Service Apps - 2023 - Release Notes

Last modified on 2023/04/25 12:28
Contents

Current Version : 2023.2.111.0.01          Previous Version

WarningReleaseNotes

Note: This is a version release document. Some of the screenshots may show a slight difference compared to the release version as we are constantly seeking to improve the design and usability up until the release date.

   You will find only releases with new features on this page. To find releases with only bug fixes, please consult the Change Log pages.

  The pages on the wiki detailing latest news will be updated soon. For more up-to-date information, please consult What's New in the Wiki page.

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.

          Q2_2023 - Update templates.png

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.

          Q2_2023 - Settings of Service Apps in Service Manager.png

Questions Answers icon.png  

  • 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.

          Q2_2023 - Settings of Service Apps in Service Manager - History duration 1.png
         Q2_2023 - Settings of Service Apps in Service Manager - History duration 2.png

Questions Answers icon.png

  • 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.

          Q2_2023 - Font Awesome library.png

Questions Answers icon.png

  • 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.

          Q2_2023 - URL shortcuts without s parameter - edit.png
         Q2_2023 - URL shortcuts without s parameter - run.png

Questions Answers icon.png

  • 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.

(Note: Only for customers using the On-Premises solution)

1. Open the file called [EVSA Config]/define_customer.php and delete the contents of the SHORTURL_VIRTUAL_PATH parameter with the /s value.
define('SHORTURL_VIRTUAL_PATH', '');
2. Configure the Apache server to redirect all URLs ending with alphanumeric characters, with - or with _ to the new URLs.
example You must adapt this based on your platform.
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_URI} ^[/][0-9a-zA-Z_-]+$ RewriteRule (.*)$ index.php?ev_shorturl=$1 [QSA,L]

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.

          Q2_2023 - Synchronize team between Service Manager and Service Apps.png

Employee password policy

PasswordPolicy

 

A new password policy has been implemented for managing passwords. It includes rules that all users are required to respect.

Password policy displayed in the login window 

  • The password policy is displayed when users click the Forgot your Password link to change their password, or when their user password is expired.
  • The new password must satisfy the following requirements: eight characters minimum, with at least one upper-case letter, one lower-case letter, one number and one special character.
           Q2_2023 - Forgot your password 1.png

Configuration using the Definition of Password Policies wizard in Service Manager

PasswordPolicy_ConfigurationServiceManager

 

This wizard is used to modify the password policy applicable to all users. It is accessible in the Administration > Access Management > Employees menu.

  • The Minimum number of characters for passwords field has been added. You can define the default value in the new parameter called {ADMIN} User passwords: minimum number of characters found in Other Parameters.
  • The Enforce All Password Expiration option has been renamed Expire all passwords now. This forces all users to reset their password when they next log in to the app.
  • The {ADMIN} Enable data entry constraint for passwords option and all associated fields have been removed.
           Q2_2023 - Definition of password policies wizard.png
     

Note:

  • The {ADMIN} Enable data entry constraint for passwords parameter in Other Parameters has been deleted.
  • When users request to change their password, they will receive a message with a link to the Reset your password screen. You can define the message in the Email Template for Forgotten Passwords wizard (Administration > Access Management > Employees menu).

Questions Answers icon.png

  • 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
    Q4_2022 - Template Meeting Room - Desktop version.png
  • Mobile version
    Q4_2022 - Template Meeting Room - Mobile version.png
  • Tablet version
    Q4_2022 - Template Meeting Room - Tab version.png

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.

          Q4_2022 - Template Service Desk Homepage.png

What's new in templates

Self Service Portal, Service Desk Homepage and Mobile Tech Support

A number of enhancements have been added to these templates to optimize display performance and user experience.

  • A new creation style guide has been applied to templates.
  • The template CSS has been significantly improved with the addition of a new functionality called Global Style in this version.
  • Templates have been visually evaluated and revamped to enhance user experience in execute mode.
  • Parent queries specific to templates are now available. This ensures that only the data required by the templates will be retrieved from data sources, thus reducing loading time.

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.
               Q4_2022 - Template Self Service Portal 1.png
    • You can analyze data using a new dedicated Power BI report, XLA Management.
               Q4_2022 - Template Self Service Portal 2.png
  • 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.
      Q4_2022 - Global style - Before.png
       
  • 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.
      Q4_2022 - Global style - After.png
       

 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.
    Q4_2022 - Global style section.png

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.
    Q4_2022 - Font management.png
  • 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.
      Q4_2022 - Font management - Import fonts.png
  • 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.
      Q4_2022 - Font using.png
       

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
    Q4_2022 - Grid with library JS.png
  • New version
    Q4_2022 - Grid with library React.png

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.
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