Upgrade Considerations

Your time is valuable, so we’ve assembled the most critical points you should understand when planning an upgrade from earlier Adept versions. Please contact our Customer Success team if you have any further questions after reviewing this section.

The headings below are your roadmap to upgrading to the latest Adept version. Please start at the heading below that reflects the current Adept software version in your environment, and read that heading and all subsequent headings to the end of this page to discover the most relevant considerations for your upgrade. Release Notes for earlier versions of Adept with further details may be requested through your Customer Success Manager.

Please note that interim CAD Integration Support updates are not listed; our latest CAD Integration Support may be found in the Adept System Requirements.

We would be happy to discuss the many features and improvements added to Adept over the past 5 years or more. Please contact your Customer Success Manager to schedule a meeting to discuss the most efficient upgrade path for your organization.

Adept 2019.1 (11.0.3) included the following change that may impact your upgrade.

Note: There are no significant changes to the database, plugins, server, or security settings for this version.

AFS SUPPORT FOR SQLITE

The Adept File System (AFS) has been upgraded from using SQL CE to SQLite. This change requires upgrading all AFS Servers (hubs and satellites). Failure to upgrade one or more AFS Servers will result in those servers not being recognized by Adept. 2019.1.

Adept FALL ‘21 (11.0.4) included the following additions and changes that may impact your upgrade.

Note: There are no significant changes to the database, plugins, server, or security settings for this version.

BRANDING CHANGE

Going forward, you’ll see the season and year designated for each release. When corresponding with Helpdesk, please use the dotted decimal notation (found in the Help\About dialog of your Adept Client). For example, the final FALL ’21 release for Adept Desktop is v11.0.4.532.

NEW AUTHORIZATION CODE REQUIRED

Before installation or upgrade, contact Synergis to ensure you have a compatible Adept authorization code for the version you intend to install. Failure to acquire a new authorization code before installing/upgrading to Adept will result in an inoperable Adept system. This change allows Synergis to offer Concurrent (shared) and/or Named (dedicated) client licensing.

FULL TEXT SEARCH EXTRACTIONS

Previous versions of Adept utilized the Adept Viewer to extract text for Full Text Search (FTS) for some documents. Adept no longer uses the viewer for any document FTS text extraction, but includes the extraction of text within each standard Adept Plug-in extraction. This change deprecates support for extracting .txt and .msg documents.

REMEDIATING LOG4J VULNERABILITIES

Adept installations earlier than Adept Fall 2021 (11.0.4.532) included Oracle AutoVue software containing vulnerable Log4J components. Please review this critical Technical Bulletin for further information. Log4J remediation is not necessary for subsequent releases.

Adept FALL ‘22 (11.0.5) included significant additions and changes that will impact your upgrade. Adept SPRING ’23 (11.0.6) was a follow-on release that is covered in this same section.

Note: There are no significant changes to the database, plugins, server, or security settings for this version.

NEW ADEPT VIEWER REPLACES ORACLE AUTOVUE

Oracle AutoVue was replaced with the new Synergis-designed and developed Adept Viewer. Most file formats previously supported in AutoVue are supported in the new Adept Viewer. You can review all supported formats in the Adept Viewer Supported Formats document. Please refer to the Adept Viewer Manual for a complete list of Adept Viewer capabilities.

VIEWER MARKUP CONVERSION

This was subsequently deprecated with the WINTER '25 (11.4.0) release.

If any markups were made in documents before the Adept FALL ’22 release, and you want to bring those markups into this release, the Adept Administrator will first need to run a utility to migrate the markups into a format recognized by the new Adept Viewer. Information about the Markup conversion process can be found in the Adept Administration manual, Appendix - Markup Conversion.

JAVA RUNTIME AND APACHE TOMCAT ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED

The Java Runtime is no longer required for viewing documents or for any other Adept capabilities. Similarly, Apache Tomcat is no longer necessary on the Web Server to run the web version of Oracle AutoVue.

