Infor Birst 2022.10 Release Notes

This section contains a summary of enhancements and new features for the Birst 2022.10 release.

Administrator

Migration information for monitoring jobs

  • Updated the Monitoring Details window that displays when a user clicks More Details for a monitoring job to display Migrate From and Migrate To sections. These sections list the source and target information for database server migration jobs. This allows users to identify the source and target space IDs, and any server data type information.

  • When a user specifies a space ID on the Monitoring page, the jobs for that target or source space are grouped together in the Monitoring table.

Data archival for Telemetry

  • Added a data archival feature to archive Telemetry data older than one year, improving overall performance in Processing and Report loading.

Usage Tracking Space

  • Added the ability for admin users to create usage tracking spaces to gather usage statistics on one or more spaces within an account.

  • Admin users can click + to create a new space, and then select Usage Tracking Space from the list.

Dashlet Email Export option configurable for Account Groups

  • Updated Enable Download and Enable Email Export options in Admin Account Groups. Depending on which options are enabled, the Email Export action may be available in the actions menu of dashlets based on a set minimum number of rows in a dashlet's report.

  • The minimum number of rows a dashlet's report must have before the Email Export is available in the actions menu is set in the Email Export Threshold field located at Admin→ Space Management→ Space Properties→ Advanced tab. Values between 0 and 500,000 can be entered in the Email Export Threshold field (default setting is 50000).

  • The Enable Download and Enable Email Export options only affect users in the set Account Group.

Alert message for replicate palettes and themes in Repo Admin

  • Added a message that displays when admin users attempt to replicate color palettes or themes in Repo Admin that warns users replicating color palettes/themes deletes the existing palettes/themes. The alert message displays when an admin user clicks the replicate option. Users can click OK to continue or Cancel to cancel the replication.

Logging for replicating palettes and themes

  • Added logging to the Repo Admin so that copied or replicated color palettes and themes can be tracked.

Application Connector

Deprecated Connectors as of 2022.10

  • These connectors are not available in Birst starting with the 2022.10 release:

    • BoxConnector

    • EloquaConnector_2_0

    • ExactTargetConnector

    • NetSuiteConnector_2013_2

    • OracleCRMODConnector_26_0

    • RConnector

    • OmnitureSiteCatalystConnector_1_4

    • GoogleAnalyticsConnector_4_0

    • MarketoConnector_2_9

Compare & Merge

Merge saved expressions in the same workflow

  • Added the ability for users to merge Repository and Saved Expression objects targeting the same source and same target space selection in one merge workflow. Previously, users could not switch from one type to another without clearing the merge list.

Show metadata for merge execution in Job Monitoring

  • Updated the Job Monitoring page to display more relevant information for merge job tasks, such as the Merge Workflow Name and Workflow ID.

New icon for when there are no dependencies in Compare

  • Added a new icon that displays in the Merge List in Compare Objects when there are no dependencies present after a dependency analysis is completed.

Verify labels in the UI use Compare & Merge

  • Verified that labels, screens, and so on in the user interface display "Compare & Merge" instead of just "Compare", improving consistency throughout the application.

Dashboards

Expand and Collapse grouped sections for dashlet tables

  • Added the ability to expand or collapse grouped categories in a dashlet table for columns with a Break By applied simultaneously. Previously, if a user expanded grouped categories in a column, the user had to close each group or category individually. Now, users can use Expand All and Collapse All options in the Dashlet Actions menu to open and close all the grouped sections for columns with a Break By applied.

  • The Expand All and Collapse All options can be used for a specific column to expand/collapse rows in that column. Alternatively, the Expand All and Collapse All options can be applied to the whole table to expand/collapse any break by sections or groups.

    Note: If you want export a report to Excel and you want to use any Break By sections applied in the report in Excel, the export limit for the report is 50,000 cells.

KPI Themes, Drillacross Hover

  • Added the ability for users to set the KPI styles in themes for title, KPI font, font colors, and chart color. Users can also set and change the background color for the KPI hover drillacross window that displays when users hover and rest their cursors on a KPI.

  • Added a KPI tab in Themes so that users can set their Normal Style and Hover Style settings for KPIs. If a user applies any hover background settings in Themes, the settings are applied to all dashboards in that space.

KPI font styles across dashboards in a space

  • When a user updates the KPI font and KPI color settings in Themes, the changes are applied to all dashboards associated with that space.

    Note: Changes to KPI settings made through a dashlet toolbar or the KPI editor overrides the changes made in Themes.

Added a spinner when Dashboard drillacross is loading

  • Added a spinner that displays when a user clicks on a dashlet with a defined drill across to indicate that the application is loading the drill across dashboard and any corresponding dashlets.

