PDXpert 8.0 release notes (change history)

Published updates in the PDXpert "8.0 series" software (all dates are UTC).

◄ Release 7.5  •  Release 8.1 ►

Release 8.0 applies a new hash algorithm to your system's library files. When upgrading any release prior to 8.0 to any release 8.0 and later, the library files' hash values are recalculated at roughly 500 to 2000 files per minute. For example, allow about an hour to upgrade a system with 50,000 files.

8.0.23650.533: 2013-07-02

• The single Structure list is replaced by separate parts-only BOM (bill of materials) and document/part References list. This change

  1. permits all items (whether document or part; assembly or component) to specify a part relationship (such as test equipment or tooling) without specifying quantity or other procurement-oriented information;
  2. simplifies importing CAD assemblies where reference documents (e.g., assembly procedures) are added separately after the BOM components;
  3. improves out-of-the-box compatibility with MRP software that can import only physical parts.

  This change affects item records, reports, PDX packages, External Data Importer, part type definitions, system rules, and many other areas.

  Upgrade effect: All documents will be moved from an item's Structure list to the References list (Find numbers become Row numbers). Parts currently displayed on part Structure lists will be moved to the BOM list (Find numbers unchanged). Parts currently displayed on document Structure lists will be moved to the References list (Find numbers become Row numbers) with quantity and UOM inserted into the reference row's Notes field. Existing custom data transformations based on structure parts remain compatible with the new BOM list, but will exclude references; validate your DTs. Review each Part Types collection member to determine whether to hide the BOM tab.

• Structure views have new [IsBOM] column, changed [Find] to [Line].

  Upgrade effect: After upgrade, review structure-related queries in the Views collection.

• External Data Importer replaces the previous Structure import format with new templates for BOM and References lists, and updated rules and export template file names.

  Upgrade effect: CSV files formatted for importing data into 7.x should be reviewed before using.

• The Item Explorer's Previous and Search lists support multi-select drag & drop. [B1030,B460]

• The Item Files and External Links lists are consolidated into a single list, and each object supports a new Note. [B659]

• The local network can be browsed for external links, and links can be dragged from most browsers' address bar onto the PDXpert files list. [B743]

• The Groups collection replaces Departments, and the collection is now independent of the Organizations collection. [B603]

• Each Part Types collection member allows the admin to hide the Sources tab, in cases of proprietary parts (like assembly or design part types). [B691]

  Upgrade effect: Review each Part Types collection member to determine whether to hide the Sources tab.

• System-assigned analyst workflow tasks (at submitted, accepted, stopped, canceled) now appear in change analyst's Tasks list. [B1005]

• Any 8.x client will automatically upgrade (or downgrade) to any PDXpert server in the 8.x release family without requiring a new install. This allows a single 8.x client to be used seamlessly in a 8.x multi-server network. Similarly, 9.x clients will be interoperable with any 9.x server.

  The client is installed on a per user profile, no longer per machine (all users). Administrator permissions are not needed for fresh 8.0 client installs on recent Windows. Admin permissions are required only to upgrade from or uninstall PDXpert client release 7.5 (and earlier), or on older Windows that require .NET 4.0 installation.

• The Collection Explorer is rewritten to significantly reduce the number of Windows resources ("window handles") required, increasing performance and allowing more item data (particularly in Windows XP). [C20397]

• To prevent unit of measure ("UOM") conversion errors in MRP export and roll-up report: [B2048]

  • System rule Lock part default unit of measure on BOM is now a one-time setting: if the checkbox value is cleared as False and saved, the checkbox can never return to being marked as True.

  • A released part's Default unit of measure value can now be modified only using the Administrator Override option. If the new value is within a different UOM Category, then all related BOM rows are updated to use the new default UOM value.

  Upgrade effect: For each BOM row:

  If the part default UOM (say, cm) and BOM UOM (say, each) are in different UOM Categories (length and count, respectively), then the part default UOM (cm) is assigned to the BOM row's UOM. The row quantity is not changed.

  Otherwise, if the system rule is True before upgrading:

  1. If the part default UOM and BOM UOM are different, then the row quantity is recalculated to reflect the part default UOM.
  2. The part default UOM is assigned to the BOM row's UOM.

• Change form's current lifecycle phase is now displayed within item's Released & Canceled info. [B999]

• BOM quantity categories are used in roll-up and pick list calculations. [C23165]

• Reporting services have been upgraded from Microsoft Report Definition Language (RDL) 2005 to RDL 2008.

