These release notes are for PhixFlow 5.9.0.
This release is for Oracle and SQL Server only.
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Contents
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Installation / Upgrade
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To install a new PhixFlow instance, follow the standard installation instructions.
To upgrade an existing PhixFlow instance, follow the Standard Upgrade Instructions plus the special instructions for all intermediate releases.
This release includes these special instructions.
Prerequisites
This PhixFlow release requires:
- Java 7
- Apache Tomcat 7
One of:
- Oracle 11g or 12c (preferred)
- SQL Server 2008R2 or later
- MariaDB (MySQL) 10.0.14 or later
Upgrade
Backup your Database
Ensure that you have a recent full backup of your database. If, for any reason, you need to rollback (see "Rollback Upgrade" below), your PhixFlow configuration and data will revert to this point.
Shutdown
Shut down tomcat. PhixFlow will not be available to users until the upgrade is complete.
Environment
If necessary, upgrade to supported versions of Java, Tomcat and Oracle, SQL Server or MySQL / MariaDB.
See above for details.
Unzip the PhixFlow Release
Unzip the PhixFlow release package into a temporary directory.
We will refer to the new PhixFlow release as $RELEASE.
Install the new Webapp
Move the live phixflow installation, i.e. the directory $TOMCAT/webapps/phixflow, to an archive location.
E.g. on unix/linux: mv $TOMCAT/webapps/phixflow $ARCHIVE/phixflow-<current date>
Copy $RELEASE/webapp/phixflow to $TOMCAT/webapps.
E.g. on unix/linux: cp $RELEASE/webapp/phixflow $TOMCAT/webapps/phixflow
Copy the following files from the WEB-INF/classes directory in the archive of the live installation into the corresponding directry in the new phixflow webapp:
- phixflow-datasource.xml
- phixflow-instance.xml
- phixflow-domains.xml
- log4j.properties
E.g. copy $CV_ARCHIVE/phixflow-<current date>/WEB-INF/classes, to $TOMCAT/webapps/phixflow/WEB-INF/classes
Upgrade the Database
Ensure all migration scripts are run in sequence from prior version to this version e.g.:
E.g. for Oracle users:
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cd $RELEASE/schema/oracle/migration/X.Y
sqlplus myUsername/myPassword @migrate_schema_from_x_y_z_to_X_Y_Z.sql |
E.g. for SQL Server users:
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cd $RELEASE/schema/sqlserver/migration/X.Y
sqlcmd -S myServer\myInstance -U myUsername -P myPassword -d myDatabase -i migrate_schema_from_x_y_z_to_X_Y_Z.sql |
Re-start Tomcat
The upgrade is now complete.
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Features / Improvements
Applications
The user can now set up multiple applications.
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- www.phixflowexample.com - no Application specified.
- www.phixflowexample.com#App1 - the 'App1' Application will be launched with the default menu (if specified).
www.phixflowexample.com#App1/Menu1 - The 'App1' Application with the 'Menu1' will be launched.
(This release contains more changes which affect the URL. See Upgrade Notes for details)As there are new functionalities which can be accessed by manipulating the application URL it is important to remember about the sequence of using new URL attributes:
- design=true and design=false must be typed right after the default PhixFlow URL and be prefixed by the ‘?’ character.
- #ApplicationName/MenuName must be typed at the end of the full PhixFlow URL.
E.g.
Assume in these examples that the default PhixFlow URL is www.phixflowexample.com
- www.phixflowexample.com – PhixFlow without any defined Application in a mode specified as default for the logged in user.
- www.phixflowexample.com?design=true – PhixFlow without any defined Application in the Design Mode
- www.phixflowexample.com?design=false – PhixFlow without any defined Application in the App Mode
- www.phixflowexample.com#App1 – App1 application with a default menu in a mode specified as default for the logged in user.
- www.phixflowexample.com#App1/Menu1 – App1 application with the Menu1 in a mode specified as default for the logged in user.
- www.phixflowexample.com?design=true#App1 – App1 application with a default menu in the Design Mode
- www.phixflowexample.com?design=false#App1 – App1 application with a default menu in the App Mode
- www.phixflowexample.com?design=true#App1/Menu1 – App1 application with the Menu1 in the Design Mode
- www.phixflowexample.com?design=false#App1/Menu1 – App1 application with the Menu1 in the App Mode
Design / App Mode
A new button is available under the User menu (top right corner). It allows switching between a Design and App mode.
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- www.phixflowexample.com - a default user's mode will be launched.
- www.phixflowexample.com?design=true - a design mode will be launched (if the user is permitted)
www.phixflowexample.com?design=false - an app mode will be launched
(This release contains more changes which affect the URL. See Upgrade Notes for details)
Dashboards
Resizing Dashboards
Dashboards can now be set up so that their content automatically resizes as the Dashboard resizes. This means that Dashboards can be configured so that end users can adjust the size of the Dashboard for their screen and the contents will adjust their widths and height automatically.
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- Add Vertical Bar: Splits the pane left and right
- Add Horizontal Bar: Splits the pane top and bottom
- Delete Pane
- Layout Options: Opens a form allowing the user to specify
- Maximize the pane content
- Fix the pane width
- Fix the pane height
Maximizing Dashboards
Dashboards can now be set to open in a maximized state by default. The option is available through the Dashboard editor.
