ER 9.1 Release Notes

ER 9.1 enhancements include:

 

Communication Center

In this release, a new Communication Center feature has been developed to manage email communication. This feature allows the administrator to access and create notification rules through the Communication Center components.

Licensing for the Communication Center module has been implemented. Details about Communication Center are displayed in the About Us page for both Web-based  Administration and Rich Client. Information includes license status (Enabled, Disabled, or Expired) and expiration date.

If the license is enabled, all components of the Communication Center module are available for configuration and use. Components include the Input Data Models, Email Templates, Automated Notification Rules and Manual Email Rules.

If the Communication Center license is disabled, none of the Communication Center components or data is available for viewing or use.

In the event the Communication Center license is expired, error messages are displayed on the UI and an entry is logged if a user attempts to access Communication Center components or data. No Communication Center data will be processed.

 

Input Data Models

In the Input Data Models, the administrator can configure the fields that will be used in notification rules. Configuration of the Data Model definition is required, as the fields can be referenced in Email Templates where they are mapped to object values.

 

Email Templates

Currently, there are limited types of templates that can be applied to emails, preventing the user from editing the values.

This feature allows the user to configure and apply templates to manual and automated email rules. Email Templates can be managed, edited and updated in order to provide specific formats as per the users need.

The Data Model defines the fields configured for the template. You can select from the list of predefined data models for use in this rule.

In Email Templates the administrator can define the Email Template body and subject line with text and velocity tags to add data fields and velocity language variables into the template via Tools Palette. The administrator can also add valid HTML code into the template.

To access virtual fields in email templates, you have to manually add corresponding reference fields to the data model and template.

For example, to access the Item Notes and Work Owner fields in email templates, you have to manually add SIMPLENOTE and WORKOWNER fields, respectively, to the data model and definition.

Administrators can perform export and import of email templates in the application via email template definition.

 

Automated Email Notification Rules

In the past releases, email communications were fully supported for manual reports to send emails to the users based on spreadsheets that list certain rules to follow.

With this release, the Automated Email Notification feature allows the user to configure the rules to automatically send emails and notifications to predetermined stakeholders based on the rules configured. You can configure the notifications to be sent via email using data model fields, email templates and escalation rules

Communication Center includes the following definitions that enable automated email notification:

• Input Data Model
• Data Source Mappings
• Template Mappings
• Notification Rules
• Process Schedules

Configuration of the Auto Notification Rules in the Core Definition page provides basic information about the Auto Notification Rules. The administrator can disable or enable the Auto Notification Rule using the Enable checkbox.

The administrator may also configure the Escalation Level in the rules. Leaving the Escalation Level field blank causes the application to use the default escalation level value. The default value is 5.

This feature provides the administrator the ability to limit the number of notification alerts that this job is allowed to generate. The default value is 5. No alerts will be generated after the Alert Limit is reached.

In Auto Notification Rules, the administrator can limit the number of items allowed per email notification. If the Item Limit exceeds the configured limit, log entries are recorded for the limit error. By default, Item Limit is set to 20.

The administrator can access the fields defined in the Input Data Models that can be referenced in auto notification rules and email templates.

Data Source Mapping feature allows the data source to be mapped to the notification rules and email template data model. The administrator can select either Reconciliation Items or Reconciliation Recon Entity source type to be mapped on the sources tab.

On the Sources tab, the administrator can define source level data filter conditions against each reconciliation item source to reduce the number of items retrieved or evaluated for notification.

Source Mapping allows administrator to set field values using Condition Blocks, If Conditions and Set Field By Expression statements within the rule. Template Mapping allows the administrator to map email templates to both Reconciliation Items and Reconciliation Recon Entity.

In the Template Mapping tab, if an email template definition has a data model that is different from the auto notify rule data model, the Requires Mapping column has a check that indicates field mapping is required to use the email template with auto notify rule.

If an email template has a data model that is exactly same as the auto notify rules data model, mapping is done automatically and there is no check in the Requires Mapping column.

Auto Notification Rules allows the administrator to configure the condition to automatically send email notifications to users as per the rules configured.

