Product Updates

This release primarily contains important bugfixes, along with some infrastructure changes to how we create and handle instances.NewAdded infrastructure support for handling multiple SQL servers for instances. Once the limit on our existing instance SQL server (sql-instances-prod.database.windows.net) is reached, new instances will be created on a different SQL server (sql-instances-prod-002.database.windows.net). This may require users to add a firewall rule for the new server. It is hosted on the same region as our old server (EU West) and should not require any new IPs to be whitelisted.FixedCloning instances now handles copying passwords and secrets correctly Moving instances to the same environment they're already in no longer creates a backend call Changed data source name limits on the portal to be compliant with our other services Fixed refresh tokens in the portal Fixed issue where the uncategorized environment could be edited Fixed issue where "add user" button disappeared from organization page

Today, we’ve published a hotfix release of TimeXtender (v. 6745.1) that contains the changes listed below. FixedFixed a bug where incorrect schema would be applied to custom views

Today, we’ve published a new release of TimeXtender (v. 6744.1) that contains the changes listed below. NewProduct renaming:TimeXtender desktop is now known as TimeXtender Data Integration (TDI) TimeXtender ODX service is now known as TimeXtender Ingest Service (TIS)ODX is now known as Ingest.MDW is now known as Prepare.SSL is now known as Deliver. String aggregation as an option for aggregation tables. The output will be separated by a comma and will be ordered by the content of the column Added persist view functionality, which will persist a view as a table. Introduced a filter for available data providers to improve data source selection. Added a feature that allows users to clone instances for more efficient management. Added hidden fields support in data source connection forms. ImprovedThe TimeXtender database cleanup tool can now run without the need of a data area to exist. The solution explorer in TDI client will now remember if a node is collapsed when refreshing the solution tree  Changed the error message for opening incompatible instances. Environments page renamed to 'Migrations' page at /migrations and all non-transfer related functionality removed. The Instances page has been merged with the Environments page, now accessible at /instances, featuring drag-and-drop functionality for moving instances between environments. A new design has been implemented for data tables. Improved the loading speed of the organization table. FixedDouble clicking a view field in data lineage would not select the view field node  Shutting down TDI (TimeXtender client) with step in the execution queue would ask you if you wish to exit, but exit would happen if you clicked No instead of Yes Resizing the column width in the TIS (ODX) incremental load dialog was disabled Dragging a table node from the semantic source database browser to the semantic tables node did not work Dragging a field node from the semantic source database browser to a semantic table node did not work The context menu for editing an environment was shown on the default environment in the TDI (TimeXtender client) The buttons for showing schemas on the TIS (ODX) ADO and OLE.DB data source advanced settings were hidden. Null reference error when validating Deliver (SSL) Qlik endpoint of the type Qlik View while using Snowflake as the source Prepare instance (MDW) Wrong label for the table distribution setting for Dedicated SQL Pool Synchronizing the Prepare instance (MDW) with an Ingest instance (ODX) would show tables as missing when the data source had "data on demand" enabled and no execution tasks were added on the data source Searching for tables for the mapping sets in the Prepare instance (MDW) would not find tables where the data source had "data on demand" enabled and no execution tasks were added on the data source Listing constraint suggestions on the Prepare instance (MDW) would not find tables where the data source had "data on demand" enabled and no execution tasks were added on the data source Adding new view fields to a standard view was blocked after selecting a field in the overview pane Some Ingest instance (ODX) execution logs sometimes went missing due to a timing issue in the Ingest instance (ODX) execution logic Potential null reference error when two users concurrently committed a change on an Ingest instance (ODX) data source or Ingest instance (ODX) task  Some Semantic dialogs could only resize horizontally Tabular Security DAX was incorrect when having more than one setup Moving Ingest instance (ODX) data type override rules up and down sometimes caused an index out of bounds exception A circular reference in data lineage with history tables caused the data lineage to run forever.  Label in warning and error reports dialogs shows database instead of data area When adding a private data source (ADO.NET) an error saying assembly file was not found was thrown When right-clicking on a table with a mapping type of the Integration Table, the client sometimes crashed. Updated the layout of the Deliver Instance (SSL) Role Dialog  Fixed an issue where the TIS (ODX service) would get stuck in 'Starting' state if the authentication token could not be renewed. Addressed alignment issues with dropdowns and the search icon in multi select filters. Corrected the incorrect tooltip displayed for the delete instance button. Resolved an issue where the hand cursor appeared on mouse over an instance in the Environment page, but clicking did not trigger any action. Fixed an issue where it was not possible to save a prepare (MDW) instance after previously experiencing an error. Fixed a bug that caused the customer table to not refresh after deleting a customer. Resolve an issue that made it impossible to delete some data source connections because of hidden double spaces in the name. Fixed an issue where important setup properties were accidentally overwritten during updates, and ensured that the connection string is securely encrypted when edited. Fixed an issue to ensure that repository information and related secrets stay properly aligned and consistent. Resolved an issue that caused organization creation to fail due to incorrect data handling. Ensured that comments are now properly added to the activity log when removing a company and removed duplicate comments that appeared when deleting an organization

Hotfix release of TimeXtender Desktop (6718.1) and TimeXtender ODX Server (6718.1) that contains the changes listed below. FixedDesktop21779: Add internet connection check on ODX service and Job Executions startupFixed an issue where the ODX and Execution services would get stuck at the 'Starting' state when there is no internet connection available. It will now retry for 5 minutes and if there is still no internet connection available, then it will shut down the services.21738: Null reference error when adding One-To-Many relations to SSL modelFixed an issue where One-To-Many relations on SSL wasn't created correctly and would cause an error when re-opening the project.21748: Authentication settings changes trigger job execution service restart.Fixed an issue where the execution server would restart when the authentication settings file was modified.

