Current Version : 2023.3.103.0.05See the Previous Version

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Version 2023.3 - Build 2023.3.103.0.01
(10/07/2023 SaaS - 17/07/2023 On-Premises)

Service Apps templates

New ESG Dashboard template

You can now use a new dashboard template dedicated to the retrieval of Green IT information from your IT infrastructure. It uses new Green IT elements in Service Manager implemented in versions 2023.2 and 2023.3 as well as environmental, social and corporate governance criteria (ESG) to retrieve theoretical data on energy consumption, carbon impact and IT infrastructure aging.

Note: The widgets available in the Power Management section use Evse Rest (Connector) data sources, i.e. a new type of data source available with this version. These data sources require you to first configure a REST connector between Service Manager and the monitoring tool. You should then specify the Evse Connector and Resources fields using the elements created in Service Manager.

Available in different versions, the template is designed in responsive mode and supports multilingual management.

• Desktop version
        

• Tablet version
        

• Mobile version
        

What's new in templates

• All vertical templates have been reviewed to integrate the new Case Management module available in Service Manager version 2023.3. This module enables you to create tickets that are applicable to all business use cases, e.g. HR, Facilities, Finance, Legal, or Marketing, other than those for IT service requests.
  
  Reports have been revamped for the following templates:
  • Human Resources: Portal, Dashboard, Back Office
  • Facilities: Portal, Dashboard, Back Office

• Self Service Portal, Mobile Tech Support templates: A set of graphic and functional hotfixes have been applied in order to improve user experience.

New REST API (GET) functionality

A new data source called Evse REST (Connector) enables you to use REST API HTTP request methods. This connector, in its initial version, enables you to use the GET method to read an external data source via a REST API.

Uses

• Display a list of actions to be performed from a project management software such as Trello or Azure. 
• Display a list of employees from an HR application.
• Retrieve data from another EasyVista tool, e.g. EV Observe) monitoring trends. It is also used in the new ESG Dashboard template.
   

Characteristics

• You define the REST parameters used by the new data source in Service Manager in the following menus:
  • REST > Connections: Configure connectors between Service Manager and third-party applications.
  • REST > Resources: Configure the operations that can be performed on resources by third-party REST APIs.

• You should then specify the configured elements in the Evse REST (Connector) and Resource fields in the data source.
• The Custom Params property is used to pass certain field values as parameters during execution, e.g. variables based on the user's location.
       

Version 2023.2 - Build 2023.2.111.0
(17/04/2023 SaaS - 24/04/2023 On-Premises)

Service Apps templates

Self Service Portal, Mobile Tech Support, Asset Management, Human Resources Portal, ITSM Dashboard, Facilities Back Office

A set of graphic and functional hotfixes have been applied in order to improve user experience.

Service Apps administration in Service Manager

Logo and password management

You can now access the options for managing the logo in the login window and in the Service Apps App Gallery, as well as those for the password reset, provided your user profile is authorized to do so. You no longer need to use a Super Admin account to do so.

Note: Menu access in Service Manager: Administration > Service Apps > Parameter Settings.

• Q: Who will have access to these options?
  A: Any account whose user profile is authorized to access the Administration > Service Apps > Parameter Settings menu in Service Manager.
   
• Q: How do you access the other options in the Administration screen?
  A: You can only access advanced options in the Administration screen using the platform's Super Admin account. For SaaS customers, this account is managed by the CloudOps team.

Application history

You can now define the storage duration for application history logs. We recommend that you delete old logs to free up disk space and optimize platform performance.

• By default, logs are stored for 12 months. You can shorten this period to a minimum of one month, or you can increase the storage duration.
• Only logs whose creation date (Datetime) is greater than the storage duration will be deleted.
   

Note: Menu access in Service Manager: Administration > Service Apps > Parameter Settings.

• Q: Who will have access to this option?
  A: This is one of the advanced options in the Administration screen. It can only be accessed using the platform's Super Admin account. SaaS customers must submit a request to the CloudOps team via the customer portal.
   
• Q: Will the version upgrade have an immediate effect on the application history logs?
  A: The version upgrade will delete all logs older than 12 months, i.e. default value defined in the option.

Other enhancements

Font Awesome icon gallery

The Font Awesome icon gallery is now available in Service Apps. You can use it when creating apps. This new icon gallery offers over 2,000 icons as compared with 280 icons available previously.

• Q: Will the existing icons present in apps remain functional?
  A: The former icons will no longer be available in the Service Apps graphic editor. They will, however, remain visible in the apps where they are currently in use.
   
• Q: Can the former icons still be used?
  A: Although the former icons will remain functional in execute mode, they will no longer be available in the icon gallery. As such, you can no longer use them.

Deletion of the /s parameter in the URL of shortcuts

You can now delete the /s parameter in the URL of apps run using a shortcut. This parameter is used only to indicate that apps are run using a shortcut and not directly via their URL.

• Q: What is the impact on existing shortcuts and URLs?
  A: Once you have deleted the parameter, shortcuts will continue working. However, existing URLs, such as those stored in your favorites, will no longer work.
   
• Q: Will the deletion of the /s parameter be performed automatically or will it require a specific configuration on the platform?
  A: The deletion will not be performed automatically. You will be required to modify the Apache configuration file as indicated below.
  Note: SaaS customers must submit a request to delete this parameter to the CloudOps team via the customer portal.

Click to see the procedure (Note: Only for customers using the On-Premises solution)

Team synchronization in Service Apps and Service Manager

Now, when you update a user parameter (e.g. language, profile or group), the modification (addition or deletion) will automatically be propagated to the corresponding teams in Service Apps.

