mtribes integration, list UX and segmentation tag improvements, security enhancements and general bug fixes. 9.3.1: further feature enhancements and bug fixes.*
Note: 9.3 is a major release for the AXIS Platform (Presentation Manager and APIs). 9.3.1 contains additional feature enhancements and fixes.
Overview
This release introduces mtribes Tribes as AXIS segmentation tags, and brings several UX improvements for both list and segmentation tag management. It also includes a number of security and performance enhancements.
Read on, or use the links below to jump to a specific section.
What's new
- Enhanced list rules
- mtribes integration
- Segmentation tag improvements
- Segmentation tag performance optimization
What's changed
- Genres field no longer mandatory
- Logos returned for related items
- Related items returned with trailers
- Improved layout for system settings page
- Permissions-based access changes
- Security enhancements
What's fixed
What’s new
Enhanced list rules
- New list sorting sub-menu
We’ve added a secondary menu to make selecting a sort order for your lists easier. Now, when you select an option from the primary Sort dropdown - e.g. Event start date - a secondary, context-sensitive dropdown appears.
The new dropdown gives you the options available for your selection - in this example, Ascending and Descending.
- New Date offered list filter and sort option
Operators can now configure list rules according to when assets were offered in the system. We’ve added a new Date offered list filter, allowing you to specify the number of days to include in the filter range.
In addition, you can now also sort your lists by Date offered, ordered with either the newest or the oldest items first.
Note: The Date offered sort options replace Date added (newest/oldest), which ordered items based on when they were added to the system. Date added no longer appears in the dropdown.
- Add trailers directly to a list
We’ve added the ability for trailers to be added to lists. Surface trailers to users directly from the list, instead of only through an item detail page.
Whether you’re filtering asset types for manual curation, or defining a list rule, you now have the option to select and include trailer assets.
See also Related items returned with trailers.
- Expires in list rule filter now free text
The Expires in list rule filter can now be set by entering a numeric value into a free text field (previously a dropdown with 4 pre-set values). Specify exactly how many days the list rule should apply by typing the required number into the Enter days field.
- Send to bottom option for list ordering
We’ve added an option to allow list items to be quickly sent to the bottom of the list, removing the need to drag and drop. The Send to bottom option is available on all but the last item in a list - assuming the list contains more than one item.
This feature complements the existing option of Send to top, and makes it easier for you to reposition individual list items, particularly when managing long lists.
- Auto-scroll while dragging items up the list
When dragging an individual list item from lower down a list to place it higher up, the page now auto-scrolls, in the same way that it does when dragging an item down the list.
This removes the need to drop and re-drag the item multiple times when moving it up a list that’s longer than the height of the screen.
Read our lists articles for more information, and find out more about creating and managing lists and defining list rules.
mtribes integration
- mtribes Tribes propagated as segmentation tags
Tribes created in a linked mtribes Space now appear as segmentation tags in Presentation Manager, available for user experience targeting of pages, menus, plans, items, offers, links, and channels.
Read our article on how to create and manage segmentation tags, for more information on how the relationship between segmentation tags and Tribes works.
Segmentation tag improvements
- Updated validation for External ID field
We’ve changed the validation on the segmentation tag External ID field. You can now use any visible ASCII character to define the name of your segmentation tag.
This will ensure no issues are encountered when inheriting third-party IDs.
- Archive option for segmentation tags
Operators now have the ability to archive segmentation tags if they’re no longer actively used. This can be done using the dropdown option on the tag itself, or through the More menu on the Edit Segmentation Tag page (below).
- Show/hide archived segmentation tags
Administrators can now choose whether to display archived segmentation tags alongside active ones. The Segmentation Tags page (Admin>Settings>Segmentation Tags) includes a new Show archived tags toggle, allowing you to decide whether or not archived tags appear on the page.
Distinguish archived tags from live ones by their gray color - as seen below.
- Segmentation tag states - visual signifiers
Operators can now see the state of applied segmentation tags. If, after being applied to a page, row, or other element, a tag is archived or has an archiving or deleting error, its state is apparent through visual signifiers (see below). The tag is still applied, but you can easily see if you need to take any action due to a change in state.
The following visual signifiers are used for different tag states:
- Segmentation tag publishing notification
Operators will now see a warning message if they're about to perform a save and publish (or save and update) action with a segmentation tag applied that is not live.
This applies to pages, menus, plans, items, channels, links, and offers.
Our Help Centre articles have more information on all the new features. Check them out, and learn how to create and manage and apply segmentation tags.
Segmentation tag performance optimization
- Send only actively-used segmentation tags
Only segmentation tags that are actively used – in other words, referenced by at least one published version of a page/menu/plan/item/channels/link/offer are now sent in response to an API request. This vastly improves caching performance, reducing latency for end-users.
