Release notes

Release highlights

• Parallel downloads of SAP tables Downloading multiple tables from an SAP system simultaneously is now supported, which significantly speeds up the import of data from SAP to Analytics.

• Split a table based on key values A new commands allows to subdivide an Analytics tables into multiple tables based on unique values in a key field.

• Outputting related fields made easier As a labor-saving enhancement, the ALL keyword is now supported for outputting fields from related tables.

• Option to activate Analytics using a token Token activation of Analytics improves integration with single sign-on environments (SSO), and allows specifying an expiration date for Analytics sign-in credentials.

• Ease-of-use enhancements in table views:

  • Highlighted sort column header

  • Automatic count of records remaining after filtering

  • Ad-hoc totaling for selected column values

• Two new data connectors:

  • Azure Active Directory

  • GitHub

Some ACL data connectors to be sunset (end-of-life)

Analytics 17 is the last major release to contain ACL data connectors provided by our data connectivity partner Insightsoftware (formerly Simba). For data sources currently supported by our Simba connectors, we are transitioning to CData connectors. This move has several benefits, including standardizing all our connectors with a single technology provider.

During the transition period, all versions of Analytics 17.x will contain both the Simba connectors and the CData connectors for the same data source. Making both versions available for a period of time gives your organization a window during which you can test the new CData connectors and update scripts as necessary.

Key details

• Analytics 17.x versions are the last to contain Simba data connectors. For a complete list of affected connectors, see Transitioning to a new ACL connector version.

• Replacement CData connectors are now available for testing and transition in Analytics 17.0.

• Differences between the Simba and CData connectivity mechanisms mean that you need to update any scripts that you transition to the new CData connectors.

• Analytics 18 (tentative release Fall 2024) will not contain the Simba data connectors. Any scripts that use Simba data connector syntax will not run in Analytics 18.

• Diligent will continue to support Analytics 17 and the Simba data connectors until the release of Analytics 19 (tentative release Fall 2025). Once Analytics 19 is released, Analytics 17 and the Simba data connectors will no longer be supported.

Learn more

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

• Azure Active Directory

• GitHub

DAR-143

DAR-134

Upgraded DSN data connectors The following data connectors have been upgraded to more recent versions provided by our data access and connectivity partner, CData Software:

• NetSuite

• SAP SuccessFactors

• Parquet

These upgrades have been made to address errors and connectivity issues with previous versions of the connectors.

DAR-135

DAR-136

DAR-137

Split a table based on key values You can now split an Analytics table into two or more separate tables based on unique values in a key field. Output tables use the unique value as the table name, with an optional text prefix.

This new capability makes it easy to subdivide tables using a single command. Previously, achieving the same result required some ACL scripting.

• Split tables using the Analytics user interface  Learn more
• SPLITVALUES command  Learn more

Parallel downloads of SAP tables The SAP Connector (ACL Connector for SAP) now allows you to download multiple tables from an SAP system simultaneously (in parallel). Downloading tables simultaneously can significantly speed up the import of data from SAP to Analytics. This new capability adds functionality that exists in Direct Link, our legacy SAP connector product.

Downloading SAP tables in parallel is available in ACL scripts only, and not in the Analytics user interface.

Learn more

Outputting related fields made easier In ACLScript commands that support outputting related fields, you can now use the ALL keyword as an easy way to output all fields in a related table. Previously, you had to specify each related field individually. The ALL keyword was only supported for fields in the parent table in a relation.

To use ALL with related fields, you specify related_table_name.ALL. You can use this technique for multiple related tables in the same command.

This enhancement has been added to all commands the supporting outputting related fields, including:

• EXTRACT
• SORT
• SPLITVALUES
• EXPORT
• JOIN

Option to activate Analytics using a token You can now choose to activate Analytics using a token rather than a user name and password.

Token activation is required by some single sign-on environments (SSO). It also gives organizations the option of specifying an expiration date for Analytics sign-in credentials.

