GlobalSearch 6.3 is a feature rich update with the end user in mind. Focused on improving the user experience for common use cases in GlobalSearch, project objectives include:
Eliminate reliance on external and often disjointed applications and tasks to perform business process functions.
Allow for levels of customization previously unattainable without specific knowledge of complex SQL programming and the Square 9 database schema, and direct access to the server.
Improved external data sharing for both premise and cloud environments.
Allow for better transport of customized business processes through the Square 9 SDN and improved system provisioning, particularly for demo environments.
Demo Databases
Complete demo environments, with documents, can now be imported through the Square 9 SDN. Demo databases are no longer available at time of installation. Anyone with a demo database already installed will retain it, but those databases would not be available to new installations in favor of the updated deployment method via the SDN.
Pattern (Regular Expression) Formatting
Administrators can now leverage RegEx patterns to control validation of Character fields. Patterns can provide both data enforcement and custom messaging to set user expectations. Canned patterns are provided out of the box for common use cases like Dates, Currency, Email, etc.
Customers can leverage this feature to provide vastly more complicated data entry control, better messaging to the users, and offer scenarios where multiple patterns can be considered acceptable on a single field.
Please note, this feature only applies to fields that are of a Character type, but the data integrity can be trusted as the pattern will enforce any data type requirements.
Documentation for usage of Regular Expressions in GlobalSearch is found here. The Vendor Invoice Approval package in the Square 9 SDN includes regular expressions for First Approver and Second Approver fields.
Advanced Links
This new feature allows administrators to embed links out to other applications that include data from the document. Use case examples include:
Provide a link on a Tracking Number field for opening the shipper’s website and displaying the current shipment status.
Draft a new email, initiate phone calls from your soft-phone, link out to customer / vendor websites.
Provide a link to a Search in GlobalSearch from the document indexer, providing criteria from the current document.
Provide a link to a web form to kick off a new/supporting workflow process.
Open other line of business applications (Netsuite, Salesforce, etc.) and optionally load specific pages or data records in the host application.
A demonstration of the Advanced Links feature can be found in the Business Essentials AP Invoice archive.
Automatic Data XChange
Data XChange has been leveraged by thousands of customers to automate manual indexing processes. Until now, the process expected a user to trigger the feature. Data XChange has been extended to operate without user interaction at the time of indexing a new document (On Add) or updating an existing document (On Update).
Customers frequently leverage Data XChange for:
Updating vendor data on an invoice based on a PO number or Vendor ID.
Updating employee info in HR records based on a unique employee identifier.
Indexing new records based on previously indexed documents.
The Auto XChange feature of Data XChange operates just like a database trigger. In other words, as documents are added or modified by users, the data synchronization will happen automatically and unattended on save. Previously would have needed to rely on external database scripting, workflows, or scheduled tasks outside of the Square 9 ecosystem to perform these tasks. With Auto XChange, updates are real time, and happen per transaction, eliminating common issues with bulk/batch operations at scale.
Trending Fields
Suggestive indexing can now be enabled on a per user basis. This feature will keep track of a user’s indexing patterns and learn the most common scenarios for a user in an archive. Users manually indexing documents with consistent data can leverage this feature to automatically index a document based on previous data entry.
For example, a user who has consistently entered Vendor Name as “Square 9 Softworks” can be notified that some of their data can be provided automatically. Clicking a button or hotkey will accept data on one or all fields.
To eliminate any user confusion, the indexing suggestions are off by default. Refer to the end user documentation on User Settings for more details on feature usage.
Live Fields
Live Fields allows an administrator to leverage Javascript to extend the capabilities of GlobalSearch. This is a viewer feature, meaning scripts for live fields execute when a user views a document in GlobalSearch. Similar to component rules in GlobalForms, Live Fields allows for almost limitless extensibility via lightweight javascript functions, and exposes a number of helper methods to assist in that task. Use live fields to trigger user driven workflow tasks with notifications, toasts, and alerts, perform automatic calculations, update field data, and whatever other creative tasks you dream up. Limited only by your imagination, Live Fields is an advanced feature, and is recommended for administrators that have some knowledge / experience with Javascript. For those less familiar with the technology, Square 9 offers a growing library of “Copy & Paste” options for common tasks.
Some examples of what live fields can do for users:
Check to see if a field is blank and display a browser pop-up alert to warn the user.
Set a specific field value. Pull values from external, web accessible data sources. Calculate totals from table fields.
Count the number of times a document has been viewed.
Review the Live Fields administrators guide here for more details.