What's New in 2023 R8

What's New lists the enhancements and changes made in the 23.8 release. The web release is available as of 8/9/2023. The Field Management Mobile application will be released on 8/10/2023. The mobile application is available to download 24 to 48 hours following the release date.

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

Compatibility With Vista

The 23.8 version of the web portal is compatible with the following versions of Vista:
  • Vista 2023 R1
  • Vista 2022 R2

Installation Restricted to Supported Vista Versions

Important: As of the 2023 R8 release, the installer for the web portal will run only if you are on a supported Vista version. Viewpoint standard support is available for the two most recent Vista versions and the two most recent versions of the web portal. It is important to keep your ERP and your web portal up to date to prevent compatibility issues. Information about compatible Vista versions is provided on the What's New page for web portal releases.

Portal Login Security Enhancements

Users whose accounts are linked to their Viewpoint ID (VPID) cannot log in to the portal using their employee number. To unlink your portal login from your Viewpoint ID (which is your Trimble Construction One account), log in to the portal with your Viewpoint ID. Select your name in the upper right, and then select Unlink, which is near the top of the drop-down menu. See Configure Viewpoint ID Login for more information.

Release Highlights

This release includes the following new enhancements. For more details, see the individual release highlights sections that follow.

  • New! Standard Vista tabs now available on Office Tools forms: Office Tools forms now show the same standard tabs that display in Vista. See the Vista Web Office Tools section for details.

  • New! OAuth supported in the mobile app: Field Management Mobile now supports OAuth as the authorization framework for enabling secure logins via your identity service provider. See Field Management Highlights for details.

  • New! New portal setting limits who can create pending POs: Employees assigned to the Users only allowed to approve Pending PO group can approve but not create Pending POs. See Field Management Highlights or Financial Controls Highlights for details.

  • New! Create Field Service purchase orders without details: Generate a PO in the field without entering PO details, and route as a reserved PO to the PO Dashboard. See Field Service Highlights for details.

  • New! Employee column added to credit card import: The credit card import template now includes a column for the employee number, making it easier to match transactions to employees before running the import. This new column is required when importing credit card transactions. See HR Management Highlights for details.

Vista Web Office Tools

  • New! Standard Vista tabs now available on Office Tools forms: Office Tools forms now show the same standard tabs that display in Vista, including Info, Additional Info, Material Sales, Notes, and others (standard tabs vary by form). Fields shown on each tab match the fields shown on the corresponding tab in Vista, including user-defined (UD) fields. When a user selects a tab, that tab displays as highlighted. See Access Vista Forms on the Web for additional information.

    Note: User-defined (UD) tabs are not available.

  • New! Total Record Count: A Total Record Count field has been added to the bottom of the Office Tools grid. This field shows the total number of forms available in the selected module (based on the user's permissions).

HR Management Highlights

The following enhancements and customer suggestions were added in this release.

  • Applicant Tracking

    • New! District field renamed JC Department. The District field has been renamed JC Department on the Create Job Requisition and Edit Job Requisition pages.

      In addition, the portal setting Hide District (Dept.) and Job Fields on the Job Req is now called Hide Job Departments and Job Fields on Job Req. When this setting is disabled, the Job field is not required when creating a new job requisition.

      Note: This change does not impact the Applicant History, Manage Tags, or Email Templates pages. Applicant History will show District & Job as a column, and the Manage Tags and Email Templates pages will show a District drop-down field.

  • Expenses

    • New! Employee column added to credit card import: The credit card import template now includes a column for the employee number, making it easier to match transactions to employees and allowing for multiple employees to have the same last four digits of a credit card.

      Important: The .csv file that you import must include the employee number column (employee numbers themselves are not required for the import). If you delete the employee number column from your .csv file, your credit card transactions cannot be imported.

      During the import, the system continues to validate that each employee with a transaction has credit card information entered on the User Access page:

      • Transactions are routed to the applicable employee's list of Unreconciled Credit Card Transactions (Employee Tools > Expenses) based on the employee number tied to the transaction.

