Published Release Notes

New context menu in the ruleform header

A new context menu has been added to the Applies To class in the ruleform header. This menu provides the following links that are related to the current rule:

• Show in App Explorer – switches the Application Explorer to the Applies To class of the current rule.
• Open in class record – opens the Applies To class definition.
• View in data designer – opens the Data Designer for the Applies To class.
• View inheritance – opens the inheritance display for the Applies To class.

Merge multiple branches at the same time

Enhancements to the Merge Branches wizard provide support for the merging of multiple branches at the same time. Additionally, the Merge Branches wizard now uses the latest user interface design.

Enhanced Expression Builder

Several enhancements have been made to the Expression Builder. The Expression Builder is displayed in multiple locations and guides you when creating construct arithmetic and logical expressions in your application.

Enhancements to the Expression Builder include:

• An updated text editor
• A navigational pane that displays functions in available libraries and properties within a selected page
• The ability to drag functions and properties into the text editor
• The ability to search for properties and non-internal functions
• The ability to select properties and functions from prompts in the text editor
• Automatic bracket-matching
• Syntax highlighting

Data page automated unit testing

Automated unit testing for data pages now provides a guided way to create and modify automated unit test cases for data pages. Test cases are created by running the data page and converting to a test. Unit tests compare the expected value of a property with the property’s actual value on the data page.

Landing page for data page automated unit test

A new landing page lists all test cases that are associated with the data pages in an application. The landing page includes the data page that corresponds to the test, the data type, and the results of the most recent test case run. A new test case can be created and added from the landing page. Existing test cases can also be run either individually or in batches from the landing page.

Work with delegated records in the new Configuration dashboard

Business users can manage and modify delegated items from the new Configuration dashboard on the Case Manager portal. The dashboard allows business users to:

• Create and edit instances (records) of any application data type (including Products and Customers)
• Edit the content of any paragraph rule
• Revise application logic that is defined in basic decision tables

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.

Deprecated rule types

The following rule types have been deprecated as of the Pega 7.1.8 release:

• Form
• Hierarchy
• Service COM
• Service BPEL
• Connect BPEL
• Parse Transform
• Parse Transform Collection
• Parse Infer

For more information, including suggested alternate rule types, see the help topic Deprecated features.

Enabling historical compliance score data

Project stakeholders can now track the compliance score for an application over time to better understand and manage ongoing development adherence to Pega 7 Platform guardrails. The compliance score history can be displayed on a line graph on the Compliance Score tab of the Application Guardrails landing page. The data is collected daily and displayed in weekly increments, up to four weeks prior to the current date.

For more information, see Guardrails compliance score, Enabling compliance score history, and Compliance score trend reporting.

Application Sizing Wizard worksheet template now includes business impact

A column for business impact has been added to the project sizing template used by the Application Sizing Wizard. Project owners can now incorporate this assessment into their project sizing.