Release notes

Analytics and ACL for Windows are desktop applications. When new versions are released, you or your system administrator can download the latest version from HighBond and install it on your machine.

Type Date App Description Ticket Number for SOC 2 Compliance
 New February 24, 2021 Analytics 15.0

New version of SAP connector add-on Version 1.1 of the SAP connector add-on has been released. This add-on is required for the Analytics SAP connector to communicate with the SAP system.

The download package contains installation as well as upgrade files for the latest connector add-on version.

Learn more

 
 General Comments November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

Highlights

  • New data connectors The addition of 45+ new data connectors more than doubles the number of external data sources for which Analytics provides pre-built connectivity.
  • Improved SAP Connector You can now join up to 8 tables while importing data using the SAP Connector, and we have extended what you can do in SQL mode.
  • Machine learning enhancements You can now use datetime fields with machine learning analysis, which increases the range of available predictive data in many situations. Usability improvements include automated correction of incorrect key field selection.
  • Improved fuzzy matching The new SORTWORDS( ) function improves the accuracy and effectiveness of fuzzy joining and fuzzy duplicates analysis resulting in more focused result sets with fewer false positives.
 
 Important November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

Updates to REST Connector The REST Connector is enhanced to support the following authentication methods:

  • No Auth
  • API Key
  • Bearer Token
  • Basic Auth
  • OAuth 1.0
  • OAuth 2.0

However, this enhancement will cause the REST connector scripts from previous versions of Analytics to no longer work in Analytics 15. Learn more

 
 Important November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

Installation on Windows 7 Galvanize does not support installations of Analytics 15 on Windows 7. Microsoft ended support for Windows 7 on January 14, 2020.

Install Analytics 15 on Windows 8.1 or Windows 10.

RAPHX-858
 Important November 19, 2020

Analytics 15.0, previous versions of Analytics

Excel import and export issue An upgrade of your installation of Microsoft Excel from the 32-bit version to the 64-bit version may cause Analytics-Excel connectivity to stop working. You are no longer able to import files from Excel, or export files to Excel.

The underlying cause of the issue could be a new installation of the 64-bit version of Microsoft Access Database Engine conflicting with the 32-bit version that is installed and required by Analytics.

If you or your organization has recently upgraded Excel or Microsoft 365 and Analytics-Excel connectivity has stopped working, contact Support for assistance.

 
 New November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0 New data connectors You can now connect to these external data sources using the newly added data connectors:  
 New November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

New DSN data connectors You can now connect to these external data sources using the newly added DSN data connectors provided by our data partner, CData:

  • Amazon Athena
  • Amazon S3
  • AWS Data Management
  • Azure Data Management
  • Azure Table Storage
  • Box
  • DocuSign
  • Dynamics 365 Business Central
  • Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations
  • Dynamics 365 Sales
  • Dynamics CRM
  • Dynamics GP
  • Dynamics NAV
  • Edgar Online
  • Epicor ERP
  • Exact Online
  • LinkedIn
  • NetSuite
  • OData
  • Oracle Eloqua
  • Oracle Sales Cloud
  • QuickBooks
  • QuickBooks Online
  • QuickBooks POS
  • Sage 50 UK
  • Sage Cloud Accounting
  • Sage Intacct
  • SAP ByDesign
  • SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer
  • SAP SuccessFactors
  • Slack
  • Snowflake
  • Splunk
  • Square
  • Stripe
  • SugarCRM
  • SurveyMonkey
  • Sybase
  • Sybase IQ
  • UPS
  • USPS
  • xBase
  • Zendesk
DIA-207
 New November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

SORTWORDS( ) function The new SORTWORDS( ) function sorts the individual words or character clusters in a string into a sequential order. The function can be helpful in various situations. In particular, it can significantly improve the effectiveness of the Fuzzy Duplicates and Fuzzy Join commands, producing more focused result sets with fewer false positives and more true positives.

Learn more

RAPHX-726
 New November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

New SET command option A new SET command option, LOCKAUTOSAVEFILE, lets you control how data is saved to the Analytics log file (*.LOG). Saving log data directly to disk, without using a write buffer, can help prevent corruption of the log file when complex scripts run and potentially conflict with other processes on your computer such as anti-virus monitoring or automated backups.

Learn more

RAPHX-1000
 Enhanced November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

ACL Connector for SAP enhancements Two enhancements have been made to the SAP connector:

  • Join tables The number of SAP tables that you can join during the import of SAP data has been increased from two to eight.
  • OR condition You can now use the OR condition when manually editing the SAP import query statement.

RAPHX-576

RAPHX-889

 Enhanced November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

ACCESSDATA command supports multiple passwords You can now specify multiple passwords when using the ACCESSDATA command to import data from ODBC-compliant data sources. The new capability allows encrypted authentication with data sources that require more than one authentication element.

