Metastorm BPM version 9.0 Service Release 2 (9.0.2) is now available. Some of the new features, changes, and fixes are listed below. Read the Release Notes for complete information.
Enhanced Status Fields
The status field has been updated with a series of enhancements to improve functionality and usability
including:
• Improved Drilldown – The drilldown properties have been expanded to make it easier for the
process designer to initiate a new process or to open an Administration Form. In addition to the
previous dynamic process, forms and processes can now be linked to directly and data can be
directly passed to the new form via a new Parameters property.
• Optionally Display Value – Through the addition of two new properties, the process designer
can specify that the value of the field is displayed either to the left or right of the status icon.
• Customizable Tooltips – The rollover message for the icon may now be customized by the
process designer to display something other than the standard “Safety, Warning, Danger”.
Enhanced Grids
The grid control has been enhanced to enable process designers to create more attractive, functional,
and usable grids for their end-users. This release includes two significant enhancements:
• New Status Column Type – A new column type has been added for the usage of Status
columns. These behave in a similar manner to the existing Status field and include the new
functionality outlined previously. This new column type enables the process designer to create
dynamic graphical indicators within their grids with built-in drilldown capability.
• Multi-Sort Columns – Two new properties have been added to the grid to allow the process
designer to specify that columns are sortable by multiple columns and to include an extra
button to clear the sort order. End-user can sort on columns by clicking to change from
ascending, descending, and none.
Dynamic Label Fields
The label field has been updated to enable process designers to create more attractive forms. New
properties have been added to allow dynamic expressions to be displayed and to be marked as “Is
Dependant” in order to refresh on form refills.
Enhanced Custom Lists
The custom list has been enhanced to enable process designers to create more attractive, functional, and
usable lists for their end-users. A new column type has been added for the usage of Status columns.
These behave in a similar manner to the existing Status field and include the new functionality outlined
previously. This new column type enables process designer to create dynamic graphical indicators
within their grids with built-in drilldown capability.
Import/Export for Projects and Libraries
The Import/Export capability for the Designer has been enhanced to better enable process designers
working as a team. Projects and libraries and all objects contained within may be exported as
BPMProjPkg and BPMLibPkg respectively and can then be imported into a solution that does not
contain a project or library of the same name.
In addition to this, the Retrieve function has been updated to automatically import the project/library
directly from the repository into the current solution.
Enhanced Process Model Customization
Service Release 2 further enhances the customization capabilities of the BPM Process Model with the
ability to customize the background color, border color, and font color of stages and comments. In
addition, the font color can be customized for action names. This enables the process designer to
highlight sections of the process model to improve readability or to show different levels of importance.
Enhanced Database Connections
Connections to databases have been enhanced to allow access to ODBC data sources in addition to
OLEDB. To connect to an ODBC data source, create a new connection and choose ODBC Database as
the type.
Additionally, a new option has been added for database connections to configure whether statements
made on the connection participate within distributed transactions. By default all databases participate
within the Metastorm transaction. However, this can be disabled by unchecking the “Use DTC” option
on the connection.
Enhanced Business Objects
Service Release 2 improves the usability of Business Objects with three minor enhancements:
• Used By Node – Business Objects listed within the Inventory of a solution now show where
they are referenced by processes, forms, and reports via a new Used By node within the tree.
• Test Parameters – The Test tab of the Business Objects editor has been enhanced to allow the
process designer to enter test parameters directly without the need to go to the Parameters tab.
• Refresh of Table Business Objects – Business Objects of type “Table” may now be updated
via a new button within the Business Object editor. By clicking on “Refresh”, the Business
Object definition is updated with any changes that may have been made to the underlying
database table. Business Objects variables will automatically be updated accordingly.
Other Noteworthy Changes
• A “Description” property has been added to the User Action. This description is used by
the web client to display a tooltip for action buttons.
• A “Remember Login Details” checkbox has been added to the login window of the
Designer.
• A “BCC” property has been added to the Email activity.
• The option “New Folder” for the “Button action” property of Button field has been
renamed to “Initiate a Process”.
• The option “Folder” for the “Hyperlink type” property of the Hyperlink field on a Report
has been changed to “Open existing folder”.
Current Limitations
The following features are not supported:
• Data Access
While using Oracle as the database, only standard ASCII characters are
supported in table and column names. These names should only be in upper case.
