Release Notes for IBM Workplace for Business Controls and Reporting

This document contains the release notes for IBM® Workplace™ for Business Controls and Reporting, Version 2.5. The release notes describe late changes and known defects, and provide workarounds where possible.

Late changes:

Known defects:

Changes to default roles

When WBCR is installed, the Access Manager creates a set of default roles. These defaults provide initial functionality and backward compatibility with previous versions of WBCR. The role definitions provide a similar user experience to that of versions 1.x and 2.0.x.

The list of roles in the user Help for the Access Manager portlet is not up to date. Here is the updated list of default WBCR roles:

Changes to external views

In order to improve performance, reports are now run separately against the current set of tables and the history set, not both simultaneously. Consequently, each of the WBCR external views (except V_Version and V_Release) now has two variants:

Change to "Install WebSphere Portal 5.0.22" InfoCenter instructions

In the InfoCenter instructions for "Install WebSphere Portal 5.0.22", the references to the CD versions needed to install on a Windows platform should include cd1-2. The revised line reads as follows:

Windows®: You will need the following version 5.0.22 CDs: cd1-1, cd1-2, cd1-7, cd2, cdSetup.

Notes about Notification e-mail feature

Following are some important notes regarding the Notification e-mail feature:

Custom roles (SPR PYZG67QHXD)

Take care when creating and assigning custom roles as it is possible to allow a role to add a child node but not to edit the child node. For example, if a role has BU = view, Process = Edit, ChildNode = Edit, and all other resource types set to No Access, it will be possible for a user with that role to create a subprocess but then be unable to view or edit it.

Field names in error messages (SPR XYXU67S6BM)

When a user makes an invalid entry in a field, the resulting error message may identify the field using its internal name rather than the name displayed in the portlet.

Linkages between financial documents and Subprocesses (SPR ZNJN67XBWU)

The enforcement of linkages between financial documents and Subprocesses is effective only if:

If you do not see the enforcement of the financial linkages when you expect them, go to Administration > WBCR Administration > Global Settings and check both of these settings.

Display of new versions (SPR PYPY6836JU)

For performance reasons, version information is retrieved only when a portlet is first initialized for a user session. Therefore, if new versions are created during a user session, the user must log out and then log back in in order to see them.

Ignore error log entry (SPR SGOU683ARQ)

You can ignore the following exception in the error log. It comes from the Crystal viewer, but the WBCR report loads correctly.

19159f98 WebGroup E SRVE0026E: [??????????]-[OutputStream already obtained]: java.lang.IllegalStateException: OutputStream already obtained
...
at org.apache.jsp._crystalimagehandler._jspService(_crystalimagehandler.java:100)

Report fails to open (SPR MCMC684EHG)

Occasionally a report may fail to open and you will see a message "The report you requested requires further information". This is an intermittent problem, and you will usually be able to open the report if you try again after 10 or 15 minutes.

Korean characters do not display in Chinese environment (SPR PYPY6857UT)

Korean characters do not display correctly in a Chinese (zh-cn) environment, even when the character set is set to UTF-8 in Portal Administration > Portal Settings > Supported Markups > html.

Newly added risk does not display (SPR PYPY685C7S)

When you add a risk, the new risk appears in the navigator under the selected objective. However, the new risk does not display under other objectives belonging to the sample subprocess. You must collapse and objective node and then expand it again in order to see the new risk.

Date 1969-12-31 or 1970-01-01 appears in fiscal year edit page (SPR ZNJN68CAXE)

In the Fiscal Year portlet, if one or more of the quarter dates is empty in the database, the empty fields will, as expected, appear blank on the view page. However, if you click Edit the display defaults the empty fields to 1969-12-31 or 1970-01-01, the Java™ date value of 0.

Displaying reports in the Executive View (SPR HBGO68DGCK)

If you display a report, such as Evaluation Status Detail, in the Executive View tab, switch to another tab, and then go back to the Executive View tab, the previously opened report overrides the detail portlet. To overcome the problem, click on some other object and then go back to the detail portlet.

