v16.21.0

Features

• Updates the About dialog with a redesigned layout that groups the app details and links. (#39732)
• Adds the Disable Prepared Report Automation option to Report so reports that run slowly do not automatically switch to a prepared report. Existing reports with the old setting keep that behavior after the update. (#39744)
• Shows keyboard shortcut labels beside menu items when a shortcut is available, including items in the sidebar. The menus make room for the labels so the item names stay readable. (#39741)
• Adds the installed apps list to site_config.json after apps are installed or removed; existing sites also get the same list on the next migration. (#39802)
• ⚠️ Limits what custom code in templates and scripts can access. It also returns simple values instead of full records from actions like document lookups, email sending, and background tasks. (#39783)
• When you open a row in a table for editing, Ctrl+J now opens “Jump to field” for that row’s fields and scrolls to the selected field there instead of the main form. The row stays open after you use the dialog, and the shortcut also works while you are already editing a field. (#39862)

Bug Fixes

• Assignment changes now follow the document's normal access rules, so users cannot bypass those rules when adding, removing, or closing assignments. (#39708)
• The setup process ignores repeated attempts that arrive before the first one finishes, so the same setup step is not started twice. (#39715)
• Marks a notification as read only for the current user. Notifications for other users stay unchanged. (#39719)
• Removes the banner shown when rows are selected, so more of the table stays visible. The selected-row count stays on the "Delete", "Edit", and "Duplicate" buttons below. (#39728)
• The Auto Email Report filter dialog keeps the filter values you set when a saved filter is loaded, which helps prevent the page from freezing. (#39736)
• For sites upgrading from v14, the prepared report setting is now copied after the new field is created. (#39749)
• The No. column search in tables on read-only forms now shows matching rows. (#39752)
• Fills in missing onboarding tour defaults when the app starts. It also waits for the page to be ready before starting the tour, which helps avoid errors while the page is still loading. (#39766)
• Scopes the sidebar toggle button styles to the sidebar itself so the menu button in the page header stays visible on mobile screens. (#39774)
• The add button next to linked records in forms now shows a plus icon. (#39806)
• The Event calendar now shows events for users whose timezone differs from the system timezone. (#39794)
• Print attachments use the document's Letter Head when one is set, and otherwise use the default Letter Head. (#39800)
• Allows custom document event handlers to omit the method argument when they only need the document itself. Handlers that still expect method continue to receive it. (#39829)
• The "Get Items From" dialog now keeps filters tied to the correct line items, so fields from those lines work when selecting items. Custom searches continue to use the filter format they already expect. (#39830)
• Allows records with names made up only of numbers to be selected in fields that link to other records and in multi-select tables. (#39845)
• The system now ignores invalid sender addresses in incoming emails instead of using them to identify the sender. (#39850)
• Fixes Number Card and Dashboard Chart permissions so they use the user being checked instead of the currently signed-in user. This makes the reports and charts shown for that user match what they can access. (#39854)
• During updates, the system recreates any missing numbering sequences for forms with automatic numbering. New entries can be created again, starting from the next available number. (#39855)
• Users can now save their own private Workspace without the Workspace Manager role. (#39859)
• Desktop icons and dashboard items now follow the sidebar’s visibility rules, so they appear only when at least one matching item is visible. (#39839)
• The sidebar now uses the page you are viewing to decide what to show. This reduces cases where the wrong sidebar sections appear. (#39840)
• Reports now appear even when you cannot open the records they are based on. (#39865)

Performance Improvements

• In Data Import, attached Excel files are read in read-only mode, which reduces memory use during imports. (#39828)
• Removes the pymysql import from MariaDBClient schema handling and uses frappe.db.is_duplicate_entry() to detect duplicate-entry errors. (#39861)

Other Changes

• Adds checks that users can view a record before they like it, and can view a Note before marking it as seen. (#39763)

Authors: @nishkagosalia, @sokumon, @iamejaaz, @rmehta, @s-aga-r, @Vibhuti410, @ShrihariMahabal, @Jatin3128, @barredterra, @kaulith, @KerollesFathy, @Priyal208, @ankush, @gajjug004, @AarDG10
Reviewers: @sokumon, @iamejaaz, @NagariaHussain, @nikkothari22, @s-aga-r, @ShrihariMahabal, @Jatin3128, @sagarvora, @barredterra, @ankush

AI content

For these release notes, we used an LLM (OpenAI gpt-5.4-mini) to review and summarise the code changes, along with the associated issue and PR descriptions. It may contain typical errors and inaccuracies. You can read the prompt here.

Changes with the following labels were excluded:

• skip-release-notes

Changes with the following types were excluded:

• docs
• refactor
• ci
• build
• test
• chore
• style