Over the last two weeks, we have been working on improvements to the platform. In this blog post, you can see a simple list of what has been changed and updated and what bugs have been fixed. You can read more about the release notes here.

Auto focus and focus interaction in input components

Value: Most forms start with an input field for a name or title or such. To provide an enhanced end-user experience, it’s useful to auto focus on the first field of a form so that an end-user can start typing right away without having to click to focus on the first field manually. In order to support this, many input components now have a new component option called ‘auto focus’ and support a new interaction to be targeted called ‘focus’. With the auto focus option you can focus an input on page load by default. With the focus interaction you can make inputs focussed dynamically. The following use cases can be achieved:

Limitations: These are the input components supported: text, text area, password, url, email, phone, number, IBAN, decimal, and price. These are the input components that do not support auto focus and the focus interaction: hidden Input, checkbox, radio, rating, select, autocomplete, multi autocomplete, date picker, date time picker, time picker, file upload, image upload and rich text.

Impact: This new feature is only available in the latest version of the input components (mentioned above) within the default Betty Blocks component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this capability.

Relative date/datetime filtering improvement

Value: We’ve improved the relative date and datetime filtering present in page variable filtering, data components filtering and display logic (v2) filtering, to resolve unexpected behaviors with specific relative filters. For example, when using the "this month" filter previously, not all records within that month were returned. This issue has now been fully resolved, ensuring accurate results for all relative date/datetime filters.

Impact: This enhancement does not affect filters currently in use on existing pages. The improvement will be applied when filters are saved again. Users won’t need to take any additional action to take advantage of this update.

Limitations: The relative date resolution (e.g., "today" or "this month") happens at the data API level, based on the server’s local time. This means that datetime properties currently rely on server-side time rather than the client’s time zone. Also, the week starting day in the Betty Blocks platform is by default on Monday. This determines the results on using relatives like “this week”. We recognize the importance of supporting client time zones as well as more options on the week starting day and plan to implement these adjustments in a future update.

Time picker component loading values fix

Value: The time picker input component has been enhanced to resolve an issue that occurred when loading (default) values at runtime. Previously, the input would display a runtime validation error if the component configuration used the “hh:mm a” (12-hour AM/PM) rendering format in combination with the “Use 24-hour time picker” component option set to false. This issue has now been fully addressed, ensuring (default) values load correctly when using the 12-hour (AM/PM) format.

Impact: This improvement is included in the latest version of the time picker input component within the default Betty Blocks component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.

Autocomplete filter was not behaving correctly using OR operator between groups

Value: The autocomplete component has been enhanced to address an issue that occurred when a filter included two or more groups divided by the OR operator. Previously, the OR operator between the group(s) was not ending up correctly in the query which resulted in unexpected data data records present in the autocomplete. This issue has been addressed and has now been fully resolved, ensuring accurate results when composing such a filter in the autocomplete.

Impact: This improvement is included in the latest version of the autocomplete component within the default Betty Blocks component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.

Limitation: This change is not including a fix where typed data in the autocomplete is automatically deleted and reset with the original value. We recognize the importance of resolving this and plan to implement this fix in a future update.

Betty Blocks page templates box background images

Value: The Betty Blocks page templates have been included with a fix for box components using the background image option. Previously, page templates included this functionality did not show the box background image in design time as well as in runtime. This was caused due to a recent update on the box component which allows you to use dynamic public files next to static Urls. The page templates were missing a configuration setting, which now have been fixed. The intended box background images are shown again.

Impact: This improvement is included in the latest version of the default Betty Blocks page templates. Existing pages will not automatically receive this update.

Improved UI interactions

Value: The interactions segment within the page builder has been redesigned to improve the ease of creating and editing interactions, while enhancing their overall readability. We've introduced icons for the various interaction types, 'click', 'change', and 'more', to help quickly identify the interaction you're working with. When setting or adjusting a target component, hovering over the possible target components now highlights the corresponding component on the canvas, helping you identify whether it's the one you wanted to target. Additionally, interactions are now presented in a clearer, more human-readable format, making it easier to understand what each interaction does, even when not actively editing. The most recent interactions will always be displayed at the top for quicker access.

Impact: All existing interactions will continue to function as they did before. This update focuses on improving the interface for a more user-friendly experience.

Wrapper component is renamed to Empty Widget

Value: The 'Wrapper' component has been renamed to 'Empty Widget' to provide more clarity about its functionality, emphasizing that it can be used to create widgets. Additionally, the 'Empty Widget' is now part of the default component set, eliminating the need to install it separately from the blockstore, making it more accessible and quicker to use.

Impact: All apps will have the 'Empty Widget' component available in the component set. There is no change required from users.

​Save as widget

Value: As a builder I can save a wrapper as a widget.

Impact: When this is released the wrapper component will contain a 'Save as' option that allows builders to save their wrapper as a widget. After saving, the new widget or component is visible in their respective category. That also means a new category 'widgets' is added next to components and partials in the sidebar.