We are excited to announce the latest version of XPilot, packed with significant improvements and new features to enhance your experience. Here are the highlights:5x Faster Responses: With a new and improved Index, XPilot now delivers responses five times faster, ensuring you get the information you need without delay. 10x More Intelligent Responses: Powered by GPT-4o, XPilot's responses are now ten times more intelligent. Additionally, XPilot now has the capability to remember previous interactions, providing more contextually relevant answers. A response not quite hitting the mark? Ask XPilot to clarify or provide a correction. More Knowledgeable: XPilot is now more knowledgeable than ever, incorporating all the latest knowledge base articles and Exmon user guides. And now even YOU! can help make XPilot smarter, as it's also trained on "answered" user community questions.  Improved Usability: The user interface has been completely rebuilt from the ground up, significantly improving usability and making it easier to navigate and find the information you need. Responses now include images and GIFs when needed, making it easier for users to understand complex information. This visual enhancement aims to provide a more intuitive and engaging user experience. Code Generation: XPilot can now accurately generate SQL and DAX code, making it a valuable tool for users who need precise and efficient coding assistance.Try it out for yourself at https://xpilot.timextender.com/ 

 Hotfix release of TimeXtender Desktop (6698.1) that contains the changes listed below.FixedDesktopFixed issue where token expired after 24h and was unable to refresh in the execution engine.

Hotfix release of TimeXtender Desktop (6691.1) that contains the changes listed below. Fixed Desktop 21596: Can't deploy DWH with service principal authentication Fixed an issue where service principal authentication was failing when deploying a SQL data warehouse 21604: SaaS Data Selection Rules - source vs destination fields Fixed issue where the data selection rule pane showed destination field names instead of source field names in table mappings. 21641: Implement 'WITH RECOMPILE' in Direct Read procedures All data movement procedures for moving data between data areas are now created with 'WITH RECOMPILE'. This will be picked up by the differential deployment. 21673: Issue when connecting to MDW SQL Storage when it is a Azure SQL Database This has now been fixed. 21679: Duplicated advanced features on SQL/Azure DWH Fixed and issue where some Advanced DWH features were listed twice 21706: SSL instances upgrade from 1.0.0.0 to 2.0.0.0 are missing extended properties on one table Fixed an issue in the SSL repository which will not copy semantic notifications when using "Copy instance" in the portal. This results in the SSL not being able to open if references to semantic notifications are made in one or more semantic execution packages. 21650: Integrate Existing Objects wizard Fixed an issue which caused the wizard to fail when the MDW used a case-sensitive collation. Fixed an issue where having multiple objects with the same name, but in different schemas would cause errors when running the wizard.  Fixed missing command timeout for the MDW when running queries.

We are excited to bring you the Exmon 24.2 release with new features and improvements. SummaryThis release introduces unified Auth0 login for Exmon and TimeXtender, enhancing user convenience. We've also added custom webhook notifications for seamless data integration and resolved various bugs across Data Quality and Master Data Management.In this article, you will read about:Unified Login across all Products Turnkey & Data Quality (DG) Bug fixes and smaller improvements  Unified Login across all ProductsWe are excited to announce that Exmon and TimeXtender will now use the same authentication methods via Auth0. This means users can utilize their TimeXtender passwords for all new versions of Exmon. This update aims to simplify the login process and enhance user convenience across our products.Highlights:Unified Authentication: Use the same Auth0 credentials for both Exmon and TimeXtender. Enhanced User Experience: Streamline access to multiple products with consistent login credentials. Improved Security: Consistent authentication methods across platforms.Turnkey & Data Quality (DG)Custom Webhook NotificationsWe are excited to introduce a new feature that allows users to create data in external systems through webhooks whenever exceptions occur in our platform. This enhancement aims to provide more flexibility and automation for integrating our system with other tools and services.Key benefits include:Seamless Data Transfer: Automatically send exception data to external applications in real-time. Custom Integrations: Easily connect with various third-party tools and systems that support webhooks. Improved Workflow Automation: Reduce manual intervention by automating responses to exceptions and streamlining processes.For detailed instructions on how to configure Zapier webhooks, please refer to our guide.Instructions on how to configure webhook notifications for Data Quality, please refer to our documentation. For more details on the updated user interface in Turnkey, please visit here. We hope this new feature enhances your experience and look forward to your feedback. Bug fixes and smaller improvements Data Quality and Orchestration (DG)Users are now, not able to select workspaces as Fabric notebook execution item Tab name for user groups now display the correct type of user/user group Emails generated from tests groups/queries/compare queries now include information to the user about maximum row settings in the emails‘ excel attachment When packages are deleted they are now removed from all processes and object groups where they existed Report created through Gateway data provider can now be displayed in the web portal Support links have been updated to support.timextender.com  User interface for creating an Email notification has been slightly updated Error message has been clarified when user selects invalid data provider for TX packages Exception email columns now follow all column settings configured for the testMaster Data Management (DM)User who didn´t exist in Exmon Master Data Management but is a member of AD group in DM could not login to DM WEB and was not created automatically in DM desktop Icons/logos updated in a few places Database user permissions are visible to the user in settings When selecting a DG task for an action in DM, tasks of different types are not confused when they have the same id User can now be successfully added to a newly created manual group Support links have been updated to support.timextender.com  Actions can execute tasks that belong to the new database schema Creating users with emails not existing before is now working Saving AAD groups without Entra Id‘s displays the correct error message Lookup fields using custom display values where data can be empty are now always displayed correctly Lookup dropdown on the web can now be successfully opened with custom value settings Using special Time format, users had issues opening details about users. This has now been fixed. Values are now aligned to the left in dropdown columns Copied text adjusted in How to connect? User interface in user groups has been adjusted Adding a user to a newly created service is now working as expected Recently used on home page has been fixed for individual usersTurnkeyDownload links for Gateway and Desktop client have been fixed Validation has been added for data provider name Revert button for rules that have been published has been fixed Column Settings for dataset and rules have been fixed so switching between tabs will not loose the users setting User can now create rules in the automatically created workspace in a new environment When rules are deleted from Turnkey, they are now also removed from the object explorer in DG Percentage format is now shown in execution preview for rulesHow to upgrade?In Master Data Management, users in versions 22.5 and above can complete the upgrade themselves through the Desktop client. See the Guide.Contact help@exmon.com to upgrade from Exmon 22.4 or below.

