Framework ECM 8.0 Release Information

Article Index

1 Framework ECM Version 8 Headlines
2 ECM New Documentation Links
3 ECM Version 8 First Release
4 Sprint 170 Patch Update (Released 19/12/2024 Version 8.0.5524)
5 Sprint 171 Patch Update (Released //2025 Version 8.0.xxxx)
6 Sprint 172 Patch Update (Released //2025 Version 8.0.xxxx)

Framework ECM Version 8 Headlines

Article Index

Framework Version 8 is a major release and contains many major and minor new features. Below are some of the major features.

Entitlements

A change has been made to the way that the software licensing is managed. Previously the software licensing was managed by a hardware sentinel key that required updating yearly. Licensing is now managed by the Insula Entitlments system. This provides automatic license updates and more flexible licensing options.

Articles on managing entitlements.

Windows 11 is supported

Framework apps can now be installed and run on machines running Windows 11.

Active Directory Support

Framework now integrates with Active Directory for simplified security management of Framework access and security.

Article on setting a user to use Active Directory credentials to log into Framework

Logistics Item Colour Coding

The colour coding of construction activities has been introduced in Construction Logistics.

Colour coding allows a builder to attach specific meaning to construction activities, and for this to be visible to all users across all Framework Logistics applications.
eg. You may wish to nominate and visually separate activities that are to be updated by supervisors in the field or by office-based staff.

Article on implementing colour coding for logistics activities

Diary Task - Visibility/Management

The Diary Month view shows a summary of Tasks scheduled for each day. Tasks can be colour-coded for improved readability.

Article on Diary Tasks - Visibility by Month

Framework Inbox

Centralise all email communications for your projects. The Framework Inbox solution monitors your Office 365 emails, for relevant emails, and automatically creates a comment record with the email content. The monitor reviews the email subject and content for certain criteria to determine whether it should add a comment to Framework.

Contains a project reference - (e.g body/subject contains a text in the pattern of “Project Ref: XXXX” ). For the Inbox email monitor to pick up that a number is a Job number (and not a Phone Number or Street Number) it must have one of the following in front of it to be able to be picked up correctly. (Job, Project, Proj, Ref, Reference, Id, Identifier) eg. Job 0019702.
The sender is from a known customer's email address. If a matching project exists in the filter lists, with the sender as a customer, add the communication under that project.
The recipient list contains a customer email address. If a matching project exists with the customer found in the recipient list, add the communication under the project.
Any combination of 2 or 3. If multiple projects are matched, add as candidate records so that an admin can decide what project should have the communication.

You must contact Insula to set up Framework Inbox.

Logistics Call Forward Gantt chart supports 120 Weeks

The Call Forward Gantt chart now supports up to 600 days (i.e. 120 weeks).

Entity Resources

New content, called Entity Resource, has been added.

These are the teams, gangs, people, etc. under a supplier that are specifically allocated work (Logistics items/activities).
This data comes from Framework Cloud via integration into the ECM database and the entity_resource table.
This data is sync'd to Tablets, available for selection against Logistics Items in both ECM and Tablet.

Article on Entity Resources

Email Signature Images

When creating your email signature you can now insert images

Improved Colour Selection Variations

More content is included/created when importing a price review specification management item into a Document item
The initial lines (that will be above what's done now) are:

Section:
Group:
Name:

{the item name}

Description:

{the item description} - don't show include if it's blank

Change Tracking:

{the item change tracking notes} - don't show include if it's blank

Price Review:

{this is a new label to be in front of what's done now, where the price review notes are shown and then the selection levels, notes, etc.}

VPB Attribute Mangement

Article Pending

Report Scheduling

You can now schedule reports to be run at specific times on a recurring basis.

Article on Setting up a Report Schedule

Report Emailing

Previously you could only email certain reports. We've enabled the ability to PDF and email all reports from the Report Preview dialog.

Article on Emailing Reports

Lockable Mail Merge Documents

You can now add mail merge documents that are password protected so that they cannot be altered before merging them.

Article on setup of password protected mail merge documents

Support for more UDFs

We've added up to 10 UDF tables, extending on the ones we have now

Code, DSVs, and all job functionality has been updated to support up to 10 UDF tables.
This applies to creating/maintaining UDFs in Framework Administration, and their implementation/use in ECM.
The new job process has been updated to support these extra records.

