Release Notes

Redesign of the Navigation panel and left-side menu bar.

Navigation panel underwent a major overhaul. The immediately visible changes relate to visual appearance of the menu: The menu panel got a new look, and most control elements, such as organization name, Search, and Shortcuts controls went to the top (Pintab) panel.
The redesign, however, changed not just the visual appearance; It is now possible to configure whether the menu panel should appear on top, or on the left. This can be done under System Configuration > Display Settings > Navigation bar with Position selector. Left-side menu has the same structure, but its top-level items are displayed as icons instead of words. Please note: this means that from now on an icon should be designed for every new top-level menu item along with the name.

Website event tracking.

It is now possible to track user activity on web pages and record it in OroCRM. The tracking is done using Piwik JavaScript Tracking code snippets. (For additional information on the subject please check the documentation)
In order to start track events, you have to create a website first—this can be done under Marketing > Tracking Websites. After a site is created, you will get a template of tracking code that you can edit to suit your tracking demands and then embed it on desired pages of your website. By default the code contains only tracking of page views, but the template also contains a placeholder for event tracking code (hidden with comments).
By default all information is passed to OroCRM directly in the real time; note that it may cause performance issues if the traffic on the website is intensive. To avoid this, you may disable dynamic tracking and choose longer log rotation interval in the tracking configuration (System Configuration > General Setup > Tracking). You can also choose to store data not only in OroCRM, but on the Piwik host as well; to do so, specify Piwik credentials in the tracking configuration. Note that if this option is executed, website identifiers in OroCRM must be exactly the same as in Piwik.

Processes.

Processes are meant to be a core feature of both BAP and OroCRM, and one of the most widespread ones. The formal definition of the process is following: The process encapsulates a user-defined set of actions that is performed after some triggering event if some additional conditions are met. In plain language this means that the user will define a process if he feels the need to automate some routine actions that have a clear set of rules; the most obvious example of such actions is automated processing of imported data.
Processes consist of four major parts:

• The trigger, or triggering event—an event the process listener is set to, and which launches the process. There are two principal triggers: A creation of a new entity record, and an update of an existing record. In the latter case, the update may be restricted to a certain attribute, or a set of attributes of an entity.
• Conditions that are checked after the launch.
• Actions that are performed by the process if the conditions are met.
• Conditions and actions available for use in processes are the same that are used for workflows.

In scope of this release we introduce only the basic functionality of processes. For now, the only way to create and manage them is by editing the process configuration code in the .yml file; the UI management tool will come in future releases.

New custom field types for entities: File and Image.

It is now possible to create custom entity fields of the File or Image type. Files or images are uploaded to the field via the standard dialog, and then available for preview (in case of image), or download (in case of file) from the view page of an entity record.
The use case for such fields is obvious from their nature: They allow to add pictures or files that might provide important context for an entity—think of the user avatar, or the contact photo, or the PDF file that contains the statement of work related to the closed opportunity

New control for record lookup (relations).

We introduce a new record lookup control to be used on Edit pages for relation attributes. This control is configurable and contains three parts that can be turned on and off depending on the context:

• Lookup control where the user can start typing in the desired value, and where he will get a simple list of matches, or, if he typed nothing, a full list of available records.
• Grid button. After clicking this button, the user will see a popup with a grid of entities that are available via the control. The grid provides more detailed view of available records, and the user can filter it and sort it, too. The user can select one or many records depending on the nature of the underlying relation.
• New record button. With this button the user can create a new record on the fly, without having to navigate away from the form.
  As a general rule, relations to entities such as Contact and Account should always contain the New record button in the control, as these entities are the most likely to be created in the context of some other entity. Think of a new Lead that comes from a new customer—to properly handle this situation the user has to create all three entities, and with the new control he is able do it all in the scope of the New Lead form. On the other hand, entities like User or Business Unit are not likely to be created often, and from context of other entities, so for them the New record button is redundant.

Data import in CSV format.

The existing feature of CSV import and export of Contacts was expanded and generalized. It is now possible to configure templates for import & export of every entity, including custom ones. Ready-to-use import & export actions are available by default on the following entity grids: Account, Contact, Lead, and Opportunity. Export is also available for Users.

