8.2.0

Release date

• July 31st, 2024

Features

Workflow loops

You can now iterate over values and execute actions multiple times. For example, you could iterate over all repetitions of a repeated fieldset and send an email with the data from form fields within the the current repetition.

Move form record to inbox

The workflow action Move form record to inbox now also lets you choose the target inbox dynamically based on its name. You can also use placeholders for the name of the inbox.

Changes

Backend

• There's no separate frontend server with inbox anymore. On a technical level, the inbox is always available on a frontend server. Use the frontend server menu in the system settings of a master server to configure whether the inbox should be accessible on a frontend server.

Forms

• Placeholders in submitted form values do not get evaluated and replaced anymore. That this was ever possible was not intentional and allowed users to evaluated arbitrary placeholders.
• In order to ensure the HTML of forms is valid according the W3C spec, the HTML attribute disabled on the add and remove buttons of repeated elements had to be changed to data-disabled. You may have to make minor adjustments to custom CSS.
• Various improvements regarding accessibility and W3C conformity.

Fixes

Backend

• Fixed an issue with the import of forms where the system workflow was renamed and another workflow state was given the name Received. The names are now preserved properly.
• When copying a form, the description of workflow processing chains is now preserved.

Forms

• Fixed an error during validation that occurred in some cases when a form field was marked as repeated, a repetition trigger was set, and the form field was marked as non-repeated again afterwards, without removing the repetition trigger. 
• For select elements with the autocomplete option enabled, the value of the autocomplete fields gets cleared properly when the select field itself has a hidden-if condition with the clear-if-hidden feature enabled.

For plugin developers

Potentially needed adjustments

• Update auf PrimeFaces 13. Selber geschriebene UIs müssen eventuell minimal angepasst werden. Siehe auch den Migration Guide von PrimeFaces.
• Falls die JUnit-Erweiterung FcSystemIntegrationExtension für Integrationstests des Plugins gegen formcycle verwendet wird, muss nun IEntityContextHolder statt IEntityContext in Testklassen injiziert werden.
• Für Workflow-Aktionen, die Dateien bereitstellen, musste eine neue UI-Konfiguration für die bereitgestellten Dateien hinzugefügt werden, die für Plugins nicht verfügbar sein wird. Bestehende Plugins funktionieren noch, die neuen Eigenschaften stehen dann aber nicht zur Verfügung. Hier sollte eine Anpassung bei Plugins vom Typ IPluginWorkflowNode vorgenommen werden.
  • Das vom INodeHandler verwendete Properties-Model sollte nicht IAttachToFormRecordProviding implementieren.
  • Stattdessen sollte ein Feld vom Typ FileProvision zum Properties-Model hinzugefügt werden.
  • Anschließend sollte die Composite-Component <xi:fileProvision value="#{model.fileProvision}"/> anstelle von <xi:newWorkflowProviding/> verwendet werden.
  • Zudem muss sichergestellt werden, dass INodeHandler#updateCustomParams entsprechend implementiert wird, um bestehende Konfigurationen zu aktualisieren. Hierfür kann die von UpdateTransitions.formProvision820Upgrade bereitgestellte Hilfsmethode verwendet werden.
  • Schließlich sollte während der Ausführung IWorkflowFileHandler#handleFileProvision verwendet werden, um die in FileProvision enthaltene Konfiguration zu behandeln. IWorkflowFileHandler ist über params.getWorkflowContext().file() verfügbar, wobei params die an die Methode INodeHandler#execute übergebene Instanz ist.
  • Durch diese Anpassung wird auch sichergestellt, dass zukünftig neu hinzugefügte UI-Konfigurationen verfügbar sind, ohne dass am Plugin erneut Änderungen vorgenommen werden müssen.

New features

• When a user inserts a workflow node of type SEQUENCE at a location in the workflow flowchart, the sequence now gets unwrapped and the contained nodes are added instead. Combined with the existing plugin type IPluginWorkflowElementPrototypes, you can now add a pre-configured list of actions to the drawer on the left hand side.
  • For example, you could provide a pre-configured sequence consisting of a Word fill action and a File download action.
• Workflow trigger may now also provide files in addition to JSON data. Within the processing processing, users can then select these files anywhere a file needs to be selected. To enable this feature, override the new method getTriggerFilesDescriptor.
  • For example, this is used by the builtin workflow trigger Upload request fulfilled to provide access to the files that were uploaded by a user in response to an upload request of a form record message.
• Each workflow node requires that you define a descriptor for the JSON data provided by the node e.g. upon successful completion or when an error occurred. Starting with version 8.2, this descriptor may now depend on the current values of the node's properties model as well. To make use of this feature, let the INodeHandler override one or more methods of the super interface IRefinedExecutionResultDescriptor.
  • For example, this is used by the builtin for each loop workflow node. That node lets the user select the type of items over which to iterate, such as a repeated form field, JSON array, CSV file etc. Depending on the selected type, the loop node provided different JSON data during its execution.
  • The action HTTP request offers a checkbox that lets users decide whether an error should be thrown for a 5xx response status. The error descriptor of the node only includes the corresponding error code when the checkbox is checked. As a result, the node's info panel only shows the error code to the user when the checkbox is checked.
• File descriptors for workflow nodes and workflow triggers now let you define multiple different types of files. Upon execution, you can provide a list of files for each type. To create a file descriptor, use the builder.
  • For example, you could use this to implement a create certificate action that generates multiple files such as a public key, private key, or certificate signing request. When the action provides these files as different types, users can select each file individually in following actions.
• New plugin type IPluginFormPropertiesExtension. This type of plugin lets you add new form properties to a form that can then be edited in formtab of the properties panel at the right hand side of the designer.
  • Combined with a plugin of type IPluginFormRenderCallback, you could then adjust the rendered HTML of a form depending on the properties.