XM Cloud Release Notes: September 30, 2025

• Site Administrator Role
  • Added a new role in Sitecore with access to:
    • Redirect Maps
    • Site-level CSS
    • Site-level JS
  • Enables granular, site-specific management without broader system permissions.

• Mobile/Tablet Header
  • Added the unit name to the header on mobile and tablet for clearer branding.
• Default Footer Links
  • Updated links in the standard footer to include:
    • Spartan One-Stop (https://onestop.msu.edu/)
    • LiveOn Neighborhood Resources (https://liveon.msu.edu/neighborhoods)
    • University Health & Wellbeing (https://uhw.msu.edu/)
• Caption Spacing
  • Improved caption spacing for better readability and visual consistency.
• Story Quote Component (Mobile)
  • Improved layout and readability of the Story Quote component on mobile devices.
• News Listing Component
  • Updated to support faceting based on backend tags, allowing more flexible filtering and organization of news content.
• News Search
  • Added the ability to search News content, making it easier for users to find relevant stories.
• MSUToday RSS Feed
  • Updated RSS items to include descriptions for improved clarity and syndication.
• Publishing Enhancements
  • Updated the way pages are rendered to align with Sitecore publishing configuration best practices.
  • Improved overall publishing reliability and performance.

Sitecore Enhancements of Note

• Publishing Jobs Table UI
  • Introduced a new user interface for the Publishing Jobs table, providing improved visibility and management of publishing activity.
  • Access it in the XM Cloud navigation header by clicking Settings > Publishing Jobs.
  • Read documentation for the Publishing Jobs table at "Viewing the Publishing Queue"

• Mobile Subnavigation Behavior
  • Fixed an issue where tapping subnavigation at the bottom of a page on mobile jumped the view to the top and displayed a grey box that obscured content.
• Mobile Navigation Opacity
  • Fixed an issue where scrolling down and then back up caused the header opacity to remain light.
  • Opacity now correctly returns to 100% on scroll-up, ensuring the hamburger menu remains accessible.
• Mobile Header Padding
  • Fixed extra padding at the top of mobile pages, between the header green line and the hero banner.
• Mobile Curated Navigation
  • Fixed an issue where an extra gap appeared below the curated navigation sub-menu on mobile.
• Browser Font Size Settings
  • Fixed an issue where changing the browser’s font size did not affect the website’s text or UI. Text now scales as expected.
• D2L Help Component Contrast
  • Resolved insufficient color contrast in the D2L Help component to meet accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1 AA).
• Featured Events Time and Date Display
  • Fixed an issue where event times and dates could display incorrectly.
• Featured News and Events Facet Display
  • Fixed an issue where stories were not displaying correctly when using the facet option in Featured News and Events.
• Video Component (MP4 Uploads)
  • Fixed an issue where users were unable to add MP4 files to the Video component.
• People Directory Listing
  • Fixed an issue where letter-based filtering was missing from the People Directory Listing page.
• Dropdown Checkbox Styling
  • Fixed an issue where checkboxes in dropdowns did not display correctly with long text labels.
• Social Media Directory Component
  • Fixed an issue where the Social Media Directory component was not displaying all items.
• Grid Container (1 Tall, 4 Small – 2x2 Variant)
  • Fixed incorrect padding for grid ads in this layout variant.
• Header Branding
  • Fixed an issue where the MSU helmet and wordmark were missing from the header.

• Mobile Hamburger Missing on Topic Pages
  • Fixed an issue where the hamburger menu was missing on topic pages (e.g., Arts & Culture).
• Mobile Hamburger “For Media” Behavior
  • Fixed an issue where clicking the “For Media” link in the mobile hamburger menu did not close the menu, making it appear unresponsive.
  • The menu now closes properly after selecting “For Media,” consistent with Topic link behavior.
• Main Navigation – MSUToday Button
  • Fixed an issue where the MSUToday button text overlapped images in the main navigation bar.

• All Lowercase URLs
  • Updated configuration to enforce all URLs in lowercase for consistency and to prevent case-related issues.
• Links and Media Paths
  • Updated behavior so that all links and media paths are automatically converted to lowercase.
• Redirect Handling
  • Improved redirect logic so that all paths are automatically converted to lowercase.

• Site Administrators can now directly manage Redirect Maps, site-level CSS and site-level JS.
• Mobile visitors benefit from improved navigation, spacing, branding and menu behavior.
• Accessibility has been improved through proper font scaling, better color contrast and clearer spacing.
• News, events and directory listings are easier to manage and more user-friendly with enhanced filtering and search.
• Branding and navigation elements are now consistent across the platform and MSUToday.
• Sitecore administrators have a clearer view of publishing activity with the new Publishing Jobs interface and improved publishing reliability.

The following updates will have the greatest impact on the day-to-day work for communicators:

• New Site Administrator Role
  • Site Administrators can now manage Redirect Maps, site-level CSS and JavaScript directly.
• News & Directory Improvements
  • News can now be searched and faceted using backend tags.
  • People Directory letter filtering was restored to enable easier navigation.
• Publishing Enhancements
  • Pages are now rendered following Sitecore best practices, improving reliability and performance.
  • New Publishing Jobs UI available: go to Settings > Publishing Jobs in XM Cloud to monitor publishing activity.
• MSUToday Updates
  • RSS items now include descriptions.
  • Mobile fixes ensure the hamburger menu works consistently on topic pages and for the “For Media” link.
• Media & Video
  • MP4 files can now be added to the Video component.
  • All links and media paths are automatically set to lowercase for consistency.
• Branding & Mobile
  • Unit names were added to mobile and tablet headers.
  • Improved spacing for captions, Story Quotes, curated navigation and headers.
  • Fixed issues with the MSU helmet and wordmark display and overlapping navigation buttons.