      • If an employee is in multiple PR companies, that employee's transactions will route to their Unreconciled Credit Card Transactions in both companies. Once the transaction is reconciled in either company, it will be removed from both companies.

    • Expense category on mobile phones: If the portal setting Show Expense Category on initial screen is enabled, the Category field now displays on the initial screen when creating or editing expenses using a mobile phone.

    • New! Restrict transaction date to a certain number of days: New portal setting allows you to restrict the number of days past the transaction date that users can submit an expense item. This setting does not apply to Expense Admins.

      • For users, the Save and Submit button will not be available if they attempt to save or submit an expense item too many days past the transaction date.

      • Expense Admins will receive a warning if they attempt to save or submit an expense item too many days past the transaction date, but they can still Save and Submit the expense.

  • Onboarding

    • New! Set an attachment type for the Voluntary Self-Identification form: Use the new portal setting Voluntary Self ID Attachment Type when Initializing to select a default attachment type for the Voluntary Self-Identification form. The attachment type is assigned when the form is attached to the HR Resource record in Vista (after you initialize new hire records).

  • Timecards

    • New! Batch Timecard Move now runs in the background: For improved performance, Batch Timecard Move now runs as a background job. If multiple users initiate Batch Timecard Move concurrently, the background jobs will run in the order in which they were initiated. Users will receive an email when the background job that they initiated has completed.

    • On grid timecards that include per diem expenses, the total expense amount now displays in the upper right of the Grid Timecard page.

    • Enhanced the error messaging that displays when a user enters an invalid character on a grid timecard.

  • Training

    • Training class invitations now reflect the time zone set on the user's machine and are saved to the user's calendar in that time zone. Previously, training class invitations would default to the time zone set on the server when saved to a user's calendar.

Field Management Highlights

The following enhancements and customer suggestions were added in this release.

  • Field Management Mobile

    • New! OAuth now supported: Field Management Mobile now supports OAuth as the authorization framework for enabling secure logins via your identity service provider. To enable OAuth for mobile, you must configure the new advanced portal settings listed below. Settings available under Admin > Portal Settings > Show Advanced Settings > Field Management Mobile > General Configuration.

      Important: Obtain the information to use in these new settings from your identity service provider.

      • URL of the OAuth Identity Server

      • Client ID used for OAuth Bearer Token

      • Client Secret used for OAuth Bearer Token

      • OAuth Identity Server Scopes

      • OAuth Identity Server Well-Known-Configuration Path

      In addition, the new portal setting OAuth Login Only allows you to require that users log in to the mobile app via your identity service provider protocol. Be sure to test your OAuth login before enabling this setting.

      See Enable OAuth for Field Mangement Mobile for details.

    • New! Route employee hours to grid timecards instead of field tickets: Employee job time entries submitted via the mobile application are routed as field tickets by default. If you prefer to route submitted job timecard lines to the same crew timecard template instead of a field ticket, enable the new portal setting Route Labor to Grid Timecard.

      Note: Added in build 1.23.8.8508.

      If you enable this portal setting:

      • The system still creates and populates field tickets with daily log information when you submit job time via the mobile application.
      • All job-based employee and equipment hours entered on different days are routed to the same crew timecard template.
      • Submitted time entries that are not related to a job will remain together on the same crew template.

      See Configure Field Management Mobile in the Portal for details.

    • Field ticket templates submitted via the mobile application are now available from the Templates drop-down on the Grid Timecard page.

      Note: Only mobile field tickets display in the Templates drop-down in Grid Timecards, not field tickets submitted via the web portal.

    • The login page of the mobile application now shows the date and time of the most recent portal settings sync on the device.

  • Purchase Orders

    • New! Pending PO portal setting limits who can create pending POs: Employees assigned to the Users only allowed to approve Pending PO group can approve but not create Pending POs. To allow these users to create Pending POs, assign them access to the Pending PO/SL module on the User Access page (Module Bundle > Purchase Orders). See PO Pending Configuration for more information.

