Beta testing the Professional features

Introduction

Fing Professional is Fing’s upcoming plan designed for IT pros, offering powerful new features to enhance network management for teams. It expands on Fing’s existing capabilities by enabling collaboration through workspaces, providing advanced supervision tools with a dedicated dashboard, and offering specialized documentation options to track network progress efficiently.

As part of the Beta program, you can test new functionalities starting from workspaces, and help shape their development by providing feedback.

How to Participate in Beta Testing

To test workspaces, you can use multiple platforms and integrations, ensuring a comprehensive experience across different devices and tools. 

If you have been selected to join the beta, here's what will happen:

1. The Fing team will promote your account to a PROFESSIONAL tier.
2. You will have access to the new workspaces environment.
3. At the end of the beta, your original tier will be restored by default. If you wish to remain in the Professional tier, you'll have the option to switch plans with a special disocunt to thank you for your help.

New versions of the Fing App for Android, Windows and macOs will be available for download, and new sections of the Web App will be enabled for your account. Please note that the iOS app is currently out of scope for this beta.

Collaborating with other users via workspaces

Each Fing account has a Personal workspace where all scan data from Fing App, Fing Desktop and Fing Agent is bundled. Professional users can create additional workspaces and invite other Fing users, assigning roles with specific access permissions.

Much like folders, the way you organize Workspaces and accesses is up to you and your needs. It may be based on locations (e.g. all networks in a city) or to represent a specific group (e.g. VIP clients, External collaborators,  or friends & family).

During the beta, you can participate in one of two roles:

• Workspace owner – Creates the workspace, invites other users, and manages permissions.

• Workspace guest – Joins an existing workspace and can view, edit, configure, and scan data, depending on their assigned role.

Both roles are essential for testing, as they enable seamless collaboration across different scenarios.

How to create and manage a new workspace

Currently, you can only create a new workspace through the Web App.

To set up a new workspace, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the Fing Account Profile Page .
2. In the top-right corner, select "Workspace".
3. Click "Create" to add a new workspace.

From the workspace section in your profile, you can view all the workspaces you’ve created or have access to. For each workspace, you can choose whether to receive notifications and how (via email or mobile notifications). If you are the workspace owner, you can also invite additional users and assign their roles.

What can each role do?

Roles are a simple way to group permissions on actions a user can perform. Each role includes all the permissions of the previous role - e.g. an Editor role includes all the permissions of the Viewer role.

1. Viewer: users can read data of an existing network. 
2. Editor: users can customise and configure the data of an existing network, including blocking devices and configure pausing internet access. 
3. Contributor: users can scan new and existing networks and move networks into the workspace, therefore adding new networks, merging access points if necessary and updating device state.
4. Installer: users can monitor networks by activating a new agent or moving an existing agent into the workspace. The owner of the workspace manages how many networks can be monitored. 
5. Manager: users can deactivate an agent or delete a network. 
6. Owner: users can invite other users and manage their access. There is only one owner per Workspace, and cannot be modified.

Moving networks across workspaces

Moving a network from Workspace "A" to "B" requires at least the role Manager in Workspace "A" (to remove it from that source workspace) and Contributor in workspace "B" (to add it to the target workspace).

Moving a network monitored by an agent requires the Installer role in workspace "B" (to activate the monitoring in that workspace).

Each user acts as a Manager on their Personal Workspaces, therefore they are always allowed to remove and add networks and agents on their own personal workspace, with limitations according to their personal Subscription plan. 

How many networks can you include in a workspace?

A workspace can include networks that are either manually scanned (via the Fing Mobile App or Fing Desktop) or automatically monitored (via Fing Agent, Fing Desktop, or Fingbox).

During the beta, you can add as many networks as you like, regardless of how they’re monitored. Please note that once the Professional plan goes live after the beta period, limitations will apply to the number of networks monitored using Fing Agent and Fing Desktop. Further details will be shared during the beta.

Managing workspaces in the Web App

The Web App is already updated and available for beta testing. You can log in via your browser and access the workspaces area, located in the upper left corner of the interface.

What can you do?

• As an owner, you can create new workspaces, invite other users to collaborate, and move networks from your Personal workspace to any workspace you created.
• As a guest user, you will be allowed to perform actions based on the role you have been assigned from the workspace owner.

Managing workspaces in the Android Mobile App

To test workspaces through the Fing Android App, you must join a restricted-access beta program via the Play Store, which requires downloading a new beta version of the app.

Here are the steps you need to take:

1. Email us at beta@fing.com and include the email address linked to your Play Store account so we can add you to the private beta group. Rest assured, your email will only be used for beta access purposes.

2. Once granted access, open the Play Store and navigate to the Fing app page.

3. Scroll down to the "App Support" section, where you'll find the option to join the beta program.

4. After joining, download the beta version of the app to start testing workspaces.

What can you do?

• Access your workspaces via the Account tab in the app.
  You can switch between workspaces you've created or joined.
• Depending on your role, you can scan networks, modify existing setups, and block or pause internet access on networks monitored by Desktop, Agents, and Fingbox.
• If your role allows it, you can also move networks between workspaces from the network list.

Managing workspaces in the Desktop App

Fing is introducing a dedicated desktop app designed to support per-workspace permissions. This app will offer enhanced network access control, allowing teams to assign specific permissions to different users. The desktop app will be available as a standalone download when it enters beta testing.

All new networks are created in your Personal Workspace. You can then move them using the Web App or Mobile App into a Workspace you have enough permissions for ("Contributor" level or more). 

What can you do?

• Test how the Desktop App handles data access and editing permissions based on the role assigned to the signed-in user.

Adding Fing Agent and Fingbox to workspaces

Existing Fing Agents and Fingbox devices can be integrated into workspaces, allowing users to share monitoring capabilities with team members.

What can you do?

• Move an existing Monitoring Agent into a shared workspace using the Web App or the Mobile App, and check that access has been granted according to the corresponding roles you assigned.

How to share your feedback

Beta testers play a crucial role in refining Fing Professional features. You are encouraged to report bugs, share your experiences, and suggest improvements via the Fing Beta subreddit. This community-driven approach ensures that issues are addressed promptly and that user feedback directly influences future updates

Once your request to join the subreddit is approved, be sure to click the "Join" button to stay updated on the latest discussions and announcements!

Conclusion

Fing Professional’s beta program offers a unique opportunity to test cutting-edge network management tools. By participating, you can gain early access to advanced collaboration, supervision, and documentation features while helping to refine the product through valuable feedback. Join the beta today and help shape the future of Fing Professional!