2.11 - Release Notes

Release Highlights

  • More flexibility added for report distribution: field reports can now be sent using hyperlinks to facilitate better tracking of report receipt and non-field reports can be sent as file attachments
  • MetaField® DIY Library Introduced - Over 100 Integrated Sample and Test forms that can either be used as is or copied for customization
  • MetaField® DIY Engine - Additional functions added to support more calculations in the Expression Builder
  • MetaField DIY Engine - Added the ability to copy related DIY reports at the same time the DIY forms are copied / exported
  • MetaField DIY Engine - Report page break capabilities introduced
  • MetaField DIY Engine - Repeating table headers (on subsequent report pages) introduced
  • MetaField DIY Engine - Reports can be copied / cloned without copying the supporting forms
  • MetaField DIY Engine - Support for rich text formatting (bold, underline, etc.) added to Text Area fields (see tip below)
  • Soil Classifications - Added Sub-Code field for (optional) sub-classification of soils
  • Added support for rock corrections to applicable soil density tests performed in the field

For Text Area fields that now allow formatting, it is recommended that all formatting be applied in the Text Area field or copy the text from a plain text editor like Notepad. Copying text from Word usually retains some HTML formatting and can cause undesired formatting in the new rich text Text Area fields. It is also recommended that customers use text libraries in MetaField to insert commonly-used paragraphs of text.

Special Considerations

  • Reports generated in the Activity and Sample Tracking modules will have a slightly different look to the font. The font will more closely match the font of the discrete (non-configurable) reports. Small text alignment / spacing discrepancies may exist as a result. The implementation of a new PDF converter tool which allows for page breaks, repeating table headers, etc. on configurable reports necessitated this change.
  • Report templates have a limit of 500 elements. If your report exceeds this limit you will no longer be able to save changes until the template falls beneath this limit. Should you have a report of this size, please see your Solutions Consultant for additional recommendations.
  • The new Microsoft Edge web browser is not currently a supported browser for MetaField.
  • Chrome for iOS is not supported when using the Field module due to a browser limitation related to the offline capabilities of the Activity module.
  • iPad with iOS before version 8.0 is not supported when using the Field module due to a browser limitation related to the offline capabilities of the Activity module.
  • iOS bookmarks links saved to the home screen are not supported. Users should add MetaField as a Safari bookmark instead.
  • All records stored offline for any Do-It-Yourself Forms need to be uploaded prior to the release to ensure data transfer is completed without error.
Table of Contents

Release notes can be exported by selecting Export to PDF under the Tools menu in the upper-right corner of this page.

Administration

General

  • Material - Material Type entity removed (only Material remains)
  • Data Sources - "Form" column added to grid to show what DIY form(s) a particular Data Source is used on
  • Data Sources - System data sources introduced - these data sources typically support system sample or test forms - data source name can't be modified, but underlying items can be modified
  • Data Sources - Button added to sort values alphabetically
  • Global Field documents module introduced
  • Messaging for saving / loading / copying records was made more intuitive
  • Suppliers / Mix Designs - Suppliers / Plants / Mix designs consolidated into one administration form
  • Suppliers / Mix Designs - Material associations introduced on mix designs, plants and suppliers (through association to plants / mix designs)
  • Suppliers / Mix Designs - Import functionality added to Suppliers
  • Suppliers / Mix Designs - Import functionality added to Plants
  • Suppliers / Mix Designs - Material entity added to Mix Design import file

Security

  • Subscriptions - Subscription package counts will update automatically when the month or date filter changes

Reports

  • Global Settings - Setting added to control if report attachments or links are sent when generating a report from the Field module or non-Field modules
  • Report Types - DIY reports can be copied / cloned without copying the supporting forms
  • Report Types - Report Code expanded to support up to 6 characters

Density Testing

  • Soil Classifications - Sub-Code field added to (optionally) further classify (sub-classify) soil classifications.

