Published Release Notes

Open access to quiesced servers when using immediate drain

When using the immediate drain method to perform quiesce on a node, any operator can now access a quiesced server for root cause analysis or remediation, regardless of their user role or privileges. For quiesced server access when using the slow drain method, you must still include either the PegaRULES:HighAvailabilityAdministrator or PegaRULES:HighAvailabilityQuiesceInvestigator user role in a user's access group. Administrators using the slow drain method without either of these user roles are exiled from the quiesced node and are redirected to an active node.

For more information, see Immediate drain available for quiesce when using high availability.

New passivation and activation activities

Two new activities have been implemented, pyPrePassivation and pyPostActivation, which are run every time operator passivation occurs, regardless of the node quiesce state. These activities save and restore the requestor state during passivation and activation. In order for the pyPrePassivation or pyPostActivation activity to be run as expected, you must implement the activity by using the correct Applies To class (@baseclass).

The previous activities that were run during the quiesce process, pyPreQuiescePassivation and pyPostQuiesceActivation, have been deprecated.

For more information, see the Pega 7.2.1 High Availability Administration Guide.

Transition effects for actions in custom mobile apps

Custom mobile apps that are developed on the Pega 7 Platform can include built-in transition effects that animate your forward or backward movement in cases that use flows. This feature adds to the look-and-feel experience of the custom mobile app.

You can also manually add a transition effect to actions that do not support built-in effects by using the Run Script action and calling the pega.desktop.setNativeTransition() JavaScript method.

For more information, see Transition effects on actions.

Design templates in Pega Express

You can now use design templates to control the layout of form fields in Pega Express. Use the form builder Layouts tab to select a layout for the form and organize the fields in the layout regions.

For more information, see Adding a design template to a form in Pega Express.

Support for reserved keywords in database column names

Databases use reserved keywords such as Group, Order, Rank, and Date to define and manipulate data. The list of reserved keywords is specific to each database. Column names can now include reserved keywords.

Open authoring for rule forms has been removed

Open authoring for rule forms has been removed. You can now edit decision tables and map values by using the application and supported browser of your choice; Microsoft ActiveX controls are no longer required. In addition, support for external XML, HTML, and Java IDE editors has been removed.

Define adaptive model context

You can define model identifiers in the Adaptive Model rule instance, which serve as partitioning keys, by selecting properties from the top-level SR class of your application. The Adaptive Decision Manager (ADM) server uses model identifiers to create adaptive models that use the same configuration, but collect different adaptive statistics. Use model identifiers in the Adaptive Model rule to create adaptive models for your purposes.

For more information, see the Context tab on the Adaptive Model form.

Execute Tests service to run all data page unit test cases

You can now use the Execute Tests service to run a set of tests at the end of build runs. An external validation engine, such as Jenkins, calls the service, which runs all data page unit test cases in your application, and returns the results in XUnit format. Use this service to validate the data in your application and to correct any issues before you deploy your application.

For more information, see Running all data page unit test cases with the Execute Tests service.

Pega Express application views simplify portal creation

Pega Express application views offer a simple, intuitive authoring experience for portals. Application view templates support responsive application development and offer mobile-specific templates. You can create portals by selecting from a predefined set of application view templates.

For more information, see Application views.

Rule form search

You can now search for content within some rule forms by clicking Search rule on the Actions menu. The search results and the tabs of the rule form that contain the search results are highlighted.

For example, you can find the properties that are used in a when condition inside an activity without navigating to each tab, when condition, transition, and method in the activity.