Take the Feature Tour

• Health Check Tool: Presto includes a new tool for checking the health status of an environment. The Health Check tool reports on any damaged objects in the library, checks for orphaned messages in the data queue, and checks on whether the data queue is nearing capacity.
• Enhancements to the IDE:
  • Retain spaces in fields: The setting that determines how to handle text fields is now available as a page level option.
  • New Settings:
    • “Treat Last Row As”: This global setting allows you to determine whether the last row should be treated as a regular row (raw text) or an Error Message field/subfile.
    • Detect Function Keys on Last Row: This feature is retained in config.bws and is available as a Page level option.
• STRPCCMD logging: Presto has added logging for the STRPCCMD utility. Logging is enabled via the Settings tab, and logs are written to C:\Users\[User]\AppData\Roaming\ESDI\Presto\StrPcCmd Logs\PrestoStrPcCmd-[current date].log.
• Ignore damaged data queues: In environments with multiple data queues, Presto will now skip damaged data queues when starting up new sessions.
• Restart Session button: Disconnected screens will now include a restart button, prompting users to take action when a connection has been lost.
• Field Formats test utility: Presto now comes shipped with a Field Format test utility, available under PT_MENU. This utility can be useful for testing Presto behaviour with numeric fields, field plus/minus behaviour, etc.

• Enhancements to Visual Editor:
  • Custom Themes: Presto’s Skin Editor now supports multiple custom themes. Each skin can have a custom theme per Preset Color (dark, green, default, etc).
  • Presto iOS Scrolling: TableTouchActionVersion is a new javascript option in config.bws for screen widths > 880px that allows scrolling of subfiles without scrolling the screen.
• HubAPI:
  • Screens API: AutoFormat is a new ScreensAPI parameter that allows the disabling of automatic formatting on raw screen data returned from HubAPI.
  • Logging: HubAPI now reads the logging level from config.bws. Levels all/info/timing will enable logging for HubAPI.
• API Timeouts: There is a new IDE Setting “API Timeout” that allows you to configure the maximum wait time for http requests. The default timeout is set to 5 minutes, to allow for long running exports.

• Enhancements to Visual Editor:
  • Function Key options: Presto now has the ability to add, hide, and edit function keys in the Visual Editor. The properties for individual function keys can easily be changed with the full spectrum of options available for Link type elements.
  • De-select elements: You can now de-select elements by clicking on empty space in the Visual Editor.
  • Disable auto-align: Temporarily disable auto-align guidelines by pressing Ctrl while dragging an element.
  • Line height: The option to change the line-height has been added to Text settings.
  • Improved performance of saving Visual Editor changes.
• Enhancement to IDE:
  • Title bar details: The environment name and host name are now included in the title bar, making it easy to see the connection details of the current environment.
  • PageHeader: Presto now has the ability to enable/disable PageHeader via a new module in config.bws.
  • Menulinks: Added the ability to set the maximum column distance between the number and option name for menulinks in config.bws.
  • Error Message Input: Added a new config option that allows turning off the feature that moves the Error message input up when the function keys have been moved, closing the gap.
  • Updated Exodus to use .Net Framework 4.8.
• Spoolfile Viewer:
  • New clickable icons for “View as Html” and “View as PDF”, with tooltips to describe the action.
  • Display deleted filename in confirmation popup.
  • Highlight row while hovering.
• Logging:
  • Name format: Changed the naming format of server log files to type-date-time-job, and renamed PrestoAPI to ServerAPI.
  • Playback inputs: When replaying logs, Presto will now automatically display inputs in the log.
• Macros: Support for the Attention (ATTN) key within macros.
• Skin Editor: Fonts can now be changed via the Skin Editor. New fonts have been added to the font-family options, which are also available in the Visual Editor.

