Although it is not a PointFire issue, we wish to inform users of SharePoint 2019 that Microsoft has confirmed a serious issue in non-English modern sites after applying the September Cumulative Update of SharePoint 2019.  Several site components will have their text replaced with blanks.

The release notes for the September Cumulative Update have been updated to show this as a "known issue".

We recommend not installing this cumulative update, but waiting for one in which the issue is corrected.  More details can be found in this blog post from Microsoft Senior Escalation Enginee Stefan Gossner.

Update: You can download a fix for this problem https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4461512/september-21-2020-update-for-sharepoint-server-2019-kb4461512

This is a mandatory update release for PointFire 365 for SharePoint Online, part of Office 365. 

This release adds minor new functionality and corrects a number of issues in version 2.3.3.  It also corrects some significant issues that are currently only found in the Targeted Release version of SharePoint Online, and that may appear in the General Availability version at an unknown date.

New and Changed Features

• New script UpgradeAppfromAppcatalogMultiSite.ps1 ; It allows you to specify a list of sites to upgrade their PointFire apps to the latest version in the app catalog
• New script TenantLicenseRequest.ps1 ; This provides a detailed count of licensed SharePoint users by type, to allow us to generate a correct tenant license key.
• Read-only users are now able to perform "clear the cache"

Resolved Issues

• For some users who are part of the SharePoint Targeted Release program, the language change menu is missing on certain pages.
• For some users who are part of the SharePoint Targeted Release program, language change on a site that is a Hub or is part of a Hub that has been visited recently will lead to a page reload loop
• Other instances of a page reload loop on a site that is a Hub or is part of a Hub, when a page is being copied or when an item is being edited
• Hub navigation translation issue with second level child menu
• In the Multilingual Translations list it is not possible to edit a item while the view is being filtered
• When there is a large number of pages under the SitePages library then it is not possible to copy a page.
• In an Event list, the language filtering does not change when changing language.
• In an event list, if we click on list settings, the page is redirected to previous page.
• "Display this webpart in" option webpart edit property pane was no longer visible in targeted release
• Problem with activating the app if the base language of the site is Dutch

PointFire makes SharePoint truly multilingual and lets your users collaborate in their language.  Two different users going to the same page on the same site will each see it almost entirely in their language, both UI and content, without using Variations.

To get your copy, go to http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/List/Index/1/pointfire-installation-packages and log in or create an account.

The fully-featured trial version can be downloaded for free and can be used for development and testing, with some pre-sale support.

We thank everyone in many countries who provided feedback on the previous releases for their valuable input.

PointFire Translator version 2.0.0.0 is now available.  Thank you to everyone who participated in the beta versions for the past year.

This is a major upgrade, which includes and requires a new version of the PointFire Translator app, also named version 2.0.0.0.

It makes it simple to translate Modern pages such as the ones in Communication and Teams sites and those produced by the Multilingual Page Publishing feature, as well as classic pages, documents, lists, and metadata.  It has several interfaces, including via a SharePoint App, a web interface, scripting, and Power Automate.

If you were using version 1.2, the major change is that you do not need to install it on the workstation of the person carrying out the translation (although that is still supported), but it can be on a shared physical or virtual server.  It runs under the identity of the person who called it via the app, it can also be called by Power Automate, and it supports the SharePoint Multilingual Page Publishing feature.

If you were using Beta 2, the major new feature is a PowerShell script to register the app and to create a Custom Connector for Power Automate

