Published Release Notes

Customized data imports

You can now further customize the data import process in Data Designer by:

• Setting a default import purpose and preventing the selection of an import purpose to speed up frequent imports of the same kind
• Removing the import purposes that you do not need for your data type
• Defining a default field mapping between the fields in the .csv file and the fields in your data type that act as a unique identifier (key), to save time during the import process
• Skipping the import progress screen and showing progress contextually within your application
• Including the link for data import anywhere in your application or calling it in the background from a service or agent

For more information, see Data import customization.

Enhanced data imports

The data import process in Data Designer has been enhanced to give you more options. You can now import case types, save and use templates for field mapping, add data without updating existing data, specify date and time formats, and reprocess erroneous records by downloading a .csv file that lists the errors in your data import. You can also adjust the data import wizard to the context where it is included.

For more information, see Data import enhancements. 

Pega File Listener process changes

Beginning with Pega 7.2.2, File Listener processes files in a different way:

• File movement in directories – Previously, files were processed from the Work directory. In Pega 7.2.2, files are processed from the source location. Files move to the Work directory only if the initial processing fails and Recovery is disabled.
• New file processing – Previously, File Listener would process all files in the source location, even if the files were added during the processing. In Pega 7.2.2, files added to the source location during processing are read the next time the File Listener starts.

For more information, see File Listener data instances.

Automatically process cases with Box

You can now use Box to store attachments during automated case processing without requiring user input at run time for authentication or authorization with Box. The authentication profile must be OAuth 2.0 with a grant type of authorization code. You can view which apps are connected, connect apps, and disconnect apps on the Connected apps landing page.

For more information, see Connected apps landing page.

Single sign-on (SSO) support for Box

You can now use SSO integration with Box so that users who have already been authenticated are not asked to reauthenticate when accessing Box from their Pega application. The Pega application and the Box application must use the same identity provider federation. This capability provides an integrated user experience and supports automated case processing of attachments.

For more information, see Authentication Profile data instances - Completing the OAuth 2.0 tab.

Send and receive queued messages securely with IBM MQ servers

You can now configure applications developed on the Pega 7 Platform for secure message queuing with IBM MQ servers by using the MQ server rule form. You secure the connection by specifying the cipher suites with encryption standards that meet your requirements and the SSL/TLS X.509 certificates that you use for authentication.

For more information, see Configure secure message queuing with IBM MQ servers.

Functionality of the pyInvokeRESTConnector rule and the pxDeferenceEndpoint rule moved to core engine

The functionality of the pyInvokeRESTConnector rule and the pxDeferenceEndpoint rule has been moved into the core engine code of the Pega 7 Platform. This change provides more consistent behavior, reduces maintenance, and reduces the risk of regression issues. As a result, you can no longer customize these rules, and upgrading the Pega 7 Platform requires special considerations if you previously customized these rules.

For more information, see Upgrading with customized pyInvokeRESTConnector and pxDeferenceEndpoint rules.

Logging service now uses Apache Log4j 2

The Pega^® Platform now uses the Apache Log4j 2 logging service. Apache Log4j 2 improves performance and provides support for all log file appender types. As a result of this upgrade, the prlogging.xml file has been renamed to prlog4j2.xml and the format of the file has changed considerably.

For details about the new file format see Pega Platform logging with the Log4j 2 logging service.

For new installations or for upgrades to systems that were using the default logging configuration, no changes are needed. For information about updating custom log files after upgrading, see Customizations to the prlogging.xml file must be manually ported after upgrade. For information about updating your socket server if you use remote logging, see Socket server has changed for remote logging. For information about updated the web.xml file after upgrading, see Log file description in web.xml incorrect after upgrade to Apache Log4j2.

Customizations to the prlogging.xml file must be manually ported after upgrade

As a result of the upgrade from the Apache Log4j 1 logging service to the Apache Log4j 2 logging service, the name of the logging configuration file has changed from prlogging.xml to prlog4j2.xml and the format of the file has changed considerably. If you customized your prlogging.xml file, port the customizations to the new prlog4j2.xml file. If you do not port the changes, the Pega^® Platform uses the default prlog4j2.xml file and disregards your customized prlogging.xml file.

For more information about customizing your log files, see the Apache Log4j 2 documentation.

Socket server has changed for remote logging

As a result of the upgrade from the Apache Log4j 1 logging service to the Apache Log4j 2 logging service, the socket server that is used for remote logging has changed from the Log4j remote logging package with the LogFactor5 log analysis tool to TcpSocketServer. If you use remote logging, update your socket server to TcpSocketServer. For more information, see Installing and using remote logging.