Faster editing, friendly file names & scheduled publish optimization.
What's new and Improved:
Hello Catapult Community,
We’re excited to announce our latest release for Catapult CMS is launching next week on January 21st! We've been hard at work enhancing your day-to-day experience with powerful new features and improvements, all designed to help you manage your school or district websites more efficiently and effectively.
Top 3 Updates to Get Excited About
- Friendly File Names Are Back!
We are still using GUID's for the benefit of global files and we've changed how file names display in your chrome browser! The URLs have changed to show the file name and browser tabs will display the file name when viewing PDFs, making it easier to manage and share files. - Faster Editing Experience
Editing content is now quicker than ever. Pop-up dialogs for text boxes, images, or forms close without reloading the entire page, allowing you to preview changes instantly. We’ve optimized several areas to speed up your interactions across the platform. - Publish Optimization for Large Clients
Publishing just got a major upgrade! We’re rolling out optimizations for larger clients that dramatically improve publish times. These upgrades require a minor template update—contact us at customersuccess@catapultcms.com to schedule your upgrade. - Links to unattached subsites.
You can now link to unattached subsites from our internal link selector. Find your unattached subsites at the bottom of the tree.
Coming Soon
- File Manager Speed Optimization: We’ve been working on a fix for the slower file manager introduced with the move to S3 storage buckets—particularly affecting larger sites. Stay tuned for an update that ensures smoother performance! This will come out as a hotfix!
- Global Files between Websites: Soon you’ll be able to select links between sites and not have them break if they move!
More on What’s New
Enhanced Editor Experience
- Smoother Pop-Up Windows
When editing content elements (e.g., text boxes, images, or forms), pop-up dialogs now close without reloading the entire page, letting you preview changes instantly. - No-Reload Content Changes
Adding or removing a content element no longer forces a page refresh—your updates appear immediately, so you can stay focused on building great content. - Easier Delete & Confirm
If you delete an empty content block, you’ll skip the confirmation prompt—reducing extra steps while you work. - Dynamic Window Sizing
When you open or resize an editor window, buttons like “Save” and “Cancel” remain visible, making for a more user-friendly experience on any screen size.
File Management & Accessibility
- Friendly filenames are back!
We’ve refined how the File Manager passes back file and directory paths. This reduces confusion and ensures your documents, images, and other files are always in the right place, while retaining names a human can read easily. - “Edit ADA” for Global Images
Ensuring all images have proper text descriptions is easier than ever. You can now access the “Edit ADA” text for global images in the File Manager, helping you meet accessibility standards quickly.
Smarter Page & Navigation Tools
- Streamlined Page Tree Utility
Our updated Page Tree helps you structure your site’s navigation more intuitively. We’ve improved how home paths are handled and introduced smarter “move” commands—so when you move a page, it becomes the first child item automatically, keeping your menu organized. - Fewer Reloads, Faster Updates
Behind the scenes, we’ve modernized how pages and content blocks are moved, reordered, or deleted. This means fewer page reloads and a more seamless editing experience.
Google Services Integration
- Revoke/Remove Google Accounts
From the “Manage Account” screen, you now have the option to remove an unauthorized Google Account with just a click, simplifying how you manage connected services. - Improved Google Calendar Display
- If a calendar’s title is simply “Calendar,” Catapult CMS automatically checks for an “override” title to ensure events display with the correct name.
- For event pop-ups and front-end displays, the system now pulls details from the legend if the official calendar name doesn’t match what you’ve set in Catapult.
Performance & Reliability
- CDN Support for Content Elements
We’ve moved essential support files (like scripts for your content elements) to a secure cloud bucket, speeding up overall site performance and reducing publishing overhead. - Optimized Error Handling
Various behind-the-scenes improvements mean fewer disruptions—and when issues do arise, our system is better at catching and reporting them so you can keep working smoothly.
Getting Started
- Explore Your New Tools
Just log in to Catapult CMS to see these improvements in action. We recommend checking out your File Manager, Page Tree, and Editor to familiarize yourself with the new workflow. - Need Assistance?
Our Support Team is on hand if you have any questions or need help navigating the updates. Reach out at support@catapultcms.com or visit our knowledgebase at support.catapultcms.com.
Thank you for choosing Catapult CMS to power your websites! We’re constantly striving to make the platform more intuitive, efficient, and aligned with the needs of schools and districts like yours. As always, we appreciate your feedback—let us know what you’d like to see next.