stSoftware July 2015 Release Notes

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July 2015 - System Enhancements

New Distribution Method to distribute Published Website Articles via email:

Now you can publish an article to your website and easily distribute it via email to a list of Contacts.

The new distribution method uses Email ReST Variables which identifies and automatically adds the email Subject and email Body to be distributed to the Recipients. For example if you have a monthly Newsletter Article which you create this can be Published to your website and now it can also easily be distributed via our ReST service as

How to distribute a published article via email

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To distribute a published article via email firstly you have to enable the Distribution module and you'll need to have Admin level access. You can find the Distribution module in Modules tab of Admin/Settings screen:

Modules tab

Go to the main menu and click on Articles/List Articles, find the published article you want to distribute, go to Distribution tab, and check "Enable" checkbox.

Distribution tab

Once Distribution for this article is enabled, you can add Distribution Methods. You don't have to select Email Template or enter

Setup heart beat monitor

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1. Generate two magic numbers to access the application from another process (monitor) without using user:password.

 Go to 'Customize > Classes' and search for the class DBMagicNumber and click on create DBMagicNumber

Set the command to: TASK LIST UPDATE_NOTIFY;TASK BEAT MONITOR;

Save and copy the generated key from the field 'Magic Number' . 

Create a second magic number and set the command to: HEALTH show human DISK;

Save and copy the generated key from the field 'Magic Number' . 

 

   DBMagicNumber

   DBMagicNumber2.png

Note: Only user with

HTTPS versus HTTP, the debate is over.

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SSL is secure socket layer  ie. HTTPS:// instead of HTTP://

Every web page that is sent via HTTP:// is in plan text and can easily be intercepted or even changed via what is know as "man in the middle" or "man on the side" attacks.

Mobile network provides often  "improve" HTTP web pages by injecting their own scripts & images, often these unwanted "improvements" break the page being served. HTTPS prevents the carriers from being able to inject their own content.

Even when you only access the system via

How to test Access Control Limits (ACLs)?

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Overview

Access Control Limits (ACLs) are the expression of the systems information security policies, they can be complex in their nature and vital to not only be correct but also to be seen as correct. The ACLs sanity checks allow for this business level visibility to the information security policies.

All sanity checks in the base product are run as part of the system build process which does not proceed  if there are any failures.

The sanity checks allow for dummy data to be generated ( but not saved) and the

Upgraded the default site SSL to get an A+ grade

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Overview

The default SSL handler for the hosted sites has been upgraded to include "perfect forward secrecy" and we have dropped support for the weaker SSL ciphers. 

The drop of the weaker SSL ciphers means old browsers such as Windows XP IE7 will no longer be able to connect via HTTPS. IE7 will still be able to connect to the non-encrypted HTTP sites or alternatively Windows XP users can use more modern browsers Chrome or Firefox. 

HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) has been enabled by default, HSTS

Format your emails with Cascading Style Sheets.

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Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) can be used to style your emails; create professional branding, specific marketing and event styling

You can add a CSS to every email / for an individual user email account / email template / or specific email.

1. System wide email CSS - Once you add a system wide email CSS all new emails will use this style.

Go to : Admin > Setting > select tab named 'Email' and set your CSS

 System email CSS

With this example the email editor for all the users would look like the below.

Email with system CSS 

2. User account email CSS - Your

How to use site default article template

Each CMS site could have one default article template, you can set it in the Admin tab of the site data entry screen.

Select Handlebars as the default article parser, then enter the handlebar template

 

When you insert an article compoent in a page, it will look like:

 

Then you can add your style sheet to change the looking of the article

Severe Bash vulnerability affects Unix-based systems including Linux and Mac OSX

On 25.09.2014 a severe internet security alert was issued for many Linux/Mac systems. stSoftware immediately patched all our cloud hosted servers in response to this alert.

We advise individuals or organisations with Unix-based systems they will need to patch all internet facing Linux/Mac servers immediately.

See Severe Bash vulnerability affects Unix-based systems including Linux and Mac OSX for more information on how to manage this internet security issue.

We recommend internet users subscribe

How to use the "Web Folders" from Mac OS

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You can use cloud file manager as a web folder (webDAV) on Mac by "Map network drive" lunching Finder and choosing the menu item "connect to server" from the "Go" menu.

Connect to server

 Choose "Connect to a server"

Connect to server dialog

 

Then enter the URL of your Job Track server https://hostname/dav 

You'll then be asked for your user name and password:- 

 Enter your user name password

Now the files will be listed as if they were local to the Mac:-

Mac using webdav

How to define a RESTful Web Services?

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Overview

Representational State Transfer (ReST) has gained widespread acceptance across the Web as a simpler alternative to SOAP- and Web Services Description Language (WSDL)-based Web services.

The resources are acted upon by using a set of simple, well-defined operations. The REST architectural style constrains an architecture to a client/server architecture and is designed to use a stateless communication protocol, using HTTP/HTTPS.
 
The system allows a series of RESTful services to be defined. The ReST service will normally return a JSON object

Online store product shipping rates

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Overview

When you have a E-Commerce store you need to define your shipping rates & rules. You'll probably want to configure more than one type of service, so that your customers can choose from a range of delivery costs. In particular, you should remember that it will cost you more to ship to some regions than others, so you're likely to need more than one shipping rate if you send products across long distances as well as locally.

The shipping rates will be likely based on the size and weight of the products to be shipped. The shipping

How to show RRP in online store?

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Go to Store/Products menu, edit the product you wish to show the RRP, go to Selling Details tab, enter RRP in Details section and check the "Show RRP" checkbox.

 

Now the RRP is shown in the product page of the online store

What are the major changes over the since JobTrack 4 ( Nov 2012)

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The changes to the system have been broad over the 18 months development period.

  1. Moved to JDK7 after end of life period of JDK6
  2. Content Management System
  3. Cloud File Manager
    • Web Folders
    • Shallow Copy of files ( duplicate files in different folders shares the same raw file)
  4. New responsive control panel
  5. E-Commerce
  6. Enhanced login page and session management
  7. HTML5 validation of every generated screen
  8. iPhone & iPad support on standard screens
  9. Numerous performance improvements

Can the system be customised whether it's hosted as a cloud service or installed on our own server?

Hosted or installed - all stSoftware's web systems can be tailored to suit client's requirements. We offer Continuous Improvement Programs which deliver customisations and updates as a discounted monthly service or Ad-hock services.

All our web systems come with an extensive suite of standard modules, screens and functions which when tailored provide a rapid and affordable custom solution which is robust and mature and provided as a full service commercial software application. Whether you have a hosted (cloud)