Cora SeQuence 8.5 Release Notes

31 JANUARY 2018

Check for additions and updates to these release notes. When the release notes are updated with breaking changes, the newest changes appear at the top of the list. 

What's in the Release Notes

• About PNMsoft Cora SeQuence
• What's New with Cora SeQuence 8.5
• New Features
• Breaking Changes
• General Enhancements
• Resolved Issues
• Installation
• Upgrade

About PNMsoft Cora SeQuence

PNMsoft Cora SeQuence is an Intelligent Business Process Management Suite (iBPMS) that facilitates rapid build and change of high availability, mobile-enabled workflow applications. Cora SeQuence is built on HotChange technology, an architecture that enables organizations to modify, integrate, and distribute business processes with zero downtime in the production environment. Business users and developers can seamlessly design and execute workflows on a single canvas using Dual View. Cora SeQuence is a low-code platform that also supports advanced development capabilities.

What's New with Cora SeQuence 8.5

Cora SeQuence 8.5 introduces additional layers on HotOperations, support for SAML 2.0 and OAuth authentication, and the Go To Activity, a flow activity that enables you to run an unstructured workflow by jumping to another section of a workflow.

New Features

• HotOperations Operations Manager for sub-Root Groups: You can now define Operations Managers for the root group and sub-groups in a HotOperations solution, which enables operations managers to focus on the groups they are directly responsible for. For more information, see HotOperations Portal - Operations Manager.
  
• HotOperations Dashboard Suite: You can now create customized dashboards for HotOperations solutions, for both Operations Managers and Team Leaders. For more information, see Create a HotOperations Dashboard Suite.
• Workflow Design Time Roles: We created a specific set of permissions that define levels of access for users developing workflows in App Studio. There are several out-of-the-box Workflow Design Time Roles. You can also create custom Workflow Design Time Roles. For more information, see Workflow Design Time Roles.
  
  
• Go To Activity: Enables you to run an unstructured workflow by jumping to another section of a workflow, based on input received from an activity that was executed earlier in the workflow. This reduces the number of physical connectors (links) needed in complex workflows. For more information, see the Go To Activity.
  
  
• Application Variables: You can now define dynamic variables that enable you to reuse values that you commonly use in Cora SeQuence. You define a key and its value in the Application Variables table, and then use the key in any Cora SeQuence expression. For more information, see Manage Application Variables.
• Dynamic Task Allocation Expressions: We created two new expressions that enable you to identify a dynamic task's assignments and allocations.
  • AssignedTo: the users that a dynamic task is assigned to.
    
  • AllocatedTo: the groups that a dynamic task is allocated to.
    

Breaking Changes

• Email Templates: When you upgrade from Cora SeQuence v8.4, you need to change the token markup for the templates imported during the upgrade. Replace the colon ":" with an equal sign "=", to render the expression in HTML format.
  Before
  After
  
• HotOperations: The GroupId and SolutionId properties were added to the architecture of all HotOperations components.
• HotOperations Dashboards: We changed the HotOperations dashboard names and container names. In SharePoint you need to configure the Data Stream name and Layout Name for Ops Manager and Team Leader.
  
  

  Component	Data Stream Name	Layout Name
  Operations Manager Dashboard	OpsManagerCasesDashboard	OpsManagerCasesDashboard
  Operations Manager Board	OpsManagerCasesDashboard	Board
  Team Leader Dashboard	TeamLeaderDashboard	TeamLeaderDashboard
  Team Leader Board	TeamLeaderDashboard	Board

General Enhancements

• Date & Time Expressions: We added two new calendar expressions that enable you to determine vacation days and non-working days, based on a specific user calendar.
  
• Import Workflows to Workflow Categories: You can now import workflows directly to workflow categories, enabling you to quickly manage workflows across environments.
  
• One-Click Action Queries: You can now assign values for one-click action to imported data model fields. For more information, see Assign Values in One-Click Action Using an Imported Data Model
• Azure AD Synchronization: You can now synchronize your Azure AD based on group membership using one or more organization id.
• Support SAML 2.0 Authentication: Cora SeQuence now supports SAML 2.0 Protocol authentication for all Cora SeQuence sites.
• Telerik update: Cora SeQuence now includes the latest Telerik security patches.
• Migrate AD Manager Property: When you synchronize your AD with Cora SeQuence, you can pull the group manager property for users and assign them the manager role in Cora SeQuence.
• HTTP Consumer Management: You can manage all HTTP consumers from the Global Settings in the Administration site.
  
• Email Activity Enhancement: We added a default message body to the Email Activity.

Resolved Issues

• The email template screen does not utilize the entire screen.
• The error message you receive when validating a workflow data model is not clear.
• When a message contains a list of attachments from a grid, the message fails to be sent.
• When you perform a search in some Flowtime grids, pressing the Enter button does not execute the search.
• The error message you receive when you exceed the maximum number of users is not clear.
• You cannot import a workflow that has a lookup table that references an external view in the database.
• The task due date is not calculated correctly when the task creation time is before the working day start time.
• JSON serialization issue in the ORG tree.
• After a task is submitted the My Task aggregation value is not refreshed.

Installation

Install Cora SeQuence 8.5

These instructions are for a new Cora SeQuence installation. If you are upgrading to Cora SeQuence 8.5 from a previous version, see the Upgrade instructions. 

Download the installation files from the Download Center. For detailed information about installing Cora SeQuence, including software and hardware requirements, see the Cora SeQuence 8.x Installation Guide.

Installation Notes

• The installation wizard prompts you to install Flowtime, the non-SharePoint runtime website.
• For the SharePoint-based Flowtime, refer to the SharePoint App Installation & Configuration Guide.

Upgrade

Cora SeQuence 8.5 supports upgrading from the following versions:

• 8.3.X
• 8.4.X

If you are upgrading from a version earlier than v8.3.0, you must first upgrade to v8.3.0. For more information, see the Cora SeQuence 8.3 Release Notes.

If you are using scripts to update your database, use the scripts in the Upgrade folder.

Upgrade Procedure

1. Verify that you have one of the supported Cora SeQuence versions installed on your server.
2. Backup the configuration files and your database.
3. Free up system resources.
   1. Use the IISReset command-line utility to reset the IIS.
   2. Stop the Cora SeQuence Windows services.
      • ADSS
      • BRS
      • JES
4. We recommend that you upgrade the database with scripts before upgrading the application.
   1. Download and unzip the Sequence 8.5.0 DB Scripts.zip file.
   2. Execute the scripts in the Upgrade folder, in this order.
      1. 8.5UpgradeSynchronization.sql
      2. 8.5UpgradeSynchronization_Data.sql
5. Unzip the Sequence 8.5.0 Setup.zip file.
6. Run the Sequence 8.5.0 Setup.exe file as an administrator.
7. Complete the upgrade wizard.
   • If SharePoint Flowtime is already installed on the server, it is indicated separately as SharePoint Flowtime Portal.
8. Start the Cora SeQuence Windows services.
   • ADSS
   • BRS
   • JES
9. Navigate to Administration > Active Directory Settings to start the Active Directory wizard, and click Next until you complete the wizard.
10. (Optional) Download and install Cora SeQuence Templates. For more information, see Cora SeQuence Workflow Templates. If you already installed the Cora SeQuence Templates in the previous version, they will automatically migrate during the upgrade.