Version 2.2.0
The new ESM platform introduces significant improvements to process automation and service delivery.
The main features include:
- a block editor for articles of the Knowledge Base
- a feedback section for announcements that improves the portal experience for users
- a Calendar view for tables
- improvements to interfaces, forms, and ACLs on the portal and in the agent interface
You can also add translations of the CMDB classes into different languages, as well as configure portal pages more precisely, making them more informative with the updated widgets.
New features
Knowledge Base editor
We introduced a new Knowledge Base article editor for creating structured articles. The editor includes the following layout elements: headings, dividers, and blocks with text and images. Each heading also appears in the sidebar menu for quick article navigation.
Advantages of working with blocks:
- Edit individual blocks in the WYSIWYG editor.
- Move blocks freely within the article.
- Create custom block types
- Add comments to block text.
- Navigate the article using the interface sidebar menu.
- View the activity feed for each block.
The traditional HTML editor remains available for creating Knowledge Base articles.
To choose an editor, go to the article creation form, locate the Format field, and select HTML or Blocks.
Read more in the Knowledge Base article.
Calendar view
You can now view records from any table as calendar events. For example, you can configure task records to appear as calendar events only when they need to be processed. You can also define which fields represent the event start and end dates, and assign custom color labels to them.
The default configuration includes no preconfigured calendars. To create and view calendars, use one of the following methods:
- Navigate to the table you want to view or configure as a calendar, and select Open calendar from the burger menu .
- Navigate to Data Presentation → Calendars and click New. You can also open the required calendar record directly from this table.
Read more in the Calendars article.
Repeated announcement sending
You can schedule a date and time to resend an announcement that has already been published. For example, you can resend an announcement to remind employees about an upcoming event. To do so, select the new Resending checkbox and specify the resending date and time in the Announcement form.
Read more in the Create Announcement article.
Announcement widget
- Announcement feedback
You can now receive feedback on portal announcements. Feedback is optional for each announcement and includes the following options:
- title
- rate and answer options
- comment field
Feedback blocks are also available for use in announcement templates.
Before publishing a multi-language announcement, ensure that the language of the question and the feedback options is the same as the language of the announcement.
You can review, analyze, and create reports based on the provided feedback results using the Announcement Feedback (announcement_feedback) table in the agent interface.
Read more in the Announcement Page article.
- Access to announcements
You can configure access rules for each announcement based on:
- user criteria to define the user who can view the announcement
- portals where the announcement is published
When no portals and user criteria are specified, the announcement is available in all portals and for all users.
Read more in the Announcements article.
- Initial task link
A new column Task is added to the Announcement (announcement) table for you to specify and then open the task that triggered the announcement.
Read more in the Announcements article.
Approval widget in the agent interface
The approval widget in the agent interface is now the same as the one on the portal. It also contains information about the approval object, all approvers involved, and their approval states. The widget data is only available for the users assigned to the task, task approvers, and administrators.
Read more in the Approval form article.
Approve requests when approvers are unavailable
To ensure timely approvals and reduce downtimes when approvers are unavailable, a new optimization role fallback_approver has been added. Users with this role can access approval tickets and select a decision received from the approver, for example, through a third-party messenger. In this case, the name of the user who closed the ticket and a comment on the selected decision are saved in the ticket form.
Read more in the Approval form article.
Converting columns between WYSIWYG and Text
Administrators can convert individual Text fields to WYSIWYG in a single action without affecting system stability or data integrity. This feature optimizes the user interface, improves data readability through flexible formatting management, and saves database resources by cleaning up redundant HTML tags to reduce record sizes.
The conversion button is available to administrators in the burger menu on the column configuration form. After changing the column type, you may need to adjust the associated business logic. To ensure compatibility between the existing business logic and the new field type without modifying your scripts, use system properties.
Read more in the WYSIWYG Converter article.
Improvements
Splitting portal announcement widget into two
You now have more options for managing the announcement page on the portal. You can now configure the announcement page using two separate widgets: Announcement Content for displaying the announcement content and Latest Announcements for displaying the latest announcements.
Read more in the Announcement Page article.