Learn more

User interface enhancements We've made the following improvements to Analytics views:

• Highlighted sort column When you quick sort the records in a view, the header of the column that you use to sort by is now highlighted.

• Count of filtered records When you filter the records in a view, the number of remaining records is now automatically shown in the status bar at the bottom of the Analytics interface. For example:

  Records: 588/772

  Previously, you had to manually perform a count operation to see the number of remaining records.

  Automatic counting of filtered records is supported for tables with up to one million records.

  Learn more

• Ad hoc totals You can total a subset of the values in a numeric column by selecting the values, right-clicking, and selecting Total Selected Data. The total of the selected values is displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the Analytics interface.

RAPHX-4941

RAPHX-5184

RAPHX-5185

Short form of HighBond API request commands The short form of ACLScript commands that perform HighBond API requests is now supported for all HighBond regions. The short form automatically provides the standard portion of the API request details in the background, and the header information, so that you do not need to explicitly specify them in the HB_API command.

Previously, the short form of HB_API commands only worked for HighBond organizations in the AWS region for the United States.

ACL robot log file not created If an ACL robot and a script in the robot had an identical name, no result log file was produced on successful execution of the script.

This problem has now been resolved, and identical names do not prevent generation of a result log file.

NetSuite data connector issue The NetSuite data connector in Analytics was returning an error when trying to connect.

An upgrade to a more recent version of the NetSuite connector has resolved this issue.

SAP SuccessFactors data connector issue The SAP SuccessFactors data connector in Analytics was returning an error when trying to connect.

An upgrade to a more recent version of the SAP SuccessFactors connector has resolved this issue.

Parquet data connector issues The Parquet data connector in Analytics was affected by two issues:

• Connector error when the URI is longer than 260 characters

• Incorrect data being imported to Analytics

An upgrade to a more recent version of the Parquet connector has resolved these issues.

GRCPRD-7352

GRCPRD-7702

Analytics 16.1.1 released to address export to Excel defects in version 16.1

We have released a new version of Analytics that fixes two defects that can occur when exporting to Excel using version 16.1 (details below).

Any customers who have installed version 16.1.0 of Analytics should upgrade to version 16.1.1.

Truncated data when exporting to Excel (*.xlsx)

Exporting a computed field that concatenates two physical fields was not working correctly in version 16.1. If values in the first concatenated field contained trailing spaces, the values in the second concatenated field were not exported.

This issue has now been resolved, and concatenated fields export correctly to Excel.

Export to Excel syntax error causes Analytics to close unexpectedly

A missing quotation mark in the EXPORT command syntax was causing the export to fail in version 16.1, and Analytics to close unexpectedly. This issue has now been resolved and an error message is logged.

Analytics 16.1 is not officially supported for use with Analytics Exchange (AX)

If you are currently using Analytics Exchange (AX), keep your current version of Analytics installed so that you can continue to reliably import analytic scripts, tables, and data files to AX. Importing from Analytics 16.1 may continue to work, but it is not guaranteed to work.

You are free to install Analytics 16.1 side by side with Analytics 15.x, or older versions. The new functionality in Analytics 16.1 described below will not work in AX.

Diligent will end support for Analytics Exchange on January 1, 2023. Learn more or upgrade to Robots.

Analytics 16.1

(introduced in 16.0)

Option to exclude Microsoft Access Database Engine when installing Analytics

When you perform an installation of Analytics 16.1 you have the option to exclude Microsoft Access Database Engine.

• Exclude the Database Engine if you use Analytics with only the current generation of Excel file (*.xlsx), and you do not use older Excel files (*.xls), or Microsoft Access files (*.mdb). The Database Engine can cause compatibility issues with other, newer Microsoft Office products. So exclude the Database Engine if you do not need it.
• Include the Database Engine if you need to import from, or export to, older Excel files (*.xls), or Microsoft Access files (*.mdb).

