(UPDATED) Board 2023 Summer Release - 12.6 Patch Release is Here!





We are pleased to share that the Board 2023 Summer Release is here! This release includes significant improvements for all types of users, but its main new features are focused on Makers and Admin & Ops.
- Makers can now use the new ALM section (Integrated Application Lifecycle Management) under System Administration to safely compare and transport key Board resources between different Platforms.
Makers also received important updates regarding the "REST API call" Procedure step, which has been greatly enhanced to provide more flexibility and to easily adapt to additional common business scenarios.
Other enhancements for Makers include extending the use of Temporary Cubes to all Procedures steps and, in the Database security area, the ability to configure a security selection based on a Cube and the support of Unbalanced Hierarchies in the Custom selection script field.
- Admins & Ops, the Board 2023 Summer release includes the official support of SCIM APIs, which have been integrated into Board's Subscription Hub.
- Citizen End-users are getting new scrollbars that have been greatly improved in terms of usability.
To learn about other new functionalities and improvements, see to the "Other enhancements" page and the "Minor changes" page.
Board 2023 Summer release also marks the introduction of the new Enterprise security concept, that officially replaces the previous Enterprise security feature (also known as ~Database_name & ~Security) for new installations.
The new approach provides Cloud customers with greater flexibility and many more options for managing their data, while at the same time improving usability by reducing the implementation effort.
The revamped Enterprise security concept makes use of three powerful features included in this Board release:
- Cube visibility - This feature, released in Board 2022 summer release, provides enhanced visibility into the customers' data by allowing them to view and analyze the relevant functional combinations on the reports. This enables them to make more informed decisions and gain deeper insights into their business operations. Learn more about the Cube visibility feature
- "Select Entity based on Cube" feature for Database security profiles and Roles - This feature allows for a more granular and flexible approach to security management, where access permissions can be based on individual data Cubes rather than be applied on the entire Data model. This provides greater control over data access and ensures that sensitive information is only accessible to authorized personnel
- Board SCIM API service. The System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) protocol is now officially integrated into Board's Subscription Hub, which now offers a new area dedicated to Permission Groups and supports SCIM attributes in the User Metadata section, thus enabling the use of security selection scripts in the Database security area.
Learn more about the Board 2023 Summer release and its new features and enhancements.
The main features of this release include:
- Integrated ALM - Transporter improvements - The Transporter section of the System Administration area has been renamed into ALM to reflect the new approach of Board towards an Integrated Lifecycle management system that allows Makers to easily and securely create and maintain Data models and Applications (Capsules) across different Board Platforms.
The new area includes the Data model snapshot and Data model package tools for Data models, which have been improved to transport also custom API queries, and the following two new tools:- The Capsule snapshot tool: Like the Data model snapshot, this tool allows you to create a snapshot of the entire Capsules area of the Platform, including folders
- The Capsule package tool: Like the Data model package, this tool allows you to create a package based on two different Capsule snapshots, define the structure of the Capsule area once the package is run, compare the two snapshots and map the structure of the source snapshot to the structure of the target snapshot.
The CLI automation area has been updated accordingly to support the execution of Capsule packages.
The improvements above unlock the following key benefits:
- Unified management of back-end and front-end
- Comparison and impact analysis available also for Capsules
- Complete automation of transport and backup, including front-end
Learn more about the new Integrated ALM section
- REST API call Procedure step enhancements - The "REST API call" Procedure step is now able to handle pagination (adding order to the query result) and supports visualization of returned data in a dialog (like what happens with the Drill-through). The @Selection_Ex substitution formula and the Data picker tool are now supported in the parameters table and in the "API path" field, to also dynamically pass values to the API call itself. The Procedure Debugger has also been improved to help troubleshoot potential issues with the step.
The improvements above unlock the following key benefits:
- Flexibility: REST API step is now able to adapt to a much wider range of external systems and architectures;
- Improved performance and reliability: unlock better performances and more reliable data exchange processes;
Learn more about the enhancements to the REST API call Procedure step
- Board SCIM API - Board 2023 Summer release now officially supports the System for Cross-domain Identity Management (SCIM) protocol, which enables organizations to manage user identities and access to Board resources across multiple systems and domains. Using SCIM RESTful API calls, you can automate the process of creating, updating, and deleting user accounts and permissions on Board's Subscription Hub, and to keep these accounts and permissions in sync across different systems.
