|
Release Notes
Impact:ECS version 6.2
Impact:ECS version 6.2 offers a wide range of new features to improve the overall user experience. Whether
you work with Impact:ECS as an administrator, model builder, programmer or core user, you will find benefits
to upgrading to the latest release. We have intertwined the feedback from customers with advances in technology
to offer you a more robust and flexible cost management solution.
New Features for Core Users
Application
Themes
New Dialogue Boxes Support XP Themes
Tabbed Windows
Vertical and Horizontal Window Tab Groups
Dockable Panes
Dockable Panes - Docking Guide
Tear-Off Dockable Panes
Auto Hide Dockable Panes
Tabbed Dockable Panes
Customizable Menus and Toolbars
Tear-Off Menus and Toolbars
Show or Hide Individual Toolbars
User Defined Toolbars
Drag and Drop Items from Menus And Toolbars
Rename, Move and Delete Menu Items
User Defined Keyboard Shortcuts
External Tools
Custom Help
Folders Pane
Shortcuts Pane
Tasks Pane
Message Log Panes
Hide Inaccessible Folders
Improved Performance for Large List View Results
Open Multiple Items Simultaneously
Select Columns to Display in Details View
Filter Details View
Open Dialogue Box
Editable Details View
Rename Tree-View and List View Items
Copy and Paste Items
Specify a Report When Print Previewing Items
Select Folders When Print Previewing Internal Reports
Include Column Headers in Item Grid Copies
Undo and Redo Item Edits
New Features for
Model Builders
New Formatting Menus and Toolbars
Autofit Column Widths
Grid Outlining
Lock Cells
Cell Lists
New Item from Template
User Defined Identification Fields
for All Item Types
New Factors are Accessible in Calculations
Delete Impact Table Records in Calculations
Reference Database Tables in Calculations
New Table Field Name Syntax in Calculations
New Memory Register Syntax in Calculations
New Features for Administrators
Copy and Paste Models
Attach and Detach Models from Their Databases
Place Models in a Single Session Mode
Start and Stop the Impact:3C Server’s Service
Send Messages to Active Users
Server Level Groups
Logon to the Server Using a Different Windows User
Display Server Aliases
Adjust Client to Server Communications for Low Network Bandwidth
Support for Windows XP Service Pack 2
Model Auditing
New Features for Programmers
Syntax Highlighting in Queries and Script Modules
Auto Indent in Script Modules
Display Message Boxes in Script Modules
Lookup Table Records in Script Modules
Delete All Table Records Method
Insert Sorted Table Records
Support for Session Variables
New Features for Core Users
Application Themes: Users can now
customize the look and feel of their toolbars and menus by
selecting one of three preset themes: Office 2000, Office
XP, and Office 2003. Users may change their themes at any
time by selecting Look and Feel from the View menu.
back to
top
New
Dialogue Boxes Support XP Themes: All dialogue boxes
have been redesigned and reengineered to fully support
Windows XP Themes (when available). This helps to give a
polished look and feel throughout the entire application.
back to
top
Tabbed
Windows: The new tabbed windows interface allows users
to view open items as horizontal tabs across the top of
their application. This allows users to easily see and
change their open windows.
back to
top
Vertical
and Horizontal Window Tab Groups: Similar in concept
to split-views in Microsoft Excel, users can now easily view
multiple items in a side by side comparison mode with the
new window tab groups feature. Both vertical and horizontal
window tab groups are supported, providing users with
additional options for different usage scenarios. Users can
create window tab groups whenever multiple items are open by
selecting New Vertical Tab Group or New Horizontal Tab Group
from the Window menu.
back to
top
Dockable
Panes: The new dockable panes feature allows users to
customize the layout of their Impact:EDC work area by
controlling the position of individual panes or window
elements. The new panes users are allowed to dock or
reposition are: Folders, Message Log, Shortcuts and Tasks.
Each of these panes can be accessed through the View menu.
back to
top
Dockable Panes -
Docking Guide: Impact:EDC displays guides (or
icons) that assist users when they attempt to drag (or move)
dockable panes to a new location. Users can drag dockable
panes to a new location by moving their mouse while
selecting and holding down on the dockable pane’s title bar.
back to
top
Tear-Off
Dockable Panes: Dockable panes support the unique
ability to float independently of the application itself.
