Upgrades

General Information

Next Upgrade Date

The next upgrade is scheduled for March 9 2023.

Upgrade Schedule

Upgrade	Planned Production Date
March 2023	Thu, March 9 2023
July 2023	Thu, July 13 2023
November 2023	Thu, November 9 2023
March 2024	Thu, March 14 2024
July 2024	Thu, July 11 2024
November 2024	Thu, November 14 2024
March 2025	Thu, Mar 13 2025
July 2025	Thu, July 10 2025
November 2025	Thu, November 13 2025

We regularly update the list of upgrade features and schedule for both the backup and production environments 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.

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 Private Cloud environment, please review the SmartSimple Upgrade Process – Dedicated Server page.

Upgrade Schedule Details

The following tables outline the detailed upgrade release cycle.

If you are subscribed to our Public Cloud offering your SmartSimple system will be automatically upgraded according to the following schedule

Hosting	Environment	Date	Maintenance Window	Typical Downtime
Public Cloud	Production	Second Thursday of an upgrade month	22:00 - 23:59 EST	5 minutes
Public Cloud	Backup	Two weeks prior to the production upgrade	22:00 - 23:59 EST	5 minutes

If you are subscribed to our Private Cloud offering with managed upgrades your SmartSimple system will be automatically upgraded according to the following schedule

Hosting	Environment	Date	Maintenance Window	Typical Downtime
Private Cloud - Managed Upgrades	Production	Fourth Thursday of an upgrade month	22:00 - 23:59 local time	5 minutes
Private Cloud - Managed Upgrades	Development/Test	Fourth Thursday of an upgrade month	22:00 - 23:59 local time	5 minutes
Private Cloud - Managed Upgrades	Backup	Second Thursday of an upgrade month	22:00 - 23:59 local time	5 minutes

If you are subscribed to our Private Cloud offering with client-managed upgrades your SmartSimple system is only upgraded manually by your system administrator or by submitting a request to SmartSimple. The upgrade package is made available for you according to the following schedule

Hosting	Environment	Date	Maintenance Window	Typical Downtime
Private Cloud - Client-Managed Upgrades	All	Fourth Thursday of an upgrade month	client-managed	5 minutes

Backup Environment Update

• Each backup environment 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 environment and test the changes against your most current data and configuration.
• Internal staff will also be using these environments to perform instance specific testing.

Update Go/No-Go

• Subject to satisfactory testing on both the pre-production environments and the backup environments, the Go/No-Go decision will be made on the Wednesday prior to an upgrade release.

Upgrade Feedback and Questions

If you have questions or need assistance or want to share your thoughts on the upgrade contact our support team toll-free at 866.239.0991 or email support@smartsimple.com

Previous Upgrades

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

Current Upgrade Package

General Details

Upgrade Dates

Public Cloud Production release date: March 9 2023
Public Cloud Backup release date: February 23 2023

Private Cloud Production (Managed Upgrades) release date: March 23 2023
Private Cloud Backup (Managed Upgrades) release date: March 9 2023

Overview

Watch this video to get a general overview of the new features in this release.

To watch this video in full screen, please click on the full screen button on the bottom right.

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 their server:

Major Updates

Multi-Factor Authentication Enabled by Default

Main Article: Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) using verification codes sent by email will be enabled for all systems to improve security. If you have already enabled MFA in your SmartSimple Cloud system and have assigned roles to a single-use verification code sent by email, this enhancement will NOT change your existing settings. You may change your MFA preferences after the upgrade but we recommend you adjust your settings prior to the upgrade. If you did not set up MFA prior to the upgrade, the 'Everyone' role will be added to the setting called Roles with Verification Code via SMS and Email.

The MFA setting above will be updated to "Everyone" if this Role setting is empty.

Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) settings will NOT be affected. In addition, the setting Enable Trusted Device will also be toggled on by default. This allows users to choose whether they want the system to remember their device the next time they log in. Remembered devices can also be set to expire after a specific number of days by using the Expire Devices After setting.

Note: Backup environments will be allowed to send out MFA emails. If your backup environment is not sending out emails, check to see if you have set up a default email address. To do this, go to Menu Icon > Global Settings > Communications tab > Email Options and Security > Toggle on Enable Default From Address. In the From Address field, you would typically enter something like donotreply@smartsimplemailer.com. If this field is empty, as part of this upgrade, we will be populating it with the email address used for new users (located at Menu Icon > Global Settings > Security tab > Password and Activation Policies > Activation Emails tab > From Address).

If you are using an SMTP relay and/or have a dedicated instance, make sure you have set up a default email address that matches your domain. Additionally, if you are using the SMTP relay with an IP restriction for sending emails, ensure the IP of your environments is in your IP list (backup, testing, production). If you need to help with identifying the IPs of your environments or have questions, reach out to our support team.

If you are using Single Sign-On (SSO), you may opt to bypass MFA by going to Global Settings > Integrations tab > Single Sign-On > Edit a configuration > Under the "Authentication" section, toggle on Bypass Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) when logging in with Single Sign-On (SSO).