To configure the Auto Notification Rules, open the Auto Notification Rules definition and select Rules tab. On the Rules tab, click Add to open the rule editing pop-up. Select the stack tab on the left of the pop up to apply notification rules so that they can be mapped to reconciliation of interest and include the mapping of reconciliation item data model to the notification and email template input data model.

The administrator can define filter conditions against each source to reduce the number of items retrieved.

The system will evaluate the condition against each selected reconciliation item and apply the first notification rule that matches.

Each escalation level has its own condition, recipients and template. The system determines the highest level qualified for notification.

Once the rules are configured, each notification rule can be scheduled to run at predefined times.

Infogix ER will merge the input item data with the email templates to generate the email and embed a link to a web page for the recipients to respond to the email.

Users can perform import and export of all notification definitions in the application via Auto Notification Rules page.

 

Manual Email Rules

This release allows the administrator to manually configure and send email notifications to users based on the rules configured. Email management functions are fully supported for both manual and automated email generation.

Manual Email Rules allows the administrator to map the email templates to Reconciliation Items and Reconciliation Recon Entity. On the Templates stack tab, select a template in the Templates pull-down list and click OK. Select either Reconciliation items or Reconciliation Recon entity from the Source Type pull-down list and Select a source from the Source pull-down list to map the input data model to recon data model. The templates become available for manual emails for the recons.

On the Source mapping tab, select the template from the Templates list and click on the template name and set field values using Condition Blocks, If Conditions and Set Field By Expression statements within the rule.

Free Form Comment can be selected to provide text box for input.

 

Web Based Inbound Message Processing and Routing

Currently, when emails are sent to users, the management of users accessing the items or add comments is managed within the product.

This feature provides the administrator the ability to enable automated processing of Infogix ER related message replies, so that message replies are associated with relevant reconciliation items and reconciliation recon entities which can be reviewed by all Infogix ER users.

Once the email notification is sent to the user, the system will provide an URL embedded in the generated email notifications. A dynamic web page will open upon clicking the URL that can be opened by email recipients to respond to individual items in the email. If user authentication fails, an error message is displayed and the web page will not be opened.

In the web page, the users can also provide comments on select items or all items in the email.

The email notifications will expire after the specified duration. Once the configured time is expired, the recipients will no longer be able to see or respond to the items from the web page.

 

Manual Email Enhancements

When sending an email manually, the recipient’s options are limited to only an existing Infogix ER user or the user can manually type in the email address.

This enhancement provides Global Address List (GAL) integration, which is the ability to look up people and their email address from GAL and it provides a list of recipients that mirror or closely resemble the keyed-in names.

The system performs email address auto completion and checks name to ensure if the email address exists.

Users can pick from the available Email Templates to use in the email and add any free form comment if allowed by the Email Template. This feature provides the ability to embed references to the reconciliation Items selected by the user inside the email through configured Email Templates.

From Infogix ER, users can manually forward email associated with recon items to another user in GAL, including the original content and attachments.

 

Email Related Exception Management

When users manually enter email address while sending emails, errors can occur. If an invalid email address is entered, the system will log invalid email address to a log file and notify the key resources. The customer can use this information to fix the issue or contact Infogix Customer Support with the information.

This functionality enables the validation and management of emails that have encountered delivery errors or system maintenance issues.

 

Email Related Activity Logging

The system generates a distinct Activity Log entry for items referenced in an email and records the email sent and received events.

This functionality should allow for the ability to enable logging of activities related to events associated with items from Infogix ER and pass that data to Infogix Perceive.

 

Email Filter for Search Results

In this release of Infogix ER, new functionality has been added to filter search results of reconciliation items and reconciliation recon entities having emails and has received reply.

The email filter is supported on the following screens:

• Recon Entity Detail
• Recon Entity Search
• Item Search

To use this filter, execute a search on one of the search screens and click Has Email drop-down list and select the search you want to perform. Select Has Reply check box to filter items having reply. To filter items to which email has been sent but does not have reply, select No Reply check box.

You can select both Has Email and No Reply check boxes to filter items having reply and items that do not have email reply.

By default, Has Email is disabled when the search screen is opened. The filter is enabled by clicking the Has Reply drop-down list and selecting the search you want to perform and disabled by unchecking the check box.