Mail notifications not sent (SPRs QCHG68FM2F, QCHG68H5TS and QCHG68HDDP)

When a shared control is changed, mail notifications are sent only to owners in the tree where the control was created. Owners in other trees that have just a link to the shared control are not notified.

If a subprocess is linked to a subcaption, and the subcaption is removed, a mail is sent saying that the subprocess/subcaption linkage has been deleted. However, if the subprocess is deleted, no linkage mail is sent.

If an objective is linked to a risk, and the objective is deleted, a mail is sent saying that the objective/risk linkage has been deleted. However, if the risk is deleted, no linkage mail is sent.

Process can be viewed without appropriate permission (SPR DWAG68KCMX)

In some circumstances it is possible for a user to see a process item in a documentation status report when he or she has no permission to view or edit the process. For example:

Evaluation date changes if procedure is edited (SPR XYXU68MCSC)

If you edit a procedure that has been evaluated, for example by changing its name, the evaluation date changes to the date the edit was made. This is because evaluation of a procedure is really an edit operation on the procedure itself, in fact editing its Comment field.

Relogin required to see Global Settings changes (SPR ZNJN68MCJG)

If you make changes to Global Settings, the changes will only be visible if you log out and then log in again. For example, if Financial Values are visible and you set them to Off, they will remain visible until you relogin.

Default frequency of an imported control becomes Daily (SPR KBAN68LLMD)

When you import a catalog, the default Frequency value for a Control becomes NONE in DB2®. However, NONE is not an option in the WBCR dropdown so if you edit an imported control that has default Frequency, the Frequency value will change to Daily (even if you did not edit that field).

Navigation tree not updated (SPR BHYI68PBLL)

In the following cases the navigation tree is not automatically updated:

You can refresh the tree by collapsing the parent of the affected node. However, because deleting a shared control can potentially affect many nodes, the safest way is to collapse the tree from the root node.

Changes to one's own ACLs do not take effect immediately (SPR XMZG68QCGT)

If a user edits a resource and changes his or her own ACLs, the change may not take immediate effect. In such cases, navigating the tree will cause the correct access to be reflected.

Names of online users not highlighted (SPR QCHG68QE23)

In the WBCR display, the names of users who are online are normally highlighted. If you click a highlighted name, a menu of messaging options appears. However, when Active Directory is used as the LDAP server, names of online users are not highlighted. You can still send messages to such users by using, for example, IBM Lotus® Instant Messaging (Sametime®).

Date in English on Korean report (SPR SSHT68RHDD)

In Korean, the first time you launch a report, the date on the report appears in English while the rest of the report is in Korean. To overcome the problem close the report window, and launch the same report again from portal. The date corrects itself and displays in Korean.

Error "Maximum processing time or maximum records limit reached" (SPR ZNJN68TGUP)

If you see the Crystal error "Maximum processing time or maximum records limit reached", you must increase the Crystal server's record limit in order for reports to run. On the Crystal server's Properties panel, increase the value of the Records limited to setting. The value will depend on your setup. For example, try increasing the default of 20,000 to 40,000. To do this:

  1. Open the Crystal Management Console.
  2. Select Server from the Organize tab.
  3. Select the Crystal Page Server.
  4. On the Properties tab, increase the value of Records limited to to 40000.
  5. Click Update.
  6. Click Servers in the bread-crumb trail.
  7. Select RAS.
  8. On the Database tab, increase the Records limited to value to 40000.
Important: Keep increasing the number until the error goes away. If the maximum number (2147483648) is reached, and the error still has not gone away, change the setting to "Unlimited". Be aware, however, that once you change the setting to "Unlimited", this can cause a bottleneck with your other CE services. Wait for the report to load instead of clicking the Preview button again, as this will cause the Crystal server to become even slower, with the additional database hits.

