We’re excited to share that our next platform update is currently under development! Drawing inspiration from the breathtaking Iguazú Falls, a natural wonder spanning Argentina and Brazil, this update brings to life a number of eagerly awaited features.
Our aim? To significantly enhance your platform experience.
Feature Spotlight
1) App UI Refresh
We’re thrilled to reveal our App UI Refresh! This redesign is a much-needed aesthetic overhaul that introduces a sleek modern feel to your apps.
For now, you’ll find slight changes like Form fields with more obvious, rounded borders and improved field spacing. Zooming out, however, these enhancements lay the groundwork for a broader initiative to enable deeper customization in the future.
The App UI Refresh is currently available to see on our Beta channel, Tap-To, and can be downloaded on Windows, iOS, and Android.
We hope that these Improvements will make your Form-building experience more enjoyable overall.
2) Web Portal Multi-lang
For some time now, Appenate’s branded apps and Form Designer have embraced multilingual support. This is a much-requested feature for our web portal, and we appreciate your feedback!
It’s been a lot of work, but here we are, super excited to roll out multilingual support for our web portal, making our platform more globally inclusive and user-friendly for everyone.
How will it work?
Quick and easy.. You’ll simply hit the button next to your account name, choose your desired language, and watch the portal update on the spot.
Brand New Features to Look Out For
USERLANG() Function
In addition to bringing multi-language support to our web portal, we are introducing the USERLANG() function. This feature will make your Forms much more dynamic, letting you adapt them to your chosen language in real-time.
It’s a smart way to ensure your Forms are functional and feel right at home for every user – regardless of their language.
Here’s the gist of how it functions:
- The USERLANG() function can be utilized to dynamically set values within Forms, such as populating a hidden field named user_lang with the user’s language preference (e.g., “Spanish”).
- This functionality enables conditional display of Form fields, ensuring content is tailored and relevant to each user’s language.
- When a Form is submitted, actions such as email notifications can be configured to trigger in the user’s preferred language, based on the value of the user_lang field.
Enhanced Email Deliverability with DKIM
To tackle email deliverability challenges, we’re rolling out DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) on SendGrid for the Appenate.com domain.
DKIM introduces an extra layer of security, ensuring emails from our domain not only reach your inbox safely but also pass through authentication checks. This will ensure your emails don’t get snagged by pesky spam filters; on top of that, it will keep unwanted spam at bay.
If you’re using our Enterprise Toolkit or WaaS (Web as a Service) add-ons and plan to send emails from your own domains, this update is crucial.
By embracing DKIM, we’re staying in step with the latest email standards to keep things running smoothly so no comms fall by the wayside.
New App “On Form Upload” Interaction
In response to a popular request, we’re thrilled to roll out a new feature that’ll streamline your workflow: the “On Upload Interaction” property. You’ll soon find it in the ”Screens” property.
This new addition will allow you to automate exactly what happens directly after you upload a Form.
You’ll be able to configure a range of actions within your app, including:
- Opening a Screen or entry
- Printing Form entries
- Initiating tasks
- Crafting emails or SMS
- Dialing numbers
- Opening web pages or specific URLs
- Displaying map addresses or coordinates
Imagine finishing a Form and needing to start over or jump to a new task without returning to the main menu. Or, picture wanting to display a webpage immediately after a Form upload – all this will soon be within reach.
Clarity in Formula Building
Ever lost track of what field you were editing in the Formula Builder? We’re addressing this by ensuring the edited field and property are clearly displayed, making your formula editing tasks more intuitive.
Imagine you’re fine-tuning a timesheet – updating the total_time field to reflect the gap between start and end times. Then, out of the blue, a call from your boss or a client comes in, turning into a 10-minute chat.
When you return to your Form, thanks to our latest update, you’ll instantly see which field and property you edited, making it a breeze to pick up right where you left off.
Improvements On The Horizon
Dynamic Gallery Field Population
Previously delayed, we’re now resolving the challenges with linking Gallery Fields directly to Data Sources for dynamic content updates, mirroring the Table Field’s functionality.
This will allow you to display a diverse range of images from a Data Source within the app, offering you a quick and comprehensive view.
Enhanced History Search
We’re adding a search box to the History screen in the app. It will help you quickly find specific historical entries using keywords.
The History Screen will automatically retain entries for seven days, making historical data retrieval way easier.
Toggle Visibility for Password Fields
Aligning with the latest in security and user experience, we’re rolling out the option to show or hide the password field during login.
This will improve your control over sensitive information input.
Minimum OS Version Requirement
To further enhance security and ensure a uniform experience, we’ll soon offer the capability to set a minimum OS version requirement.
This will prevent users with outdated OS versions from accessing their white-label apps, maintaining a secure app environment.
Streamlined Connector Handling in Repositories
For smoother transitions, Form Connectors and their configurations will soon be automatically replicated when moving Screens to a target account via the Repository.
This will make your life easier and guarantee a more consistent setup for all your accounts going forward.
Bugs & Maintenance Items
- Complete App Closure on Windows: Soon, you’ll be able to fully close the application, not just minimize it to the system tray.
- Gallery Field Message Update: We’re updating the popup message for better clarity when selecting images in the Gallery Field.
- Resizable iOS Picker: Work is underway to make the iOS Picker adjust its size with the Screen, enhancing usability.
- Form Designer Validation Improvements: We’re addressing validation issues with Signature, AutoNumber, and Action Fields within the Form Designer.
- Barcode Scanner Save Button: A save button is being added to make it easier to configure external barcode scanners.
- Task Map Button Clarity: To reduce confusion, we’re refining the “Latest” button functionality on the Task Map.
- Toggle for App Page Swiping: A new option to enable or disable app page swiping is in development, giving you more navigation control.
- Flexible Entry Formats for File Connectors: We’re adding support to specify entry formats via the Screens API (GET, POST, PUT) for more precise data management.
- Google Sheets Retry Logic Improvement: Enhancements to the retry logic for Google Sheets connectors are on the way, aiming for better connectivity and reliability.
- Dynamic Images Using Media Fields: Work is in progress to allow dynamic images to reference existing Media Fields, expanding your image customization options.
- Extra User Info in User Import: We’re implementing support for ExtraUserInfo in the User Import feature to allow for more comprehensive user data integration.
Keep your eyes peeled on your inbox for the latest on these updates. Big thanks for sticking with us—your Appenate experience is about to get even better! 😊
