v0.236.011

[Paul Lizer (paullizer)]

(v0.236.011)

New Features

• Retention Policy Defaults

  • Admin-configurable organization-wide default retention policies for conversations and documents across all workspace types.
  • Organization Defaults: Set default retention periods (1 day to 10 years, or "Don't delete") separately for personal, group, and public workspaces.
  • User Choice: Users see "Using organization default (X days)" option and can override with custom settings or revert to org default.
  • Conditional Display: Default retention settings only appear in Admin Settings when the corresponding workspace type is enabled.
  • Force Push Feature: Administrators can push organization defaults to all workspaces, overriding any custom retention policies users have set.
  • Settings Auto-Save: Force push automatically saves pending settings changes before executing to ensure current values are pushed.
  • Activity Logging: Force push actions are logged to activity_logs container for audit purposes with admin info, affected scopes, and results summary.
  • API Endpoints: New /api/retention-policy/defaults/<workspace_type> (GET) and /api/admin/retention-policy/force-push (POST) endpoints.
  • Files Modified: functions_settings.py, admin_settings.html, route_frontend_admin_settings.py, route_backend_retention_policy.py, functions_retention_policy.py, functions_activity_logging.py, profile.html, control_center.html, workspace-manager.js.
  • (Ref: Default retention settings, Force Push modal, activity logging, retention policy execution)

• Private Networking Support

  • Comprehensive private networking support for SimpleChat deployments via Azure Developer CLI (AZD) and Bicep infrastructure-as-code.
  • Network Isolation: Private endpoints for all Azure PaaS services (Cosmos DB, Azure OpenAI, AI Search, Storage, Key Vault, Document Intelligence).
  • VNet Integration: Full virtual network integration for App Service and dependent resources with automated Private DNS zone configuration.
  • AZD Integration: Seamless deployment via azd up with ENABLE_PRIVATE_NETWORKING=true environment variable.
  • Post-Deployment Security: New postup hook automatically disables public network access when private networking is enabled.
  • Enhanced Deployment Hooks: Refactored all deployment hooks in azure.yaml with stepwise logging, explicit error handling, and clearer output for troubleshooting.
  • Documentation Updates: Expanded Bicep README with prerequisites, Azure Government (USGov) considerations, and post-deployment validation steps.
  • (Ref: deployers/azure.yaml, deployers/bicep/, private endpoint configuration, VNet integration)

• User Agreement for File Uploads

  • Global admin-configurable agreement that users must accept before uploading files to workspaces.
  • Configuration Options: Enable/disable toggle, workspace type selection (Personal, Group, Public, Chat), Markdown-formatted agreement text (200-word limit), optional daily acceptance mode.
  • User Experience: Modal prompt before file uploads with agreement text, "Accept & Upload" or "Cancel" options, daily acceptance tracking to reduce repeat prompts.
  • Activity Logging: All acceptances logged to activity logs for compliance tracking with timestamp, user, workspace type, and action context.
  • Admin Access: Settings accessible via Admin Settings → Workspaces tab → User Agreement section, with sidebar navigation link.
  • Files Added: user-agreement.js (frontend module), route_backend_user_agreement.py (API endpoints).
  • Files Modified: admin_settings.html, route_frontend_admin_settings.py, base.html, _sidebar_nav.html, functions_activity_logging.py, workspace-documents.js, group_workspaces.html, public_workspace.js, chat-input-actions.js.
  • (Ref: User Agreement modal, file upload workflows, activity logging, admin configuration)

• Web Search via Azure AI Foundry Agents

  • Web search capability through Azure AI Foundry agents using Grounding with Bing Search service.
  • Pricing: $14 per 1,000 transactions (150 transactions/second, 1M transactions/day limit).
  • Admin Consent Flow: Requires explicit administrator consent before enabling due to data processing considerations outside Azure compliance boundary.
  • Consent Logging: All consent acceptances are logged to activity logs for compliance and audit purposes.
  • Setup Guide Modal: Comprehensive in-app configuration guide with step-by-step instructions for creating the agent, configuring Bing grounding, setting result count to 10, and recommended agent instructions.
  • User Data Notice: Admin-configurable notification banner that appears when users activate web search, informing them that their message will be sent to Microsoft Bing. Customizable notice text, dismissible per session.
  • Graceful Error Handling: When web search fails, the system informs users rather than answering from outdated training data.
  • Seamless Integration: Web search results automatically integrated into AI responses when enabled.
  • Settings: enable_web_search toggle, web_search_consent_accepted tracking, enable_web_search_user_notice toggle, and web_search_user_notice_text customization in admin settings.
  • Files Added: _web_search_foundry_info.html (setup guide modal).
  • Files Modified: route_frontend_admin_settings.py, route_backend_chats.py, functions_activity_logging.py, admin_settings.html, chats.html, chat-input-actions.js, functions_settings.py.
  • (Ref: Grounding with Bing Search, Azure AI Foundry, consent workflow, activity logging, pricing, user transparency)

• Conversation Deep Linking

  • Direct URL links to specific conversations via query parameters for sharing and bookmarking.
  • URL Parameters: Supports both conversationId and conversation_id query parameters.
  • Automatic URL Updates: Current conversation ID automatically added to URL when selecting conversations.
  • Browser Integration: Uses history.replaceState() for seamless URL updates without new history entries.
  • Error Handling: Graceful handling of invalid or inaccessible conversation IDs with toast notifications.
  • Files Modified: chat-onload.js, chat-conversations.js.
  • (Ref: deep linking, URL parameters, conversation navigation, shareability)

