December 2023 - Version 4.14
  • 22 Jan 2024
  • 13 Minutes to read
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December 2023 - Version 4.14

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Article Summary

Once the updates listed below have been reviewed, please follow the upgrade instructions to upgrade your Events application.

BT Salesforce Release

Bug Fixes

  • Using the Sort by Distance feature to view the Events closest to the address on a relevant record now works correctly. Previously, incorrect logic caused some Events to be removed from the search results.
  • Users can now update or delete a Form related to many Events without causing errors. The update will only impact inactive Events with an Event End Date more than 30 days in the past. Previously, updating or deleting a Form would update all Events related to the Form, regardless of the Event's age or status. Depending on the number of Events affected, this also caused the system to hit CPU limits and caused updates to fail. (Known Issue: 000002874)
  • Users can now click the Update button to update an Event with 10,000 or more Attendees. Previously, the number of Attendees would cause the action to fail. (Known Issue: 000003055)
  • The Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled checkbox field was added to the Event and Session objects. If Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled = "True" (checked) and a Zoom account has Personal Meeting ID enabled, the Meeting IDs on the Blackthorn record and the AttendeeLink will match. Previously, two unique IDs were created, resulting in some Attendees joining the wrong Zoom meeting. (Known Issue: 000003059)
    • Please Note: There is a known limitation when using Blackthorn Events with Personal Meeting IDs. The Attendees must enter a name before joining the meeting.
    • Permission Set Updates
      • Blackthorn | Events (Organizer)
        • Read\Edit access for "Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled" on Event and Session
      • Blackthorn | Payments (Admin)
        • Read\Edit access for "Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled" on Event and Session
      • Blackthorn | Events (Community/Platform User)
        • Read\Edit access for "Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled" on Event and Session
      • Blackthorn | Events (Limited Access)
        • Read\Edit access for "Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled" on Event
        • Read access for "Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled" on Session
      • Blackthorn | Events (Read Only)
        • Read access for "Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled" on Event and Session
  • Salesforce Admins can now upgrade Blackthorn Events to the latest release without triggering sample data creation. Previously, a bug caused sample data to be created automatically. Sample data should only be created after a new installation or when the Create Test Data button is used. This bug prevented customers with encrypted fields from successfully upgrading Events, as the encryption blocked test data from being created. Encryption does not stop the creation of test data when Blackthorn Events is newly installed. (Known Issue: 000003188)
  • UPDATE: A new problem has been found, and this issue is no longer considered fixed. Confirmation emails sent using confirmation email templates (SendGrid) will now include the correct information in the Event merge fields. Previously, the confirmation email didn’t pull information from the Event record and populate the merge fields. (Known Issue: 000003072)

Attendees

  • When an Event does not require an email address for a guest, the Attendee can leave the guest’s email field blank and complete the registration process for both. Previously, an error related to the guest’s email field caused the registration to fail. (Known Issue: 000003086)
  • Users can search for Person Accounts in the Attendee Registration Component’s Related To field to create a new Attendee. Previously, a regression issue caused the search to fail. (Known Issue: 000003084)

Enhancements

  • The user who authorized the Blackthorn Events app will receive an email when a Zoom link fails to generate. An email alert workflow will send the email. The authorized user can also add more recipients to the workflow. Previously, no notification was sent, and the user could only see the failure in the Blackthorn Logs.
  • If a user increases an Event Item's Capacity on a waitlisted Event, then the increase in Capacity will be reflected by an automatic increase of Attendees with Registration Status = "Pending". Previously, changing the value of the Capacity field would not trigger the waitlist automation. Please Note: Decreasing the Capacity value should not trigger the waitlist automation. (Known Issue: 000002980)

Accessibility

Required Update

All Event-related images, except those added to rich text, require Alternative Text for Visual Impairment. Alternative text helps vision-impaired users understand your Event’s offerings, which also helps avoid accessibility-related lawsuits.

Add the new Alternative Text for Visual Impairment fields to the page layouts for the Event Group, Event, Event Item, Session, Speaker, Sponsor, Attendee, Account, and Contact objects.

