Upgrade from Version 5.5.4 to 6.0.0
Upgrade PhasesAs this is major release upgrade, the upgrade process will be done in two phases.
Changes in 6.0.0The following is information about changes from version 5.5.4 to 6.0.0 that you should be aware of as an administrator of your workgroup. We have worked very hard to ensure that the upgrade is backward compatible in terms of end user interface. Because almost all new features are disabled by default, end users will see only very minor functional changes (if any) after upgrade. For them the changes will be primarily look and feel differences rather than functional. However, administrators will see changes. Most of the changes are in the form of additional options throughout the administrative interface (virtually all have been defaulted to maintain backward compatibility). Of the remaining changes, most involve changes to allow the use of multiple Projects, Forms, and Workflows in a single workgroup. You do not have to make any configuration changes after upgrade. All of the suggested configuration changes below are optional. However, we do strongly recommend that you review these and take advantage of your Phase 1 Training workgroup to familiarize yourself with all of the new options you have prior to the actual upgrade of your production workgroup. Since the upgrade is designed to maintain backward compatibility, there are a lot of new features that your end users will not see immediately after upgrade. For a full list of new features along with information on how to enable them in your workgroup, please browse to the Version 6.0.0 Features and Fixes documentation. Note that since you are a NetResults Tracker Online user, the references to Workgroup Management System (WMS), User Management System (UMS), and supported database servers can be ignored (we manage these things for you in the hosted service). Key new features that we think you should review prior to upgrade are described below. Phase 1 Workgroup DifferencesOne of the best ways to learn about new features is to try them out yourself. You can use the training workgroup which we created for you in Phase 1 to do this. There are a few small differences between this training workgroup and the workgroup you will have when your production workgroup is cut over to version 6.0.0 in Phase 2.
Administration Section ChangesInterfaces for adding and maintaining multiple Projects, Forms and Workflows within a single workgroup have been added. The new Manage Projects, Manage Forms, Manage Fields, and Manage Workflows sections are where you will now find configuration for Fields, Workflow, Alerts, and Email Rules. Projects that are in the same workgroup can (optionally) share Forms and/or Workflows. And, reports can be created that span multiple Projects and/or multiple Forms within a workgroup. Each Project makes use of one or more Forms (record types). For each Form within a Project, you can specify which Workflow (states, transitions, etc.) is used as well as which User Groups can access that Form in the Project. You can also specify the set of State Managers for each Form in the Project and (if you have the Submit via Email Add-On) rules for processing Incoming Emails for each Form in the Project. The Manage Projects section is where you now configure State Managers and Incoming Email Settings (for those with Submit via Email) as well as Project & Form Visibility. Immediately after upgrade, you will have a single Project. Each Form is composed of one or more Fields. A Form (record type) can be used in a single Project or shared across multiple Projects. A Field can be used in a single Form or can be shared across multiple Forms. The Manage Forms section is where you Add, Edit, and Delete Forms and associate Forms with Fields. The Manage Fields section is where you Add, Edit, and Delete "Global" Fields which can be associated with each Form. Immediately after upgrade all Fields will be associated with a single Form which represents your old Define Record configuration. The Manage Fields section is also where you now manage Option Menu Items (including dependencies for option menu items) by clicking on the Items button for a Field. Each Workflow is composed of States, Transitions between those States, Outgoing Email Rules (email notifications for when records change) and (if using Enterprise Edition) Alert Settings (email notifications for when records don't change by a particular date/time). A Workflow can be used for a single Form or shared across multiple Forms. Also, the same Form (for example Trouble Ticket) can be used in more than one Project with a different Workflow in each Project (Workflow is specified for each Form in each Project). States can be used in a single Workflow or shared across multiple Workflows. The Manage Workflows section is where you now configure States, Transitions, Alerts, and Outgoing Email Rules. Immediately after upgrade you will have two workflows. One workflow which represents your previous workgroup Workflow and a new <Empty> Workflow which can be used for new Forms that have no Workflow. In your upgraded workgroup, the names given to the single Project, Form, and Workflow which you had prior to upgrade will be based on what template you selected when you first created your workgroup.