Added a spinner when filters are loading

  • Added a spinner that displays when a user edits an existing filter to indicate that the filter is being loaded (correcting an issue where the application incorrectly displayed "New Filter" instead of the filter's name and then took time to load the correct filter details).

Modeler

Connect

Saving query-based objects without previewing while using Infor Data Lake connector

  • Added the ability to save query-based objects for the Infor Data Lake connector without previewing the query, correcting an issue that caused the preview to time out due to the length of the query, improving functionality. Previously, a preview request was sent each time a user selected a catalog object or saved a query-based object to the connector. Now, users can enable Skip Preview on the More Options tab of the Create Connection window so that the data preview of the connection is skipped. When Skip Preview is enabled, the application displays a message indicating that the preview is not available. The Skip Preview option is disabled by default.

    Note: The Skip Preview applies to all data types and not just query-based objects.

    Important: Skip Preview can only be enabled is enabled only for the Infor Data Lake connector.

Improved confirmation message when uploading zip files to Birst

  • Added a more detailed message whenever users upload .zip files using the Files option or Quick Upload panel in Modeler Connect. After uploading a .zip file, a confirmation message displays the number of unsupported file types in the .zip file that were ignored and the number of supported file types in the .zip file that was uploaded. If no supported file types are in an uploaded .zip file, a "Fail to upload file" message displays. Birst only allows .xls, .xlsx, .xlsx, .csv, and .txt files to be uploaded in Modeler Connect.

Relate

Updated the style and overall look for Data Lineage

  • Improved the style and overall look for the Source and Data Flow views in Data Lineage, improving overall usability.

  • These changes include but are not limited to:

    • Updated colors for data objects so that users can differentiate between data.

    • Updated shading and colors so that users can identify the data objects they are hovering over.

    • Hover colors to identify join lines the user rests the cursor on in the Data Flow view.

    • Hover colors for the dotted data lineage arrows and lines in the Lineage view.

Orchestration

Run a Workflow from a Step or Task

  • Added the ability to run custom workflows where users can either select specific tasks within a step to run in a workflow, run one step in a workflow, or one task in a step.

    • Users can click on the Action icon for a specific step and select Run custom steps. Next, users either select the tasks within the step, select a subset of steps in the workflow only, or select Run this step only to run only that step.

    • Users can click on the Action icon for a specific task within a step and select Run custom workflow. Users select the tasks within the step to run or select Run this task only to run only that task within that step.

    • From the Run Custom Workflow window, users can select the steps or tasks to run and not run.

      Note: If you select a task in one step and then another task in another step, the application automatically selects every step and task in between.

  • In the run history, the Run Type is displayed as Custom. Steps and tasks that were not included in the run are labeled as Skipped.

Display product names for application workflows

  • Updated Orchestration so that the application displays the Product Name instead of the Application Logical ID. Additionally, when a user now rests the cursor on the product, the application displays additional information such as the product name, version, the logical ID, status, and so on.

REST APIs

REST API Operations to automatically Translate Birst Content into different Languages

  • Added the ability for administrators and space owners to use REST APIs to automate the translation of Birst interface objects and content into different languages (i.e., localization). Additionally, these APIs can update translated spaces with new translations and delete existing translations. Prior to this feature, the translation process required administrators to download an excel spreadsheet of target space objects and content that required translation. Next, the administrator entered the language translation in the spreadsheet and upload it back to Birst.

  • These REST APIs allow users to Get, Create, Update and Delete strings at granular level so that users can add a single string or manage multiple strings. This table contains API operations for translating objects and content in spaces. Each row in the table contain an API method, endpoint, and description.

    Method

    Endpoint

    Description
    GET /spaces/{spaceId}/localizations/ Get a list of localization strings
    GET /spaces/{spaceId}/localizations/{localizationId} Get a specific localization
    GET /spaces/{spaceId}/localizations/defaults Get default list of strings for localization
    POST /spaces/{spaceId}/localizations/ Create a localization String
    PATCH /spaces/{spaceId}/localizations/{localizationId}

    Update a localization String
    DELETE /spaces/{spaceId}/localizations/{localizationId} Delete a localization String

  • Note: Translation REST APIs are public and can be used with other Infor OS products.

REST API for Orchestration Run History

  • Added a REST API that calls the run history for all available orchestrations. Users can use this REST API to view the last run history details, to view the run history for a specific workflow, and get the status of a specific workflow. The REST API uses the workflow ID to provide the workflow run history.

REST API for Orchestration Execution

  • Added a REST API that can run or cancel a run for available workflows in Orchestration. The REST API uses workflow IDs to run or cancel a specific workflow.

