Published Release Notes

Post files and links with pxPostMessage API

The pxPostMessageAPI now supports text messages, file attachments, and hyperlinks. You can programmatically update Pulse streams using this API from activities or SLA rules.

Case Management

This release has continued to focus on improving the functionality of the design environment with improvements to the Case Designer and stage configuration. Additional end user capabilities were also added to allow for processing a wider variety of cases, for those with and without stages and improved bulk processing handling.

• Flow action processing now uses the primary page instead of the interest page when using case/stage local actions, so that embedded flows are properly populated.
• Case-wide local actions rely on pzInternalStageFlow when there are no active, non-hidden assignments on the case. These case-wide local actions will now appear on a stage-less flow with no assignments.
• If a (valid) error is displayed in the outline view, saving or clicking around will not delete the error - the error will remain as a reminder to the developer to solve whatever problem is being flagged.
• May now add Cascading Approval validation and edit the parameters from the Case Designer Stage and Step page.
• Page labelling ("Page 1 of X") appears in the history list presented in the audit tab.
• The bulk processing feature has been enhanced.
• The Outline View functionality was changed so that the visible page will no longer refresh each time a flow is edited.
• The Post value was added to the instructions text field, so data isn't lost between nodes in the outline View.
• When Assign to Operator or workbasket is included as a filter, the bulk processing gadget is supposed to get a list of assignments. The UI for the results was enhanced for assignments to include a column for instructions so that the different assignments on the same work item can be distinguished.
• When designing a case type’s stages, it is no longer possible to skip the last stage (by using the "skip stage when" setting). When creating or editing the last stage, developers may no longer set a skip when rule; if tried, the system will display a warning and prevent that. If a Skip When rule is set up for a stage, and then all the intervening stages are deleted so that this stage becomes the last stage, the warning will display, and the Skip When rule will not be visible. If another stage is then added after that, the Skip When rule becomes visible again.
• When one or more locked work objects are processed using the Process Selected Items button, the action will be performed on the selected work objects. If the action is successful, a green tick appears on the work object. If it is not successful, a red cross will appear.
• When the topmost RuleSet in the RuleSet Stack is locked, customers may now open up Outline View by clicking "Configure Process Details" and make exploratory changes to experiment. Because the RuleSet is locked, these changes may not be saved, but the experiment can be tried.

Quickly create ad-hoc cases

The My Cases work area on the Case Manager portal introduces a Quick Create feature that lets users create cases and assign tasks that are not included in the processing of business cases (instances of case types defined in the Cases Explorer).  For example, a manager can create a case and a task to set up a phone conference with her staff, or a reminder to enroll in an online seminar. Users can also set up a series of tasks to represent all they work they need to do to accomplish a specific goal.

Support for following users in the Pega Express and Case Manager portals

You can now follow users in both the Pega Express and Case Manager portals. Posts that are made by users whom you are following are displayed in your Pulse activity feed in your dashboard. In addition, an icon indicates whether followed users are online.

For more information, see the following help topics:

• Following a user (Pega 7.3)
• Following a user (Pega 7.3 express)

Enhancements to the Send Email smart shape

The following enhancements have been made to the Send Email smart shape:

• You can now configure the Send Email smart shape in Pega Express.
• You can use templates, such as a rejection template, in your email.
• You can use property values, which allow you to insert the value of a field in your case type, such as First Name, within the email.
• You can insert a link to the case ID in your email.
• You can more quickly configure your recipient list by using two options, instead of one, to send messages to either a list of email addresses or to fields.
• You can choose to send either all case attachments in an email, or you can send attachments of a specified attachment category or an attachment type field. You can specify multiple attachment categories and attachment type fields.

For more information, see the following help topics:

• Sending email from a case (Pega 7.3)
• Sending email from a case (Pega 7.3 express)

Multistatus case dependencies replace custom implementations

You can now quickly define a case dependency that supports variations of a resolved status, such as Resolved-Completed and Resolved-Rejected. Because the definition of a resolved case now includes all status values that start with the word “Resolved,” you can replace custom logic in your application with a Wait shape that you configure in a flow.

For more information about defining a case dependency, see:

• Pega Platform - Pausing a process in a case
• Pega Express - Pausing a process in a case

Cases no longer locked when followed

Work party properties of the type follower are no longer associated with the cases that you follow. Cases are no longer locked when you follow them, so now all users can follow a case. If you upgrade to Pega 7.3, you can run a utility to upgrade the cases that you are following so that they are no longer locked when they are followed.​

For more information, see Upgrading cases and followers.

Send event notifications in Pega Platform

You can configure applications to notify users of case changes or other significant events that occur in an application. Use notifications to engage application users by providing key updates that might be of interest to them.

You can deliver notifications over the default web gadget and email channels or use a custom channel that you created. You can configure multiple web gadgets to display different kinds of notifications. The email channel supports notification frequency of instant, daily, or weekly.

Application users can set their own notification preferences in the run-time portals or override the set preferences for a specific case type instance.

For more information, see Sending event notifications and Management of user notification preferences.

Multiple notifications are delivered for the same Pulse post

When a user posts a Pulse comment, the users who subscribe to the activity feed might receive more than one notification if the posted comment triggers several notification rules.

For example, when a user posts a comment on a case that he or she follows, any response to the comment can result in the following notifications:

• Notification when a new comment is posted on the followed case (triggers the pyAddPulsePost notification definition)
• Notification when a comment is a response to the user’s original post (triggers the pyAddPulsePost notification definition)
• Notification when the user is mentioned in the comment (triggers the pyAddUserMentionedPost notification definition)

Pulse Extension points are deprecated

Beginning with Pega® Platform 7.3, Pulse uses the notifications feature to send notifications. As a result, Pulse extension points for email body, subject, and recipient list have been deprecated. Preferences set for Pulse notifications in earlier versions are no longer valid.

Use the alternatives listed in the following table to configure your Pulse message and notification preferences.

To continue using the deprecated extension points, override the pyInvokepxNotify when rule and set it to return false.

For more information, see Management of user notification preferences.