Knowledge Base and Service Portfolio Reorganization
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The Service Portfolio → Specifications section now includes the renamed items For Consumers (formerly "External Specification") and For Agents (formerly "Internal Specification").
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The following items have been moved to the KB Directories section:
- Content Database
- Knowledge Base Categories
- Content Classification
- Content Categories
- Content Elements
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The order of items in the Knowledge Base section has been updated:
- All Articles
- My Articles
Read more in the Knowledge Base article.
Active checkbox and other changes in Agreement records
To improve data consistency in Service and Agreement records, we introduced the following changes:
Agreements:
- A new Active field
- Only active services can now be linked
- The Client field is renamed to Customer
- The Service, User, and Customer fields are now mandatory
To optimize the performance of the new application version, the customer, user_id, and sponsor columns have been replaced with the corresponding namesakes: Customer customer_id, User slm_user_id, and Sponsor sponsor_id. The old columns are now hidden from the form view. If you need to restore them, find them in the list; their names now include "(deprecated)", for example, Sponsor (deprecated).
Services:
When a service state changes from Active to any other, its associated agreement also loses its active state.
Additional updates:
- Added the agreement manager role (agreement_manager) to manage agreements and contracts.
- Renamed the Parent Company (
parent_id) field to Parent organization on the organization form.
CMDB class localization
After upgrading to version 2.2.0, run the migration script Migrate CMDB Class Name to Translated Text available at {Instance URL}/record/sys_schedule_script/177375913208619852 to migrate values from the old Name column to the new column of the same name.
To ensure system consistency, improve CMDB usability, and streamline viewing hierarchical relationships in multiple system languages, we created a new Name column of type Translated Text in the Class table. Consequently, all hierarchy elements can be displayed in the current user's language. This allows users to work with the system in their preferred language.
If multiple languages are installed on your instance, we recommend adding missing translations for Configuration Item class names after completing the ESM update.
ISO three-digit currency code
To standardize operations and improve agent precision when handling currency transactions, we added the Numeric code column to the Currencies (currency) table.
The default currency records will automatically receive their respective codes during the ESM platform upgrade or full installation. For custom currency records, add these codes manually.
Read more in the Currency article.
Fixes
DEF0023157: Previously, approval requests from employees did not account for a manager change while the approval object (such as absence request dates) was being edited. As a result, approvals were assigned to the previous manager instead of the new manager or their delegate. The validation workflow now ensures that approvals are assigned to current managers or their delegates.
DEF0023113: Due to an error in the time calculation method, saving absence requests caused their specified time ranges to shift forward. This version corrects the time calculation logic.
DEF0023062: Previous versions did not account for the maximum character limit for notification text. Consequently, when sending large announcements (over 20,000 characters) via email, users received incomplete text. This version resolves the issue, ensuring complete emails are delivered regardless of the text length.
DEF0022913: In the modal window for adding subscribers, the + Add button was hidden or displayed outside the modal window. This version fixes the modal window layout.
DEF0022284: Previously, an error in the Go to approval button link within approval notifications prevented approvers from opening the record. This version updates the link to the correct URL.
DEF0021027: When an employee modified absence dates after an absence request was rejected, the request displayed an incorrect pending_approval state, which does not exist in the approval request state model. This version restores the correct state resolution logic.
DEF0020930: The Static Task Information widget did not display data when the system date format was set to DD/MM/YYYY. This version ensures date format compatibility with the widget functionality.
DEF0020883: Setting the simple.signup.enabled and simple.passwordreset.enabled system properties to true did not activate the corresponding login and password reset buttons. This version restores the authentication configuration mechanism.
DEF0019779: In the Summary widget located within the approval tickets, the text in the Description field was displayed incomplete and without its original formatting. The widget now escapes special characters correctly.
DEF0018333: Previously, the auto-assignment mechanism did not trigger if one of the users within the assigned group was deactivated. This version optimizes the mechanism to ensure stable operations.
DEF0017217: On the self-service portal, reference fields added to Record Assets and equipment widget forms via dot-walking could not display. This version updates the widget to ensure all fields display correctly.
DEF0013910: The Read Only Form widget has been updated to align its data display logic with Access Control Rules (ACL).