Activity

  • Search / Results Display - Text Area and Text Box filter types combined into one setting called "Text" - this filter type will allow for filtering on both Text Area and Text Box fields
  • Predefined form group renamed to "Predefined Form Templates (Copy Forms for Use)"

Safety

  • Predefined form group renamed to "Predefined Form Templates (Copy Forms for Use)"
  • Template Forms - Template forms introduced for use - Near Miss, PPE Checklist, Unsafe Condition Observation

LIMS

  • Material moved to the General section
  • Test Groups - Test Groups module added - allows you to define a test group name and assign one or more tests to that group (used for quickly selecting multiple tests in the LIMS module)
  • Specifications - Specifications module introduced (only contains a specification name and material association at this time / initially)
  • Search / Results Display - Text Area and Text Box filter types combined into one setting called "Text" - this filter type will allow for filtering on both Text Area and Text Box fields
  • Test Forms - Grid supports viewing up to 500 records
  • Integrated forms introduced for use - multiple sample and test forms - complete list provided at the end of this document

MetaField 2.10 Customers - The Proctor ASTM D698 test form still exists and can be used. New test forms for generating proctor points and curves have been introduced. They are all titled Moisture Density Relationship and support the following standards (ASTM D698, ASTM D1557, ASTM D1557 C, AASHTO T180, AASHTO T-99, MnDOT 1305.

MetaField® DIY Engine - Form Designer

  • Reports can be copied as part of the form copy / export process
  • Optional Description field added to each form to better describe the use of the form beyond the form name
  • Super- and sub-script text can be added to field labels
  • Confirmation box added and displayed after a form is successfully copied / imported
  • Field Settings - "Calculation If Hidden" setting added to allow a field to calculate if it is hidden on a form
  • Field Settings - Button added to sort pick list / multiple choice values alphabetically
  • Field Settings - Default Value and Default Option field properties consolidated
  • Field Settings - Related Test Value option added to return the value from a related test form (test within the same sample)
  • Field Settings - "Trim Trailing Zeros" setting added to trim any trailing zeros from a number (i.e. 2.45800 turns into 2.458)
  • Field Settings - "Scientific Notation" field setting added to text box fields which displays decimal-based number in scientific notation
  • Field Settings - Supplier pick lists can be limited to a particular material using the Parameter setting
  • Field Settings - Plant pick lists can be limited to a particular material using the Parameter setting
  • Field Settings - Mix Design pick lists can be limited to a particular material using the Parameter setting
  • Sample Forms - Form setting added to turn off scheduling & dispatch specimen retrieval message
  • Sample Forms - Sample Group entity removed
  • Sample Forms - "One Specimen Sample" form setting added to tell the system that the sample will only have one specimen (controls are removed that allow users to add additional specimens in Field & QC)
  • Sample Forms - Custom fields can be added to "system" forms in addition to the "system" fields ("hybrid" forms)
  • Sample Forms - Multiple sample forms can exist for a given material
  • Test Forms - Description form setting removed as a result of a new Description field being added under the Name field (data in the setting will be copied to the new Description field during deployment)
  • Test Forms - Test Group entity removed - all tests will now be related to a new required Material entity
  • Test Forms - "Default Specimen Size" property name changed to "Test Default Specimen Size"
  • Test Forms - Billing Code test form setting introduced
  • Test Forms - Test Billing Quantity system field introduced
  • Test Forms - Test Billing Code system field introduced
  • Test Forms - Related Test Value property updated to look for related tests (belonging to the same sample) regardless of the order of tests from a test number perspective
  • Data Sources - General Materials data source added
  • Data Sources - Density Locations added (any Location associated with the "Field Density Test" context)
  • Data Sources - Concrete Locations added (any Location associated with the "Concrete" context)
  • Data Sources - Grout / Mortar Locations added (any Location associated with the "Grout / Mortar" context)
  • Data Sources - Specification added to return values from the Specifications module in Admin - specifications can be pre-filtered to material using the MaterialID Parameter setting
  • Data Sources - Various Soil Classification data sources available
    • Soil Classification - Code
    • Soil Classification - Code + Description
    • Soil Classification - Code + Sub-Code
    • Soil Classification - Code + Sub-Code + Description
  • Inactive fields on a form can be included or excluded when copying a form
  • Form settings moved from the form name pop up to a pop up accessed from a button above the field listing grid
  • Form Name, Description, System Name fields made wider in order to display more text
  • Information field type added to display informational text on forms in colored shaded boxes
  • Form grid record counter is remembered after closing Form Designer (i.e. you set your grid to display 50 records at a time - this is remembered when you close out from editing a form)
  • Fields can be moved into or out of form sections after underlying records have been created using those forms (this used to not be allowed)
  • Expression Builder - Columns adjusted to longer field names display better
  • Expression Builder - PRIOR function now supports Date and Time fields in data grids
  • Expression Builder - Certain visualization rules can be edited on system fields within system forms
  • Expression Builder - Certain expressions can be edited on system fields within system forms
  • Expression Builder - Function Changes:
    • LOG (Logarithm) function added
    • SIN / ASIN functions added
    • COS / ACOS functions added
    • TAN / ATAN functions added
    • MOVINGAVERAGE function added
    • FORMAT function added
    • FIRST function added (returns the first value of a defined field in a data grid)
    • LAST function added (returns the last value of a defined field in a data grid)
    • BETWEEN function now accepts negative numbers in its arguments
    • ROUND function updated to allow rounding to the nearest "5" and "20"
    • ABS function can reference other expressions
    • SQRT function can reference other expressions
    • DATEDIFF function updated to return a "0" rather than a blank value

