Top Files" have been significantly expanded. This list now has all columns that are available for the "Details" list or all export types. Note: The displayed columns can be easily configured by right-clicking on the column header, or in the options in the "View > Top Files" area.
• In the "Duplicate Files" list, there is now an option in the associated ribbon to check-mark all list entries, uncheck all entries, or even for each duplicate group, checkmark all entries except the newest file. 
• File operations: The optional log file has been completely revised. If CSV is selected as the log format, the information is now logged well-structured in separate columns, which simplifies post-processing this data.
• File operations: When using the log or undo script function, the information is now automatically written to an alternative file if access to the specified file is not possible. 
• SharePoint Online: The default authentication required for multi-factor can now be set in the SpaceObServer options. 
• The component for sending emails has been replaced. With the new component it is possible to support the OAuth2 as authentication method.
• In the lists "Details" and "Top Files", if "Rename" is chosen in the context menu for multiple selected entries, the "Mass Renamer" integrated in SpaceObServer is now used, which offers many flexible possibilities to rename files based on rules. 
• Mass renaming gets a new feature: It can be used to convert file and directory names to upper and lower case. 
• Mass renaming gets a new feature: Position values can be evaluated from the right. This means that it is now possible, for example, to remove the last x characters from a file name.
• Mass renaming now also supports regular expressions when deleting certain text from file names.
• Other minor improvements have been made.

Bugfixes 

• Under certain circumstances, the SpaceObServer scan service terminated with an error message "Duplicates not allowed". This has been fixed. 
• The "Check Data Consistency" button in the "Expert Options" under "Scan > Scan Settings" is now working again. 
• In the "Scan Settings" it was not possible to set the time of the scan correctly in the "Scan later" operation. This error has been fixed. 
• An error in the "Show older scan sizes" function has been fixed. 
• An error when editing post-scan actions configured for multiple scan paths was fixed. 
• Several other minor bugs were fixed.

20 April 2023

• Bugfix: Under certain circumstances a defined "File Lifetime" operation of a Post Scan Action affected too many files. This issue has been resolved.

20 September 2022

New Features

• New feature for setting a maximum lifetime for certain files: In the “Post Scan actions” you can now also specify that certain files which reached a configurable maximum age are automatically archived, moved or even deleted after a scan.
  (Your wish in feature voting)
• The user interface is now also available in Norwegian, Bulgarian, and Vietnamese. However, please note that we do not provide technical support or help files in these languages.
• In the "Extensions" list with activated "Group file types" option, information is now also displayed for file groups in the "Growth" column. This information about the storage growth of file groups was not available in previous versions.
• OLE Automation: With the new function "FileOperation" in the OLE Automation interface of SpaceObServer, you can now automatically move, copy, archive, or delete files. A detailed description of the function can be found in the SpaceObServer help, as well as a helpful sample script in the "Demos" subfolder.
• OLE Automation: With the new filter functions IncludePermissionsPattern and ExcludePermissionsPattern, directories can now be restricted to files and folders for which only certain users have permissions or for which specified users have no permissions. Note: As for all other filters based on permissions, the scan option "Calculate Permissions (ACLs) and store them in database" is also required here.

Improvements

• User interface components have been redesigned for a more modern Windows 11-style look.
• The maximum number of concurrent scans can now be configured in the options under "System > Service > Service Options".
  (Your wish in feature voting)
• Implemented some improvements that improve usability, especially for first-time users. For example, the first scan created on an empty database is now automatically loaded into the user interface after creation. We hope this will improve usability, especially for first-time users.
• The start time of the SpaceObServer user interface has been improved, especially when observing very large structures with SpaceObServer.
• The duration of scans with the scan option "Calculate Permissions (ACLs) and store in database" enabled have been improved through optimizations in the database.
• The “SpaceObServer Remote Client” now has its own trial version installer. In previous versions, there was only one trial installer for SpaceObServer and its add-on “SpaceObServer Remote Client”, with a configuration option within the installation process.
• An option to "Abort all scan progress" has been added to the context menu of the list under "Scan > Configure Scans" (submenu "Expert options"). This option allows selected scans to be aborted even if the SpaceObServer scan service is not responding.
• The setting for archiving the scan data under "Scan > Configure Scans > Additional Options > History" has been adjusted so that the desired period can now also be specified in weeks, months, or years.
• Bulk renaming is now also available in the context menu of the “Details” list for selected files and folders.
• The option to change the "User credentials for scans" is now also available in the context menu of the list under "Scan > Configure Scans".
• Some other minor improvements have been made.

Bugfixes

• File Operations dialog: Fixed an error when creating the undo script where previously created symlinks/hardlinks were not properly deleted.
• The "Hide items smaller than" option in the "Post Scan actions" did not work correctly. This issue has been resolved.
• The "Expand to level X" option in the "Post Scan actions" did not work in combination with an additional filter. This issue has been resolved.
• Fixed an issue that caused incorrect queries on Azure SQL databases.
• Several minor fixes have been included.

17 August 2022

• When editing a Post Scan Action, the options path set for this action was not restored correctly, but the default path was used. This issue has been resolved.
• Fixed a rare issue where the SpaceObServer scan service would shut itself down with an error message "Duplicates not Allowed".
• When creating a scan in the SpaceObServer Remote Client in case the application was not started in elevated mode, there was a problem that the scan was not started automatically. This issue has been resolved.

21 April 2022

New Features

• It is now possible to scan multiple scan targets concurrently with SpaceObServer. The SpaceObServer scan service now no longer postpones the start of a scan until an ongoing scan of another scan target has been completed. Instead, it processes both scans concurrently. As a result, they are now strictly adhered to and no longer delayed when configured schedules overlap.
• A new dialog for renaming multiple files at once has been introduced and can be found in the "Details" ribbon using the "Bulk Rename" button. Bulk Rename offers a variety of options for renaming existing files using appropriate naming rules.
• The user interface is now also available in Italian and Greek. Please note that we do not provide support or help files in these languages.
• When moving or copying files into a ZIP archive, the destinations SharePoint, Amazon S3 or SSH can now also be selected as the storage location for the ZIP file.

