What's New in 2021 R11

What's New lists the enhancements and changes made in the 21.11 release. The web release is available as of 11/15/2021. A new version of Field Management mobile will be released next month.

Customers hosted in a Viewpoint cloud solution receive the latest update automatically. For customers who update modules manually, see Update the Portal for help.

Important:
  • The portal now requires that the KDS-HRIM database be set to compatibility level 2012 or higher. For instructions on how to review and change the database compatibility level, please see this Knowledge article (ID 000139425) on the Viewpoint Customer Portal (requires a login).
  • Before updating your portal, be sure that you are running .NET Framework 4.7.2 or higher. This is a required prerequisite.

  • Test and live versions of portal websites must have an SSL certificate applied. For help, see How to Apply an SSL Certificate to Your Portal.

General Highlights

  • Viewpoint is now Trimble Viewpoint! As part of this shift, you will notice a new look and feel for the Login page and a Trimble-branded Viewpoint favicon showing on browser tabs for your web applications.
    Note: Custom favicons are no longer supported in the portal.

  • Improved sign-in validation:
    • If multiple VA User Profiles are linked to the same email or Windows user name, users tied to those profiles will not be able to sign in to the portal. When they attempt to log in, the following error message will display: There was a login error, please contact your administrator.

    • To leverage single sign-on (SSO) authentication, SSO validation now ignores the portal setting LDAP Domain (for use with single domains only) when validating user logins. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Security / Login > Windows Authentication Login.

HR Management Highlights

The following customer suggestions were added in this release. For a list of defect corrections, see the Issues Fixed page.

  • Onboarding and Personal Information
    • During onboarding or when a user updates personal information, the system now saves values entered for the following fields in Step 3. Claim Dependents to the PDF version of Form W-4:
      • Multiply the number of qualifying children under age 17 by $2,000
      • Multiply the number of other dependents by $500
  • Performance Reviews

    • Review status analytics shown on the Performance Review Dashboard now update based on the date range filters.

Field Management Highlights

The following customer suggestions were added in this release. For a list of defect corrections, see the Issues Fixed page.

  • Field Tickets
    • In Vista 2021 R2, Field Ticket progress entry can now have notes added to each progress line. This requires the udNotes field to be added to Vista JC Progress Entry. For more information about adding UD fields, see here.

    • When the Field Ticket is approved, the values are saved to the progress entry batch in Vista.
      • Enable portal setting Enable Notes Entry (Requires udNotes on JC Progress Entry) to add a note field on each phase and display notes in Vista JC Progress Entry. Setting Location: Admin > Portal Settings > Progress Entry > General Configuration.
      Note: Refresh synonyms after adding the udNotes field by selecting Admin > Portal Settings > Refresh Synonyms.

    • Approving a Field Ticket adds a progress entry audit report to Vista.
      • The processed Field Ticket creates a batch report and saves it to the HQ Batch Control in Vista as a JC Progress Entry audit.
  • Purchase Orders

    • Approved Pending POs are now saved to the HQ Batch Control in Vista.
      • The processed PO creates a batch report and saves it to the HQ Batch Control in Vista.
    • Vendors in the PO Quick Create Vendors drop-down are now limited to active vendors only. Setting Standard Vendor List (comma separated) location: Admin > Portal Settings > Purchase Orders > General Configuration.
      • Inactive vendors added to the group are not displayed.
  • Timecards

    • If using the Crew Filter on the grid timecard, the Employees drop-down now has a multi-select filter. Submission of shared timecard templates can now be limited to the selected employees.
      • If no employees are selected, it is treated as a full timecard.

Financial Controls Highlights

The following customer suggestions were added in this release. For a list of defect corrections, see the Issues Fixed.

  • Purchase Orders
    • Approved Pending POs are now saved to the HQ Batch Control in Vista.
      • The processed PO creates a batch report and saves it to the HQ Batch Control in Vista as a PO Entry Audit.
    • Active vendors added to the group Standard Vendor List (comma separated) are listed on the PO Quick Create Vendors drop-down. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Purchase Orders > General Configuration.
      • Inactive vendors added to the group are not displayed.

Vista Field Service Highlights

The following customer suggestions were added in this release. For a list of defect corrections, see the Issues Fixed page.

  • Offline Capability
    • When launching Field Service in offline mode, you can now turn off the offline setting while the database is loading instead of having to wait for the process to finish. Select the new Turn Off Offline Setting button that displays in a pop-up while the database is loading.

  • Scopes
    • When navigating from Field Service to the standard timecard, the Type drop-down on the timecard now defaults to Service instead of Job.

    • When adding misc work items to a scope, cost types for standard items now prefill based on the default cost type set up in Vista SM Standard Items.

    • When adding equipment work items to a scope, revenue codes for equipment now prefill based on the default revenue code entered in Vista EM Equipment.

    • When creating purchase orders for a work order:
      • Attachments are now required if the portal setting Require Attachment in PO Quick Create is enabled. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Purchase Orders > PO Quick Create.

      • The Amount field now defaults as blank instead of with a value of zero (0), requiring users to enter an amount before continuing.
        Note: Negative amounts are allowed only if the portal setting Quick Create - Allow Negative Amounts has been enabled. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Purchase Orders > PO Quick Create.