
OpenProject 16.2: New header and sidebar with improved navigation and design
OpenProject 16.2 has been released and this version introduces new features and improvements again. Nous attendons avec impatience vos avis et vos commentaires au sujet des dernières mises à jour. Prenez quelques minutes pour découvrir ce qui change à votre niveau. We will summarize the most important changes in this blog article and, as always, please see our release notes that contain all changes, features and bug fixes.
In this blog article, we will focus on the design updates and briefly summarize some more important features. Voici une navigation rapide vers toutes les descriptions de fonctionnalités :
- New header and sidebar with improved navigation and design
- Seamless integration of open source applications with a SCIM API (Enterprise add-on)
- Non-Latin languages and emojis supported in PDF exports
- Option to disable keyboard shortcuts for better accessibility
- Smoother experience with Custom fields, Meetings, and My time tracking
New header and sidebar with improved navigation and design
The most striking change from 16.1 to 16.2 is the more modern design and improved user experience of the sidebar and header navigation. The reason for these changes is to give the application a more contemporary look and to ensure compatibility with the openDesk application. It is important to us to provide the best possible user experience in openDesk when navigating between the different applications within openDesk.
The updates in OpenProject itself also follow familiar logic. For example, the project navigation has moved consistently into the sidebar. Here’s an overview of what’s new in OpenProject 16.2, regarding header and sidebar navigation:
- The hamburger sidebar toggle has moved from the header to the sidebar.
- The default sidebar color in light mode is now brighter.
- The search and create buttons have a new, more intuitive position in the header.
Please note that these changes will not affect your already customized designs.
See a comparison between OpenProject version 16.1 (top) and 16.2 (highlighted below):
What do you think of these updates? As with any change, it may take some time to get used to the new navigation, but we hope that it will provide you with a better user experience in the long run and a more intuitive start for new users.
Other design updates in OpenProject 16.2
The changes to the header and sidebar weren’t the only design changes: as part of the ongoing updates to the Primer design system, the user interface and process for creating a new project or copying an existing one has also been improved. For example, when you create a project based on a template, you can now immediately select which modules and parts you want to copy and which you want to skip.
Also, in the Relations tab of a work package, the + Relation dropdown now uses second-level navigation: Only the first relations are shown directly, others are displayed when clicking on “Other relations”.
Seamless integration of open source applications with a SCIM API (Enterprise add-on)
While this is a rather technical update, the newly added SCIM API can be a huge benefit for seamless integration with other open source applications. It allows your identity provider (IdP) to automatically provision and de-provision users in OpenProject, based on the open SCIM standard.
This reduces manual work for administrators, ensures your user data stays in sync across systems, and improves overall security.
The SCIM API is available as an Enterprise add-on in the Corporate plan. Administrators can configure SCIM clients directly in OpenProject, generate secure system tokens, and see which users are managed by which client – all within the authentication settings.
This is particularly valuable for organizations looking to connect OpenProject to other open source tools such as Nextcloud or Keycloak, supporting a fully sovereign and integrated digital workspace.
See our system admin guide to learn more about authentication methods for OpenProject.
Non-Latin languages and emojis supported in PDF exports
We’re especially happy about this update, because it makes OpenProject even more international and inclusive: PDF exports of work packages now fully support non-Latin scripts and emojis, so languages like Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and many others appear exactly as intended. This means your multilingual project data and even your favorite emojis are displayed correctly in your exported documents.
Option to disable keyboard shortcuts for better accessibility
Here comes another step in improving accessibility across OpenProject. Users can now disable all keyboard shortcuts in their personal settings. That’s not only helpful for people working with screen readers or other assistive technologies, but also for anyone who prefers to avoid unintended shortcut actions.
Conseil
Have you noticed? We recently also updated the font on our website to make it easier to read. While improving the OpenProject application is our main focus, we are also aware of accessibility issues on our website and in our documentation, and we are working to address them.
Smoother experience with Custom fields, Meetings, and My time tracking
Apart from the already mentioned feature updates, OpenProject 16.2 includes many small improvements that make everyday work just a bit smoother.
When creating custom fields or project attributes, you can now pick the field type right at the start — saving clicks and making the setup process clearer.
For meetings, OpenProject is now listed as the organizer in calendar invitations instead of the person who created the meeting. This means everyone can freely accept or decline without accidentally canceling the event for all participants.
And in the My time tracking module, weekly views now collapse future days, helping you stay focused on what matters today.
OpenProject 16.2: Migration, installation, updates and support
Follow the upgrade guide for the packaged installation or Docker installation to update your OpenProject installation to OpenProject 16.2. We update your hosted OpenProject environments (Enterprise cloud) today, July 16, 2025.
You will find more information about all new features and changes in our Release notes or in the OpenProject Documentation.
Si vous avez besoin d’aide, vous pouvez poser vos questions dans le forum Community, ou si vous avez droit à l’assistance Enterprise, contactez-nous et nous nous ferons un plaisir de vous aider personnellement.
- Vous débutez avec OpenProject ? To test all features of OpenProject 16.2 right away, create a 14 days free trial instance for our OpenProject Enterprise cloud.
- Prefer to run OpenProject 16.2 in your own infrastructure? Vous trouverez ici les instructions d’installation pour OpenProject.
- Vous souhaitez passer d’une version Community à une version Enterprise ? Obtenez un jeton d’essai gratuit de 14 jours pour tester les add-ons Enterprise (toutes les formules).
Crédits
Nous remercions tout particulièrement la ville de Cologne, la Deutsche Bahn et ZenDiS pour le parrainage des fonctionnalités publiées ou à venir. Votre soutien, ainsi que les efforts de notre formidable communauté, contribuent à ces innovations. Un grand merci également aux membres de notre communauté qui nous signalent les bugs, et qui nous aident à les identifier et à les corriger. Special thanks for reporting and finding bugs go to Michael Lathion, Jason Culligan, Sven Kunze, and Gábor Alexovics.
Et pour finir, nous remercions chaleureusement nos traducteurs et traductrices très engagés sur Crowdin, qui ont traduit de nombreuses chaînes OpenProject. Pour cette version, nous tenons à remercier tout particulièrement les utilisateurs suivants :
- William, pour un grand nombre de traductions en chinois traditionnel.
- rmiyata, pour un grand nombre de traductions en japonais.
- rubenpedrolopez, for a great number of translations into Spanish.
Vous souhaitez participer aux traductions ? Consultez notre guide de traduction et découvrez comment vous pouvez apporter votre contribution. Elle sera très appréciée !
Comme toujours, nous vous invitons à nous faire part de vos commentaires concernant cette version. 💙