Release notes 6.14

Released 2021-11-15

Flow 6.14 is no longer supported as of March 31, 2024. We strongly advise upgrading to the latest supported version for improved functionality, security, and support services.

Introduction

In this version of Novacura Flow, we will introduce new features in every corner of the platform. In the 6.14 release, we made improvements to Flow Studio and Portal, released new mobile clients, and made advancements in the areas of IoT connectivity and Connector as a Service, to name a few.

Enjoy!

System requirements

Flow 6.13 Flow Studio Launcher is not compatible with Flow Server & Flow Studio 6.14.

Download the new launcher here: https://home.novacuraflow.com/Downloads/flow%206/latest/Novacura%20Flow%20Studio.exe

What’s new when creating Apps

FlowScript Improvements

Five new FlowScript functions have been added:

• RGB – to set a color on an element using RGB codes.

  • Example: when Id = '2' then RGB(146,147,149)

• Select/Distinct – to execute more SQL-like queries in FlowScript and to select distinct values

  • Example: select distinct x from myTable

  • Example: select x + 1 from myTable

• URLEncode – For use with complex urls, e.g. using Rest services

• URLDecode – same as above, but decoding urls instead of encoding them

• Last – to get the last record in a table

In addition to the new functions, FlowScript help has also been updated to better support anyone who uses FlowScript.

New Icon library

The icon library, along with the Workflow Icon picker, has been updated and improved.

The Icon library is aligned with the style of the new mobile apps. When selecting an icon for a workflow it is now possible to search for background and foreground icons.

UI Improvements

• In Flow Studio, the User interface has been improved for User Information and User Steps.

• In a User Step, all elements now have icons, and it is possible to search for an element.

• When changing Connectors, the existing code will be kept, provided that the new Connector has the same species as the old one.

Admin improvements

• For a Role, it is now possible to see all Users connected to that Role. It is also possible to assign and unassign Users for that Role.

• Connectors, Roles and Properties can also be exported and imported.

What’s new when running mobile Apps

Flow app in French

French language is now available for the mobile apps.

NEW mobile clients

The new iOS client is officially released with this version, meaning that there are new versions available for both iOS and Android.

NOTE! Current Flow 6 clients will reach the end of life in May 2022 and will be removed from AppStore and Google Play. Clients already downloaded will not be affected.

Grid row height setting

There is now a “Row Height” setting for the Data Grid. Three settings are available: Small, Medium and Large.

Grid auto-forward

In a Data Grid where Row Selection is enabled, it is now possible to make the client automatically move forward upon selecting a row in the grid.

Depending on how the User Step is constructed, the User will be moved to the next editable control or the next user step.

List opening setting

It is now possible to have three different behaviors when opening a List Selection or a List Multi Selection:

• Automatic (default) – uses the existing logic (opens inline if short and closed if long)

• Open – always opens inline

• Closed – always opens closed (old school)

Event step

When creating workflows, there is now a new workflow element available, called an Event Step.

An Event Step can have two different triggers:

• Bluetooth LE – to be used together with Bluetooth Low Energy devices to get live updates from the BLE device in a User Step. Note that only devices using BLE Notifications are supported.

• Timer – to be used if a User Step should be updated with data at a given time interval. The update can also be manually triggered by swiping down on the User Step.

User Step Reloading

In a User Step, it is now possible to enable Reloading.

With reloading enabled, a User Step can be updated with data from a Machine Step, provided that the Machine Step is connected to the User Step using a Data Arrow.

If so, the User Step will be updated when a sub task in the User Step is done and the User returns back to the User Step.

The reload of data can also be triggered manually by swiping down.

Binary output

In 6.14, a workflow can have a binary output (a stream) in addition to the standard JSON output. This feature can be used to return files from a workflow.