The Project, Form, and Workflow names will not be immediately visible to your end users. Workflow names are never visible outside of the Administration section. The Project and/or Form names are only visible when a user has access to more than one Project or Form. So until, you have (a) created a new Project or Form and (b) given a user access to more than one Project or Form, no end user will see Project or Form names. However, now is probably still a good time to review the names which were given to your one Project, Form and Workflow during upgrade and change them, if necessary, to something more appropriate to your current use. To update the name of a Project, login as Admin, click on the Admin icon, click on the Manage Projects button, click on the Edit link to the right of the Project heading at the top of project tree structure. Update the Name of the project and click OK to save the change. To update the name of a Form, login as Admin and click on the Admin icon, click on the Manage Forms button, click on the Edit button to the left of the form. Update the Name of the form and click OK to save the change. To update the name of a Workflow, login as Admin, click on the Admin icon, click on the Manage Workflows button, click on the Edit button to the left of the Workflow. Update the Name of the Workflow and click OK to save the Change. Saved Queries and Charts now have the upgraded Project and upgraded Form selected as part of the criteria so that existing reports will function as they did prior to the upgrade when you add new projects and forms to your workgroup. The system reports "Default [Users]", "Assigned To Me [Users]", "Reported By Me [Users]", "Added By Me [RestrictedUsers]" have "*" selected for Project and Form so that users will see records for all projects and forms to which they have access. For now, no one will see the Project or Form criteria (that is only visible when a user has access to more than one Project or Form). If you wish to add more Projects, Forms and Workflows, please review the Getting Started with Tracker section of the Administrative Help Guide for more information about making use of these powerful new features. You may also wish to review the Managing Projects, Managing Forms, Managing Fields, Customizing Menu Items, and Managing Workflows sections. AlertsAlerts that are applied to newly added records can now be set differently based on the value of any one pulldown field. Previously they could only be set based on the "Product" pulldown field (you may have renamed that to something else such as Request Type, Project, Component, etc.). Alerts are now configured for each form in the Manage Workflows section. After upgrading, the Alert settings for your Form will either be configured with the "Based On" property set to "Product" or will have the Based On option turned off (if you had the same settings for all Products prior to upgrade). To review your alerts settings, login as Admin, click on the Admin icon, click on the Manage Workflows button, click on the Expand All link to the right of Forms, look for a heading labeled "Alert". If there is no such heading, you do not have Alerts enabled in your workgroup. BrandingThere are many new options to allow you to use names/titles that are more appropriate for your workgroup than NetResults Tracker (or ProblemTracker). Immediately after upgrade, references to ProblemTracker are replaced with NetResults Tracker and ProblemTracker logos are replaced with "powered by NetResults Tracker" links. However, you are now free to reconfigure most references to NetResults Tracker (other than the "powered by NetResults Tracker" links). You may wish to reconfigure the web "Page Title" (which shows up at the top of the browser windows, or for tabbed browsers in the tab, and shows up in bookmarks/favorites). You can also reconfigure the Page Titles for the Submit Pages (Submit via Web for Unregistered Users), and the Knowledge Base pages (Search, Results, and Item). You can also enter a custom Help link in General Preferences to change what is displayed when a user clicks on the Help icon in the Button Bar. This allows you to display your own Help documentation to guide your end users. A separate Help link can be entered for standard and restricted users. Context-Sensitive HelpThe context-sensitive Help links on every page in NetResults Tracker have been moved up to the Status bar (on the far right). You also now have the option to remove this entirely for select User Groups (if, for instance, you only want them browsing to your custom Help). Email NotificationsOutgoing Email Rules can now be set differently based on the value of any one pulldown field. Previously they could only be set based on the "Product" pulldown field (you may have renamed that to something else such as Request Type, Project, Component, etc.). Email Rules are now configured in the Manage Workflows section (previously Email Rules were configured in the Email Configuration Admin section). After the upgrade process, you will either have a single set of Outgoing Email Rules (if your email rules were the same for each "Product" prior to upgrade) or there will be multiple set of rules with each on Based On the "Product" field (if you had different email rules for each Product prior to upgrade). If there are multiple sets of rules (Based On is set to something other than <None>), then you may still wish to review your email rules to see if they truly should be different for each Product or if the differences were unintentional (in version 5, sometimes unintentional differences crept in over time). To review the settings, login as Admin, click on the Admin icon, click on the Manage Workflows button, click the Expand All link next to the Outgoing Email Rules header. If the differences that remain are unintentional, Edit the <Default> rules until they match what you want for all Products, then