Support for building apps as Android App Bundles
Valid from Pega Version 8.6.1
As of August 2021, Google Play Store requires that you submit new apps in the Android App Bundle publishing format instead of the APK format. You can now build Pega mobile apps in the Android App Bundle format so that they comply with this new requirement.
For more information about generating installation packages for Pega mobile apps, see Generating installation packages. For more information about the Android App Bundle publishing format, see the Android for Developers documentation.
Internal rules in search results and explorers
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
Using old: is no longer supported in search. You can include internal rules in search results and make them available in the Application and Records explorers. Include internal rules in search results either by adding the PegaDevelopmentruleset to your application or by clicking the Enable diagnostic features option in your operator preferences.
Ability to include all properties in search results
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
You can now include all properties in a class in search results so that they can be used in report filtering. When the Enable search results for all properties option is selected on the Custom Search Properties rule form, all top level and embedded page scalar properties for the class are indexed and returned in search results, and all embedded page list, page group, value list, and value group properties for the class are indexed but not returned in search results. Selecting this option might affect performance.
In addition, by default, properties defined in the Data-Tag-RelevantRecord instance for a class are indexed and returned in search results and do not need to be explicitly configured.
You must reindex search after selecting or clearing Enable search results for all properties and after changing the properties that are defined in the Data-Tag-RelevantRecord instance.
For more information, see Specifying custom search properties.
SAML single sign-on is easier to configure
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
Implementing SAML single sign-on (SSO) login authentication in your application is now less complex. You can now configure most requirements that used custom activities or Java code in previous releases from the Authentication services form.
For more information, see Creating an authentication service.
Support for controlling binary file upload in Pega Mobile Client
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
The Client Store API of Pega® Mobile Client has been modified so that you can suspend and resume the process of uploading binary files to the server. You can also check the state of the file uploading process. As a result, custom mobile app users can process their work items without having to wait for the synchronization process to finish.
For more information, see Pega Mobile Client API methods for controlling binary data upload and Client Store API.
Support for large binary data item storage in Pega Mobile Client and offline case attachments in Pega Platform
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
Pega® Mobile Client can now store and synchronize large binary data items and their corresponding actions from the action queue on Android and iOS devices. As a result, custom mobile app users can view, attach, and delete data files, whether the device is online or offline. For this function to work, you must enable offline case attachment support, which allows your custom mobile apps to synchronize case attachments between the Pega Platform and the mobile device.
For more information, see Enabling offline case attachments support and Client Store API.
Extract data from Pega Cloud to an on-premises database
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
You can now use Pega® Business Intelligence Exchange (BIX) to extract data from Pega Cloud to an on-premises relational database management system. Extracting data from Pega Cloud directly to an on-premises database improves efficiency by eliminating the need for file extraction and the development of a file extraction infrastructure.
For more information, see Extracting data from Pega Cloud to an on-premises database.
Section preview added for templated sections in Designer Studio
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
When you create a templated section, a preview displays on the Design tab of the Section form, showing how the section will look at run time. The section preview immediately shows the results of each design change that you make as you add, move, or delete elements, resize the section, or modify the application skin. By helping you visualize the section's runtime appearance, section preview reduces rework and saves you development time.
For more information, see Section preview shows changes in real time for templated sections.
Support for additional health metrics on the Application Quality landing page
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
On the Application Quality landing page, you can monitor the health of your current application to identify areas that need improvement before deployment. The landing page provides application metrics such as the number of executable rules, the guardrail score, the number of guardrail warnings, the test coverage percentage, and the pass rate of PegaUnit tests. From this landing page, you can also view data for the entire application, for each of its cases, and for rules that are not part of any case type.
For more information, see Application Quality landing page.
REST APIs for VTable cache management and quiesce operations
Valid from Pega Version 7.4
You can access, control, and manage in-memory VTable in cache for a specific rule class and instance name by using new Nodes REST APIs. You can reassemble and reload rules across the cluster and obtain cache entries for a specific node in the cluster. You can also start and cancel the quiesce process on any node in the cluster by using either immediate drain or slow drain.
For more information, see Pega API for Pega Platform 7.4 and Pega API.