Over the last two weeks, we have been working on improvements to the platform. This blog post provides 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.
Pages
New features
New “add input” option on form components
The form components in the page builder default component set have been upgraded with a new feature, allowing users to add inputs directly via an option in the sidebar, in addition to the already available drag-and-drop method. This update also enables users to add inputs within locked widgets or page templates, making form modifications more accessible for those without unlocking permissions. Read more here in this product change blog post.
Impact: This update will only be available in the latest version of the form components in the default Betty Block component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.
Configuration wizard when using Block Store component
Value: The latest versions of the form input components now include an enhanced "configuration wizard" that appears when you drop inputs onto the canvas or use the new "add input" option. A key improvement in this release is that the configuration wizard now works seamlessly with reusable Block Store components. Unlike previous versions, where the configuration wizard was not available for Block Store components, this update ensures that users can apply the same intuitive configuration process.
Here's how it works:
- You can use default input components on your page, configure them through the component options, and then save them as a new Block Store component
- Once saved, you can drag and drop this Block Store component onto the canvas, and the configuration wizard will appear, just as it did for the default input components
This enhancement ensures that Block Store components now offer the same intuitive configuration experience, improving usability and streamlining workflows.
Impact: This update will only be available in the latest version of the following components in the default Betty Block component set:
- Form input components
- Data table columns
- Menu items
- Breadcrumb items
- Tab items
- Stepper items
- List items
Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.
Improvements & fixes
Improvement: New customization options for the progress bar component
Value: The progress bar component now offers additional customization options to enhance its appearance. You can adjust the border radius and change the color of the lighter background for better contrast and accessibility. Previously, the lighter background was simply a lower-opacity version of the primary color, which could cause visibility issues. These new options provide greater flexibility in designing a progress bar that fits your needs.
Impact: This update will only be available in the latest version of progress bars in the default Betty Block component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.
Improvement: Set value interaction to target hidden inputs
Value: Hidden input components have been enhanced to receive values from other input components. This new capability can be achieved by adding for example an on-change interaction on text input A with the set value interaction to target hidden input B. This new capability can be extremely helpful when building multi-part forms over multiple pages for example.
Impact: This update will only be available in the latest version of hidden inputs in the default Betty Block component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.
Improvement: Enhanced user experience in entity browser
Value: The entity browser in the context of clicking through model options exposed by data components on your page (the first menu item in the entity browser) has been updated to improve usability. The following changes have been applied:
- The search input will now receive auto-focus when navigating to the list of model properties
- The subtitle displaying the model name under each property has been removed, as the model name is already clearly shown at the top as a category
- All icons used have been aligned in color and size
Impact: Users do not need to take any additional steps to benefit from this.
Bug fix: Rich text editor functionality restored
Value: The rich text editor component has been updated to fix an issue that prevented users from accessing default options such as text formatting, bullet points, and more. This fix ensures that all these features now function as expected again, allowing for a seamless editing experience.
Impact: This update will only be available in the latest version of the rich text editor input component in the default Betty Block component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.
Bug fix: Resolved error state in display logic
Value: The multi-rule display logic option now correctly handles authentication profile data. Previously, using authentication profile data on the right-hand side of filter rules could unexpectedly trigger an error state. This issue has been fixed, ensuring seamless use of authentication profile data in display logic.
Impact: Users do not need to take any additional steps to benefit from this.
Bug fix: Component renaming
Value: The component renaming feature has been improved to resolve an issue where renamed components did not update in the right-hand side component tree. Previously, renaming a component while the component tree was open could result in out-of-sync names between the canvas and the component tree. This issue has now been fixed, ensuring that renamed components update correctly across all views.
Impact: Users do not need to take any additional steps to benefit from this.
Bug fix: “Body” components no longer disappear from the component tree
Value: An issue has been fixed where components renamed to “Body” would disappear from the component tree. Now, components named “Body” remain visible, allowing users greater flexibility in renaming components as needed.
Impact: Users do not need to take any additional steps to benefit from this.
Bug fix: Increased input variable limit in entity browser
Value: The default limit for input variables displayed in the entity browser has been increased from 10 to 50. Previously, users with more than 10 input variables couldn't access all their items. This update mitigates the issue by allowing up to 50 input variables, with plans to introduce proper pagination in the future for cases requiring more than 50.
Impact: Users do not need to take any additional steps to benefit from this.