Learn more

RAPHX-401
 Enhanced November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

Machine learning commands now accept datetime fields You can now use datetime fields with the machine learning Train and Predict commands, which increases the range of available predictive data in many situations.

Datetime fields are automatically processed to produce a set of synthetic features that you can use in addition to regular features based on character, numeric, or logical fields.

Learn more

RAPHX-760
 Enhanced November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

Machine learning usability improvements usability improvements have been made to the Train command:

  • Two different errors that previously caused the command to fail have been changed to warnings with an automatic correction performed by Analytics:
    • If you specify the target field among the key fields, a warning appears and the target field is automatically excluded from the key fields.
    • If you specify one or more key fields with unique values that exceed the Maximum Categories limit, a warning appears and the non-conforming fields are automatically excluded from the key fields.
  • The default running time of the command has been reduced so that exploratory use of the command returns a result within a short time frame.
RAPHX-759
 Enhanced November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

EXCLUDE parameter When using the ALL parameter to specify that all fields in a table are included in a command, you can now also use the new EXCLUDE parameter to selectively exclude fields. For example:

ALL EXCLUDE field_1 field_2

EXCLUDE allows you to fine-tune ALL, which is useful when a table has a large number of fields that you want to include, and a small number that you want to exclude. Previously, if you wanted to exclude even one field, you could not use ALL and you had to manually enter the long list of fields to include. Now you can specify ALL EXCLUDE and manually enter only the short list of excluded fields.

Twenty-one commands support the new EXCLUDE parameter:

AGE • CLASSIFY • CROSSTAB • DUPLICATES • EXPORT • EXTRACT • FUZZYDUP • FUZZYJOIN • INDEX • JOIN • MERGE • OUTLIERS • PROFILE • SAMPLE • SEQUENCE • SORT • STATISTICS • STRATIFY • SUMMARIZE • TOTAL • VERIFY

AN-8349
 Enhanced November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

First match option added to Fuzzy Join dialog box The Fuzzy Join dialog box now has the option to specify that each primary key value is joined to only the first occurrence of any matching secondary key values. Previously this option was only available when scripting.

Learn more

RAPHX-397
 Changed November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0

Optional installation of data connectors When you install ACL for Windows, you can choose whether to install the following optional data connectors:

  • Amazon Redshift
  • Cassandra
  • Concur
  • Couchbase
  • Drill
  • DynamoDB
  • Google BigQuery
  • HBase
  • Hive
  • Impala
  • MongoDB
  • Oracle
  • Salesforce
  • Spark
  • SQL Server
  • Teradata

Optional installation of Python Engine for Analytics When you install ACL for Windows, you can choose whether to install the Python engine for Analytics to enable machine learning.

If you do not install the optional data connectors or Python engine and need them in future, you will need to uninstall and re-install ACL for Windows.

RAPHX-787
 Changed November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0 SAP GUI version SAP GUI version 7.60 has been added to the supported versions that you can use with Direct Link or the SAP Connector. RAPHX-821
 Changed November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0 Polish discontinued The Analytics user interface, and the Analytics Help Docs, are no longer available in Polish. The last Analytics version to support Polish is 14.2. RAPHX-131
 Fixed November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0 SAP Timestamp fields When importing SAP Timestamp fields, the SAP Connector was rounding the final, decimal fractional portion of the data (fractions of a second). The problem has now been resolved and all digits in the fractional portion of the data are preserved when imported. RAPHX-1013
 Fixed November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0 XML import crashing Analytics Memory issues related to some imports of XML data were causing Analytics to crash. The issue has been addressed and XML imports should function normally. RAPHX-513
 Fixed November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0 Import from HighBond PASSWORD parameter The two commands for importing data from HighBond to Analytics (IMPORT GRCPROJECT, IMPORT GRCRESULTS) were allowing misplacement of the PASSWORD parameter, resulting in an import table with an associated data file called "PASSWORD.FIL". This problem has been resolved by preventing misplacement of the PASSWORD parameter. RAPHX-508
 Fixed November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0 Computed field circular reference Circular references in conditional computed fields were not being detected which was causing Analytics to crash. This problem has been resolved and an error message now appears alerting you to the circular reference. RAPHX-506
 Fixed November 19, 2020 Analytics 15.0 SAP Connector error with SAP S/4HANA 1909 The SAP Connector in Analytics was generating an error when trying to connect to SAP tables with new field types. The new field types are currently unsupported by the SAP Connector and are now suppressed during importing to prevent the error from occurring. GRCPRD-3958
 Important August 21, 2020

Analytics 14.1

Analytics 14

Robots Agent 14.1

Robots Agent 14

Analytics Exchange 14.1

Analytics Exchange 14

SAP Connector issue related to licensing Using the SAP Connector in Analytics 14.0.x or 14.1.x may result in a "SapDriverLicenseInvalid" error. If you encounter this error, upgrading to Analytics 14.2.x will resolve the problem.

