Release Notes

Introduction 

The release notes provide brief and high-level descriptions of the new features of HaloCAD. Before installing HaloCAD, it is recommended to read the release notes to understand any current limitations or bugs that may apply to this version of the software.

Product Description

HaloCAD for PLM includes HaloCAD PROTECT and MONITOR capabilities, which actively monitor file access, upload, and download events while running in the background. During a file upload, HaloCAD evaluates if the file is already encrypted, and if so, it decrypts and then allows the file to be checked-in to the PLM Vault. In the event of a file access or download, the selected file is automatically protected. HaloCAD operates independently during the check-in and check-out process according to the rules established in the Classification Engine.

System Requirements

The following system requirements table specifies the minimum and recommended technical specifications, such as software and network resources, necessary to run the product.

Requirements

Supported PLM software for HaloCAD for Windchill

You are reading the current version of the release notes; however, if you are searching for a previous version, refer to the release notes for that version.

PLM software and HaloCAD component version

Code Quality and Security

Secude focuses on software quality and security. This is accomplished by adhering to and exceeding best practices in development, testing, and quality control. Secude has chosen SonarQube as the first building block for building and implementing a robust continuous code quality assurance (QA). SonarQube is a platform for statical code analysis for continuous inspection of code quality. It performs automatic reviews of code to detect bugs, code smells, unit test coverage, and security issues in 29 programming languages.

SonarQube is utilized throughout the development process at Secude and only the highest marks are accepted for a product to be released. It helps to regulate code quality from the beginning of development, find and repair issues promptly, and improve overall software stability.

Each build report can be found under its relevant version heading in this release notes.

Reliability Rating 

• A = 0 Bugs

• B = at least 1 Minor Bug

• C = at least 1 Major Bug

• D = at least 1 Critical Bug

• E = at least 1 Blocker Bug

Security Rating

• A = 0 Vulnerabilities

• B = at least 1 Minor Vulnerability

• C = at least 1 Major Vulnerability

• D = at least 1 Critical Vulnerability

• E = at least 1 Blocker Vulnerability

Security Review Rating 

The Security Review Rating is a letter grade based on the percentage of Reviewed (Fixed or Safe) Security Hotspots.

• A = >= 80%

• B = >= 70% and <80%

• C = >= 50% and <70%

• D = >= 30% and <50%

• E = < 30%

Maintainability Rating 

A=0-0.05, B=0.06-0.1, C=0.11-0.20, D=0.21-0.5, E=0.51-1

The Maintainability Rating scale can be alternately stated by saying that if the outstanding remediation cost is:

• <=5% of the time that has already gone into the application, the rating is A

• between 6 to 10% the rating is a B

• between 11 to 20% the rating is a C

• between 21 to 50% the rating is a D

• anything over 50% is an E

Build 2.5

New Features

This section lists the new features in the current release.

HaloCAD for Windchill allows for failover connections between two HaloENGINEs. If the primary HaloENGINE fails, the secondary HaloENGINE takes over, minimizing downtime and ensuring continued functioning. This failover mechanism can be configured using the HALOCAD Config tool as well as the command line. HCADWCL-609

Improvements

This section lists the improvements in the current release.

As HaloENGINE supports failover, relevant log messages have also been included in the "MethodServer" log message. HCADWCL-631

Limitation

This section lists the limitations of the current release.

1. Protecting a new file based on metadata SYSTEM_CONTEXT is not possible until the background scheduler revaulting process in the Windchill Server gets completed as configured by the site administrator. Once the scheduler is invoked, the file gets protected, and you can see the details of it in the audit log. However, this limitation does not occur in already uploaded files. HCADWCL-283

2. When downloading files from the Replica Server, the following metadata, such as Product_Name, Library_Name, and Project_Name do not work; instead, System_Context metadata is utilized to protect the files. Please note that only the Main Server supports the metadata Product_Name, Library_Name, and Project_Name. HCADWCL-422, HCADWCL-412

3. The metadata Workspace_name does not function while downloading files from the Replica Server.

4. When you try to enter a different language, such as Chinese or German, the project_name, library_name, product_name, workspace_name, and system_context entries in the Method Server log will have improper values. HCADWCL-504

5. Non-office or non-CAD files downloaded from the Windchill Workspace/Windchill browser will be protected according to the HaloENGINE rules, but their extension will not be changed to .ptxt or .pfile. For instance, the Text.txt and Image.jpg file extensions stay the same even after protection. This is expected behavior. HCADWCL-84, HCADWCL-86

Fixed Issues

This section lists the fixed issues in the current release.