This new implementation reduces the need for manual intervention and ensures that user information is always accurate and up to date.
Key benefits achieved:
- Standardization & Integration: accessibility and full operability with identity management systems already used by customers;
- Automation: Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) operations for Board users can be automated;
Learn more about how the SCIM protocol has been implemented into Board
Release Notes
You may review the full release notes now on the Board Manual here: Board 2023 Summer Release Notes
Install Files
To download the latest installer files, please visit Downloads. You must sign in to view and download the files.
Upgrade Instructions
Visit the Upgrade instructions page of the Board Manual to learn about the upgrade process.
Comments
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Product Management Team Employee, Group Leader, Analytics, Idea Exchange Manager, Blog Author, Support Author
UPDATE (25 September 2023)
A new 12.6 Patch is now available for download here: it includes various enhancements and bug fixes.
Patch highlights:
- Several fixes and improvements related to:
- Vertical Layouts
- Rest ApIs
- Data entry
- Resolved issues with the Google Maps API due to a Google update. Read more here
- Board SAP connector compatibility update to use the new SAP extraction feature Table CDC
Enhancements
Google Maps Object is available upon upgrade
After a recent Google API update, the Google Maps Object will now display properly only with this latest Board version. If you are on a previous version and you want to use this Screen Object, you must update to the newest Board version.
Increased security to Data sources
To enhance security, the option to connect data sources to Board using “localhost”, “127.0.01”, or all the access requests that are resolved internally to the server are not supported anymore. This is true for all types of Data readers, including SAP and ASCII readers.
This kind of configuration should be changed with a specific server URL/address to continue using the connection.
The URL security check, whether positive or negative, is logged at the DEBUG level into the Diagnostic log.
Data reader fix for newest version of SAP Connector
If a customer upgraded to the newest version of Theobald software, Board was unable to connect to the SAP Connector server where at least one Table CDC was configured. With the new Theobald update, the new SAP Connector only uses the HTTP/HTTPS protocol, which uses the data transfer port.
In order to fix this, administrators must upgrade to this latest Summer update version and change the connection URL in the Data Reader section of Board from TCP to HTTP or HTTPS, pointing to the same server but using the data transfer port. The data transfer port default for HTTP and HTTPS respectively are 8097 and 8197.
e.g. The old connection with TCP, board-connection.com:8098, must now be changed to HTTPS, https://board-connection.com:8197
Note: the ports 8097 and 8197 are the default ports that the SAP Connector offers during installation but can be changed by the client.
If customers upgrade to a new Board version, but do not upgrade to the new SAP Connector version, the data connection will still work as expected. This only applies to those who upgraded the Theobald software to use the Table CDC extractor.
Bug fixes
The following is a list of reported bugs that have been fixed in this patch.
Bulk SQL insert. In some cases, the Bulk SQL insert Procedure step caused an error to appear and the Procedure to fail. Also, these errors were logged incorrectly. This bug has been fixed and all errors and exceptions are now logged correctly.
Cubes. Reordering Cube Groups from the user view page in the Cubes section caused an unexpected error. This bug has been fixed.
Cubes. When a BLOB Cube was moved to a different Group or was renamed, the Cube was cleared. This bug has been fixed.
Cubes. If a Cube with multiple versions that was included in a Transporter package was moved to a different position in the user view page, the Cube was cleared. This bug has been fixed.
Data entry. When a new value was entered in a Down Total or a Row Total cell of an algorithm block with a reverse algorithm, the number displayed in the preview of those cells was wrong. This bug has been fixed.
Data entry. In a Layout with a Screen Selection that has an unbalanced Entity set by Row, performing a Data entry on a Cube cell, resulted in the value not being saved and propagated as expected along the Relationship tree. This bug has been fixed.
Data entry. Data entry on a vertically aligned Data View would not save the correct value. This bug has been fixed.
Dataflow. Running a Procedure with the Dataflow step with the time function Yearly Cumulated Value applied to the source Cube and a Select applied to the Fiscal Year Entity would unexpectedly change the selection. This bug has been fixed.
Data model. When a 128-bit Cube was configured to have access conditions from the Cube visibility section of the Database security page, the Layouts that contained said Cube would fail. This bug has been fixed.
Data View. Entity members whose code was a number were not displayed correctly when added as a Block in a vertically aligned Layout. This bug has been fixed.