• Enhancement to Visual Editor's Responsive Grid: Elements in a Responsive Grid cell will be highlighted when other elements are dragged over them, indicating where the dragged element will be dropped so the user can better see where the element will be inserted.
• Improvements for Kerberos:
  • Added Kerberos configuration in the shipped Apache configuration file (httpd.conf). This is commented out by default.
  • Allow one Apache configuration to serve Kerberos to regular users, and non-Kerberos users for the Presto IDE. Previously you needed to set up two different Apache web servers - one for Kerberos and one without
  • Increased performance of Kerberos-enabled setups by halving the number of web requests required (reduced latency by half).
• Logging: Added logging to HubAPI controllers, and improved IDE client side and server side logging for Server API. These will ease debugging.
• Menulinks: The menulinks default from the carat character has been changed to numbers.

• Dark Mode: Users can now toggle to Dark mode on a Presto session (new Midnight theme). This theme switching feature is configurable and allows for a selection of custom themes.
• Visual Editor Enhancements:
  • Arrangement Tools: Presto now gives you a new suite of arrangement tools. These tools can be found on the right click menu, or on the Toolbar:
    • Align elements to the Left, Right, Top, or Bottom
    • Distribute elements Horizontally or Vertically
    • Bring to Front and Send to Back
• IDE Integrated Javascript Debugger: The WebBrowser control has been replaced with WebView2, to support modern web features and debugging tools.
• IDE Logging: When the IDE does a version check with the server to ensure they are compatible, the results are now logged to the PC.
• Zero Key Handling: On upgrades and exports, Presto will convert IDs in PR_CUST with a value of 0 to NULL. This prevents Change Management issues where zeros are handled differently than NULLs.

• Navigable Logs: Presto has added the ability to navigate backwards through a log, using the Page Up button.
• Signed Files: The Installation .exe files are now signed, which should prevent triggering of anti-virus programs.
• IDE Enhancements:
  • The IBM i installer now has a link to the Knowledge Base, to guide you through ftp errors during install.
  • The Spool File Viewer has a new icon for the Delete button.
  • Updated to .Net Framework 4.8.
  • Improved handling of read only IO fields.
  • Ability to switch themes with custom JS.

• Cloud License Key Support: Presto license keys now allow wild cards for LPAR specific values. This supports environments, such as Cloud providers, where these values may change.
• Global Transformations Enhancements:
  • Export/Import global transformations in JSON format.
  • REGEX support - Ability to use regular expressions in the search criteria. The default suite now includes 4 new Global Transformations that use REGEX to detect dynamic text like dates and times.
  • Element Type Filter and Restrictions - Ability to limit your search criteria to a specific element type. You can also apply your transformations to next or previous elements that are specific element types.
  • Insert Elements - Create transformations and insert them into screens that match your search criteria.
• New Features Splash Screen: Every new version of the Designer will display a Splash Screen upon initial startup, highlighting the latest new features in Presto. This screen can also be found under the menu option Help → What's new?
• STRPCCMD Enhancements:
  • New custom handler to launch web links without using the STRPCCMD Windows app. This is useful for customers with a security policy that does not allow windows applications.
  • Improved whitelist error message handling.
• Improved Window/Table Detection:
  • New WindowFinder version that supports horizontal window borders made from '-' characters as well as '+' for border corners.
  • Ability to disable caching of detected table details. It is useful when, due to panel detection settings, different screens are matched as the same screen and one of them has a table on it, which then will be displayed on all the screens.
• SmartChart Enchancements:
  • FusionCharts have been updated to v3.16, and introduces 7 new "Theme" options. Also included is a new "Pareto" Single Series Chart type.
  • As a result of the update, a bug has been fixed where in the font family properties were not being applied to the SmartCharts. As a result of this fix, existing charts will display the correct default fonts whereas before they would show a browser default font and captions would not be displayed in bold. Further, the Font Family and Caption Font Family chart element properties editable in the Visual Editor now work to change the displayed font.
• Login Macros: Presto now has the ability to automatically run a macro after logging in.
• Improved SQL error handling: Presto now displays an error message when a SQL fetch returns bad data, and outputs the record number where the fetch failed.