Bug fix: Full-width buttons on smaller screens
Value: Button components, including submit and action buttons, have been improved to properly support full-width display on smaller screens. Previously, buttons did not expand as expected on devices with widths under 600 px, causing layout issues. This fix ensures that the full-width option now works consistently across all screen sizes.
Impact: This update will only be available in the latest version of buttons in the default Betty Block component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.
Bug fix: Select input inside data lists no longer triggering on change events twice
Value: The event handling of select components inside data lists has been improved to prevent duplicate “on change” event triggers. Previously, the on-change event for selects nested within data lists was firing twice, causing unnecessary events and unexpected behavior. This issue has now been resolved, ensuring proper event execution.
Impact: This update will only be available in the latest version of selects in the default Betty Block component set. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.
Bug fix: Block Store rich text editor component fix in dialogs
Value: The TinyMCE rich text editor component from the public Block Store has been updated to ensure consistent functionality across different placements. Previously, some options did not work as expected when the editor was used inside dialogs or drawer sidebars, compared to direct placement on a page. This issue has now been resolved, ensuring a seamless user experience in all contexts.
Impact: This update will only be available in the latest version of the Block store component itself. Existing components already in use on pages will not automatically receive this update.
Up next
Toggle form changes syncing per action step
Value: This feature allows developers to enable or disable form change synchronization for individual action steps that include a “value mapping” step option type, like the default Betty Blocks create and update steps.
Impact: This option enables the new time-saving synchronization feature to be applied to older forms. It allows you to synchronize form changes across multiple action steps simultaneously and provides the flexibility to disable the synchronization feature when it is not needed.
Timeframe: Q1 2025
Improved usability: Accessing logged-in user data on pages
Value: We will enhance usability when working with logged-in user data on pages by automatically providing authentication profile variables (representing logged-in users) across Pages. We are recognizing four key milestones:
- Enabling the use of authentication profile variables inside component options on a page.
- Allowing authentication profile variables to be used within filters of data components and other page variables on a page.
- Supporting authentication profile variables inside partials on a page.
- Enabling the use of current user role(s) in conditional display logic filtering on a page for easier configuration of show and hide logic based on the user’s role(s).
Impact: This future improvement means that users will no longer need to manually add data containers to make logged-in user information available across pages, simplifying workflows and improving efficiency without additional setup.
Timeframe: Q2 2025
Models
New features
Replacing the current cloud storage
Value: We are currently replacing our current cloud storage provider with Wasabi Technologies as our subprocessor for cloud storage. This change is part of our continuous efforts to optimize our services and ensure we leverage the most efficient and secure solutions available.
Impact: No action is required nor expected from our users. This transition will be seamless, and we are doing everything to minimize the impact on our services and are expecting no downtime during the migration.
Timeframe: Customers will be notified when the migration of their applications is scheduled.
Actions
Improvements & fixes
Various fixes to action steps:
Delete all records
Value: Fixed a bug where the filter parsed incorrectly for datetime values, filtering on data now responds as expected when implementing various formatting kinds.
Datetime offset
Value: Fixed a bug where the step would return an error: "Incorrect formatting type" when choosing the value “Unix Time Stamp (epoch)” as a result, this can now be set as output again.
Create or Update record
Value: Improved the action step to now allow the selection of a date property as a unique value when creating or updating new data.
Value: Validates-boolean option now also works when used inside the Mass Mutate step.
JSON path
Value: Enhanced the action step to also add query() method, enabling you to get a (filtered) collection from a JSON object/array, allowing the step to be used in more use cases.
Impact: Improvement on the fix, these steps can now be used as mentioned in the description of the fix.
Up next
Enhanced debug logging experience
Value: (Debug)logging of an action is currently a very time-consuming effort. To check where an action fails to execute or if information about the execution is needed, the builder currently needs multiple log steps after every action step to check the action flow. By enabling logging the whole action at once and optimizing the logs page to display the information of the action execution, we enable the builders to debug their action within minutes instead of hours.
For the last two weeks, we have been rolling out a series of updates to enhance the debug logging experience. This all is available behind a feature flag that can be requested via Support.
What you will unlock with this feature flag:
- Turn logging on/off
- Feature: Toggle to enable or disable logging for each action, available in the action settings.
- Value: Provides control over logging, allowing builders to enable it only when needed to reduce clutter and focus on critical information.