Until this change is made, users will receive an error when adding or editing a value in the relevant image URL fields and when cloning an Event that includes images.

  • The Alternative Text for Visual Impairment field was added to the Event, Session, Speaker, Sponsor, Attendee, Account, Contact, Event Item, and Event Group objects.
    • API Name: conference360__Alternative_Image_Text__c
    • Data Type: Text
    • Description: Conveys information about the images located on the Event website.
  • For images in rich text fields such as the Description field, we recommend using descriptive file names for images or including a descriptive caption. Either method is accessible to assistive technology.

Events Builder

  • Users are now prevented from entering incorrect Maximum Quantity and Minimum Quantity values in the following scenarios. Previously, no data validation for these errors existed.
    • The user will receive the following error if the Maximum Quantity or Minimum Quantity value is less than zero. "Quantity must be greater or equal to 0."
    • The user will receive the following error if the Maximum Quantity is less than the Minimum Quantity. "Maximum Quantity cannot be lower than Minimum Quantity."
  • Users can now hide an Event’s information when using the Dynamic UI if Show Event Information is set to "Off" (False). Previously, when Show Event Information was set to "Off" (False), the Event’s title, date/time, and location were visible. Please Note: This feature does not work for Tabbed, Full-Width, or Simple UI.
  • Users can click the Help button in the Event Builder to go to Blackthorn's documentation on the Event Builder. Previously, clicking the link took users to documentation for the legacy Event Wizard.
  • When working in the Event Builder, users are prompted to remove a search term from a lookup field if a record wasn’t selected. Previously, there was no indication of an issue, and users could inadvertently leave fields blank even though they thought they had entered data.

Advanced Visibility - In Progress

  • The new Advanced Visibility feature will be for organizations using an Experience Cloud site who want to exhibit control at a granular level. At this time, the following updates are related to the foundational development of the feature and are not functional.
  • Objects and Fields Added to the Base Package
    • Object: BT Rule
      • API Name: bt_base__Rule__c
      • Parent of rule conditions records. Rules dictate the website visitor’s visibility of and access to events, event items, sessions, products, and more.
        • Field Label: Rule Name
        • Field Label: Visibility Options
        • Field Label: Condition Type
        • Field Label: Description
        • Field Label: Custom Filter Logic
    • Object: BT Rule Condition
      • API Name: bt_base__Rule_Condition__c
      • Contains an individual field reference, a function, and a value. Rule conditions are combined by rules, which dictate the website visitor’s visibility of and access to events, event items, sessions, products, and more. Limitation: BT Rule Conditions will reference Contact data only. (This may be expanded to include other objects in the future.)
        • Field Label: Rule Lookup
        • Field Label: Rule Condition Name
        • Field Label: Field
        • Field Label: Operator
        • Field Label: Value
    • Object: Blackthorn Base Settings
      • Field Label: Filter Records Sync Batch Start Time

Webapp Release

Bug Fixes

  • Users can create conditional Form Elements that use the operators “Contains” and “Not contains” to include a comma-separated list of acceptable values. Previously, comma-separated lists (arrays) required a separate condition per value. (Known Issue: 000003042)
  • Attendees can now read the introductory information about an Event before scrolling down to view the embedded Event Group. Previously, any page containing an embedded Event Group would automatically scroll past the header to the Event Group, causing a disorienting experience for Attendees. (Known Issue: 000002858)
  • An Attendee can now view the translation of an Event’s Description and see any included images. Previously, translations did not correctly display images. The problem was confined to Translation records rather than Google Translate. (Known Issue: 000002610)
  • Event Organizers can use the Capacity Enabled and Capacity Threshold fields on an Event Item record to determine when an Event website notifies Attendees about the number of remaining tickets. Previously, the fields did not control the functionality of the Event website, which only displayed an alert for ten or fewer tickets until the Event Item was sold out. (Known Issue: 000002752)
  • If an Attendee views an Event on a mobile device, they are now unable to see the Get Tickets navigation option if the option is not available on a desktop view. Previously, the option was visible even though no tickets were visible, making it impossible to navigate away from the page without refreshing the browser. (Known Issue: 000002882)
  • When an Event’s UI Experience = "Dynamic", custom questions (Forms) will now populate correctly on the related Donations (Event Items).
  • After an Attendee registers for an Event that is embedded via an iframe, they will be redirected to the organization’s designated Redirect URL landing page. Previously, an intermittent issue prevented the redirect page from loading if it was over 224 pixels in height. (Known Issue: 000002890)
  • Ticket descriptions with rich text components will now be displayed with consistent spacing across mobile and desktop views for the Dynamic UI. Previously, Ticket descriptions with rich text elements showed incorrect spacing on mobile devices, making them difficult to read.