MetaField® DIY Engine - Report Designer

  • Page break capabilities introduced
  • Repeating table headers (on subsequent pages) introduced - Repeat Table Headers property
  • DIY reports can be copied as part of the form copy / export process
  • Hide Expression utility enhanced to utilize the Expression Builder interface
  • Report element will now be added where dropped (versus at the bottom of the current panel)
  • Report Code expanded to support up to 6 characters
  • When dropping a Data Grid that contains Multiple Choice, Picklist or Yes/No fields, system will prompt user for how these fields should display on the report
  • Visual prompt added that better indicates a Report Designer save is in process / in the process of saving
  • System reports supporting various LIMS tests can't be edited from a design standpoint, but all report settings (signature rules, alternate titles, etc.) can be adjusted
  • System prevents extremely large reports (over 500 report elements) from being saved
  • Report element counter added to the bottom of the Report Settings tab

Field

General

  • Rich text editing for Text Area fields Introduced
  • DIY forms have an Expand All / Collapse All option in data grids
  • Various pick list values will wrap the text for longer values better

My Assignments

  • "Perform Work" control relabeled to "Open Form" to add clarity

Activity

  • Form Description will display when selecting a form to provide more context on the use of the form

Sample Tracking

  • Field Instructions functionality added
  • Form Description will display when selecting a form to provide more context on the use of the form
  • All specimen sizes will display if no specimen size association has been made with the sample (if associations have been defined, then only those specimen sizes will display)

Concrete / Grout / Mortar

  • Specifications can be locked down so they can't be edited / changed in the Field module (similar to the change recently introduced to lock down Density specifications)
  • Test Age of 0 (zero) days allowed

Density

  • Support for rock corrections on a Soil Nuclear Gauge Density test added
  • Support for rock corrections on a Sand Cone Density test added

Field Reports

  • Daily Field Report (Activity) - PDF file uploads will be appended to the end of the report

Project Documents

  • Global Documents grouping added to expose global documents within the Field Module

Quality Control

General

  • DIY forms have an Expand All / Collapse All option in data grids
  • Rich text editing for text area fields for DIY forms Introduced
  • Navigation buttons moved from upper right of screen to collapsible side menu on the left
  • Change project button replaced by magnifying glass icon next to current project
  • Option to open Project Documents in a separate tab from the left navigation menu introduced
  • Messaging for saving / loading / coping records was made more intuitive
  • General user interface consistency cleanup

Concrete / Grout / Mortar

  • Specimen renumbering logic updated to reflect a chronological order
  • % of Specification column formatted with 2 decimal places in all cases
  • Test Age of 0 (zero) days allowed

Density

  • Support to apply rock corrections to a Soil Nuclear Gauge Density Test added
  • Support to apply rock corrections to a Sand Cone Density Test added
  • Soil Nuclear Gage and Sand Cone report modified to support rock corrections

Sample Tracking

  • Tool tip added to Test form name - form Description will display when the mouse hovers over the Test form name
  • Test records can no longer be deleted (they should be marked as Untested and documented accordingly)
  • All specimen sizes will display if no specimen size association has been made with the sample (if associations have been defined, then only those specimen sizes will display)
  • New grid icon for Lab Instructions introduced - book icon

Delivery

  • Delivery Notes Introduced - allows for delivery-related instructions to be communicated and visible when working in Delivery for a given project
  • Email History pop up updated to reflect changes in delivery methods - links and attachments
  • Distribution List - Select All / Deselect All option added
  • Deliver button changed to "Mark As Delivered" to add clarity
  • Project-specific label values added to Label filter control
  • General user interface enhancements / standardization