Improvements

• The SharePoint Scan now also supports multi-factor authentication using a certificate file. In our online manual, you can find further detailed information on using this authentication method.
• The icons of the user interface have been revised and ensure a more modern look in Windows 11 style.
• The previously collected scan data is now automatically transferred to the new database when changing the database for the scan data of a specific scan target.
• The "Top 100 Files" statistic has been renamed to "Top Files" and can now be found under the new name in the user interface and help.
• The option "Reload for selected directory" of the "Top Files" list can now also be found in the corresponding options under "Top Files".
• In the "Configure Scans" dialog, the "Show Scan Errors" function in the context menu of the list has been replaced by "Check for Scan Errors". This reduces queries to the database.
• Minor adjustments and improvements in the context menu of the "Details" list have been incorporated.
• Some other minor improvements have been made.

Bugfixes

• The "Show all files of this file extension" function from the context menu of the "Extensions" list accidentally only set the filter to the selected extension. However, did not list all the single files. This issue has been resolved.
• Under certain circumstances, the next scan time of a scan target was not set correctly for scheduled scan, in case the running scan was aborted. This issue has been fixed.
• A "Post Scan Action" that should send a report via email did not work correctly under certain circumstances, if additional statistics were to be included in the email. This issue has been resolved.
• Adding new "Post Scan Actions" for a scan target for which a different database was configured under the "Expert Settings" of the scan configuration did not work properly. This issue has been fixed.
• For scan targets with a very high space usage (3-digit terabyte range) SpaceObServer calculated and reported incorrect and possibly negative percentage values in the statistics and exports. This issue has been resolved.
• Under certain circumstances, the same MD5 checksum was displayed in the "Details" list in the "MD5 Checksum" column for all files of the same scan target. This issue has been fixed.
• An issue where an error occurred when right-clicking on a container in the scan settings has been fixed.
• We have fixed a rare exception when deleting files from the "Duplicates" list that no longer existed.
• OLE Automation: A problem with the "ListExport" method for the "Details" list has been fixed. The export now works as expected again.
• Several minor fixes have been included.

Changed compatibilities

• SpaceObServer now officially supports the operating systems Windows Server 2022 and Windows 11.
• The operating systems Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 are no longer supported.

8 February 2022

New Features

• With SpaceObServer you can now examine your SharePoint On Premise or SharePoint Online storage. This way you can keep an eye on your entire storage space environment and also handle migrations (e.g. copy or move operations) from your Windows storage to your SharePoint with SpaceObServer.
• The user interface is as of now also available in the addition of the Japanese and Hungarian language. Please note that we do not provide support or help files in these languages.
• The number of files in the "Top 100 Files" list can now be configured in the new options page "Top Files". Furthermore, it is now possible to select whether the size or the occupied space should be used as a guideline here, as well as to configure the columns displayed in the list.
• A new field in the status bar of the user interface allows you to see if there were any issues because of missing access permissions within the last scan and which folders were affected. The same function can also be found in the "Configure Scans" dialog by right-clicking on a scan.
• The Extensions and Duplicate Files lists can now also be saved as a fold-out Excel report. A corresponding option has been added to the dialog for saving the report.
• A fresh installation of SpaceObServer now takes over the most important user settings of TreeSize Professional, in case TreeSize Professional is already installed on your system.
• The full version of the product can now be downloaded and installed directly from the trial version by entering the Customer ID and installation key. The full version setup will run automatically and unattended and can optionally be postponed until the application is closed.

Improvements

• The new column "Full Path" has been added to the "Top 100 files" list. The column can be activated via the context menu of the column header or in the new options page "Top Files".
• The "Print right pane" function now also includes a diagram that may be visible. Please note that a list alone can still be printed using the right-click menu of the list.
• In case of an access error during a scan, e.g. due to missing authorizations for a certain directory structure, the user context is now also displayed in the error message.
• Using the new sub menu "Manage scans" in the context menu of the directory tree, you can now start a new scan, configure scans or move the scan to a container.
• A new button in "Configure Scans > Expert Settings" allows the creation of a new MS SQL database, in order to outsource individual scans to different databases.
• The file operations dialog now has an option to preserve the timestamps (creation date, modification date, last access date) of files during a copy or move operation on the file system
• The filtering of scan results according to permissions of certain users ("Search > Configure > Permissions") with the activated option "Regard groups which contain this user" is now much faster.
• The scan performance has been improved through the revision of the database indices, which are used for scanning.
• The runtime for scanning the permissions (ACLs) has been improved by introducing a database index.
• Some other minor improvements have been made.

Bugfixes

• An issue when reloading scan targets within a container when using the "Tools > Show Previous Scan Sizes" function has been fixed.
• A problem when restoring the selection in the "Top 100 Files" list, when changing the selected scan or folder in the directory tree has been fixed.
• When exporting a container, the values "Growth last Week" and "Growth last Month" are now exported correctly.
• Opening URL files with a double-click now works as expected.
• When deleting scans that were not on the main database, the corresponding database tables were not removed from the data database. This problem has been resolved.
• Several minor fixes have been included.

Changed compatibilities

• SpaceObServer now requires the .NET Framework 4.8.

9 June 2021

• The export of the list of "Similar Folders" ("Similar Folders > Export Similar Folders") has been improved to work as expected.
• The results formatting of the "Copy List" option in the detail view context menu has been adjusted. When pasting into an Excel file, separate cells are now used for the copied list columns and rows.  
• Filtering in the "Extensions" list did not work when the "Group file types" option was enabled for a selected file type group. This problem has been fixed.
• When adjusting the "Position of the scan" in "Scan > Scan settings > Expert options", not all arrays in the database tables of this scan were updated correctly. This problem has been fixed.
• A problem with license management on systems with outdated certificates has been fixed.
• Under certain circumstances it could occur that containers that contained scans configured for a different database ("Scan > Scan settings > Expert options > Database") were incorrectly not displayed in the scan overview on the left below the directory tree. This problem has been fixed.