Release Notes

Ability to delete Channels

Channels and their related data can now be deleted even after they have been synced with OroCRM. (Previously only unsynced channels that contained no data were available for deletion.)
Please note that the data is not removed immediately – the operation is performed by a background process that might take some time, especially if you have a lot of data to delete. Also, only data that is directly related to the channel is removed – i.e., while a Customer record is deleted, its associated Contact and Account will remain in the system.

Workflow view

We added a workflow view page to the workflow management UI.

Reset of Workflow data

This feature resolves a conflict of the "old" and "new" workflow data that might happen when you change the active workflow of some entity but already have some records of this entity in the middle of the "old" workflow. Previously, they got stuck in the old flow forever, and it was impossible to launch the new workflow for them or to continue with the old flow. Now, the workflow data is reset for all records when you activate the new flow; and if you already have other started workflow, you will be able to manually reset the workflow data for each entity record.
Please note that data reset is immediate – the operation is performed in real time, so that might take some time, especially if you have a lot of records to reset.

Line charts in Reports

OroCRM reports now offer table reports and line chart that is plotted based on the report data. This is just the first step of this feature, and in future releases bar and pie charts will also be added.
To add a chart to the report, simply choose the desired chart type in the new Chart Designer section of the Report builder tool, and then specify, which column of the report will serve as category set (X axis), and which will form the set of values (Y axis). The chart will be placed on top of the report.

Release Notes

Magento Import improvements and fixes

• Fixed validation of Magento Channel over https
• Improved entity validation in Magento import

Release Notes

Ability to delete Channels

Channels and their related data can now be deleted even after they have been synced with OroCRM. (Previously only unsynced channels that contained no data were available for deletion.)
Please note that the data is not removed immediately – the operation is performed by the background process that might take some time, especially if you have a lot of data to delete. Also, only data that is directly related to the channel is removed – i.e., while a Customer record is deleted, its associated Contact and Account will remain in the system.

Workflow view

We added a workflow view page to the workflow management UI.

Reset of Workflow data

This feature resolves a conflict of the "old" and "new" workflow data that might happen when you change the active workflow of some entity but already have some records of this entity in the middle of the "old" workflow. Previously, they got stuck in the old flow forever, and it was impossible to launch the new workflow for them or to continue with the old flow. Now, the workflow data is reset for all records when you activate the new flow; and if you already have other started workflow, you will be able to manually reset the workflow data for each entity record.
Please note that data reset is immediate – the operation is performed in real time, so that might take some time, especially if you have a lot of records to reset.

Line charts in Reports

OroCRM reports now offer table reports and line chart that is plotted based on the report data. This is just the first step of this feature, and in future releases bar and pie charts will also be added.
To add a chart to the report, simply choose the desired chart type in the new Chart Designer section of the Report builder tool, and then specify, which column of the report will serve as category set (X axis), and which will form the set of values (Y axis). The chart will be placed on top of the report.

Release Notes

Dashboard management

The 1.1 version introduces configurable and interactive Dashboards to the platform.
You will now be able to:
Re-organize widgets on the dashboard using drag & drop – simply click on the widget header and start moving it around;
Collapse and expand widgets using the small "−" button on the left side of the header;
Remove widgets from the Dashboard using the trash can button on the right side of the header
Add widgets to the Dashboard using an Add Widget button.
The ability to configure dashboards means that users with sufficient ACL privileges can add new dashboards to the system, edit, and remove the existing ones. Dashboard management is available either from the new Dashboard > Manage Dashboards menu item, or directly from the Dashboard view using the new Tools button.

Release Notes

Fixed Issues

• Issue #3979 – Problems with DB server verification on install
• Issue #3916 – Memory consumption is too high on installation
• Issue #3918 – Problems with installation of packages from console
• Issue #3841 – Very slow installation of packages
• Issue #3916 – Installed application is not working correctly because of knp-menu version
• Issue #3839 – Cache regeneration is too slow
• Issue #3525 – Broken filters on Entity Configuration grid
• Issue #3974 – Settings are not saved in sidebar widgets
• Issue #3962 – Workflow window opens with a significant delay
• Issue #2203 – Incorrect timezone processing in Calendar
• Issue #3909 – Multi-selection filters might be too long
• Issue #3899 – Broken link from Opportunity to related Contact Request