SMS now supports sender ID

Our SMS solution now supports text Sender IDs, like "INSULA" as the From number in an SMS.

Integration solutions

Databuild integrations

Several Databuild integrations have been done.
Example
PO Payment Approval Changes (FWALL-127) - Improvements have been made to the process of providing Purchase Order Payment Approval data to Databuild.

Xero integration

Several Xero integrations have been done.

Example
Integration for Suppliers & POs

Call Insula to discuss your Integration requirements.

Resource Centres

The F1 keyboard key now takes the user to the ECM Resource Centre. In addition to the user guide, there are several other spaces with useful information.

ECM Usage - The user guide

ECM FAQ - Provides articles on frequently asked questions.

ECM Best Practice - Provides articles which show some best practice usage of ECM.

ECM Technical Resources - Provides technical articles for the IT department.

ECM Release Information - Provides information on what was delivered in both major and patch releases.

ECM New Documentation Links

This section details new articles that were added for features that were added in Framework 7.2 (previously undocumented).

Bulk rescheduling in Logistics.
Work orders tools
Work orders thresholds

ECM Version 8 First Release

You can sort the table below by selecting the arrow by hovering over the column heading

Description	Area	Type	Detail	Guide	Dev #	Support #
Active Directory Integration for Framework ECM	Security	New	Integration with Active Directory has been introduced for simplified security management of Framework access and security. New functionality has been added o get all active user's info for the current domain. user's info: User name Login name email account status (Active/inactive) When logging in to the app, the system will retrieve the current logged-in user name and password and queries the ECM DB to see if there is an exact match. If a match is found (an active record), the system will log in to the active region division. Otherwise, the system will prompt for the user name and password. If there is more than one active region division, the system will log in to the default record, otherwise it will log in to the first available region division.	Setting a user to use Active Directory credentials to log into Framework	49428	FWALL-1
Construction delays date enforced	Construction	Change	When adding construction delays in Framework ECM or Tablet (see group scheduler and single-job delays views) a delay date must be entered This is either the single day of the delay or the start of a delay period and/or open delay. You cannot save a delay record without the delay date being populated.	N/A	53283	24949
Selecting linked files folders	Linked files	Fix	An issue, when clicking on a folder, where the behaviour was different depending on whether it was a long press or a short press. This issue has been resolved.	N/A	57827	32807
Call-off date locked in logistics dialogue	Logistics	Change	The call-off date, on the ECM logistics dialog (i.e. the dialog launched from the call forward dialog), is now locked. The call-off process is only to be made from the data entry dialog.	N/A	58796	N/A
2-step process when deleting logistics programme	Logistics	Change	There is a "double" confirmation message on the Delete button/action on the Logistics screen when the whole programme will be deleted.	Adding/Deleting a Construction Template on a job	55144	25269
Apply product validity to the house products	Production Management	Change	Product validity is enforced during the new client/job process in Production Management.	Validity for Facades, Series and Siting	52890	23043
Scheduled Reporting	Reporting	New	There is now an in-built capability to schedule and run reports from within/for Framework ECM.	Setting up a report schedule	47468	FWALL-2
Report emailing	Reporting	New	We've enabled the ability to PDF and email all reports from the Report Preview dialog Reports are PDFd and attached to a new Framework email, where a template, etc. can be selected by the user.	Emailing a report	53364	25359
RMS Default Values Behaviour	RMS	Change	When managing RMS defaults, changing the region/division of the default value that is a list is now cleared to avoid a selection from a different region/division.	N/A	56521	FWALL-149
Support for more UDFs	UDF Fields	Change	We've added up to 10 UDF tables, extending on the ones we have now Code, DSVs, and all job functionality has been updated to support up to 10 UDF tables This applies to creating/maintaining UDFs in Framework Administration, and their implementation/use in ECM The new job process has been updated to support these extra records.	N/A	55161	23481
Prevent All VPB Version Areas from being Inactive	VPB	Change	The VPB Dialog prevents all areas from being made inactive ie. there must be at least one active area for the browsers.	N/A	52889	24944
Cst Admin Allocation in Logistics	Logistics	Fix	There was an issue where the Construction Administrator was appearing as Unknown. This issue has been resolved.	N/A	53873	22963
