P2 Explorer 4.6 consolidates what was previously three installers into one. It also combines the three separate databases of P2 Server, P2 Explorer, and P2 Security into a single database.
This release introduces the concept of the Info Zone – an area on the right side of the Explorer screen which displays context-sensitive information in a new Explore panel. This takes the concept of the “Table of Contents” in previous releases of Explorer, to the next level. For this release, comments and display information will appear in this zone, with more to come in future releases.
P2 Explorer version 4.6.7 is a patch release, which includes the ability to bulk delete tags, select multiple records from a data table, and open context from a notification comment. It also includes minor enhancements to the data table and action button, and fixes some issues found in previous releases.
Summary of Enhancements
| Title | Summary |
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Bulk delete tags from a data source in P2 Server Management |
In Server Management, ‘Select Tags’ and ‘Delete All Tags’ buttons have been added to the tags list. ‘Delete All Tags’ will delete all of the tags from the datasource. ‘Select Tags’ allows the user to select the individual tags to be deleted. Confirmation prompts will appear before the delete operation takes effect. |
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The wrong Active Directory display names were being shown in P2 Explorer |
A new SecurityUserDisplayNameFormat key has been added to the configuration file, which allows the administrator to configure the AD display name format. This configuration key has 4 options:
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Open context from notification comment |
When a user receives a notification in P2 Explorer, they can now click the notification to open the context from the notification. The ‘expand’ button in the Explore panel has also moved from the top right to the top left, and the icon itself has also changed. |
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Multi-select records from a data table |
When configuring a Data Table in Explorer Studio, page designers now have the option of allowing multiple records to be selected in the Data Table. The ‘Selectable’option has been renamed to ‘Select Mode’ to allow for this. |
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Parameterized hyperlink in the data table |
When configuring a Data Table in Explorer Studio, page designers now have the option of adding a column containing hyperlinks. These hyperlinks may also contain mapped variables. A new ‘Add Link Column’ button has been added for this feature. |
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Save a templated trend to a template |
When saving a templated trend in P2 Explorer, users now have the ability to save a link to the trend as a template link, so that it appears in the ribbon whenever an entity with that template is selected for context. Additional options have been added to the save dialog for this feature. |
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Enhance the action button to post to a URL, and become disabled |
When configuring an Action Button in Explorer Studio, page designers now have two new Action Types available:
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Stop tabs refreshing when tab content is not visible |
Explorer tab refresh behaviour has changed so that tabs will only be refreshed when the user switches to that tab. Previously, all open tabs would automatically refresh in the background, which caused load on data sources, affecting performance. |
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Data label value driven style |
When configuring a Data Label in Explorer Studio, page designers are now able to add conditional styles to change the appearance of the label based on a condition being met. A ‘Conditions’ button has been added below the style selector for this feature. |
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Binary image control - Add Support to Calc Engine to do Binary Calc |
A new calculation function, ComposeBinary(), has been added to allow images to be used as binary images. |
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BabelFish migrator enhancements |
Various enhancements have been made to the BabelFish migration tool to enable an easier transition to Explorer 4.6. |
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Support non-default SSL site |
Explorer security has been enhanced to allow P2 Explorer to run under a different SSL port to 443. |
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Embedded Trend background style |
A new Background Colour style setting has been added for the Embedded Trend, to allow them to have a transparent or other coloured background. |
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Add TagProperty return to PHD discovery |
Datasources using the PHD Adaptor will now populate Tag Properties during tag discovery operations. These will be visible in the Metadata section for individual tags in P2 Server Management. |
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Add an Expand button to rich text editor |
An ‘Expand’ button has been added to the rich text editor toolbar, to allow users to more easily add large amounts of text. |
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Hyperlink Consistency and renaming |
Some minor cosmetic changes have been made to hyperlinks for better consistency and usability. |