Enhancements

  • Users can now use the prefill and custom data mapping feature for the AttendeeLink without any additional configuration. Previously, the Support or Onboarding team had to apply a feature flag to enable it.
  • When an Attendee registers for an Event with UI Experience = "Dynamic", they will see a loading screen while their registration processes.

Accessibility

  • Vision-impaired Attendees can now use assistive technology to navigate the pre-registration form, including picklist questions. Previously, picklist fields such as Prefix, Country, and Dietary Restrictions did not have a meaningful label, making it unclear how to complete the form.
  • Vision-impaired Attendees can browse an Event Group and hear and select keyword filters (Categories). Previously, users could not use assistive technology to navigate the Event Group page because Event keywords were not surfaced to assistive technology.
  • Attendees viewing an Event Group in a calendar view can now navigate via keyboard and screen reader. Previously, vision-impaired Attendees using screen readers could not operate dates or Event names in the calendar view without selecting them with a mouse.
  • Vision-impaired Attendees can browse an Event Group and hear and select keyword categories to filter the Events. Previously, users could not use assistive technology to navigate the Event Group page because Event keyword categories were not surfaced to assistive technology.
  • Vision-impaired Attendees can also hear the View Dates header, so they are aware of the date filter feature.
  • A vision-impaired Attendee can use assistive technology to navigate to the calendar component and be notified of the Pick a Date dialog when completing a pre-registration form. Previously, no meaningful label was included, resulting in no context to explain the meaning of the date information.
  • When navigating an Event Group via the Calendar View, a vision-impaired Attendee can use assistive technology to move to a date and learn the Event count for that date. Previously, no meaningful label was included for the Event count, resulting in no context to explain the meaning of the number.
  • When a vision-impaired Attendee navigates an Event Group webpage, they can use assistive technology to find the component named “Language Selector” and choose a different language. Previously, the Language Selector component did not have a label, which meant there was no context for the component and no indication that the user could change the language.
  • When a vision-impaired Attendee registers for an Event, they can use assistive technology to remove Event Items from the Order Summary. Previously, the custom element did not have a label, so Attendees could not use assistive technology to remove Event Items from their carts.
  • Vision-impaired Attendees can use assistive technology, including hearing and selecting Session Keywords, to register for Sessions. Previously, Attendees could not use Session Keywords to navigate the page since Session Keywords did not have an accessible name.
  • Vision-impaired Attendees can use assistive technology to hear and select the page header (ex., Event Name) of an Event landing page. Previously, the header was not available to assistive technology, making it impossible to fully navigate the Event landing page.
  • The screen reader will no longer announce page elements that are hidden from sighted users. Previously, the screen reader announced Event webpage elements that were meant to be hidden, creating a confusing user experience.

Mobile Check-in App

Enhancements

Attendee Group Check-in Feature

  • An Event organizer can complete the following steps when the Mobile Check-in app is online and offline.
    • Check-in and check-out an individual Attendee within an Attendee Group.
    • Check-in all Attendee Group members within a group at once by clicking the CHECK IN FOR ALL button.
  • When an Event organizer scans a QR code for an Attendee who belongs to an Attendee Group, a pop-up window will appear asking if the user wants to either individually check in the Attendee or navigate to the Group tab. If the user clicks Group, they are taken to the Group tab, where they will see the Attendees in the Attendee Group. If the Attendee does not belong to an Attendee Group, the Group button will not be visible. The user will see the regular action buttons.

