With each new release, OnBase by Hyland continues to evolve, delivering powerful enhancements that improve usability, administration, and integration capabilities. And staying ahead of these updates ensures you’re getting the most out of your enterprise content management system.
RPI’s Principal Consultant, Cailen Myers, will walk you through the latest improvements in Hyland OnBase 25.1. During the session, you’ll learn about OnBase’s:
- Improved UX, including enhanced web client functionality, navigation and accessibility
- Intuitive admin tools for new system configuration, security settings, and workflows
- Integrations for stronger connectivity with third-party ERP and CRM applications, as well as expanded API capabilities
Watch our webinar and discover what’s new in Hyland’s OnBase 25.1.
Transcript
Calien Myers
What’s new in OnBase 25.1? There are big updates, better tools, and more. OnBase 25.1 was released in February of 2025 — just last month — and is Hyland’s current version. My name is Cailen Myers. I am a principal consultant for RPI Consultants. We’re thrilled to have you here with us today. Over the next 30 minutes or so, we’ll walk through some exciting new features and enhancements in the latest version of Hyland OnBase, focusing on how these updates can benefit your organization. We’ll have a Q&A session at the end, so feel free to type your questions into the chat box throughout the presentation and we will get to those.
Let’s take a quick look at our agenda for today. We’re going to do an overview of Hyland OnBase 25.1, go over some user experience improvements, administrative tools, enhanced integrations, additional resources, and a Q&A session. Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
Officially released on February 18th, 2025 is Foundations 25.1. This includes 34 initiatives, resolving in hundreds of enhancements. We won’t be able to get through all of them today, but we’ll definitely cover the major ones.
It’s important to note that OnBase 25.1 is an annual release version, which means it’s considered a major release and is supported for two years of active maintenance in the form of a monthly service release.
First, let’s look at enhancements that improve the user experience in OnBase 25.1. Here are our top three areas of improvement when it comes to user experience: Workview, our low-code case management application builder; the OnBase App Builder; and the OnBase web client.
Starting with Workview, there are two major areas of enhancement: responsive panels and card-style content you can drop into a panel, and the display template enhancement.
Hyland enhanced Workview panels to be responsive to different form factors across device sizes. This allows OnBase apps that include Workview objects to scale better to smaller screens. While shown here in Workview with OnBase App Builder, this is also available in mobile, web, and any of the Workview views.
Also new in Workview, Hyland added the ability to manage display templates from a central location and use those display templates across views. As you can see here, this is a display template shown in OnBase Studio. You can customize your views, add display templates as content, use new client-side enabled modern field styles, and add new methods at a view level to apply only to specific classes — or through global scripts to affect all views and screens.
Admins also have the ability to add, modify, or delete display templates from one central location in OnBase Studio. A new template management dialog enables administrators to view all display templates in the system and create, modify, and delete those templates.
The Workview objects displayed in an OnBase app can be fully customized using display templates. This example shows a display template using the custom display method to modernize the UI and bring it more in line with the Hyland UI and OnBase Apps experience.
Now we turn to OnBase App Builder, which was first released in Foundations 23.1. OnBase App Builder supports single-source layout, Workview single objects, full-text search for custom queries, Workview user filter prompts, the ability to display related items, and much more.
As a reminder, support for Workview with App Builder was added in OnBase Foundation 24.1. The upcoming items we’ll cover explain the 25.1 enhancements and how they build further on that foundation.
There is now a UI refresh that allows the source on screen to reflect the current state of the data without requiring a manual page refresh.
In OnBase Foundation 25.1, you can now support user-entered search criteria and constraints from Workview filters. There’s also a new end-user filter prompt where the end user can enter data as needed within the Workview application.
You’ll also see in the picture that you can now access related items and take action on those items directly. To illustrate the difference, the previous slide showed what this looked like in 24.1, and this is now what it looks like in 25.1.
Display templates are existing features of Workview used to create custom HTML notifications, templates, and reports. They have been exposed as part of the object viewer and view designer to enable this level of customization. New client-side API capabilities were also added to support seamless integration.
This showcases how you can render the results of an embedded filter in a more streamlined user experience. In this example, the same filter is rendered in two different forms — list view and calendar view — but it doesn’t have to be the same filter. Keep in mind it’s all about how it’s configured. Workview apps with wide views and lots of tabs aren’t going to look great on a tablet, and phone responsiveness is something we’re getting closer to with each release.
Next up is the OnBase web client. This is a very important client to review. Hyland is working to make the web client more feature-rich and functional for end users. There are three major areas of enhancement: single window mode admin control options, text report viewer features, and line and freehand annotation.
