Bizview v23.4 Enhancements
This topic describes the significant enhancements in Bizview v23.4.
Important: Features that are still in development are denoted with a .
Disable/Enable Workflow Steps
Workflow designers now have the ability to disable or enable workflow steps in Design mode. This enhancement promotes easier workflow management by allowing admins to deactivate a step, or multiple steps, without having to delete the workflow altogether. Once deactivated, admins can then reactivate the step with the click of a button, rather than recreating each disabled step.
Important: This feature is only available for users who have access to the workflow in design mode, such as workflow superusers and users with the BV20 role.
To disable an individual workflow step, select the Workflow icon from the menu and select Design mode:
Then, select the Workflow ID.
Right-click the step and select Disable:
Upon disabling a workflow step, a lock icon displays, as shown below:
Prior to saving, you can utilize the Undo/Redo function to reverse disabled/enabled steps back to their previous state.
Upon selecting Save, the disabled step no longer displays in the workflow Preview. To publish the workflow and exclude the disabled step, select Publish.
Once published, you will no longer be able to view the steps from the workflow menu, as shown below:
You may enable the step at any time by accessing the workflow in design mode, right-clicking, and selecting Enable:
After enabling, you must save and publish the workflow for the steps to appear in the workflow menu again. Once enabled, the workflow step reverts back to the "Initiated" status, as shown below:
Enable/Disable Multiple Workflow Steps
Administrators can also enable or disable numerous steps in the workflow at once via the Manage Steps (previously Insert Steps) tab in the Workflow Design ribbon.
Access the workflow in Design mode and select Manage Steps:
Then, press Ctrl on your keyboard and select the steps you want to disable.
Once you've selected all the steps, select Disable Steps from the ribbon:
Upon disabling the workflow steps, a lock icon displays, as shown below:
Prior to saving, you can utilize the Undo/Redo function to reverse disabled/enabled steps back to their previous state.
Upon selecting Save, the disabled steps no longer display in the workflow Preview. To publish the workflow and exclude the disabled step, select Publish.
Once published, you will no longer be able to view the steps from the workflow menu.
You may enable the step at any time by accessing the workflow in design mode and selecting Enable Steps from the Manage Steps ribbon:
After enabling, you must save and publish the workflow for the steps to appear in the workflow menu again. Once enabled, the workflow step reverts back to the "Initiated" status.
For more information, see Invisible: New for v23.4 Disable/Enable Workflow Steps.
Template Design Validation
There are new validation rules that apply when designing a template in template version one. With this new validation process, you are unable to save templates when the value for the parameter 'SHEETNAME' is empty, if mandatory parameters are duplicated, if 'ROWTYPE' is placed anywhere other than column B, if 'ADDSHEET' is placed anywhere other than column A, and if you attempt to save a Template sheet that does not include a Data View field name or TABLE value.
Now, when you try to save a template without inputting a value for the mandatory 'SHEETNAME' parameter, you receive the following message:
For more information, see SHEETNAME.
Additionally, new validation rules prevent you from duplicating mandatory tags in the Template sheet. Upon saving a template where you have duplicated SOURCE, TABLE, COLTYPE, OR HIGHLIGHT, the following error message displays:
For more information, see SOURCE, TABLE, and COLTYPE.
Similarly, the mandatory fields 'ROWTYPE' and 'ADDSHEET' cannot be moved or duplicated within the Template sheet without triggering the following errors:
For more information, see ROWTYPE and ADDSHEET (Col A), respectfully.
Lastly, if you attempt to save a Template sheet that does not include a Data View field name or TABLE value, you will receive the following error:
For more information, see Data View Fields.
Drag and Drop Enhancements
This release includes numerous enhancements to the Data Binding section in Template Design, as well as the Drag and Drop feature previously implemented in Bizview v23.2. Updates include, but are not limited to, the ability to select numerous Data Views, visual representations for Data Views, measure fields, and common dimensions, and new Data Binding sections.
Data View Features
The Drag and Drop feature was improved to provide visibility for the associated Data Views in the template, including fields mapped as Columns and Rows. The Data View drop-down now supports the selection of multiple Data Views. To utilize this feature, select the Data View drop-down and choose as many Data Views as desired from the list. You can also enter the name of the Data View in the text box to filter the results, as demonstrated below:
Upon selecting a Data View(s), an accordion with the Data View name expands, showing a list of Data View Fields. To collapse the accordion and hide the list of fields associated with the selected Data View(s), select the Data View, as demonstrated below:
To help identify the fields associated with a particular Data View, each selected Data View is now represented by a color. This color assignment carries over as Data View and Measure fields are dropped into the Column drop box, as shown below.
A Search Fields text box was also added to the Data Bindings section to provide a more efficient way to locate the desired field and incorporate it in the template. As you enter text, results are filtered and separated based on the Data View(s) selected, as demonstrated below:
Common Dimensions Section
A 'Common Dimensions' section was added to the Drag and Drop interface to enable Template Designers to view dimensions that are common to the selected Data Views.
