What's new in VERA.

The licence holder (organisation, person or workstation) and the days remaining appear at the bottom right of the window. Fourteen days before the end, a notice gives the date and how to renew.

Licence keys can now name their holder. Existing keys keep working, and earlier versions of VERA accept the new keys.

Running automatic mapping again on a seal that was already processed is faster: a database that did not change is neither read nor sent to the AI a second time. The first run is still the longest.

Seal queue: “Run the queue” processes the imported seals one after another, without reopening each one. An optional pause stops the queue after each seal.

In the preview of a proposed mapping, the Indexing tab shows a sample of up to 100 traces before anything is written.

The licence is checked throughout the session: if a key expires while VERA is open, the licence screen comes back. Keys revoked by VERA Forensics are refused by new versions.

On a Médias mapping built from a table, the notice “No folder or album on the canvas” no longer appears. It still shows on an empty Médias canvas.

A pause set before a step is respected even when that step is switched off.

Mapping WhatsApp by its package name no longer also maps WhatsApp Business. A display name is no longer enough: use the package identifier.

The consent window for “At VERA Forensics” opens on top of the settings instead of behind them.

Deleting a seal in the Explorer also removes it from processing and stops its running job. It no longer comes back when the case is reopened.

Public library: some mappings were wrongly left out on a device that could read them. Their column lists now name only the columns the query reads.

AI server, on this workstation: a live memory card shows free graphics memory and the models loaded, with a fallback badge and a “Retry the GPU” button.

New settings for the local engine: meaning-based search on or off, running a query on the processor when the graphics card is full, and partial offloading to system memory.

A model that does not fit in free memory is refused with a clear message instead of starting anyway. Chat and search go first; import and summaries wait for memory to free up.

Logs: filter by level and by text, and copy the visible lines in order.

When meaning-based search is not available, the assistant says so instead of presenting recent traces as results. Hybrid search keeps the keywords and shows a warning.

A graphics driver error falls back to the next option visibly, with a badge and a log line, and can be retried.

A model refused for lack of memory no longer switches the engine to the processor for the whole session.

When meaning-based search is switched off in the settings, it no longer does any work for the query.

A stop button: while the assistant writes, waits for an answer or works in the background, the send button turns into a square. One click stops the turn and cancels its background tasks. An action already started in the application, such as an import, finishes.

Hosted AI: a new chat model that also reads pictures, offered both on the service server in API mode and “At VERA Forensics”.

The Mappings panel shows the number of traces next to each view, like the case Explorer (abbreviated, exact value on hover).

On a finished seal, conversation summaries and meaning-based search can be run again on the selected mappings without indexing again. Each step has its own Run button.

Automatic mapping now learns from the public library: for each view, it works from complete, validated examples taken from it.

The Library step shows how many mappings were checked against each library's total, then the ones applied, with a percentage. The remaining time follows that real progress, and matching is faster.

Seal test mode samples 100 traces per mapping. A mapping already indexed is not read again: its index is kept, and marked out of date if it no longer matches the settings.

The Library step no longer queries the service library when the service is switched off.

The mapping preview no longer reads the whole source: it draws 100 rows at random. A mapping already indexed is shown as it is, with a banner when it is out of date.

Running a large mapping again is much faster, and it now resets its summaries and meaning-based search so they are rebuilt.

Message translation: a thread always opens on the original text. Going back to the original, changing thread or closing the view stops a translation in progress.

In the preview of a view, wide columns scroll inside the grid instead of overflowing the window.

When the assistant's model does not read pictures, a photo is described by the automatic image model of the current placement, without assigning one by hand.

Offline translation of messages: a language button in the thread search translates the conversation on the workstation, with no connection. The translator only starts when a language is chosen and stops after two minutes of inactivity. A doubtful translation is marked “Uncertain”, and the original text stays the evidence. The translation pack is downloaded from the account (Software → Translation).