Scheduling

  • Technician is alerted of work order status changes to Declined

Project Administration

Specifications

  • Reports / Labels - Report Group added to group grid so reports can be found more easily based on group
  • Sample Tracking - Field Instructions added
  • Labels - Copy specifications behavior fine tuned so project-specific labels are accounted for (retained on target project if used on reports, labels that exist in both the source and target project will be ignored)
  • Distribution - Delivery Notes Introduced
  • LIMS section introduced
  • LIMS - Global Test Notes introduced
  • LIMS - Test specific notes introduced
  • Costs - Sample Tracking Lab Test Costs - Test Group removed from grid because it no longer applies (removed in the system all together)
  • New Supplier / Mix Design section added to centrally manage this data (versus in distinct sections) and Material relationship introduced

LIMS

General

  • Safety button added to main menu so lab staff can more easily log safety records
  • Main menu buttons reorganized / order changed
  • Messaging for saving / loading / coping records was made more intuitive

Concrete / Grout Mortar Work Queues

  • Better integration with sample / specimen data introduced along with permissions to control who can edit sample / specimen data
  • Lab instructions moved to below the sample record where they apply
  • Queue grid position is remembered when returning to the grid after performing an action

Sample Tracking Work Queues

  • Better integration with sample / specimen data introduced along with permissions to control who can edit sample / specimen data
  • Lab Documents can be downloaded if no preview is available for a particular file type (i.e. Excel files)
  • Queue grid column order standardized more from the Testable queue on - most queues will start with Sample #, Specimen #, Test #, Lab Test
  • Clicking the "i" icon in queue grids allows users to edit sample and specimen data related to the test
  • Lab Technician added as a default filter field
  • Test Assignment - Batch fill controls added for some grid columns
  • Test Assignment - Specimen assignment values changed for new split specimens (i.e. "New 1" changed to "New Split 1")
  • Test Assignment - Open in QC button removed
  • Test Assignment - Specimen to retain setting moved into the grid as the last record
  • Test Assignment - Test column made wider
  • Test Assignment - Test Group control added to easily assign multiple related tests as defined in Admin
  • Test Assignment - Batch fill control added to Test column
  • Test Assignment - Batch fill control added to Comments column
  • Test Assignment - Sample number displayed above grid
  • Test Assignment - Confirmation box added and displayed after tests are assigned - indicates # of tests assigned, # of specimens created, which specimen retained for future use / testing
  • Global and Test specific notes added in Project Specifications are applied to the Test Notes field on the test record
  • New grid icon for Lab Instructions introduced - book icon
  • Queue grid position is remembered when returning to the grid after performing an action

Soil Proctor Results

  • Rock correction needed flag added to support applying rock corrections to SNG density tests from the field module
  • Specific Gravity and Absorption % were added to the Proctor Results form to support applying rock corrections to SNG density tests from the field module
  • Rock correction information added to proctor grid results
  • Test Group removed from the test data import process since Test Group was removed from the system

Reports

  • Soil Nuclear Gauge Report - Modifications to report made to support rock correction reporting requirements per ASTM D4718
  • Sand Cone Report - Modifications to report made to support rock correction reporting requirements per ASTM D4718

Utilities

  • Save Filter functionality introduced so filters can be saved and reused
  • Concrete / Grout / Mortar - Mix Design filter show the material the mix design is associated with in the list of values
  • Density Testing - Rock correction fields added to data extract
  • Density Testing - Soil Classification Sub-Code added to data extract
  • User interface updated to use the relatively new interface introduced throughout MetaField

User Interface

  • Project Code field labels replaced with Project Number where applicable
  • Multiple choice filter controls updated to be more like pick list filters with multi-select capabilities

Patch Log

2.11.1

  • Updated behind-the-scenes properties related to integrated sample / test forms
  • Sample Tracking QC - Issue resolved that displayed inactive sample forms when adding samples
  • Project Administration - Issue resolved that prevented the deletion of clients / projects in certain cases
  • DIY Reports - Issue resolved that produced an error when placing a "signature block" digital signature on a report

2.11.2

  • Issue resolved that prevented the rendering of reports emailed in 2.10 when clicking on the link provided in the email (impacted reports emailed in the last 14 days)

2.11.3

  • Delivery - Issue resolved that did not order the underlying reports of a consolidated report correctly
  • Delivery - Issue resolved that prevented the finalization of consolidated report if an office-specific logo file was missing (users will be able to finalize consolidated reports without an office-specific logo file)
  • Expression Builder - Expontential (EXP) function added
  • Activity Field - Issue resolved that prevented users from seeing newly-added Activity Log entries or Supplier / Plant / Mix Design entries
  • Activity Field - Issue resolved that prevented the display of a multi-choice field as a pop up
  • Activity - Issue resolved that prevented the update of Text Library text that did not contain text placeholder variables
  • Density QC - Issue resolved that prevented the update of specifications when using the batch update functions in certain cases