• Plugin Authentication Type Constraints

  • Per-plugin-type authentication method restrictions for better security and API compatibility.
  • Schema-Based Defaults: Falls back to global AuthType enum from plugin.schema.json.
  • Definition File Overrides: Plugin-specific .definition.json files can restrict available auth types.
  • API Endpoint: New /api/plugins/<plugin_type>/auth-types endpoint returns allowed auth types and source.
  • Frontend Integration: UI can query allowed auth types to display only valid options.
  • Files Modified: route_backend_plugins.py.
  • (Ref: plugin authentication, auth type constraints, OpenAPI plugins, security)

Bug Fixes

• Control Center Chart Date Labels Fix

  • Fixed activity trends chart date labels to parse dates in local time instead of UTC.
  • Root Cause: JavaScript new Date() was parsing date strings as UTC, causing labels to display previous day in western timezones.
  • Solution: Parse date components explicitly and construct Date objects in local timezone.
  • Impact: Chart x-axis labels now correctly show the intended dates regardless of user timezone.
  • Files Modified: control_center.html (Chart.js date parsing logic).
  • (Ref: Chart.js, date parsing, timezone handling, activity trends)

• Sovereign Cloud Cognitive Services Scope Fix

  • Fixed hardcoded commercial Azure cognitive services scope references that prevented authentication in Azure Government (MAG) and custom cloud environments.
  • Root Cause: chat_stream_api and smart_http_plugin used hardcoded commercial cognitive services scope URL instead of configurable value from config.py.
  • Solution: Replaced hardcoded scope with AZURE_OPENAI_TOKEN_SCOPE environment variable, dynamically resolved based on cloud environment.
  • Impact: Streaming chat and Smart HTTP Plugin now work correctly in Azure Government, China, and custom cloud deployments.
  • Related Issue: #616
  • (Ref: chat_stream_api, smart_http_plugin, sovereign cloud authentication, MAG support)

• User Search Toast and Inline Messages Fix

  • Updated searchUsers() function to use inline and toast messages instead of browser alert pop-ups.
  • Improvement: Search feedback (empty search, no users found, errors) now displays as inline messages in the search results area.
  • Error Handling: Errors display both inline message and toast notification for visibility.
  • Benefits: Non-disruptive UX, contextual feedback, consistency with application patterns.
  • Related PR: #608
  • (Ref: group management, user search, toast notifications, UX improvement)

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This pull request adds comprehensive documentation for version 0.236.011, which introduces multiple new features and bug fixes to SimpleChat. The documentation includes release notes updates and detailed feature/fix documentation following the repository's established documentation structure.

Changes:

• Added release notes for 7 new features (Retention Policy Defaults, Private Networking, User Agreement, Web Search, Conversation Deep Linking, Agent Templates, Plugin Auth Constraints, Azure AI Foundry Agent Support)
• Added 3 bug fix entries to release notes (Control Center Date Labels, Sovereign Cloud Cognitive Services Scope, User Search Toast Messages)
• Created 5 feature documentation files under docs/explanation/features/v0.236.011/
• Created 3 fix documentation files under docs/explanation/fixes/v0.236.011/

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 6 out of 9 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
docs/explanation/release_notes.md	Added new feature and bug fix entries for v0.236.011 release, including detailed descriptions and file references
docs/explanation/fixes/v0.236.011/CONTROL_CENTER_DATE_LABELS_FIX.md	Documents the fix for chart date label UTC parsing issue (contains version inconsistencies)
docs/explanation/fixes/v0.236.011/AGENT_TEMPLATE_MAX_LENGTHS_FIX.md	Documents validation improvements for agent template field lengths (contains version inconsistencies)
docs/explanation/fixes/v0.236.011/AGENT_PAYLOAD_FIELD_LENGTHS_FIX.md	Documents agent payload field length validation enhancements (contains version inconsistencies)
docs/explanation/features/v0.236.011/WEB_SEARCH_AZURE_AI_FOUNDRY.md	Comprehensive documentation for web search capability via Azure AI Foundry with admin consent workflow
docs/explanation/features/v0.236.011/PLUGIN_AUTH_TYPE_CONSTRAINTS.md	Details per-plugin authentication type restrictions and API endpoints
docs/explanation/features/v0.236.011/CONVERSATION_DEEP_LINKING.md	Documents URL-based conversation sharing and deep linking functionality
docs/explanation/features/v0.236.011/AZURE_AI_FOUNDRY_AGENT_SUPPORT.md	Describes native Azure AI Foundry agent integration with Semantic Kernel
docs/explanation/features/v0.236.011/AGENT_TEMPLATE_GALLERY.md	Documents the agent template gallery feature with submission and approval workflows

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 15 out of 20 changed files in this pull request and generated 9 comments.

[Bionic711]

I think we need to update some of the release notes around agent templating and first-class ai foundry agents (outside of web search)

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 18 out of 23 changed files in this pull request and generated 6 comments.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 16 out of 21 changed files in this pull request and generated 8 comments.

[Bionic711]

Approved