November 2021 Release
This release has been approved by eTASK for use in production environments. You can download the release now and install it on your server.
eTASK.Parking Management
Improvement: Enhancement of the eTASK.Parking Management workflow
With this release, we have improved the workflow of eTASK.Parking Management in several areas to enable more processes to run automatically. Here is an overview of the changes: When requesting a parking permit, the system automatically checks whether the person already has a parking permit. If this is the case, the request is automatically rejected and the person is notified via email.Applicants have the option to enter multiple license plate numbers. They can enter up to three German license plate numbers and up to two foreign license plate numbers. All applications are placed on the waiting list after approval. If a person’s status on this waiting list changes to “inactive”—for example, because they are on parental leave or have a long-term illness—the application for a parking permit is automatically paused. Permit applications from employees in management positions and from employees with a company car are exempt from the waiting list. At regular intervals, employees who have a parking permit are asked to confirm the license plate numbers they provided. If they fail to do so despite repeated requests, the parking permit is automatically revoked and may be reallocated. When employees with a parking permit leave the company, the associated parking permit is automatically terminated—at the earliest on their last day of attendance or, if the relevant informational email has not yet been sent to the company by that time, on the date the informational email was sent.
See also: Parking Space Management
eTASK.DeskSharing
Bug Fix: Resolved booking issues when reserving a workspace
There were previously issues with booking a workspace in DeskSharing if a booking for the morning or afternoon already existed during the desired time period. As a result, users who had already booked a workspace for the morning could no longer subsequently book a workspace for the afternoon. This is now possible again, although booking multiple workspaces in the same time slot remains prohibited.
See also: Desksharing
eTASK.BIM
New Feature: Expansion of the PDF Document for Floor Plans
Your FM Portal allows you to export floor plans of individual floors from the BIM Explorer as PDF documents. This PDF document now always includes a header with detailed information about the building and the floor. If a management company is assigned to the building, this is also displayed along with the company logo. You also have the option to include representations such as room usage types according to DIN 277 in your PDF floor plan. To do this, simply select the desired representation in your BIM Explorer before starting the download.
See also: Download PDF document for floor plan
Improvement: Optimized display of stairs in the BIM Explorer
We have improved the display of stairs in the BIM Explorer. Whether in 2D view or in the 3D model: the display of stairs now meets the latest design standards! You also have the option to use the floor plan and the 3D view simultaneously. More information on this will follow shortly in our Support Center: https://support.etask.de/
Highlight: Assistant for synchronizing building data
When you import a BIM model for a building that already exists in the FM Portal but is not yet linked to the model, the data records are created in duplicate. To resolve these duplicates, you can now initiate a data cleanup on the building model’s data record. This process first compares the data and highlights any discrepancies. After you have resolved these, you can restart the synchronization. The duplicate records will now be deleted, and the existing records will be linked to the BIM model. If you import the model again, the records will be updated rather than recreated. Detailed instructions on this process will be available in the coming days in our Support Center: https://support.etask.de/
eTASK Suite.Tradesman Portal
New Feature: Creation of a Preliminary Invoice for FM Orders
Before you export the data for your FM orders, you can now view and review the billing sheet directly in the FM portal. Make any necessary corrections before performing the export. This allows you to avoid having to make corrections after the export.
eTASK.PropertyManagement Suite
Improvement: Modern authentication for the inbox
Microsoft has announced that it will discontinue Basic Authentication in the second half of 2021. For email traffic such as maintenance reports, incoming invoices, and service tickets, we have switched from Basic Authentication to the more secure Modern Authentication. If your email receiving addresses are set up as alias mailboxes, distribution lists must be created.
eTASK.Catering Room Service
Bug Fix: Corrected Report: Catering Receipt
When booking catering in eTASK.Room Reservation, the total in the catering receipt was calculated incorrectly. The report has been corrected and now functions correctly.
See also: eTASK.Catering Room Service
eTASK.Operating Cost Settlement
Bug Fix: Fixed an error in the operating cost billing form
There were issues opening certain elements in the billing form of eTASK.Operating Cost Billing. These issues were related to changes in the cross-site scripting settings. We have resolved the issues, and the billing form now works properly again.
eTASK.Service Ticket
Improvement: Automatic assignment of room and cost center when creating a service ticket
Each person can be assigned a building, a room, and a cost center via the personnel list. If these fields are filled in, they will be automatically carried over when creating a service ticket with this release. On the one hand, this makes it easier for users to create service tickets since they have fewer fields to fill out; on the other hand, the automatic assignments prevent these fields from being overlooked.
eTASK.Fleet Management
New Feature: New Field for Vehicles: Expected Replacement Date
You can now enter a date for your vehicles indicating when the vehicle is expected to be replaced. This makes planning the purchase of new vehicles even easier and helps you maintain a better overview of the condition of your existing vehicles!
