If you use Alloy’s Reports feature, you’re going to love this month’s update! It took place during the evening of the 25th April. For a full list of changes in v2.58, please visit the Alloy Changelog.

Report Table Totals 🧮

This is a big new feature that many of you have been anticipating!

When editing flow documents in the Report Builder, we’ve added a new edit mode for Table controls. Among other things, this lets you add summary rows to the table that display calculated data values!

New Edit mode

To get started, select a Table control in the Document Layout Editor, and then select Edit in the toolbar.

The new edit mode makes it much easier to configure your table and includes some cool new features.

Easier header configuration

Previously, configuring a header was a somewhat laboured affair 😐. You had to select Headers in the toolbar, select the listed header, select a property field, and then supply either a Constant value or a Dynamic value from a data source.

Now, you simply select the header column and then select a property in the toolbar. No more Constant vs Dynamic, just choose an option or type something!

Reorder columns

Previously, you had to select Headers and drag them up and down a list. Now, you can simply drag columns by their header to reorder them.

Summary rows

Select + Add summary row to add one to the table. You add as many as you like and position them before or after the table’s data. Like the columns, you can reorder them by dragging.

Select a summary cell to configure it. Either input a Static text value or choose a Dynamic source, which can be any header in the table or another data source.

You then have the option of performing a calculation on the Dynamic source, e.g. Average, Count, Sum, Product, Standard Deviation. When the report is run, the calculated value will be displayed!

For more detail on the new edit mode for Table controls, check out Alloy Help.

Improved Title/Subtitle editor ⚡

When editing a design, you can select its Title or Subtitle property to show this editor. It lets you specify how items of the design are labelled. To include an attribute variable in either label, type { in its box and a list of suggested attributes appears.

Further down the list are parent Link attributes that either connect to the current design, or to an interface it implements. They may be located on a single parent design, or on an interface that's implemented by multiple parent designs.

The list now shows only valid parent attributes and clearly indicates which design(s) they’re located on. Additionally, the list no longer shows invalid child attributes, which were wrongly included before.

Longer passwords 🔑

Acting on the results of our yearly security tests, the minimum length for new passwords has increased from 8 to 12 characters. This only applies to passwords set from today (new accounts and password resets). Your existing passwords are unaffected.

Yes, it’s April now! 😅 This month’s update was delayed by a couple of days to account for the Easter weekend. We’ve continued to focus on quality and reliability in March, with a number of engine and mobile issues fixed.

The update took place during the evening of the 2nd April. For a full list of changes in v2.57, please visit the Alloy Changelog.

Exclude Text attributes from search 🔍

When you perform a keyword search, Alloy searches the contents of all Text attributes on applicable items to find any full or partial matches.

Going forward, it’s now possible to exclude Text attributes from being searched. This is ideal for attributes that may store sensitive data!

When adding a new Text attribute to a design/interface, there is a new Searchable property that you can disable. However, be aware that this property can't be edited after the attribute has been created (due to underlying database limitations).

Default workflow log retention 🗃️

Following a previous announcement, we can confirm that workflow logs (past and present) are no longer retained indefinitely.

As the log files were rarely viewed past a certain point, we’ve implemented a sensible default retention period that should cover most requirements, while improving Alloy’s health and performance:

• Manual and Event workflows - 14 days
• Schedule workflows - 45 days

To set a custom retention period for individual workflows, you can use the Alloy API. When creating or editing a workflow via the Workflow endpoint, supply a value for the optional logsRetentionDays parameter. For more detail, see ReDoc / Swagger.

Layers can be used to display sets of data items on the map.

When you enable a layer, an initial query is performed to fetch the relevant data. The query is then repeated at regular intervals to keep the layer updated with any data changes. This is known as the build frequency.

The default build frequency is changing from 1 minute to 30 minutes.

Why? After some investigation, it became apparent that most layers don’t need to be updated so frequently. Therefore, this change will significantly lessen the impact on Alloy’s infrastructure, leading to performance gains elsewhere.

