BeeBEEP 6 and BeeBEEP 5
Which BeeBEEP 5 versions BeeBEEP 6 talks to, what works between them, what does not, and why 5.9.2 is the version to have.
For: users, administrators · From BeeBEEP 6.0.0 · Updated on
BeeBEEP 6 is a new program, but it still talks to colleagues who use BeeBEEP 5, so an office can move to it one person at a time. This page says which BeeBEEP 5 versions it works with, what you can do with a BeeBEEP 5 user, and what you cannot.
The versions that work
BeeBEEP 6 is made and tested to work with two BeeBEEP 5 versions:
| Version | What to expect |
|---|---|
| 5.9.2 | everything this page lists; the version to have during the move |
| 5.8.6 | everything this page lists, except one case of groups (below) |
BeeBEEP 5.9.2 is the last release of BeeBEEP 5. It changes nothing for a 5.8.6 colleague and adds what makes the move easier: it finds BeeBEEP 6 users on the network, it tells its user when a colleague is on BeeBEEP 6, and it recognizes a BeeBEEP 6 user as the same person in the contact list and in groups.
Turning it on
Settings > Network > Talk to BeeBEEP 5.x peers, on by default. When it is off, BeeBEEP 5 users are not seen. A BeeBEEP 5 user is shown with a 5.x tag.
If your office uses a network password, both programs must have the same one.
What works
- Chats with a BeeBEEP 5 user: messages, the tick that says a message arrived and the one that says it was read, and the line that says they are writing.
- BEEP, which BeeBEEP 5 shows as its Chat with Everyone: a BeeBEEP 5 user takes part in it like anyone else. Their messages there are taken six in a row, then one a second; the ones sent faster than that are not shown.
- Groups, created on either side. With 5.8.6 there is one exception: in a group with more than one BeeBEEP 6 user, a 5.8.6 colleague may not see the messages of a BeeBEEP 6 member it never met. With 5.9.2 this does not happen.
- Files and voice messages in a chat, both ways.
- Name, colour and picture, both ways.
- Online and offline. Busy and Away of BeeBEEP 5 are not shown.
- Circles: they are the Workgroups of BeeBEEP 5, and a BeeBEEP 5 user who accepts only its workgroups accepts you when a name matches. See circles.
What does not work
- Reactions, replies (a reply arrives as its text alone) and games do not reach a BeeBEEP 5 user.
- Shared folders and desktop sharing of BeeBEEP 5 are not part of BeeBEEP 6.
- A BeeBEEP 5 user never passes messages on for others, and is reached only directly.
Security
A chat with a BeeBEEP 5 user uses the older version's encryption, which is weaker than BeeBEEP 6's own, and BeeBEEP says so in that chat. Between two BeeBEEP 6 users nothing changes.
Bringing your BeeBEEP 5 history
On a computer where BeeBEEP 5 was installed, Settings > Network > Import from BeeBEEP 5.x brings your contacts, groups and profile, and your saved chats, which you read as they were in Archive at the top of the chat list (the archive).