Release notes: Journal platform (2026)
Notes on the live releases to the Ubiquity platform are listed below, including bug fixes, new features, and enhancements to existing functionality. Bug fixes specific to individual installations (e.g. a journal) are not listed. The dates given are for the end of the development sprint cycle, not the exact date that the release was completed.
Release notes for other years can be found on our central Release Notes page.
See our Release notes: Book & Press platform for similar updates on our book and press platform.
10th March 2026
| ID | Bug/ Feature/ Enhancement | Title | Description |
| OJS-2368 | Bug fix | Password reset emails | Some of the details within password reset emails were not being displayed correctly. These have now been corrected so that the site user can easily identify the correct information in the email. |
| OJS-2420 | Bug fix | Issue Archive custom text caching | The Issue Archive page allows custom text to be added to the top of the list of issues, however, due to a caching problem updates to the text were taking a long time to reach the frontend. The cache has been fixed so that updates should now appear very quickly once updated in OJS. |
| OJS-2484 | Bug fix | Access permissions table error | The permission to access each stage of the workflow was not responding correctly in the Roles table, where journals can customise which users have access to each stage of the submission process. This has now been fixed. |
| OJS-2488 | Enhancement | Country list update | The available country list has been updated so that platform users can associate their profile country to the Republic of Kosovo. |
| OJS-2530 | Bug fix | Review form XML download | Completed review forms can be downloaded in both PDF and XML format. The XML option had an error introduced, which has now been fixed. |
| OJS-2537 | Bug fix | Article ordering within collection pages |
Collection pages can order the articles in different ways, however, this function was not working for all options. This has now been fixed so that collections can be ordered by:
|
24th February 2026
| ID | Bug/ Feature/ Enhancement | Title | Description |
| OJS-2412 | Enhancement | iThenticate 'error' improvement | The iThenticate plugin has been updated so that files that fail to generate a report due to insufficient text will no longer generate an error message on the main dashboard. |
| OJS-2481 | Bug fix | Reviewer assign error | Additional contribution to the core bug that currently prevents the re-assignment of a reviewer who also has editor/manager permissions. Core pull request available. |
| PLAT-2560 | Enhancement | MHRA reference style | MHRA has been added as a journal reference style to the production management system. |
10th February 2026
| ID | Bug/ Feature/ Enhancement | Title | Description |
| OJS-2430 | Bug fix | Right click menu items | A number of the OJS settings had lost their right click menu when upgrading to 3.4. This has been fixed so that the user can now copy, cut and paste, as expected. A core contribution to OJS has also been made (https://github.com/pkp/pkp-lib/issues/11986). |
| OJS-2496 | Bug fix | Articles missing from search | It was discovered that not all publications were being indexed in the journal search database. This has now been fixed. |
| OJS-2499 | Enhancement | French translations | French translations have been added to all Ubiquity maintained plugins. |
| OJS-2357 | Bug fix | Activity Log error | The activity log for some journals was displaying incomplete information since the 3.4 upgrade process. This has now been fixed so that the activity log records the full detail of the decisions made. |
27th January 2026
| ID | Bug/ Feature/ Enhancement | Title | Description |
| OJS-2236 | New feature | Semantic search |
The journal search function now includes the option to use
Whilst the simple and advanced searches use direct keyword matching, the semantic search uses AI to interpret the meaning and concept behind search queries rather than relying solely on exact text matches. This enables more intelligent and flexible discovery of content across the journal's publications. Key advantages include: -- Improved accuracy: Results are not limited to exact matches with metadata, allowing for more relevant and meaningful outcomes. -- Tolerance for errors: Spelling mistakes or variations in terminology do not prevent relevant results from being surfaced. -- Cross-lingual and variant support: Searches can return results across different spellings, regional variations, and languages. For example, searches for “archaeology” (UK) and “archeology” (US) produce the same results, and queries in other languages can retrieve relevant content even if the article metadata is in English or another language - for example, a search for “Ciencias económicas” will show results for "Economics" in all languages ) . This semantic search functionality enhances discoverability, making it easier for readers, researchers, and students to find relevant content efficiently and accurately, regardless of language, terminology, or minor input errors. |
| OJS-2457 | Enhancement | Recommended decisions function | Additional pull requests to improve the Recommend-only editor permissions, which will allow restricted editors the ability to start new rounds of review. (core contribution) |
| OJS-2472 | Enhancement | Search ordering | The search functionality now offers the capability to sort results by relevance, as well as by the date of publication, whether it's the most recent or the oldest. This enhancement provides users with greater flexibility and control over the way they access and prioritize the information they are seeking. As a result, this update delivers an improved and more tailored user experience, empowering individuals to navigate the journal's content with ease and efficiency. |
| OJS-2473 | Enhancement | Serbian frontend translations | The Serbian language pack has been added to the Ubiquity frontend. Journals are now able to choose Serbian as their primary or additional language for the website. |
13th January 2026
| ID | Bug/ Feature/ Enhancement | Title | Description |
| OJS-1537 | New Feature | Table pop up window | Tables within the HTML/full text display now allow readers to open the table in a larger pop up window. This new functionality is especially useful for reading larger tables. |
| OJS-2417 | Enhancement | Slow loading speeds | After reports of very slow loading speeds the platform has received improvements that should make page loading faster. |
| OJS-2418 | Enhancement | Update to template emails #1 | Some journals were displaying incorrect information within template emails. The incorrect texts have been removed |
| OJS-2427 | Bug fix | Update to email template #2 | The account validation emails for some journals were appearing blank to the user. This bug has been fixed to ensure that new users recieve their validation link correctly. |