# 2024 12 16 release notes (core)

## Release summary <a href="#release-summary" id="release-summary"></a>

This page summarises items scheduled for the following release to the Patchworks Core Production environment.&#x20;

| Release version | Release date                                |
| --------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| v2024-12-16     | 16th December 2024 - starting between 8-9am |

New features, updates, and enhancements of note are summarised by product area, below:

* ​[Process flows](https://app.gitbook.com/o/QK9606D86GQKTsWinNMs/s/LYNcUBVQwSkOMG6KjZfz/~/diff/~/changes/1264/~/revisions/YonwsYh0CeVfExW3wO6H/release-information/core-release-notes/2024-09-11-release-notes-core#process-flows)
* [Connectors](#connectors)
* [Company management](#company-management)
* [Peoplevox re-authentication](#process-flows-1)

## Process flows <a href="#process-flows" id="process-flows"></a>

<table><thead><tr><th width="180">Type<select><option value="edbc33cea7f34e16b3a205c7a65c3172" label="New" color="blue"></option><option value="d8457d8925c74fab90fa132d141b764b" label="Change" color="blue"></option><option value="030babd6286a4fe19214da74af9afb98" label="Enhancement" color="blue"></option><option value="9a29ee576f43448f9b1623baca59c3db" label="Bug" color="blue"></option><option value="L09Gy6z2y7VD" label="Breaking change" color="blue"></option></select></th><th width="426">Summary</th><th>Ref #</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><span data-option="edbc33cea7f34e16b3a205c7a65c3172">New</span></td><td><strong>Skip option for process flow shapes</strong><br>To help when designing/testing process flows, a new <code>skip</code> option is available for all process flow shapes (except for <a href="../../process-flows/building-process-flows/process-flow-shapes/standard-shapes/trigger-shape">trigger</a>). This is a toggle option at the top of the settings drawer - when toggled <code>on</code>, the associated step is skipped whenever the flow runs. <br><img src="https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FLYNcUBVQwSkOMG6KjZfz%2Fuploads%2F7ebRB4tRIozWxpBMCAoN%2Ficons8-google-docs-20.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=ac61da4e-764c-452c-b9b5-d65f188769c9" alt=""> <a href="../../process-flows/building-process-flows/skipping-shapes">Skipping shapes</a></td><td>CPT-3409</td></tr><tr><td><span data-option="030babd6286a4fe19214da74af9afb98">Enhancement</span></td><td><strong>Postman importer</strong><br>The maximum file size allowed for import has increased from 5MB to 50MB. The Postman importer is now out of BETA.<br><img src="https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FLYNcUBVQwSkOMG6KjZfz%2Fuploads%2F7ebRB4tRIozWxpBMCAoN%2Ficons8-google-docs-20.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=ac61da4e-764c-452c-b9b5-d65f188769c9" alt=""> <a href="../../developer-hub/postman-importer">Postman importer</a></td><td>CPT-3746</td></tr><tr><td><span data-option="030babd6286a4fe19214da74af9afb98">Enhancement</span></td><td><strong>Flow variables can now be made secret</strong><br>It's now possible to mark string-type flow variables as secret. This means that any value provided for this variable is not displayed anywhere in the system, and is stored securely.<br><img src="https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FLYNcUBVQwSkOMG6KjZfz%2Fuploads%2F7ebRB4tRIozWxpBMCAoN%2Ficons8-google-docs-20.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=ac61da4e-764c-452c-b9b5-d65f188769c9" alt=""> <a href="../../process-flows/building-process-flows/dynamic-variables/flow-variables/adding-and-managing-flow-variables">Adding &#x26; managing flow variables</a></td><td>CPT-3077</td></tr><tr><td><span data-option="030babd6286a4fe19214da74af9afb98">Enhancement</span></td><td><strong>Company insights - CPU usage</strong><br>For greater clarity, CPU usage bars now display usage figures. Additionally, usage dials have changed to bars.<br><img src="https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FLYNcUBVQwSkOMG6KjZfz%2Fuploads%2F7ebRB4tRIozWxpBMCAoN%2Ficons8-google-docs-20.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=ac61da4e-764c-452c-b9b5-d65f188769c9" alt=""> <a href="../../company-management/company-insights/company-insights-overview">Company insights overview</a></td><td>CPT-3478</td></tr><tr><td><span data-option="9a29ee576f43448f9b1623baca59c3db">Bug</span></td><td><strong>Relative dates in scripts</strong><br>Fixed an issue where <code>relative date</code> flow variables used in scripts were reset to <code>-0 seconds</code>.<br><img src="https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FLYNcUBVQwSkOMG6KjZfz%2Fuploads%2F7ebRB4tRIozWxpBMCAoN%2Ficons8-google-docs-20.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=ac61da4e-764c-452c-b9b5-d65f188769c9" alt=""> <a href="../../process-flows/building-process-flows/dynamic-variables/flow-variables">Flow variables</a></td><td>CPT-3767</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Connectors