Failure to save report as PDF (SPR XYXU68TJ3E)

In order to export reports to PDF when dealing with large data sets, you may need to increase the value of Maximum Cache Size Allowed on the Crystal cache server's Properties panel from 5000 to 50000 KB. To do this:

  1. Open the Crystal Management Console.
  2. Select Server from the Organize tab.
  3. Select Cache Server.
  4. On the Properties tab, increase the value of Maximum cache size allowed to 50000.
  5. Click Update.

Error after saving a report as PDF (SPR KBAN68THUR)

A JavaScript™ runtime error occurs if you open a report, save it as a PDF file, and then, once the save is complete, switch to another report page. To avoid the problem, after exporting the report to PDF, refresh the page before navigating to the next report page.

Error opening or using reports (SPR CWUU68SW3A)

You may see occasional errors when opening or working on reports. These are caused by Crystal intermittently requesting report parameters, and are a consequence of unsynchronized system clocks and/or WebSphere® Application Server's LTPA token timeout setting. To reduce the occurrence of such errors make sure that system clocks are synchronized, and consider increasing the LTPA timeout value.

Make sure the system clocks for all servers (Portal, Crystal, DB2), and any client connected to the Portal, are synchronized. Each machine can use its local locale, but the clock must but synchronized. For example:

As time passes after synchronization, clocks will become unsynchronized again because different machines' system clocks do not run at exactly the same speed. Ideally, to minimize errors, synchronize the system clocks every cycle of the LTPA token time out period. All machines that generate LTPA token requests and check the token need to be synchronized.

Before increasing the LTPA token expiration you will need to consider your company's security policies. Large values are not recommended on systems with sensitive data. To increase the LTPA token expiration value:

  1. Connect to the WebSphere Administration Console.
  2. If you receive a security alert, click Yes to accept the certificate.
  3. At the login screen enter the administration account and password.
  4. Click Security to expand the available options.
  5. Click Authentication Mechanisms.
  6. Click LTPA to display the options.
  7. Modify the value in the Timeout field.
  8. Click Apply.
  9. When the message box appears, click Save.
  10. When the Save to Master Configuration dialog box appears, click Save.
  11. Logout and restart WebSphere Portal.

Dates displayed in US format (SPR CWUU68UKBV)

Dates in user-editable fields display in US format, mm/dd/yyyy, even if the correct format for your locale is different. If you enter or change a date by typing directly into the field you must use the US format. To avoid this, click the calendar icon next to the field and select the date from the calendar.

Objects not displayed after customizing a label (SPR XYXU68ZAMF)

If you use the label manager to customize wbcr.control.observation.label.impact or wbcr.orgunit.label.scope for a report in one locale, and then view the report in another locale, objects associated with the new label will not be displayed. To overcome the problem, you must add the label to each locale separately. Only if the label is added to the locale where the report will be viewed, will the relevant objects be displayed.

"Unknown" displayed in audit trail (SPR XYXU68WEVX)

This is a current limitation for the audit trail of linkages. WBCR relies on the eixstence of objects in order to display their names. However, if the objects have been deleted from the version that the user is viewing, then the names cannot be obtained. In such cases the text "Unknown" is used.

Japanese text overlaps text in other fields (SPR QCHG68YCQK)

When running reports from an AIX® Crystal Enterprise server, Japanese text in a field may not wrap correctly, and may overlap text in other fields.

One process tree cannot be divided into more than one sheet in old Excel spreadsheets (SPR KBAN693DYF)

Because of the parsing process, if a user divides a process tree into more than one sheet, the processes in the second and later sheets will be regarded as new processes, and will cause problems during reimportation because their names are exactly the same. Users should include all data of the same process inside one sheet.

Inactive static catalogs cannot be migrated to V2.5 (SPR KBAN692H4E)

Static catalogs can be set to inactive, and are then invisible for ordinary users. Inactive static catalogs in previous releases cannot be migrated to V2.5. If Inactive catalogs need to be migrated, they must be changed to Active before migration. The system administrator shoul go to the Setup panel, and set catalogs to Active before running the migration utility. After migration, the system administrator can set migrated catalogs to inactive.