5 February 2021

New Features

• The Enterprise Edition of SpaceObServer now offers the possibility to generate automated exports. The new "Post Scan Actions" offer a variety of configuration options so that you can tailor reports to your needs. The exports configured in this way are processed automatically after a successful scan./spaceobserver/automated-reporting.shtml
• The File Operations dialog now also allows to move or copy files to Amazon S3 Storages or Linux/Unix servers.
• A search box at the top of the main window (available in Windows 10), as well as in the Options dialog, now allows searching for actions or settings quickly and conveniently.
• The user interface is now also available in Chinese and Danish. Please note that we do not provide support or help files in these languages.
• A new option "Replace only older" has been added to the File Operations dialog. You can use this option to prevent newer files in the target directory from being overwritten when copying or moving files.
• With the new buttons left side of the selection box for the scan targets, you can now navigate back and forth in the directory tree or switch to the higher-level folder of the currently selected directory.
• Options: The list separator that is used when exporting to CSV and text files can now be configured.

Improvements

• The component for managing the installation key has been renewed. This fixes issues that some customers have experienced with the Windows Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) security option, Carbon Black security software, and Lumension Endpoint Protection. Therefore, all customers need new installation keys for V7, which can be found at “Downloads” in the customer area.
• The "Add Scan" dialog now has its own selection box for WebDav scan targets. It is also possible to enter the http notation of a WebDav scan target here, the SpaceObServer then automatically converts this into the UNC notation.
• The lists "Duplicate Files" and "Details" now offers a new master checkbox in the header of the first column. With this checkbox you can check-mark all list entries at once.
• When calculating the MD5 checksums for files, the progress of this operation is now displayed in the "State" field of the scan target.
• The Overview that is displayed below the Ribbon menu now also shows the last scan date of the currently selected scan target.
• In the export options you can now choose whether an "[Files]" element should also be exported for each directory.
• The navigation in the directory structure from within a displayed diagram has been improved. A new button in all diagrams now allows you to switch directly to the higher-level element.
• The "History" diagram and its exports now uses the "Date/Time Format" setting configured in the options, for labeling the X-axis.
• The calculation of the used storage space for very small files, for which the NTFS file system does not actually have to occupy any additional storage space, has been improved so that this value now corresponds to the value reported by Windows Explorer.
• Some improvements in the display on high-resolution monitors for which Windows screen scaling is enabled have been incorporated.
• The dialog for executing file operations has been reasonable revised.
• Some other minor improvements have been made.

Bugfixes

• When using several instances of the SpaceObServer under certain circumstances several servers may have performed a scan simultaneously. This issue has been fixed.
• When scanning an Exchange Server, only a maximum of 1000 mailboxes were treated. This problem has been fixed.
• The option "Show Details Flat" in the ribbon menu "Details" is now much faster for very long lists.
• When exporting scan results via "File > Export" with activated "Add single files to export" option, the files in the export were not sorted correctly. This issue has been fixed.
• When exporting the "Extensions" list to Excel, it could happen that the alignment of the "Description" column was right-aligned, instead of left-aligned as expected for textual content. This problem has been resolved.
• In the "Age of Files" statistics, an error in the displayed number of files has been corrected.
• Several minor fixes have been included.

Changed compatibilities

• At least .Net Framework 4.7.2 is required, which should already be installed on your operating system through Windows Update.

1 December 2020

• Added support for Amazon S3 locations Mumbai, Bahrain, Canada, Stockholm and Hong Kong.
• Bugfix: The columns "Observing Server" and "Database" in the "Configure Scans" list now show the correct content again.
• Bugfix: The update installation of SpaceObServer could cause an unhandled error in case the backend database was not accessible. This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: In certain cases, an unhandled error could occur while exporting the list of "Extensions". This issue has been resolved.
• Bugfix: The export option "Export items larger than" did not work as expected. This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: When exporting a list of files to the clipboard ("File > Export > Copy List of Files") the column headers are now again exported as human readable captions, instead as numbers.

27 November 2019

New Features

• More user interface languages: In addition to English and German, the user interface is now available in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch and Slovenian. Please note that we neither provide support, nor supply a product manual in these languages. Thanks to all the translators who helped us translating the user interface.

Note: We are going to support more languages in the future. If you would like to help us translate SpaceObServer into your native language, please feel free to contact us!

• The language of the user interface can now also be changed after the installation in the options under "Tools > Options > View > General > Language".
• The scan of Amazon S3 Storage is now possible with SpaceObServer.
• Scanning Linux and Unix servers using SSH is now also possible with the Standard Edition of SpaceObServer.
• File system operations like "Delete" and "Drag & Drop" are now also possible for SSH scans.
• It is now possible to export multiple reports concurrently.
• The settings at "Tools > Options > Export" now offer a much more flexible selection for the level of detail of an export.
• The new column "Alloctated" in the "Top 100 Files" list shows the occupied disk space of each file.
• The "Similar Folders" list now offers two additional columns to show the absolute path of the folder pairs to be compared.
• New Filters: With the new filter option "Find elements with empty inherited permissions" ("Search > Configure > Permissions") you can now find elements in your directory structure, for which permission inheritance has been disabled. Note: As for all other filters by permissions, the scan option "Calculate Permissions (ACLs) and store in database" is required.
• File operations such as delete, copy or move are now also supported for "Containers".
• The graph of the "Age of Files" statistics now displays detailed tooltips for each interval.