If you are experiencing the same issue with Robots or Analytics Exchange, contact Support for assistance.

CS-10562
 Fixed January 8, 2020 Analytics 14.2.1

Table relation indexes (Unicode edition only) After upgrading to Analytics 14.2.0, table relations created in previous versions of Analytics were not preserved. Attempting to recreate a table relation did not work, resulting in an empty key field.

A problem with table relation index files has been resolved and table relations are now working properly. Table relations created in previous versions of Analytics are correctly preserved in Analytics 14.2.1.

AN-8247
 Fixed January 8, 2020 Analytics 14.2.1

Importing data using ODBC driver Using the Data Access window in conjunction with an external IBM DB2 ODBC driver was not working correctly in Analytics 14.2.0. A required log-in dialog box was not appearing.

This problem has now been resolved with a fix that applies to any external ODBC driver used in the Data Access window.

AN-8242
 General Comments December 2019 Analytics 14.2

Highlights

  • New user interface for creating analytic headers required to run scripts in Robots, or on AX Server
  • Enhancements to Excel and delimited file imports
  • Enhancements to classical variables sampling
 
 Important December 2019 Analytics 14.2

Updates to Analytics data connectors may cause previously scripted imports to stop working as expected When you upgrade to Analytics 14.2, you should test any of your scripts that import data using one of the Analytics data connectors listed below (Data Access window / ACCESSDATA command). Changes made by third-party data sources or ODBC driver vendors required updates to the associated data connectors. Scripted data connections may need to be updated in order to continue working correctly.

The easiest way to update a connection is to perform an import using the Data Access window in Analytics 14.2. Copy the ACCESSDATA command from the log and use it to update your script. You may also need to update field specifications in the script body to align with table schema changes in the data source or ODBC driver.

Analytics data connectors not supported for side-by-side installations of Analytics Some of the Analytics data connectors in a previous version of Analytics no longer work if Analytics 14.2 is installed side by side with the previous version. If you want to ensure that all data connectors in the previous version continue to work, do not install the two versions side by side on the same computer.

 
 New December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Analytic Header Designer You can now create and edit analytic headers using an intuitive user interface instead of creating headers manually. Analytic headers are blocks of analytic tags at the top of a script that allow a script to run in Robots, or on AX Server.  Learn more CS-9472
 New December 2019 Analytics 14.2 LEADINGZEROS function This new function makes it easier to add leading zeros to a character string or a number.  Learn more CS-9433
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2 New versions of Analytics data connectors New versions of a number of the Analytics data connectors provide improved security and functionality. CS-9851
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2

SAP connector supports SNC without SSO The SAP data connector now supports connecting to SAP systems that use Secure Network Communications (SNC) but do not use Single Sign-on.

Previously, connecting to an SAP system that uses SNC was limited to systems that also use Single Sign-on.

Learn more

CS-9436
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2

SAP connector adds SAProuter support The SAP data connector now supports connecting to an SAP system that uses an SAProuter.

Learn more

CS-9436
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2

SAP connector allows configuring record bundle size You can now specify the maximum number of records in each portion of a query performed by the SAP connector.

You may be able to improve connector speed by adjusting the size of record bundles.

Learn more

CS-9436
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2

New filtering options for Analytics data connectors Two new filtering options make it easier to import only the records you want:

  • Select first n records allows you to specify the number of records to import, starting from the top of a table

    (auto-generates a SQL SELECT TOP statement)

  • "In" conditional operator allows you to filter a field by multiple test values

    (auto-generates a SQL WHERE IN clause)

Learn more

CS-9684
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2

New options when importing from Excel When importing Excel files to Analytics, two new options provide greater flexibility. You can now specify the line number on which to start reading the worksheet, which allows you to skip unwanted header information in the source file. You can also import all fields as character data, which can simplify the import process.

CS-9496

CS-9679

 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Import multiple delimited files When using the Data Definition Wizard in Analytics, you can now import multiple delimited files simultaneously.  Learn more CS-9434
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2

Source tables used in Append When you append two or more tables, you now have the option of including the names of the source tables in the output table.