Users may also include the Reply column field in the Reconciliation User Interface Definition Search tabs section to view the latest reply text received per item.

 

Segregated User Management

This release of Infogix ER includes a new “User Manager” role. The new secluded security role, called User Manager role, has been added to allow the users to map the User Manager role to their groups in the directory. Two new properties, ROLE_USER_MANAGER_GROUP_MAPPING and ROLE_USER_MANAGER, have been added to the ER.properties file.

With this release, Users in the User Manager role, can view and access only Work Owners and User Profiles in Users group under Administration menu in Infogix ER Rich Client.

In Web-Based Administration, a User Manager can view and access only Preferences and Logout options.

Users in this role do not have access to any other ER functionality.

 

Standalone Recon Data Cleanup

In this release, new command has been developed to allow administrator to isolate data cleanup process from app server. This command can be monitored and killed without impacting the app server and application process.

Refer to the Infogix ER Administrator’s Guide for additional information.

 

Extended Rich Client Window Access Keys

The Existing Rich Client Window Access keys include additional keyboard shortcuts for users.

To navigate between windows opened in the current workspace, a new parameter (RICH_CLIENT_ADDITIONAL_SCREEN_ACCESS_KEYS) has been added to the ER.properties file in this release.

By default, this parameter is true, allowing users to switch windows (Alt-W-0 to 9 and Alt-W-A to Z) opened in the current workspace.

The administrator can set this parameter to false prior to deployment to limit the keyboard access keys (Alt-W-1 to 4 and Alt-W-5 to 9) for navigating between workspaces and windows.

The Alt button toggles the underscore “quick key” on and off. The underscore is enabled by clicking the Alt button. If the underscores are enabled and clicking Alt button again disables the underscore. When the underscore is disabled the quick key does not work and the user has to manually select from the Window menu to access the screens opened in the current window.

 

Identify Windows Using Alternate ID

This enhancement of Infogix ER allows the administrator to include a new separator - (dash) between identity field values on the Recon Entity Detail and Item Detail windows title using Alternate ID.

By default, there is no separator between identity field values in an Alternate ID. You can configure the Alternate ID’s for windows title to include a - (dash) as a separator between the identity field values.

Once the Alternate ID’s are configured for windows title, a – (dash) between the identity field values will be displayed in the windows title, allowing the users to view the identity field values quickly and more efficiently.

 

Recon Item Aging Offset

The Recon Item Aging has expanded functionality to include Offset as an optional setting to adjust item age by a set number.

This number must be a whole number and can be set to a positive or negative number. The Offset is configured in the Offset field in the Item Age rule.

By default, the Offset value is set to zero. To configure the Offset value, open the Define Reconciliations screen and select the reconciliation. Click Item Rules stack tab and select Aging tab, edit the value as required in the Offset field and save.

In the top panel, select the aging rule that is used and in the bottom panel, view the value configured in the Offset field.

 

Infogix ER Lock Screen

In this release of Infogix ER, new functionality has been added that allow the user to configure the Lock Screen feature for Infogix ER Rich Client.

If the lock screen functionality is enabled, you can lock the Infogix ER Rich Client by selecting File > Lock from the menu or by remaining logged in and inactive in the system until the configured lock time expires.

When the Rich Client is locked, existing Rich Client screens and data are preserved until the user is logged out (based upon the log out configuration).

 

Manual Adjustment Upload Progress Indicator

This release of Infogix ER includes an enhancement to the Adjustment Panel page. When a user add or remove items in the adjustment panel, the current entry count will be updated and displayed on the status bar.

 

Additional Rich Client User Prompts

In this release, when a user attempts to exit, log out of the application, or switch users, a dialog box displays asking the user to confirm the action and possible loss of any unsaved changes.

On removing all entries from the adjustment panel, a dialog box displays asking the user to confirm removal of all entries.

 

New Software Supported

• IBM® WebSphere® 9.0.0.4 is supported.
• Microsoft® SQL Server® 2016 is supported.
• Only Java® 8 is supported

Java 8 Support

Only Java 8 is supported for IBM® WebSphere® 8.5.5.x, WebSphere 9.0.0.4, and WildFly 10.1.0 Application Servers.

