2022 Release Notes

We have a new PowerWeb IIS application in our installation package. This application is not enabled by default, but you do have the option to enable it. This new IIS application is intended to eventually replace another IIS application in our installation package called Meridian, which has several known issues.

The PowerWeb IIS application is better integrated with our server code, and is optimized for multi-user deployments. Going forward, this new component will have fewer errors and will be easier to maintain by the Meridian team.

Adopting this new component may require updating your VBScript. For now, we recommend you do not delete the Meridian IIS application, in case you need to revert back. We would not recommend using both applications simultaneously.

If you choose to adopt the new PowerWeb IIS application, you will not be able to use the CreateNewDocument method in the Connection API. We created a VBScript replacement for this method, described below.

If you choose to adopt the new PowerWeb IIS application and you use SAML, you will need to update some settings.

If you choose to adopt the new PowerWeb IIS application, you will also need to use a different URL to open PowerWeb.

SQL Azure is now supported as a database provider for Meridian Enterprise Server. However, there are a few limitations to this support:

• We only support Azure virtual machines (VMs).

• The setup script should only be used with a fresh installation of Enterprise Server. Any existing configuration will be overwritten or will not be functional anymore.

Learn how to set up a SQL Azure database for Enterprise Server using our SQL Azure Database Creation Script.

As of the 2022 release, the Meridian Email Manager tool will no longer be supported. Documentation for this feature has been removed from the Meridian Technical Library.

With SQL Compact reaching End of Life status, Microsoft Access is now used as the default provider to store Table Data. We have included a conversion tool with the installation files for 2022 that can be used to convert your lookup table database files.

To learn more about how this impacts Meridian, see our KnowledgeBase article about this topic.

A known issue for this change is that Microsoft Access Table database rows cannot be edited or deleted in the 64-bit Configurator. As a workaround, you can use the 32-bit Configurator; however, you will need to download and register the following components from Microsoft. These components are not included with the Meridian setup.

• MSBIND.dll

• MSSTDFMT.DLL

• MSDATGRD.OCX

If you use this workaround, when you enter or exit Edit mode for a table, you will encounter an error message. This error message will not impact functionality—feel free to ignore it.

We added a new ColumnFilteringLimit registry key value. If the number of documents in a search result is below the threshold set by this setting, column filtering is available for the search results. If the number of documents is above this threshold, column filtering is disabled. This setting improves the speed at which search results are displayed in PowerWeb.

We added a new ReportDocumentsLimit registry key value. This registry key setting sets the maximum number of documents allowed in a report. Setting this limit improves system performance by preventing users from accidentally generating excessively large reports.

We've added several new command-line arguments to the Renditions Updater tool. These arguments give you the ability to:

• Specify a document ID of a document to process

• Specify a file containing a list of document IDs to process

• Specify where to save the log generated by the command

• Disable logging for the command

When running the Renditions Updater tool, the latest released revision of a document will be added to the queue if the document is in a workflow.

We support Windows 11 on client machines.

Only the last 1 MB of workflow data in the audit log will be synchronized to Explorer. If data is omitted from the log, a warning will be added to the audit log.

The complete audit log can still be viewed in PowerWeb. Excessively long logs are as a result of additional lines of data being entered due to custom configurations.

The "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" error no longer occurs when importing import packages if the References tab is not included in the spreadsheet.

The License Server check box is no longer automatically selected in the installation wizard.

You can now set the maximum size for the workflow log in your vault properties. This value is used to configure the maximum workflow log size for a vault in bytes. By default this value is set to 0, which means there is no maximum size.

If the user performs an action and the log exceeds the maximum configured size, lines are removed from the start of the log until the log is not larger than the maximum size.

This setting is stored in the new MaximumWorkflowLogSize registry key value.

PowerWeb users can now use the Vault History feature to view the vault at a specific point in time. To enable this functionality for PowerWeb users by default, set the EnableBaselines setting to 1.

To set an option for all PowerWeb users, you can now use the tool described in How to Set an Option For All PowerWeb User Profiles.

We've added a new MaxUploadSize registry setting. This setting controls the maximum file size allowed to be uploaded in PowerWeb in megabytes.

If a user attempts to upload a document (individually or as part of a batch) exceeding this size, they will receive a warning. The warning instructs the user to upload the document using the Local Workspace Client.

The maximum size of the BC Application Events log is now 20480 KB.

If you use an ODAC version newer than version 12, you will need to follow the procedures in Configure ODAC for Oracle. The reason is because newer versions of ODAC do not automatically register their own provider in the Global Assembly Cache (GAC). If you do not follow these procedures, even some of the most basic Meridian functionality will not work.