<table><thead><tr><th width="180">Type<select><option value="edbc33cea7f34e16b3a205c7a65c3172" label="New" color="blue"></option><option value="d8457d8925c74fab90fa132d141b764b" label="Change" color="blue"></option><option value="030babd6286a4fe19214da74af9afb98" label="Enhancement" color="blue"></option><option value="9a29ee576f43448f9b1623baca59c3db" label="Bug" color="blue"></option><option value="L09Gy6z2y7VD" label="Breaking change" color="blue"></option></select></th><th width="426">Summary</th><th>Ref #</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><span data-option="030babd6286a4fe19214da74af9afb98">Enhancement</span></td><td><strong>Peoplevox re-authentication</strong><br>In this release, we've added a feature to enhance performance for Peoplevox re-authentication. This is an 'opt-in' feature - please see the notes <a href="#process-flows-1">below</a> for details and implementation requirements.<br><img src="https://files.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FLYNcUBVQwSkOMG6KjZfz%2Fuploads%2F7ebRB4tRIozWxpBMCAoN%2Ficons8-google-docs-20.svg?alt=media&#x26;token=ac61da4e-764c-452c-b9b5-d65f188769c9" alt=""> <a href="#process-flows-1">Peoplevox re-authentication</a></td><td>CPT-3720</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Company management

<table><thead><tr><th width="180">Type<select><option value="edbc33cea7f34e16b3a205c7a65c3172" label="New" color="blue"></option><option value="d8457d8925c74fab90fa132d141b764b" label="Change" color="blue"></option><option value="030babd6286a4fe19214da74af9afb98" label="Enhancement" color="blue"></option><option value="9a29ee576f43448f9b1623baca59c3db" label="Bug" color="blue"></option><option value="L09Gy6z2y7VD" label="Breaking change" color="blue"></option></select></th><th width="426">Summary</th><th>Ref #</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><span data-option="9a29ee576f43448f9b1623baca59c3db">Bug</span></td><td><strong>Company creation</strong><br>Fixed an issue where creating a company via the dashboard could occasionally result in the company being partially created in the database.</td><td>CPT-3821</td></tr></tbody></table>

## Peoplevox re-authentication <a href="#process-flows" id="process-flows"></a>

Peoplevox uses SOAP authentication with tokens. Typically, this works by authenticating once and sending a valid token in response - this token is included in all subsequent requests until it expires. When the token expires, a `401` (authentication failed) A response is returned, and we will re-authenticate with the next request.

However, Peoplevox doesn't send a `401` response when a token expires - a `200` (success) code is returned and the outcome is included in the response body. So, we need an alternative approach to manage these requests.

### Current solution

We currently authenticate every Peoplevox request to ensure that valid tokens are always present. This happens automatically because a *pre-authentication request script* is applied for the SOAP authentication method on the Peoplevox connector.

This approach is reliable but not optimal in terms of performance.  &#x20;

### Enhanced solution

In this release, the presence of a *pre-authentication request script* no longer triggers authentication for every request.&#x20;

A new [Peoplevox Re-Authentication Response Script](https://doc.wearepatchworks.com/product-documentation/release-information/core-release-notes/broken-reference) has been developed, which should be applied to any connector steps in your process flows(s) where Peoplevox is used.&#x20;

The script runs every time a connection is attempted and checks the `<AuthenticateResponse><AuthenticateResult>` section of the SOAP response body to determine success or failure. If authentication has failed, the connector step retries the request and re-authenticates for a new token. If authentication is successful, no re-authentication is required.&#x20;

In this way, we only re-authenticate requests when necessary.&#x20;

### What you need to do <a href="#how-it-works" id="how-it-works"></a>

If you receive or send data from/to Peoplevox in process flows, follow the steps below to implement this enhancement.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Don't worry if you can't make these changes immediately - process flows with Peoplevox connectors will continue to run normally, though not optimally. For more information, please see [The Peoplevox re-authentication response script](https://doc.wearepatchworks.com/product-documentation/release-information/core-release-notes/broken-reference).
{% endhint %}

**Step 1**\
Install the *Peoplevox Re-Authentication Response Script* from the [Patchworks marketplace](https://doc.wearepatchworks.com/product-documentation/marketplace/marketplace-scripts).

**Step 2**\
Apply this script to any process flow connector shapes where Peoplevox is defined as the source or target instance.

**Step 3**\
Raise a ticket with [Patchworks support](https://doc.wearepatchworks.com/product-documentation/raising-a-support-ticket) for the *Enhanced Peoplevox Re-Authentication* feature to be switched on for your organisation.