Extended characters, double quotes, or spaces in table or column names are also
not supported.
Business Objects do not support tables or queries to Oracle database systems
with columns containing spaces.
You will not be able to define ODBC connections in the Designer that use 32-bit
drivers if you are running the Designer on a 64-bit operating system. The only
work around, in this situation, is to use the Designer on a 32-bit operating
system.
The Query Builder may fail when used for database providers that do not fully
conform to ANSI SQL 92 standards.
The use of the Update database rows visual script activity will fail when used in
conjunction with a connection that is using the Salesforce.com OLEDB provider.
The workaround for this issue is to use a code activity and issue the command
with the use of the SelectSQL function instead.This also affects the ability to add or delete rows of data from the Salesforce remote repository via an OLEDB or ODBC connection if using a grid within the
form.
• External Forms
Support for External Forms is not included with version 9.0 SR2. This will be
enhanced and included with a later release.
• Formula Language Evaluation Support
eFolder table query access
Database queries against the eFolder table using the %Script() syntax may fail.
For example, the formula displayed below fails when used to populate a dropdown
options field within the v7 News sample procedure:
%GetData(,eFolder,\\" (eMapName = \\'News\\') AND
(eArchived <> 1)\\", eCategory)
This problem only affects legacy database interaction through procedures like
%GetData. In order to correct this, the syntax should be converted into v9 syntax.
%ServerName
The %ServerName is always empty on v9 Engine.
%User.Input and %User.Input\[n\]
%User.Input and %User.Input\[n\] behavior has changed in v9. When selecting a
row in a grid field, the data returned by %User.Input contains all data from the
Business Object that is bound to the grid. In v7, only data from columns
displayed in the grid is returned. Similarly, the index in %User.Input\[n\] refers to
the column index in the Business Object, not the visible grid control.
Resolved Issues
The following table lists the issues resolved in Metastorm BPM Release 9.0 SR2.
Admin Tools
| Help Desk\# / Metastorm\# |
Component |
Issue |
| SR-05132010-0016
DEF12779 |
Admin Tools |
"Roles Without Users" button under roles tab not working in v9 SR1
Metastorm Administration. |
ASP.NET Web Parts
| Help Desk\# / Metastorm\# |
Component |
Issue |
| DEF12828 |
ASP.NET Web Parts |
When there are multiple dashboards pointed to different reports, only one
dashboard report contains data. |
| SR-11022009-0039
DEF13281 |
ASP.NET Web Parts |
While web part is refreshing, there is no indication that the refreshing process is taking place. |
| SR-01292010-0011
DEF13284 |
ASP.NET Web Parts |
Priority coloring disappears if ePriority column is not included for To
Do/Watch Lists. |
BPM Designer
| Help Desk\# / Metastorm\# |
Component |
Issue |
| DEF1599 |
BPM Designer |
In Tab Order functionality, decrement or manual typing is not allowed. |
| SR-05102010-0010 DEF8556 |
BPM Designer |
Wrong data is copied to clipboard when Actioncaption being edited is
copied. |
| SR-05192010-0004 DEF9801 |
BPM Designer |
Business Object variables name should be updated after changing destination
database from SQL Server to Oracle. |
| SR-01132010-0002 DEF10852 |
BPM Designer |
Adding stages to swimlanes does not set the role on first instance. |
| DEF10959 |
BPM Designer |
Timeout value has been adjusted for expressionable field’s error message and tooltip to display for a longer time. |
| SR-02052010-0007, SR-
03222010-0013 DEF11018 |
BPM Designer |
Export Graphic feature that includes swim lanes, does not extend the swim lanes in the export. |
| SR-03102010-0003 DEF11828 |
BPM Designer |
When deleting a Business Object, which is assigned to a variable, the message shown has GUID instead of variable name. |
| SR-05072010-0010 DEF12271 |
BPM Designer |
Copy and paste of fields from one form to another renames all fields. |
| SR-04152010-0007 DEF12286 |
BPM Designer |
Find Substring is 1 based index, default value set by Designer should be 0 not 1. |
| SR-03122010-0022 DEF12594 |
BPM Designer |