Field/Layout Updates

New Fields

  • Object: Session
    • Field Name: Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled
      • Field API: conference360__Zoom_Personal_Meeting_ID_Enabled__c
      • Data Type: Checkbox
      • Description: If true, the Zoom account connected to this event has a Personal Meeting ID enabled. Do not modify this value manually.
  • Object: Event
    • Field Name: Zoom Personal Meeting ID Enabled
      • Field API: conference360__Zoom_Personal_Meeting_ID_Enabled__c
      • Data Type: Checkbox
      • Description: If true, the Zoom account connected to this event has a Personal Meeting ID enabled. Do not modify this value
  • Object: BT Rule
    • Field Label: Rule Name
      • API Name: Name
      • Data Type: Text(80)
      • Description: Choose a name that helps users understand the intent and context of the rule.
    • Field Label: Visibility Options
      • API Name: bt_base__Visibility_Options__c
      • Data Type: Picklist
      • Description: The standard values for this field are “Not Visible” and “Restricted”.
    • Field Label: Condition Type
      • API Name: bt_base__Condition_Type__c
      • Data Type: Picklist
      • Description: The standard values for this field are “AND”, “OR”, and “Custom”.
    • Field Label: Description
      • API Name: bt_base__Description__c
      • Data Type: Long Text Area(32768)
      • Description: Helps users understand the intent and context of the rule.
    • Field Label: Custom Filter Logic
      • API Name: bt_base__Custom_Filter_Logic__c
      • Data Type: Text(255)
      • Description: If a user designates custom logic to combine conditions (instead of AND or OR for all conditions), this field will store the custom logic. For example, “Condition A OR (Condition B and Condition C)”
  • Object: BT Rule Condition
    • Field Label: Rule
      • API Name: bt_base__Rule_Lookup__c
      • Data Type: Lookup(BT Rule)
      • Description: Rule conditions belong to a unique parent rule, which dictates the website visitor’s visibility of and access to events, event items, sessions, products, and more.
    • Field Label: Rule Condition Name
      • API Name: Name
      • Data Type: Auto Number
    • Field Label: Field
      • API Name: bt_base__Field__c
      • Data Type: Text
      • Description: The field referenced in the condition. Includes functions such as greater than, less than, equal to, contains, does not contain, etc.
    • Field Label: Operator
      • API Name: bt_base__Operator__c
      • Data Type: Picklist
      • Description: The function that connects the field to the value. Functions may include “Equals” or “Contains”.
    • Field Label: Value
      • API Name: bt_base__Value__c
      • Data Type: Text(255)
      • Description: The data value will be compared to the Contact data. In the example above, the value would be “Student”.

Admin Upgrade Instructions

Go to the Blackthorn Candy Shop to upgrade Events to the newest version.

Blackthorn has adopted Salesforce’s managed package installer to simplify the installation process. Since Payments is already installed, the installer will install Base Package and make sure the correct version of Payments is installed before installing Events.

For step-by-step instructions, click here.

Testing

From now until 12/12/23, the directions below will teach you how to test the new front-end features, enhancements, and bug fixes until they are automatically pushed to the front end.

  1. Replace the Event Page and AttendeeLink URLs, events.blackthorn.io' domain, to a test domain.
    TEST DOMAIN: https://preview.events.blackthorn.io/
    For example, when you create your Attendee, an AttendeeLink URL is generated with the "events.blackthorn.io" domain like this one:
    https://events.blackthorn.io/2E12oua7/attendee/ty2W6t9awokrDMaLWi8Mf4sLMedhdrWSBHw6HS7kqVnJ0kKmCK63yl0IxWpbAUBo

  2. Click on the AttendeeLink URL so it opens on a new page. Then replace "events.blackthorn.io" with "preview.events.blackthorn.io". It will look like this:
    https://preview.events.blackthorn.io/2E12oua7/attendee/ty2W6t9awokrDMaLWi8Mf4sLMedhdrWSBHw6HS7kqVnJ0kKmCK63yl0IxWpbAUBo

If you have any questions about this or need help with testing, please don't hesitate to reach out to Blackthorn Support.