2.11.4

  • Dashboard - Issue resolved that prevented the filters from persisting when opening a project in QC
  • QC - Density - Issue resolved that returned extra rows when using the Report Status filter
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that generated an error when pasting text into a Text Area field using certain browsers
  • LIMS - Test Assignment Grid - Issue resolved where the wrong grid record was deleted when using the Delete control
  • Activity - Field - Issue resolved that prevented the number of open discrepancies button from displaying in certain situations
  • Activity - Issue resolved that prevented Text Area fields from saving if default text was present and no edits were made to the default text
  • Test Forms - Various changes to integrated system forms - see details below
  • Sample Forms - Various changes to integrated system forms - see details below

2.11.5

  • Report Generation - Issue resolved that prevented DIY reports from being generated in a timely manner.

2.11.6

  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented new grid records from having fields displayed in certain cases
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented fields from hiding when the "Hidden" property was assigned to the field
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that displayed the incorrect helper text when hovering over a button on the formatting toolbar
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented formatted text in Text Area fields from displaying properly on reports
  • DIY Forms - Performance enhancement introduced when loading sample forms that have a large number of supporting data source values
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented the use of the CONATAIN function on a multiple choice field that is set to display as a popup on the screen
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented users from editing fields on system forms that were set to allow edits to an expression or visualization rules
  • Admin - Text Library - Issue resolved that prevented the formatting from displaying when editing the text library text
  • Delivery - Issue resolved that caused a timeout error when setting a report to be Public (AgilePort)
  • Delivery - Issue resolved that generated an "Unsupported Content" message when uploading external reports
  • Concrete / Grout / Mortar - Issue resolved that prevented the test age from calculating correctly in certain cases

2.11.7

  • DIY Forms - Continued improvements to Text Area fields when rendering text copied from other applications (i.e. hidden formatting when copying text from MS Word, etc.)
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented the accurate display of Project Manager on reports when sourced to a pick list field on a form
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented the accurate display of a multiple choice field in "pop up" mode in specific situations
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented the use of an IF function that referenced fields in a separate section on a form
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that saved a Time field as "00:00" when the field was left empty / blank
  • DIY Sample Forms - Issue resolved that caused two fields on the Asphalt Sample form to not be in the form section they were intended to be in
  • DIY Sample Forms - Adding sample forms with materials already assigned to a sample form is no longer allowed (existing "duplicate material" forms will be grandfathered in and allowed)
  • DIY Test Forms - Issue resolved that caused system to time out when marking test as "Untested" in specific situations
  • DIY Test Forms - Billing Quantity form setting added to define the default Test Billing Quantity value on a form
  • General - Introduced preventative code in response to potential issues discovered in system monitoring tools

2.11.8

  • Delivery - Issue resolved that caused performance issues when making a report public for AgilePort in certain cases
  • Draft Reports - Issue resolved that caused an error when signing Draft reports with attachments in certain cases

2.11.9

  • DIY Reports - Issue resolved that prevented users from adding a new report type for a new DIY form in certain situations
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that generated an error when replacing an uploaded photo (File Upload field) with a photo taken directly from the device camera (iOS only)
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that displayed a calculated field result in the LIMS module, but not in the QC module in certain situations
  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved that prevented the calculation of fraction fields in QC in certain situations
  • Project Administration - Distribution List - Template reports for DIY forms are hidden from Distribution List settings
  • Field - Add Proctor menu button added to allow adding proctor data directly in the Field module (i.e. fill / stock pre-tested and baseline proctor data available in the field)
  • Admin - Security settings added to support the new Add Proctor option in the Field module
  • LIMS - Concrete / Grout / Mortar - Technician lists updated to only show technicians defined as a "Lab Technician" (versus "Field Technician") in Admin (User record) - if you find that an expected name is missing from your list, first check the User list in the Administration module and make sure they are defined as a "Lab Technician"

2.11.10

  • DIY Forms - Issue resolved with visualization rules not working on a Text Area field when related to a Pick List in a Section
  • General - Issue resolved that randomly prevented some users from logging into MetaField - timeout

2.11.11

  • DIY Forms (Sample Forms) - Issue resolved that caused MetaField to become unresponsive if a system-based Sample form was copied.

DIY System Form Changes


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