Behavior of Rule is strange during moving of control on front and back (z-order). |
| SR-05142010-0005 DEF12631 |
BPM Designer |
Code is lost when there is an error in conditional action of
"Only start action if". |
| SR-05052010-0023 DEF12704 |
BPM Designer |
Library caching/versioning is incorrect. |
| DEF12705 |
BPM Designer |
Tab order changes do not trigger the modified flag on a form. |
| SR-04122010-0009 DEF12720 |
BPM Designer |
Importing Form with same name to that of exiting form causes code
compilation errors. |
| SR-06042010-0001 DEF12745 |
BPM Designer |
Designer crashes if templates with same name are placed in "My
Metastorm Templates" folder. |
| SR-06142010-0006 DEF12875 |
BPM Designer |
Updating dereferenced library resets variables names to different case. |
| DEF13130 |
BPM Designer |
Copy and paste to new form uses different co-ordinates. |
| DEF13133 |
BPM Designer |
Copy and paste to same form pastes to the centre of the form. |
| DEF13198 |
BPM Designer |
Form fields drop-down property is too small and does not remember size. |
| DEF13199 |
BPM Designer |
Formula property of Evaluate activities is too small and is not remembered
after resize. |
Deployment
| Help Desk\# / Metastorm\# |
Component |
Issue |
| SR-04212010-0003 DEF12313 |
Deployment |
Memo field formatting does not look correct and displays spaces. |
| SR-07072010-0003 DEF13113 |
Deployment |
Unable to deploy Browser Settings. |
Documentation
| Help Desk\# / Metastorm\# |
Component |
Issue |
| SR-02082010-0006 DEF11903 |
Documentation |
Information shared with respect to Alert Generator in InstallConfig.chm is
not clear. |
| SR-04292010-0003 DEF12378 |
Documentation |
Maximum allowed length of custom variable names should be documented
in Designer User Manual.pdf |
| SR-05062010-0019 DEF12640 |
Documentation |
Location of upgrade .SQL files is not mentioned in the Release Notes. |
| SR-05262010-0019 DEF12663 |
Documentation |
Documentation is missing for public access for images and scripts. |
| SR-06042010-0013 DEF12751 |
Documentation |
Designer's Debugging feature prerequisite should be updated. |
| SR-06182010-0012 DEF13016 |
Documentation |
Minor typo correction in "Web Client Configuration Guide.pdf" Section
1.27 Adding Custom Buttons. |
| DEF13272 |
Documentation |
Designer User Guide: Missing date/time format info. |
Engine
| Help Desk\# / Metastorm\# |
Component |
Issue |
| SR-06152010-0012 DEF12673 |
Engine |
User.Error shows non-required message along with the custom error message. |
| SR-06022010-0003 DEF12675 |
Engine |
Chaining to action that is set onSubmit does not work. |
| DEF12696 |
Engine |
Connection record from library is deployed only once for multiple projects. |
| SR-07062010-0020 DEF13250 |
Engine |
Unable to open a folder which contains 2 grids associated with the same Query Business Object. |
Installation-Migrator
| Help Desk\# / Metastorm\# |
Component |
Issue |
| SR-05102010-0011 DEF12693 |
Installation - Migrator |
Migration Assistant fails to run after installation. |
Web Client
| Help Desk\# / Metastorm\# |
Component |
Issue |
| SR-07202010-0001 DEF11450 |
Web Client |
Grid columns do not line up with headers correctly. |
| BET0096 DEF11998 |
Web Client |
Not possible to type multiple letters in a list field to narrow down the search. |
| SR-03232010-0001 DEF12236 |
Web Client |
Tab order should not be applicable to read-only fields, else should be applicable to all fields. |
| SR-05242010-0001 DEF12648 |
Web Client |
Focus moves to drop-down after pressing the button. |
| SR-05262010-0006 DEF12739 |
Web Client |
Issue with dates in editable grids which does not fall under day light saving range. |
| SR-06082010-0013 DEF12755 |
Web Client |
TimeZone adjustments are shown incorrectly. |
| DEF12793 |
Web Client |
DateTime range of Grid columns is too small. |
| SR-06142010-0009 DEF13032 |
Web Client |
Custom List Button is working incorrectly. |
| SR-06092010-0009 DEF13173 |
Web Client |
DateTime Picker gets disabled if the mouse button is released outside the control. |
| DEF13178 |
Web Client |
Filtering of ToDo and Watch lists has incorrect behavior. |
| DEF13271 |
Web Client |
Radio Group controls do not truly reflect the Design. |
Known Issues
The following is a list of known issues of which we feel you should be most aware.
