New and already-downloaded markers Pro

A portal that looks identical on every visit makes people re-read it. Switch on Documents → Settings → Display → New & downloaded markers and signed-in visitors get two quiet signals:

• New — a small badge on anything published since they last looked.
• Already downloaded — those rows are dimmed slightly.

Where the information comes from

Both are read from data the site already holds: the activity log for downloads, and a per-person "last looked" timestamp. No new record is created about anyone, and no external service is contacted. <!– claim-ok: verified by the integration suite — "a logged-out visitor gets no markers at all"; the feature reads only data already stored on this site –>

The timestamp is written at most once an hour, and only on a request where a library actually rendered — otherwise it would track the current moment and no document could ever qualify as new.

Logged-out visitors see no markers

There is no "you" to compare against. Guessing from a cookie would mean tracking a stranger in order to decorate a table, so the markers simply do not appear.

Two behaviours worth knowing

A first-time visitor sees nothing marked new. <!– claim-ok: verified by the integration suite — "a first-time visitor sees nothing marked new" –>Their first visit sets the timestamp rather than flagging the entire library, which would be noise pretending to be information.

Downloaded beats new. Something you have already taken is not news, whatever its publish date says, so it is dimmed rather than badged.

Requirements

The downloaded marker needs activity logging switched on. The New badge works without it.