Release Notes – v1.4.0 (Portal) IFU029(01)

Summary

2026-02-26

This release introduces a set of portal enhancements centred on interpreter‑driven analysis and commercialisation of the platform.

It adds a formal Free vs Paid feature model for the portal, self‑service organisation sign‑up with a free evaluation tier, and a role‑ and tier‑aware sidebar that surfaces configuration, data analysis and interpreter tooling in a consistent way.

The release also improves onboarding and help access for new customers through a dedicated “Documentation” link in the portal navigation, and lays the foundations for interpreter management, classifier configuration and ground‑truth–based performance analysis that are referenced in the release history as “Ground Truth, Classifier, and Interpreter reprocessing”.

New Features

Self‑service signup and Free tier onboarding

• New public sign‑up page that allows new organisations to register without manual provisioning.

• Email‑verified account creation: organisations are only created after the admin user confirms a time‑limited verification link.

• Automatic creation of a Free‑tier organisation with:

  • 1 portal user and 1 app user, and

  • access to a single Housing for evaluation of a Method.

• Built‑in enforcement of Free‑tier limits and data segregation so each organisation’s data is isolated and only visible to its own users.

Documentation access from within the portal

• A persistent Documentation entry is added to the sidebar for all authenticated users.

• Selecting the link opens the managed documentation site (default https://docs.rare.software/) in a new browser tab or window.

• The target URL is configurable via environment / application configuration without requiring redeploy, allowing the documentation location to evolve independently of the portal.

Platform‑level payment tiers – Free vs Paid

Formal definition of a two‑tier commercial model for the RARE Portal:

• Free tier provides:

  • General portal access

  • Phoenix‑only reader configuration

  • Result viewing

• Paid tier unlocks advanced capabilities:

  • Customised reader configuration

  • Phone Management

  • Reprocessing of stored data

  • Batch Management

  • Interpreter Management

  • Performance Reports

The tier model underpins feature gating across navigation and workflows, ensuring Free customers can evaluate the platform while advanced tools are reserved for paying subscribers.

Improvements to Existing Features

Role‑ and tier‑aware sidebar navigation

• Sidebar structure updated to present a consistent information architecture for key areas:

  • Dashboard, Results, Feedback

  • Account Management / Admin Panel (Organisations, Subscriptions, Users, Billing, Profile)

  • Phone Management (Camera Optics, Whitelist, Phone sensitivity)

  • Configurations (Housings, Methods, Batches, Classifiers, Ground Truth)

  • Data Analysis (Datasets, Method Reprocessing, Interpreter Reprocessing, Performance Reports)

  • API, Documentation and About

• Visibility of each menu item is now driven by:

  • User role: ADMIN (NDX), ORG ADMIN, Standard, and

  • Organisation subscription tier: Free vs Paid.

• Links that require a paid subscription (e.g. Data Analysis and some Phone Management / Configuration options) are only shown when the organisation is on the Paid tier and the user’s role permits access.

• Links the user is not entitled to are not rendered at all, rather than shown disabled, improving both clarity and security.

• Routing is aligned with a maintained sidebar design and implemented consistently using the existing React Router‑based navigation.

Consolidated Free vs Paid feature gating across the portal

• The new Payment Tiers requirement is enforced through navigation (sidebar) and feature access rules, ensuring Free organisations:

  • Can use core reader and result viewing flows, while

  • Are prevented from accessing advanced configuration, batch, interpreter and reporting tooling.

• Upgrade/downgrade behaviour and audit logging for access attempts are defined to support commercial operations and regulatory traceability.

Onboarding and help experience

• The combination of self‑signup and a built‑in Documentation link reduces time‑to‑value for new organisations, giving them:

  • Immediate access to a working Free‑tier evaluation environment, and

  • A maintained documentation site accessible directly from the portal.

These improvements support the broader v1.4.0 objective enabling interpreter‑centric workflows (interpreter management, classifier configuration, ground‑truth labelling, and reprocessing) within a commercially viable, tiered portal offering.

Bug Fixes

Known Issues & Limitations

At this stage, no specific known defects or behavioural limitations have been recorded for this release in the source documentation used here.