Five new views: Calendar, Credentials, Social activity, Transactions and Trips. Passwords stay masked, every reveal is logged, and they are kept out of search and default exports.

Sources beyond databases: a mapping source can now be a JSON, plist, XML, CSV, LevelDB or other structured file, compressed or not. VERA detects the format and turns the file into a table, with its last write time and size.

Messages: hovering a thread tab shows its period, message count and people. Threads filter by number of senders and by attachment. Reactions, read receipts, edited messages, polls, quotes and forwarded or ephemeral badges are shown.

Generic view rebuilt as a full grid: typed columns, multi-column sort, typed filters, grouping by value or by day, month or year, facets, column profiles, saved views, and CSV or JSON export with provenance.

Map: right-click a point to open the trace menu, including Metadata. Up to one million points, with points outside the window set aside to keep it fluid.

Media: a file cited by its path on the device is found in the extraction. Its thumbnail, attachment, GPS position and link to Downloads follow it.

Labels view, next to Timeline and Map: traces grouped by label in collapsible chapters. A trace opens in its original view.

“Open the source” of a trace that comes from a file shows the record itself. Right-click a grid cell for Related traces. Metadata shows the source file's dates and size as stored on the workstation.

Each view can carry an application, an operating system and a version. The Application filter works in the Explorer, Mappings, Search, Timeline and Map.

Automatic mapping detects coordinates stored as text, and offers two advanced options: generic views for useful tables that fit no view, and reading structured files beyond databases.

New building blocks in the mapping editor: unfold nested keys and lists, regular expressions, dates with time zones, more timestamp formats, and joins that keep rows from one side or both.

Library: for the same application, system and view, the richest applicable mapping wins. An older VERA never receives a mapping it cannot run: the card is greyed out with the reason. An imported mapping that was not modified upgrades in place.

Seal import, test mode: an advanced switch, off by default, indexes only a random sample of each mapping to try a large seal without waiting.

Indexing: Preview indexes a random sample of up to 1,000 traces per source, and Save and index indexes everything. A second run skips mappings and files that did not change. The window stays usable during indexing.

A case opened with this version can no longer be opened with an earlier version of VERA.

Title bar: Case, Mappings and Library become icons on the left. The Processing button stays visible and shows its state as a coloured dot, with details on hover.

“Send mappings” opens a checklist towards the service, as for the public library. The share dialog fits on one screen, with a notes field.

Settings → AI server has two sections, General and Admin. Admin asks for the administrator password and holds the access key.

Settings: the VERA Internet connection says what it unlocks. Nothing is sent at start-up, and seal files stay on the workstation.

Feedback becomes an icon next to settings and the guide. With the VERA Internet connection on, the message goes to VERA Forensics by email, with an optional reply address and logs.

Calls answered on another device are labelled as such instead of incoming.

The assistant no longer reads passwords, tokens or keys. Labels are added by default instead of replacing existing ones, and a task in progress is no longer shown as failed.

Exports read better: in PDF the time fits on one line, in Word consecutive messages are separated, in HTML metadata reads field by field, and group members are listed once at the top of a thread.

Messages: a keyword search in an open thread only reads that thread, and listing threads in a large case is much faster. With a period set, only threads with a message in that window are listed.

Library step: much faster, a slow mapping is set aside instead of blocking the step, and the public catalogue applies even without an Internet connection once it is on the workstation.

Indexing right after a library mapping was applied no longer ends with no trace written.

An interrupted model download resumes on its own, keeping the partial file. The Windows server installer registers and starts the service without stopping on the privileges message.

The Application filter reads the application from the file path, long lists can be searched, and labelled traces appear in the view right away.

A mapping saved and reopened, or imported from the library, keeps its row filter and the names of its sources.

Location keeps its table mode, Timeline rows adapt to the number of types, and success colours are readable in the light theme.

The credit balance in Settings updates after a billed call, without reopening the session.