Today, we’ve published a new release of TimeXtender Desktop with the following changes: NewRedesigned TimeXtender Portal UI with new layout, colors, dark modeWe've remodeled the Portal and given it a fresh coat of pain to enhance both the look and the user experience. The new design features a collapsible left-side menu for the features related to the data flow, while user account settings, support and admin stuff live in the revamped top menu.In addition to that, the new colors give the Portal an fresh and modern look, and on top of that, we've added a dark mode for those who prefer to turn down the light a bit. The new colors are complimented by new lighter icons and a new more readable font. In our quest for greater consistency across the suite, Exmon Turnkey have been updated to use the same colors, font and icons as the Portal. Shared login for TimeXtender and ExmonYou can now use the same login for TimeXtender and Exmon (web and the desktop DG and DM products). Less hassle, and one less password to remember! However, we haven't centralized company accounts just yet, so if you're not using Exmon already, you'll still have to have an Exmon account created for you. The same applies, of course, if you're using Exmon but not TimeXtender. Keep destination settings when you transfer an instanceYou can now choose if you want to override security, roles and notifications in the destination instance when you transfer an instance in Environments. The first time you transfer between two instances, you must override the destination settings, but on subsequent transfers you decide. Previously, these settings would always be overridden. Map endpoints when you transferring a semantic modelRelated to the improvement listed above, you can now map semantic endpoints when transferring one semantic model instance to another. The endpoints must be of the same type. Previously, the endpoints in the destination instance would have been overridden  Integrate existing data warehouses in TimeXtenderWith the new Integrate existing objects feature, you can easily use data from your old data warehouse even before you've converted it to a TimeXtender data warehouse - or if converting the old data warehouse isn't feasible. Any non-TimeXtender table that happens to be in your data warehouse storage can be integrated into the TimeXtender data warehouse instance. If you're using Xpert BI (acquired by TimeXtender in 2023), you can import additional metadata for the tables in the form of descriptions and tags.  New data source providers for Excel and CSV filesWith the new native data source providers, getting data out of Excel and CSV files just got a lot easier. ImprovedFirewall rules can now be configured on the aptly named Firewall Rules page under Data Estate instead of on the individual instance's details page. This way, it's easier to get an overview of firewall rules across all instances. You no longer need to run the ODX Service Configuration tool on the destination server after transferring an ODX instance under Environments. Instead, you simply need to restart the ODX service. Listing instances in TimeXtender Desktop is now a lot faster. Service requests from user installed software will now include custom headers to ease support cases. When you're using Snowflake as data warehouse storage. aggregate tables, table inserts, and custom table inserts are now supported. When you're using Snowflake as data warehouse storage, deployment is significantly faster. You can now use Windows, Entra Password, Entra Integrated, and Entra Service Principal authentication for ODX SQL storage in addition to the existing SQL Server Authentication. You can now use Entra Service Principal authentication for data warehouse SQL storage connections. Added strict encryption support for ODX and data warehouse SQL storage (SQL Server 2022 and Azure SQL Database). FixedPortalOptimized environment page load times. Optimized customer table load times.DesktopJobs that were not completed did not set their state to 'Failed' after a restart.  Fixed an issue where a Fabric Workspace name containing spaces would make the ODX Fabric Lakehouse unusable. On an ODX, adding an incremental rule with updates and deletes to an empty table resulted in an error. Fixed a performance issue with the CSV semantic endpoint for models that contained tables with lots of rows. Parameters would be removed from custom views created using drag-and-drop between two data areas. In the Performance Recommendations window, the info icons were not properly aligned. In the Selection Rules pane on mapping tables, some fields, including conditional lookup fields and system fields, would be missing for tables from another data area. Fixed and issue where dragging tables from a  ‘TimeXtender Dynamics 365 Business Central - SQL Server’ or ‘TimeXtender Dynamics 365 Finance - SQL Server’ data sources into the ODX’s query areas would result in nothing.

Hotfix release of TimeXtender Desktop (6645.1) that contains the changes listed below.Fixed Desktop 21335: Fixed an issue in the Semantic Layer instance repository which would cause and error when copying the instance in the portal. 21390: Fixed an issue where the Edit MDW Instance dialog was hiding options

