General Enhancements and Changes

Summary

The following enhancements and changes have been made as part of the 2024.2 update:

  • Performance is improved by optimizing the speed of background process execution report generation. Performance is also improved for Business Rule Based Message Processor IEPs (both inbound and outbound integration endpoints) by transparently using a local, temporary zip file to process individual files.

  • The STEP Workbench Launcher now supports using a proxy server that requires basic authentication. For more information, on the Start Page, select the 'Workbench Launchers' resource option, click the 'STEP Documentation' link to open the 'STEP Workbench Launcher Guide' and refer to the 'Proxy basic authentication' section.

  • Functionality is aligned when exporting deleted values. Now, for both Cassandra and Oracle databases, OIEPs (outbound integration endpoints) similarly export deleted values for single-valued specification attributes with a validation base type of LOV, where the LOV is dimension dependent. This applies when there is inheritance from an ancestor and also when there is no inheritance.

  • The Self-Service UI for Stibo Systems SaaS environments enhancements include:

    • The term 'upgrade' has been changed to 'update' which aligns with other changes made in STEP for the 2024.1 Update. The content / intent of the functionality is the same. This is only a naming change.

    • Accurate available update options are displayed when they are generally available for partners and customers.

    • For customers who use STEP server-side publishing through InDesign, the current InDesign server version is displayed throughout the UI, a message is displayed when a new compatible InDesign server version is available, and a warning is displayed when a STEP update requires a new InDesign server version.

  • For Stibo Systems SaaS environments, the deployment of extensions through the STEP Remote System Administration API has been optimized to eliminate dependency conflicts between extensions. This improvement also removes significant overhead in the deployment process, which can result in a large reduction in the startup time of STEP on environments with multiple extensions configured.

These enhancements and changes have also been made as part of the 2024.2 update and are described in the Details section that follows:

  • The 'One Queue' background process mechanism is improved to automatically consider both the available workers and available heap memory, which improves system stability.

  • Automotive solution improvements include:

    • Value Editor dialog for 'Application Condition Header - Individual' and 'Application Condition Header - Group' components now displays attributes / references in alphabetical order, improving usability for setting conditions.

    • A new Indirectly Referenced Chain plugin in Part Number Suggestions component enhances suggestions by considering parts referenced by others sharing common part numbers with the selected part.

  • Customers now have the ability to create and use datasheets through automation via a new Processing Engine for outbound integration endpoints (OIEPs) called 'Datasheet PDF Creation.'

  • Users can now connect an external DAM (DemoUp Cliplister) to STEP via a new pre-processor, enabling many automation options when uploading assets into the external DAM.

Details

Improvements for 'One Queue' background process mechanism

'One Queue' is the recommended background process (BGP) mechanism which automatically defines the order that BGPs are handled based on creation time, configured priority, and available resources. Until now, the available number of workers on an environment determined how many BGPs would be allowed to run in parallel. In certain scenarios, this lead to the BGPs requiring more heap memory than was available. The 'One Queue' mechanism now significantly improves system stability by evaluating the available heap memory to determine if new BGPs are allowed to start.

For more information, refer to the BGP One Queue topic in the System Setup documentation.

Automotive solution improvements

Alphabetical sorting implemented for Application Condition attributes

An issue in the Value Editor dialog for the 'Application Condition Header - Individual' and 'Application Condition Header - Group' components has been addressed. Previously, the node picker within the Value Editor dialog did not display attributes / references in alphabetical order, causing difficulties in locating desired attributes / references. To enhance usability, alphabetical sorting for the attribute list in the Value Editor dialog has been implemented. This improvement enables users to easily find and select attributes / references when setting conditions.

New suggestions plugin for Part Number Suggestions component

A new part number suggestions plugin called 'Indirectly Referenced Chain' has been introduced for the Part Number Suggestions component, aimed at improving the suggestion capabilities for part numbers. The new plugin suggests part numbers that are referenced by other parts sharing common part numbers with the current selected part. It conducts a comprehensive search of multiple part numbers for suggestions by following the paths of parts and their associated part Numbers forming reference links. This thereby offers multiple suggestions involving interconnected parts and part numbers. For more information, refer to the Configuring the Advanced Part Number Suggestions Component topic in the Solution Enablement: Product MDM for Automotive documentation.

New automated datasheet creation capability

Customers now have the ability to create and keep datasheets up to date through automation. Previously, managing datasheets was a manual process that required an individual to generate and maintain (as in creating, exporting, linking etc.) one or multiple datasheets on demand. When information changed, the datasheet became outdated, and an updated datasheet had to be manually generated. Now, there is a new Processing Engine for outbound integration endpoints (OIEPs) called 'Datasheet PDF Creation' that, when configured properly, will automatically create, link, and maintain datasheets for customers. This will save hours of manual tasks, and enable customers to be more efficient and effective in their daily work.

The Datasheet PDF Creation processing engine requires the enablement of the Print Publishing commercial license. Contact Stibo Systems to begin the process of enabling a license or licenses for your system.

Explore further by clicking the video below. If it does not play as expected, it is also available in the Customer / Partner Communities and may also be accessible within Stibo Systems Service Portal.

 

For more information on configuring datasheets in an OIEP, refer to the OIEP - Configuration Section for Datasheet PDF Creation topic in the Data Exchange documentation.

For more information on print publishing, refer to the Print Publisher topic in the Publisher (Adobe InDesign Integration) documentation.

External DAM supports automation via asset import configurations

The external DAM integration between STEP and DemoUp Cliplister now provides users with robust options for asset management through automation. A new pre-processor allows administrators to set up an Asset Import configuration that, with the aid of an inbound integration endpoint (IIEP), enables the system to automatically process assets uploaded to DemoUp Cliplister. The automation available via the Asset Import configuration can direct the system to execute tasks like filtering out duplicate assets, uploading assets directly into a classification hierarchy, or linking assets directly to objects.

In the previous release, assets imported to the external DAM had to be linked manually to the desired products, which could be a time-intensive process. Now, by enabling a connection to the external DAM via an Asset Import configuration, users can bring assets into STEP and link them with the relevant products more efficiently.

For more information on configuring an external DAM integration with DemoUp Cliplister, refer to the Using the DemoUp Cliplister External DAM topic in the Data Integration documentation.

Explore further by clicking the videos below. If they do not play as expected, they are also available in the Customer / Partner Communities and may also be accessible within Stibo Systems Service Portal.