This behavior mimics functionality found in many standard
applications (like Adobe Photoshop) and may feel more
familiar to users already comfortable with these types of
applications. Users can tear-off or float dockable panes at
anytime by double clicking their title bars.
back to
top
Auto Hide
Dockable Panes: The new auto hide dockable panes
feature allows dockable panes to automatically hide or
collapse when they are not in use. This optional feature
provides users with increased screen real-estate. Users can
enable or disable this feature by selecting the tack (or
pin) icon in the upper right corner of each dockable pane.
back to
top
Tabbed Dockable Panes: Users now have
the ability to organize dockable panes into tabbed groups.
This feature helps users maximize their screen real-estate
by conditionally showing selected dockable panes. Users can
group dockable panes into tabs by dragging one dockable pane
on top of another.
back to
top
Customizable Menus
and Toolbars: Impact:EDC’s new toolbars and menus are now customizable,
giving users advanced control over their appearance and
layout. Users can customize their toolbars and menus at any
time by selecting the View | Toolbars | Customize… menu
option. Selecting this menu option presents users with a
tabbed dialogue box that contains an exhaustive list of
customization options. Please refer to the online
documentation for a complete list and description of the
features available from this dialogue box.
back to
top
Tear-Off Menus
and Toolbars: Tear-off
menus and toolbars allow users to easily float menus and
toolbars in a separate window, providing a workspace that is
easy to manipulate to anyone’s preference.
back to
top
Show or Hide Individual Toolbars: Impact:EDC allow users to customize their applications by
showing and hiding individual toolbars. Users can choose
which toolbars to they would like to view by right clicking
on any toolbar and selecting from list available toolbar
names. By default, Impact:EDC provides three preset
toolbars: Standard, Formatting and View.
back to
top
User Defined Toolbars: Impact:EDC
allows users to create their own custom toolbars at anytime.
This provides users an additional way of customizing the
look and feel of the application to fit their personal
needs.
back to
top
Drag and Drop Items
from Menus and Toolbars: Impact:EDC provides users the ability to drag and drop
commands from their toolbars and menus. This feature gives
users a convenient way to populate their user defined
toolbars, further customizing the look and feel of their
environment.
back to
top
Rename, Move and Delete Menu Items:
Users now have the ability to rename, move and delete
individual menu items, allowing for a wide range of usage
scenarios.
back to
top
User Defined Keyboard Shortcuts: In
addition to Impact:EDC’s predefined keyboard shortcuts,
users now have the option of assigning their own user
defined keyboard shortcuts to individual menu items.
back to
top
External Tools: External tools provide
users the ability to access external applications (like
Microsoft Excel and Internet Explorer) directly within Impact:EDC. External tools can be added at any time by
selecting External Tools… from the Tools menu.
back to
top
Custom Help: Custom help provides users
the ability to access custom help files directly within Impact:EDC. Custom help can be added at any time by
selecting Custom Help… from the Help menu.
back to
top
Folders Pane: The new folders pane (or
tree-view) allows users to freeze their tree-view explorer
on either side of the application. Additionally the new
folders pane supports the ability to view individual items
(up to 100) in the tree-view itself. Users can view the
folders pane at any time by selecting Folders from the View
menu.
back to
top
Shortcuts Pane: Similar in concept to
the favorites menu in Internet Explorer, the new shortcuts
pane gives users easy access to items that they frequently
use. Users can easily add items to the shortcuts pane by
dragging and dropping them from the main window. The
shortcuts pane is available to users at all times by
selecting Shortcuts from the View menu.
back to
top
Tasks Pane: The new tasks pane allows
users to monitor the progress of all of their server tasks
from a single location. Users can view the tasks pane at any
time by selecting Tasks from the View menu.
back to
top
Message Log Panes: The new message log
panes sport a brand new auto-flow text format, complete with
message type icons. This new layout greatly improves the
legibility of the individual messages themselves.