Improvements

• The dialog for adding new scans has been completely revised and now also offers the most important scan options, as well as options for scan scheduling in a clear way. The new dialog is now automatically displayed in case SpaceObServer is started for the first time with an empty database. The dialog is intended to improve the user guidance and usability of the application.
• The columns "Containing Path", "Full Path" and "Allocated" have been added to the list of duplicate files. The "Files" column has been removed. The "Name" column has been adjusted. This column no longer displays the full path for individual files, but only the name of the file similar to the duplicate groups.
• Support for monitors with high DPI values has been improved.
• File system operations, such as deleting files from the "Details" or "Top 100 Files" list are now also considered instantly in the directory tree and other statistics of the SpaceObServer.
• SSH scans now also support latest key exchange algorithms such as SHA-256 and SHA2.
• The usability of selecting an interval for displaying disk space development has been improved.
• The scan configuration "Observing Server" (Scan > Configure Scans > Expert Settings) now also allows fully qualified server names.
• As in Windows Explorer, the key F4 now activates the directory dropdown in the upper left corner and allows the manual entry of a path.
• Text exports and e-mail exports in text format are now easier to read. The exported column widths can be adjusted in the options. Shortened content that does not fit completely into a column is indicated by three dots (...).

To take advantage of this improvement, use a non-proportional font in your email client.

• The visual representation of exported reports in HTML format has been revised. This affects file exports as well as e-mail exports. In addition to these changes, there are now icons for files and folders, and the directory structure is also indicated.
• The hyperlink format defined in the export options is now used in all lists for Excel exports.

Bugfixes

• Bugfix - Exchange Scan: The scan of an Exchange Server could not be executed in the context of a user if the char "?" was contained in the password of the user account. This problem has been fixed.
• Bugfix: When adding many new scan targets (e.g. a complete server with many shares) unexpected errors in the user interface could occur. This problem has been fixed.
• Bugfix: Under certain circumstances a scheduled scan was not started if the expert setting "Observing Server" contained several server names. This problem has been fixed.
• Bugfix - Exchange Scan: A meaningful error message is now displayed in the "State" field if the user account name contains more than 20 characters. Note: For technical reasons, user names must not contain more than 20 characters for Exchange scans.
• Other minor fixes and improvements have been made.

Changed Compatibilities

• Operating System: Support for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 has been discontinued.
• Bitness: A 32 bit version of the SpaceObServer Remote Client is only available on request starting with version 6.1.
• Databases: support for MS SQL Server 2017, MS SQL Server 2019 (CTP), Oracle Version 18c, MySQL 8.0.

18 September 2019

• Bugfix: Under certain conditions errors occurred in update scans, in case the scan option "Calculate Permissions (ACLs) and store in database" ("Scan > Configure Scans > Scan Options") was activated. This issue would have been shown in the "State" field of the corresponding scan. Parts of the data structure might have been stored incorrect in the database. This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: It was possible that the scan setting "Use different credentials for scan" ("Scan > Configure Scans > Expert Settings") as well as the monthly update option ("Scan > Configure Scans > Update Options") was not persisted correctly to the database and therefore ignored in scans. These issues have been fixed.
• Bugfix: The option "Limit to this Extension" on the ribbon tab "Extensions" is now also available in case a file type group is selected in the Extensions list.
• Bugfix: The option "Colorize bars" on the ribbon tab "Distributions" will now be memorized and restored after an application restart.
• Bugfix: The small size indicator bars shown in the background of each folder in the directory tree now visualize the correct percentage values for root folders grouped in a container.
• Bugfix: The functionality to install the MS SQL Server Express Edition ("Tools > Options > System > Database") occasionally not worked correctly. This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: We fixed some issues with missing mailboxes in Exchange Server scans in case the Exchange Server is used in the context of multiple domains.
• A few minor bug fixes and improvements have been incorporated.

06 June 2018

• Bugfix: A right-click on a file, located on a unreachable file share, caused it to be marked as "deleted" in the database. This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: When using exclude filter for a scan ("Scan > Configure Scans > Scan Filter") with multiple filters applied to full paths, not all of the filters used where applied correctly. This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: Modifications on the “File Groups” ("Tools > Options > View > File Groups") used for the "Extensions" statistic had not been persisted after a restart of SpaceObServer. This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: When expanding 1st level folders in a "Container" the size of the expanded folder was reset to zero when the included roots were located in a different database ("Scan > Configure Scans > Expert Settings > Database"). This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: The "Details" list might show fewer files after using "Delete" from the context menu of this list. This issue has been fixed.
• Bugfix: Using the "SpaceObServerCmdLineParser" for exporting the "Duplicate Files" now again exports the Duplicate groups including single files, as was the case in former versions.
• Added support for text-only export of the "History", "Age of Files", and "Size of Files" statistics.
• A few minor bug fixes and improvements have been incorporated.

17 October 2017

• Bug fix: Adding a complete server to the SpaceObServer database might result in strange errors ("Out of Memory") or even unhandled errors.
• Bug fix: When using exclude filter for a scan ("Scan > Configure Scans > Scan Filter") and all filters applied to full paths, the scan did no longer see any files.
• Bug fix: Sorting the "Users" list by the column "Size Growth" works correctly now.
• Bug fix: Sorting the "Details" list by one of the columns "Growth last Week", "Growth last Month", or "Files Increase" works correctly now.
• Bug fix: Fast clicking on the arrow buttons in the "Select history interval" panel (contextual tab "History") now no longer closes the panel.
• You can now enter multiple paths into the folder combobox, separated by semicolon. Paths that already exist in the database will be loaded, new paths will be added to the database.
• Activating "View > Show size changes in tree" for a Container will now also activate this option for all included scans.
• A few minor bug fixes and improvements have been incorporated.

31 August 2017

New Bitness:

• Native 64 Bit: SpaceObServer is now available as a native 64 Bit application. This applies to the user interface as well as the scan service (SpaceObServer Agent).

