Published Release Notes

End of support for form-based rule forms in Pega 7.1.9

Rule forms that are configured to render as forms are no longer supported in Designer Studio or end-user applications. Form-based configurations are found on custom rule types that were created in earlier versions of Pega 7 and are characterized by pop-up windows that are rendered externally from Designer Studio.

Reconfigure Pega 7 applications that use such rule forms by using standard harnesses and sections.

1. Open the class form.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Select Harness from the Rule formmenu.
4. Create a new harness and new sections that implement the logic of the custom rule, using standard user interface layouts and controls.

Migrating custom rule forms to harnesses and sections offers the following benefits:

• User interfaces become HTML5 WC3 compatible and responsive to different screen sizes.
• User interfaces become cross-browser compatible, rendered consistently in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and recent versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
• Rendering performance on modern browsers is dramatically improved.
• User interface pop-up behavior is eliminated; all windows are rendered inside Designer Studio and end-user applications.

Internet Application Composer (IAC) renamed to Pega Web Mashup

The name of Internet Application Composer (IAC) has changed to Pega Web Mashup.

For more information, see Pega web mashups for embedding Pega Platform UI in external web pages.

FTP server records enhanced for SSH FTP

When using SSH FTP (SFTP) in an FTP Server record, you can securely transfer files by using SSH keys. You can enable and configure SFTP by opening the FTP server record and completing the fields in the Protocol section.

For more information, see SSH FTP for FTP server records.

Pega 7 Express is available on-premises

You can now experience Pega 7 Express by switching your enterprise application from Designer Studio to express mode. By default, users with access to the Developer portal can switch between these two development environments. You can also create an express application to work in express mode exclusively.

Trial versions of Pega 7 Express continue to be available on the cloud. To view the documentation for both the cloud and on-premises environments, see Getting started with Pega 7 Express.

Access to Pega 7 Express from within Designer Studio is not supported on mobile devices.

Context-specific documentation is not available in express mode

Help topics that are opened from express mode display content that is specific to Designer Studio.

If your system is dedicated to applications that are developed in express mode exclusively, and you do not need Designer Studio help topics, you can set the Online Help URL field on the System Settings landing page to: https://pdn.pega.com/sites/default/files/help_p7e/procomhelpmain.htm. Alternatively, you can view the contextual help system for Pega 7 Express in a separate browser tab.

Design-time limitations in express mode

Some limitations apply when you develop an enterprise application in express mode. At design time, some features are disabled or have limited options when you configure them in Designer Studio and switch to express mode. The use of these features does not restrict the run-time behavior of your application; however, you cannot change the configuration of these features unless you switch from express mode to Designer Studio.

For more information about each limitation and the recommended action to take, see the following information:

• Pega 7.2.2 Design-time limitations in express mode
• Pega 7.2.1 Design-time limitations in express mode
• Pega 7.2 Design-time limitations in express mode
• Pega 7.1.9 Design-time limitations in express mode

Automate business process tracking by importing Excel files

To track business processes status and data, you can now import Excel files when you create a case or data object in App Studio. This functionality provides the following enhancements:

• You can now upload a CSV file when you create a case or data object in App Studio. By importing a CSV file, you can use the data in your spreadsheet to define your data model.
• You can generate a data import template that you can use to import a file in its original format during production.
• You can upload .xlsx files to avoid resaving your Excel file as a CSV file.

For more information, see Creating a data model from a spreadsheet.

Data APIs support data exploration in React UI tables

Data APIs have been enhanced to support filtering, sorting, paging, and aggregation in React UI tables. You can use that functionality to access your data quickly and intuitively. For example, by using paging, you can query a data page to retrieve the second page of an employee contact list and specify the number of results that are displayed on the page.

For more information, see Data API performance and limitations.

Support for application-specific REST API calls

You can now call an authenticated REST API in the context of any application that is listed on an operator record by using the application alias URL. With the application alias URL, you can also develop REST services without changing the access group in the service package. REST services run in the context of the access group that points to the provided application, instead of the access group that is specified in the service package.

For more information, see Invoking a REST service rule.

Business logic-based routing cards enhancements

To ensure that the sequence of business logic-based routing cards conforms to your business requirements, you now have the option to change the order of the cards. For easier navigation across multiple routing cards, the system automatically collapses the cards for you, and you can then easily expand the cards that you need to display.

For more information, see Navigate easier across business logic-based routing cards (8.5), Assigning users automatically at run time.