Additionally, Impact:EDC makes it easier for users to
decipher messages by fully replacing the entire message log
at the beginning of each new task execution (Cost Object
recalculations and Script Module executions). Users can view
message logs (when available) by selecting Message Log from
the View menu.
back to
top
Hide Inaccessible Folders: Hiding
inaccessible folders makes it easier for users to find what
they are looking for. If users do not have view permission
on a particular folder, they will no longer see it in Impact:EDC’s folders view.
back to
top
Improved Performance
for Large List View
Results: Users can now navigate folders with thousands
of items in a fraction of time that it used to take. This
improved performance is a direct result of dynamically
paging the list view results to display data on a as needed
bases. This process is conceptually similar to how web
search engines (like Google) display extremely large result
sets – they get the users to page thru the results. Impact:EDC improves upon this design by binding the paging
events directly to the list view navigational controls. This
additional step makes this new navigation feature completely
seamless to the end users – except, of course, for the
improved performance.
back to
top
Open Multiple Items Simultaneously: Impact:EDC now allows users to open multiple items
simultaneously. Users can perform this task by selecting
multiple items in the main window (with the Ctrl key held
down) and then selecting Open from the View menu.
back to
top
Select Columns
to Display in Details View:
Users can now select the columns the wish to see in the
details view of their main window, providing additional
screen customization to meet their needs. Users can select
the columns they wish to display and the order in which they
appear in the main window by selecting Customize Current
View… from the View menu.
back to
top
Filter Details View: The new filter
view allows users to search for specific items by limiting
the results displayed in the details view. Users can view
the filter view from the main window by selecting Filter
from the View menu.
back to
top
Open Dialogue Box: With the
re-introduction of the Open dialogue box, users can once
again quickly open items without using folder navigation.
Additionally, the Open dialogue box’s new auto-complete
feature helps users quickly find what they’re looking for.
Users can view the open dialogue box at any time by
selecting Open… from the File menu.
back to
top
Editable Details View: By permitting
in-cell editing in the main window’s details view, users can
update the identification field values for several items at
once. Users enable in-cell editing from the folder
properties dialogue box. This dialogue box can be accessed
by selecting a particular folder and then selecting
Properties… from the File menu. Users are only permitted to
set the in-cell editing property if they have been granted
modify permissions to the items within the folder.
back to
top
Rename Tree-View
and List View Items:
Users are no longer required to rename items using the Save
As… menu option. They can now rename existing items directly
in both the folders view and the main window. To rename a
selected item in either location, users can choose Rename
from the Edit menu.
back to
top
Copy and Paste Items: Users can now
copy and past items directly in the folders view and main
window, closely mimicking the behavior found in Windows
Explorer. If an item being copied already exist in the
destination folder, Impact will copy it with a new name. The
new name that will be given, in this situation, is the same
as the original but appended with a unique designator like
(1). Users can copy and paste items in either the folders
view or the main window by selecting Copy and Paste from the
Edit menu. Additionally, support has also been included to
allow users the ability to copy and paste items from
different models and servers. Also, performance has been
greatly improved for moving or deleting an extremely large
number of items.
back to
top
Specify
a Report When Print Previewing Items: Impact:EDC has reworked the steps involved in print
previewing items with specific reports. Now, when a user
attempts to print preview an item, they are asked to select
a report to use for this operation – with the default report
automatically supplied. This behavior is found when users
print preview open items and when users print preview
selected items in the main window. Users print preview items
by selecting Print Preview… from the File menu.
back to
top
Select Folders When Print Previewing Internal
Reports: Users can print preview individual reports by
double clicking them in the main window. If a user performs
this action on a reports that is based on an Impact item
type, they are presented with an item selection dialogue
box. This dialogue box now allows user to select entire
folders for this operation.
back to
top
Include Column Headers
in Item Grid Copies:
Now users can choose to include column headers when copying
information from Impact items. They can perform this action
by selecting the columns the want to copy and then selecting
Edit | Copy with the Shift key held down.
back to
top
Undo and Redo Item Edits: Users now
have the ability to undo and redo item modifications if
changes have not been saved. Users issue Undo and Redo
commands from the Edit menu.
back to
top
New Features for
Model Builders
New Formatting
Menus and Toolbars: The new formatting menus
and toolbars makes it easier for model builders to quickly
adjust the appearance of Impact items.
back to
top
Autofit Column Widths:
Model builders can now benefit from the ability to
automatically adjust multiple column widths simultaneously.