Release Notes

Workflow UI management tool

Workflows are an integral part of the OroCRM experience and of every Business Application. Prior to this release, workflow creation and configuration could only be done by developers using the configuration files. With this release we introduce the first generation GUI tool that allows you to create new Workflows and manage some of the features of custom workflows and reduces the dependency on developers. This version includes the following features:

• Access the list of all workflows that currently exist in the system. Note that "System" or built-in workflows cannot be edited, but can be cloned.
• Activate and deactivate workflows.
• Create a completely new workflow or clone and adjust an existing one.
• Specify steps of the workflow and their relative positions in the workflow
• Add transitions to the workflow

For workflow transitions, the following customization is possible:

• Specify transition form (popup or the whole page) and entity attributes that will appear on this form.
• Customize transition button: change its label, icon and style.
• Provide a warning message to the user.
  With future releases we will continue enhancing this feature and adding more functionality to allow a user to fully manage Workflows

Segmentation wizard

Marketing segmentation is another must-have for a proper CRM, and in this release, a segmentation tool has been introduced in OroCRM.
The main purpose of the segment is to single out the required set of records from the entire data pool and make these records available for use by other tools; the secondary purpose is to provide a convenient way to view and access this data. Segments are very similar to Reports in appearance, but their nature is different: They do not simply show a table with data, but provide access to the records that make up the segment.
Segmented data sets can be exported in CSV format, or be reused within OroCRM to build reports or other segments. Future use cases for the segments within OroCRM include segment-based workflows, processes and other mass actions.

Reminders

Reminders can be added to Tasks or Calendar events to ensure that the user is notified of it some time in advance. There are two types of Reminders: flash messages and emails. Each Task or Calendar event can feature as many reminders of both types as necessary.

Package management

This is a BAP feature that provides a user interface for Package Manager – a separate application that allows to view installed packages, check for available packages, install new packages and disable installed packages.
Package Manager can be reached via System → Package Manager menu items. In order to use it, the user has to have permissions to edit composer.json.
Packages can include demo data of the application contained in the package and can be added while enabling a package.

Page Totals and Grand Totals for grids

Built-in Reports now feature page totals for the content of the single page and grand totals for the content of the entire grid. Functions for totals calculation can be customized in the config file for displaying for example average value for the data.

Proper formatting of Money and Percent values

Money and Percent values will appear formatted in all grids, including custom Reports.

Configurable Sidebars

Each of the sidebars can now be turned on or off in the system settings.

Notification of content changes in the Pinbar

The pinned page will show a small yellow dot if its content has been changed by another user while it is pinned.

Release Notes

Embedded forms

This feature allows developers to create embedded forms that can used in third-party websites in order to collect data directly into OroCRM and have workflows around the data collected. These forms can be set up to maintain the look & feel of a target website.
The package for embedded forms contains two examples of such forms: generic Contact Request form and a Magento Contact Request form that uses Magento CE CSS in its appearance. The latter form also has an OroCRM workflow attached to data records generated from it, serving as an example of the use case for embedded form data collection.

CSV export

The ability to export data grids to CSV files has been expanded to custom reports and most data grids.

Upgrading

We have added the ability to upgrade existing installations of OroCRM. To upgrade follow the instructions in upgrade.md file. This process will be automated in future releases.

Release Notes

Translations management

These features complement each other: they provide ability to prepare and upload packages of messages that shall be translated to crowdin.net service, and then download translated packages back to the platform.
Packages contain .yml files grouped by bundles, and, in case of translated packages, by languages
This feature provides UI for language settings, available under System → Configuration → Language settings menu. It allows to see the available translations and progress of the translation (percentage of translated messages across all projects). Translations can be downloaded; for downloaded translations the status is also shown – translation is "Up to date" when no changes have been made in crowdin since the last download, or "Needs update" if such changes has been made. In the latter case the Update action is also available.
Downloaded translations can be enabled or disabled, and enabled translations can be used to set the Default language of the system and as a supported language for email templates. After the system language is changed, user should run clear:cache command for changes to apply.
Please note that in some rare cases PCRE that is used to process translation messages may fail on Windows servers

Improved Reports

Segmentation Builder

The idea of this feature is to provide improved UI for conditions builder that includes drag-and-drop, extended condition expressions, and grouping of conditions

Tree for choice field for report creation wizard

This feature improves the UI for the field choice control in both Column selector and Condition selector of the Report editing page. The control now shows fields grouped under the entity name, and this group can be either folded or unfolded by clicking the entity name. This grouping is also preserved in display of search results.