Minor Updates

Enhancements to System Security Summary

Added the ability to create notes on items flagged as potential problems in the System Security Summary. For example, a note can be added to explain why an item has been flagged and when or how it will be fixed in the future. Only the last note is displayed in the list, but you can see the full note history inside the notes modal window when you add a note. To see this feature, go to Menu Icon > Global Settings > System tab > System Security Summary > Click the Add Notes icon button located to the right of each flagged item. In addition, another tab was added to the System Security Summary and the System Summary called Global Administrators which lists all the Global Administrators in the system. We highly recommend you review the list of Global Administrators that have user access in your system regularly and remove access as needed.

Add an explanatory note to items flagged in the System Summary.

Easily see who has Global Administrator access and regularly review this list to remove access as needed.

Added Reference Search to Reports

Added the ability to check to see if a report has been referenced via a URL or used in ReportProperty syntax. Specifically the following is checked: Custom Fields, Template/Role Formulas, Submit Buttons, SmartCheck validations, Workflows, Shortcuts, Portals. To see this feature, go to Menu Icon > Reports > Edit a report > Click the Search Reference icon button in the action bar.

Easily identify some areas where a report is in use.

Added Primary Contact to Group Emails

Added the ability to easily send a group email to the primary contact from a Level 1, 2, or 3 list view. The primary contact when selected from Level 2 or Level 3, refers to the primary contact associated with the L2 or L3's root L1 record Branch standard field.

Easily send a group email to the primary contact from a Level 1, 2, or 3 list view.

Added New Address Type Standard Field

Added ability to control the edit permission of the address type dropdown when using the multiple address feature through a new standard field. To use this feature, go to Global Settings > Users or Organizations tab > Address Types > Edit an address type > Click the Standard Field tab in the left navigation > Edit the Address Type standard field > Permissions & Availability tab. This controls which users or organizations can change the Address Type dropdown in the address book.

Updated Autoloader Send Email Notification Options

The email notification options within the Autoloader process have been updated. We also added the ability to send a notification email to the user who initiated the autoloader once the process is complete, regardless of success or failure. To see these revised settings, go to Menu Icon > Autoloaders > Edit an autoloader > Process tab > New settings are under the Send Email Notification section.

Note: The Email To field accepts a comma separated list of email addresses.

Updated email notification settings for the Autoloader.

Updated Inputs to be Search and Select

Converted several dropdowns within the autoloader and report configuration pages to be search and select type inputs. The search and select type inputs make it easier to find and select desired values. To see this feature, go to Menu Icon > Autoloaders > Edit an autoloader > File Layout tab. When a field dropdown is selected, there is now a search box to find the field you are looking for.

A search and select has been added to the dropdown within the autoloader and report configuration pages.

Added Check for Duplicate Invitations

Added additional check for invitations to warn users if they attempt to send out a duplicate invitation.

Added Notification for Account Email Address Changes

Added a new notification sent to users when they change their email in the system for security purposes.

On-Demand System Upgrades

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

Major Updates

Updated File Uploader Interface

Introducing a new file uploader (Beta). Enable the new file uploader and let us know your thoughts. To enable this setting, go to Menu Icon > Global Settings > Branding tab > Toggle on Enable New File Uploader (Beta).

The new interface of the file uploader will show the upload progress of selected files.

Minor Updates

Added Ability to Batch Update User Roles and Organization Categories

Added ability to batch add roles to multiple users and add categories to multiple organizations. To see this feature, go to Menu Icon > People or Organizations > Select the desired users/organizations > Click the Batch Update button > Select the Roles or Categories option from the left-hand menu > Select the desired roles/categories you want to add.

Easily add a Role/Category to multiple users/organizations using batch update.

Note: You can only add roles and categories and not remove roles and categories. You will also not be able to add roles flagged as internal to external users and vice versa.

Updated Hashtag Library Availability

Added role-based permission to allow users to access the hashtag library from the menu. To give role access to the hashtag library, go to Menu Icon > Global Settings > Security tab > System Feature Summary > Menu tab > Add desired roles to Hashtag Library – Menu Access. Roles added to this setting will see a link to the hashtag library under the Tools section of the main menu and have access to the library.

New role-based access to the Hashtag Library. Users with permission may access the Hashtag Library using a link under the menu icon.

Notes for Admins

Added Support for AI Integration

Added ability for users to add their own API Integration key for a third-party AI integration. There is a cost associated with this feature and we will be sharing more information in the near future. To prepare for future enhancements regarding this feature, a Help section has been added to the Variable Syntax Checker found under Tools > Configuration Mode.

Added SmartField Configurations to System Performance Summary

Added additional checks to the System Performance Summary to flag SmartFields that have been configured to reference fields that have SmartFields syntax within a list syntax.

Updated Logos on External Pages

Updated the size of logos in the headers of external pages to have a maximum height of 56px.

Updated API Page Response Codes

An HTTP 429 response code will be shown when the API call limit is reached.

Updated SmartCheck Validation

Updated the error dialog in Smartcheck Validation under the source tab to improve error messaging. Read our SmartCheck Validation examples section for some sample validation statements.

Deprecated Setting for Menu Icon Header Font

Deprecated the Menu Icon Header Font setting which was never supported in the current header.