Major Issues Addressed
Filters Reset to Include All
Many of our users have experienced an issue where when the datasource is temporarily unavailable and a user attempts to load a dashboard, the filters they had previously saved will be reset to the default of “Include All”. This has been a serious concern for us and we are happy to announce that this behaviour has changed in this coming update. Fig. 1 shows what a user loading a dashboard when the datasource was unavailable would previously see in Analytics.
Figure 1. The old behaviour of the dashboards when they were unable to reach the datasource, filters would choose the default value of “Include All” as is shown.
When a dashboard first attempts to load, a ping is sent to the datasource to ensure that it is available. This ping will continue retrying for a period of time before the dashboard will fail and display a 500 error to the user. Fig. 2 shows the state of a dashboard that is attempting to load, but has not had a successful ping returned yet. If the ping does not return successfully within the timeout period (The default timeout period is 50 seconds, but this is subject to change) the user will see the error message is Fig. 3.
Figure 2. This is the loading state of a dashboard which has not been able to reach its datasource, and is awaiting the return of a successful ping message.
Figure 3. The error message that a user will see when a dashboard’s data source is unavailable.
This change to the dashboard behaviour in fail state conditions makes the failure much more clear to the end user and stops them from making changes causing further issues.
For our users: this situation can happen from time to time due to internet connection issues or server-side data finalization. We have made many improvements to reduce this occurrence, and will continue to improve the frequency our customers will see this. When this happens, please wait a minute and refresh your browser. If you experience this problem very often or the system does not respond within a few minutes, please submit a ticket to Shoplogix Support and we will ensure it is escalated and resolved quickly.
Email sending stability
The latest update brings with it improvements to how emails are generated, as well as smarter post-failure internal mechanisms. The system is now able to retry to send emails if the first attempt is not successful. While this does not have any front end changes, it will result in an improvement in the email success rates.
Minor Issues Addressed
500 Errors causing unreachable dashboards
The 500 error is a general error that describes an issue with the browser-to-server connection. Some users were receiving this error when attempting to load a dashboard that had worked for them previously, often when the sharing settings were changed. This unreachable dashboard issue has been resolved.
Reporting Engine Stability
The reporting engine, which is responsible for generating the email reports, has had improvements that will remove the need for regular rebooting of the service. This should limit the errors we have seen where the system gets overloaded and requires a full restart.
Left hand Navigation pane loses all entries
Some users experience an issue where the Navigation area went blank and they could not access their dashboard list. When this happened, Shoplogix Support needed to manually restore the Navigation. This has been repaired.