New Features

• PointFire Power Translator is now called PointFire Translator Server. The app is now called PointFire Translator App.
• Improved web interface, nicer and easier to use, separate scrollable areas for the results.
• AppReg.ps1 script to automate Azure Application Registration
• Creation of Custom Connector for Power Automate
• Support for Power Automate via new http interface
• Irish, Kazakh, European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese as separate languages
• Māori, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Assamese, Northern Kurdish, Central Kurdish, Dari, Pashto, Odia, French (Canada) non-SharePoint languages
• Fixed 2 versions of Klingon: Klingon (Latin script) and Klingon (pIqaD script)
• Supporting Multilingual Pages feature: when translating a page in a page library, or a set of pages that match a wildcard, overwrite the page if it is an untranslated copy
• Supporting Multilingual Pages feature: translate original page title without the additional text for translators
• Supporting Multilingual Pages feature: do not re-translate if the source item changes, unless the translated document is more recent than the current translation
• Added changes to handle the documents parameter in translatedocument to include the folder structure.
• Translate folder name in a wildcard pattern
• ":o" parameter in the language to overwrite a document with its translation
• ":n" parameter in the language to use original document file name with a suffix rather than translating the document file name.
• If News webpart has Item Language filter, translate the filter condition
• Licensing: check that the username is one of the allowed usernames whatever the method of authentication.
• App feature: Select multiple documents or items
• App feature: Select subset of target languages
• Scripts to generate and install self-signed certificates for testing
• Exclude some strings from translating, or specify the translation
• Better handling of multiple exceptions in Parallel execution
• Added functionality to translate Multilingual Translations list.
• Single sign-on by obtaining access token, including configuration of Translator App
• Support https
• Can be hosted anywhere, not on localhost
• locally stored credentials optional
• locally stored credentials encrypted
• Multiple licensees, API key applies to group of licensees
• License key determines how many users can be licensed, whether domain wildcard is allowed
• Improved security
• Improved logging
• Adjust Office registry setting to prevent popup dialogs
• Improvements in MFA support
• Improved support for 2019 and vanity domains
• Retry after partial translation
• Handle API throttling, other errors
• Alternate API regional endpoints. Not extensively tested. Contact us for details.

Bug fixes and enhancements

• Too many to list 

PointFire Translator can translate individual items or entire libraries or lists in SharePoint Online.  It includes the PoinFire Translator App which will use PointFire Translator Server as a default translation service, and fall back to SharePoint's Machine Translation Service if PointFire Translator is not available.

It can be downloaded here (login required)

http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/146/30/pointfire-translator-server

Many thanks to the many testers who helped us get the product to this state.

For more information, contact sales@icefire.ca

This release corrects certain issues.  If you received an interim release from IceFire support for testing, it must be updated with this release.  This release is a bug fix release, with minor functionality changes.  It is recommended that you update if you have encountered the issues that are discussed.

Documentation is available here.  

The next update release is expected in December 2020.

Release Notes – June 16, 2020

Deploying PointFire 2016

It is recommended that you run the installation on the server where Central Administration is located. Once PointFire 2016 is installed on the target server you can deploy the feature by running the PFConfiguration tool:

Start ->PointFire 2016 ->PFConfig

Note: If you experience issues running the configuration tool from the shortcut, you can navigate to the PointFire directory and run PFConfig or one of the installation scripts directly.

C:\Program Files\IceFire\PointFire2016

⦁ PFConfig.exe – PointFire Deployment Manager
⦁ InstallPointFire.ps1 - to install PointFire using PowerShell.
⦁ UpgradePointFire.ps1 - Upgrade PointFire using PowerShell.
⦁ RemovePointFire.ps1 - To retract the solution using PowerShell

Note: Deploying using the scripts requires additional configuration steps. Please see the install guide for detailed information.

Updating PointFire 2016 

If you are updating an existing PointFire 2016 deployment, launch the PointFire Deployment Manager and follow through the upgrade process, or retract then re-deploy PointFire, or navigate to the installation directory to run the upgrade script.
Note: If configuration keys in the web.config files have been edited manually after PFConfig initially set them, using PFConfig to update the PointFire may erase or overwrite some of those keys. For safety, note the values of the keys currently in web.config prior to updating.

Upgrading from PointFire 2013

If you are upgrading from a PointFire 2013 deployment, please consult the PointFire 2013 v1.0 to 2016 v1.0 Upgrade Guide.