We have resolved an issue that caused authentication level errors in the system logs for the EDM Server and Web Access Server. This error was caused by an update from Microsoft for its DCOM server in response to a vulnerability.

If your users encounter a script error when trying to open a link to a Comments page in Explorer from PowerUser, you can resolve the issue by disabling Compatibility View in Internet Explorer and adding the following values to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\FEATURE_BROWSER_EMULATION registry key:

• Setting 1

  • Value Name: PowerUser.exe

  • Data Type: dword

  • Value Data: 00002af9

• Setting 2

  • Value Name: Configurator.exe

  • Data Type: dword

  • Value Data: 00002af9

As part of a security fix, you must perform the following actions if you have a package export job linked to Meridian Portal:

• Re-enter your Portal password in your tenancy settings

• Open and close your Meridian Portal Package Export job

The AhaPortal registry key setting in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Cyco\AutoManager Meridian\CurrentVersion\WebLink is now working as expected.

The AutoCAD 2023 family is now supported.

Autodesk Inventor 2023 and Autodesk Revit 2023 are now supported. There is a known issue with the Inventor 2023 viewer—it does not open documents as expected. This issue will be resolved in a future release.

In your Revit Worksharing configuration, you can now set the value of the EditableWorksets setting to a Memo-type property. This supports the use case where the combined names of the editable worksets are too long for a String-type property.

We've increased the level of detail provided by our extended logging option for the AutoCAD rendering engine. Enabling this setting allows you to get greater insight into the performance of the rendering engine and determine why a rendering job is failing.

Previously, when you opened the x-refs of a released document in AutoCAD, you only had the option to start a Quick Change. You can now choose to start a Quick Change or select a custom workflow.

When you print a document whose source is a PDF, and the PDF does not have a rendition, PowerWeb prints the source PDF instead of generating a rendition.

If the PDF has a rendition, PowerWeb will print the rendition.

If you print documents in a batch, Meridian will call the appropriate script and apply the watermark in PDFTron. The Site Cache Client is required for this functionality.

The decimal separator used in PowerWeb now respects the setting for the user's Locale in their user preferences.

The All these criteria must be met option is now selected by default in the Find Documents dialog and for Quick Find.

You can now create a new folder or project when you create a project copy.

This functionality does not work in ActiveX mode.

When printing with PDFTron in PowerWeb, watermarks now use the transparency specified in VBScript.

In 2021 R3, we allowed users to upload files bigger than 100 MB to their local workspace. However, this enhancement required users to copy the file to the local workspace folder manually, because PowerWeb suffered performance issues due to IIS.

In 2022, we've added an Add Document button to the toolbar in the Site Cache Client. The Site Cache Client chunks large files and communicates with the server directly, which allows for a faster upload.

If you fail e-signature authentication or close the authentication dialog without attempting to authenticate, PowerWeb now adds an entry to the audit log for each document in the batch, instead of one entry for the whole batch.

You can now preview the contents of a folder by clicking the Thumbnails button. The Thumbnails button is only available if you have the appropriate permissions to see the contents of the folder. From the Thumbnails view, you can right-click a document and use the context menu to select an action.

If you do not have the appropriate permissions to see a document's contents, you cannot view or update the document's thumbnail.

You can now change the document type of a batch of documents as expected. PowerWeb will return an error message for any documents in the batch that are locked.

We've added changed some of the fields in the Create an Export Package window to improve integration with Explorer:

• The Include Content field now replaces the Shared check box. This field is used to select which document content to include in the package: the source document, the rendition, or both.

• A new Related Project field has been added. If the document is associated with a project, this field will auto-populate with the project the document is associated with. If the document is not associated with a project, you can choose to select a project from this field. You are not required to choose a project from this field.

Microsoft announced that the Internet Explorer end of life will be June 15, 2022. With this announcement, we've updated the Compare feature so it no longer depends upon IE's ActiveX controls. Instead of using a Windows dialog, you now see the comparison in an in-app window.

Learn more about Internet Explorer's End of Life and its impact on Meridian.

You can now choose to view the contents of the vault at a specific point in time. This functionality allows you search for documents which have been deleted, but you don't know where in the vault they were originally stored.

To enable this functionality, you must enable viewing the vault at a baseline in your personal preferences.

To set an option for all PowerWeb users, you can now use the tool described in How to Set an Option For All PowerWeb User Profiles.

We've made it easier to remove hybrid parts from a document. Now, you can access the Delete command by right-clicking the hybrid part and selecting the command from the context menu.

You can now create new tags in the vault from the Tags property page. This was previously only possible from PowerUser.