We are excited to bring you the Exmon 24.1 release with new features and improvements. SummaryIn this release, we have made several changes including the addition of Fabric Notebook packages in Data Governance (this functionality is in BETA for now, taking advantage of the Preview availability of the Fabric API) and user interface improvements in preparation for custom webhooks for exception notifications. In addition, for both Data Governance and and Data Management we have implemented database schema changes to consolidate and streamline our database operations. In this article, you will read about improvements to:Exmon Data Management Exmon Data Governance  Turnkey & Exmon Data Governance  Bug fixes and smaller improvements  Exmon Data ManagementInfrastructure changesWe have moved both Exmon Data Management and Exmon Data Governance to new database schemas to simplify Exmon integrations with other platforms and allow them to be hosted in the same database.Note that if you are using Exmon system tables for custom scripts, the custom scripts will likely need to be updated. Exmon Data Governance Fabric Package The option to connect to and run Microsoft Fabric Notebook packages from Exmon Data Governance has been added. In order to use this option the user must first create a Fabric Data Provider containing the authentication information for the Fabric item to be run by the package, and then a DG package connecting to and running the Fabric item can be created. Read more about Microsoft Fabric packages in Exmon here. Note that currently this functionality is in BETA, in part because the Fabric API is still in Preview from Microsoft. Turnkey & Exmon Data Governance Email notifications We are working on a new feature related to exception notifications. Until now, we have only offered emails as a means of receiving exception notifications. In addition to emails, we are introducing a new functionality that allows you to choose custom webhooks as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, the regular email notifications. In this release, we have begun preparing for this new functionality. A slightly different user interface has now been implemented for both Exmon Data Governance and Turnkey. For detailed instructions on how to configure email notifications in Exmon Data Governance, please refer to our documentation. For more details on the updated user interface in Turnkey, please visit here. Bug fixes and smaller improvements Data Governance TimeXTender icons were incorrect when packages were added to Object group and other objects  Could not run Azure Synapse package when execution connection was WCF  Could not run query successfully with column names Status and Opened Date  Exception Emails text for excel attachment only visible when lines exceed max row number  Email preview for multiple emails for test groups did not display correct information  Assign to user action in Portal did not work properly with user mapping configured in Exception manager  Azure data factory package did not work correctly when user had access to too many ADF pipelines Data Management Wrong error message when user with no DM access logged into Exmon DM  Wrong number of decimals when default was 3 in Decimal Data type in Columns  DB name is not auto populated when creating an action  Error messages were sometimes not displayed  Column was required option did not work on DM web  Clicking schema names header in database settings changes values to “True” and “False”  Copy table name copies the display name not table name  Hierarchy view had the wrong attributes  Web crashed when new row added and filter used to enter data  Group column is not updated after saving changes  Last login column shows login date of a member of the group  Entra groups in DM are not in alphabetical order Turnkey Columns order in Preview (Execution and Email) were incorrect  Error when creating Dataset with a very long name  Could not create a user with email that was recently deleted  Allow more characters in workspace description   Service email was mandatory in Email settings and should be optional  No warning when only empty saves where entered in workspace name   Run Rule button is enabled when rule is running  Turnkey did not open when company name contained Icelandic letters  Error when removing Workspace name  Buttons were not visible when scrolling down Data Providers  Incorrect data displayed when opening Column Settings in Datasets  Download Gateway and Download Client buttons added to header  Could not run the published rule with multiple filters (Exceptions Criteria)  Sometimes an error was thrown when the process finishes  If a process has not been deployed to prod but the process map has been deployed to prod the process map could not be opened  Execution log showed incorrect information about exceptions How to upgrade?In Exmon Data Management, users in versions 22.5 and above can complete the upgrade themselves through the Desktop client. See the Guide.Contact help@exmon.com to upgrade from Exmon 22.4 or below.

Hotfix release of TimeXtender Desktop (6626.1) that contains the changes listed below.Fixed Desktop21294: Index out of range when deploying Tabular endpoint when having one or more custom fields with data type Decimal

It's been just one month since our last major release of TimeXtender, but we already have a new release ready for you. This release, however, is all about consolidation. It doesn't contain a lot of new features. Instead, we've been busy improving the existing features and fixing various bugs. ImprovedEasier selection for data source connections: When you set up a new data source connection in the Portal, you can now choose the provider and the version of the provider from separate lists, which makes it much easier to get an overview of the provider list. With the possible exception-to-prove-the-rule, the TimeXtender-branded providers will be the best choice when multiple providers are available for the same data source. For that reason, we've also created a Recommended category in the list for our "homemade" providers.  More complete data lineage with improved UI: Data lineage now traces through aggregate tables, measures, and lookups. We've simplified the UI to give more space to the actual content and a dearly missed feature from the 20.10 branch returns: You can now double-click an object to jump to that object in the main window. To facilitate that, the Data Lineage window is now non-modal, which means that it can be opened and used next to the main window. Links from Desktop to Portal for better integration of the two: In TimeXtender, you sometimes need to go back and forth between the Desktop and the Portal a lot, especially when you set up new data sources. To make the Desktop and the Portal feel more integrated, we've added links in Desktop that open the relevant page in the Portal, e.g. for adding a new data source connecting, managing environments, adding a new instance, and managing semantic model endpoints. REST API table builder: Taking data from a REST API and transforming that into a table structure can be a bit of a hassle unless you really like writing XSLT scripts. Our REST API data source provider now includes a tool that can generate the script for you. You just need to drag-and-drop the structure you'd like. Some data sources that uses a connection string when connecting to a data source (eq. ODBC, OLE DB, TimeXtender SQL, TimeXtender Oracle) now has support for adding additional connection string properties. You can now use the TimeXtender REST data source when you use Data Fabric as your ODX storage.  You can now set the background job timeout in the TimeXtender SAP Table data source. The TimeXtender Oracle data source now supports the ODP.NET provider which has improved performance. It's now possible to change the security filtering direction on semantic relations for Tabular/PowerBI. The character limit on FormatString in a calculation group item on a semantic model has been increased to 1000 characters and is now a multiline textbox. We've improved the Tabular model generated by the Tabular semantic endpoint to have better efficiency and reduce the size of the model. Fixed PortalPassword fields were unmasking incorrectly. Fixed an error that would occur when accepting the license agreement. Fixed an issue where Connection cache was duplicated Data source connections with a null category would fail to render. Error messages for transferring instances have been improved in case of timeout issues. Optimized calls to retrieve instance lists on the Portal frontend. Optimized calls to retrieve data source connections on the Portal frontend. Fixed password field on the Add/Edit Semantic Instance page not showing correct string when unmasked DesktopSSL: Previously decimal fields were being deployed as double. This has been corrected. SSL: Removed the option to include other tables and fields in a Custom Field script, than the table the field is being created on, as it didn't work and would just be empty anyway. MDW: Using an aggregate table on SQL Synapse would fail during execution due to a wrong script. This has been corrected. TimeXtender SAP Table Data Source:  Fixed issue where subtraction settings were not applied on incremental transfers Fixed an issue where deployment would fail when disabling physical tables on Snowflake data warehouse Fixed issue where ODX transfer tasks were blocking other tasks from running concurrently during bulk inserts Desktop proxy settings were not parsed from Execution Service to TimeXtender Fixed issue where open tabs did not refresh on Save and Reload

