VidiFlow Release Notes

The following items on the list encompass breaking changes, features, and fixes that are relevant for the major release.

Release 23.4.5

Setup and Operations

Dependencies and Component Updates

The following central components were updated and will be shipped in the noted version, along with relevant product and service dependencies:

Please note that the UPDATED marker indicates a change between the previous major release and the one this document is issued for.

Known Issues

Sync of workflows and rules not reliable after staging

There is a problem in VidiFlow 23.4 and previous versions that in some circumstances workflows and rules are not reliably deployed to Camunda in the target environment after staging from one environment to another. The following workaround solves the problem, while the VidiFlow team is working on a solution.

In case you experience problems with workflow executions complaining about missing workflow or rule versions after staging, a sync to Camunda should be triggered manually via the Camunda Deployment API, which then deploys missing contracts to Camunda. To do so, execute the following API calls:

• POST /v1/Workflow/CreateDeploymentsJob

• POST /v1/Rule/CreateDeploymentsJob

Note that both of the calls create asynchronous background jobs that might take several minutes to complete.

Features

New Services, Agents, and Tasks

Export Item or Shape to Export Location

Two new service tasks are implemented to support exporting items and shape to VidiCore ExportLocations:

• Export Item to Export Location (version 1.0)

• Export Shape to Export Location (version 1.0)

To sharpen the scope of the existing export tasks with a storage as the target location, they have been renamed:

This does not require changes in existing workflows.

Storage locations can be configured in ConfigPortal (see ConfigPortal Release Note’s section on Support for Export Locations).

AddObjectToCollection (version 1.0)

This new task allows users to add items, libraries, or other collections to a collection. Additionally, it is supported to add metadata to the link, e.g. to store the reason for the connection.

This task should be used in the future instead of the existing task AddItemToCollection.

List of Updated Tasks

AddItemToCollection deprecated

This task is declared as deprecated and may be removed in a future VidiFlow release. Please use AddObjectToCollection instead.

Export Collection Content named to Get Collection Document

This task has been renamed to make its purpose clearer. This will not break existing workflows.

Trim MXF File: New Parameter StartTimecodeForTarget (Version 2.2)

A new parameter StartTimecodeForTarget for the task “Trim MXF File“ allows to optionally define a start timecode for the newly created file.

New boundary event file exist in tasks Copy File (version 2.1) and Move File (version 2.1)

Both task Copy File and Move File have new minor versions supporting a new boundary event which is thrown if the target file already exists.

User Tasks

VidiFlow 23.4 brings the first iteration of a user task implementation. User tasks can be assigned to one or more user groups or to the user who initiated a workflow. VidiFlow now offers the technical base features to support this.

All user tasks that are available in a system can be seen either in the ConfigPortal (see ConfigPortal’s Release Notes section on Support for Workflow User Tasks) or the VidiFlow Portal. To use a user task in a workflow, it can be selected from the toolbox of the new Workflow Designer.

Outlook to future releases:

• Vidispine plans to provide a user interface with features like filtering, assignment, and filling out forms from user tasks

• A form editor shall be provided by a future VidiFlow release to create user task forms.

Global workflow variables

There are situations in which certain values are required in several workflows that should be able to be changed centrally. To support this, global key-value variables of type String can be defined in the ConfigPortal (Use case page: Trigger Workflows / Global Workflow Variables). The value is environment-dependent.

The new task “Get Workflow Variables from Config Portal” can be used to read one or multiple of these values in a workflow.

Workflow Monitor 

Pre-configurable visibility and order of columns

In VidiFlow release 23.3, metadata columns have been introduced. The configuration page for this in ConfigPortal has been extended and renamed "Workflow Monitor Columns" to be able to additionally configure the column order and visibility of the columns there.

The settings are applied when the Worfklows Monitor is started with deleted browser data.

In addition, this can be triggered manually by the "Reset" button in the "Settings" menu. Here the user can decide if only the visibility or the order of the columns should be set to default

Columns splitters visible

The splitters between different columns in the header of the results table are now always visible, which makes it easier to resize the columns

Workflow Designer

With release 23.3, VidiFlow released a completely new Workflow Designer, while the existing Designer was still the standard for workflow creation and modification. With release 23.4, various enhancements have been made to improve missing features in the new Designer and to fix bugs, as well as to provide additional convenience functions.