This section is collapsed by default. To view all common dimension-type fields, select the Common Dimensions header, as demonstrated below:
Note: This section will be disabled when only one Data View is selected, or if the Data Views selected do not share any common dimensions.
The Common Dimensions section also incorporates icons to help distinguish between common and uncommon fields when utilizing the Column drop boxes.
Custom Section
The new Data Binding design includes a 'Custom' section that allows Template Designers to use Bizview's custom tags when configuring their template.
This section is collapsed by default. To view the available custom tags, select the Custom header:
Once this section has been expanded, designers can access a 'BLANK' field that they can use to add empty columns or rows to their sheet. 'BLANK COLUMNS' and 'BLANK ROWS' display, along with existing columns and rows, so that designers can understand where the blank fields are used in the template; which also enables designers to rearrange their position within the corresponding drop box.
Upon dragging a 'BLANK' field into the Column or Row drop box, the sheet reflects the empty column/row, as demonstrated below:
This field can be added to the drop boxes as many times as necessary.
Template Designers can double-click the blank field in the Column/Row drop box to highlight and locate its corresponding column/row in the sheet, as shown below:
Context Menu
All actions related to Columns and Rows are wrapped under the 'Context Menu' so that Template Designers can easily copy, edit, or remove Data View fields without having to scroll within the drop boxes.
Access the Context Menu by selecting the three dots next to the Data View field, or, expand the right panel to display these actions inline, as demonstrated below:
'BLANK COLUMNS' and 'BLANK ROWS' can be removed by selecting the X next to the field in the drop box:
To remove more than one 'BLANK COLUMN' or 'BLANK ROW', select the check box next to the desired column in the drop box and select the X in the Column header:
Upon selecting X, the column(s)/row(s) will also be removed from the sheet.
To copy 'BLANK COLUMNS' in the Column drop box, select the duplicate icon:
A 'Number of Copies' dialog displays, shown below, where you can enter the number of duplicates (1-100) you wish to create:
Copy Complete Column/Row
The complete column/row is now copied when duplicating or rearranging a Data View field in the Column or Row drop box. This enhancement ensure that all associated formatting and cell values of the columns/rows are properly replicated in the worksheet. Upon duplicating, all the cell values from the selected column will be duplicated, creating multiple columns with identical formatting, formulas, and values in the worksheet. When rearranging fields in the Column drop box, this includes the following:
Defined formatting, such as outline border, font styles, and text alignment
Formulas
Text formatting
Conditional formatting
Filter values, such as ISOYEAR, ISOMONTH, ISOWEEK, ISODATE
Any specified cell commands, view tags, or values for tags like FUNCTION, STORABLE, ADDSHEET, VERSION, HIGHLIGHT, ADDINFO
When rearranging fields in the Row drop box, this includes the following:
Defined formatting, such as outline border, font styles, and text alignment
Formulas
SCALE, if defined on the Row
Text formatting
Cell commands, if any
Search values and view tags
Toggle Data Binding Design
The new report template parameter, NEW_DATA_BIND, gives you the option to utilize the new drag and drop design introduced in Bizview v23.2. To continue using the existing data binding functionality, set this parameter to 'DISABLED'. For new reports, the default value for this parameter is 'ENABLED'.
To set this parameter, access the PARAM sheet in Template Design. Scroll down to the "OTHER" section, where you can manually change the Value, shown below:
Once the parameter is defined, select Save and Back to Templates. Upon reopening the Template Designer, your new settings display.
Below is an example of a Template Design with the NEW_DATA_BIND parameter set to 'DISABLED':
Below is an example of a Template Design with the NEW_DATA_BIND parameter set to 'ENABLED':
Important: We do not recommend setting the NEW_DATA_BIND parameter to 'ENABLED' on existing reports.
For more information, see Templates.
Job Schedules and Logs - Switch Timezone View
The Timezone drop-down now includes additional timezones that allow you to switch to your preferred timezone when viewing Job Schedules and Job logs. Prior to this enhancement, jobs were scheduled according to the time zone of the scheduler's server. This meant that you needed to understand the job server time zone and then account for the difference between the server and your local time zone to schedule a job at the right time. The ability to switch the timezone view (for the logged in user) nullifies the manual effort of calculating when an action took place relative to your time zone.
The timezone drop-down includes a text box that filters timezone results as you type, like below:
In Job Schedules, selecting another timezone from the drop-down automatically updates the time in the Last Run and Next Run columns, as demonstrated below:
This selection also automatically converts the Fixed Time (for FIXED frequencies) or Start and End Time (for INTERVAL frequencies) in Schedule Properties, as shown below:
Similarly, selecting a different timezone from the drop-down in the Jobs log automatically updates the time displayed in the Run At, Initiated, and Ended columns.
The time displayed in the Started and Ended columns of a Job step also reflect the drop-down selection.
By default, all Job Schedules and Job logs display in your local timezone.
Important: This enhancement does not affect existing jobs or job schedules. Switching the timezone in the Job Schedules and/or Logs UI simply changes the view for the logged in user.
For more information, see Job Schedules and Jobs Log.
What's Fixed?
For more information on bug fixes, see Bizview v23.3.5 Resolved Issues