SSL CERTIFICATE REQUIRED FOR ADEPT WEB SERVER AND ADEPT VIEWER

A valid SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is required to install the Adept Web Server and Adept Viewer. Adept Web Server is required even if your company does not use Adept Explorer, Adept Reviewer, or Adept Creator. Attempting to upgrade Adept without a valid certificate will cause the installation to fail.
Please note that a certificate from a valid Certificate Authority is required, and self-signed certificates will cause the installation to fail. Synergis recommends commercial SSL certificates obtained from a trustworthy certificate authority.
Since the new Adept Viewer no longer requires Java or Apache Tomcat, configuring the Adept Web server to use SSL is significantly easier than previous versions and no longer requires Synergis assistance. Information on installing and configuring SSL is now included in the Adept Installation Guide.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS 11 AND WINDOWS SERVER 2022 SUPPORT

Adept now supports Microsoft Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022. Please review the Adept System Requirements for more details regarding this and other System Requirements changes.

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

The system requirements for Adept changed significantly, as support for several server- and client-related components was discontinued while support for newer components was added. Please review the Adept System Requirements before upgrading Adept.

SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS

Adept security has been improved through support for FIPS-approved encryption, Transport Layer Security (TLS 1.2), and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) login via OpenID-compatible Single Sign-On (SSO). These security measures have been tested and validated by an independent, third-party security agency.

Adept SPRING ‘23 (11.0.6) focused exclusively on CAD integration support and fixes for Adept Viewer. There are no specific highlights to share.

Note: There are no significant changes to the database, plugins, server, or security settings for this version.

Adept SUMMER ’23 (11.1.0) includes the following additions or changes that may impact your upgrade.

Note: There are no significant changes to the database, plugins, server, or security settings for this version.

VIEWER ENHANCEMENTS

Numerous improvements were delivered for Adept Viewer, including but not limited to support for shape fonts and pen tables; markup enhancements; layer controls; measurements; DWG 2D comparison; and Publishing to PDF.

Adept FALL ’23 (11.2.0) includes the following additions and enhancements.

Note: There are no significant changes to the database, plugins, server, or security settings for this version.

NEW ADEPT MOBILE CLIENT

The new Adept Mobile Client for Android and iOS added a streamlined experience for remote users to access, view, and markup documents while offline. Existing Adept Clients include a Mobile Markups view of the PDF documents returned from mobile devices.

VIEWER ADDITIONS AND ENHANCEMENTS

A “Print to” feature was added to Adept Web. A new option to enable server-side rendering has been added, providing local viewing and publishing via third-party applications installed on the Adept Web Server. Numerous other improvements were delivered for Adept Viewer.

Adept SUMMER ’24 (11.3.0) includes the following additions and enhancements.

NEW ADEPT INSIGHTS

Adept’s new data analysis and reporting feature, Insights, delivers two web-based dashboards that include interactive filtering, dynamic charts, and data exports in XLSX format.

TERMINAL SERVICES AND CITRIX SUPPORT RETURNS

Citrix and Terminal Services for Adept Desktop and Adept Creator with the Adept Viewer are supported again. Please refer to the Installation Manual for step-by-step instructions.

VIEWER ADDITIONS AND ENHANCEMENTS

Printing is available from the Adept Viewer. E-mail files (EML, MSG, and OFT) are supported for viewing. Numerous other improvements were delivered for Adept Viewer.

SSO FOR MOBILE

Customers who use Single Sign-On (SSO) for authentication to Adept may also use SSO for authentication in the latest versions of Adept Mobile for Android and iOS.

Adept SUMMER ’24 (11.3.3) includes the following additions and enhancements.

VIEWER IMPROVEMENTS

The time to view large AutoCAD DWG files is significantly reduced. MicroStation DGN are now accessible as Layers in Adept Viewer. View Frame color overrides are preserved upon exiting Monochrome mode.

PUBLISHING CAD DOCUMENTS

MicroStation DGN Levels visibility settings have been connected to the Viewer publishing engine for creating PDFs.

The highlights of Adept WINTER ‘25 (11.4.0) are described earlier in the What’s New page of this document. The nitty-gritty details are in the Resolved Issues and Known Issues pages.