Background

For many years, Microsoft Access Database Engine and the underlying technology (ADO) has been a third-party component in Analytics, providing connectivity with Excel and Microsoft Access files. However, the Database Engine and ADO are incompatible with the latest generation of Microsoft office productivity software: 64-bit Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 (Office 365). In some cases, the presence of the Database Engine on your computer can conflict with other installed components.

Beginning with version 16.1, Analytics uses OpenXML to import from and export to the current generation of Excel file (*.xlsx). Using OpenXML avoids the compatibility problems that have developed over time with the older ADO technology.

OpenXML does not support connecting with the older Excel file type (*.xls) or the Microsoft Access file type (*.mdb). If you need to work with either of these file types, you still have the option of installing the Database Engine and ADO when you install Analytics.

Release highlights

• New and upgraded data connectors Two new data connectors have been added, and two existing data connectors have been upgraded.
• Improved integration with Excel files An updated internal component in Analytics improves integration with Excel, and addresses a component conflict that could occur previously.
• Authenticated email notifications using the Analytics interface You can now set up authenticated email notifications using the Analytics interface.

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

• ADP
• Oracle HCM Cloud

DIA-1663

DIA-1664

Upgraded DSN data connectors The following data connectors have been upgraded to more recent versions provided by our data access and connectivity partner, CData Software:

• Parquet
• SurveyMonkey

The Parquet upgrade more reliably supports importing large data files. The SurveyMonkey upgrade adds OAuth 2.0 capability.

DIA-1665

DIA-1693

Improved integration with Excel files Analytics now uses OpenXML technology to import from, and export to, the current generation of Excel file (*.xlsx).

OpenXML makes the following improvements on the older ADO-based technology that Analytics used for Excel connectivity:

• Faster exports Exporting to Excel from Analytics is now up to ten times faster. This performance boost is most noticeable when exporting large amounts of data to Excel.
• Larger exports The amount of data that you can export to a *.xlsx file is now equivalent to the maximum worksheet size supported by Excel: 1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns. Previously, larger exports to Excel could fail.
• Properly formatted datetime data Datetime data exported to Excel now appears properly formatted with both the date and the time correctly displayed. Previously, you had to manually modify the cell formatting in Excel to allow exported time data to display correctly.
• Component conflicts avoided As explained above, OpenXML does not cause the component conflicts that Microsoft Access Database Engine and ADO can cause.

Set up authenticated email notifications using the Analytics interface You can now set up authenticated email notifications using the Notify dialog box in the Analytics interface.

The ability to configure an authenticated connection between Analytics and an SMTP mail server was added in Analytics 16.0. However, the capability was initially available in script mode only. Learn more

SAP Connector issues The SAP Connector issues listed below have been resolved:

• Table authorizations Missing SAP table authorizations in the SAP Connector in Analytics 16 prevented extraction of data from the SAP system.
• Connection port When the load balancing option was selected, the SAP Connector failed to include the correct SAP instance number in the connection port number.
• SAP Connector SSO Using Single Sign On (SSO) with the SAP Connector was not working.

GRCPRD-6305

GRCPRD-6342

GRCPRD-6429

Analytics 16.0 is not officially supported for use with Analytics Exchange (AX)

If you are currently using Analytics Exchange (AX), keep your current version of Analytics installed so that you can continue to reliably import analytic scripts, tables, and data files to AX. Importing from Analytics 16.0 may continue to work, but it is not guaranteed to work.

You are free to install Analytics 16.0 side by side with previous versions of Analytics. The new ACLScript capabilities in Analytics 16.0 described below will not work in AX.

Diligent will end support for Analytics Exchange on January 1, 2023. Learn more or upgrade to Robots.

Release highlights

• New ACLScript commands for accessing the HighBond API New ACLScript commands allow you to create scripts that automate interactions between Analytics, or ACL robots, and the HighBond platform.
• Upload data to Robots The EXPORT command now supports uploading Analytics tables as CSV files to HighBond or Workfow robots, which simplifies building integrated ACLScript-Python data automation.

• SAP Connector improvements The performance of the SAP Connector has been improved. As well, a new option supports converting currencies during the import of SAP data to Analytics.