CS-9447
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Reference groups of duplicates by number The new Group Number field gives you the option of assigning a sequentially incremented number to each unique group of duplicates in the output table.  Learn more CS-9446
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2

Enhancements to classical variables sampling

  • Bottom certainty stratum The option of specifying a bottom certainty stratum has been added. Previously, there was only the option of a top certainty stratum. Learn more
  • Better integration of commands The integration of the CVS Prepare and CVS Sample commands has been improved (user interface only):
    • As part of its output, CVS Prepare now autogenerates the associated CVS Sample command with most values prefilled.  Learn more
    • An If condition specified in CVS Prepare is now automatically propagated to CVS Sample.  Learn more
  • All evaluation types You now have the option of outputting all four evaluation types at once, which saves having to run the CVS Evaluate command multiple times.  Learn more
  • Sample Difference Value As a convenience, the Sample Difference Value field has been added to the Strata Breakdown in the CVS Evaluate output. For each stratum in a sample of records, the field shows the difference between the book value of the records in the stratum and the audited value.  Learn more
CS-9587
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2

Acquire HighBond access token improved The process for acquiring a HighBond access token has been improved. To acquire a token, a user is now taken from Analytics to the Manage API tokens page in Launchpad for password-secured token generation.

Previously, the generated token just appeared in Analytics, without requiring a second layer of security, and without any context, so users were not aware of the ability to manage their tokens.

The Manage API tokens page gives users a simple view of all their current tokens, and the ability to manage their tokens, either individually, or in bulk.

Learn more

CS-9792
 Enhanced December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Analytics update notification more prominent The automated notification that lets you know a more recent version of Analytics is available is now more prominent. Instead of appearing in the Windows task bar, it appears in the ACL for Windows main screen. CS-9845
 Changed December 2019 Analytics 14.2

Machine learning components updated The versions of the Python engine and TPOT included in Analytics, components that enable machine learning, have been updated.

The results produced by machine learning prediction may differ slightly between the updated versions and the previous versions in Analytics 14.1. However, both sets of results are valid. Differences between the sets of results are caused by adjustments to the way TPOT optimizes the machine learning pipeline.

Note

Because of the component update, a predictive model trained in Analytics 14.1 cannot be used with the Predict command in Analytics 14.2, or in future versions of Analytics. To use Predict in version 14.2, train a new predictive model and run Predict using the new model.

AN-8095
 Fixed December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Jira connector A change made to Jira caused the Jira connector in older versions of Analytics to stop working. The Jira connector works again in version 14.2. ADA-1511
 Fixed December 2019 Analytics 14.2 ACL for Windows failing to start A problem affecting Analytics installations on Windows 10 machines with .Net 4.8 was causing the ACL for Windows main screen to crash, preventing use of Analytics. The problem has now been resolved. AN-7826
 Fixed December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Running IMPORT command conditionally causing an error Using the IF command to run an IMPORT command conditionally was causing an error message to appear incorrectly. The problem has now been resolved. AN-7965
 Fixed December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Selecting more than one outlier field allowed A defect allowing a user to select more than one outlier field in the Outliers dialog box has been fixed. Only one field can now be selected. AN-7845
 Fixed December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Importing an external table layout The IMPORT LAYOUT command was causing Analytics to crash if the external table layout file specified in the command did not exist. The correct behavior has been restored: the command fails if the layout file does not exist, but Analytics does not crash. AN-7717
 Fixed December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Location of default Analytics log file not retained If you moved the default Analytics log file into a folder in the Navigator treeview, the log file reverted to the root of the treeview when you reopened Analytics. The log file now remains in the folder. AN-7699
 Fixed December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Menu files incorrectly deleted Any configurable menu files (*.mnu) located in the Analytics executable folder were being deleted when upgrading Analytics. The menu files are now being preserved during an upgrade. AN-7630
 Fixed December 2019 Analytics 14.2 Accented characters lost When data containing accented characters was round-tripped from Results to Analytics and back to Results, accented characters such as á , é , and ó were replaced by a question mark ( ? ). This problem has been resolved and the characters are now appearing correctly. GRCPRD-3479
 Fixed August 2019 Analytics 14.1.2

Delimited file import Characters were being omitted from the import of a delimited file if the file contained a delimiter character at the end of the line (end of the record). The issue has now been resolved. (AN-7700)

Making this fix required reverting an earlier fix: "Empty last field in *.csv and *.dat files correctly imported" (AN-6859). The defect addressed by the earlier fix is now present again in Analytics 14.1.2. It will be addressed in a future version of Analytics.