CSV export for grids and reports

This feature allows to export (default) report data in CSV format

Add Totals for Grids

Totals row has been added to default reports. This row shows total value for all numerical columns on the page; the value shown is total for visible rows only, not for the entire report.

Add Money and Percent formatting for static reports

Values in money and percent columns (like Budget amount and Probability for Opportunities) are now properly formatted: instead of 1,234.00 and 0.5 the reports will now display $1,234.00 and 50%, respectively

Apply FontAwesome web-application icons to our entity icon field

Known issues

Extended entity fields are duplicated after the reinstall of an existing instance. Duplicate fields can be viewed in Entity Configuration screen.
Doesn't work ability to create custom relations for entities. These field types were temporary removed from entities management

Release Notes

Table Reports creation wizard

"Table Reports" are simple reports where user can choose fields to show from target entity or related entities, set filters and conditions.

On “Manage Reports” page, user can find UI management for reports, where users can create, modify or delete reports. For now it is possible to choose an entity, select fields from chosen or related entity, set filter or sorting rules and describe filters logic.

It is possible to add grouping by fields and use some of aggregation functions. Available functions (depends on column type): COUNT, AVG, MIN, MAX.

Manageable labels of entities and entity fields

Implemented possibility to change entity field labels from Entities Management (System -> Entities). From now, if you change label of entity field – it will be changed on entity instance view and edit pages.

There is also support for plural label and description.

Record updates notification

Added notifications via Web Sockets for all connected clients when data that they are viewing is changed. Each page subscribes to several channels (tags) and checks updates on them. When update notification is received an update message appears that data was changed with suggestion to reload the page. If data was changed inside pinned pages a yellow marker will appear on appropriate pin tabs.

Sidebars widgets

Added left and right sidebars for special sidebar widgets. Sidebar has two states: minimized or expanded. To add widget, user should click on “+” inside a sidebar. Widgets, can be added to a sidebar, deleted from it, change widgets order. Each widget can have its own configuration. All these settings are saved per user. Bundles can provide their own widgets. The widget is a module, exporting 3 entities: default settings, ContentView and SetupView. ContentView and SetupView are Backbonejs views. defaults is template for widget's settings.

Mobile Web

Implemented responsive design for mobile devices.

Package Definition and Management

Added feature with possibility to manage external packages. User can install/uninstall/upgrade packages from Oro repository. Package Management has different entry point and different user session. You can get to it through the menu: System -> Package Management.

Themes

Added ability to define application theme in config, using oro_theme section in config.yml. Themes are needed to redefine styles specific for application (i.e. colors, fonts, etc).

Theme examples can be found in \Oro\Bundle\UIBundle\Resources\public\theme.

Notifications for record owners

Added ability to send notification emails for entity owners on user, business unit and organization levels. User can turn it on during creation or edit notification rule checking Owner checkbox in Recipient list.
If ownership type is user an email will be send to the primary email of this user, if business unit is set an email will be sent to primary emails of all users that belongs to this business unit. If organization is set - an email to all primary emails of the users that belongs to all business units of this organization.

--force option for oro:install

Added --force option for oro:install command. With this command user can reinstall application from CLI without checks of “installed” parameter.

Remove old Grid bundle

Enhanced implementation of the grids was placed in Oro/ Bundle /DataGridBundle. Oro/Bundle /GridBundle which left for backward compatibility in previous releases was removed.

Basic dashboards

Developers can create dashboards using configuration file dashboard.yml where in section “dashboards” a new instance can be declared with list of widgets declared in section “widgets”. Each bundle can provide its own dashboard.yml where a new dashboard can be added or change existing ones.

Example can be found in Oro\Bundle\DashboardBundle\Resources\config\dashboard.yml

Added basic dashboards for Oro Platform and OroCRM. On Oro Platform new dashboard with calendar and recent emails widgets is loaded by default.