1. What’s new in Mahara 19.04?¶
Mahara is being improved from version to version. On this page, you see the highlights for the latest release of Mahara.
You can see a list of all new features on Launchpad or check out the user-focused features via the 
“New in Mahara 19.04” index entries.
1.1. Page header update¶
The page header area was revamped to allow for a full-width page header when in display mode of a page. This is the first step towards further changes to improve the look of a page.
The buttons stick on the right-hand side of a page and stay in place when the page is scrolled for easy access.
Header area of a portfolio page with new buttons on the side¶
The profile page shows a few more buttons for the various actions that can be taken on the page, depending on who is viewing the page.
Header area of a profile page with new buttons on the side¶
1.2. SmartEvidence editor¶
You can create, edit, and copy SmartEvidence frameworks directly in Mahara as site administrator. The SmartEvidence editor makes it possible. You can still upload existing framework files, but can also take advantage of a visual editor filling in the framework details into a form.
Fill in a form to set up a SmartEvidence framework¶
1.3. Open links in a new tab or window¶
Links to external web sites are opened automatically in a new tab or window, depending on your browser settings. You can also open Mahara pages in a new tab if you like when you set up your link in the visual editor.
Open links in a new tab or window¶
1.4. Upgrade to Bootstrap 4¶
Mahara 19.04 uses Bootstrap 4 for theming taking advantage of changes and new functionality available in this responsive framework.
We created a theme upgrade guide to help change existing themes to Bootstrap 4.
1.5. Forum enhancements¶
Enhancements have been made to the discussion forums in groups to offer additional features allowing group administrators more control over subscriptions and posts, especially in large groups and when groups are used in more formal learning settings:
Forum posts can have file attachments.
Forum posts can be placed into a moderation queue for approval before being sent out to all subscribers.
Staff and administrators can set up forums that don’t allow group members to unsubscribe.
1.6. Consolidation of “People” and “Groups”¶
The navigation areas of “My friends” and “Find people” have merged to “People” and “My groups” and “Find groups” have merged into “Groups”.
New menu items in the main menu¶
That makes it easier to search for and find relevant people and groups without needing to choose beforehand what to look for.
Merged “Find groups” and “My groups”¶
1.7. Isolated institutions¶
A multi-tenanted site can be set up with isolated institutions allowing for better separation between institutions while still using the same Mahara site. This is beneficial when privacy requires that people of different institutions shall not be able to contact each other or share portfolios.
1.8. Support Badgr for open badges¶
If you have an account on Badgr, you can display open badges from that account’s public collections in Mahara. You need to set up a connection to Badgr for that to work.
Linking Badgr to Mahara¶
1.9. Add navigation block to all pages in a collection¶
When you add the “Navigation” block to a page that is in a collection, you can add the block to all other existing pages within that collection automatically.
Add the “Navigation” block to all collection pages¶
1.10. Show person who uploaded a group file¶
When you upload a file to a group, the group becomes the owner of the file. Now you can see who uploaded the file in the group’s file area as well as when you view the details of a file when coming from a group page.
Show who uploaded a group file¶
1.11. Improved SAML certificate rotating¶
You can prepare better for rotating a SAML certificate when you use single sign-on: The old certificate stays in place until it expires or you delete it while the new certificate can be established with the IdPs.
1.12. More background steps in Behat¶
Behat tests are the standard automated behavior-driven tests that are available in Mahara. Test cases are written to test features of Mahara automatically.
It is now possible to set up pages with content faster through background steps rather than needing to write lengthy scenarios.