Published Release Notes

Tracer file size limit to prevent disk usage issues

The maximum size of files with event details that Tracer generates is now 10 GB to avoid excessive disk usage and performance issues. Tracer applies the size limit at the node-level, so every node that runs in your system can use up to 10 GB of disk space to create an output file with event details. As a result, you can monitor the health of your system and deliver issue-free applications without experiencing disk space problems.

For more information, see:

• Avoid performance issues when monitoring applications with size limit for Tracer files (8.6)
• Tracer disk usage FAQ

Low-code authoring of case pages

Mobile authoring for Cosmos React applications now supports the configuration of native mobile pages that include case details. Your mobile channel automatically generates these pages for each case type in your application. This enhancement improves the user experience in your app by providing users with native pages that you can adjust to best suit your business process. For example, you can highlight specific views on a page by modifying which tabs appear on the page, or add a floating action button to help your users edit the case.

For more information, see Authoring mobile case pages for Cosmos React applications.

In Pega Platform™ version 8.6, mobile features in Cosmos React applications are available only as a preview, with limited support for various interface elements and features, such as offline mode. The recommended production design system for Pega Mobile in Pega Platform 8.6 is Theme Cosmos.

For more information about the Cosmos React design system, see Cosmos React and UI architecture comparison.

Automatic packaging of cases for offline use

Newly created mobile channels now support automatic packaging of cases for use in offline mode. The packaging process includes case data from all native list pages that you create from offline-enabled case types and add to the navigation of your mobile app. Previously, automatic packaging was limited to assignments in the work list (and their related work items), and cases that were listed in the data page that you manually designated for packaging.

This enhancement improves the user experience for mobile app developers by ensuring that the data that is referenced in list pages for offline-enabled case types is automatically available for the users of your offline app.

Improved user experience for Cosmos React mobile apps

Mobile apps that you build for Cosmos React applications now feature a highly performant and responsive user interface that improves the overall user experience.

Native case pages

Prescriptive mobile case pages are now faster and more reliable. Mobile case pages display views and widgets as cards and group the cards into user-friendly tabs. Users can navigate the tabs by swiping left or right. From the case page, users can also edit case page details by selecting the floating action button, or choose an optional action from the case header drop-down menu. 

To improve collaboration, prescriptive mobile case pages support the Pulse widget, as well as uploading, viewing, and downloading case attachments.

Improved case processing 

The case processing interface on mobile devices is now more reliable and ensures a smooth experience for case workers. After users complete an assignment, Cosmos React apps display the task that is next in the flow that you define for the case type. Optional actions open in an overlay drawer component that users can minimize when they need to multitask while processing cases.

Form validation in real time 

Validation of user input for mobile forms is now highly responsive thanks to real-time validation. To ensure that users enter data correctly, forms support validation expressions that you define in App Studio. Expressions are processed on the client side to further improve app performance.

Native Android and iOS controls

Cosmos React apps use a selection of native Android and iOS controls that make mobile apps faster and more intuitive to use. The native controls include map and location controls, date and time pickers, and controls for adding attachments.

In Pega Platform™ version 8.6, mobile features in Cosmos React applications are available only as a preview, with limited support for various interface elements and features, such as offline mode. The recommended production design system for Pega Mobile in Pega Platform 8.6 is Theme Cosmos.

Use multiple built-on applications to enhance ruleset reuse

Applications can now have multiple built-on applications, allowing rules to be reused as a part of a built-on application at run time while being developed independently at design time.

Previously, applications built in Pega 7.1 and earlier versions were assembled in a single linear application stack--one application built on top of another application, and so on. Attempting to reuse rulesets and frameworks across applications resulted in having to splice applications together, creating challenges when attempting to support the use of these custom created applications. Starting in Pega 7.2, applications are built on to other applications by using a hierarchical tree structure, and the Pega 7 Platform automatically converts this tree into a linear application stack.

For more information, see Using multiple built-on applications and the Ruleset behavior at design time section in Application stack hierarchy for multiple built-on applications.

Support for delegating map values, correspondence rules, and circumstances

You can now delegate map values and correspondence rules from the Actions > Delegate menu. In addition, you can delegate circumstanced types of the following supported rules and data types:

• Map values
• Correspondence rules
• Paragraphs
• Decision tables
• Data types

Offline support for mobile applications

You can work on assignments and create cases while your mobile device is offline. By enabling offline support for a case type, you can move cases closer to resolution while your application is disconnected from the network.

For more information, see Enabling offline for support for a case type.

Support for large reference data in offline mobile apps

A data page in a Pega 7 Platform mobile application with offline capability enabled can now be marked as a large data page. This feature improves performance significantly when you have a large amount of data in which only individual records change.

In this situation, after the initial sync to the mobile app, only the changes in the large data page are synced instead of the entire large data page. The database table is created for such large data pages in the encrypted SQLite database on the device. Changes such as add, delete, or update are reconciled as row-level updates. Furthermore, you can use JavaScript to query against this data. A large referenced data page is supported by list-based components such as repeating dynamic layout, auto-complete, a dropdown list, and radio button.

Support for offline and online cases in a single mobile app

A single offline-enabled application can now support both the creation and processing of online-only and offline-ready cases.

For online-only cases, a list of both the offline and online cases is always available. Case assignment and processing is performed on the server so that a case is available only when the device is connected to the Internet or to data. When a connection is not available for processing an online-only case, an error message is displayed.

For offline-ready cases, a user can open an assignment and perform tasks on that case. There is also an option to explicitly display a harness from a server instead of a client store.

Offline mobility improvements

Several offline mobility improvements have been made in this release. Additional use cases have been added for configuring offline-enabled mobile apps at design time. Read-only grids with limited features are now supported offline. You can configure auto-populated properties, and you can create work with parameters. It is also possible to open work by handle. You can use decision shapes with Boolean expressions (no when rules) in screen flows. Barcode scanning is now available in offline mode.