    • New! Enhanced security in PO Receiving: When job security is enabled in the portal setting Job Data Security Mode, employees can now only receive POs for projects assigned to them. On the Purchase Order Receiving page, the Job and Purchase Order drop-down menus will only display selections for projects that an employee is assigned to. If job security is disabled, they will see all jobs.

    • New! Portal settings now include a PO Company Override Lookup and a PO Vendor Override Lookup: You can create and enable enhanced vendor and company lookups that sort by company or vendor name. These new settings are available in the Purchase Orders section of the Portal Settings page: Admin > Portal Settings > Purchase Orders > General Configuration.

      • The PO Company Override Lookup setting determines the PO Company field drop-down values for PO Quick Create, PO Create, PO Requisition, PO Receiving, Material Order, SM PO, and Pending PO pages.

      • The PO Vendor Override Lookup setting determines the Vendor field drop-down values for the PO Quick Create, PO Create, SM PO, and Pending PO pages. Enhanced vendor lookup applies to both the Vendor and Globe icon drop-down menus.

      For help configuring PO options, see Purchase Order Configuration.

    • New! Purchasing Agent Dashboard auto-complete field: In the Create PO From Requisition pop-up window, the Supplier field now auto-completes as you type.

    • New! Improved pop-up window view: In the Purchasing Agent Dashboard, when you select the Create Purchase Order button, the Description column now displays in the Create PO From Requisition pop-up window.

  • Timecards
    • New! Merge rows by job and phase in Job Time Approval: New portal setting Show the Grid Template column allows you to control how timecard lines display in Job Time Approval:

      • If you enable this setting, the Grid Template column will display, and the Job Time Approval grid will show a row for each grid timecard template.

      • If you leave this setting disabled, the Grid Template column will not display, and the Job Time Approval grid will merge rows that have the same job and phase but different grid timecard templates. This option is beneficial if you use daily timecard templates.

    • New! Batch Timecard Move now runs in the background: For improved performance, Batch Timecard Move now runs as a background job. If multiple users initiate Batch Timecard Move concurrently, the background jobs will run in the order in which they were initiated. Users will receive an email when the background job that they initiated has completed.

    • On grid timecards that include per diem expenses, the total expense amount now displays in the upper right of the Grid Timecard page.

    • Enhanced the error messaging that displays when a user enters an invalid character on a grid timecard.

  • Checklists

    • When you export a checklist to a PDF, the percent field now shows as a percentage instead of decimals.

Financial Controls Highlights

The following enhancements and customer suggestions were added in this release.

  • AP Review

    • New! Assign AP approvers by employee group: Assign AP approvers by employee group instead of by HQ Reviewer Group. The portal setting Restrict AP Approvers in the Portal to only members of this Reviewer Group has been changed to a drop-down field that lists the employee groups set up in your portal. From this drop-down, select the employee group to assign as your AP approver group.

      If you had assigned an HQ Reviewer Group to this setting in a previous version:

      • During the installation, that HQ Reviewer Group will be migrated to a new employee group automatically. That new employee group will be assigned to Restrict AP Approvers in the Portal to only members of this Reviewer Group by default.

      Important: If you were actively managing AP reviewers via an HQ Reviewer Group in Vista, the portal no longer respects those changes. You must manage AP reviewers via the employee group assigned to Restrict AP Approvers in the Portal to only members of this Reviewer Group.

  • Purchase Orders

    • New! Pending PO portal setting limits who can create pending POs: Employees assigned to the Users only allowed to approve Pending PO group can approve but not create Pending POs. To allow these users to create Pending POs, assign them access to the Pending PO/SL module on the User Access page (Module Bundle > Purchase Orders). See PO Pending Configuration for more information.

    • New! Enhanced security in PO Receiving: When job security is enabled in the portal setting Job Data Security Mode, employees can now only receive POs for projects assigned to them. On the Purchase Order Receiving page, the Job and Purchase Order drop-down menus will only display selections for projects that an employee is assigned to. If job security is disabled, they will see all jobs.