set the Based On property (click Edit Based On link) to <None>. Now you will have a single set of Outgoing Email Rules (the default set you updated) for all Products. Previously, email notifications could not be sent to users without an account in NetResults Tracker. Email notifications can now be sent to end users without a NetResults Tracker user account who report issues via the Submit via Web Page (formerly known as the Inet Page) or using the Submit via Email feature. To do this, designate a Text field to be the Unregistered User Email by logging in as Admin, clicking on the Admin icon, clicking on the Define Record button, clicking on the Text field you wish to designate as the Unregistered User Email (or create a new field for this purpose), clicking on the Edit button, setting the Unregistered User Email property to Yes and clicking OK. The Text field you selected should have the Include on Inet Page option set to "Yes" so the field is displayed on the Inet Page for the user reporting the issue to enter his/her email address to receive notifications. Users can receive a confirmation when reporting an issue and/or on actions performed on the issue after it is added. Decide when these users should be notified by setting the Send Email Notifications On option in the General Preferences section. Then, update the appropriate Email Rules to select "<Unregistered User>" so the unregistered user will receive the email notifications. FieldsThe Annotate operation on TextArea fields is now configurable. By default, it will operate as it did prior to upgrade (all TextArea fields will have an Annotate button next to them which can optionally be used). However, you may wish to consider changing the in some situations (for instance, removing the Annotate button from the Add page). For each TextArea field you use, you can now specify whether the Annotate button is available for that field on the Add, Submit, Edit and/or Task operations. You can also specify whether or not Annotation should automatically be performed (so the user does not need to remember to click the Annotate button) on Add, Submit, and Task operations. Additionally, an Append option is now available for you to specify that data which is entered into TextArea Task Fields should be added to the end of the TextArea field (to keep existing information in the field from being altered during the Task operation). Option menu items can now be marked as "obsolete". Obsolete option menu items cannot be used when creating new records or modifying existing records; however, they can still continue to be referenced in old records (those added or modified prior to the item being marked obsolete) and as search criteria for the Query Page (so you can still search for records which use the obsolete values). The Check DB Values utility has been removed. It is no longer needed since items can now be marked as obsolete. In upgraded workgroups, any option menu items which were deleted, but left in existing records, will be marked as obsolete automatically during the upgrade. A calendar object has been added for entering dates into Date fields. Previously, all date/time values except for "Now" (the current date/time) had to be typed in. The "Now" operation has been moved into the new calendar object (Now button on the lower left). Required fields can be displayed on the Add, Submit via Web and Task pages in a particular color, in bold and/or with a special character (based on the settings for the "Required Field Highlights" option in the General Preferences section). Immediately after upgrade, required fields will be highlighted with a different color (Green). If you are currently using a special character as part of a field's label for this purpose, remove the character from the field label and set it in the General Preferences page instead. To remove the character from the field's label: Login as Admin, click on the Admin icon, click on the Manage Fields button, click on the Edit button to the left of the field, remove the character from the Label field and click OK. To set the special character in the General Preferences section: Login as Admin, click on the Admin icon, click on the General Preferences button, check the box "Character" for the "Required Field Highlights" option, enter the character in the text box to the right of "Character" and click OK to save the change. There is an option to specify that a field should be display as "read only" on the Edit Page for one or more User Groups. If your users do not use Task for updates (you have allowed them to use Edit), the "read only" option can be especially useful for fields which are set on the Add Page and should never be modified such as the Date Reported and Reporter fields. Knowledge BaseColors for dozens of user interface elements within the Knowledge Base are now configurable from the web interface (there is a new Color button for each option in the Knowledge Base Admin section). Previously this could only be done by editing a style sheet. Look and Feel EnhancementsMany enhancements have been added to allow the look and feel of NetResults Tracker to be customized. We will not go through them all here (see Version 6.0.0 Features and Fixes for a list). However, we will point out a few that you may wish to review immediately after upgrade. The Color Preferences for your workgroup will be upgraded to use the "Version 6" theme (a set of pre-configured colors for the entire workgroup). If you wish to revert back to the color scheme you were using in the previous version, login as Admin, click on the Admin icon, click on the Color Preferences button, set the "Theme" option to "Version 5" and click OK. If the Background Color for your Submit via Web Page is set to default (#C0C0C0), the Color Preferences for the Submit via Web page will be upgraded to use the "Version 6" colors. If you would like to revert back to the Version 