New Filter:

• SpaceObServer can now store access permissions (ACL) of files and folders in the database. This enables users to easily create filter criteria (e.g. user name, permission type, owned or inherited permissions) and use them on a scanned folder structure.

User Interface:

• Ribbon User Interface: The new ribbon-style user interface of SpaceObServer is more than just a cosmetic measure: Easy navigation and feature selection secure user-friendliness.
• A new preview pane has been added to the right side of the "Details" tab. This pane shows a summary of the most important information of the selected file in the Details list, as well as a preview of the file content (in case this is supported/available for this type of file).
• The performance when loading scans in the SpaceObServer user interface has been optimized, especially for very large scans.
• We adjusted the names of some columns in the "Details" list, to match their corresponding columns in the Windows Explorer.
• The "File Search" panel of SpaceObServer has been revised. The available filters are now grouped in a more logical and structured way.
•  Many more improvements implemented in the user interface enhance the look and feel and match modern Windows operating system styles.

Charts:

• The "Tree Map" chart can now optionally show single files, file extensions, or extension groups inside the chart.

Database:

• If you do not have a real SQL server database to use with SpaceObServer, the software no longer uses an MS Access desktop database as default. The new database type "SpaceObServer Embedded" is a customized Firebird database, which shows much better performance than MS Access and supports concurrent usage of the database.
• We do now store timestamps like "last modified" and "creation date" of files and folders in UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) format in the database. This ensures data consistency across time zones and multiple machines. Please note: This might cause a longer run duration for the first update scan of existing scans.
• Official support for MS SQL Azure has been added.
• Please note: Support for IBM DB2 Database has been dropped.

Scan Engine:

• We optimized the performance of update scans by using less complex update statements in the database. This applies especially to very large scan structures and to scans with many modifications on the scanned directory tree.
• Thanks to early dissolving of network dependencies, the performance of SpaceObServer's local shares scans has been increased.

New Export Options:

• The PDF and printed exports have been completely revised. This also applies to the printer preview pane. These exports do now look more like TreeSize Professional and can now include the various charts that SpaceObServer offers. The PDF and printed export can include single files now.
• The Excel export can now include charts (as known from the HTML export). Charts are included in separate sheets in the exported Excel file.
• The HTML, Excel, Email, PDF, and the printed export can include the various list statistics (Top 100 files, Extensions, Users, Details, and Duplicate Files) that SpaceObServer supplies.
• The new configuration section for the PDF export now enables users to configure the PDF documents. In former versions, the PDF export used the same settings as the printed report.

Exchange Server Scans:

• Exchange Server scans can now optionally break down scanned mailboxes into organization units (OUs).
• Email subjects are now by default shown in the "Name" column of the Details list and all exports. You can activate the new option "Anonymous email subjects" for Exchange scans to hide email subjects.
• Thanks to the optimized usage of the internally used paging, Exchange Server scans now run faster.
• Please note: Support for Exchange Server 2003 scans has been dropped.

OLE Automation:

• The existing OLE Export functions have been enhanced to optionally include additional lists and charts when exporting to HTML, Excel, Email, or PDF.
• Human-readable strings for each "Information Type" which can be used in functions instead of integer values have been introduced.
• The new function "UpdateAnnotation" to set the "Annotation" field of files and folders has been included.

Changed Compatibilities:

• Support for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 has been dropped.
• SpaceObServer v6 (Enterprise und Standard Edition) will be offered in 64 Bit only. If you require a 32 Bit version of SpaceObServer, please send us an inquiry.
• Support for MS SQL Azure has been added.
• Support for IBM DB2 Database has been dropped.
• Support for Exchange Server 2003 scans has been dropped.
• .Net Framework: 4.5 required.

Miscellaneous:

• When using "Tools > Show previous scan sizes" SpaceObServer now also lists files which are already deleted, but existed in the previous scan.
• Introduced function "Hide folders smaller than X MB" to exclude small directories from the directory tree.
• The functionality "Load XML reports" to show former saved XML reports has been removed.
• The "Full Path" column of the "Details" list and all exports now always end with a trailing path delimiter for directories. The shown/exported information is now similar to TreeSize Professional.
• The "Optical media size" has been removed from the available values to be shown directly in the directory tree.
• The "Wasted Space" column has been removed from the Details and all exports.
• Bug fix: The exclude filter of a scan did not match if the used pattern ended with a white space. This has been corrected.
• Several minor improvements and fixes have been incorporated.

11 August 2017

• Bug fix: An exception occurring when loading a "Container" while "Top 100 Files" was active has been fixed.
• Bug fix: Fixed an error which occurred when deleting a folder from the directory tree while the pie or bar chart was shown.
• Bug fix: Size changes were not calculated for all folders when exporting the directory tree with size growth column included.
• Bug fix: Using the OLE Automation function "ExcelReport" with a file name including the variables "%DATE%" or "%TIME%" did not work correctly.
• Bug fix: Sometimes size values shown in the directory tree were cut when the option "Show Size changes in tree" was activated.

11 November 2015

New Statistics:

• Introduced a new "Similar Folder" statistic. It provides an overview of identical directory trees (trees, which have the same content and structure) or nearly identical directory trees, which have nearly the same content and/or structure. These statistics enable you to identify similar or duplicate folder structures which are e.g. created by copying.
  • You can activate the generation of the new "Similar Folder" statistic in the "Configure Scans" dialog for existing or new scans.
  • Please note that activating this statistic will generate more workload on the SpaceObServer scan service ("SpaceObServer Agent") and more space allocated in the SpaceObServer database.

Charting:

• All pie, bar and line charts provided by SpaceObServer have been completely redesigned. They have been replaced with MS Chart from the .Net framework. Therefore, SpaceObServer now requires the .Net framework 4.0 or higher to be installed on the system on which it is executed. The SpaceObServer installer will download and install the .Net framework 4.0 if it is not installed on the system.
• You can now activate interpolation for line series shown in the "History" chart, to get a smoother size development curve.
• The "History" and "Distribution" chart can now be exported in a textual format (Text or CSV file).