Who will be affected?

All customer projects containing layers that don’t have a custom build frequency set.

Details

After the release date, the Build frequency minutes property of all new and existing layers will be 30.

However, if an existing layer has a custom build frequency set, it won't be affected!

To set a custom build frequency for a layer in Alloy Web:

1. In the Layers panel, select the layer to view its details.
2. Switch to the General tab.
3. Select Edit in the bottom action bar, enter a new value, and then select Save.

API users can supply a value for the buildFrequencyMinutes property when using the Layer endpoint to create or edit a layer (see ReDoc).

Expected release

April 2024 after the Alloy v2.57 release.

This month has been focused on quality and reliability improvements. While there are no new features to showcase, we’ve fixed a number of issues that were affecting Alloy’s engine and Alloy Mobile iOS users.

The update took place during the evening of the 29th February. For a full list of changes in v2.56, please visit the Alloy Changelog.

Alongside this, we’re continuing to work on some cool stuff that represents the future of Alloy. It’s coming along very nicely, though it’s a little too early to share the details just yet. Stay tuned, 2024 is going to be an exciting year for Alloy! 😎

To help beat those January blues 😰, we have a second update for you this month! The update took place during the evening of the 25th January. For a full list of changes in v2.55, please visit the Alloy Changelog.

Identify computed attributes when editing workflows 🔍

Using the Alloy API, it's possible to build workflows that use advanced computation methods to generate values for certain workflow action attributes.

For example, compute the area and volume of a pothole from its recorded length, width and depth.

When editing a workflow's actions in Alloy Web, there's now a clear indication of which action attributes are set to be populated by a workflow computation. This reduces the chances of accidentally overwriting the computation, while still letting you set a new value for the attribute if you need to.

Optimised Filter list on Android 📱

In Alloy Mobile, the Filters screen lets you manage the display of different types of task, defect and asset.

On Android, the assets list originally included designs that implement the Asset Components interface. However, as components typically don't have their own geometry, they're now excluded from the list (the same as on iOS).

Additionally, the Filters screen now excludes designs that your user account doesn't have permission to view. This behaviour is coming to iOS in the next update.

Both changes will result in a significantly shorter list of filters for most users, making it easier to scroll and toggle designs on/off as needed.

Whenever a workflow triggers, a run log is created to record a summary of the actions performed and the items involved. By default, these logs are stored indefinitely.

However, after several years of unchecked growth, the logs now occupy over a terabyte of database storage! This in turn produces larger indexes that consume extra server memory and generally slow things down.

As these log files are rarely viewed past a certain point, we've decided to implement a sensible default retention period that should cover most requirements:

• Manual and Event workflows - 14 days
• Schedule workflows - 45 days

This will improve the health and performance of Alloy for everyone.

Who will be affected?

All customer projects that have ever run a workflow.

Details

After the release date, all workflow logs older than 14/45 days will be routinely deleted. This will affect both new and existing workflow logs.

Set a different retention period

It remains possible to set the retention period of individual workflows via the Alloy API.

When creating or editing a workflow via the Workflow endpoint, you can supply a value for the optional logsRetentionDays parameter. For more detail, see ReDoc / Swagger.

Expected Release Date

The end of January 2024.

And we're back, with a nice gentle start to the year 🙂. The update took place during the evening of the 4th January. For a full list of changes in v2.54, please visit the Alloy Changelog.

Reworked Routing 🏁

The Routing Editor lets you plot a journey between the locations of tasks within a project. Once you've added the required locations and any custom waypoints, you can optimise the route in two ways:

• Fastest - find the quickest path between the waypoints in their current order, based on road data.
• Shortest - reorder the waypoints to minimise overall travel distance.

If you choose the shortest option, the Routing Editor now updates automatically to reflect the (possibly) reordered waypoints.