Users can perform this operations by selecting a range of
grid columns and then choosing Autofit Selection from the
Format | Column menu.
back to
top
Grid Outlining: Model
builders can now organize grid rows into groups. This
feature allows model builders to suppress details that might
be unimportant to a particular audience type. Model builders
define grid outline by selecting the rows they wish to group
by and then selecting Format | Row | Outline… This will
present users with a Row Outline dialogue box where they
must specify an outline group level number. Once model
builders have grouped their grid rows, they then have the
additional option of setting the column that the expand and
collapse icons will be displayed in. This option can be set
from the Set Column Outline dialogue box that can be
accessed by selecting Set Outline… from the Format | Column
menu.
back to
top
Lock Cells: Model
builders can now prevent undesired grid modifications by
locking individual cells. This feature can be enabled by
selecting a grid range and then choosing Lock Cells from the
Format menu. Only model level administrators have the
ability to unlock grid cells.
back to
top
Cell Lists: With the
ability to define lists for individual grid cells, model
builders can now restrict and simplify user input by only
allowing them specific options. The cell list feature
supports the ability to display the following list types:
Browse Button, Dropdown List and Editable Dropdown List.
Additionally, cell lists support the following data sources:
Query and Table. Users can designate grid cells as having
defined lists by selecting Define List… from the Format
menu.
back to
top
New Item from Template:
A typical Impact installations involves creating item
templates that contain the structure and detailed settings
for different types of Impact objects. These templates are
then used to create the actual items themselves. Model
builders can now help users simplify the process of creating
new items from templates with the New Item dialogue box
that’s accessible from the File menu’s New Item From
Template… command. When this command is issued, Impact looks
for a list of available templates. These template items must
be placed in the Templates folder in an items root
directory. Additionally, users must have permission to view
items in this Templates folder. Model designer can further
simplify this procedure by designating default templates for
all new items in a specific folder.
back to
top
User Defined Identification Fields for All Item Types:
User defined identification fields are now available for all
Impact item types. These fields allow users to display
custom information in the main window’s details view. User
defined identification fields are shared by all items for a
given item type. Model administrators can add, delete and
edit user defined identification fields for item types by
selecting Maintain… from the model’s context menu.
back to
top
New
Factors Are Accessible in Calculations:
Predefined item type factors that were once only available
in Script Modules are now accessible in Calculations.
Examples of these new factors are CostObjectName,
CostObjectLastRecalcUser, CostObjectLastRecalcID,
CostObjectFolderID, ProcessName, ProcessFolderID, etc. This
feature gives calculations access to every field that is
available in the main window’s details view.
back to
top
Delete
Impact Table Records in Calculations:
Calculations now support the ability to delete Impact Table
records. Model builders can take advantage of this feature
by choosing the Delete From Table action item and then
specifying the required Table Index values.
back to
top
Reference Database Tables in Calculations:
Calculations now support the ability to execute database
queries and stored procedures. Model builders can employ
this feature by selecting the Execute Query action item and
then specifying an Impact Query as the operand.
Additionally, Calculations (and Queries) also provide the
ability to insert, update and delete database table records
using the new Query Parameter action item.
back to
top
New
Table Field Name Syntax in Calculations: Model
builders no longer need to reference Impact Table field
names with the T1, T2 syntax. Calculations now support a
Table field name syntax in the form of Table.DataField1,
Table.DataField2 – where DataField1 and DataField2 represent
the actual table field names.
back to
top
New
Memory Register Syntax in Calculations: Model
builders no longer need to reference in-memory registers
with the M1, M2 syntax. Calculations now support an
in-memory register syntax in the form of Temp.DataValue1,
Temp.DataValue2 – where DataValue1 and DataValue2 represent
the actual memory register variable names.
back to
top
New Features for
Administrators
Copy and Paste Models: In addition to
allowing users to copy and paste Impact items, Impact:EDC
now provides server administrators with the ability to copy
and paste entire Impact models. The copying and pasting of
Impact models is supported on both the local server (where
the model was copied from) and remote servers - provided
that users are server administrators on both machines.
Administrators can copy a models by selecting a specific
model then selecting Copy from the Edit menu. After a model
has been copied, administrators can then paste a model by
selecting the server they would like to copy the model to
and then selecting Paste from the Edit menu. This will
present administrators with the new model dialogue box that
completes this operation.
back to
top
Attach
and Detach Models from Their Databases: Server
administrator now have the ability to attach and detach
Impact models from their underlying databases. This feature
is extremely useful if administrators are restoring models
during disaster recovery operations. Server administrators
can detach a model by selecting it (in either the folders
view or the main window) and then selecting Detach from it’s
context menu. Administrators can restore a detached database
by selecting the Impact server they are attempting to attach
the model to and then selecting Attach Model… from it’s
context menu. This will present the administrator with the
Model Information dialogue box necessary to complete this
operation.
back to
top
Place
Models in a Single Session Mode: Impact model
administrators can now place their models in a single
session mode, disallowing any outside user activity. This
feature is useful for executing mission critical tasks.
