Chart drilldown capabilities extended to dashboard widgets
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
When the chart for a report is displayed in a dashboard widget, you now can click any part of the chart to drill down and view the subset of data for that part. This enhancement provides you with an accurate view of the data that determines the report results. Previously, this capability was provided only in the Report Viewer.
Enhancements to exporting report results to Excel
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
When you export report results to Excel, the .xlsx file that the export process generates is smaller, opens faster, and no longer displays a security warning when you open it. Excel handles more of the formatting, and DateTime, Date, TimeOfDay, and Numeric properties are exported in a format that Excel recognizes. In addition, columns have sorting and filtering enabled by default.
These enhancements are enabled by default and provide improvements to performance and memory usage, especially with large data sets. You can disable this new default behavior by modifying the pyEnableExportToAdvancedExcelFormat when rule. For more information, see Disabling the default functionality for exporting reports to Excel.
Improved data security for BIX extracts for Pega Cloud customers
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
Data security is improved for BIX extracts in the Pega Cloud. BIX extracts are now processed through the use of a HIPAA-compliant system. As a result of this improvement, the method for obtaining BIX extracts has changed. For more information, see Process for obtaining BIX extracts has changed for Pega Cloud customers.
New process for Pega Cloud customers to obtain BIX extract files
Valid from Pega Version 7.3
The process for obtaining Business Intelligence Exchange (BIX) extract and manifest files for Pega® Cloud customers has changed as a result of data security enhancements for HIPAA compliance. By default, after upgrading to Pega 7.3, you must obtain the BIX extract and manifest files from the Pega SFTP server. From within Designer Studio, you can configure the BIX extract and manifest files to be sent to a remote SFTP server by a file listener. For Pega Cloud customers who have purchased a Pega Cloud SFTP Server subscription, you can configure BIX to send the BIX extract and manifest files to the SFTP server's folders for remote SFTP client download.
For more information about obtaining files from the Pega SFTP server, see Obtaining BIX extract files from the Pega SFTP server.
For more information about having files sent to your SFTP server, see Defining SFTP-related data instances.
Upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x requires downtime during upgrades to Pega Infinity 8.6
Valid from Pega Version 8.6
Upgrade impact statement
On-premises upgrades of Pega Infinity release 8.4.2 and later to version 8.5.1 or later on Tomcat and PostgreSQL are completed with near-zero downtime. However, upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x requires that you shut down and restart your application server.
What is required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
Hazelcast 3.x is enabled by default. For near-zero downtime upgrades, you do not need to perform any action.
For instructions about upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x, see one of the following topics:
- For near-zero downtime upgrades from Pega Infinity release 8.4.2 or later on Tomcat and PostgreSQL, see "Optional: upgrading to Pega Platform version 8.6: Upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x" in Near-zero downtime Upgrade Guide for Pega Platform version 8.4.2 and later for Tomcat and PostgreSQL.
- For all other upgrades, see "Optional: upgrading to Hazelcast 4.x" in the appropriate upgrade guide.
Deprecated support for Pega Platform deployments on embedded Cassandra
Valid from Pega Version 8.6
If you use Pega Platform™ decision management capabilities, Pega Platform uses Cassandra as the underlying storage system for the Decision Data Store (DDS), which manages the Cassandra cluster and stores decision management data in a Cassandra database. Future versions of Pega Platform will no longer support deployments on embedded Cassandra. In Pega Platform version 8.6, deployments using embedded Cassandra are deprecated but still work. To ensure future compatibility, do not create any new installations using embedded Cassandra.
For information about how to configure Pega Platform to access an external database, see Defining Pega Platform access to an external Cassandra database.
Insights from 8.5 require additional configuration after upgrade
Valid from Pega Version 8.6
Upgrade impact
After you upgrade Pega Platform™ version 8.5 to 8.6, the Explore Data landing page might not include insights that come from the earlier version of the product.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
Run the pxUpgrade85Insights activity to make all insights from version 8.5 accessible for you in 8.6. By running this activity, you upgrade insights with new metadata that is required in version 8.6. For example, the pxUpgrade85Insights activity provides you with the option to set the visibility of insights to private, public or shared.
For more information about insights, see Visualizing data with insights.
Improved indexing of StringList and StringGroup property types
Valid from Pega Version 8.6
Search and Reporting Service in Pega Platform™ 8.5 may improperly index StringList and StringGroup property types. As a result, the data model does not include the affected properties.
Upgrade impact
After upgrading to Pega Platform version 8.6, the system requires that the classes with the StringList or StringGroup type are reindexed.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
On the Search Landing Page, manually reindex all the classes that include properties with the StringList or StringGroup types to ensure that all your data is present in the data model. Alternatively, if finding specific instances of classes is difficult, you can reindex all classes in your application.
For more information, see Indexing class data.