Show layers in read-only Geometry Editor 🗺️

When viewing an item's details, you can switch to the Geometry tab and select the Item Location thumbnail to view the item's geometry in the Geometry Editor.

Previously, it wasn't possible to display other items in the Geometry Editor when in this "read-only" mode.

However, you can now open the menu and select Show layers just the same as when editing the item's geometry. This toggles the display of items according to which layers are currently enabled for the main map area.

Add parent links on Android✔️🔗

Following on from last month, you can now add parent links in Alloy Mobile Android as well as remove them.

To manage the parents of any item, select the 3-dot icon beside Originates From and choose Add or Remove as needed. For more detail, see last month's release.

Congratulations everyone for making it to the finish line of 2023! 🏁

It's been another transformative year for Alloy. We've added several major new features over the past 12 months, providing you with new ways to manage your data and get stuff done. Additionally, there have been numerous quality-of-life improvements along the way, making it quicker and easier to perform day-to-day actions.

Here's the highlight reel:

• Use the new Item Form Expressions Builder to create item forms that react to user input.
• Create custom job work item designs that can be restricted to individual contractors.
• Turn off all active map layers at once!
• Data Explorer: show query results in a temporary map layer.
• Data Explorer: add attribute columns more easily and see the design/interface they belong to.
• Geometry Editor: see the dimensions of lines and polygons as you draw them.
• Geometry Editor: your pointer can now "snap" to nearby geometry.
• Reports: new streamlined toolbar design for adding controls to report document layouts.
• Reports: new Join data source types that provide greater flexibility around matching data rows.
• Workflows: parameter support that lets a manual workflow take input from a user.
• Workflows: the ability to incorporate entire manual workflows within other workflows.
• Mobile: edit job work items as you add them.
• Mobile: see nearby items when editing geometry.
• Mobile: add/remove links to parent items.

We've also continued to optimise Alloy's underlying engine, leading to greater performance and reliability, and the raising of several safety limits.

That's all from us this year. Monthly updates will resume in January, with some exciting new developments to follow. On behalf of the Alloy team, thank you for being with us in 2023. We hope you enjoy the winter holidays 🥳 🎉 and look forward to a cracking 2024!

It's been a relatively quiet month in terms of new features. However, rest assured that we're working on something rather cool, which we'll be sharing with you as soon as it's ready! 😎 The update took place during the evening of the 30th of November. For a full list of changes in v2.53, please visit the Alloy Changelog.

Add parent links on iOS ✔️🔗

Following on from last month, you can now add parent links in Alloy Mobile iOS as well as remove them.

When viewing an item's details, the Originates From section lists any parent items that link to it. For instance, when viewing a defect, you can see the asset it applies to.

There are times when you need to change an item's parent(s). It could be wrong to begin with, or you might find that the circumstances are different after travelling to its location.

For example, imagine a graffiti defect that is raised against a building asset. But when you arrive at the scene, you discover that the graffiti is actually on an adjacent building. Or it could be scrawled across both!

Being able to change an item's parent(s) on the spot helps to keep data accurate and makes it easier for workers to carry on with the task at hand.

To manage the parents of any item in Alloy Mobile iOS, select the 3-dot icon beside Originates From and choose Add or Remove as needed. This functionality is coming to Android next month.

In this webinar, we explore the benefits of a single-system approach to environmental services and how Alloy can be used to manage relevant asset groups (e.g. grounds, trees, playgrounds) and activities (e.g. street cleaning).

Joining us is Liam Brennan, Street Services Information Management System Officer at Plymouth City Council. He takes us through their journey with Alloy and how they've utilised its features to transform operations across their environmental services, leading to a huge reduction in enquiries.

Whether you're involved with environmental services or not, we hope this webinar ignites some inspiration and gets you thinking about the ways your organisation can make use of Alloy!

Check out the webinar recording at:
campaign.causeway.com/asset/aags_plymouth_webinar_ondemand