Views
Pivot Views
It is now possible to configure a 'pivot table' stream view in which values in a nominated value attribute are broken out into one of many view columns based on the value in a nominated pivot attribute.
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Pivot column headers can be derived automatically from data values using date/time and number formats on the view attributes, or from label attributes.
Grid Views
The "Grid" Stream View definition form now shows all properties of the view attribute (not just its name).
The Stream View Attribute definition form now shows a box indicating the size of the field on a form i.e. there is now a visual indicator of the meaning of a width of (say) 100 pixels.
Selection Views
Selection Views now use the selected attribute instead of first attribute of the view.
There is a new 'Show Attributes' option in the Stream Views list context menu which shows Attributes of the selected Stream View.
Streams
Stream Index Scheme
It is now possible to change the stream index scheme while the stream contains data. Changing the index scheme optimises the stream for reading from individual steam sets or from all stream sets.
Changing Stream Settings
The restrictions on changing the properties and/or attributes of existing streams are now based on whether the stream actually contains data records rather than whether the stream has any stream sets. This means that it is now possible to roll back a stream without deleting stream sets, then change any stream property or attribute property.
Collectors / Exporters
Excel File Exporter
DATE and DATETIME columns are now exported to Excel in the same format as they appear on the Stream View.
Scripting
Internal Variables
General Variables
Instance name is now accessible in all expressions as _system.instance
File Collector Variables
Internal variables are now available also from normal File Collectors:
- _fileName
- _modifiedDate
- _path
- _rootDirectory
- _subDirectory
- _size
- _lineNumber - not available in 'File Details Only' File Collectors
See here for details.
Functions
curValue() and nextValue() now take expressions, not just literal values.
System Administration
Email Account Configuration
It is now possible to manage email accounts through the graphical user interface. These accounts are used by PhixFlow to send and receive emails.
To administer email account, select 'Manage Email Accounts' under the 'Admin' menu; this opens a list of Email Accounts which allows the administrator to add, update, test and delete Email Accounts.
Outbound Accounts
Outbound accounts are used to send emails from PhixFlow. There can be only one enabled outbound account at any one time.
Inbound Accounts
Inbound accounts are used to fetch emails. There can be more than one active inbound account.
Upgrade
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Existing email settings (inbound and outbound) are not automatically migrated into new version (see Upgrade Notes upgrade notesfor details). |
Cleanup Configuration
The 'Repair Configuration' admin function has been renamed to 'Cleanup Configuration'.
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The list of Privileges is now sorted alphabetically.
System Indexes
Indexes and primary keys on core tables have been reviewed and deleted / added where appropriate.
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Bug Fixes
Graphical User Interface
Fixed bug with possible GUI locking while having some configuration windows opened.
Dashboards
Correction to 5.5 to 5.6 migration script for Oracle based instances. Default Dashboard filters are now being restored during the upgrade.
Dashboard object background filters now set driving-driven links correctly.
Views
Fixed bug with the not populated filter list on the view configuration screen.
Filters
Fixed bug with a stream filter with an 'is in' condition generating invalid sql if the list of values on the right-hand side of the condition is zero-length.
Streams
Stream Publishing always checks for existing data before applying changes.
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Fixed bug with rollback on self-updating stream selecting all streamsets.
Collectors & Exporters
Fixed bug with CSV and Excel file collectors failing if there were more columns in a file than expected.
Fixed bug with exporting floating point numbers to Excel.
Actions
Fixed a floating digit issue during the update action.
Refresh on Completion
Whether a stream action caused its invoking view to refresh on completion or not was changed at release 5.6.0. In earlier releases it was implicit, and from 5.6.0 onwards a refresh had to be explicitly requested by adding the action to the list of view refresh actions.
The migration scripts from 5.5.1 to 5.6.0 attempted to create the necessary view refresh actions, but failed in the case where a view referenced the same action more than once. This problem is fixed in the 5.6.0 migration scripts in this release.
Export / Import
Fixed bug with failing model import.
Scripting
Fixed bug with ifNull function not returning list properly.
concatenateList now correctly casts single values to lists.
Logging
The System Logging Configuration window shows the 'Log Exporter Statements' tick box correctly.
User Administration
Fixed bug with the user updating error while the user has some passwords archived more than a year ago.
Fixed bug with the visible password length of other users
Other
Fixed bug with the alphabetic lists sorting on the Oracle database.
Upgrade Instructions
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Email sender:
- Make a backup copy of the phixflow-datasource.xml file.
- Open the phixflow-datasource.xml file.
- Note the port, host, username, password and javaMailProperties values.
- Delete the mailSender bean from the phixflow.datasource.xml file.
- In PhixFlow go to Admin → Manage Email Accounts and add a new account.
Tick the Outbound flag, type the account name and enter values from the step 2. The Properties have format: property.name=value. Each property should be entered in new line. Tick Enabled.
Info You can test the configuration by entering a test email address and sending a test email by clicking the Test Configuration button.
Email fetcher:
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Leave the Outbound flag unticked, type the account name and Enter values from the step 2. If you leave the Pooling Interval blank, the pollingInterval value configured in the server.properties file will be used.
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As there are new functionalities which can be accessed by manipulating the application URL it is important to remember about the sequence of using new URL attributes:
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- design=true and design=false must be typed right after the default PhixFlow URL and be prefixed by the ‘?’ character.
- #ApplicationName/MenuName must be typed at the end of the full PhixFlow URL.
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