REST API to manage account groups

  • Added accountgroups REST APIs to automate managing users in account groups. These REST APIs allow admin users to create, update, manage, and view account groups and the users in account groups.

    Method

    Endpoint

    Description
    GET /accountgroups/ Get a list of account groups for a given account.
    GET /accountgroups/{accountgroupid} Get the details of an account group, including the list of users assigned to the account group and the permission and feature details
    GET /accountgroups/permissions/ Get the list of permissions available for account groups
    GET /accountgroups/features/ Get the list of features available for account groups
    DEL /accountgroups/{accountgroupid} Delete an account group for a given account
    PUT /accountgroups/{accountgroupid} Update the name and description of an account group for a given account
    POST /accountgroups/{accountgroupid} Create an account group for a given account
    POST /accountgroups/{accountgroupid}/users/ Add user to an account group
    DEL /accountgroups/{accountgroupid}/users/{userid} Remove a user from an account group
    PUT /accountgroups/{accountgroupid}/permissions/{permissionid} Enable or Disable a permission in an account group
    PUT /accountgroups/{accountgroupid}/features/{featureid} Enable or Disable a feature in an account group

REST API to manage account groups in spaces

  • Added a REST API to add or remove account groups in spaces.

    Method

    Endpoint

    Description
    GET /accountgroups/spaces/{spaceId} Gets the account groups for given space
    PUT /accountgroups/{accountGroupId}/spaces/{spaceId} Add a space to given account group
    DELETE /accountgroups/{accountGroupId}/spaces/{spaceId} Remove a space from given account group

Space Management

Space Overview page

  • Added a new Space Overview page to the application that displays when users log in. The Space Overview page provides links to modules that the user has access to (Visualizer, Designer, and so on) and displays space details, depending on your user. The Space Overview page shows a table of recently modified files, last modified by information, tags, and last modified date details for the space used on the page.

    • For users with a default space set, the Space Overview page shows recently modified items or recent actions within that space.

    • For users with only one space configured, that space is displayed for that user's Space Overview page.

    • The table shows the space details for only the logged in user. For example, only the logged in user's recently modified files are displayed in the table.

  • If the browser window is resized, any module icons that no longer fit the screen are grouped into a More button. Users can access those hidden modules by clicking the More button.

Subject Area

Filter option when Search bar is engaged

  • Added a Filter option that displays in the Search bar when a user uses the Search. Previously, a user had to specify at least one character to access the filter options. Now, a user can apply filters from the Filter option in the Search bar without having to specify a character.

User Interface

Remove Flash from the UI 

  • Removed all instances of Flash user interface features with the exception of the User Management module.

Updated the Feature Provisioning page

  • Updated the look and feel of the Feature Provisioning page to be more consistent with the rest of the user interface.

Added notification count in the UI

  • Added a number count to notifications and messages that display in the user interface to indicate the number of system messages for the user. Previously, messages and notifications would display and remain on screen, leading to a scenario where multiple messages prevented users from performing actions in the application. Now, a number count is displayed so that users know how many messages they have. Additionally, a Show more button has been added to display a message panel that lists the user's messages and notifications.

Navigate to the Space Overview page

  • Users can click the Space Name displayed at the top of the Menu panel to navigate to the Home page for that user, providing details and an overview for that space.

Increased font size in the UI

  • Increased the standard base size of the font in the user interface for improved usability and visibility.

Visualizer

Export tables to Excel with expanded/collapsed break by groups

  • Updated the export functionality so when a user exports a dashlet table to Excel, the user can either export the dashlet table's current state or all the data in the dashlet table, including any collapsed rows in any break by groups, to Excel.

  • Previously, when a user exported a table with any collapsed groups, the application did not export the sub rows for those groups in the export file. Now the export can be set up to include all rows in a break by group in the table.

  • Users can select All Data to Excel from the Export As menu within the Dashlet Actions for the table to export all the data including the collapsed sections. Alternatively, users can select Current State to Excel to export only the current state of the table without collapsed sections.

    Caution: There is a known issue when dealing with 50,000 rows or more in a Break By section. We recommend not exporting tables with more than 50,000 rows in a collapsed or expanded Break By section.

Transparent report backgrounds

  • Added the ability for users to apply a transparent background to reports. Users can go to Chart Formatting and select transparent backgrounds for their reports. When the transparent option is applied, the preview shows a checkered pattern background to indicate it is transparent.

  • The default background is still white and all existing reports have their current configured background color applied.

    Note: Transparent backgrounds in Visualizer are not transferred to Dashboards. Users can still set transparent backgrounds on Dashboards in the Dashboard Settings.