1. Fixed an issue that caused the monitor log to update for dependent files while downloading a large ASM file instead of the top-level ASM file. HCADWCL-616

2. Fixed an issue that prevented the Monitor log from receiving updates for files downloaded immediately after downloading an ASM file. HCADWCL-254

3. Fixed an issue that prevented downloading a file without protection while downloading a large ASM file for the second time, and the user_name metadata was not updated under Windchill properties. HCADWCL-615

4. Fixed an issue that caused automatic encryption of a CAD document when it was freshly created. HCADWCL-43

5. Fixed an issue that prevented file protection from being exported when using the Save Representation option in the Windchill browser, despite having valid rules in the HaloENGINE admin portal. HCADWCL-638

6. Fixed an issue that prevented file protection when a rule was set up with LIFECYCLE_STATE/LIFECYCLE_TEMPLATE/SYSTEM_CONTEXT/ORGANIZATION_NAME metadata. It also prevented methodserver and monitor log updates while downloading files via the Creo integration's Save Structure option. HCADWCL-669

Known Issues

This section lists the known issues in the current release.

1. An authorization error occurs while downloading a file configured with a security label in Windchill. HCADWCL-149

2. When an error occurs while uploading the files into Windchill, the audit log file gets updated with improper field values for fname and file type. HCADWCL-163

3. If a text file is downloaded, the file gets protected as per the rule configured in HaloENGINE, but the extension is saved in native format (i.e., .txt) instead .ptxt. HCADWCL-151

4. Multiple log entries get updated for a single file download if no action rule is configured and the Fail-safe mode is Strict. HCADWCL-216

5. It is not possible to retrieve the User_Role if the Site Administrator logs into Creo. Hence, the User_Role does not get logged in the audit log while the file is downloaded/uploaded. However, if the Site Administrator logs in via the browser, the user roles are fetched properly. HCADWCL-240

6. The field value duser gets updated as "null" while uploading a file to the Windchill workspace. HCADWCL-250

7. The audit log updates file downloads only when files are downloaded multiple times using the Export from Workspace option. HCADWCL-252

8. When an assembly file with a sub-assembly file and a dependent part file is downloaded via the Export from Workspace option, there will be a log entry only for sub-assembly and dependent part files, excluding the main assembly file. HCADWCL-255

9. When an assembly file with a dependent part file is downloaded via the Export from Workspace option, there will be a log entry for the assembly and dependent part files. HCADWCL-256

10. Incorrect value gets updated in HaloENGINE_Monitor.log file for fname and file type fields while uploading a large assembly file. HCADWCL-257

11. When you download a top-level ASM file using the Open in Creo option, the label on the top-level file is applied uniformly to all its dependent files. This is the expected behavior. However, if you export the top-level ASM file directly from Export from Windchill option, the downloaded top-level file and its dependent files will be asymmetric. For example, if an action rule is defined for DRW and PRT file-dependent files, the exported DRW and PRT files are assigned the label specified in the rule engine rather than the label of the top-level file. HCADWCL-512

12. Although the failover method is enabled, when the primary HaloENGINE is down, the monitor log will not be updated in the secondary HaloENGINE. HCADWCL-673

13. A file is blocked if the HaloENGINE block action is configured correctly. However, an incorrect message will appear as 'This site can't be reached', and then immediately redirect to the Windchill Error page with the incorrect message. HCADWCL-664

14. If the Save Structure/Save Representation option is used when downloading a file, the file will be blocked. However, an incorrect message such as 'This site can't be reached' will appear. HCADWCL-659

Quality Gate Report

Please see the table below for a list of SonarQube's key parameters for this version. Refer to the "Code Quality and Security" section for more information on rating definitions.

Quality Gate report