Faster User Interface:

• The SpaceObServer user interface loads faster now. This is especially noticeable when a large number of scans is stored in a database.
• SpaceObServer now uses internal caching mechanisms when building "History" graphs or calculating "Size Growth" information. This improves the speed of the user interface when working with these values.

New Export Options:

• The exports of SpaceObServer have been improved and are now nearly identical to TreeSize Professional.
• The HTML export has been revised: Enabling JavaScript generates a dynamic view which allows expanding and collapsing each level of the folder structure. Subfolders are now properly indented. Folders are formatted as hyperlinks; clicking on them will open the folder.
• You can now choose whether an Excel export of the directory tree will have expandable / collapsible levels ("Tools > Options > Export > Excel > Formatting").
• If the number of exported elements exceeds the number of rows an Excel sheet supports, the export is now continued on a new sheet.
• The author is now set in exported XLSX files.

New Options dialogue:

• The options dialog has been completely redesigned to provide a clearer and more intuitive user experience.
•     Each export type now has its own configuration page. This simplifies the configuration of export settings.
•     A dedicated export type for CSV files has been introduced. CVS exports are now available in the main menu ("File > Export > Save to CSV file") and the context menu of the directory tree (sub menu "Export").
• All export formats can be configured to export the same columns as the "Details" list. This is the default value for new installations.
• The settings for exported HTML files and HTML emails can now be configured independently.
• You can now configure which charts will be exported along with a HTML export and which charts will be sent as email attachments.
• The separator used for exports to CSV files can be configured.
• The appearance of date time values can now be configured more precisely (date only, date with time, time with or without seconds).

Exchange Server Scans:

• Archives in mailboxes and public folders can now be scanned.
• Mailbox addresses will be fetched from multiple Active Directories in trusted domains and forests of the current machine.
• Existing email aliases were scanned redundantly in the past. Now, only one mailbox (primary email address) will be scanned. The owner of mailboxes and public folders will be retrieved from the Active Directory.

OLE Automation:

• Added the procedure "ExcelReport" which exports various lists and charts to an Excel file.
• Added the procedure "ReloadAllRoots" which forces the refreshing of all roots.
• Introduced the function "GetIDByPath" which queries the identifier (ID) of a directory for a given path.
• Added the function "GetFolderInformationByPath" which queries the directory information for a given path.
• Added the optional parameter "Charts" to procedure "HTMLExport" which enables the user to export charts along with the HTML report.
• The procedures "ChartExport" and "ChartExportEx" now support the export of users statistics and extensions statistics as pie chart or bar chart.
• The order of the parameters "Height" and "Width" of the function "ChartExportEx" has been changed. The function call is now ChatExportEx(ExportPath, ChartType, Width, Height).
• Changed behavior of the parameter "ObservingServer" in function "AddRootToDatabase": "localhost" can be passed in order to use the executing machine. Leave the parameter value empty ("") if any available server shall execute scans for the selected directory.
• The procedure "SetRootProperty" now supports the new parameters "ScanUser" and "ScanPassword". Via these properties the user can set the user name or password of the scan credentials of a root in the database.
• The function "GetRootProperty" now supports "LastError". If the last scan was not successful this function returns the related error code. Otherwise the function returns 0.

Miscellaneous:

• MS SQL Server 2014 is now officially supported.
• The name of the columns "Last Change" and "Last Access" have been adjusted to "Last Modified" and "Last Accessed". This applies to the lists "Details", "Top 100 Files", and "Duplicate Files" as well as all export types.
• Several minor improvements and fixes have been incorporated.

22 October 2015

• SpaceObServer now provides more meaningful "owner" information for mailboxes and emails of an Exchange Server 2007 and higher.
• OLE Automation: A new optional parameter "UserAcess" has been added to the function "AddRootToDatabase", enabling you to configure a list of users and/or groups which are allowed to see and access the scans and the scanned directory structure.
• Bug fix: The duration of the initial scan was unusually high when using a MS SQL Server database.
• Bug fix: A double click on a file in the "Top 100 Files" list led to an unhandled exception.
• Bug fix: Adding a new scan for Exchange Server 2003 ("Scan > Configure Scans > Add Scan > Exchange > Exchange Server 2003") led to an unhandled exception.
• Bug fix: Update scans on a MS SQL Server database using compatibility mode 80 (MS SQL Server 2000) led to errors in the Windows event log and the SpaceObServer Agent was stopped.
• Bug fix: Update scans were not executed correctly in case the option "Purge data older than 0 days" ("Scan > Configure Scans > Scan Options") was used in combination with a different "Database" for scan data ("Scan > Configure Scans > Expert Settings").

15 July 2014

Reporting & Exports:

• A new menu entry "Send by email" in the "File" menu enables you to send scan reports instantly via email. The email settings can be configured via "Tools > Options > Email". Additionally, an "Email" button is now available on the toolbar of each tab ("History", "Charts", "Details" etc.). It can be used to send the tab's content via email.
• A new column "Cost" hast been introduced to the "Details" list and all available export types. It can be used to easily calculate costs for occupied server space and e.g. break them down to department level. Please note: You can configure the used value and unit to calculate the cost for each scanned share or drive in the configure scans dialog ("Scan > Configure Scans > Scan Options > Cost").
• You can now configure a list of users and/or groups which are allowed to see and access the scans and the scanned directory structure in the SpaceObServer user interface ("Scan > Configure Scans > Expert Settings > User Access"). SpaceObServer will hide the scans (i.e. not show them in the user interface) from all other users.
• The columns "Quota Limit" and "Quota Usage" have been added to the "Users" list. They offer a quick overview about the usage and limit of the built-in Windows quota features from within SpaceObServer.
• The treemap chart now shows the size value configured in the "View" menu in addition to the folder names.
• The size value "Wasted Space" in the "View" menu has been replaced by "Optical Media". Additionally, the bar chart no longer shows the wasted space in an extra bar when "Allocated space" is activated.
• The new column "Hardlinks" has been added to the "Duplicate Files" list.
• The columns "Full Path" and "Path" in Excel exports of the "Details", "Top 100 Files", and "Duplicate Files" list now contain hyperlinks.
• Hyperlinks for single files in the Excel export now point directly to the single file (previously they pointed to the parent directory).