Data View. When the Lock and Spread function was applied on a Data View associated with a vertically aligned Layout, the “Total”, “Average”, “Minimum”, and “Max” values displayed in the right panel of the Lock and Spread configuration window for cells containing decimal numbers were rounded to whole numbers. This bug has been fixed.
Data View. When a Data View with multiple columns of different widths was navigated by scrolling horizontally, the last column was not displayed. This bug has been fixed.
Data View. When a Screen Selection made with the “exclude” option and one or more of the excluded members were deleted from the Entities section of the corresponding Data model, a log line in the Diagnostic log set at a verbosity level “Warning” was created every time the Screen was opened. This event is no longer tracked in the Diagnostic log set at “Warning” but at “Debug”.
Entities. In some cases, when a standalone Entity was cleared from the Entities section of a Data model, all selections that included that standalone Entity did not work as expected. This bug has been fixed.
Layout. The execution of Layouts containing a high number of cells was unexpectedly slower than previous versions. This has been fixed.
Layout. When a filter was set on one Cube and Data entry on another and the Screen with the associated Data View was opened in 2 different browser tabs, then, if the user filtered out a cell from one tab and then went back to the other tab without refreshing the page to perform Data entry on the same cell, the newly entered data was saved in the wrong cell. This bug has been fixed.
Layout. If a Layout with Unbalanced Entity had the “Refer to” option enabled and an Entity not in said Layout was deleted, after unloading and reloading the Data model, the Down Total value was not calculated correctly. This bug has been fixed.
Layout. A Layout having more than one Entity set by Row and two algorithms, one that displayed the same value of a Cube block and the other one that performed a formula where the Cube block is divided by itself and also had a filter applied, produced an incorrect Total value. This bug has been fixed.
Procedures. If the path in an Extract Tree Procedure step configuration didn’t exist, the Procedure which contained it would fail instead of creating the necessary folders. This bug has been fixed.
Rest API. If a REST API step configuration used a data picker for a query parameter value on a temporary Cube, an error would occur. This bug has been fixed.
Rest API. When a REST API Call was made and the response had a body in gzip format, this step could not read it properly in the output configuration dialog. This bug has been fixed and compressed body types are now supported: to do so, we have added two new default headers (Accept and Accept-Encoding) to notify the remote server. If a custom value is entered, those headers will notify the remote server with said custom value. If no value is entered, those headers will not be added to the call. If an unsupported custom value is entered, an error message will be displayed in the output configuration dialog.
Smart Import Object. In Design mode, when a user with a Power User license clicked on the Suggested Values menu in the right panel, the user was logged out. This bug has been fixed.
Subscription Hub. When an administrator updated password policy options in the General Settings area, the new options were not displayed correctly and were ignored when users changed their password. This bug has been fixed.
SQL Data Reader. When Entity members had a line break at the end of their code, the said code would only be saved correctly upon its creation. Running the same Data Reader again would not write any values. This bug has been fixed.
The newest 12.6 Patch Release is now available here!
——————————————————————————————————————————
UPDATE (14/08/2023)
A new 12.6 Patch is now available for download here: it includes various enhancements and bug fixes.
Patch highlights:
- Update on Board’s public APIs
- New “set trigger” option for Data Views
- Data model package enhancements
- Several fixes and improvements related to various Data model features, the Dataflow step, Data entry, and more.
New features
Board's public APIs
It is now possible to trigger the execution of a Procedure with a selection added through query string parameters: the selection will define the scope of the Procedure as it does when the Procedure is triggered from a Capsule Screen that has an active Selection applied.
This improvement is particularly useful for business cases when the API call should update and process only a specific selection of data and that information is not stored in Board but in the external system that triggers the execution of a Board Procedure. For example, if a user has updated sales data for 100 products in their ERP system and wants to launch a Procedure which reads only the information about those products and calculates the related margin, now a selection can be passed with the "Procedure" API query to limit the scope of its execution to those 100 products.
Examples:
- Base: ?{entity_name}={member_code} ?year=2012
Result: The Procedure scope will only consider the year 2012 - Multiple: ?{entity_name}={member_code}&{entity_name}={member_code} ?year=2012&city=IT01
Result: The Procedure scope will only consider the year 2012 and the city whose code is IT01 - List: ?{entity_name}={member_code},{member_code},{member_code} ?year=2012,2017,2019
Result: The Procedure scope will only consider the years 2012, 2017 and 2019 - Range: ?{entity_name}={member_code}..{member_code} ?year=2015..2019
Result: The Procedure scope will consider all years from 2015 to 2019 - Escape: ?{entity_name}="{member_code}" ?city="IT01"
Result: The Procedure scope will only consider the city whose code is IT01
Other details about the "Procedure" API query are available here.
