Published Release Notes

Add custom controls to section palettes

You can add custom controls to the Basic or Advanced palettes in sections. With this enhancement, Pega^® Platform developers have easy access to custom controls. The Show in authoring menus check box is available in the HTML tab of the custom control rule. You can add a custom icon to display in the menu with the custom control.

For more information see Adding custom controls to the section palette in Designer Studio.

Create email correspondence by using templates

You can configure email correspondence rules by using email templates. Email templates provide custom email formats for users and give developers a greater degree of customization in designing email correspondence. Select an email template on the Corr tab of a correspondence rule by clicking Edit mode and selecting Templated email from the menu. You can also create a section as an email template by clicking Email template on the Settings tab of the section form. For more information see Creating email correspondence by using a template.

Actions available for custom controls

All standard actions that are available for autogenerated controls are available on non-autogenerated custom controls as well. You can configure actions on custom controls by using the legacy actions options or the standard options that are available to custom and autogenerated controls. By using the standard options, developers can now configure multiple action sets for different types of events on a single custom control.

For more information, see Actions tab.

Edit sections across Pega Express and Designer Studio

Sections created in Pega^® Express can be edited in Designer Studio, saved, and then reopened in Pega Express. This allows developers to create more complex, feature-rich sections and make them accessible to Pega Express users. In the section rule, you can convert template-based sections to full sections that no longer use a template.

For more information, see Harness and Section forms - Adding a section.

Style UI elements based on their state

You can style a control or component based on its state to give users a visual indication of an element's current state, without overriding the CSS file. The styles that you specified for each state (hover, focus, or active) are applied at run time.

For more information, see Styling UI elements based on their state.

Style radio buttons as segmented buttons

You can configure radio buttons to be displayed as segmented buttons. Segmented buttons display multiple button options in a compact format. Segmented buttons do not support vertical orientation. On the Presentation tab of the properties panel, set Control format to Other and select Segmented.

For more information, see Radio Buttons control properties – Presentation tab.

Text file rules support JavaScript and CSS validation

The Rule-File-Text rule form supports validation errors and warnings for JavaScript and CSS files. This support makes JavaScript and CSS code easier to maintain and allows you to follow best practices while editing the rule. Any JavaScript or CSS validation warnings generate a guardrail warning of moderate severity.

For more information, see Text File rules - JavaScript and CSS validation.

Revamped view authoring in Cosmos React

Applications that use Cosmos React now feature updated case and portal authoring tools, including more templates, improved view editing, and more intuitive management of UI components.

This change empowers citizen developers to build applications through configuration as opposed to customization, and reduces development time while also providing a prescriptive environment for creating optimal customer experience.

For more information, see Configuring forms and views.

Improved UI accessibility

Pega Platform™ now supports W3C Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines more fully, which creates a better user experience for people who rely on assistive technologies, such as screen readers.

The user interface now features the following enhancements:

• Improved keyboard navigation and updated ARIA attributes for layouts, including dynamic, repeating, and table layouts.
• Updated navigation for AJAX and dynamic containers.
• More precise keyboard navigation and focus control for pop-up components, such as SmartTips.
• Fixed accessibility gaps in out-of-the-box actionable controls and form components, such as buttons and text fields.
• More accessible error messages with improved color schemes and focus control. To meet the WCAG ARIA guidelines, the Show next Error bar has been retired and substituted with more accessible error symbols.
• Accessibility code included in the Pega Platform ruleset by default, without the need for additional configuration.

For more information, see Supported keyboard navigation.

Improved scroll functionality in vertical tabs

When you scroll content in an application that uses the Cosmos theme, the UI now remembers the scroll position even if you switch between vertical tabs, for example, in the case details section. Previously, the application reset the page to the topmost position every time you switched tabs. This update improves the user experience by reducing context switching.