- Log page optimization
- Feature: Expand/collapse logs by action step for easier navigation and links to specific actions/steps directly from the log page for quick access.
- Value: Improves readability and accessibility, making it easier to pinpoint and resolve issues.
- Variables on the log page
- Feature: After this milestone, the variables and their values will be printed on the logs page for every action step.
- Value: Improves the debug experience, making it easier to pinpoint and resolve issues.
- Advanced filtering options
- Feature: Search and filter logs by timestamp and type and sort columns, with the default sort set to date and time (latest log first).
- Value: Allow builders to quickly locate relevant logs, reducing time spent searching for specific events.
Timeframe: The public release of the improved debug logging experience is planned for mid-March.
My Betty Blocks
New features
End-user activity tracking
Value: Company admins are able to view and monitor the active end-users within their company and per application within the company so that they can govern the value of the applications.
Impact: On the company overview dashboard a new graph is available that shows the total number of active end-users. On the company overview applications table, a new column is added that shows the total number of active end-users per application.
Read more about it in this specific product change: Product changes - Growth-stats
Company growth metrics
Value: Company admins are able to see the company statistics updates over time allowing them to govern the value of the company account and its applications.
Impact: The company overview dashboard now shows the statistics in a graph including the growth number for the selected period. In the applications table of the company overview, the growth numbers are displayed in the columns for the selected period per application.
Read more about it in this specific product change: Product changes - Growth-stats
Improvements & fixes
Merge overview infinite load
Value: Merge overview no longer stays in an infinite load causing degraded user experience for merging changes.
Impact: Loading any merge overview.
Up next
Company storage usage
Value: Display the total storage usage of an account and application basis without temporary storage being included so that a realistic view of actual storage usage is displayed.
Impact: The storage will be displayed on the company dashboard and applications table.
Timeframe: Upcoming 2 weeks.
Builder activity tracking
Value: Company admins are able to view and monitor the active builders within their company and per application within the company so that they can govern the building of the applications.
Impact: On the company overview dashboard a new graph is available that shows the total number of active builders. On the company overview applications table, two new columns are added that show the total number of active builders per application and last building activity date/time.
Timeframe: Upcoming 2 weeks.
Merge change readability
Value: Builders will get an improved merge overview where merge changes are easier to read, group and to find these changes within the application, to speed up merge change validation.
Impact: When viewing the merge overview to merge changes in the development lifecycle.
Timeframe: Upcoming 4 weeks
Education
New
Access the Academy beta environment
Test our new Betty Blocks academy at: academy.bettyblocks.com
Our new environment allows you to keep better track of where you left off, provides a cleaner user experience and enables the Education team to provide more variations of content in the future.
Have any requests for new or specific content? Email odin@bettyblocks.com with your requests.
Improvements & fixes
Improved user dashboard in the company overview - documentation
Added a segment on the new user dashboard in your company overview, allowing platform admins to keep track of the usage and limits of your applications. Read into the new segment and boost your governance insights.
File sizes in the document upload feature - documentation
Added a segment about file sizes in the 'Creating a document upload' article, explaining the various upload limits to keep and mind and to keep an eye on the differences in limiting on your pages versus the limit in your model.
Up next
A modular course: Introduction to widgets
The Education team is going to work with a new format of creating content, allowing users to enjoy content on new features at a faster pace. Expect a course on using, creating and managing widgets!
Timeframe: The new course is expected to arrive at the Academy in March
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.
- Milestone 1: LMS Implementation, branding, and SSO availability
- Feature: Launch the Academy (based on HubLMS) integrated with Betty Blocks' branding and ensure secure user access through SSO.
- Value: Provides a branded, secure, and accessible platform for users to begin engaging with the LMS while setting the stage for future expansion
Timeframe: We aim to open the environment in January, for the first rounds of customer testing and essential path usage.
- Milestone 2: Certification and badging system
- Feature: Enhance user motivation and recognize achievements with certifications, tests, and badges.
- Value: Encourages user engagement through visible rewards, enhances credibility for users, and adds value to Betty Blocks’ platform.
- Milestone 3: Customer and management portals
- Feature: Enable tailored learning experiences for different user roles and provide administrators with insights.
-
Value: Supports scalability by offering role-based learning, empowers administrators with actionable insights and enhances user experience.
If you would like to leave feedback regarding our content or have any questions about the new LMS, please reach out to odin@bettybocks.com
Platform roadmap
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!