We have mentioned a few times that the old Group Builder interface is going away.

Today, it's gone.

We listened when you asked for a way to add more packages from the GUI without having to build packages from source. You can now add additional packages to the search path in the GUI — that can be a reference to a group (like the elements already included in the search path as part of the platform your product is based on), a label such as contrib.rpath.org@rpl:2, or even an individual package. (rBuilder will trust that you are adding only elements that are compatible — if you add Ubuntu Hardy delivered by rPath groups or labels to an rPath Linux 2-based product, it's unlikely to work well.)

If you have bookmarked Group Builder, you will now be given a link to the new interface. As previously mentioned, this requires Adobe Flash 10 or later. To add arbitrary packages:

1. Follow the link to the new UI (later, this will become the default or only UI).
2. Click the browse appliance button at the upper right hand corner of the screen.
3. Click on the tile for the appliance you want to work with.
4. Click on the appliance contents icon to add/remove packages and
   search paths.
5. Click the expander icon next to "Search Paths" to add/remove search paths.

rBuilder Online will undergo scheduled maintenance starting Wednesday April 29th at 21:00 EDT (-0400) and ending at 22:00. During this time, rBuilder Online and all rpath.org repositories will not be available. A message will be posted when the scheduled maintenance period has been completed.

Thank you for your interest in rBuilder Online.

See that "BETA" in the rBuilder Online logo? Well, we're asking for your help testing some new features. Not esoteric, arcane features. In fact, that's the reason we're making these changes! We are building a new interface that is more streamlined and consistent, in response to your feedback. Is it easier to use?

Right now, this new user interface is available via a link at the top right side of the page; you have to click on that link to test the interface. After sufficient testing, it will replace the main page, so we would like to encourage everyone to test it.

How is this interface different?

1. Streamlined workflow: It takes fewer pages (generally reduced by half or more) and fewer clicks to get things done.
2. Direct manipulation: Instead of (say), selecting an item, then clicking a link that takes you to a series of pages that guide you through performing an action, you can perform the actions more directly, using mechanisms like drag-and-drop and context-sensitive menus. (This contributes to the streamlined workflow.)
3. Consistency: The current rBuilder Online interface grew some features somewhat organically, leading to inconsistencies between features. These inconsistencies make rBuilder Online harder to use than we would like.
4. Technology: The new rBuilder Online interface, like the rPath Management Console, is implemented using Flex Builder as an Adobe Flash application. (Parts of the new interface will continue to be implemented using HTML for some undetermined time.) Behind the curtains, more of the capability behind the interface is being implemented using a REST API, which means that rBuilder interactions will become easier to script and automate.

We expect to do frequent updates to the new user interface as we develop new features and respond to your feedback. Some of these changes will require that we take rBuilder Online down for maintenance, but most of them will not. This means that your continued feedback will be valuable. We will announce significant changes to the new user interface from time to time as we make them.

The new interface requires Adobe Flash 10 or later.

A relevant reminder: Part of the new user interface changes are to make the new interface an even better replacement for Group Builder, which will be going away soon.