What's New in 2021 R7

What's New lists the enhancements and changes made in the 21.07 release. This release is available as of 7/21/2021. Android users can download the mobile app the same day as its release. For iOS users, apps take 24 to 48 hours following the release date to become available in the App Store.

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: Please be advised that test and live versions of portal websites must have an SSL certificate applied as of the 2021 R8 release. If you update to the R8 release without having an SSL certificate applied, you will not be able to access your portal. For help, see How to Apply an SSL Certificate to Your Portal.

General Highlights

  • Application Help now available on Viewpoint Help

    • The portal setting Help Link now defaults to help.viewpoint.com. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Administration / Initial Setup. To learn more about Viewpoint Help, including how to search, filter, and generate PDFs of Help articles, see About Viewpoint Help.

    Note: The legacy Help website is no longer being maintained and will be retired in December 2021.

  • Clock-in / Clock-Out activity migrated to PR Employee Daily Time

    • Clock in and clock out activity is now only stored in the PR Employee daily Time table in Vista. The Clock Action table data will be migrated to PR Employee Daily Time and the Clock Action table will be deprecated to improve usability and supportability.

  • New Version History Table

    • View a detailed version history for your portal updates using the new Version History button available from the Portal Settings page. History includes the dates for each update, users who installed each update, portal version that you updated from, and your Vista version at the time of an update. See Portal Settings Fields for more details.

  • Login Auditing

    • New column on the Login Auditing page lists the login method for users. Login methods that may be listed include the following:
      • Employee = Employee number login
      • Windows = Windows Auth Login
      • Identity = Viewpoint Identity Login
      • Named Login = Named Login Users
      • SSO = SSO Login
      • Mobile = Mobile Login
      See Login Auditing for more details.

HR Management Highlights

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

  • Onboarding / Applicant Tracking

    • Open links in a separate browser tab on the Applicant Search, Job Requisitions, and Job Requisition Detail pages using the new Open in New Tab button.

      • First, reset grid layouts on these pages to show the Open in New Tab button for linked items in the grid.

      • The new button displays to the right of the applicant's name or the name of the job requisition, depending on the page.

    • Improved error message when users mistype information in the onboarding invitation. New message: The information you provided does not match a current onboarding record. Please contact your hiring manager for assistance.

  • Timecards

    • New role Timecard Move allows non timecard admin users to access Batch Timecard Move.

      • Admins can add users to the Timecard Move user group in Admin > Admin Roles. Select the checkbox for the user in the Timecard Move column. The user will have access to Batch Timecard Move on the Employee Tools menu once added.

Financial Controls Highlights

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

  • Billing Compiler

    • A new version of the Billing Compiler page Billing Compiler - Next Gen is now available!
      • The Classic Billing Compiler page remains available for use.

      Some main changes on the Next Gen version are:

      • Attachments can now be added to the bill from the web.

      • New Sort options are available for T&M Bill attachments (Phase, Date, Month, Vendor Name).

      • Attachments can be manually reordered and this ordering will be saved to the bill record.

      • Attachments can also be excluded from the downloaded bill.

      To learn more about the Billing Compiler - Next Gen page, see How to Use the Next Gen Billing Compiler.

Field Management Highlights

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

  • Field Management Mobile App

    • Mobile production graph units are now limited to the cost type listed in the portal setting Cost Type for Production Update. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Field Management Mobile > General Configuration.
    • Improved performance when deleting employees, equipment, and phases in tablet grid view on iOS devices.

    • The employee's shift now displays on the timecard review page.

  • Field Tickets

    • New portal setting Field Ticket Attachment Type ID. Enter the attachment type to apply to approved field tickets saved to JC Field Tickets in Vista. Attachments of this type are then excluded when you run the Field Ticket report for an approved field ticket in the portal. Without an ID in this setting, if you run the Field Ticket report for an approved field ticket, the report will be shown twice. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Field Tickets > General Configuration.
    • Performance metrics on the Field Ticket PDF now include new labor hours entered on grid or standard timecards linked to the Field Ticket field.

  • Timecards

    • Copy Line for Multiple Employees now prevents double-clicking Add Line(s) button.

    • New role added Timecard Move allows non timecard admin users to access Batch Timecard Move.

      • Admins can add users to the Timecard Move user group in Admin > Admin Roles. Select the checkbox for the user in the Timecard Move column. The user will have access to Batch Timecard Move on the Employee Tools menu once added.

    • Manage Crews is now accessible for users with access to the FM Grid Timecard, Field Tickets, or FM Mobile.

Vista Field Service Highlights

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

  • Form Templates
    • Create requirements for new or existing work order forms using the new Default Assignments option. You can assign forms to specific service sites, call types, or service item classes, and require that technicians complete a specific form before they can complete a trip. See Create Field Service Form Templates for details.

  • Close a Trip
    • Users can now print forms attached to a scope. On the Scope page, select the Print icon for a form to download a PDF version of that form.

    • The Work Order Trip Summary now lists any purchase orders added to the work order and shows the PO number, date, and amount.

    • New portal setting: Automatically capitalize all labor memo text when saving. Enable this setting to capitalize all notes added for completed labor. Notes are capitalized in both Field Service and Vista. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Field Service > General Configuration.
    • New portal setting: Mark the scope complete when a trip is marked completed. This setting allows you to have scopes marked as completed automatically when a trip is closed. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Field Service > Trip Close-Out.

    • You can now set default email recipients for the trip closeout email in Vista. After you update to version 21.07 of the portal, a new field called Default Trip Closeout Email will be available on the Contacts tab in SM Customers and SM Service Sites in Vista. Select this field for users who should receive the trip closeout email by default. The technician can still select additional email recipients in Field Service but will not be able to modify default email recipients.

  • Work Order Dashboard / Work Orders
    • New portal setting allows you to link billable hours to SM timecard hours: Retain billable hours value when editing timecard lines through Standard or Grid timecard. Updates made on timecards (standard or grid) are then pushed to SM work completed. Setting location: Admin > Portal Settings > Field Service > Work Complete.