Single window view mode: the first iteration was in OnBase Foundation 23.1, with additional changes in OnBase 24. Now in OnBase 25.1, there is an admin option to turn this on and off for all users, with options to lock down settings or allow users to change their default settings. This view of the OnBase Web Application Management Console — also known as WAMCON — is where you can change the single window mode setting.
New in Foundation 25.1, the single window mode also has a new admin control setting found in the self-service configuration feature in the cloud portal, shown here. If you are a cloud client, this is how you would change that setting.
Next is the web client text report viewer. The web client now has a feature to display a green bar. If the document type is configured to show the green bar and the user has enabled this option in their preferences, the web client will now display it, making text-heavy reports a lot easier to read. You can see here the option to display those green bars on your document.
The web client text report viewer also now supports cross-reference. Users can activate a cross-reference by clicking on a specific character in the text report, enabling the retrieval of multiple documents from a single report. You can see that if you click on one of those characters, it opens up the cross-reference documents.
Users will also have the ability to use two new annotation types: a line — often used as a strikethrough — and freehand annotations. These are also supported in the clients listed on this screen. This is an example of freehand annotations, and they can be added on PDF documents and images as well.
Moving right along, let’s review some of the administrative tools — which is probably why a lot of you joined this webinar. Here are our top admin tools improved in OnBase Foundations 25.1: Unity Forms, the OnBase Admin Portal, and OnBase Studio.
There is one major enhancement for Unity Forms, specifically for responsive Unity Forms. There are new template options and different test drive mode display options and controls that will be supported.
In the Unity Form designer, there’s a new option to optimize for multiple device sizes. Whether you’re using a mobile phone, a tablet, or a desktop, you can allow your forms to be optimized for those different devices and screen sizes. Right at the top of your Unity Form, you’ll see a message letting you know the form has been optimized for different device sizes.
When you enter test drive mode — a really nice feature — you can select the different device you’re testing in, and it will show you what the screen would look like on that device.
Another updated feature in Unity Forms is the new date picker. This change makes the date picker more accessible. And lastly, there is word wrapping of long labels that will adjust based on the display size you’re on.
Looking at the standard Unity Form: you’ll notice there are no form optimizations on this form. The option to select different device sizes is grayed out, and only the standard date picker is available.
The next area is the OnBase Admin Portal, also referred to as OAP. The OnBase Admin Portal is a web-based interface that allows system admins to manage and configure settings within OnBase. I covered this a bit in the OnBase 24.1 webinar. This is a newer feature, so I’m sure many of you haven’t used it or seen it yet — definitely something to look into.
The new enhancements for OnBase Foundation 25.1 include three areas: environment value management, overwrite protection, and copy action.
Environment Value Management — or EVM — allows admins to manage their environment values, specifically value sets and standalone values, as well as import value templates. These were previously known as standalone values. They come directly from web-based applications, and this makes it easier and quicker to configure and manage variables across different environments.
Overwrite protection prevents users from changing the same object at the same time. You may have noticed before, when working in the OnBase configuration client, that you and a coworker could be making different changes to the same document type or keyword simultaneously without either of you being aware. Now with the OAP, you get a message that the object cannot be updated or modified because it is already being viewed by someone else.
Admins can also save a copy of a configuration object using a Save As or Save As New option, which drastically reduces the time it takes to create and set up configurations. This is a big one, and it covers all objects that currently exist in the OnBase Admin Portal — including users, user groups, keyword types, document types, document type groups, and so on.
And lastly, OnBase Studio. You’ll notice the theme has been updated to look similar to the Unity client. The previous bluish background is now white throughout. This theme refresh improves the readability of text labels and makes the UI elements a bit crisper. It applies throughout the client — including data grids, workflows, wizards, toolboxes, and more.
Our last area to discuss is enhanced integrations. This is a list of some of the integrations in OnBase 25.1. We won’t be able to cover all of them in our half-hour session, so please feel free to reach out if you want more information on any of these. Let’s go ahead and take a look at AP automation.
For those unfamiliar, this solution integrates with your ERP to capture and validate invoices, manage exceptions, and maintain tight integration for data exchange and document retrieval.
There are three primary enhancements in 25.1: a new role-tailored UI for AP built on OnBase App Builder, an automated learning engine plugin for Brainware to improve OCR with additional machine learning, and a new unified validation and coding interface that brings those two touch points together into one.
OnBase App Builder brings a new primary UI to AP automation with a simplified layout designed specifically for AP users. OnBase AP solutions are presented as modern web apps providing intuitive experiences that include workflow, reporting, queries, forms, and the ability to upload content. Users will see the information and options relevant to their role through streamlined views of the content and functionality that matters to them.
This is the OnBase App Builder with the intuitive AP-specific dashboard — you can see those familiar OnBase App Builder dashboards with an AP focus. By clicking the processing view, you can see the invoice processing queue. This AP UI will be rolled out in phases: Workday, Dell Boomi, and Oracle are available now. SAP and Infor LN/S3 are in progress and are expected to be ready later this year.