Timeframe: Q4

Display logic V2 - Enhanced functionality and bug fixes

Value: The release of display logic V2 introduces significant improvements that address existing functional issues and expand functionality. This enhancement brings two key benefits:

Impact: To benefit from the fixes in display logic V2, all you need to do is re-save your existing display logic filters after the release. Unchanged filters will continue to function as they did before, but to activate the enhancements, a save is required.

To take advantage of the ability to use page variables in display logic, simply integrate page variables into your filter conditions. Since this is a new feature, there will be no impact on existing filters—they will continue to operate as expected without modification.

Timeframe: October 2024

Dependency checker for properties (Beta)

Value: We are excited to introduce a new feature to enhance the user experience when managing properties within the platform. Previously, when users deleted a property, the platform didn’t provide insights into where that property was being utilized. This often led to broken pages or actions, creating uncertainty and reducing confidence in performing safe deletions. In the detail view of a property, users will now see a new tab titled "References". This tab provides clear visibility into where each property is being used across the platform, including dependencies within pages, models, and actions.

Impact: Since this is a Beta feature, you need to apply a feature flag to gain insights into the dependencies of properties which will be provided on request.

Want to try it out? Contact Lisanne Steenis (lisanne@bettyblocks.com).

Commitment to quality improvement

Currently, we are improving the quality of the data segment by improving our internal processes and code bases. All to service the builders on the platform better and give them a better builder experience.

Commitment to quality improvement

Currently, we are improving the quality of the data segment by improving our internal processes and code bases. All to service the builders on the platform better and give them a better builder experience.

Passing through authentication info when calling remote models

Value: We have addressed an important issue related to the transfer of current user/authentication information when calling a remote model action. Previously, when builders tried to perform a remote model action through a private action, the authentication info (such as the currently logged-in user) was not transferred. Soon, we will properly include the information when calling the action.

Impact: Users do not need to take any additional steps to benefit from these improvements.

Timeframe: End of October.

200+ records in a collection in Actions (Beta)

Value: With this exciting update we will simplify working with large collections in Actions. Soon, Actions will automatically handle the 200-records limit in collections. This means builders no longer need to manually create batches to process collections larger than 200 records. Builders can focus on their core tasks without worrying about batch setup, making the process much more efficient and accessible to all users.

Impact: To make use of this improvement, the builder can turn on and off this functionality per action.

Timeframe: End of October

Company end-user activity tracking graphs (Beta)
​Value: See the number of active end-users within the company dashboard on a graph with historic data, so that the company manager can get an idea of the amount of the users over time.
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Impact: Navigate to the company overview within My Betty Blocks and open the Dashboard tab. Currently this is behind a feature flag, please let us know if you want to check out this feature.

Widget support in Block store (Beta)
​Value: Have a new tab for widgets in the block store, so you can install them into an application.
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Impact: Currently this is behind a feature flag, please let us know if you want to check out this feature.

Migrate existing applications to the new Login Provider

Value: In the upcoming months, we’re going to migrate existing applications from our current login provider to our new login provider to increase the security and compliance of our login provider.

Impact: Logging into the platform will be via an updated design, similar to the design when logging into My Betty Blocks.

Application end-user activity tracking
​Value: See the number of active end-users of an application, so that the company manager can get an idea of the value created by the associated applications within the company.

​Impact: Navigate to the application overview within the company overview in My Betty Blocks.

Business technologist Data API course

value: To support existing and new builders in optimally using the data API for testing and building purposes.

Updated data API content, assisting technical developers in speeding up their Data API learning process

On-premise guidance

Customers with an on-premise installation will now be able to find installation guidance on our documentation environment. This is a license bound set of content

Refined the augmentation guide

The Expand your software: a quick-start guide, now includes the information on getting started in your my.bb environment before diving directly into the platform pillars.

Added a remark

Creating a scheduled action now also explains that this only triggers in a production environment. Testing scheduled actions in development sandboxes is a manual task to prevent data flooding in testing environments.

Business technologist styling guidance

Value: As a builder, I want to learn about the best ways to design my page, so that I can create stylish and brand-appropriate applications.

The education team is going to refine the existing styling related articles, and create new use-case guides to help you create an awesome dashboard, or fitting branded pages.

Improvements to the Betty Blocks learning management system (LMS)

Value: as a Betty Blocks platform trainee, I can test my skills via a Betty Blocks-supported test environment and get graded on level-based tests.

We have decided to work together with the HubLMS team to bring our LMS to an higher level, keep you eyes open for wonderful and exciting environmental changes.

Timeframe:

Want to know more about the upcoming features and functionalities of the Betty Blocks platform? Visit the platform roadmap of our community, where you can find most of the topics that we are currently working on and are planning to work on. Let us know your thoughts by upvoting the topics you believe are the most valuable!

Visit the platform roadmap.

That was all for now. Your feedback allows us to continuously improve the Product. So please let us know what