New "Execute procedure for active selection" option
A new option has been added to the Data View properties in Design mode, under the "Set trigger" menu in the "Data entry options" menu.
If enabled, the new option triggers the associated Procedure only once as soon as new values are saved and only on the active Screen Selection, instead of running it one time for every updated value.
The new option is disabled by default.
This new implementation allows Makers to automatically trigger workflow and calculation Procedures when new values are saved, without the need to add other Objects on the Screen (e.g. Buttons) to manually trigger said Procedures.
Data model package now includes Azure ML forecast scenarios
In the “COMPARE” step of the Data model package creation process, you can now include or exclude AzureML forecast scenarios, configured in the new Azure ML section. If included, the Data model package will transport the AzureML forecast scenarios along with the information regarding their execution (i.e. training results, logs etc.), and substitute any existing information in the target Data model.
AzureML forecast scenarios that are undergoing the training phase can be included in a Data model package, but they will not be transported when that Data model package is executed. Specific warning messages will appear when you try to create or execute a Data model package that includes an AzureML forecast scenario that is currently in the training phase.
Check the full release notes here.
Bug fixes
The following is a list of reported bugs that have been fixed in this patch.
Appearance. If a logo or a header background of the recommended specifications were uploaded in the Appearance page under System Administration, unwanted space around the images would appear. This bug has been fixed
Capsule Snapshot (on-premises installation only). If the Board Server Configuration did not use disk C as the default “Board path”, an error would occur when creating a Capsule snapshot.
Charts. The template applied using a Select would override the template applied through a “Refer to” function. The bug has been fixed
Data entry. If the Save/Undo mode was disabled in a Data View and a Procedure was set to trigger after updated values were saved, the Procedure would not trigger when a user pasted values in a cell range that contained some locked cells. This bug has been resolved
Data entry. If a Layout was configured with a hidden Block, an unhidden Block with Data entry enabled, and at least an Entity set By Column, clearing sequential cells on the same row with the DEL key would also clear adjacent unselected cells. This bug has been fixed
Dataflow. The Forecast and Trend time functions are now also supported by Dataflow Layouts
Dataflow. If only one value of a Block in a Dataflow Layout was considered and said Block was used in the expression, in some cases, the target Cube was not cleared before writing new values. This bug has been fixed
Dataflow. The JOIN function, not to be confused with the JOIN algorithm, is not considered by the Dataflow anymore, and if you use the JOIN function in a Dataflow, it will be ignored because Board automatically defines which algorithms to use in calculations. If you have existing Dataflows using the JOIN function, no further action is required. For example: a formula with the following syntax JOIN(a+b) is now considered as simply a+b
Dataflow. In some cases, if the function IN() was selected while mapping a Cube from MDB to RDB, the Dataflow wouldn’t write any values. This bug has been fixed
Data model. When creating a Transporter package, if Rules were unselected in the configuration of the package or if the target Data model didn’t have any existing rules, running the package afterward would result in a failure. This bug has been fixed
Data model. If the Data reader was called in parallel on the same file from two different users at the same time, an error would occur. This bug has been fixed
Data model Restore. In some cases, where several backups of a Data model exist, of which one was renamed without a timestamp, the system would always restore the version without a timestamp regardless of the user’s choice. This bug has been fixed
If the restore process is initiated in the Admin Portal, the system will always restore the latest backup with a timestamp even if the user manually selects a backup without a timestamp. This is a known limitation
Data View. Templates created with Symbols applied before and after values by Row were not ignored when the “Ignore format template” option was enabled. This bug has been fixed
Export Data to xlsx. Exporting data from a Data View using the “Export data to xlsx” feature with the “Use Excel formulas for calculated blocks, column totals and row totals” option selected didn’t work as expected when the Layout had 2 Entities set By Column. This bug has been fixed
Gantt Chart. If Gantt Chart bar colors were changed in the ACTIVITY BARS OPTIONS menu from the default Monochrome to another type, after saving and switching to Play mode, the color change did not take effect. This bug has been fixed
Layout. If a Layout had an Unbalanced Entity with many levels set by Column and totals were enabled, the Layout execution took much longer than before. This bug has been fixed