New Features

• none

Resolved Issues

• Javascript exception on some versions of IE: Unexpected head-level element encountered outside of "<head>"
• Title in a document set, including breadcrumb and newly created item's title does not translate.
• Wrong view is selected (highlighted) when a view name is translated by PointFire
• Promoted sites title appearing within My Sites - Promoted Sites panel are not translated
• Event log errors appear frequently: "An error occured caching the Top Level Translations (CacheTopLevel)"; "PointFire 2016 (OnPreRender): Thread was being aborted."; "An Error occured Generating the variation File Map (RequestDAta)"

Documentation
Documentation for PointFire 2016 is available to be downloaded from the following links:

PointFire 2016 Installation Guide: 
http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/134/0/pointfire-2016-documentation

PointFire 2016 Administrators Guide:

http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/134/0/pointfire-2016-documentation

PointFire 2016 Users Guide: 

http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/134/0/pointfire-2016-documentation

PointFire 2013 v1.0 to 2016 v1.0 Upgrade Guide: 

http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/134/0/pointfire-2016-documentation

Support
We recommend that you, or whoever you designate for support, register an account on the support site http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Base/UserRegistration/Register . Support can be obtained by clicking on New Ticket on the site after you login or by sending an e-mail to icefire@wssplus.ca

This is a v1.0 update release of PointFire 2019.  It supports SharePoint classic pages as well as Modern ones.  If you received an interim release from IceFire support for testing, it must be updated with this release.  This release is a major release, with significant functionality changes.

The installation package and documentation are available here.  

The next update release is expected in September 2020.

Release Notes – May 14, 2020

Deploying PointFire 2019

It is recommended that you run the installation on the server where Central Administration is located. Once PointFire 2019 is installed on the target server you can deploy the feature by running the PFConfiguration tool:
Start ->PointFire 2019 ->PFConfig

Note: If you experience issues running the configuration tool from the shortcut, you can navigate to the PointFire directory and run PFConfig or one of the installation scripts directly.
C:\Program Files\IceFire\PointFire2019

• PFConfig.exe – PointFire Deployment Manager
• InstallPointFire.ps1 - to install PointFire using PowerShell.
• UpgradePointFire.ps1 - Upgrade PointFire using PowerShell.
• RemovePointFire.ps1 - To retract the solution using PowerShell

Note: Deploying using the scripts requires additional configuration steps. Please see the install guide for detailed information.
PointFire 2019 also includes an optional app for modern sites.

Updating PointFire 2019
If you are updating an existing PointFire 2019 deployment, launch the PointFire Deployment Manager and follow through the upgrade process, or retract then re-deploy PointFire, or navigate to the installation directory to run the upgrade script.

Also remember to update the PointFire-2019.app in the app catalog and in the individual sites.

Note: If configuration keys in the web.config files have been edited manually after PFConfig initially set them, using PFConfig to update the PointFire may erase or overwrite some of those keys. For safety, note the values of the keys currently in web.config prior to updating.

PointFire 2019 also includes an optional app for modern sites. To add it to app catalog ur update it, you can drag and drop the pointfire-2019-sppkg file, or use the PowerShell script UploadAppToAppCatalogSite.ps1 . Then for each site, add it using the Site Contents page, or upgrade it if a previous version is already on the site, or use the scripts InstallAppFromAppCatalog.ps1 or UpgradeAppFromAppCatalog.ps1 .

Upgrading from PointFire 2016

Upgrading from a PointFire 2016 is not yet fully supported. Contact support for availability. The scripts PF2019Migration.ps1, SetWebPartLangSetting.ps1 and CallSetWebPartLangSetting.ps1 are included, but additional work is needed to complete the migration. Please note that Item Language and language variations columns have changed, so any customizations based on them will also have to be revised.

New Features

• The REPAIR and REPAIRALL options will correct the "Term" field of the Multilingual Translations List if it is missing
• New script files InstallAppFromAppCatalog.ps1, UpgradeAppFromAppCatalog.ps1 and UploadAppToAppCatalogSite.ps1 are included in install.