Model administrators can place models in a single session
mode by selecting a model and then selecting Single Session
Mode from it’s context menu.
back to
top
Start
and Stop the Impact:3C Server’s
Service: Server administrators now have the ability to
start and stop the Impact Server service directly within Impact:EDC. This feature is supported only if an Impact
administrator has the appropriate Windows privileges on the
server (machine) itself. Administrators can start and stop
the Impact Server service by selecting Start or Stop from
the server’s context menu.
back to
top
Send Messages to Active Users: Now model
administrators can directly communicate with active users by
sending them an instant message. It is important to note
that this feature is not intended to replace other popular
instant messaging applications. Administrators may send
active users a message by selecting Send Message from the
context menu of each user’s session.
back to
top
Server Level
Groups: Impact now supports server level
groups. This feature helps clarify the fact that there is a
distinct difference in the roles and responsibilities of
server level administrators and model level administrators.
Additionally, model designers may use this new organization
to synchronize model group memberships with server group
memberships thru scripts. Server level groups are now
displayed for each model in the main window.
back to
top
Logon to the Server Using a Different Windows User:
3C Software strongly recommends using Windows Authentication
for increased server level security. To assist
administrators in testing and deploying this security model,
Impact:EDC now supports the ability to specify different
Windows user accounts when logging on to the Impact:3C
Server. Users can specify a different Windows user account
by selecting the More option in the Server Connection
Properties dialogue box.
back to
top
Display
Server Aliases: To assist administrators in
setting up and configuring core user machines, Impact:EDC
supports the ability to give Impact:3C Servers an alias in
the Server Connection Properties dialogue box.
back to
top
Adjust Client to Server Communications for Low Network
Bandwidth: Users that connect to their Impact
servers over low speed networks now have the ability to
configure their clients for reduced network traffic. Users
or administrators can configure this options by selecting
Optimized for low network bandwidth in the Server Connection
Properties dialogue box. This dialogue box can be displayed
by selecting Properties on the Impact server’s context menu.
back to
top
Support for
Windows XP Service Pack 2: Impact:EDC fully
supports clients running Windows XP - Service Pack 2. This
service pack addresses a large number of security
vulnerabilities on the Windows XP operating system.
back to
top
Model Auditing:
Administrators now have the option of fully auditing their
models. Model auditing consists of capturing and reporting
the activities of individual users and events. This feature
has been designed to assists companies in their efforts to
comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley act passed by the SEC.
back to
top
New Features for
Programmers
Syntax Highlighting in Queries and Script Modules:
Programmers will benefit from the improved legibility in
Script Modules and Queries with syntax highlighting. This
feature changes the font colors for reserved words and
commented lines.
back to
top
Auto Indent in
Script Modules: Script Modules now support the
ability to automatically indent the text for new code line
items. Additionally, programmers can increase or decrease
the indention for multiple line items at once. This
operation is performed by selecting multiple lines of code
and using the Tab or Shift-Tab keys.
back to
top
Display
Message Boxes in Script Modules: Programmers
can benefit from the ability to display message boxes in
Script Modules. In the event that a message box is displayed
when no user is available to dismiss it, Impact will resume
task execution after a brief period of in activity.
back to
top
Lookup
Table Records in Script Modules: Script Module
authors can easily locate individual Table records using the
new Lookup method exposed by the Impact Table objects.
back to
top
Delete All Table Records Method: Script Module
authors can easily clear all Table records using the new
DeleteAll method exposed by the Impact Table objects.
back to
top
Insert Sorted Table Records: Script Module
authors can easily insert sorted Table records using the new
InsertSorted method exposed by the Impact Table method.
back to
top
Support for Session Variables: Programmers now
have access to in memory session variables. This allows
programmers the ability to remove or omit factors that are
only required for temporary data storage purposes. Session
variables use the following syntax: Database.SessionVariable.
Session variables exist for the duration of a user’s
connection to a model.
back to
top |