 
 Fixed June 2019 Analytics 14.1.1 ACL connector for Oracle The ACL connector for Oracle was failing to import a portion of the specified data, resulting in blank values in some fields. An issue with the driver used by the connector was causing the problem. The issue has now been resolved. (AN-7653)  
 Fixed June 2019 Analytics 14.1.1 Oracle import WebSocket error Certain imports containing integer fields performed by the ACL connector for Oracle were failing with a WebSocket error. An issue with the driver used by the connector was causing the problem. The issue has now been resolved. (AN-7672)  
 Fixed June 2019 Analytics 14.1.1 Data Access window connections If a large number of connections were saved in the Data Access window, the saved connections were not loaded when subsequently opening the Data Access window, and new connections could not be saved. This issue has now been resolved and the Data Access window has been tested with 120 connections and verified to work properly. (ADA-1459)  
 General Comments May 2019 Analytics 14.1

Rebranding and product name changes ACL Services is now Galvanize, and our cloud-based platform, ACL GRC, is now called HighBond. ACL Analytics is now simply Analytics.

How do these rebranding changes affect Analytics? The short answer is that Analytics 14.1 continues to function in the same way as previous versions of Analytics, with the addition of the new features and enhancements described in these release notes.

Analytics scripts No change. Scripts authored in previous versions of Analytics continue to run in Analytics 14.1.

Analytics subscription Analytics subscriptions are now part of the subscription for ACL Robotics, a Galvanize solution containing Analytics, and lite versions of Robots and Results.

 
 New May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Expanded machine learning capabilities Train and Predict are two new related commands that expanded the automated machine learning capabilities in Analytics. You can use the commands to develop predictive models and predict classes or numeric values associated with unlabeled data.

The new commands join the Cluster command, the other machine learning command in Analytics.

 
 New May 2019 Analytics 14.1 New data connectors You can now connect to these external data sources using newly added data connectors:  
 New May 2019 Analytics 14.1 IMPORT MULTIDELIMITED The new IMPORT MULTIDELIMITED command allows you to use a single command to script the import of multiple delimited files. You reference multiple files by using a wildcard character (*) in file names.  Learn more  
 Enhanced May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Export to Excel field length The field-length limit of 254 characters when exporting from Analytics to an Excel file has been removed. Export to Excel now supports any field lengths that in combination do not exceed the overall record length limitation of 32 KB.  Learn more  
 Enhanced May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Classify key field length The maximum key field length has been increased from 64 characters to 2048 characters.  Learn more  
 Enhanced May 2019 Analytics 14.1

SAP connector supports Secure Network Communications (SNC) and SSO The SAP data connector now supports connecting to SAP systems that use Secure Network Communications (SNC).

SNC allows SAP systems to integrate with an external security product for Single Sign-on and encryption of data in transit.

Learn more

CS-9359
 Enhanced May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Clear cache option The Clear cache option has been added to the Existing Connections tab in the Data Access window. The option allows you to manually clear the cache of table names saved with each connection.  Learn more  
 Enhanced May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Accessibility improvements Keyboard-only access, and screen reader text, have been significantly expanded and improved throughout the Analytics user interface.  
 Enhanced May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Include display names with HighBond export You can include column display names when you export from Analytics to ResultsLearn more  
 Enhanced May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Retry Command Attempts The configuration option Retry Import Attempts has been renamed Retry Command Attempts and has been extended to include exports to HighBond Results.   Learn more  
 Fixed May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Tabs in scripts Tabs in Analytics scripts are now automatically replaced by four spaces, which preserves the intended indentation or formatting without interfering with script execution. Previously, tabs were replaced with a single space. (AN-7371)  
 Fixed May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Redundant confirmation prompt A redundant confirmation prompt no longer appears when you manually close a table that was created and opened by a script. (AN-7307)  
 Fixed May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Outliers command no longer runs immediately When you double-click an entry for the Outliers command in the log, the command no longer runs immediately. Double-clicking a command in the log should only populate the command syntax in the View tab. (AN-7239)  
 Fixed May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Outliers command correctly populates the WRITE1 variable The Outliers command now correctly populates the WRITE1 system variable with the number of records in the output table. Previously, it was populating the variable with a value of zero (0). (AN-7131)  
 Fixed May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Empty last field in *.csv and *.dat files correctly imported An empty last field in *.csv and *.dat files is now correctly imported. Previously, a empty last field was dropped from the import. (AN-6859)  
 Fixed May 2019 Analytics 14.1 EXTRACT command handling missing field correctly If the EXTRACT command specifies a field that is not present in the target table, an appropriate error message appears. Previously, Analytics entered an infinite loop, or crashed. (AN-6523)  
 Unresolved May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Canceling the Train command on Windows 7 On the Windows 7 operating system, if you cancel the Train command from the progress dialog, the underlying main Python process is closed, but Python sub-threads continue to run.

Workaround: If you want to stop these sub-threads, end them in Task Manager, or restart your computer. (AN-7570)

 
 Unresolved May 2019 Analytics 14.1 Training a model using regression Training a predictive model using regression algorithms on a large data set can cause the training process to run for a long time. In addition to overall data size, run times can be affected by the number of specified feature fields, and the processing capacity of the computer running the command.