| Metastorm \# |
Component/Area |
Issue |
| DEF4357 |
Business Objects |
Not possible to have the parameter name the same as the column name. |
| DEF6415 |
Business Objects |
Spaces in Oracle column names will cause forms to fail to open when a field uses a Business Object referencing that column. |
| DEF7105 |
Business Objects |
SQL Server DateTime2 data types display as Memos unless the SQL Native Client driver is used. |
| DEF7230 |
Business Objects |
LDAP Business Objects returning date/time data will throw an error when accessed during process execution. |
| DEF10056 |
Business Objects |
Trying to open a form containing a grid that references process data Business Objects or local Business Objects on Oracle will throw an error. |
| DEF8780 |
Business Objects |
Trying to use an equal/does not equal filter against a memo column will cause an error message, "The data types ntext and nvarchar are incompatible in the equal to operator". |
| DEF12877 |
Business Objects |
Table Business Objects do not list views. Workaround is to manually type the name of the view. |
| DEDF12181 |
Custom Lists |
Filtering on float columns can sometimes give incorrect results due to rounding. |
| DEF11814 |
Custom Lists |
SQL comments in a query used by a Custom List may cause an error when viewed in the Web Client. The error displayed is “multiple step OLEDB operation”. |
| DEF4629/DEF4628 |
Deployment |
Projects with large images or many images may timeout while deploying. |
| DEF13910 |
Deployment |
Form with Grid fails to open in Web Client with FIPS enabled. This is due to an issue with the encryption of connections. As a workaround, re-deploy the solution. However, if you have edited the connection string using Admin Tools, then it is marked as Overridden in the database and re-deployment does not resolve the issue. In this scenario, delete the connection data using Admin Tools and then re-deploy the solution. |
| DEF10415 |
Designer |
Width property is not available when more than one form control is selected. |
| DEF11708 |
Designer |
When deleting a Business Object that is assigned to a field, the warning message shows a GUID rather than the name. Same problem when deleting a Business Object from a Custom List. |
| DEF11432 |
Designer |
Validation error messages do not always provide the location of the error. |
| DEF12568 |
Designer |
Captions of all controls in a Form Segment become bold when referenced on a Form on x64 systems. Workaround is to switch off smoothing of edges of screen fonts. To do this, go to My ComputeràProperties àAdvancedàPerformance Settingsà Smooth edges of screen fonts. |
| DEF13841 |
Designer |
Form Fields property drop-down only remembers height (not width). |
| DEF12887 |
Designer |
When using the process debugging feature of Designer, an error message "Login failed for user 'NT AUTHORITY\\NETWORK SERVICE', may be displayed. To overcome the error, follow the steps mentioned below: 1) If NT AUTHORITY\\NETWORK SERVICE user is present: a) Open SQL Management Studio and connect to your Metastorm database b) Go to the Security folder and open properties of NT AUTHORITY\\NETWORK SERVICE c) Select 'sysadmin' checkbox on 'Server Roles' sheet 2) If NT AUTHORITY\\NETWORK SERVICE user is not present: a) Open SQL Management Studio and connect to your Metastorm database b) Go to the Security folder and create NT AUTHORITY\\NETWORK SERVICE c) Select 'sysadmin' checkbox on 'Server Roles' sheet |
| DEF13035 |
Designer |
Use of the "Test Connection" button on the "Connection" tab of the Data Link properties dialog (displayed when defining a connection in advanced mode) can lead to an exception being raised when performed in conjunction with some third party OLEDB providers. A workaround for this is to use "Test Connection" button which can be seen at the bottom of the main connection definition screen. |
| DEF13925 |
Designer |
Adding an activity does not work with FIPS enabled. |
| DEF11888 |
DMS |
It is not possible to tab through the DMS browser window in the Web Client. |
| DEF11784 |
DMS |
DMS folder icons are not consistently displayed as open in the Web Client. |
| DEF11408 |
DMS |
Unauthorized windows appear behind the DMS blank form. |
| DEF13866 |
Engine |
Filters in Custom list skips DateTime values with non-default time. The workaround is to create a Query Business Object that excludes the date parts that are not needed in the Custom list. |
| DEF8906 |
Expression Builder |
When building a SelectSQL function containing ‘@’ parameters against Oracle, the Expression Builder does not show the parameter fields correctly. Workaround is to remove the quotes from around the parameter in the SQL. |