See also: Create Vehicle
eTASK.FM Portal
New feature: Accessibility: Operation via keyboard shortcuts
To ensure the portal’s accessibility in accordance with BITV 2.0, the UI was reviewed to enable operation via keyboard shortcuts. People with visual or motor impairments can now operate the application using the following shortcuts:Ctrl + Shift + F12: Toggle keyboard navigationCtrl + Shift + F1: This dialogCtrl + Shift + F5: Toolbar (MasterPageContent_Toolbar1)Ctrl + Shift + F6: Menu (MasterPageContent_PanelMenuAccordion)Ctrl + Shift + F7: Tab panel (MasterPageContent_PanelTabs)Ctrl + Shift + F8: Tabs (tabbar-1087-innerCt)Ctrl + Shift + F10: GridPanelActive GridPanelsCtrl + Shift + 1: Header toolbar (if visible)Ctrl + Shift + 2: Column Bar (if visible)Ctrl + Shift + 3: Scroll Toolbar (if visible)Ctrl + Shift + E: Edit RecordRETURN moves focus one level downESC/BACKSPACE moves focus one level upTAB moves focus to elements on the same level
New Feature: External Links on Service Tiles
With this release, you can also access your service tiles externally via a simple link. Use the link found in the Control Panel under MyFM - Service Tile - Service Tiles in the EXTERNAL LINK section to access this service directly from any page, e.g., from your intranet. This allows you to customize your link exactly as you wish.
See also: Customizing Service Tiles
New Feature: Desksharing: Magnifying Glass Opens Linked BIM Models
A magnifying glass icon appears next to a bookable workstation if a BIM model is stored in the system. Clicking the magnifying glass icon opens the floor plan within the model. This allows the person making the reservation to check the location of the workstation.
See also: Reserve a workspace in eTASK.Desksharing
New feature: Synchronizing building data when importing a new model
A BIM model can now be assigned to an existing building in the FM portal and compared with it. If a model is already assigned to a building, it cannot be selected. A traffic light display makes it immediately clear for floors and rooms whether the compared buildings match. This allows for a clear comparison between building model versions available in the portal and those modified in architectural software. In the event of a mismatch, the traffic light view provides guidance on how to resolve the discrepancy.
See also: Importing a new model into the FM Portal (one building)
New Feature: 2020 Operating Cost Statement
The VAT rate change from 19% to 16% for the period from July 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, affects the calculation of operating costs. In the System Settings, you can set a parameter to split the annual operating cost statement into two semi-annual invoices with different VAT rates.
Bug Fix: Exporting Financial Accounting Entries from the Debit Position Is Now Possible Again
An error occurred when exporting FIBU postings from the debit position (selection: current view). This has been fixed.
See also: Using the Financial Accounting Export
Bug fix: Multiple vendors/customers can now be created via the company form
For a short time, it was not possible to create a vendor via the company form if a customer already existed. This error has been fixed.
Bug fix: Floors load correctly in the Property Explorer
When loading the linked building model in the Property Explorer via the magnifying glass icon in the menu, floors were not loaded correctly. The issue has been resolved.
Bug fix: Invoice report corrected
In the service feedback for order items in Procurement/Purchasing, an incorrect total appeared in invoice reports. The service items from the final invoice were included in a previous partial invoice. The report has been corrected accordingly.
See also: FM Procurement
Bug Fix: Freezing of Account Statements Now Possible Again
An error message occurred when finalizing account statements because a limit was stored in the system. This has now been removed.
See also: Bank Statement Functions
Bug fix: Catering booked retroactively in the portal is recognized in the Outlook add-in
If catering was added to a reservation in the portal after the fact, this resulted in the catering not being visible via the appointment entry in Outlook. If the appointment was modified, the associated catering was canceled in the portal. This issue is resolved in this release.
See also: eTASK.Outlook Add-In
Bug Fix: Error message when accessing a vehicle removed
An error message was displayed when calling up a vehicle record. However, the entry could be edited after closing the message. This error has been fixed; the error message no longer appears.
See also: Create Vehicle
Bug fix: "Fresh water" operating cost type can be excluded from billing
The operating cost type "Fresh Water" was included in the operating cost statement despite being excluded. This issue has been resolved.
See also: Operating Cost Statement
Improvement: Display of bookable appointments in the desk-sharing calendar: Automatic calculation starting today
In the "Desk Sharing" feature, the display of bookable appointments in the future can be limited by entering a date in the FM Portal. Previously, the calculation of the display period for bookable workstations was linked to the entry in the "Booking period from" field. This has now been adjusted: The display of bookable workstations in the future is now calculated from the date of the request (for example, 21 days from today).