Workaround: Consider using sampling to reduce the size of the training data set, and do not include feature fields that do not contribute to predictive accuracy. (AN-7563)

 
 Unresolved May 2019 Analytics 14.1

Analytics Update notification The notification that normally appears in the Windows taskbar alerting users to a new version of Analytics is currently not working.

Workaround: Users or a company’s HighBond account administrator can periodically sign in to Launchpad (www.highbond.com) and check for an updated ACL for Windows installation package. (AN-7676)

 
 New November 2018 Analytics 14 Robots Analytic scripts, authored in ACL, can now be uploaded to Robots, a new, easy-to-use, cloud-based option for scheduling and running analytic scripts.

Existing analytic scripts used in Analytics Exchange or the Analysis App window can be run in Robots with little or no modification.

 
 New November 2018 Analytics 14 Machine learning command The new Cluster command is the first of a planned set of machine learning commands in ACL. With Cluster, you can discover groupings in a data set that may have gone undetected with traditional approaches.  
 New November 2018 Analytics 14 SAP data connector The integrated Data Access window in ACL now includes an SAP data connector, which provides an easy way of connecting to an SAP system and importing data. SQL-like queries are easier to edit than comparable queries in Direct Link.

The SAP data connector requires a separate subscription entitlement beyond the basic ACL subscription.  Learn more

 
 New November 2018 Analytics 14 New ACL data connectors You can now connect to these external data sources using newly added ACL data connectors:
  • Jira
  • JSON
  • LDAP
  • Marketo
  • Open Exchange Rates
 
 New November 2018 Analytics 14 Outliers The new outliers feature (OUTLIERS command) identifies statistical outliers in a specified numeric field in an ACL table.

You have the option of identifying outliers by group, or for the entire table.

 
 New November 2018 Analytics 14 Fuzzy joins You can now join two tables on key field values that are nearly identical. You can choose between two fuzzy matching algorithms: Dice coefficient or Levenshtein distance. Existing joins in ACL require that key field values be exactly identical to constitute a match.  
 New November 2018 Analytics 14 Retry imports A new configuration option, Retry Import Attempts, allows you to specify that ACL will retry failed imports from certain types of data sources, and to specify the number of repeated attempts.  Learn more  
 Enhanced November 2018 Analytics 14 Security upgrades To improve overall application security, ACL contains updated versions of several components that are installed along with the application. These changes were first made in version 13.1.  
 Enhanced November 2018 Analytics 14 Excel import You can now import Excel worksheets from multiple Excel files simultaneously.

This latest enhancement builds on the ability, introduced in version 13.0, to import multiple Excel worksheets simultaneously from a single Excel file.  Learn more

 
 Enhanced November 2018 Analytics 14 IMPORT MULTIEXCEL The new IMPORT MULTIEXCEL command allows you to use a single command to script the import of multiple Excel worksheets. You reference multiple worksheets by using a wildcard character (*) in file or worksheet names.  Learn more  
 Enhanced November 2018 Analytics 14 Improved Join dialog box The Join dialog box has been redesigned, with a more logical arrangement of fields, and icons for each join type. The new design makes selecting the correct join type easier and more intuitive.  Learn more  
 Enhanced November 2018 Analytics 14 Improved harmonizing in Append Two new options for the Append command support harmonizing common fields on the Character data type, or importing all fields as Character data.  
 Enhanced November 2018 Analytics 14 Resize the DDW The Data Definition Wizard, used for defining data and importing it to ACL, can now be resized, or maximized.

The ability to use your full screen for previewing and working with data makes the experience of importing files such as Excel, delimited text, and PDF much more user-friendly.

 
 Enhanced November 2018 Analytics 14 Auto-add new fields Newly created physical or computed fields can optionally be added to the table view automatically. The Add created field to current view option is now available in the Table Layout dialog box.  
 Enhanced November 2018 Analytics 14 Data Access window improvements Two improvements have been made to the Data Access window:
  • Hash imported data You can now protect sensitive data imported using the Data Access window by hashing it on a field-level basis.  Learn more
  • Wildcards in table search Wildcard characters are now supported when searching tables in the Data Access window.  Learn more
 
 Fixed November 2018 Analytics 14 Scrolling Scrolling in views for large tables has improved responsiveness.  
 Fixed November 2018 Analytics 14 Resize columns The menu option Resize All Columns now correctly adjusts the column widths in a table view. (AN-6282)  
 Unresolved November 2018 Analytics 14 In the SAP connector in the Data Access window, using a SQL OR operation to reference two different fields within a single filter group does not work. (ADA-1186)  
 Unresolved November 2018 Analytics 14 A connection for the ACL ServiceNow connector saved in ACL 13 does not work in ACL 14. Users need to create a new ServiceNow connection in ACL 14. (ADA-1329)  
 Unresolved November 2018 Analytics 14 In the Jira connector in the Data Access window, data in custom Jira fields is not shown in the Import Preview. The data in the custom fields is imported correctly. (AN-7032)  
 Fixed September 2018 Analytics 13.1.1 The SQL Server connector only supports the default instance when specifying the server name in version 13.1. It does not support named instances and you cannot use the format "serverName\instanceName" when establishing a connection. You must specify "serverName" only.