Traces: the horizontal strip of counters by type is gone. The type is chosen in the scope selector.

No more Published checkbox: a model installed on the server is visible to workstations at once.

Address book everywhere: in Messages, Calls and the timeline, a number saved in a contact shows the name below it, with the source application. Keyword search finds that name too.

A case can be renamed from its card menu or the pencil next to its name. Seals, mappings and index stay in the case.

User guide: new chapters on installing the Linux GPU server and the standard server.

Large cases open faster and the window stays usable while columns fill in. Timeline and Map keep their data after the first display, threads open faster, and a video opens on the thumbnail already shown.

Timeline: in a dense lane, a bubble adds up the nearby traces. A click zooms to that range; an isolated trace stays a point.

Library: a service mapping is usable as soon as it is shared, and a suggested change waits for an administrator. The public score shows before a mapping is copied to the service. The editor sends either to the service library or to the public catalogue.

The library file downloaded from the website is plain, readable JSON.

The consent for “At VERA Forensics” is shown once, and reminds that the same work can stay on the workstation or go through the service server.

Seal job steps tell the service library and the public library apart. Summaries and meaning-based search can be swapped in order.

Unfinished reasoning no longer shows in the answer. It stays in the folded panel.

Timeline and Map: the trace card shows the full date and time for every type of trace. While a mapping is indexing, the view shows a loading state instead of an empty list.

Settings: the hosted account, credits and buttons fit in one card, and the AI server window opens from the case list without emptying.

Seal job: one tracked job per seal, with a status pill, a window, pauses, and resume after closing VERA or changing case. Nothing long starts before Run, and closing the window does not stop the job.

One log file per processing run, with the time spent on each step.

Mapping preview: Graph and Indexing tabs, the automatic mapping log, and the reason when a row cannot be selected.

Library matching is stricter: a mapping is only proposed when the seal's files and columns fit it, several copies of one file give one line per application, and a very thin match is left unticked.

Indexing writes in batches and rebuilds the search index once, which is faster on large mappings.

User guide: the seal import chapter describes the seal job.

Indexing no longer stops on mappings of more than about 32,000 traces.

Traces: under the filters, each type shows how many traces remain after the seal, mapping, period, labels, GPS zones and advanced filters. Choosing a type narrows the list while the other counts stay visible.

Traces uses the same search and filters as Search: keywords, meaning, scope, period, labels, GPS and advanced filters.

At VERA Forensics: each model shows its price in credits, for input and output or per second of audio.

User guide: the “At VERA Forensics” chapter says that text goes to providers chosen by VERA Forensics, including outside the European Union.

Sorting by date and the Period filter follow the exact time (capture time, otherwise file creation) across media, messages, calls, notes, web, downloads, network, events, app usage and the map.

Validated mappings update on request, on the workstation or on the service server, once the Internet connection is on. Publishing a mapping first shows its portable JSON.

The “At VERA Forensics” consent says that text, and audio when it is transcribed, goes to providers chosen by VERA Forensics, including outside the European Union. The examiner does not choose the provider.

The installer includes the local AI engines again (text, transcription and speaker separation).

Case cards no longer show the identifier or a fixed “created 2 days ago” text. The date at the top stays.

A third AI placement, “At VERA Forensics”, in the same installer. The website account and credits only serve this placement, and case files stay on the workstation.

Model catalogue: search, choice of file, download progress and resume after an interruption.

Test becomes “Tested and validated” or “Test failed”. Import and export are two cards: add a folder already on disk, or copy the models to another VERA workstation or to the Linux GPU server.

At launch, the licence key signature is checked again on the workstation. A valid key is not asked for again; an expired or altered key brings back the licence screen.

Map settings follow the light theme.

AI runs on the workstation itself or on the service server. Model files are only downloaded after the VERA Internet connection is turned on.

Recommended models according to the workstation's memory.

Media: thumbnail size from 48 to 208 pixels, set from the filter bar and remembered. The grid scrolls through the whole result, and the viewer moves through the whole set.