See also: Desk Sharing
Improvement: Search function in Maintenance has been standardized
In the Maintenance section of the portal, users could search for an entry in the "Contractor" field using a search term, but this search function was not available in the "Client" field. There, users could only select from a list. Searching for entries now works the same way for both "Client" and "Contractor."
Improvement: Notifications regarding operating cost statements have been improved
Via Operating Costs - Statement Preview - Operating Cost Letters, texts for the report can be customized individually for each tenant. The salutation, report header, report footer, attachment header text, and attachment footer text can now be filled in. This allows for the integration of customized texts regarding the procedure for additional payments or refunds into the statement report.
Improvement: Room name field length increased to 100 characters
Previously, the length of a room name in the FM Portal’s Control Panel was limited to 50 characters. Effective immediately, room names up to 100 characters in length are supported.
Improvement: Enhanced protection against unwanted cross-site scripting in the service tiles
Your FM Portal offers the Services page. There, you can create various tiles to initiate specific processes—such as creating a service ticket for a predefined category. You can customize these tiles according to your preferences. Previously, an HTML command had to be used to insert paragraphs. However, since this is susceptible to unwanted cross-site scripting, we have disabled this option to enhance security. Instead, you can now insert normal paragraphs using the Enter key and no longer need HTML commands.
See also: Customizing service tiles
Improvement: Changes to Desk Sharing
Workstation booking in the portal now offers a simpler user interface. Functions in the desk sharing screen
You can sort the search result columns.
You can reorder the result columns.
An occupied workstation is displayed but cannot be booked.
Only workstations set as bookable are listed.
If IFC data is stored in the portal, the location of the workstation can be viewed on a floor plan via a magnifying glass button.
To ensure GDPR compliance, the occupancy of already booked workstations is displayed in the overview for desk sharing, but without the information of who booked that workstation.
Preselection in the search field: The booking date starting from tomorrow is preselected in the dropdown menu but can be changed.
Previously, when confirming a workspace booking, you had to click a dropdown menu to confirm it. This step is no longer required with the new release.
Functions in the Desksharing Workflow: A bulk booking of related individual appointments is possible. These appointments are summarized in an email for the user.
See also: Reserve a workspace in eTASK.Desksharing
Improvement: Changes to Ensure Accessibility
To make the FM portal accessible and compliant with BITV 2.0, various measures have been implemented:
The contrast in the workflow buttons has been increased. A darker green is now used for these buttons so that the text stands out more clearly.
The border color of input fields has been darkened to increase contrast.
All dashboard tiles have been set to high-contrast colors when not clicked.
In Crystal Reports pop-ups, the text has been set to black. This also improves readability.
A 200% zoom can be applied throughout the entire eTASK.FM portal without content being cut off.
Improvement: Simplification of Permission Management
With this update, we’re making permission management in your FM portal easier. For some products, such as workflows or data packages, that aren’t needed for permission management, automatic groups are no longer created. With the next update, these groups will be automatically removed from your FM portal if no user is assigned to them. This reduces the number of automatic groups and simplifies the assignment of employees to groups.In addition, permission groups are now automatically created for each product that control access only to the API for that product. This allows you to grant API permissions without simultaneously granting permissions to the FM portal interface. Users in the standard automatic groups continue to have permissions to the FM portal interface as well as to the corresponding API paths.
See also: Automatic Groups
Improvement: Adjustment of the Quick Booking for Meeting Rooms
All booking forms in the eTASK.FM portal now function in the same way: If you change the criteria of your search query, the search results are immediately updated to match these criteria without requiring an intermediate step to trigger a new search.
Improvement: Adjustment of resource booking
All booking screens in the eTASK.FM portal now operate in the same way: If you change the criteria of your search query, the search results are updated immediately to reflect these criteria, without requiring an intermediate step to trigger a new search.
See also: Resources (OAI)
Improvement: New booking form for catering bookings in the Outlook Add-In
The booking form for individual catering in the Outlook Add-In has been visually updated to provide a more user-friendly experience.
See also: eTASK.Outlook Add-In
Improvement: New labeling of required fields
Required fields in the eTASK.FM portal are now marked not only with a red border but also with a red * symbol after the field name.
Improvement: Personal settings in the service list are saved
Your personal settings in the service list are now retained even when using multiple devices, so you don’t have to reconfigure your preferred settings when using a different browser or a new device.
Improvement: Expansion of an individual attribute to include "Copy with detailed data"
The management of individual object attributes has been improved:
Individual object attributes in the Control Panel can be copied to another object using the corresponding selection fields.
If you want to apply your changes to all object types, you can use a new function under Tools in the toolbar to update the individual attributes for all object types.
This eliminates a few steps. This way, you can now customize your object catalogs more conveniently.
See also: Defining Object Types