Layout. In Layouts with an Unbalanced Entity set by Column and multiple Entities set by Row, data aggregation did not occur as expected. This bug has been fixed
Power Bi add-in. In some cases, when signing in using SSO, an error would appear, preventing the user from signing in. The bug has been fixed
Public APIs. In some cases, if a Data model was renamed, starting one of its Procedures via an API request would not successfully execute. The bug has been fixed
Rules. In some cases, when exporting and re-importing Rules created at different times, newer Rules did not work as expected. The issue has been resolved and new user notification messages have been implemented. Also, the data entry log has been enriched in order to be able to track errors regarding Rules: these new log lines include the name of the Rule that caused the error and specific information about the error
Example:
2023-07-06 16:42:10.545 +02:00 WARN BOARD\admin 1ee9314f-6491-4ab4-8a93-484e0555f5aa DTB_OpenByName Rule {"Exceptions":[{"Name":"A", "Formula":["Error in formula [a2] +10 - 01] - [a5]: Wrong codes delimiter balancing"]}]} Anomalies in rules foundSelect window. The hierarchy of Relationships is now displayed as expected in the Select window: each level of a Relationship tree is displayed right after its child level
Smart Import. When using the Smart import Object, certain string values were recognized as scientific notation values. This has been resolved by providing users the ability to set a specific data type for each unmapped column. The new COLUMN TYPE menu has been added to the Smart Import Object contextual right panel in Design mode for unmapped columns. Once opened, select the column name from the “Column” dropdown menu and then, from the “Data Type” dropdown menu below, select the preferential data type: numeric, text, or date. The default option is “not set”, and in that case, Board will automatically interpret the data type based on the values entered in the unmapped columns
Subscription Hub. If the Subscription Hub was upgraded to a version that supported Board's Collaboration services without activating them, a notification error would appear when opening Capsules where instances of the previous Chat feature were present. This bug has been fixed
System and Performance. If the Chrome or Edge browser setting for inactivating tabs after a period of time is enabled and a user accessed the same Board environment in multiple browser tabs of which the inactive tabs were put to sleep after the specific period of time, resuming one of the inactive tabs would log out the user automatically. This bug has been fixed
Word add-in. If a Board-created Layout that contained an Entity with a Row template applied was opened in a Word document through Word add-in, that Row template would no longer be applied. This bug has been fixed
6 - Several fixes and improvements related to:
-
Hi @Product Management Team and Board world,
Been getting a repeated question related to the patch change for the below so figured I'd post it for all.
"Dataflow.
The JOIN function is not supported anymore and should not be used in the Dataflow configurations. If you have Dataflows using the JOIN function, it will be ignored and requires no further action"
Is there a recommended best way to 'find' all the JOINs used in an application that is in 12 today? In version 10, it will be simple to find the steps as they will be within the log. In 12, is there a clean way to identify which procedures and steps are using a join today?
Thanks in advance!
Taylor0 -
Product Management Team Employee, Group Leader, Analytics, Idea Exchange Manager, Blog Author, Support Author
Hi Taylor,
Since the JOIN function will be ignored, Board will automatically apply the appropriate algorithm to the formulas proceeding the ignored function. There is no need to find and change existing formulas with the JOIN function. For example: a formula with the following syntax JOIN(a+b) is now considered as simply a+b
The bug fix has been updated:
The JOIN function, not to be confused with the JOIN algorithm, is not considered by the Dataflow anymore, and if you use the JOIN function in a Dataflow, it will be ignored because Board automatically defines which algorithms to use in calculations. If you have existing Dataflows using the JOIN function, no further action is required. For example: a formula with the following syntax JOIN(a+b) is now considered as simply a+bPlease don't hesitate to reach out for further information regarding the topic!
The Board Product Management Team
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Hi board team
i experience it differently. Dataflows with a join will not be calculated. I had to change all formulas when updateing from 12.3 to 12.6.
I can show you if you doubt untill 1st of september :-).
Best regards
Manuela
1 -
Product Management Team Employee, Group Leader, Analytics, Idea Exchange Manager, Blog Author, Support Author
Hi Manuela,
Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, this was the case in the first version of 12.6 which is why it was fixed in the recent update which was released on August 14, 2023.
If you still have issues, please reach out to our Support Team.
Kind Regards,
Board Product Management Team
0
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