Note: The modification will be applicable when the user logs in to Service Apps.

Employee password policy

PasswordPolicy

Configuration using the Definition of Password Policies wizard in Service Manager

PasswordPolicy_ConfigurationServiceManager

• Q: In which products can you access the Reset your password interface?
  A: You can access the interface in the Service Apps login window and Service Manager login window. You can define the policy using the Definition of Password Policies wizard in Service Manager.

Version 2023.1 - Build 2022.1.133.0.01
(01/23/2023 SaaS - 01/30/2023 On-Premises)

Service Apps templates

New templates

Micro Apps Meeting Room

This template belongs to the Micro Apps category and is dedicated to the management of meeting rooms.

• It provides useful information when users scan the QR code assigned to a given meeting room, e.g. number of seats, available equipment, etc.
• It also enables you to declare an incident related to the meeting room.
   

It is available in three versions.

• Desktop version
  
• Mobile version
  
• Tablet version
  

New Service Desk Homepage template

This template belongs to the Homepage category. It combines two existing templates, Service Desk and Service Desk With KPIs.

Note: These two templates can still be used in earlier Service Apps versions.

What's new in templates

Self Service Portal, Service Desk Homepage and Mobile Tech Support

Self Service Portal template

• XLA (eXperience Level Agreement):
  • A Feedback button has now been added to different parts of the app to allow portal users to submit their feedback easily as the quality of information communicated via the portal (e.g. news), the equipment assigned, the services accessed, the processing of the tickets.
            
  • You can analyze data using a new dedicated Power BI report, XLA Management.
            

• Catalog: A new page called Incident Catalog has been added to the template.

New Global Style functionality

This new functionality improves user experience considerably with regard to the loading time required by apps.

It is based on a thorough restructuring of how CSS code is loaded in the app and the modified order in which app objects are loaded. This modification is described in greater detail in the section entitled What's new in the core.

• Previously, in earlier Service Apps versions, each template page included one or more CSS widgets. These widgets were used to define the style elements of all widgets found in the page.
  • The CSS code was loaded in the <body> section of the app's HTML code. As such, all style elements were loaded at the same time as the rest. This meant that graphic elements were loaded in a visually awkward and fragmented manner, e.g. widgets would be displayed first without any style, and style elements would appear later.
  • This also led to an increase in the number of widgets and lengthened the display time required. It also increased the amount of CSS code to be maintained.
    
     

• In this new Service Apps version, all style elements can be found in a new section called Global Style that is shared by all app objects, e.g. pages, data sources and widgets.
  • All CSS code is now loaded in the <header> section of the app's HTML code. This means that it is loaded before widgets are displayed, which makes for a smoother loading of graphic elements.
  • This new approach minimizes the number of widgets, improves app loading times considerably and facilitates maintenance because all of the CSS code is now found in a single place in the app.
    
     

 Implementation principle

• Click the new section called Global Style in the Objects pane in the graphic editor.
• In this section, place all of the CSS overrides used by the app: Root / Desktop version / Tablet version / Mobile version.
  

Font management on the Service Apps platform

This new functionality enables administrators to add new fonts to the Service Apps platform. The added fonts will then be available to all apps. Each app creator can use them to configure widgets in the graphic editor.

 Implementation principle

• Access this new administration screen by selecting Admin Panel > Font Management in the App Gallery toolbar.
  Note: Only for platform administrators with the App Center Manager profile.

• Select the Standard Fonts tab. All standard fonts available by default on the platform will appear.
  
• Select the Platform Fonts tab. All manually added fonts will appear.
  • The screen will display the name of each font, its format, a preview and the date on which it was imported.
  • You can add new fonts, and export or delete existing fonts.
    

• Once the fonts are imported to the platform, app creators can view the new fonts in widgets with graphic properties, e.g. Theme, Header, or Footer section.
  • (1) List of custom fonts displayed at the top in the My Fonts section, sorted by import date.
  • (2) List of standard fonts available on the platform displayed in the All Fonts section, sorted in alphabetical order.
    
     

Limitations

• Only the following file formats are accepted:
  • Ttf
  • Otf
  • Woff
  • Woff2
  • Eot

• There is no limit to the number of fonts you can import.

What's new in the core

Implementation of React components

The JS library has been replaced by the React library. This decision was guided by our aim to work with a recent framework supported by innovative businesses, e.g. Meta by Facebook.

• The React framework offers better performance and is more streamlined. It provides new design styles and is component-based.
• React components enable you to divide the user interface into encapsulated and reusable elements that manage their own state.
   

In this new Service Apps version, the App Gallery and the admin console have been completely revamped and all widgets are now developed in React. Our final objective is to replace all JS components with React components.

Numerous graphic elements in the interface, in particular grid design, were affected.

• Previous version
  
• New version
  

Modified loading order of app objects

In order to optimize loading time and the running of apps and to implement the new Global Style functionality, the loading order of app objects has been reviewed.

• Previously, when users ran an app in earlier Service Apps versions, it would load widgets one by one, and each widget would load its CSS code and its data sources.
  • This process was repeated as many times as there were widgets in the page and this occurred each time a new page was opened.
  • This led to an increase in the number of styles and widgets loaded, which lengthened the time required to run and display the app.
     

• In this new Service Apps version, all style elements found in the new section called Global Style will be loaded first, followed by widgets, each of which will then load their data sources.
  • Each time a new page is opened, no new style is loaded because all styles were already loaded with the initial running of the app.
  • This new approach optimizes performance and minimizes user impression of slow response times. It enables faster access to the interface and quicker interactions. It streamlines the embedded code by reducing the number of widgets required for customizing an app.