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MinimServer 2.2

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Latest news

(2024/04/14) Configuration status web page updated automatically

Latest change

(2024/07/15) MinimServer 2.2 update 253 has been released

MinimServer 2.2

MinimServer 2.2 is a major new release with a number of significant improvements that make MinimServer easier to use and easier to configure.

New features

MinimServer 2.2 includes all the capabilities of previous versions of MinimServer, together with some important new features:

The following sections describe these features in more detail.

Web-based configuration

With previous versions of MinimServer, it has not been easy for some users to configure the advanced features that are available with a full license or the free 30-day trial. If you are running MinimServer on a NAS, configuring these advanced features has required installing and running the MinimWatch program and the Java runtime on another computer on your local network. Setting this up and making it work involves too much complexity and effort for many users.

To solve this problem, MinimServer 2.2 provides a web-based configuration interface that enables you to configure all MinimServer features and properties from a web browser running on any device including a phone or iPad. You can also use this web-based interface to install and configure the optional MinimStreamer package that is available with a full license.

The new web-based interface uses property tabs that are similar in appearance to the property tabs previously provided by MinimWatch, with some significant improvements. There are help pop-ups for all properties with a brief description of what the property does and a link to a full description in the MinimServer online user guide. Any unsaved updates to property values are tracked and indicated with an asterisk next to the property name. For property updates that need a MinimServer restart, the page shows that a restart is needed and provides a button to do the restart.

New configuration defaults

In previous versions of MinimServer, purchasing and activating a full or trial license didn't make an immediate difference to what you saw when using MinimServer. This is because the default property settings in the full and trial versions of MinimServer were the same as the default property settings in MinimServer starter edition. Because of this, some people were surprised and disappointed that taking the trial or purchasing a full license didn't appear to make a difference to their experience of using MinimServer.

MinimServer 2.2 changes this by automatically enabling some of the enhanced capabilities of the full version of MinimServer when a full or trial license is activated. It does this in two different ways:

You can disable any of all of these automatic settings if you prefer not to use them.

You can use the new web-based configuration interface to configure additional settings to enable other features that are available with the full version of MinimServer. These features include alphabetical grouping for index lists, additional indexes for custom tags in your files, customising how index lists are sorted, customising how album and track titles are displayed in your UPnP control point, and much more (see the License options page). You can explore these possibilities by selecting the Properties tab in the new web-based configuration interface and clicking on property names to see a brief description of what each property provides.

New installer for MinimServer 2.2

You can update from MinimServer 2.1 or 2.1.2 to MinimServer 2.2 without downloading a new installer from the MinimServer downloads page. Instead, you can do an "update install" of MinimServer 2.2 by using the "one click" Install button on the MinimServer configuration web page (available with MinimServer update 219 or later). Alternatively, you can install MinimServer 2.2 from the MinimWatch or MinimServer minim icon menu. To do this, select Properties from the minim icon menu and use the Packages tab to install the minimserver-2.2 package and relaunch MinimServer.

This is particularly useful if you are running MinimServer in a container (Docker, LXC, etc.) Up till now, updating to a new version has required you to download a new image for the new MinimServer version and to destroy and recreate the container. With MinimServer 2.2, you can do the update in place within an existing running container.

For a new installation of MinimServer, you can download an installer package for MinimServer 2.2 in the same way as for previous versions. Installer downloads for all platforms are available from the MinimServer downloads page. Installing MinimServer 2.2 in this way gives you exactly the same functionality and license conditions as doing the "update install" described in the first paragraph of this section.

If you are running MinimServer on a NAS (Synology, QNAP or ASUSTOR), you can download MinimServer 2.2 from the MinimServer downloads page and do a manual install in Package Center or App Center. Alternatively, you can install MinimServer 2.2 using the "update install" described in the first paragraph of this section. If you use update install, your NAS Package Center or App Center will not show that MinimServer 2.2 is installed but will continue to show your previous MinimServer version number. The correct version number is shown on the MinimServer configuration web page.

"One click" install for updates

[NEW] You can install new MinimServer and MinimStreamer updates using a "one click" install button on the MinimServer configuration web page. This install button is shown on the MinimServer configuration status web page when MinimServer update 233 or later is already installed and a new MinimServer or MinimStreamer update is available for installation.

Other features

MinimServer 2.2 also provides all the features that have made previous versions of MinimServer so popular:

Availability

MinimServer is available for the following platforms:

The following products support MinimServer as an optional installable add-on:

Installing MinimServer

For details of how to install MinimServer 2.2 as a new installation or by updating from MinimServer 2.1, see the Quick Start page.