• New data connectors The addition of 13 new data connectors means that Analytics provides pre-built connectivity to over 100 external data sources.

New ACLScript commands for accessing the HighBond API We have added five ACLScript commands that allow you to create ACL scripts that automate interactions between Analytics, or ACL robots, and the HighBond platform.

The commands provide access to standard REST API requests for interacting with the HighBond API:

• HB_API_GET

• HB_API_POST

• HB_API_PUT

• HB_API_PATCH

• HB_API_DELETE

Using the commands, you can run scripts from Analytics or Robots to interact with a wide range of HighBond objects such as projects, Results collections, robots, and HighBond users.

Learn more

Upload data to Robots with the EXPORT command The EXPORT command now supports uploading a local Analytics table as a compressed CSV file (*.csv.gz) to a HighBond or Workflow robot.

This new capability is intended for Robots customers who currently use an on-premise Robots Agent and ACL scripts in their automation program, and would like to also incorporate the cloud-based Python/HCL scripting available in Robots. With the new capability you can use an ACL robot to easily move on-premise data to a HighBond or Workflow robot where you can use Python/HCL scripting to further analyze or process the data.

The new capability simplifies building integrated ACLScript-Python/HCL data automation, a process that was possible previously, but difficult to implement.

• EXPORT command Learn more

• Upload data to Robots using the Analytics user interface Learn more

• Apache Phoenix
• Basecamp
• CockroachDB
• Elasticsearch
• Google Cloud Storage
• IBM Cloudant
• Kintone
• MarkLogic
• Microsoft Teams
• Odoo
• ShipStation
• SuiteCRM
• Workday

DIA-906

DIH-758

DIA-609

Improved SAP Connector performance SAP Connector performance has been improved in several areas. You should see reduced times for importing records, and for importing records when also filtering or joining SAP tables.

RAPHX-3122

RAPHX-3556 (Remove license check for Robots Agent)

Learn more

RAPHX-3470

RAPHX-3106

Ability to limit field length when importing from HighBond You can now specify a maximum field length when importing from the Projects or Results apps in HighBond. Fields that exceed the length limit are truncated.

The ability to truncate fields prevents occasional long values from expanding the overall record length beyond what is supported by the import process.

The new capability is currently available in script mode only. Learn more:

• IMPORT GRCPROJECT command

• IMPORT GRCRESULTS command

RAPHX-3347

Analytics email notification can now work in an authenticated environment The NOTIFY command has been updated so that it can work with an SMTP mail server that requires authentication. You can also configure which port to use to access the server.

The updated capability is initially available in script mode only. We plan to extend the updated capability to the Analytics user interface in a future release. Learn more

SET RETRY applies to more commands The ability to automatically re-execute a failed ACLScript command has been expanded to include a greater number of commands. Learn more

Importing from HighBond Projects no longer causes a crash When importing data from the Projects app in HighBond, exceeding the maximum record length no longer causes Analytics to crash. A record length longer than 32,767 bytes causes an error message and the import fails, but Analytics remains open.

RAPHX-3406

Special characters supported in data connector passwords In the Data Access window (ACCESSDATA command), in some instances, certain special characters in data connector passwords were causing connection failures. Data connector passwords now support a broader range of special characters.

Delimited file Field Width setting ignored When you use the Data Definition Wizard to manually import a delimited file to Analytics, the Field Width setting is not preserved if you specify a width shorter than the longest value in the field.

Workaround Copy the IMPORT DELIMITED command from the log and re-run the command in the command line. Use the WID parameter to specify the shorter field length. You also need to adjust the start position of all subsequent fields using the AT parameter.

Certain passwords restricted to 30 characters Analytics supports a maximum length of 30 characters when specifying or entering a server profile password, a database profile password, or a mail server password. Newer Windows servers may require a strong password that exceeds this length. However, specifying a password value in Analytics that exceeds the length results in a truncated password and a connection failure.