Mappings are cached per case, with a loading indicator when the case opens.

User guide: a Cloud edition chapter (sign-in, credits, consent before anything leaves the workstation).

Trial: activated with an offline licence key, like Full. No Cloud account sign-in any more, and error messages are translated.

The assistant, meaning-based search and transcription use the source you choose: this workstation or the service server.

Settings: a single AI server tab (this workstation, the service server, or per role) with help bubbles. The library follows the same server, and the VERA Internet connection is a switch.

Media: thumbnails already in cache display at once, so scrolling is not slowed down.

The assistant asks for confirmation before deleting a mapping and its indexed traces. Raw technical text no longer leaks into the thread.

The assistant can work through many more steps on a single question before answering, and is brought to a final answer after a set number of steps.

Reopening a conversation from the history restores it fully, without a frozen last answer or cut text, and nothing is lost when changing case.

Light theme: library cards, votes, assistant citations and message labels are readable.

The map stays aligned after panning.

Timeline: traces at the same instant are stacked with a counter, and a click lists them.

Map: a button hides or shows the list of positions. If the display stops responding on the map, VERA recovers and returns to the case list instead of freezing.

The SQLite browser opens and centres a database from a trace's provenance, from the assistant's citations and from the selector.

More timestamp formats are recognised in mappings.

Automatic mapping covers operating system stores more reliably, and leaves cache and thumbnail folders out when indexing media.

Map: smoother zoom, isolated traces drawn as on the Timeline. Media: refined viewer, thumbnails and category bar.

Messages: real message bodies are no longer hidden or rewritten. Map: no freeze on fast zooming, and smooth touch pinch.

The label picker is readable in the light theme and opens above the panels.

The dedicated Location log is removed: GPS traces stay visible on the Map.

The assistant goes into production: it works across seals, indexed traces, conversations, summaries and automatic mapping, and every trace or database location it cites is a clickable badge in the thread.

Unified search, shared by the Search panel and the assistant: every indexed view, common filters (period, GPS and more), advanced filters by type, and one scope selector for seal, type and view.

Automatic mapping extended to the thirteen forensic views, with JSON import and export and a preview (Ctrl/Cmd+P).

Conversation summaries at several levels, kept with each thread in Messages.

Application names (WhatsApp, Telegram and others) replace package identifiers across views, facets, Search and Timeline. Hovering shows the original identifier.

Voice note player in Messages and Media, and message kinds (text, media, link, location, service) with a marker when the file is not on the workstation.

Seal system sheet: device information gathered from the extraction, with an AI summary. Extraction secrets are shown and used to open encrypted databases when the extraction holds the key.

Right-click Metadata on any trace card, command palette (Ctrl+K), quick search (Ctrl+P), case archiving, and a light theme in Settings → General.

Explorer: filter by data type, compact Timeline and Map tiles, and a label filter in Timeline, Map, Search, Traces and the views.

Timeline: zoom and pan over the period spectrum, independent of the selection. System log: readable labels for known system tags.

A user guide inside the software (F1), with its figures shown in the assistant thread and an “Open in the guide” link.

Side facets combine (all sections together, any item within a list). Calls tell incoming from outgoing, and missed from unanswered.

Metadata opens on right-click or Ctrl+M rather than on a simple click, and the provenance icon opens the SQLite browser at the table, column or cell.

Mapping editor: undo and redo, help on media fields, source tooltips. The Mappings sidebar uses the same tree as the Explorer.

Period selector: a zoomable density spectrum to set the time window. Messages: audio attachments are found, voice notes included.

Keyword search and the label filter respect the active filters, in the Traces panel too.

Map: chronological path with small arrows, offline tile import by drag and drop, and no more black screen when switching to the Timeline. Timeline and Map zoom down to a single trace.

The Device view is removed. Device mappings already indexed are kept but hidden.