The following aspects relate to the new designer unless stated otherwise.

Role Management

A role management is now available in the new Workflow Designer and documented here:

https://kb.vidinet.net/vidiflow/latest/workflow-designer-new-version

Show descriptions for different entities in the toolbox

The toolbox shows now descriptions for the following entities:

• Workflows

• Business rules

• User tasks

Support Export Locations (old & new Designer)

The newly introduced Export Locations are supported in both Designer versions for the tasks to make use of it (see Export Item or Shape to Export Location section).

Improved parameter handling

Several aspects are improved in the handling of parameters and variables in different areas of the new Workflow Designer:

Show subtypes of PlatformURI instead of string

Parameters of type PlatformURI or other subtypes like storage will now be shown with the type in the parameter list instead of String.

Overview of internal variables

Internal variables of the BPMN can now be seen in a new overview. If no object is selected in the canvas, this can be reached via the wrench symbol and then choose the tab “Internal”.

Create workflow parameters directly

Users can now create workflow parameters directly instead of from a task parameter. This can be done via the plus button in the Global Workflows Parameters section and by entering Name, Type, Direction, and other attributes.

Default values for optional parameters

When defining a parameter is optional, it is now possible the define the default value.

Manual deletion of global workflow parameters

Global workflow parameters can now be deleted manually with the trashbin button in the list. This is only possible for unreferenced parameters. To support removing the references first, tasks referencing the parameter will be highlighted in red after pressing the trashbin button.

Replace the auto-delete feature by checking on saving

The old Workflow Designer had a so-called auto-delete feature for unused variables. If a variable or parameter was unreferenced, it was automatically deleted from the BPMN by the Designer.

This feature was removed in release 23.4, instead a check is done when saving a workflow to the system. If unreferenced variables are found, the user is asked if they should be kept or removed.

Change filenames for downloaded BPMN

When downloading a BPMN file in the Designer, the file name is changed to include the system name, the environment, the workflow name and the version, depending on which information is available.

Auto-align loaded workflows in the center (old & new Designer)

Loaded workflows are now automatically aligned in the center to avoid an empty area being shown and the user does not see anything.

EL value editable for advanced users

The EL value is now editable for advanced users to enter specific formats.

Smaller improvements

Some minor improvements were implemented, among others:

• The icon for the parameter section was checked to a wrench.

• JavaScript is selected as a default for new JavaScript tasks.

• The size limit for the script-task code was removed.

• Some missing tooltips for buttons and area selection in the properties area were added.

Rule Designer

Change filenames for downloaded BPMN

When downloading a BPMN file in the Designer, the file name is changed to include the system name, the environment, the workflow name, and the version, depending on which information is available.

Performance, Stabilization, and Other Improvements

Camunda workflow TTL handling

The workflow TTL (time to live) handling was extended to differentiate e.g. between normal workflows and migration workflows. Data migrations often lead to a very large number of executed workflows in a short period, which can be monitored promptly and then deleted so as not to overload the system in terms of data volume.

The following improvements are implemented in VidiFlow 23.4:

• Advanced users can modify the TTL in days in both Workflow Designer versions

• The TTL is inherited when sub-workflows are called.

• When deleting workflows from Camunda due to the TTL, this is also mirrored in the workflow index

Trigger workflows by metadata changes: New option for input match method

A new option “Input match method” was introduced in the configuration page “Trigger Workflows / Metadata Changes”. It allows the following differentiation:

Smaller package size for VidiFlow clients

The package size of the VidiFlow clients (Workflow Monitor, Workflow Designer, RuleDesigner) was reduced by approx. 25 % through various measures. This also reduces the initial loading time of the clients.

Client metrics for RabbitMQ message bus issues

Several new counters are introduced on the client side to identify and analyze issues with the RabbitMQ message bus. The counters are prefixed with rabbitmq_ and are targeted to monitor connection issues with the RabbitMQ server. For further information contact the VidiFlow development team.

Changed exit strategy for Camunda Broker

The Camunda Broker now has a retry strategy to retry failing calls up to 10 times.

Fixes