Commands affected by the 30-character limit include:

• DEFINE TABLE DB

• NOTIFY

Increasing the maximum password length supported by these commands will be considered for a future version of Analytics.

Workaround If possible, limit password length of the connection target to 30 characters.

Classical variables sampling (CVS) Evaluation issue Generating all CVS estimation types together, in a single operation, produces incorrect results. In the output, some amounts in the Statistical Summary are being accumulated from one estimation type to the next. The amounts are being retained in memory instead of being flushed out between the different estimation types.

We plan to correct this issue in a future release of Analytics.

Workaround Generate any of the four CVS estimation types singly, in a separate operation of the CVS Evaluate command, which produces correct results:

• MPU
• Difference
• Ratio Separate
• Ratio Combined

Analysis App window/Visualizer removed from Analytics With the release of Analytics 16, and with continued improvements to Robots and Results, we have made the difficult decision to remove the Analysis App window/Visualizer features from Analytics. These features were a source of security vulnerabilities as unsupported/outdated software components.

Removing features that a majority of customers did not take advantage of reduces the vulnerable surface area of Analytics for everyone.

As an alternative, customers can continue to use the Analysis App window/Visualizer features in Analytics 15.x versions, which can remain installed side by side with Analytics 16. Near-identical visualization functionality is also available in Results/Storyboards, or you can use your favourite visualization tool to connect to Analytics.

Analytics–Robots Agent version alignment made less restrictive The version of Analytics that you use to create scripts that run in Robots no longer needs to be identical to your organization's installed version of an on-premise Robots Agent.

Previously, scripts failed in Robots if the versions of Analytics and the Robots Agent were unaligned. The scripts failed even if the ACLScript functionality they contained was fully supported by the Robots Agent. The requirement for aligned versions was overly restrictive and has now been removed.

Scripts will still fail in Robots if they contain new ACLScript functionality unsupported by an older Robots Agent.

RAPRM-963

RAPHX-3283

Security upgrade

ACL for Windows 15.1.1 is a patch release that addresses security vulnerabilities with some internal components used by Analytics. Although the risk to Analytics customers is low, we have already made a manual patch available, and we are now incorporating the manual patch in a released version of Analytics.  Learn more

For more information about the vulnerabilities and the manual patch, see Patch critical security vulnerabilities (CVE-2021-44832, -45105, -45046, and -44228).

Release highlights

• New data connectors The addition of 15 new data connectors means that Analytics provides pre-built connectivity to almost 100 external data sources.
• New SAP Connector A new version of the SAP connector supports connecting to SAP S/4HANA Cloud, extended edition.
• Connector fixes We made fixes to several of the existing connectors, including the REST connector for interacting with APIs.

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

• Airtable  Learn more
• Azure Analysis Services  Learn more
• Azure Data Catalog  Learn more
• Azure Data Lake Storage  Learn more
• DigitalOcean  Learn more
• Dropbox  Learn more
• Excel Online  Learn more
• Google Analytics  Learn more
• Google Contacts  Learn more
• Google Drive  Learn more
• Google Sheets  Learn more
• Microsoft Access  Learn more
• Microsoft OneDrive  Learn more
• Parquet  Learn more
• SAP Concur  Learn more

DIA-606

DIA-824

DIH-708

DIH-754

New version of SAP connector add-on Version 1.4 of the SAP connector add-on has been released. This version of the add-on is required for the Analytics SAP connector to communicate with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, extended edition.

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

Version 1.4 is certified by SAP for deployment on the following SAP systems:

• SAP S/4HANA Cloud, extended edition 2020

• SAP S/4HANA Cloud, extended edition 1909

• SAP S/4HANA 2020

• SAP S/4HANA 1909

Learn more

Analytics data connector issues fixed The data connector issues listed below have now been resolved.

• Active Directory connector issue resolved:

  • Default column size property not working

    As part of the fix, the Default Column Size field has been added to the Active Directory connector form.

• Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations connector issue resolved:

  • SQL error when selecting a table after successfully connecting

• Oracle connector issue resolved:

  • Connection fails when SESSIONS_PER_USER is limited to 1

• REST connector issues resolved:

  • Connections made with the REST connector form fail with a 401 Unauthorized error

  • Custom Headers option is no longer available in REST connector form

    The Custom Headers field has been restored to the REST connector form.

  • Timeout setting is not available in REST connector form

    As part of the fix, the Timeout field has been added to the REST connector form.

  • Get robot list API request returns a 419 unknown error

  • When reused, connections made with an OAuth2 setting fail with the error Unable to bind to type

• Rsam connector issues resolved:

  • The connection fails with an error if an Rsam saved search returns no records

  • The connector is not using system proxy settings

• SFTP connector issues resolved:

  • The connector converts a requested path to lowercase which causes issues with remote paths on a Unix or Linux server

  • The connector returns an error when you specify a path to a file located at the SFTP root folder level

• Snowflake connector issues resolved:

  • After a successful test connection, using the new connection returns the error The parameter 'url' is missing from connection string

  • Using the connector to save a table to Analytics results in the error Object reference not set to an instance of an object

  • After successfully connecting using a DSN connection initially created outside of Analytics, selecting a table causes a SQL error

• QuickBooks Online connector issue resolved:

  • The connector returns an error Connection string exceeds maximum allowed length of 1024

DIA-601

DIA-777

DIA-872

DIH-497

GRCPRD-4107

GRCPRD-4226

GRCPRD-4489

Analytics SAP connector not working with S/4HANA 2020 When attempting to connect to an SAP S/4HANA 2020 system, the SAP Connector was returning the error Function module 'CMO_GET_INSTNO' not found.

The issue has now been resolved and you can connect successfully.

FILESIZE( ) function and Excel temp file The FILESIZE( ) function was always returning -1 when used with an Excel temp file, which incorrectly indicated that no file existed. This issue has now been resolved and the function correctly returns the actual size of an Excel temp file.

Analytics SAP connector authentication protocol Two options for specifying the Single Sign On (SSO) authentication protocol used by a target SAP system were not working correctly in the SAP connector. The options, Kerberos and NTLM, have been removed from the connector settings.

The only SSO authentication protocol now supported is Individual. If you cannot use the Individual authentication protocol with your SAP system, your other option is to select Username and Password as the Authentication Method, rather than Single Sign On, and connect using standard SAP credentials.

GRCPRD-3900

RAPHX-1864

GRCPRD-4733

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

Release 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.

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

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.

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.

• Presto  Learn more
• Qualys  Learn more
• RSS/ATOM  Learn more
• SFTP  Learn more
• Tenable  Learn more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Release 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

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.

• Email  Learn more
• Exchange  Learn more
• Jira  Learn more
• ServiceNow Learn more
• Twitter  Learn more

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.

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

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

Learn more

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

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

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.

• Import Microsoft Excel data  Learn more
• IMPORT EXCEL command  Learn more

CS-9496

CS-9679

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.

• Append tables  Learn more
• APPEND command  Learn more

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

• Predicting classes and numeric values using the Analytics user interface  Learn more
• TRAIN command  Learn more
• PREDICT command  Learn more

• Rsam Learn more
• RESTful APIs Learn more
• SharePoint Learn more

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

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

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)

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)

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.

• identifying clusters using the ACL user interface  Learn more
• CLUSTER command  Learn more

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

• Jira
• JSON
• LDAP
• Marketo
• Open Exchange Rates

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

• identifying outliers using the ACL user interface  Learn more
• OUTLIERS command  Learn more

• performing fuzzy joins using the ACL user interface  Learn more
• FUZZYJOIN command  Learn more

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

• Append dialog box  Learn more
• APPEND command  Learn more

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.

• 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

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

• 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.

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.

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

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

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.

• 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).

• 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

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

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.

• appending using the ACL user interface  Learn more
• the APPEND command  Learn more

• Active Directory
• Email
• Exchange
• Twitter
• ServiceNow
• MySQL

• 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