  Upgrade effect: Validate (that is, execute) each active member of the Data Transformations collection. [C23235]

• User management list can be sorted using Access, Person, Role, or Account header. [B963]

• Report/Export Wizard is simplified by removing first step with provider-related buttons; this function is now embedded in the Data Transformations' XML. [B1008]

• To provide more consistent data, leading and trailing whitespace is always stripped from added, imported and edited text (e.g., clipboard paste from Excel always appends a CRLF, which is automatically removed on save).

  Upgrade effect: No changes to migrated data. [C22441]

• User management list can be sorted using Access, Person, Role, or Account header. [B963]

• When Persons record is saved as inactive, automatically remove user role and free account license. [B981]

• The Change Forms workflow diagram is updated, with larger path buttons, enabled-bold/disabled-normal paths, and improved readability. [B1006]

• Only the home (default) organization opens the Software License Key window on double-click. [B1034]

• Display type's default members in New Item wizard dropdown lists. [B1033]

• Ensure that the item's Product families list accepts only a single instance of a Product Families member. [B3047.2]

• References & Sources lists should not allow multiple instances of same item. [B3048]

  Upgrade effect: No changes to migrated data.

• The Change Form member option Display selection for..., when False, disables and now hides the related controls. [B3051]

• Change form item files & external links can be managed at any lifecycle state by the Product Team. [B3052]

• System rule Item uniqueness definition values' default settings require unique Owner + Number item identities. [B3068]

• Chinese language resource file (zh-CHS) is no longer installed. [B3069]

• Support Italian time format with . delimiter. [C23366]

• PDXpert Server installer is renamed to PDXpertSystemSetup.exe [B1011]

• User data quality checks have been substantially expanded for validating system upgrades.

  Upgrade effect: If upgrading from Release 7.2 or earlier, see the upgrade instructions for options.

• PDXpert Server allows client installer to be copied as web link and emailed, or saved as stand-alone EXE file, for remote workstation setup.

• New structural changes to database reduce load and increase performance on SQL Server Express.

• System installer now downloads and installs SQL Server 2008 R2 Express. [B765]

• File indexing updated to be compatible with iFilter installed with Adobe Reader XI.

8.0.23818.534: 2013-07-19

• Logging into the 8.0.23650.533 client after marking the Reset user settings checkbox will require re-installation of the client application. Client error similar to Could not load file or assembly PDXpert.Cache... or SQLiteException: The database disk image is malformed. [C23803]

  Workaround prior to upgrade: To repair the 8.0.23650.533 client installation, follow these instructions.

• Add Notes column in part, document and organization reports. [C23687]

• Restore document form's Custom and Notes tab reports. [C23688]

• Revise BOM display rules for items both canceled and removed on same change instance. [C23813]

• New report Revision's Top Assembly is on part's Appears On : BOM context menu; quantity is the sum of all part instances under top assembly at the time part was released. [B3067]

• Improvements to fast-track data migration from release 7.2 and earlier. [B3086/3088/3090]

• Update remote client communications for language/culture invariance. [B3085]

• Prevent conflicts when dropping a replacement part onto the [Add] row of a BOM markup's [Add/Remove] pair. [B3079]

• Include BillOfMaterialItem.isSerializationRequired and Item.isSerializationRequired attributes in PDX embedded DTD. [B3078]

8.0.23955.534: 2013-07-29

• Improved starting database values for lifecycle, type definitions. [B3091]

• Fix client setup auto-download/auto-launch on upgrades. [C23803]

• Fix case where the client installer attempts to detect a local server and displays a PostInstaller error message (which can be ignored).

• License will validate after key file is entered into some non-US Windows. [B668]

8.0.24275.536: 2013-08-14

• New External Data Importer file format for Organizations collection members. [B4093]

• New External Data Importer file format for Persons collection members. [B4095]

• Revisions to IPC-2570 implementation expands the set of exported attributes, applies a consistent date/time format, supports PDXplorer 4.0, and improves compatibility with other PDX viewers. [B4098]

• When system rule has BOM units locked as default, ignore markup import file's units. [C24119]

• Various improvements in data import functions. [C23967 et seq]

8.0.24321.536: 2013-08-22

• Compare PDXpert collection names to IPC-2570 enumerations as case-insensitive. [B4098]

• Revise log-in window control order so cursor starts at Password and then moves to OK button. [B916]

• Correct client download path where %appdata% and %temp% are on different volumes. [C24307]

8.0.24454.536: 2013-09-02

• Fix snapshot duplicate/convert for databases upgraded from Release 7.2 (or earlier) where user released or canceled child without revising parent's Structure / Source list. [C24454]

• Improve reset logic of item uniqueness error. [C24454]