We have been busy working on exMon 3.9 with most of our focus being on stability and usability improvements.Here are the improvements we made in exMon 3.9:Querying multiple data providersIf you have the same or similar data in multiple databases, for example, a Point of sales database in each of your stores, then creating tests results in lots of duplication.In exMon 3.9 we introduce Data Provider Groups. With Data Provider Groups you can add all your stores into a group and create tests that will validate each data provider in the groupWith this, you can create a single test that monitors that product prices are correct in all your stores.You can read more in our blog post about Data Provider Groups.Process Group ImprovementsexMon 3.8 came with support for more complex process groups with sub-steps and a better way to control what happens on failure in each step.exMon 3.9 improves the editing experience a lot with more intuitive controls for adding steps, moving steps and moving objects between steps. We also added:Drag and drop support between steps Ability to rename steps Execution jobs now use your steps instead of object groups You can select which steps to execute when running the process from the portal You can choose to run the process From the last good known location. The process finds the first object that failed the last time it ran and runs from there.Other ImprovementsexMon PortalBetter error page when a user does not have access to a particular system or feature on the portal Adding and renaming systems does no longer require IIS restartexMon Data GovernanceSchedule groups now display which timezone the server is on if it’s different from the local computer View dependencies for users now look up which Active Directory groups the user belongs to View dependencies for Active Directory groups now look up which users belong in an Active Directory Moving objects to different systems would not work if there were only 2 systems in exMon Warn before saving an illegal email address for usersexMon Execution AgentWhen trying to send emails to illegal email addresses, the email address would not be displayed in the error messageException ManagerexMon now updates changed values for existing exceptions Marking an exception as “Not an exception” on Development would cause it to never open on ProductionexMon InstallerSupport SQL Server instances on a different port than standard

We are excited to release exMon 4.0! This release continues our focus on ease of use but we also introduce preview support to Salesforce and Harvest cloud data providers. Here are our most important changes in exMon 4.0:Actionable and informational exceptionsTests in exMon create two main types of exceptions: actionable and informational.Actionable exceptions can be fixed and the goal should be to fix all actionable exceptions.Examples of actionable exceptions are Discrepancies between prices in the master database and the point of sale system, billing addresses not set for customers and discount rates too high for some products.Informational exceptions are generated from tests monitoring past events.The specific exceptions can not be fixed, but analyzing and monitoring the exceptions can aid in changing behaviour. An example of informational exceptions could be sales with low margins.In this release we have more distinction between those two types of exceptions, making working with those exceptions easier.By default, tests create actionable exceptions but you can configure it to generate informational exceptions with the Severity setting.On the exMon Portal, you can then choose between working with All exceptions, actionable exceptions or informational exceptions.Action propertyIn exMon, the developer of a test and the person working with the exceptions are rarely the same people. Therefore, it is important that each test is well documented and describes both what is being monitored and how to fix the exceptions generated.In this release, we have added an Action property for tests. Developers can then add details on what needs to be done to fix exceptions in that test. These details will be visible on the portal and in all emails generated by the test.Exception email triggersIn previous versions, emails could only be configured to be sent when there were new exceptions.In most cases that is the preferred behaviour but in some cases, you would need to be notified on each execution if there are any open exceptions, or you would need to be notified when exceptions are closed.In this release, we have redesigned how to configure when exception emails are sent, so now you can choose to receive email on new exceptions, whenever there are open exceptions or when exceptions are fixed.Furthermore, you can also choose to include a list of open exceptions and fixed exceptions in the email.For further information, visit Exception emailsCompare Query Value ComparisonWhen comparing two data sources with Compare Queries, we most often want the values we are comparing to be the same, or at least, that the difference is less than a predefined threshold.Imagine a scenario where we are comparing planned costs versus actual costs. It would be an error if actual costs are higher than planned costs, however, it would be fine if the actual costs are lower than the planned costs.In exMon 4.0 we add Value Comparison for Compare Queries. With the value comparison dialog you can choose between error conditions, configuring the test to fail if both data providers are not the same or if a data provider is higher or lower than the other one.You can also define a threshold of how high the difference can be before it’s counted as an error.Data provider parametersWith exMon 3.9 we added Data provider groups, allowing you to create a single query against multiple data providers.The Data Provider groups work great for data providers that are structured exactly the same, however, if there is a slight difference between data providers, it could result in data provider groups not being usable.An example of this can be Navision instances that contain tables that are structured exactly the same, but the table names are prefixed differently. Then we cannot create a single query that works against all Navision providers.To fix this issue, we have added support for data provider parameters. When used, exMon replaces all parameters used in the query before executing it on each provider.This can, for example, be used for table names, schema names, data provider-specific filters, or other data provider-specific constants.You configure parameters in exMon Data Governance under General > Data Provider > Provider > Parameters.Automatic refresh of properties in exMon Data GovernanceIf you have developed in exMon, you have surely added a Data Provider or a user for a test you are developing, and be forced to close and reopen the test before it comes available for use.We finally added automatic refresh of properties in exMon Data Governance so now it “just works”.This should work for all fields in exMon Data Governance; users, Data Providers, systems, email templates and more, and should provide a much better user experience.Salesforce and Harvest data providers – previewIn this release, we add preview support for both Salesforce and Harvest as data providers in Tests.With those data providers, you are able to monitor data quality in your cloud data or to compare it against other data providers you store locally.If you want to test against your Salesforce or Harvest data, please contact us and we can send you some further information about the new providers.Other ImprovementsexMon Data GovernanceObject and Process Groups allow users to select multiple tasks simultaneously. Execution dialog now remembers previously executed settings while the task is open. Execution dialog now warns if you try to execute without saving. Browsing for Active Directory users now works in environments with multiple domains. Production is now the default UAT for schedule groups.exMon PortalBug: Adding or renaming systems no longer force you to restart IIS.FrameworkVariance is now also calculated for key errors. Bug: The schedule “between” issue has been fixed before the schedule would not start in the lower limit of between.