Also in AP, Hyland has introduced automated learning engine plugins for Brainware to improve OCR with additional machine learning functionality. Data corrections made in OnBase are automatically fed back to Brainware for continuous learning and improved accuracy. Because it gets smarter the more documents it processes, invoices that previously stopped for data extraction issues will increasingly process straight through.
Last for AP, a unified verifier allows all data validation, coding, and processing to happen within a single OnBase screen, no longer requiring those steps to be addressed in Brainware or any other application. This essentially turns two touch points into one, while maintaining continued communication with Brainware to ensure ongoing learning.
Up next, let’s talk briefly about the SAP Archive Link. The first enhancement — which was a customer request — extended Hyland’s SAP Archive Link Connector to support the SAP Cloud Platform Integration Service, or CPI. CPI is an integration platform as a service offering from SAP that enables organizations to connect different systems, applications, and data sources. This expands the opportunities to leverage SAP Archive Link integration across different customer deployments and scenarios.
There is a new administrative screen that modernizes the overall user experience, leveraging Highland UI to unify the look and feel with the rest of the Hyland suite. The connector has also been rebuilt as a separate service, decoupled from the Archive Link code, making it easier to maintain and update. Additional improvements include compliance with accessibility requirements and standards, new views for certifications, and a new way of activating them. You can see what the old UI looked like versus the new.
Both enhancements require OnBase Foundations 25.1 and the OnBase Integration for SAP Archive Link license. The admin updates also require a Hyland Identity Service.
Our next integration is the Hyland M365 Office Outlook Add-in 2.0. These add-ins are for the web-based version of Outlook and allow you to both import and index emails and attachments into OnBase.
You also have the capability to add folder mapping. In this release, Hyland added automated indexing capabilities, allowing you to map data from the email to keyword fields on your document type in OnBase. If all keyword fields are mapped and no user input is required, the message is automatically imported and indexed as soon as the import message action is clicked. If user input is required based on the mapping configuration, the user is prompted to enter values for that specific field.
There’s also a new tab in the admin page for add-ins, which was added to create folder mappings. Configuring folder mappings allows existing Outlook folders to automatically import and index email messages into your Hyland repository when a message is in that Outlook folder and the user clicks the import message action. Folder mappings are global user configurations, so keep that in mind if you plan to use this feature.
These are the requirements for the Hyland Outlook M365 2.0 Add-in.
And we’re going to take a quick look at healthcare. Apologies to those of you who are not healthcare clients, but I did want to touch on the Epic integration updates. These include updates to both our Clinical Complete and Return workflow as well as our Hyperdrive integration and security.
For the Clinical Complete and Return lifecycle, updates include making the process digital and adding automation. Updates to the workflow now support auto-assignment of acknowledgement requests, reducing manual interaction with documents. Users can also mark requests to bypass final review. Two new workflow rules have been added: one to check if a position acknowledgement exists, and the other to check position acknowledgement status.
Due to feedback from early adopters, the integration for Hyland Epic HyperDrive is targeting improvements to performance, interoperability, and security. All of these enhancements are included in the Integration for Epic license. You can learn more by checking out the OnBase Foundation 25.1 release training at Hyland University.
So — why upgrade? We’ve already talked about some of these items: user experience, administrative tools, and enhanced integrations. To recap a few of the reasons: Workview, Unity Forms, the big releases to OnBase App Builder, improvements to admin tools, new integrations, and much more.
If you’re interested in upgrading or heard something in this webinar that you’d like to know more about, please feel free to reach out to us here at RPI Consultants. We’re able to consult for you and provide personalized demos if there’s something you’d like to see. And of course, we’re always a partner you can trust and work well with.
Thank you for your attention today. We hope you’re as excited about these new features as we are. We’re going to move on to our Q&A session. Please type your questions into the chat box and we’ll address them one by one. Give everyone a few minutes to do that, and I’ll start reviewing the questions you’ve already entered.
Our first question: when did the OnBase Admin Portal first come out? It was actually available in OnBase 22.1. So if you have Foundations 22.1, you should go ahead and give that a look.
Our second question: do we have to upgrade to 25.1 for the Outlook M365 integration? You do not need to upgrade to 25.1. The M365 integration was available in Foundation 23.1. However, if you want the 2.0 Add-in specifically, then yes — you would need to upgrade to 25.1.
If there are any other questions we did not get to, we will send an email with those responses.
Thank you for joining us today. If you have any further questions or would like a personalized demo, please don’t hesitate to contact us at questions@rpic.com. I hope you all have a great day. Thanks again, and we look forward to helping you with your OnBase Hyland 25.1 upgrade. Thank you, everyone.
