Release notes - FORMCYCLE 6.0.0

Page / - last modified by Release Notes on 29.04.2020, 11:48

FORMCYCLE 6.0.0

last modified by Release Notes

on 29.04.2020, 11:48

Table of Contents

Download 6.0.0

To enable a rich set of new features, there are several updates that need to be run when you install the new version. Depending on your server configuration and the database management system, this process may take up to several hours.

Plugins need to be compiled against the new version and tested whether they still work. Plugins provided by XIMA need to be updated when you install the new version.

Notes

Check CSV sources in regards to the separator being used (, or ;). The data are now always saved with the comma as a separator. Using a backslash (\) to escape a comma within an entry is no longer possible. Instead, put quotation marks ("") around an entry with comman, and use two quotation marks to use a quotation mark within an entry. The separator of existing CSV files is not changed during the update to preserve backwards compatibility. However, please note that CSV files with the wrong separator may not display correctly when using the graphical table editor for CSV files. Instead, edit the CSV file in source code mode and convert it to the new format manually. Also, in case you are using the data source servlet to access CSV via JavaScript and AJAX, you may need to edit these AJAX requests as well (if they specify a different separator).

Some internal database tables and columns of the FORMCYCLE system have been renamed. If you access these tables or columns directly via SQL, you may need to edit the SQL statements accordingly.

The entire user interface of the FORMCYCLE web application got reworked. This also resulted in many layout and CSS changes that may affect workflow action plugins with custom user interfaces. If you did develop your own plugins, you should test them with the new version and update the plugin where necessary.

To generate preview images for the form overview page, OpenJFX or JavaFX needs to be installed. Should you not install it, the system still works, but no preview images will be available.

The internal REST monitoring interface was removed in favor of a separately required Jolokia installation. For more information, see Monitoring

Features / Changes

Designer

Improved code editor for the JavaScript tab with autocomplete, inline documentation and code snippets.

In addition to pages, each form now starts with a header element and ends with a footer element. You can add arbitrary text, images or even form elements to the header and footer.

Advanced settings such as database queries, files or access settings are available directly from within the Xima® Formcycle Designer.

Form templates are available: this lets you save a container or fieldset as template that is then available for all forms.

New condition if form field is empty

New datatype that lets you enter regular expressions directly

New option reset that restores the original value when a form element is hidden or disabled

New option readonly: choose whether you still want to transmit the value to the server when a form element is disabled

New option to change the maximum number of characters allowed for name of an uploaded file

New JavaScript function $.fn.sum for adding the values of all selected form elements

New JavaScript function $.fn.onstatus for running code depending on the current state of the form

New JavaScript event listeners for registering callbacks for different phases of the validation process

New JavaScript function for LDAP queries, similar to those for database queries: $.xutil.getLdapQuery (Running an LDAP query) and $.fn.autocompleteLDAP (Autocomplete via an LDAP query)

Form elements are cleared by default when they are hidden or disabled

Option to configure the number of form backups that are created automatically

Help texts are reachable via tab navigation as well

Spaces at the beginning and end are removed automatically

If an upload element is required: empty files cannot be uploaded anymore (0 bytes)

More than one validation function may be registered per form element via $.fn.errorFunc

The PDF importer is currently being worked on and not available in this version

jQuery was updated to version 3

Inbox

Reworked layout with new new features and better controls

New filters for form records, such as for saved form records or form records waiting for a double opt-in

New option to perform correct or edit the form data, with or without triggering the workflow

New option to change the current state of the form without triggering the workflow

Forms may not have a subject set that is shown in the inbox. It defaults to the name of the form and an ID

Standalone view for a form record, independent of the inbox

New window with a list of all form data, for quickly inspecting the underlying data of a form record

New option for exporing form records: Export as Excel (multiple rows). This creates a new row for each repeated element.

FORMCYCLE

Reworked layout and design that offers a more intuitive interaction with the system

New menu entry: i18n variables. This lets you view, edit and translated texts used in forms, such as the error messages when a form field is invalid or not filled out.

New menu entry: System message. This lets you setup messages and notifications that are shown on the dashboard to all users.

New menu entry: Look & Feel. This lets you customize the appearance of your FORMCYCLE system. You can also change the links to the terms of service, the imprint and much more.

New menu entry: General. It contains several advanced settings such as for the form and file cache, or security-related settings for HTTP headers.

New menu entry: My data. Here you can review you personal data or change your password.

New menu entry for forms: Double opt-in. If activated, this requires the user to confirm their form submission via an email before their data is processed in any way.

New menu entry form forms: Publish. Makes it easier for you to embed the form in your web page. This ranges from simple links to more advanced integrations such as Typ3 and Sharepoint.

All fonts installed on the server are shown in the system menu server information.

When updating the system, you do not have to choose which system updates you want to run anymore. The system runs all required updates automatically.

For each client, the used memory is shown. Currently, there is no restriction to the memory usage, but this may change in later version.

New form overview page with all forms as panels and preview thumbnail image as well as better filtering.

New feature for users to send feedback, in addition to the support request.

New graphical table editor for editing CSV files

New feature that lets you save an entire form as a template. New forms can be created with the default settings taken from a template.

New, standardised dialog for selecting FORMCYCLE variables that is the same for all input fields

FORMCYCLE variables are replaced recursively

Drag&Drop support for uplading forms, files and data sources (CSV, JSON, XML)

On the login screen, you can now choose whether you want to stay logged in.

The Dutch language is currently not available, but will be soon.

When sending emails, you can set the name of the sender. This is available both for the system and client email settings, as well as for the email action.

Forms may now be protected with a password. Anonymous users may now open and fill out the form only if they know the password.

Forms may now specify an identifier for identifying duplicate form records (such as the email address). Duplicate form records are rejected.

Workflow actions that create files now offer an option to attach these files to the form record.

Action POST request: The HTTP response may be used as a response page.

Action POST request: New options for configuring HTTP basic auth and proxy settings

Action PDF (Fill): New option for selecting a specific font.

Action Resource: New options for making form and client resources available to other actions.

New export option for datasources and files. When you export multiple files, they are exported as a ZIP archive.

Support for importing CSV and Excel files directly as a CSV data source.

Database and LDAP queries can be run directly from within the backend to quickly test them

Improved protocol entries that also include new columns such as the form name and the process ID.

Timed state transitions can be applied to existing form records as well.

New option for searching and selecting groups in the LDAP groups menu.

Plugins are saved in the database and are made available to the server during runtime

Plugins can be activated or deactivated

Notification when a user is logged in already in a different browser or window (if a session exists already for that user)

Configurable loopback URL for features such as the image preview and the print services

Login screen: The most recently used client and language is remembered (uses cookies)

Support requests contain more information

LDAP filters for LDAP query and the user search are cleaned up: formatting characters (line breaks and tabs) are removed

Cross-domain support for data queries (CSV, JSON, XML) and database queries

For LDAP users with multiple user groups: their permissions from the role are merged

NTLM login with missing user group restrictions: the HTML response page Access denied is shown

Bug fixes

Performance optimizations for the backend and for forms

All buttons for submitting a form are deactivated when the method $.xutil.onsubmit returns true

From version 6 onwards: the database encryption password is now checked to prevent data loss

Support for empty parameter value when running LDAP queries via an HTTP request

Action redirect: Variables are not encoded anymore in the URL preview

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