Finally, exMon 4.1 is here!In this release, we focused on making exMon easier to use on users’ personal computers, and now we officially support querying SAP. Here are the new and improved features of exMon 4.1.Login with username and passwordWith the release of exMon 4.1 exMon user accounts can be given password authentication privileges.Password authentication allows users to log in to exMon Data Governance and exMon Portal with their exMon user accounts, without being on their AD user account.This can be helpful if you want to open exMon to outside networks.Our article exMon User Authentication goes into further details about this feature.Data Provider execution through Execution ConnectionTests have always been executed on the local machine (when executing directly with epcmd or exMon Data Governance) or on the main execution server (when executing through the exMon Portal or via schedule) and used the currently logged-in user for authentication.This has both forced users to install drivers for specific data providers on each machine (for example Cognos and Oracle) and integrated security has not worked as expected.To tackle these issues, Data Providers can now be configured to execute through an Execution Connection. Changing the execution will affect all tests using the data provider.When executing through an Execution Connection, all communications with the actual data provider are handled on the execution server and executed under the service user configured on that server.Configure test status on Exception MapException Map was added as a visual representation of the state of tests. Tests with open exceptions are red on the exception map while those without any open exceptions are green.With exMon 4.1 we've changed this behaviour, so you can define under what circumstances a test is red/yellow/green on the exception map, depending on the number of open exceptions it has.SAP RFC supportWe’ve taken the first steps of supporting SAP as you can now query SAP through Custom RFC's. Please contact us if you need to query against SAP.Automatically create usersThe exception manager now has an option to automatically create users when User Mapping is enabled.Further details can be found under our User Mapping exampleException Primary Key warningTo make sure each exception exMon finds is unique and can be tracked, exMon creates a unique hash for each row using a predefined primary key that can be edited in exMon Data Governance.If the primary key selection is wrong, it can make it difficult to add/edit columns in the test and can also lead to strange behaviour where closing one exception closes another unrelated exception.In exMon 4.1 we add two features to minimize the risk of wrong primary keys:When selecting a primary key in exMon Data Governance, you are warned when it is not unique When executing a test, exMon looks for duplication and halts executions if errors are found, sending an email to the System AdministratorOther improvementsTests that do not have Exception Manager enabled and are placed on an Exception Map are red if they return rows Added Style Templates which removes navigation bar from exMon PortalBug fixesIn a few cases, Compare Queries used the incorrect primary keys for exceptions Process email attachment did not include icons Having two schedule groups and saving one of them marked the other as unsaved Start date mapping was able to map future start date Process/Exception maps sometimes showed the wrong number of subprocess tasks in dialogs Results from tests that failed to connect to Data Provider were incorrect

exMon 4.2 is here! The primary focus of this release has been to make the portal more convenient and easier to use. Here are some of the new and improved features of exMon 4.2: Anonymous access to reports Currently users need to be logged in to view custom reports on the exMon portal. With the release of 4.2, reports can be configured to be viewed by anonymous users. This change should give reports more flexibility, especially if reports are being integrated into other solutions, such as SharePoint. The property ‘Report visible to’ is set to Anonymous  Process map, refresh and ETAWith the release of exMon 4.2 we’ve made some changes to the process map, which should make it more user-friendly. The estimated time remaining of processes should be a lot more accurate as now we use past executions with the same parameters as reference. We also made a few improvements on task hover dialogs and process execution dialog.  Module enabled on the systemIn most cases, systems in exMon only live in Exception Management or Process Management and users on the portal need to jump between the modules when moving between systems. Now you can disable modules that should not be visible on the portal and when selecting the system on the portal, it goes into the correct module. This greatly improves the usability on the portal. Disabling both modules will cause the system to be disabled and not visible on the portal.  Task parameters and processTask parameters have now been a part of exMon for a while and have been a welcome addition to the exMon features. With exMon 4.2 we improve on them by allowing users to update parameters when running Subprocesses or Execution jobs. Step 2.1 contains a task that relies on task parameters and therefore the start button changes to a Continue button.  SSIS 2014 SupportexMon 4.2 brings support for orchestrating exMon processes with Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Integration Services. In most cases, exMons' processes are enough but this SSIS integration can be helpful in complex processes. 

With the summer around the corner we’re releasing exMon 4.3. Our primary focus has been to improve the user experience of exMon, by making many small adjustments and bug fixes. Here are some of the new features and changes that we’ve made.Filter on Exception MapsexMon 4.3 introduces a new feature for Exception Maps, filtering the number of exceptions for each object on the map, by using the underlying data in the exceptions. In the example below, we have a single Test that is looking at price consistency between the price master and individual stores.However, we want to display how each store is doing separable on the map. To do that we add the test four times to the map and add a filter for each object. In our case, the filter for Store 1 is: __store_num=1. This feature can also be beneficial when mapping tests to departments within your company or product groups.Process Map improvements We made few improvements to process maps:Before, objects on the portal would become outdated (yellow) after a predefined number of hours, indicating that the object had not been executed in some time. With exMon 4.3 we extended this behavior by marking objects as outdated if they were added to the queue when executing a process, but for some reason did not execute. For example, if an object earlier in the process had failed. Furthermore, we changed the error dialog when exMon Portal is not able to connect to the database to a subtler warning message. Bugfixes and smaller improvements to the portal. For example, improving ETA for object groups, fixing an issue with disabling/enabling objects and fixing a short flash of red on the portal when starting a process.User Privilege ImprovementsWe have made improvements and fixed couple of bugs regarding user privileges. Most important ones are:Users can gain the privilege to execute single processes and execution jobs by enabling it in the user configuration The above privileges are now inherited correctly for Active Directory and Manual User Groups. Much better experience running under limited privileges on the Exception Portal. Now users are able to view exceptions that are owned by groups they belong to.Reporting Database SchemaexMon 4.3 comes with a new reporting schema in the database that you can use to connect to via BI tools such as Tableau or Excel. With the reporting schema you are better able to validate the progress you are making with exMon and better able to operate exMon while making sure nothing is falling between the cracks.ConfigurationThe configuration options in exMon have always been a rather cumbersome process that can confuse even the most experienced exMon users. With exMon 4.3 we are starting to address this issue by adding a new way Configuration dialog under Tools > Configuration The configuration dialog groups related options together for easier use and allows you to test your settings were applicable. We will continue to offer the older configuration options, but over the next few releases we expect to move everything and remove the old dialog.