Resolved Issues

• A custom list page in English and French is rendered as a blank page when PointFire is activated.

• In French the 'ç' character disappeared in choice field values.

• The French values of the columns associated with the local term store in the custom list view are not translated

• A blank page is getting rendered for datasheet view when the list item has certain special characters in a multiline text field.

• A calendar view url is being translated to French in the view dropdown of the calendar webpart.

• A blank page is getting rendered on a custom list page for https URLs when configuration key PFSemicolonDelimitedText is set to TRUE.

• Language menu on modern pages shows languages that are disabled for the site in the site configuration

• Many error reported in event log for _layouts and vti_bin folders

• Can not hide “Multilingual List Settings” link button in the Ribbon Menu despite "PFHideListSettingsMenus" value "TRUE"

• For certain sites after changing to the modern mode it’s not possible to change the language. The dropdown is empty.

• Title value of Promoted Link List is not getting translated if it contains certain special characters or double quotes

• View name containing double quotes is not getting translated

• Some characters are missing in view names

• Column containing special characters, like "Åpþly- & Trãnslâte" is not getting translated

• Column name containing double quotes is not getting translated

• Structural navigation is not being translated in publishing site modern mode

   

• Various other minor fixes and enhancements

Known Issues

• Functionality related to machine translation is not fully tested at the moment, the Machine Translation Service in the current version of SharePoint 2019 is still not working (confirmed by Microsoft).  If you need translation features, we will provide a free copy of PointFire Power Translator, which works on this version, in the meantime.
• Some ribbon icon text not localized in modern mode
• View name containing a double quote is translated in the custom list in the webpart, but it is not translated in the ribbon.

   

Documentation
Documentation for PointFire 2019 is available to be downloaded from the following links:
PointFire 2019 Installation Guide
PointFire 2019 Administrators Guide
PointFire 2019 Users Guide

PointFire 2016 v1.0 to 2019 v1.0 Upgrade Guide:

http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/142/0/pointfire-2019

Support

We recommend that you, or whoever you designate for support, register an account on the support site http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Base/UserRegistration/Register . Support can be obtained by clicking on New Ticket on the site after you login or by sending an e-mail to icefire@wssplus.ca

This release corrects several issues. If you received an interim release from IceFire support for testing, it must be updated with this release. This release is a bug fix release. It is recommended that you update only if you have encountered the resolved issues below.

Documentation is available here.  

Release Notes – April 15, 2018

New Features

⦁ (none)

Resolved Issues

• Content not presented when using Lightning Conductor
• With some configurations, "Thread was being aborted" messages in the event viewer
• Third party JavaScript to generate a popup window breaks the page when PointFire is running
• List filtering was not working in some cases when Chinese (simplified) and Chinese (traditional) are selected.
• Russian language name is misspelled
• URL of view was being translated in Calendar view
• In Managed Metadata picker, group name not translating

Known Issues

• A different Managed Metadata picker translation issue is still unresolved.
• There are known combinations of settings where creation of a Document Set that includes a date can cause an error when saving. Contact support for a workaround if you encounter this.
• Undocumented feature, sorting on column headers, in Manage Variations is disabled.
• No “Add Un-translated Terms” and “Multilingual Site settings” popup on Site Settings and on Manage Site Features pages.

Documentation

Documentation for PointFire 2013 is available to be downloaded from the following links:
PointFire 2013 Installation Guide: 
http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/116/18/pointfire-2013

PointFire 2013 Administrators Guide: 
http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/116/18/pointfire-2013

PointFire 2013 Users Guide: 
http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/116/18/pointfire-2013

PointFire 2010 v1.0 to 2013 v1.0 Upgrade Guide: 
http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/116/18/pointfire-2013

Support

We recommend that you, or whoever you designate for support, register an account on the support site http://community.icefire.ca/index.php?/Base/UserRegistration/Register . Support can be obtained by clicking on New Ticket on the site after you login or by sending an e-mail to icefire@wssplus.ca