pxFeed replaces pxContextFeed and pxActivityFeed Pulse gadgets
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
The pxContextFeed and pxActivityFeed gadgets have been replaced by the pxFeed gadget to integrate the functionalities of viewing and posting messages in the Pulse activity feed. You can include this gadget within a section or harness across your application, for example, in the dashboard of the Case Manager portal, to display the activity feed. You must add the latest UI Kit ruleset to ensure that your application uses the pxFeed gadget instead of the pxContextFeed and pxActivityFeed gadgets to generate the activity feed.
For more information, see Pulse gadget and custom APIs.
Survey rules are deprecated
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
Surveys that were created prior to version 7.4 of Pega Platform are now deprecated. As a best practice, recreate your survey by using the Survey Management landing page, and then reuse questions or question pages from your survey library.
For more information about creating surveys, see Improved survey authoring.
Questionnaire shape replaces Survey shape in legacy flows
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
In flows that reference deprecated surveys, the Questionnaire shape has replaced the Survey shape. Although legacy surveys continue to function in this release, update your flows to use the Survey shape because it provides the latest survey capabilities, and deprecated features are not supported.
For more information about the new survey authoring experience, see Improved survey authoring.
New privilege required to access the Search landing page
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
After upgrading to Pega® Platform 7.4, users who do not have the pxAccessSearchLP privilege cannot access the Search landing page. The pxAccessSearchLP privilege is automatically assigned to the SysAdm4 role. If you have other roles that require access to the Search landing page, you must add the pxAccessSearchLP privilege to those roles.
For more information about assigning privileges to roles, see User privilege authorization. (Link to: basics/v6portal/landingpages/accessmanager/customizeprivilegestab.htm)
Add message header fields to the service email for Pulse email replies
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
The pzCreatePulseReply service email rule now has these additional fields in the message header: Message–ID, In–Reply–To, and References. As a result, the system interacts with email clients by using email headers when users reply to Pulse emails. If you configured a service email for replies to Pulse email notifications, add these fields to the service email to allow the system to post the replies in Pulse. If you are creating a service email, ensure that the message header and data have the same values as the values in pzCreatePulseReply.
For more information, see Enabling users to respond to Pulse email notifications.
New JWT access token format: Authorized Access Token
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
Pega Platform™ is changing from using opaque tokens to using JSON Web (JWT) tokens and the JWT access token format: Authorized Access Token (AAT). An AAT enables a client application to validate the server for user permissions and authorizes a specific application to access specific parts of a user’s data.
The major benefits to using the JWT format are:
- The JWT is a self-contained token that has authentication information, expire time information, and other user-defined claims digitally signed.
- A single token can be used with multiple applications.
- The tokens are short-lived and can minimize damage if transport security is compromised, as the token signature is verified.
- As the token is verified with the signature, there is no need to verify against a database, thus reducing latency (usually important for Web APIs).
For more information, see Understanding authorized access tokens.
Improving basic access control
Valid from Pega Version 8.5
Pega Platform™ has implemented a new basic access control (BAC) to protect your application from unauthorized server calls from otherwise authenticated users.
For more information, see Access Control Checks.
Upgrade impact
After you upgrade to Pega 8.5, all the functionality in the model configurations that use auto-generated controls and actions continues to work as before. However, you must secure any customized JavaScript in your application layer that makes AJAX (server) calls by using registration or encryption mechanisms.
What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?
After upgrade, to migrate custom JavaScript functionality, see Access Control Checks.