Actively-used tags are tracked by a new microservice, with details communicated to apps through the API.
This change directly complements mtribes integration work as they enable a significantly larger number of segmentation tags to be supported.
What's changed
Genres field no longer mandatory
There is no longer a requirement for a genre to be defined in the asset metadata before an asset can be saved. The field is now optional, allowing you to save and publish an asset without having to specify a genre. This applies to movies, trailers, shows, seasons, episodes and programs, and brings them in line with other asset types.
Logos returned for related items
When asset imagery is requested through the API, if logo imagery exists for any related assets, this is now also returned in the request.
It means that even if there’s no image available for the primary asset, a logo image can still be served. For example, if there is no available image for a persona asset, the logo for their team can be displayed instead.
Related items returned with trailers
When an API request is made for a trailer, the API now also returns items related to the trailer, based on existing asset relations settings. For example, the item detail page and a link to watch a related movie or program (if available) are returned along with the requested trailer. This provides additional options for users to interact with your assets.
Improved layout for system settings page
We’ve improved the layout of the system settings page (Admin>Settings>System) to make it easier to use.
The Property column now adjusts to the width of your screen, removing the need for you to scroll to the right to enter values. Additional menu items from the top navigation are moved into the More dropdown, and the page will flex to fit the screen size.
Permissions-based access changes
In line with new role-based access controls (see security enhancements, below) certain functionality is only visible and enabled for those with permissions to use them.
Security enhancements
- Users must now provide validation before creating or modifying an account profile - for example, if disabling PIN protection. A password prompt is displayed if users are attempting to carry out any create, update or delete actions on account profiles.
Note: This behavior is enabled by default through a flag setting, and needs to be specifically disabled when configuring the API, to ensure backwards compatibility.
- The Rocket API now performs URL encoding on all OData input requests to validate the input and protect against injection attempts.
- User role authorization rules have been tightened up and now apply across all Presentation Manager APIs. This ensures all role-based access controls are fully enforced.
What’s fixed
- We’ve fixed an issue with the date setter where the correct AM or PM value was not being saved when configuring start and end times for a row variant.
- We’ve fixed an issue with the date setter where the error message: ‘To time must be after from time’ was incorrectly appearing in certain circumstances.
- We’ve fixed an issue that caused an error when browsing for related assets on an asset with no relations.
- We’ve fixed an issue that caused an error when saving an active offer with a new segmentation tag added.
Overview
This release includes further feature enhancements and UX improvements to lists, and general bug fixes.
What’s new
Broadcast date as a sort parameter in list rules
Operators can now sort lists by Broadcast date when defining list rules, to display items according to when they were first broadcast. This is in addition to being able to sort by event start date. It means you can now sort lists with assets that don’t have an event start date, such as program assets.
Choose this option from the primary Sort dropdown, then use the secondary menu to select whether to order by Newest (most recent first) or Oldest.
What’s changed
Enhanced list preview
We've updated the list preview to show you more items while you curate your lists. This means you can see how the content will appear to users once published on a page.
The preview now shows up to 50 assets initially. If the list includes more than 50 items, scrolling across will load further items into the preview window.
Manual item count on lists
You can now see a count of items that you’ve manually added to a list. When viewing a list in standard (as opposed to advanced) view, a legend beneath the list tells you how many manually added items the list contains. This helps with list management, allowing you to keep track of the size of your lists and avoid any potential performance issues.
Assets added dynamically through list rules are excluded from the count, so if your list includes both manually added and list-driven content (as in the example above) only the items you’ve added manually will be counted.
Equals operator removed for list rule date selections
The Equals operator has been removed from the date parameter options available when defining a list rule, providing a cleaner look and better user experience.
When creating a list rule using Event Start Date or Event End Date, you can now choose either Greater than or Less than from the dropdown selector.
Note: The Equal To operator is still available for selection when defining list rules using Release Year.
Read our article to learn about creating and managing lists, or find out more about using list rules.
Time and date in the activity log
You can now see both the time and date of activities in the activity log overview. Previously, this view only showed the date of the activity. This has been changed to instead show a timestamp, making it easier for you to identify the activities you’re interested in before you select them.
What’s fixed
- Fixed an issue that prevented offers from being instantiated for confederation, competition, and stage assets.
- Fixed an issue that caused an error when creating new page variants.
- Fixed an issue that prevented an asset sub-type from being successfully removed when deleted.
- Fixed an issue that made it difficult to delete an uploaded image on certain row types.
- Fixed an issue for team and competition assets that prevented custom destination asset metadata from being published.
- Fixed an issue that prevented scrolling of the item picker until the list preview was generated, when creating a new list.
- Fixed an issue that caused the action dropdown button to be unavailable on the lists page (Display→Lists).