Database:

• Optimizations in the database maintenance lead to faster update scans for shares and drives with an extensive scan history.
• The check states of files and folders can now be saved to the database to restore them at a later date or in another SpaceObServer Remote Client.

Navigation:

• New forward and back navigation buttons for the directory tree have been added to the "Scan" toolbar ("View > Toolbars > Scan").

File Search:

• You can now easily define a filter for all files owned by an unknown or no longer existing user account ("Search/Filter > Configure > Owner/Attributes > File Owners > Check invalid file owners").

Move Checked Files:

• The function "Move Checked Files" is now always available. When using this function, the option "Show Checkboxes" will automatically be enabled.
• Checking of large folders in the directory tree or the details list no longer results in a blocked user interface.
• If no files or folders are checked via checkbox, the checkboxes of the currently selected files and folders will be enabled automatically.

OLE Automation:

• The new function "EmailExport" enabling users to send the scanned directory tree, lists, or charts via email has been added.
• The new function "AddContainer" has been added.
• The function "AddRootToDatabase" now accepts Exchange and SSH scans. Additionally, a new optional parameter "Container" has been added to this function, enabling you to assign a scan directly to a new or existing container.

Configure Scans:

• It is now possible to add scans to a container or to move them to another container via the context menu.
• When changing the database of a container in the "Expert Settings", you can now tell SpaceObServer to use the selected database for all included scans.
• Containers will no longer automatically be expanded or collapsed when moving or adding scans in the "Configure Scans" dialog. Additionally, these settings are now stored when the dialog is closed.

Installer:

• You can now pass the database connection string to use via the command line (/CONNECTIONSTRING) when executing the installation file of SpaceObServer.

Miscellaneous:

• You can now select multiple files at once in the "Top 100 files". Please Note: Context menu operations (e.g. "Delete") are applied to all selected files in a list. Additional export operations (e.g. "Save to File") of a list will export only selected files as long as more than one file is selected in the list.
• Scans already included in a container can now be moved to other containers via the context menu of the directory tree.
• A context menu for the SpaceObServer scan service icon in the status bar has been implemented. You can start, stop, pause, and continue the service via this menu.
• The context menu entries "Move Checked Duplicates" and "Deduplicate Checked Files" in the "Duplicate Files" have been moved to the context submenu "SpaceObServer".
• The "Last Access" and "Owner" columns on the "Duplicate Files" tab are now deactivated by default.
• Bug fix: Under certain conditions the "SpaceObServer Agent" caused an increase of the number of handles and the memory consumption of the "lsass.exe" process. This is no longer the case.
• Several minor improvements and fixes have been incorporated.

11 June 2014

• Bug fix: Fixed an error that could occur when replacing duplicate files by hardlinks, via the "Deduplicate" function.

03 September 2012

• The "Age of Files" statistic on the "Distributions" tab now uses the current date (without time) as reference value. This ensures consistent statistics within the same day.
• Placing checkmarks on directories containing a large number of files is much faster now. Activate the option "View > Show Checkboxes" to provide checkboxes in the directory tree and the "Details" list.
• Bug fix: An export of the directory tree to an Excel file ("File > Export > Save to Excel File") with file extension ".xls" (format before Excel 2007) led to an error message loop, if more than 65,535 rows were exported.
• Bug fix: Fixed an error that occurred on the first start of SpaceObServer when using MS SQL Server 2000 as backend database.
• A few minor bug fixes and improvements have been incorporated.

20 August 2012

• MS SQL Server 2012 is now supported.
• You can now add scans for all shares of a complete server at once. Enter the server name with two leading backslashes (e.g. "\\Server1") in the edit field above the directory tree, or use the "Add Scan..." function of the "Configure Scans" dialog. All shares will be grouped in one container.
• The Exchange Server scan has been enhanced. The scan is more stable and much faster now.
  • Please note: This is a breaking change, so unfortunately your "History" data of previous Exchange Server scans will be lost. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
• The performance of update scans, especially for scans of large data storages, has been increased: the post processing mechanisms have been optimized.
• Move Checked Files: It is now possible to burn the checked files to an optical media.
• The Deduplication feature of the "Duplicate Files" list now has an enhanced dialog: It shows the number of all checked duplicate files and the disk space that will be recovered. You may specify a log file that logs all performed operations in detail. Furthermore you may configure in detail how to handle duplicates that are not located on the same volume: Since hardlinks cannot be used you can choose to use symbolic links or to simply leave them as they are.
• The new columns "Inherited Permissions", "Own Permissions" and "SHA256 Checksum" are now available in the "Details" list and for all types of exports.
• If "Number of Files" is the chosen view type ("View" menu) and the option "Show size changes in tree" ("History" tab) is activated, the directory tree now shows the changes in the number of files.
• Move Checked Files:
  • It is now possible to copy all checked files to a different location instead of moving them.
  • Introduced new option "Include directory with drive letter to avoid name collisions". Activate this option to avoid name collisions when moving files from several drives.
• You can now rename containers within the context menu of the "Configure Scans" dialog ("Rename Container...").
• You can now configure the scan options (e.g. "Follow Links Mountpoints and External Symbolic Links", "Track NTFS Alternate Data Streams and NTFS Hardlinks",...) for all included scans in a selected container at once in the "Configure Scans" dialog.
• OLE Automation interface:
  • You can now assign container names to the property "RootDirectory".
  • With the new methode "AddRootToDatabase" it is now possibility to add new roots with extended settings (e.g. NTFS Change Journals, calculate MD5 checksums,...).
  • The "List of Scans" shown below the directory tree can now be exported using the function "ListExport".
• Additional note: SpaceObServer V5.1 has been successfully tested on Windows Server 2012 RC, using ReFS.
• Several minor improvements and fixes have been incorporated.