• Table/Window Editor Green Screen View: The Visual Editor's Table/Window editor now displays in a monospace font, to ensure correct alignment when using non mono fonts on custom windows and tables.
• Enhancement to Presto.ExecuteSQL function: Support for the "complete" function has been added. This allows you to change the cursor to a "waiting" or "loading" cursor to indicate while an SQL statement is running. The function will be triggered once the request is complete regardless of whether the request was successful. It will trigger after either the 'success' function or the 'error' function depending on success.
• Global Transformations enhancements:
  • Added Name and Description fields. This allows you to create custom labels on the global transformations, making them easier to identify.
  • We added a suite of Global Transformations that improves the out-of-the-box experience.

• IASP Support: The Presto Installer now gives you the option to specify an IASP and the path in which to install Presto. This gives customers the flexibility to install Presto environments on different IASPs, allowing numerous configurations.
• Presto REST API Kerberos Support: New REST API sessions are now able to use Kerberos authentication to automatically login to a Presto session. Customers using Kerberos have the ability to utilize Presto REST API on a secured connection.
• Spool File Viewer Enhancements: The following features have been added:
  • Select OUTQ and User Search Options: You can now use Queue and User search options in the Spoolfile Viewer. These new options allow you to change your spool file list to the desired Queue and/or User on the fly.
  • Support HTML bold text: The Spoolfile Viewer now has the ability to display bold-faced text when spool files are viewed as HTML.
  • Support for AFPDS spool files: You can now view AFPDS spool files in PDF format (note that view as Html is not supported).
• Skin Editor enhancement: Added an additional option "Logo Display". This css property allows you to display the logo as an inline-block element, or remove the element altogether. The new Display property for logos allows finer control of the logo space in the header.
• Improved Right to Left Language Support: Presto now has better support for the display of data in the browser for Right To Left languages such as Arabic (CCSID 420 or 8612) and Hebrew (CCSID 424 or 62211).
• Server API Conversion: As of Presto 8.8, most of the communication between Presto’s client and server components will occur via a REST API. This can still be disabled from the hidden developer menu.
• Upgrade JQuery: The version of JQuery used by Presto has been updated to v3.51. The benefits of this upgrade include better performance and support for the latest developments and plugins. The new version may throw exceptions in some cases where the old version would fail silently.

• HubAPI: Allows more advanced customers to interact with a Hub session from start to end using a REST-like API.
• IDE Improvements: Various updates to the IDE for enhanced usability.
  • Skin Editor: The option to change logo height and alignment (left, right, center) has been added to the skin editor.
  • Page Management: Presto now has the ability to delete multiple pages at a time.
  • Identities Page: The control panel in the Identities page is now resizable.
  • Upload: Upon successful upload of files or images from the Tools menu, the notification dialog now displays the full IFS path and name of the file.
  • Settings UI: The Global Settings tab has been redesigned to fit all options on screen.
  • Server Logs: Presto now supports the use of table data in debug logs. This enhances table detection when replaying logs within the IDE, and is useful for debugging.
• Check the Device Name: The device name can now be retrieved from any page with the Presto.GetDeviceName() function. This is useful for determining whether the session is being run in Presto or an emulator.
• SQL Register: Presto now sets the client_userid register in the SQL connection to the signed in user. This is useful for supporting options that depend on the current user, such as the choices displayed in a drop-down list based on who is logged into the session.

• Conversion of spool files (in addition to existing PDF capabilities) to better handle non-English languages
• New sentRequest JS event
• New global transformation onTransform event lets you apply JavaScript logic to global transformation (for example, to add exceptions such as an F1 Help key not being transformed)
• New sentRequest JavaScript event to trigger actions after a request has been sent (such as showing a 'page loading' spinner on page navigations)

Flyout Menu for Input Fields

You can now transform a regular input field into a flyout menu within Presto’s Visual Editor. The flyout menu maximizes screen real estate by appearing when a user hovers over an input field. You can populate these fields with static or dynamic data (using SQL).

