Upgrades
Contents
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: November 2014
The following server will be upgraded on Tuesday, November 18th, 2014 at 10pm EST.
- smartsimple3.biz
The following servers will be upgraded on Thursday, November 20th, 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 November 20th.
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:
Updated Functionality for Maximum Character Limit
- The maximum character/word limit functionality of custom fields has been updated to allow users to enter content that exceeds the limit initially and then edit appropriately before saving/submitting the record. Content will no longer be truncated if pasted into the field from another source, but the character/word limit will still be enforced on save/submission.
Additional Visibility Options on Company/Contact Custom Fields (Field Availability)
- New ability to control which company categories and user roles global custom fields will be attributed to and visible for.
- Using this method, custom fields can be used by multiple categories and roles, and hidden from others, without recourse to complex configuration.
- The following settings will be displayed when configuring global user or company type custom fields:
Enhanced Arcadia Interface
The Arcadia interface has undergone UI improvements for object pages and behaviour.
- The left-hand menu tabs have been moved to the top of the page for ease of navigation and greater real estate. When one of these menu tabs is selected the main section of fields will be hidden (currently this main section is persistent and remains).
- Similar tabs will be grouped together for ease of navigation and greater real estate.
- Custom fields grouped as tabs will now open up into a lightbox window as opposed to on the page itself.
Before
After
Enhanced Usability for Multiple Lookup Fields
The look and feel of custom fields such as the Lookup - Ajax Options and Lookup - Entity and People fields have been enhanced. When the fields are configured to allow for multiple selection, the options selected for a given field will be displayed below the field. To de-select an option, simply click on the gray "x" next to the option name.
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:
Email Addressing
- New functionality allows for the generation of a unique email address for an object or record.
- Emails sent to the address are parsed and attached to the specific object or record.
Multiple Aliases per Copy of SmartSimple
- New functionality allows for the creation of virtual aliases. This feature allows clients to mask the instance URL through the Content Manager.
- For clients with a varied user base that require their own landing page or URL for branding purposes, multiple URLs (example: company.smartsimple.com, subcompany.smartsimple.com) can now be set to bring users to the same copy of SmartSimple.
Multiple Sign-Up Pages per Company
- New functionality allows for the creation of multiple signup pages per company.
- This can be used to support sign-up pages in different languages, which associate new users to the same company.
Previous Upgrades
See the Previous Upgrades page for a list of previously-implemented upgrade features.
Future Upgrades
Features in development for future upgrades include:
- Centralize and Standardize System Messaging
- Global Search
- Introduction of Development Mode
- Revamped Instant Messaging :)
Click here for a listing of future upgrade dates.
