Published Release Notes

Customizations to the prlogging.xml file must be manually ported after upgrade

As a result of the upgrade from the Apache Log4j 1 logging service to the Apache Log4j 2 logging service, the name of the logging configuration file has changed from prlogging.xml to prlog4j2.xml and the format of the file has changed considerably. If you customized your prlogging.xml file, port the customizations to the new prlog4j2.xml file. If you do not port the changes, the Pega^® Platform uses the default prlog4j2.xml file and disregards your customized prlogging.xml file.

For more information about customizing your log files, see the Apache Log4j 2 documentation.

Add custom controls to section palettes

You can add custom controls to the Basic or Advanced palettes in sections. With this enhancement, Pega^® Platform developers have easy access to custom controls. The Show in authoring menus check box is available in the HTML tab of the custom control rule. You can add a custom icon to display in the menu with the custom control.

For more information see Adding custom controls to the section palette in Designer Studio.

Attach Content control enhancements

You can now use the Attach Content control in Pega^® Platform to configure compression options that limit the size of files created on a mobile device. For example, you can choose from predefined settings to limit video duration or image size. These settings apply when the user records a new video or takes a new photo, but they do not apply to prerecorded media.

Also, when attaching content to a custom mobile app, users can now select any type of file from any source that is available in the device's native file picker component.

For more information, see Configuring file size options for the Attach content control.

Define custom dimensions in VBD data sets

Beginning with version 7.3.1, you can define custom dimensions when you create a Visual Business Director (VBD) data set in Pega^® Platform. With this option, you can use any custom or existing property from the Applies To class of the VBD data set as a dimension to visualize your data, in addition to the properties in the default set of dimensions.

For more information, see Creating a Visual Business Director data set record.

Monitor single case runs of data flows

You can now monitor all types of data flow runs. In the Single case processing tab of the Data Flows landing page, you can monitor the statistics of data flow runs that are triggered in the single case mode from the DataFlow-Execute method. You can use the collected metrics to evaluate the system usage for Pega^® Platform licensing purposes and to troubleshoot data flow issues.

For more information, see Monitoring single case data flow runs.

Increased visibility of strategy design changes with simulation batch tests

Improve your understanding of the impact that individual changes to strategy design have on the decision funnel by running batch simulation tests directly from the strategy canvas. With batch simulation tests, you can check that your strategy changes produce the expected results, and immediately see the results in context.

For more information, see Increase the real-time visibility of strategy design changes with simulation batch tests (8.4).

Upgrade impact

After an upgrade to 8.4 and later, simulation outputs produced from earlier versions cannot be used to view canvas counts.

What steps are required to update the application to be compatible with this change?

Following a software upgrade to 8.4 or later, clients must re-run existing simulations in Decision Funnel mode to view the counts in the canvas.

Enhanced OpenAPI Specification generation

To better understand the purpose of your REST API, you can now generate a more complete OpenAPI Specification (OAS) from REST service rules in Pega Platform™. The system uses relevant records to build an accurate schema definition for page and page list outputs, and generate stronger schema type definitions for all inputs, outputs, and fields, such as array or boolean. You can also generate OAS by mapping values to JSON or Clipboard in the request, or mapping values from JSON or Clipboard in the response. 

For more information, see Service REST rules.

Support for advanced validation of embedded and referenced data

To help you define validation conditions for a broader range of use case scenarios, Pega Platform™ now supports stage entry validation for embedded fields in the form of a validation matrix. You can now define validation conditions for both field groups and field group lists, and easily navigate between them. You can also select any fields and when conditions while building a condition for both field-level and stage-level validation.

For more information, see Validating field values for stage entry.

New roles required for system management features and APIs after upgrade

The pzSystemOperationsObserver and pzSystemOperationsAdministator privileges are no longer used for accessing system management features in Admin Studio and for system management APIs. Pega Platform™ has new privileges for individual system management functions and new roles configured with these privileges. Use the following roles to access system management features and APIs:

• PegaRULES:SysOpsAdministrator – has all administrator and observer privileges
• PegaRULES:SysOpsObserver – has all observer privileges
• PegaRULES:SysAdm4 – has all administrator and observer privileges

After upgrading, you can include one or more of these roles in your access group or create a custom role. For more information about access roles, see Access roles.

More detailed configuration of persona access in App Studio

App Studio now supports more precise configuration of access for personas so that you can improve the security and usability of your application. You can now define what actions a given persona can perform on a case, a data object, or a configuration set. You also save time because you define settings for an entire group of users that a persona represents. For example, you can configure a customer service representative (CSR) persona to view only cases that process insurance claims from VIP customers, without the option to modify the cases. As a result, you ensure that users of your application can interact only with relevant data, in a way that best meets your business needs.

For more information, see:

• Manage access for personas more efficiently in App Studio (8.6)
• Configuring access options for a persona