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

This month, we've concentrated on bug fixes and behind-the-scenes enhancements, though there are some new features to mention! The update took place during the evening of the 26th October. For a full list of changes in v2.52, please visit the Alloy Changelog.

Remove parent links on Mobile ❌🔗

When viewing an item's details in Alloy Mobile, 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.

Sometimes, an item gets linked to the wrong parent. This can happen due to changing circumstances, insufficient data, or good old human error. If left unremedied, the problem can multiply.

For example, imagine an inspection scheduled for a street, based on a report by a member of the public. When the inspector arrives, they discover the defects are on an adjacent street. The completed inspection raises two defects, which in turn spawn two jobs, all of which point to the wrong street.

Therefore, you can now remove a parent link from an item in Alloy Mobile, while out in the field. Simply select the 3-dot icon beside Originates From and choose Remove. On Android, you can alternatively swipe the parent item to the left.

The ability to add a parent link is also coming to Alloy Mobile, so keep an eye out for future announcements 👀

Resume map position on Android 🗺️

Previously, after editing an item in Alloy Mobile Android, the map would reset to the default zoom level. While this behaviour was sometimes useful, it was counterproductive if you wanted to edit multiple items close together.

Now, the map remembers its last position, enabling you to resume from where you left off.

New API features 👩‍💻

Sometimes, new features are initially available only on the Alloy API. This lets us add new functionality more quickly, without having to make any user interface changes. In general, we seek to introduce the same features in Alloy Web, once we determine the best way of integrating them into Alloy Web's user interface.

This month, we've added three notable features to the API:

• In a workflow computation, you can now compute a time offset from a specific value (rather than the workflow's start time). In your WorkflowSyntaxNodeRelativeTimeWebModel, set offsetOrigin to Specified and supply an itemValue model. To learn more, see ReDoc.
  
  
• You can now include an entire manual workflow within another workflow! Simplify your workflows and reduce redundancy by creating distinct, reusable action sequences that can be referenced in other workflows. To learn more, see Goodbye Workflow Action Groups 👋. Coming soon to Alloy Web!
  
  
• When importing or exporting geometry data, you can now apply a custom transformation by specifying an uploaded grid shift file. To learn more, see Custom Grid Transformation 🌐.

By default, Alloy uses a simple Helmert transformation when converting geometry from the British National Grid coordinate system (EPSG:27700) to WGS 84 (EPSG:4326). This works well most of the time and requires no user input.

However, it can result in slight misalignment in a handful of cases, and we do like to give you choices where we can!

Therefore, as of the October 2023 update, you can now specify a grid shift file for a particular transformation (e.g. OSTN02, OSTN15) when importing or exporting geometry data via the API.

To use a different transformation, first upload its grid shift file to Alloy. The max size is 100MB and the supported formats are:  GSB, LLA, DAT.

Using the API

When using the Alloy API to import or export data, just add +nadgrids= to the proj4 string (where is the Item ID of your uploaded grid shift file).

When importing data using the ImportSettingsDataWebModel, you can specify the proj4 string as part of its geometry property.

When importing NSG/NLPG data using one of the two ImportSettingsStandardFormatWebModels, no proj4j string is specified. Instead, you can populate its gridFileItemID property with the Item ID of the grid shift file.

Using Alloy Web

When configuring a custom import in Alloy Web, you can configure the Geometry in step 3.

After choosing the Type, select the magnifier icon in the Coordinate system field and choose one of those listed. This populates the field with a proj4 string, which you can then suffix with +nadgrids=.