Keeping in line with the previous version, features and improvements in exMon 4.4 are primarily focused on improving the user experience of exMon. Here are highlights of the new features and changes that we’ve made:Email template improvements + designerCreating a new email template has always been complicated, so much so that many exMon users either just use the default templates or duplicate the default email templates and only make minor changes to them. With exMon 4.4 we’re addressing this issue and taking our first steps to both increase customization of email templates as well as reduce the complicity of creating them. To tackle the complicity of email templates we’ve created an email template designer. Similar to our report designer, the email template designer allows you to drag and drop features onto your email template as well as preview your template with demo data. Along with the designer comes a number of new ways to customize your templates, but we’re going to specially mention two of those:Parent templates – When editing a template, the user can select another template to be its parent template. This allows users to create stylesheets or other advanced template structures. Embedded images – While users could already include images in their emails, many email clients would block those images. By embedding the images you can ensure your images are seen without the receiver having to download them.Read more about the designer under Email Template designer  exMon emailsWith this release, we’re taking a long-overdue look at emails sent by the exMon system. This includes making some of them more informative and more pleasant to the eye.Other improvementsWe also made multiple smaller improvements and bug fixes. Including:All executables and DLLs are now signed with a strong SSL certificate. Filter exceptions by date (for example, all exceptions opened in the past week). Package and Query parameters now support dates. Excel files are now always available on the portal for queries. Better error handling when encountering illegal characters in exception manager. Improvements in the PowerShell queries. DB2 data provider now supports parameters. ODBC data provider improvements. Daylight saving fixes for the scheduler. Scheduler now calculates the next execution using local time instead of UTC. Fixes errors dependent on specific weekdays running close to midnight. Better behaviour when a task was included in more than one process. Exception Manager now handles better tens of queries being executed at the same moment.

We are happy to release exMon 4.6 with exciting new features and improvements.Email SummaryEmail Summary is a new feature in exMon that allows you to gain a better overview of the status of exMon exceptions.You can, for example, create an end-of-week email containing all sales-related tests that are sent to key people in your organization. The summary contains an overview status and optionally all new and/or open exceptions for each test.Right-click Email Summary in exMon to create a new Email Summary.  Process Map diagram editorThe process maps in exMon have depended on external tools, most frequently Microsoft Visio. Although exMon seamlessly saves and opens Visio files, this has been a hurdle that slows the development of process maps in exMon. With exMon 4.6 we introduce an integrated process map editor.Click Background to start editing the background and drag and drop elements and images into place. Your existing maps will continue to work, both Visio and PNG imports, but the new process map defaults to our new integrated editor.To change editors select "Editor Types" in the property grid. Your existing maps will continue to work, both Visio and PNG imports, but the new process map defaults to our new integrated editor.To change editors select "Editor Types" in the property grid.Performance improvementsExecuting tasks (packages, queries, processes and so forth) Executing multiple queries in parallel with up to 40% improvement Opening and saving objects in exMon Data Governance.Other improvementsexMon FrameworkMore descriptive information when a query fails because of primary key issues in the data Images in email templates were not visible in reports or queries Executing processes with incorrect execution job id, executed the entire process Improved look for process emails where no map is associated Package timeout emails were not always sent Better error messages and logging when an Execution Connection fails Logs are now cleaned up regularly Quotation marks for package parameters did not work as expected Datetime incremental columns now use ISO8601 format Usage is now logged to the database for auditing purposes XML import/sync now supports folders Compare queries now use less memory than before and release it earlier Replying/forwarding exMon emails no longer have a grey background colour Ability to disable and enable execution jobsexMon Data GovernanceMoving queries between systems now also move associated exceptions SAP improvements: Better error messages, session handling, more SAP versions etc. Users can be sorted into foldersPortalSubprocesses are now listed in execution order instead of alphabetically Tasks could turn yellow even if the process was executed successfully User customizations on the portal are reset when columns are added to a test Upgrade/InstallBetter experience when installing exMon for the first time. Data providers, email settings, portal settings with better defaults Upgrading older installs with non-standard paths now upgrades the Command Service correctly

exMon 4.7 delivers further improvements to the diagram editor and scheduler, as well as smaller bug fixes and improvements.Diagram process map improvementsWe continue to develop the process map editor introduced in exMon 4.6. The insert tab now includes helpful actions.Import From Process Map copies the design of another process map. Templates has a couple of common process map templates as a starting point. Recent Images include the last 10 imported images.Process and scheduling execution improvementsSchedule groups have in previous versions always executed all tasks in parallel. This is the desired behaviour in most cases but can result in too heavy a load on the source systems. With exMon 4.7 you can choose to execute a scheduled group in Sequence. The schedule groups will by default execute everything in parallel.Related to this there is also a new global option that can be set in Configuration. General.System.MaximumGlobalParallelThreads allows you to set a maximum number of tasks that can be executed at the same time in exMon. This only affects tasks executed in processes or schedules and queues up all new tasks. If you manually execute a single task it will execute without regard to other executions.    Schedule holidaysWhen scheduling tests and processes you would often send out unwanted emails to employees during holidays. With exMon 4.7 we added the ability to add a list of holidays and assign it to specific schedules. When schedules trigger during holidays, the execution will be ignored and executed according to the schedule after that day. exMon 4.7 includes the Icelandic public holidays but you can add your specific holiday, either in exMon Data Governance or by merging data from existing tables with SQL Server.View previous task versionsRight-clicking an entry in Audit now allows you to view that specific version. A read-only view of the version opens that allows you to compare and copy.Other improvementsExceptions containing numbers written in scientific notation now work correctly. Tasks on the process map no longer flash red/yellow when starting the process. When the task is deleted, it will be removed from the schedule, object and process groups. exMon Data Governance should now upgrade correctly. It's safer to execute multiple instances of the same query at the same time. PowerShell queries no longer require a DataTable called $exMonResults. exMon reads output from the pipeline