Previously, if an Administrator had added multiple property pages and the user adjusted the size of the property page pane, the Edit button would be pushed off the right side of the screen. Now, the position of the Edit button for the property page pane is fixed, and will not be pushed off the screen.

A warning will now appear when a file you are trying to upload (individually or as part of a batch) exceeds the maximum size limit set by your Administrator. Files exceeding this limit cannot be uploaded. To upload these files, use the Local Workspace client.

You can now use the Find Documents dialog to search a collection. We've also updated the options in the dialog so you can choose between searching the entire vault, a specific folder, or a collection.

We resolved an issue that caused the first file in an import to be 0 KB in size. This issue only occurred when:

• The documents were imported via drag-and-drop

• Two different document types are associated with the same file extension

• There were three servers in the environment: one for EDM Server, one for the Web Server, and one for Enterprise Server

• The ApplyMetadata registry key setting was set to 0

We resolved an issue that was preventing revision numbering from behaving as expected when concurrent engineering was enabled.

We resolved an issue where after using the Find command to search within a collection, if the user stayed within their search results and performed a Quick Find, the results of the Quick Find were incorrect. This issue occurred because Quick Find was still using the search criteria from the original Find command.

You can no longer invoke the Attach Rendition command if the document is assigned to another user or if it is in a workflow.

Documents with names longer than 255 characters can be imported successfully in the Site Cache Log window.

The Set Property Value dialog now gets the locale from the user's preferences instead of using the server's default locale settings.

In the following scenario:

1. The user searches for a document

2. The user sets their focus on the document

3. The user refreshes the page

After the page refreshes, the user's focus remains on the document instead of being set to the search results.

Having one double quotation mark (") in the description of an export package no longer prevents the package from being sent to Portal.

Having one double quotation mark (") in the company name of the recipient of an export package no longer prevents the package from being sent to Portal.

We improved the performance of Quick Search when a user performs a search and the currently selected document is not included in the search results.

Workflow transitions now work as expected in vaults where e-signatures are enabled in Site Cache Mode, and both a Wizard page and Approval page are assigned to the transition.

Users can no longer right-click a document and open it in a new tab unless they have the appropriate permissions to view renditions.

If a property is configured as having multiple values and it does not have delimiters, delimiters are now added before the property is displayed. Therefore, it is no longer required that the delimiters are part of the stored data when only one value is selected.

In PowerUser, you can now successfully synchronize updates to Explorer when the value of a property is greater than 251 characters.

If properties are not visible on a property page, their labels are no longer displayed.

The <All text and content> option for Quick Search is now saved for subsequent searches, instead of being reset to the Quick Search default. This setting can be accessed by clicking the down arrow to the right of the Quick Search spyglass icon.

The ImportedFrom property is now populated correctly in PowerWeb.

Renditions can no longer be attached if the document is assigned to another user or in a workflow.

It is no longer possible to disable the ribbon in PowerWeb.

We recommend using the new PowerWeb application only when the ActiveX mode is not used.

We added the ability to create custom JavaScript modules for use in PowerWeb. With this functionality, you can:

1. Link to custom JavaScript modules from your vault settings,

2. Add custom commands and subcommands to the PowerWeb ribbon and context menu,

3. Add new sections to the ribbon and context menu, and

4. Control when the user can access user interface controls, preventing them from taking unexpected actions.

This functionality is made possible by the new JavaScript API.

We added a new Behavior tab to the Properties dialog box for panel elements. This tab has one setting: the Refresh form if user changes the value check box.

When this check box is selected, the form that this field is in will refresh if the field's value changes. This setting is useful to enable when the value of another field is dependent upon this field's value.

We added three new document privileges: Manually Synchronize Properties from File, Manually Synchronize Properties to File, and Manually Synchronize References from File. These settings control whether the Synchronize Properties from File, Synchronize Properties to File, and Synchronize References from File commands appear in the user interface for a user.

These privileges will not prevent changes made by a workflow transition.

You can now specify that a panel should be hidden on a page if all the fields in the panel are also hidden.

We've added a new Support Concurrent Project Copies configuration option for document types. Select this option if you want the revision number to increment to the next revision number (as configured for the document type) each time a project copy is released as master, even if there are multiple concurrent project copies.

New DocGenericEvent_PreInitializeChangeDocumentType and DocGenericEvent_PreBeforeChangeDocumentType events have been added to support the use of confirmation pages in the Change Document Type event sequence. These events can also be used as part of a wizard.

You can now create Custom Page events in VBScript. Custom Page events allow you to control the behavior of custom property pages and which actions can be taken on them. These events can be used to implement more granular security and exert control over which users can edit metadata on custom property pages.