Java 7 is no longer supported

Infogix products on release 9.1 support only Java 8 version.

 

WildFly Deployments only Support mod_cluster for Load Balancing

In releases prior to 9.0 that used JBOSS application server, Infogix product deployments supported mod_jk for load balancing.

However, Infogix releases that support WildFly 10.1.0 application servers require that you use mod_cluster for load balancing. Load balancing using mod_jk is no longer supported.

See http://mod-cluster.jboss.org/ for more information about mod_cluster configuration.

 

Store Product Configuration Files in the Database

Infogix products use several configuration properties to control the behavior of the products. The configuration properties are stored in files found within the CONFIG_HOME directory.

The 9.1 release now supports the storage of configuration properties within the database instead of flat files.

By default, the configuration files are stored in the CONFIG_HOME directory. To store the configuration files in a database table instead of the filesystem, set the value of ENABLE_DATABASE_CONFIG property to true in the advanced.appserver.properties file.

You can modify the values of these properties from the Infogix Administrative Console’s “Product Configuration” link. Any updates to the product properties take immediate effect, and eliminates the need for a server administrator to run update-config.bat (.sh) script.

Note: For Infogix ER only, do not enable the feature to store the properties in the database if you use custom plugins.

 

Enhancements to Embedded Directory Deployments

Infogix supports product deployments using Embedded Directory, where the management of users accessing the products is managed within the product.

Several security, audit and reporting enhancements have been added to Embedded Directory deployments in this release.

 

Show Users “Created Date” and “Last Login” Information

Directory Administrators and Superusers can now visually view when a user id was created in the system. Information about the users’ last logged in date and time is also displayed. Go to Security -> Users page to view the users’ “Created Date” and “Last Login” information.

This capability enables the administrators to easily identify unused or outdated accounts for maintenance and compliance purposes.

 

Enable Users to Reset their Passwords

In prior releases, embedded directory users did not have the ability to reset their forgotten password. They had to contact Directory Administrators or Superusers to reset their password. Users now have the ability to reset their forgotten password. From the product login page, click “Forgot Password?” link. Enter your user id and its associated email address. An email with a link to reset your password is sent to the registered email address. Appropriate error messages are displayed when the information specified does not match the actual information in the database.

 

Infogix Administrative Console Improvements

The administrative console enables users to gather and provide information to Infogix Customer Support for use in troubleshooting run-time problems.

View Log Files in Real-time

In prior releases, users did not have the ability to view the contents of the log files in real-time. From the Infogix Administrative Console, select “Config/Log Files” link. Select a log file, click “View File”. In the log viewer screen, click “Enable Running Log” to view the contents of the logs in real-time.

Update Product Licenses

You can now update the product license from the Infogix Administrative Console if you have enabled the feature to store the product configuration properties in the database (ENABLE_DATABASE_CONFIG=true).

Contact Infogix Customer Support to get an updated license file upon license expiration or product renewal.

From the Infogix Administrative Console, select “Update License” link. Select “Choose File”, and browse to select the updated license file. Select “Update” to apply the licensing updates.

 

Fixed in this Release

The following issues have been fixed in this release of Infogix ER:

ER-6408 A NullPointerException was triggered when rapidly clicking the Teller, Cash Differences and Exceptions button on the top menu to open the screens and does not display the teller screen.

ER-6465 The Recon Entity Detail screen correctly displays the Recon Entity Attributes in three columns. The Item Search Attribute group fields are correctly  defined in the UI definition as having two columns.

ER-6490 The New button on Recon Entity Detail screen is not available.

ER-6506 The Beans Binding upgrade fixes the performance issue with large work owner selection with Java 7 or 8.

ER-6604 The Recon Entity Detail user interface definition does not offer all Edit Display options for fields in the Item Search Attribute Group section of the definition.

ER-6780 Clicking Clear Item Filters on Recon Entity detail screen clears lower panel filters.

ER-6784 On the User Interface Definition stack tab for Reconciliation definitions, if a field is added to the Recon Entity Detail screen when the last field in the Item Table list is selected, the field is not editable.