| DEF11488 |
Installation |
The wrong Oracle driver is currently included in the main install’s Redist folder. Please see Supported Environments document for the correct ones to use. |
| DEF12178 |
Installation |
The ActivateCallerID Engine registry key is getting reset on some operating systems after upgrading to SR1. This will affect SSO configuration. |
| DEF12192 |
Installation |
Deployment and Engine services do not auto start on Server 2003 when SQL Server is installed to the same machine. Workaround is to start the services manually. |
| DEF13017 |
Migration |
Migration of ‘Visibility depends on’ is unsuccessful if the field refers to a form segment. |
| DEF10295 |
Migration |
If an action name is changed during the migration process, any chained action properties that reference the action will not be updated. These can be manually updated afterwards. |
| DEF10384 |
Migration |
Forms that contained spaces prior to migration will throw validation errors post migration with regards to invalid fields. Workaround is to reselect the form fields for each action that references the forms. |
| DEF12362 |
Process Activator |
Calling start actions that have no form via a Process Activator created web service throw an exception. |
| DEF11914 |
Reports |
Spaces in Business Object columns cause data to fail to appear in a Report. Workaround is to create a query like “SELECT \[My Column\] AS \[NoSpaceName\] ...”. |
| DEF12632 |
Reports |
Charts are not shown if a report is opened via a hyperlink. |
| DEF11171 |
Side by Side |
Auto refresh does not work for 7.6 processes in the Version 9 Web Client. |
| DEF9420/ DEF11329 |
Validation |
Double clicking a validation message returns a message “Associated item was removed from view” when the error relates to a field event such as “When changed”. |
| DEF10319 |
Web Client |
Clip fields can only open the current folder’s attachment. Even if the clip fields references a variable from another process data Business Object it will use the current folder’s folder ID to retrieve the attachment. |
| DEF9635 |
Web Client |
Drop-down controls placed at the bottom of a form can result in the list appearing at the top of the form on clicking the drop-down. |
| DEF9680 |
Web Client |
Drop-down controls can display their list in the wrong position on a form when used in an Arabic or any RTL locale. |
| DEF8945 |
Web Client |
Using web help link on locales other than English, German, French and Spanish will cause an invalid URL error. |
| DEF12089 |
Web Client |
Multi-clip controls show all previous attachments after deleting them and then adding a new one. |
| DEF11695 |
Web Client |
It is not possible to sort on Folder or Hyperlink columns in Custom Lists. |
| DEF11736 |
Web Client |
Values cannot be entered into drop-downs in grids using the keyboard on Firefox. |
| DEF12757 |
Web Client |
It’s not currently possible to use HTTPS in the engine service list location in the web.config file. |
| DEF13084 |
Web Client |
Text is truncated on the attachment browse button in German locale. |
| DEF12361 |
Web Client |
Folders opened via an external URL always display scroll bars. |
| DEF13249 |
Web Client |
Re-opening a form containing a grid with 200+ records can freeze the browser. Workaround is to use client paging on the grid. |
| DEF13861 |
Web Client |
While using Internet Explorer as Web Client, when you submit a form having editable grid with many records, a message is displayed prompting you whether to continue running the script: “A script on this page is causing your web browser to run slowly. If it continues to run, your computer might become unresponsive.”
To change this time-out value in Internet Explorer, follow the steps mentioned below:
1. Using a Registry Editor such as Regedt32.exe, open this key:
HKEY\_CURRENT\_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Internet Explorer\\Styles Note: If the Styles key is not present, create a new key that is called Styles. 2. Create a new DWORD value called "MaxScriptStatements" under this key and set the value to the desired number of script statements. If you are unsure of what value you need to set this to, you can set it to a DWORD value of 0xFFFFFFFF to completely avoid the dialog.
For more information, refer to the Microsoft Knowledge Base article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175500 |
| DEF13874 |
Web Services |
Changing the serialization method on an existing Web Service results in message stating that the URI is duplicated. |