5 color scheme, login as Admin, click on the Admin icon and click on the Submit Page Options button. In the General Color Settings section, set Page Background to "#C0C0C0", Page Text (Field Labels), Required Field Label Text and Input Text (Field Values) to "Black", Input Background to "White" and check the option "Use Default Buttons (& Inputs)" for IE Browser Button Settings and Other Browser Button Settings. If the Background Color for the Submit Page is not set to the default color and you would like to change the color scheme to match the Version 6 color scheme, login as Admin, click on the Admin icon and click on the Submit Page Options button. In the General Color Settings section, set Page Background to "<Custom> #FDFDFD", Page Text (Field Labels) to "<Custom> #0845C0", Required Field Label Text to "<Custom> #099801", Input Background to "White" and Input Text (Field Values) to "Black". For IE Browser Button Settings, uncheck the option for "Use Default Buttons (& Inputs)", set Gradient to "Bottom to Top", Background to "<Custom> #8CB0F8", Text to "<Custom> #212A39" and Border to "<Custom> #8CB0F8". For Other Browser Button Settings, check the box for the option "Use Default Buttons (& Inputs)". Record VisibilityThe Record Visibility options for records submitted by unregistered users (records added via the Submit Page or the Submit via Email feature) are now located in the Record Visibility section of the General Preferences page. ReportsIn previous versions, the list of Saved Queries on the Home and Query pages were sorted by Type (Standard or Advanced) first, then by User Group (with personal reports first), then by Name. Saved Queries are no longer divided up into Standard or Advanced (that is now just a property of the report that is visible when creating or adding the report). So, Saved Queries are now only sorted by User Group and Name. Saved Charts (Metrics) continue to be sorted by User Group and Name as well. For backward compatibility, reports (both Saved Queries and Saved Charts) are still sorted by User Group first and Name second. However, you may wish to change your system to sort reports by Name first and User Group second (User Group would then only be used if two reports have the exact same Name). Though this would be a change from previous versions, it may better meet the expectations of your end users. A general preference to choose how report names are sorted in the report pulldowns on the Home, Query, Metrics and Preferences pages is available. This affects the sorting for all users in the workgroup. A knowledge base style search of all text fields is now available in the Query page. Your users will now see that at the top of the Query page. An option to search within a date range relative to the current date and time (e.g. Date Reported is within the previous 6 days, Test Date is within the next 3 days) is now available for use in Standard and Advanced Queries. If you have existing Saved Queries with hard-coded date ranges that you periodically update, you may wish to update them to use this new option so that they no longer need to be updated. Restricted UsersThe privileges available to Restricted Users has been expanded to include ability to edit fields and attachments for records in particular states, task records, and participate in discussions. Immediately after upgrade, Restricted Users will have the same privileges they did before upgrade. You may wish to consider expanding their privileges. Submit via Web for Unregistered UsersThe Inet Page is now called Submit via Web for Unregistered Users or simply the Submit Page. Previously, only the top, bottom and background of the Submit Page could be customized. Now, virtually all aspects of the Submit Page can be customized such as the date settings, page header, page title, submit button label and action, confirmation page message and confirmation page button action, among others. These options allow the Submit Page to be more seamlessly integrated with your web site. More information can be found in the Submit Page Help section. Users and User ManagementUser group privileges are now classified as "global" or "non-global" privileges. Non-global privileges are privileges that are applied based on the Projects and Forms to which a user group has access. Meaning, that users will only be able to utilize the privileges they are granted for the Projects and Forms to which they have access. Global privileges are privileges that are applied irrespective of the Projects and Forms that are visible to a user group. In an upgraded workgroup, all user groups will have access to the Project and Form in your workgroup and user group privileges will be applied as in previous versions. If you change which user groups have access to the Project and Form, please review the information in the User Group Privileges section to understand how the Project and Form visibility will affect a user group's privileges. Users can now reset their own password if it has been forgotten using a Security Question and Answer. Enable this feature by setting the "Enable Reset Password" option in the General Preferences section. Once the feature is enabled, have each user set up their Security Question and Answer in the Preferences section. The privilege "Can Be Assignee for Edit" has been added to allow user groups to be granted / denied the ability to be listed in the Assigned To field when the Edit operation is used to modify a record. In previous versions, the user name "Internet User" was listed as the Reporter for records that were added by an anonymous user via the Submit via Web page or the Submit via Email features. This user has been renamed to "Unregistered User". If you still display User ID in reports, Inet will continue to be displayed (the User ID remains the same for backward compatibility even though the Full Name associated with the User ID has changed). |