Global Transformation Options

Presto includes new options for applying global transformation to elements.

• Find First On Screen: This option will apply the transformation only once per screen. Stop searching when a match is found.
• Find All On Screen: This option with sequentially search every element in the screen and apply the transformation to each matching element once.

Additional Presto 8.5 New Features and Enhancements

• JMeter Support: Presto includes a JMeter test script that enables you to test performance within Presto’s IDE. See this Knowledge Base article for instructions on how to start load testing with JMeter.
• New SQL Queries Interface: Presto includes a new SQL Query tab interface that makes it easier to work with your SQL queries.
• Create Page Up and Page Down Without Subfile: Presto now has the option to automatically create page up and page down buttons when there is no subfile present or subfile detection is disabled. This might occur on a help screen, for example.
• REST API Support: As of Presto 8.5, some of the communication between Presto’s client and server components will occur via a REST API.

License Key Seat Count Enforcement

Presto now enforces the seat count that is included with your license key. After the seat limit is exceeded, Presto will not allow additional users to log in.

Global Transformations

Global transformations increase developer productivity by applying system-wide transformations based on a given screen’s text. Presto can find text that reoccurs throughout your application and globally replace it with substitution text.

Additional Presto 8.4 New Features and Enhancements

• The JavaScript Code Snippet view is now also accessible from the Visual Editor Event Editor and Custom HTML pages.
• You can now configure Presto to to bypass the "Display Program Messages" screen when a user signs on to multiple sessions.
• When editing a table, you can now enter values for the start row, start column, and table height in the element properties panel.
• When editing a window, you can now enter values for the start row, start column, width, and height in the element properties panel.
• you can now download all Insight files at once to your PC.
• Presto's transformation list now includes a filter box that makes it easier to find a transformation applied to your page.

Admin Interface

Presto 8.3 includes a new Admin Interface that provides an overview of how many users are currently active within Presto. This report enables administrators to quickly see the number of available Presto seats, how many are utilized and the total number of open connections. Administrators can also see who is logged in, connection IP and more.

Additional Presto 8.3 New Features and Enhancements

• Presto uses unique customization names / descriptions for each screen and won't allow other customizations of the same type (JS, HTML, Transformation) to have exactly the same name.

Seat Count Utility

Presto 8.2 ships with a utility called SEATCOUNT, which allows administrators to get an idea of how many active Presto seats are currently in use. Please note that in the future we plan to include this information in a Presto Administrator interface.

Additional Presto 8.2 New Features and Enhancements

• Presto now displays a confirmation prompt when a user tries to delete an entry in the Spool File viewer.

Insights Integration

Using the Insights tool, Presto enables site administrators to visualize the user behavior in their IBM i applications. Insights provides an overview of the screens that users are accessing most often, allowing you to spend time customizing what is used most. This gives you the information you need to plan which parts of the application to modernize first, saving time and delivering better business value.

Additional Presto 8.1 New Features and Enhancements

• The spool file viewer now includes the time created in the date column.
• Presto includes a new option to allow for a more modern, flat style of SmartCharts.
• The STRPCCMD program has support when HTTPS is enabled.
• Ability to control accessibility by developers to Presto objects.

Presto 8.0 New Features

Additional Presto 8.0 New Features and Enhancements

• You can now define the range in which function keys are automatically detected.

Presto 7.3 New Features

Additional Presto 7.3 New Features and Enhancements

• New SQL preview feature enables you to test SQL queries, including parameters.
• Additional global rules, including the ability to choose menu link format (e.g. link or button).
• Improved JavaScript snippets includes more preset snippets and the ability to create and save your own snippets.
• Users will now automatically see a warning if their Caps lock is on when they are on the login screen.

Presto 7.1 New Features

Additional Presto 7.1 New Features and Enhancements

• Allow Presto to run in a custom subsystem
• Option to run a macro file after login
• JavaScript Snippets now supports creating a snippet from selected code
• Improvements to table and window editors in Presto Designer

Presto 7 New Features