Revision as of 11:44, 22 September 2014

General Information

Bi-Monthly Upgrades

Upgrades are released on a bi-monthly basis.

The benefits of this approach are as follows:

• The upgrades will be performed in smaller batches.
• New features will come on-stream faster, as we can fast track key enhancements into early updates.

A list of planned upgrade dates is available here: Future Upgrades.

We regularly update the list of upgrade features and schedule for both the backup and production servers on this Wiki page.

This page will provide a general overview of each upgrade, with links to the Wiki articles describing the new or updated features and how to use them. You can also subscribe to the Technical Journal that is sent out prior to each upgrade on the Newsletter Signup Page. (Unsubscribe here).

System Upgrade Process

The objective of the System Upgrade Process is to ensure that customers have a chance to review, without compromising the integrity of their production system, how their applications and information will work following the upgrade. In order to take advantage of this you will need to know how to access your backup instance of SmartSimple. If you need assistance with this either refer to the Backup Server and Testing Instances Wiki article, or contact the SmartSimple support desk.

For clients on a Dedicated Server, please review the SmartSimple Upgrade Process – Dedicated Server page.

Backup Server Update

• Each backup server will be updated to the "release candidate" prior to the upgrade date.
• This update will provide for instance specific testing of release candidate, as you can log into your respective backup server and test the changes against your most current data and configuration.
• Internal staff will also be using these servers to perform instance specific testing.

Update Go/No-Go

• Subject to satisfactory testing on both the pre-production server and the production backup servers, the go/no go decision will be made on Wednesday at 12:00pm.

Current Upgrade Package: September 2014

The following server will be upgraded on Tuesday, September 23rd, 2014 at 10pm EST.

• smartsimple3.biz

The following servers will be upgraded on Thursday, September 25th, 2014 at 10pm EST.

• smartsimple.com
• smartsimple2.biz
• smartsimple4.biz
• smartsimple.ca
• smartsimple.ie
• smartsimple.us
• smartsimple.biz
• smartsimple.co.za (after 10pm Local Time)
• factorial.ca
• frontdeskinc.net

Important: The upgrade will be applied to your backup server one week prior to the scheduled upgrade date for your production server.
You are encouraged to log into your backup server during this period to test the changes against your most recent data and configuration. 

If your organization has a dedicated SmartSimple server or you host in-house, SmartSimple will be in contact with your system administrator to schedule the upgrade of your server after September 25th.

Watch this video to get a general overview of the new features in our September 2014 upgrade.

To watch these videos full screen, click on the YouTube link

Global System Upgrades

The new features listed below are enhancements to the SmartSimple system and will be immediately available to SmartSimple users upon the application of the upgrade to your server:

New Ability to modify search query filters

• Users now have the ability to make modifications to filters after they have been created. See filters for further information.

Enhanced UTA Calendar Interface

• The UTA calendar has now also been updated to the same modern look and feel as the personal calendar.

Enhanced SmartFolders interface

• The SmartFolders interface has been updated with a new look and feel.

Enhanced Arcadia Interface

The Arcadia interface has undergone several updates to enhance its usability as well as look and feel.

• All tab bars in the Arcadia interface have been updated with a new look and feel.
• The header and menu options have been modified to better utilize screen real estate.
• Changes have been made to the button and input styling for improved consistency, look and feel.
• Changes have been made to the display and location of list view action buttons (i.e. delete and batch update) for ease of use and look and feel.
• Modifications to button styling for better look and feel.

On-Demand System Upgrades

The following features are also available immediately with the application of the upgrade, but must first be enabled by a System Administrator:

Enhanced calendar functionality checks for scheduling conflicts

• You can now enable alerts for scheduling conflicts when creating an event through the SmartSimple calendar.
• When enabled, potential conflicts for anyone associated to a new event will trigger an alert to warn users of the conflict.
• The feature can be enabled on the Global Settings page.

Improved OFAC checks against contacts

• OFAC checks can now be run on demand against an organization and its contacts. This will return the status of any matching organization or contact and give you the ability to clear incorrect matches.

Enhanced Number Validation and Formatting

• Custom fields configured to accept number formats now have additional formatting options.
• The number format can be set to be Integer, Currency, Comma-formatted, Decimal, Percentage, or a custom (user-defined) format.
• A Precision setting has also been added to validate numeric data to be a whole number, to one through four decimal places, or to the nearest increment of tens, hundreds or thousands.
• See the Number Format page for additional information.

Enhanced ability to open web page views with a lightbox

• Enhanced the Web Page View custom field with the ability to open up in a lightbox window instead of a pop-up window.

Enhanced notes functionality

• The Notes functionality has been extended to transactions.

Previous Upgrades

See the Previous Upgrades page for a list of previously-implemented upgrade features.

Future Upgrades

Features in development for future upgrades include:

1. Centralize and Standardize System Messaging
2. Global Search
3. Introduction of Development Mode
4. Revamped Instant Messaging :)

Click here for a listing of future upgrade dates.