exMon 4.8 contains further improvements to version control as well as some new possibilities when developing and execution tests.Version ControlWith the introduction of exMon 4.7, we took our first steps in allowing users to view older versions of tasks. With exMon 4.8 we have improved this feature, making it more user-friendly and visible. With these new improvements you can view both task’s current version on PROD as well as older versions and it is very simple to revert to them.Parameter List For TaskWe’ve improved task parameters to allow for a list of legal values that can be passed to the task. This list can be either a static list made by an exMon developer or a T-SQL function.For more information, visit Send parameters to query and compare queryDataprovider Group can execute a single Data providerWhen you have multiple data providers which are structured the same way, it can simplify things a lot to create a dataprovider group that you query the dataproviders with so when a test using the dataprovider group is executed, it will run its query against all dataproviders contained in the group. With exMon 4.8 we’ve added support to allow users to execute the test without executing all of the dataproviders. There are many situations this can be helpful as this allows the user to fx. execute the test against only dataproviders that were offline during the scheduled execution.  Improved SAP Query SupportexMon has supported SAP for a long time. That being said, creating an SAP test has always been a rather confusing task as the query was written in XML. We’ve improved the GUI for SAP queries quite a bit, making them easier to understand and work with.  Other improvementsThe normal process can now be configured to allow multiple executions of itself Holiday Lists are now ordered correctly in exMon Data Governance Data Providers can now be moved into folders Dimensions now are properly audited Process map editor allows users to use the customized Portal’s colours Email Summary column format improved Added more customization to exception tables in Email Template

In this new release, exMon 4.9 contains a few new features and a lot of smaller improvements and bug fixes.Global ParametersWith exMon 4.9 we’ve added Global Parameters which allow the user to define values that can be used across most tasks in exMon. These values can also be encrypted, ensuring they will not be written or sent in plain text to users or logs.Further details can be found at Global Parameters  Exception Status improvementsexMon 4.9 brings a few changes to how the user can view and change exceptions. With previous versions of exMon, an exception marked as not an exception could not be opened again. While using the not an exception feature should be well thought out, human errors can and do happen so we’ve added a way to reopen those exceptions.Similarly, we’ve also added a way to reopen marked as fixed exceptions so the user will no longer be required to rerun a task to do so. Another change we’ve made is that details of exceptions both show when the exception was opened and reopened as well as when it was closed, along with the information that was already shown.Other improvementsExecution History performance improvements Logging greatly improved More granular settings for the style of the exMon Portal Process Map background editor improvements. For example, it's now easier to change object properties Integrated support for SSIS 2016 processesBug fixesSuccess emails were not sent out when executed from the portal Executing a task on the portal with a DateTime parameter would not always work if the region settings on the server and client were not the same The process queue would not always clean up after itself after failure. This happened when Windows had a process with the same PID running again as the failed exMon instance Fixes with "Execute from Last Known Good State" Deploying objects in exMon Data Governance would in some setups hang the application. Forcing the user to restart exMon Data Governance Auto creation of users did not always work correctly when using CC User Mapping 

exMon 5.0 has two major improvements and several smaller improvements and bug fixes.Exception ImprovementsWith exMon 5.0, exceptions for each test are stored in separate tables. This change allows exMon to execute multiple tests simultaneously considerably faster as well as making working with exceptions faster.Discovery HubIn May, Expectus partnered with TimeXtender which develops Discovery Hub, a product which simplifies modelling a datawarehouse. With this release, we’ve created a new type of exMon package that simplifies executing Discovery Hub execution packages.Package and Data Provider changesPackages and data providers require users to configure each UAT separately. This behaviour is great when development and production environments are completely separated. However, in many or even most instances that is not the case and having to copy the configuration between UATs can be annoying for users as well as increases the possibility of input errors.With exMon 5.0 we’ve added the option to both packages and data providers to use the same configuration for all environments.Other improvementsAdded report template that shows exMon user association to exMon tasks Several places in exMon Data Governance have been changed to allow the developer to select exMon users rather than type in email addresses Removed Overview tab in Portal. The exception tab now directs to the page the Overview tab previously did exMon upgrader now shows other execution connections left to upgradeBug fixesUnder certain conditions executing from the last good state did not work correctly Test with the primary key selected will show a strange error message when the column is deleted from underlying data Losing connection to the exMon database while waiting for a package to finish on the remote server would Deleting process did not work in some exMon versions

In this new release, exMon 5.1 has two major improvements and several smaller improvements and bug fixes.Data Transfer packagesThe main new feature of exMon is the introduction of Data Transfer packages. This feature reduces reliance on third-party components to handle simple data transfers.Data Transfer packages use data providers as the source and destination of the transfer with column mapping between the two data sources.Powershell Query TaskQuery tasks are a niche feature in exMon that allows the developer to create actions after a query has been executed.exMon 5.1 adds the Powershell Query Task to the type of actions that can be used, which allows even greater customization.Process Gantt ChartA new addition to the exMon process emails is a Gantt chart that shows an overview of the process execution, how long each step took to finish, what failed and what did not run.This feature should work well in combination with the process map to show a clear status of the process but will also allow the developer a more in-depth view of things such as execution bottlenecks.Global System ParametersGlobal parameters were released with exMon 4.9 and have been a great addition to the exMon system. With exMon 5.1 we are adding system parameters to the functionality of the global parameters, where the exMon developer can now use these parameters in their task to access any ID used by the exMon execution.Currently, there are four Global system parameters:{$__ExecId} {$__RemoteExecId}{$__SystemId} {$__UserId}.Further details can be found under Global ParametersOther improvementsOn the portal, a task with parameters will now have the run button enabled if a default parameter value is set Tasks that have never been deployed will send a notification email when executed Service email in configuration will now only receive more critical exMon emails, rather than all emails Execution history in exMon Data Governance now allows users to view the execution log Email history now properly renders images contained in emails Process Queue now allows users to select/terminate multiple executions at the same timeBug fixesWhen execution of a package, inside an object group, with the execution connection set was terminated, the object group would sometimes continue exMon properly cleans up execution details after a timeout Exception Overview no longer shows tasks with open exceptions after the exception manager has been disabled In exMon Data Governance, pressing enter with task-focused inside Object Explorer now opens the task