News in Portal 2

Release overview

Version	Release date	Main Content
2020.14	2021-11-11	• Branding (color themes) • Time zone support: Sending time zone to workflows • Portal messages to all users (Portal Push extension) • Global variables in workflows • Html Advanced – disabling pager & migration improvements • Table portlet: Enable custom button on row selected • Map Portlet: Color rules & Icon picker • General fixes and improvements
2020.13.5	2021-08-19	• Gantt Portlet • Kanban improvements • Table Portlet: Grid line configuration
2020.13.4	2021-07-15	• Icon picker • Enable/disable breadcrumbs • Portal Push updates • Translations (Swedish & Norwegian supported for standard texts) • Drag and drop between Portlets • Scheduler Portlet improvements (Double click, Task coloring, Unassigned Tasks) • Kanban Portlet improvements (Custom buttons, tooltip, compact mode) • Table portlet: HTML syntax supported, Text wrapping & Link column • Map Portlet: Tooltip & Labels • Portal configuration: Resizable right-hand panel

New features:

• Branding

  • The new Branding feature makes it possible for a customer to create their own color themes in Portal 2.

  • Two Novacura Themes are included by default, one light theme and one dark theme.

• Portal Push & Messages

  • With Portal Push, it is possible to force an update of a portlet using the Flow Connector and the Portal/Send Push notification operation.

  • With Portal Message, it is possible to send a message to all Portal users using the Flow Connector and the Portal/Send Message operation.

• Time Zones

  • The browser’s time zone is now sent as an input variable to workflows executed from the Portal.

• Global Variables in Workflows

  • It is now possible to define and use global variables, in both Query and Workflow Data Sources.

• Translations

  • With Translations, it is possible to translate all text in a Portal Configuration (including Portlet titles, description, column titles etc.) to any language set up in the Flow installation.

  • Standard texts (such as system messages and text on fixed labels) are translatable to English, Swedish and Norwegian.

• Gantt Portlet

  • With the new Gantt portlet, it is possible to plan any activity using a Gantt schedule.

  • Tasks, Resources, Assignments and Dependencies can be fetched using database queries of workflows.

  • The Gantt Portlet also features things like drag and drop interactions.

• Icon Picker

  • There is also an Icon Picker to find and select desired icons (in all places where it is possible to configure an icon).

• Drag and Drop between portlets

  • With this feature, it is now possible to drag one item (like a row in a table) and drop in another portlet (like the Scheduler portlet) to trigger an action (workflow) in the target portlet.

  • For now, this feature is limited to the Table Portlet, Scheduler and Gantt portlets.

• Resizable right-hand panel

  • To make the right-hand configuration panel even easier to use, it is now possible to resize it according to the user’s need.

Improvements:

• Table Portlet:

  • HTML syntax in cell content is now supported.

  • Text wrapping in cell content is now supported.

  • New column type, the Link column, is now available.

  • Custom buttons can be enabled when a row is selected.

  • Get better control of grid layouts by setting the Grid line configuration.

• Map Portlet:

  • Color rules, Icon picker, Tooltip & Labels are now available for configuration.

• Kanban Portlet:

  • There is now a Compact Card layout available to get an overview of more cards at once.

  • Custom buttons and tooltips are now available for configuration.

• Scheduler portlet:

  • Double click workflows and Task coloring is now available for configuration.

  • Unassigned Tasks can now be handled using a Table portlet in combination with the drag and drop feature.

• HTML Advanced portlet:

  • New configuration is available to disable the page selection footer.

  • Migration of HTML portlets from Portal 1 to Portal 2 has been improved.

Connector news

OAUTH2 Support

In 6.14, Novacura Flow supports Oauth2 authentication. For example, when the M3 REST Connector or the general REST Connector uses Oauth2 authentication, there will be a pop-up upon login (from the authenticating system) requesting access approval from the user.

Request for access approval can occur on these occasions:

• Loading a menu (seeded inboxes)

• Starting a workflow

• Moving between user steps (if logged out)

• Refreshing a user step

• Downloading offline data

• Uploading offline transactions

Connector Services

With this release of Novacura Flow, Connector Services as a concept is now fully supported.

The following seven connectors are available now:

• File System

• FTP

• MS SQL

• IFS 9 DB

• IFS 10 DB

• IFS OData

• M3 REST

IFS OData

The first version of the brand-new IFS OData connector, built for IFS Cloud, is available with this version of Novacura Flow.

With the IFS OData Connector, it is possible to build workflows that use the OData projections in IFS Cloud without writing any code whatsoever.

All available projections in the customer’s installation can be consumed by the IFS OData Connector.

Other news

Documentation

All documentation is now gathered in one place: https://docs.novacura.com.

Here anyone working with Novacura Flow can find:

• Help

• Technical documentation

• Training material

• Marketplace App documentation

• Flow Development Guidelines