If you adopt the new PowerWeb IIS application described above, the CreateNewDocument method in the Connection API will not work as expected. To resolve this issue, we’ve added a new CreateNewDocument method to the Vault object. If you intend on using the new PowerWeb IIS, you will need to adjust your VBScript.

We have added a new FolderGenericEvent_FileUploaded event which is fired when a file is uploaded, but before a document is created or updated.

We have added a new FindDocuments method to the Folder object. This method can be used to search the documents in the current folder or the current folder and its subfolders.

You can now use the DraftPrint_SetWaterMark event to apply a dynamic watermark when printing a batch of documents in both PowerWeb and Explorer. However, this functionality will not work for Explorer users who have the Site Cache Client enabled. This is a known limitation that we will address in a future Meridian Enterprise release.

For Explorer users who have the Site Cache Client enabled, we recommend either disabling the Site Cache Client or printing documents from PowerWeb.

The Document.GetReferences method now returns the internal name of the reference type using the new Properties property of the Reference object. The Properties property returns an array of properties for the reference.

You can now successfully view XOD files using PDFTron in Internet Explorer 11.

Downloading a rendition with redlines using the browser tools no longer causes PDFTron to stop working.

You can now apply commands to all items in a search result in Explorer. Supported commands include:

• Add to Collection

• Download Files, specifically:

  • Download All

  • Download All (Rendition)

  • Download All (Rendition with Redlines)

• Print Renditions

Explorer Download Options are now disabled for users if Web Client components are not installed on the workstation or if the user is using Internet Explorer.

The reason why a document in an import package was not successfully imported is now displayed in the Action Feedback column of the import package's metadata spreadsheet.

We resolved an issue where if a document had a revision with a file size of 0, the export step in the synchronization process did not include any content for the revision or any subsequent revisions.

You can now view up to 3000 records at a time with property-based navigation.

If the Display content setting for a repository view is set to Show both - default to source, you can see hotspots in the viewer as expected.

Explorer synchronization now works as expected after a project has been deleted. You should no longer get the FK_Document_Folder error message.

You can now create a rendering profile for Meridian Cloud. This enhancement allows you to make use of the elasticity of the Meridian CloudPublisher. The Meridian Cloud rendering profile option supports use of the DisableXODGeneration setting.

To use this rendering module, you must have a Meridian Cloud tenancy and a subscription to Meridian Cloud Publisher. The CloudPublisherSubscription feature toggle must also be enabled. Meridian Enterprise will query the Cloud service to determine if you have a Meridian Cloud tenancy and which file formats are supported by the service.

As part of this enhancement, we also fixed a scrolling issue that prevented users from seeing all options in the New Rendering Profile dialog.

If you have a publishing job configured for a Meridian Cloud rendering profile, you can configure your publishing job to generate a thumbnail when you update a rendition.

If you have a rendition job that uses an on-premises rendering engine and it is configured to update a document's thumbnail, Publisher now updates the thumbnail when you update the rendition. By default, Publisher uses Aspose to generate the thumbnail.

AutoCAD 2023 is now supported in Publisher.

AutoCAD 2017-2018 is no longer supported in Publisher.

The Aspose Rendering Module now supports rendering Outlook message files.

The Acme CAD and Teigha DWG rendering modules now support DWF and DXF file formats.

We resolved an issue that caused the Publisher Queue not to open as expected when the display name of a vault had been changed.

We resolved an issue where if a user deleted a hybrid part from a source file and then re-published the file, the hybrid part had not been properly deleted in the destination vault.

Aspose synchronization returns an error if the SAMEIISEDMAccount registry key setting is set to 0.

You will encounter an error message when attempting to register a Site Cache Server while using TLS 1.3.

When you send a document to Portal using a work flow, references are not included. References are included if you use the Send to Portal command.

The viewer for Inventor 2023 does not open documents as expected.

When the current document revision is in a workflow and its rendition is not up to date, you cannot generate prior renditions using the Renditions Updater. For this reason, we recommend you only generate renditions for documents that are not currently in a workflow, or update the rendition of the current revision using the Update Rendition command or the Document.UpdateRendition method in script.

When using site cache with the 32-bit Application Integration, drag-and-drop imports do not work. You can still import using the Add button.

When Site Cache is enabled, if the user imports a small assembly using the Import Documents command and then attempts to release the document from Quick Change, an error message will be returned.

As a workaround, use a Download or Synchronize command in PowerWeb before you import your documents.

When you edit a lookup field for a document in PowerWeb, an ellipses button unexpectedly appears above the lookup field. This is a browser feature that is specific to Microsoft Edge.

To disable this button:

1. Click the Ellipses button.

   A menu appears.

2. Point to Hide Menu, and select your preferred option from the menu that appears.