    • New! Portal settings now include a PO Company Override Lookup and a PO Vendor Override Lookup: You can create and enable enhanced vendor and company lookups that sort by company or vendor name. These new settings are available in the Purchase Orders section of the Portal Settings page: Admin > Portal Settings > Purchase Orders > General Configuration.

      • The PO Company Override Lookup setting determines the PO Company field drop-down values for PO Quick Create, PO Create, PO Requisition, PO Receiving, Material Order, SM PO, and Pending PO pages.

      • The PO Vendor Override Lookup setting determines the Vendor field drop-down values for the PO Quick Create, PO Create, SM PO, and Pending PO pages. Enhanced vendor lookup applies to both the Vendor and Globe icon drop-down menus.

      For help configuring PO options, see Purchase Order Configuration.

    • New! Purchasing Agent Dashboard auto-complete field: In the Create PO From Requisition pop-up window, the Supplier field now auto-completes as you type.

    • New! Improved pop-up window view: In the Purchasing Agent Dashboard, when you select the Create Purchase Order button, the Description column now displays in the Create PO From Requisition pop-up window.

Vista Field Service Highlights

The following enhancements and customer suggestions were added in this release.

  • Work Order Dashboard / Work Orders

    • New! Generate purchase orders without details and route as reserved POs to the PO Dashboard:

      • New portal setting Disable Required Fields in Create PO allows technicians to create a purchase order without PO line details. These purchase orders are saved on the work order as reserved POs. When this setting is enabled for a company, only the Vendor and PO number fields are required when a PO is added to a work order. The Description, Amount, and Attachment are not required, and the Date cannot be changed.

      • New portal setting Route PO's in Field Service to Reserved on the PO Dashboard. Enable this setting to route purchase orders created in Field Service to the PO Dashboard as reserved POs instead of having them auto-processed in Vista (these POs will display with a status of Open in Vista). You can add line items to these purchase orders via the PO Dashboard as usual. Or, you can navigate directly to the Edit Purchase Order page from Scope Details by selecting Edit for the reserved PO.

        When you are finished adding line items to the PO, you can navigate back to Field Service from the Edit Purchase Order page.

    • New! Complete all tasks on a trip with a single checkbox. Select the new Complete checkbox on the Trip Completion page to select all scopes completed when closing a trip.

    • New portal setting: Show Technician Unavailable Time on Work Order Dashboard: Enable this setting to show a technician's unavailable time from the SM Dispatch Board (for example, training or time off). These events display as separate, read-only cards on the dashboard and include the date, time, duration of the event, and any notes that were added in SM Technician Unavailable Time.

      Note: Added in build 1.23.8.8625.

    • New! Select from all site contacts for trip completion email: Technicians can now view and select from all site contact names when sending the trip closeout email. Contacts do not have to sign off on the trip to be included as an email recipient.

    • When a user uploads attachments to a scope or form, the Attachment Options pop-up now remains open until the upload is finished. Previously, if a user clicked outside of the pop-up window, the window would close and the attachment upload was canceled.

  • Field Service Forms

    • Header text included on a Field Service form template now displays in the online form. Previously, header text displayed only in the PDF version of the form.

General Changes

General changes affect portal administration or multiple modules in the web portal.

  • Scheduled Jobs: On the Manage Scheduled Jobs dashboard, the Last Execution column has been renamed Last Scheduled Execution. This column is updated with the most recent date and time that a scheduled job was run. It does not record the date and time for jobs that were run manually.

  • Enhanced styling for Web: Styling updates have been made to the Equipment Work Orders page to enhance the look and feel of the web portal.

    Note: On pages that have been updated with enhanced styling, multi-line text boxes now expand to show all entered text.

Issues Fixed

To see the issues fixed in this release, go to the Track Cases/Issues page on the Viewpoint Customer Portal (https://support.viewpoint.com/s/). Apply filters to narrow your search, or enter a unique issue number.