After running the 13.1.1 patch installer, you can connect to named instances using the format "serverName\instanceName".

 
 Important August 2018 Analytics 13.1 The following Microsoft components, installed by previous versions of ACL Analytics, have known vulnerabilities:
  • Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010
  • three files that are part of Microsoft Visual C++ 2008:
    • msvcm90.dll
    • msvcp90.dll
    • msvcr90.dll

    The .dll files are located in a subfolder in the C:\Windows\WinSxS directory.

ACL Analytics 13.1 does not use these components and uninstalling them does not impact the application.

Caution

Only uninstall the Microsoft components if you know that they are not used by any other application on your computer. Consult your IT department if you are uncertain whether to uninstall the components.

 
 Important August 2018 Analytics 13.1

Uninstall Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010 before you install ACL Analytics 13.1.

If you install ACL Analytics 13.1 first, before uninstalling Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010, Excel imports and exports do not work in any previous version of ACL installed side by side with version 13.1.

Note

To fix this situation, in the Windows Control Panel, Repair the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 installation.

 
 Important August 2018 Analytics 13.1

The Concur connector no longer supports authentication without a Concur access token.

Any scripts currently configured with user credentials that do not include a token must be updated to use a Concur access token. You can obtain a token directly from Concur, or by entering your user credentials in the Data Access window and clicking Get Token.

Make note of your token's expiry date when you obtain it. Concur tokens expire after one year. Learn more

 
 Important August 2018 Analytics 13.1

The Concur connector now requires that you specify the host name of Concur's API server when connecting. As of the 13.1 release, this value is "https://www.concursolutions.com".

Existing scripts that use the native Concur connector and an access token continue to work. However, if you are using a DSN connection or you open the Data Access window, you must specify a host name in the Host field for the connection to succeed. Learn more

 
 Important August 2018 Analytics 13.1 If you intend to silently install or upgrade to ACL Analytics 13.1, use the setup.exe installer file. Do not use the ACL for Windows.msi installer file.

setup.exe installs the updated, more secure versions of all required software prerequisites on the target computer, if they are not already installed. ACL for Windows.msi does not install prerequisites.

 
 Enhanced August 2018 Analytics 13.1 The following third-party components that are installed along with ACL for Windows have been updated to more secure versions:
  • a more recent version of Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (10.0.40219.325 instead of 10.0.40219.1)
  • Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 instead of Microsoft Access Database Engine 2010
  • Oracle Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 8u181 instead of 8u66 (Data Access window update).
  • Oracle Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 8u171 instead of 8u121 (Analysis App window update).
 
 Enhanced August 2018 Analytics 13.1 The following ACL data connectors have been updated to improve security:
  • Amazon DynamoDB
  • Apache HBase
  • Concur
  • MongoDB
  • Amazon Redshift
  • Apache Hive
  • Couchbase
  • Oracle
  • Apache Cassandra
  • Apache Spark
  • Google BigQuery
  • Salesforce
  • Apache Drill
  • Cloudera Impala
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Teradata
 
 Fixed August 2018 Analytics 13.1 When attempting to activate a newly installed version of ACL, the user can be stuck in a sign-in loop and be unable to activate the software. (AN-6493)  
 Fixed August 2018 Analytics 13.1 Python commands are running twice when called from ACL. (AN-6436)  
 Fixed August 2018 Analytics 13.1 Concur connector performance is improved when filtering data using '<', '>', and '>=' operators on the following fields: Last_Modified_Date, Create_Date, User_Defined_Date, Submit_Date, Processing_Payment_Date, Paid_Date. (ADA-1226)  
 Unresolved August 2018 Analytics 13.1 After upgrading ACL from version 13.1.0 to 13.1.1, the version number remains unchanged in the splash screen that appears when you open ACL, or select Help > About.

The correct version number does appear in the Windows Control Panel.