20 July 2012

• Bug fix: The export of a scan from MS SQL Server to Firebird ("Scans > Configure Scans > context menu > Export > Export to SQL Server") now works as expected.
• Bug fix: Occasionally, the field "Size Growth" in the "Users" and "Extensions" list stuck in the state "calculating...".
• Bug fix: If you right click in the directory tree an exception occurred in case the list "Users" or "Extensions" was activated and at least one entry was selected in the list.
• OLE Automation: The filter "MinFolderSize" can now be assigned to a value greater than 127. Also a former set "SizeUnit" is now taken into account (Previously the value was always taken as MB).

28 February 2011

• Bug fix: When using SpaceObServer with a MS SQL Server 2005 database scans did not run successfully.

17 February 2011

• SpaceObServer is now available in two different editions: The Enterprise Edition includes all the known and new features. The lower-priced Standard Edition only scans one server and includes the functions relevant for this application range (without SSH and Exchange Server scans, no OLE Automation interface).
• Scans can now be grouped in so-called "Containers" to generate merged statistics like "Duplicate Files", "Extensions" or "History" for several scanned shares. Containers can be added and configured using the context menu of the directory tree or in the "Configure Scans" dialog using drag & drop operations.
• SpaceObServer is now able to scan and archive the storage of Exchange server mailboxes (only "Enterprise Edition").
• Firebird can now be used as a backend database for SpaceObServer.
• By optimizing the build up and update process of the backend database, the performance of the scans has been increased, especially for the initial scans (increase of 20 - 30%). Please note that scans newly added by SpaceObServer V5 cannot be used with SpaceObServer V4.x!
• The "Extensions" list can now be grouped by file types like "Audio Files", "Video Files", "Office Files", etc. This feature can be turned on or off by a new toolbar button. The file groups can be configured on the new tab "File Groups" in the Options dialog ("Tools > Options").
• The scan scheduler ("Scan > Configure Scans > Update Options") has been enhanced so that you can now also schedule monthly or weekly scans (e.g.: on the 1st, 15th and 30th of every month or every week on Monday and Friday).
• Scans can now use any user credentials instead of the login of the scan service "SpaceObServer Agent" to scan network or local shares. The user name and password can be entered on the new tab "Expert Settings" of the Configure Scans dialog. In this new tab you can also configure some enhanced options which were formerly only accessible from within the context menu of the list above.
• All lists can now be saved in HTML and RTF format by choosing the appropriate format in the "Save" dialog.
• You can now deduplicate checked files in the "Duplicate Files" list by using the new context menu entry "Deduplicate Checked Files" or the new button in the duplicates toolbar. The deduplication replaces existing files with links to reduce the allocated disk space.
• Now the "Number of Files" is shown in the "History" graph if this view type is chosen in the "View" menu.
• The new options "Preserve directory structure" and "Automatically rename existing files" have been added to the "Move Checked Files" dialog ("Tools > Move Checked Files").
• The size unit TB (Terabyte) has been added to the "View" menu.
• The information types "MD5 Checksum" and "Path Length" are now available in the "Details" list as additional column and for all types of export.
• Improved the look of the user interface when using large system fonts.
• In the Configure Scan dialog ("Scan > Configure Scans") you can now choose "Purge Data older than 0 Day(s)" in the "Scan Options" to execute only initial scans for the selected share. Note: In some cases executing only initial scans will be more efficient than updating existing data in the database. In this case there will be no "History" or size growth information available for these shares.
• The new function "Copy as Text" has been added to the context menu of the "History" chart. This function enables you to export the values of the history chart as text to the clipboard.
• The "List of Scans" beneath the directory tree can now be exported as a text file by using the new context menu entry "Save List...".
• The printed tree report now also uses the colors shown in the directory tree if the option "Use bold Text and Colors for Printed Reports too" ("Tools > Options > View") is activated.
• File Search: The attribute "encrypted" has been added to the file attribute include/exclude list (tab "Owner / Attributes").
• Modifications of the scan configuration ("Scan > Configure Scans") of any scan are now no longer applied immediately, but by clicking the new "Apply Settings" button.
• You can now use environment variables like "%APPDATA%" in the "Scan Path" edit field (above the directory tree).
• If any entries in the "Duplicate Files" list are check-marked, the sum of all checked files is now shown in the status bar, as it is already done in the "Details" list.
• Introduced a context menu with functions to (un-) check all entries in the list of visible export columns ("Tools > Options > Columns / Export").
• The shortcut for copying the selected entries of the Details list to the clipboard is now "Shift+Ctrl+C". "Ctrl+C" in the Details list now copies the selected files or folders to the clipboard, just like the Windows Explorer.
• When changing the sort type of SpaceObServer ("Sort" menu) the position of top level directories are now no longer changed in the directory tree.
• The support for Windows 2000 has been dropped because Microsoft dropped it in July 2010. SpaceObServer V4.3.2, which is compatible with Windows 2000, remains available in our customer area for registered customers with valid maintenance.
• Bug fix: A selected "[Deleted]" node in the directory tree (these nodes are shown if "Show Size Changes in Tree" is activated) caused incorrect size growth series shown in the "History" chart.
• Bug fix: The update scan now correctly regards if any directory within a Ascan has been replaced by a symbolic link with the same name.
• Bug fix: When deleting a file or folder from the "Details" list that no longer exists, the file was not removed persistently from the "Details". This could lead to inconsistent sizes in the directory tree and the Details list.
• Several minor improvements have been incorporated.

16 February 2011