On December 19, 2019, Oracle announced the general availability of PeopleTools 8.58. Click here to read about Tools 8.58 along with various links to additional information.
We encourage you to watch the Feature Overview video and read the New Features Overview document (Oracle Support ID is required). These will be two of the best sources of information regarding new features of Tools 8.58.
Here are a few of my favorite enhancements:
- Drop Zones: Similar to Fluid pages, Drop Zones are now supported on Classic pages, including Classic Plus. These configurable Drop Zones allow you to add new fields that are displayed and processed on delivered Classic pages without customizing the Component or Classic page definition.
- Push Notifications: The Push Notification Framework supports additional notification channels and user personalization in PeopleTools 8.58. You can configure existing notifications for delivery across multiple channels and send broadcast messages from the PeopleSoft system. For each notification type that allows personalization, users can personalize how they’d like to be notified: selecting one or more channels for delivery of notifications.
- Classic Navigation: In PeopleTools 8.58, not all forms of Classic navigation are supported. Since Fluid has become the default mode for the PeopleSoft user interface, Oracle does not plan to support or maintain Classic forms of navigation.
- Configuration Specialist: PeopleTools 8.58 includes the following seven tile definitions: Activity Guide, Manage Dashboard Pages, Navigation Collections, Notifications, Pivot Grid, Related Content Service, and Tile Wizard. Future PeopleSoft application update images based on PeopleTools 8.58 will include a Configuration Specialist homepage, a Configuration Specialist role, and additional selected Tile Definitions, such as Page and Field Configurator, Form Designer, and others. These Configuration Tiles will be added by PeopleSoft applications to the Configuration Specialist homepage. This enables you to allow some PeopleTools functionality and other configuration tasks to selected specialists without granting access to the entire PeopleTools menu.
- Event Mapping: PeopleTools 8.58 includes several enhancements to Event Mapping that support broader usage of PeopleCode Event Mapping with Drop Zones (for data privacy and for other uses):
- Event Mapping now supports FieldDefault, FieldEdit, SearchInit, and SearchSave events for component record fields, and SearchInit and SearchSave events for component records.
- Event Mapping also now supports records and record fields on subpages and secondary pages at any level of nesting, not just for primary pages explicitly defined in the component. This enhancement also extends support to the page Activate Event for secondary pages and to derived/work records.
- Finally, you can now use a single application class service ID for multiple configurations. This enhancement simplifies PeopleCode development since multiple blocks of code can be delivered in a single application class. During configuration, you can then use a new Event Mapping parameter to selectively invoke the specific block of code that pertains to a specific event.
- BI Publisher Excel Template: With this release, BI Publisher for PeopleSoft enables you to generate spreadsheet reports using Microsoft Excel templates. By using the templates, you can split hierarchical data across multiple worksheets and dynamically name the sheets, thus creating sheets of data with master-detail relationships. Most importantly, you can use Microsoft Excel functions and formulas. Microsoft Excel templates are mostly used to generate financial reports that present substantial numerical data, along with any relevant calculations or aggregation of that data. Excel templates enable you to generate spreadsheet reports with much greater control over the formatting than with RTF or XSL templates.
- Data Masking: In PeopleTools 8.58, you can mask output and prevent the display of sensitive or personally identifiable information (PII) data. You can set up the data masking pattern in the Query Administration page.
- Pivot Grid Thresholds: Pivot grid threshold improvements include:
- The ability to define thresholds for a single X-axis data point using Pivot Grids.
- The ability to define two different thresholds on a dual Y-axis.
- Threshold improvement in charts.
- Kibana Analytics: New graphics and analytic capabilities are best viewed in the Tools 8.58 video overview (starting at 21:50 of the video).
Tools 8.58 source summary:
- PeopleSoftinfo.com
- Tools 8.58 Oracle Blog
- Tools 8.58 overview: Requires My Oracle support login
- YouTube video overview
- 8.58 upgrade home page: Requires My Oracle support login
- Tools 8.58 PeopleBooks
Be sure to look for future MIPRO demo’s or detailed “how to” blogs leveraging the new Tools 8.58.
As always, if you have any questions or need any additional information, please email me at [email protected]. To read more about MIPRO Consulting, click here.