 
 Fixed April 2018 Analytics 13.0.3 Using the RECOFFSET( ) function on a table with an index applied can produce unreliable results. (AN-6357/AN-6351)  
 Fixed April 2018 Analytics 13.0.3 The SAVE TABLELIST command doesn't display all the tables after a manual import of multiple Excel worksheets. (AN-6275)  
 Fixed April 2018 Analytics 13.0.3 The UNMATCHED join type fails with certain combinations of data and ACLScript syntax. (AN-6207)  
 Fixed April 2018 Analytics 13.0.3 Output results from the many-to-many join are inconsistent with different buffer sizes, or reversed primary and secondary table order. (AN-6134)  
 Fixed April 2018 Analytics 13.0.3 Garbled text appears when using the ACCESSDATA command to import Arabic data from an IBM AS/400 server. (ADA-1142)  
 Fixed N/A Analytics 13.0.2 Not a general release.  
 Fixed December 2017 Analytics 13.0.1 The APPEND command is duplicating a single record after every block of 10,000 records in the output table. (AN-6154)  
 Fixed December 2017 Analytics 13.0.1 The dialog box that appears when overwriting an index on a table is not showing the correct information. (AN-6155)  
 Fixed December 2017 Analytics 13.0.1 In the ACCESSDATA command, removing a system-generated space before the SOURCE or SQL_QUERY keywords causes the command to fail. (AN-5692)  
 New November 2017 Analytics 13.0 The new append operation (APPEND command) adds the ability to combine records from multiple ACL tables simultaneously.

You have the option of including all the fields from all the tables being combined, or just those fields that are common to all the tables.

 
 New November 2017 Analytics 13.0 You can now connect to these external data sources using newly added ACL data connectors:
  • Active Directory
  • Email
  • Exchange
  • Twitter
  • ServiceNow
  • MySQL
 
 New November 2017 Analytics 13.0 The addition of classical variables sampling (CVS) means that ACL now supports all three major types of audit sampling:
  • classical variables sampling
  • monetary unit sampling
  • record sampling (attributes sampling)

The CVS feature set includes the ability to stratify a population based on a statistical formula that optimizes strata boundaries, which helps create efficient sample sizes.

Learn more

 
 New November 2017 Analytics 13.0 The new RCOMMAND command passes a list of ACL fields to an external R script for analysis and creates a new table in the ACL project with the data returned from R. Learn more  
 New November 2017 Analytics 13.0 A new system variable AXRunByUser is available in scripts and stores the user name of the account that runs an analytic, in the format "domain\username".

Note

The AXRunByUser variable is only available when running analytic scripts on AX Server. It is unrecognized when running scripts in ACL Analytics.

 
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 The number of tables that can be joined in the Data Access window has been increased from five to ten. CS-9897
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Importing data from Excel now supports importing multiple Excel worksheets simultaneously.  Learn more  
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 The ALLFIELDS parameter has been added to the IMPORT EXCEL command, allowing you to import all fields in an Excel worksheet without having to define them individually.  Learn more  
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 The Presort option on the Join command now uses the specified-field approach to sorting introduced in ACL 12.5. Only those fields specified in the join operation are involved in the Presort. If you specify a small subset of fields for joining, the join operation executes more quickly.  
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Cross-tabulating now supports numeric key fields. Previously only character key fields were supported.  
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 The Any Not Equal option has been added to Quick Filter when filtering by multiple values in a record.  Learn more  
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 R functions now accept variables when specifying the R script or R code to run.  
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Limited support for Python versions other than the default supported version 3.5.x. Learn more  
 Enhanced November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Connections to Concur now include a User Param setting that imports data from the expense module for specific user accounts, or for all accounts. Learn more  
 Fixed November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Salesforce and Amazon Redshift connectors now support SSL version 1.0.2.  
 Fixed November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Accessing ScriptHub through ACL causes a blank screen to appear. (AN-5789)  
 Fixed November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Installing ACL 12 replaces Windows system fonts with shortcuts to older versions of the fonts in the ACL installation directory. (AN-5550)  
 Fixed November 2017 Analytics 13.0 For ACL analytics run across the boundary of midnight, the DATETIME( ) and TODAY( ) functions are not correctly incrementing the date value. (AN-5032)  
 Fixed November 2017 Analytics 13.0 A variable with an empty space in place of "COMMENT" text causes commands to be skipped. (AN-4072)  
 Fixed November 2017 Analytics 13.0 During the import of a delimited file, manually adjusting the width of a blank field is not preserved in the resulting ACL table. (AN-5496)  
 Fixed November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Previewing a report with the Presort option causes ACL to crash. (AN-5526)  
 Fixed November 2017 Analytics 13.0 Export to Excel is not working with Arabic characters. (AN-5399)  
 Unresolved November 2017 Analytics 13.0 The NEXT parameter of the RCOMMAND may not behave as intended in some cases. Avoid using this parameter as the record reference may reset to the first record regardless of which record is currently selected.  

Historical release notes are available on request.