Estate / Estate Stage & Job Level changes	Land	New	There is a new field Land Number (Estate) on the Land / Estate screen. There is a new field Land Number (Stage) on the Land / Estate Stages screen.	Estates, Stages & Suburbs	57662	21700
Clicking twice to browse Linked Files folders	Linked Files	Defect	There was an issue where you had to click twice on a linked file folder to get the list to update. This issue has been resolved	N/A	57827	32807
Referring Company / Referring Agent	Client/Job	Change	In the new Client/Job dialog process - Marketing Tab the Promotion and Method fields are now under the Company/Contact and Notes fields	New Client Dialog	58071	32544
Missing Claims Check / Call-Off Rules for Claims	Claims		Improvements have been made to the rules that allow Claims being called off (due to preference checks) via a trigger. New rules in ECM and CLT prevent claim items from being called off or multiple call records being created. Call off of a claim is to be allowed, with the following exceptions: Cannot call off if: a) it has an Actual complete date b) it’s not complete, has a Called For date, and the pref for raising claims from forecasts is true (as implemented for PCI/non-PC I in the code now) c) it doesn’t have a Called For date	N/A	58495	33454
Standardise Call-Off Process in ECM	Logistics	Change	Previously we did not have parity with how we call off items in ECM versus the Tablet as you could just enter a called-off date in ECM. ECM now ensures the call-off button/process works the same way it is done on the Tablet.	Standardise Call-Off Process in ECM	59071	FWALL-159
"Goods Received" for Work Orders	Work Orders	New	New fields have been added to indicate that "Goods have been received" for a Work Order a) f_goods_rec "Goods Received?" b) t_goods_rec "Date/Time" c) l_user_goods_rec "Received By" This is also available in Logistics Tablet	“Goods Received” for Work Orders	60295	21609
Lockable mail merge document	Mail merge	New	You can now add mail merge documents that are password protected so that they cannot be altered before merging them.	Setting up password protected documents	61038	31740
Logistics Compiled? As RMS/Rules Criteria	Logistics	New	Support has been added for the additional Construction Logistics / CstL Programme RMS/Business rule fields, as listed below: 46953 - Date Created 46952 - Time Created 46951 - Date Modified 46950 - Time Modified 46963 - Is Cst Logistics Programme Compiled?	N/A	61603	22120
Cancel Work Order which is in Final Status	Work Orders	New	New permissions have been implemented to control: a) Cancelling a Work Order, based on it's status of Draft, Final, etc. b) Deleting a Work Order, based on it's status of Draft, Final, etc. c) The Get PO Number process/action.	Cancel Work Order Permissions	61597	13388
Using Internal Notes Tab Within Document Templates	VPB	New	There is now an Internal Notes tab in Document Templates v2. When copying templates the content of this tab will also be copied.	N/A	61763	37593
Logistics Activity Colour Coding	Logistics	New	It is now possible to implement colour coding for construction activities. Colour coding allows a builder to attach specific meaning to construction activities, and for this to be visible to all users across all Framework Logistics applications. Example: You may wish to nominate and visually separate activities that are to be updated by supervisors in the field or by office-based staff. The number of colours available is extensive, and they can be used for any desired purpose. Your team must be trained in your colour coding/meaning to ensure the chosen colours are understood and interpreted correctly.	Implementing Logistics Activity Colour Coding	62811	38584
Increased Notes Size	Colours History	Change	The allowable note size for specification document history has been increased to 250 characters.	Specification	63936	23785
Batch claims email preferences	Batch Claims	Fix	There was an issue where the BCC email preference was being set in the database but not saving the value on screen. This issue has been resolved.	N/A	63738	34132
Work Order PO Reservations	Work Orders	Change	The Approval Request process expects (and updates) purchase order number reservations to automatically grab a PO number for an approved Work Order. As not all systems can support such reservations this behaviour has been made optional.	Article pending	58354	33410
Work Order Tools	Work Orders	New	There is now a screen dedicated workflow screen for Work Orders. This can be found via the Document menu or sidebar/ W. Order Tools.	Work Orders	58453	33408
Additional fields for Communication Templates	Communication Templates	New	Support has been added for the additional communication merge fields listed below: 48 - Initial Site Inspection Ordered 49 - Initial Site Inspection Received 859 - J/BCon Doc To Client 2104 - File to Supervisor 33969 - J/BCon Doc Exchange (manual forecast).	Communication Template and Rules	58045 58048	33064 33008
Work Flow Tools - Variations	Document / W Flow Tools	New	There is a dedicated screen to manage all outstanding Variations for all jobs. Document / Work Flow Tools	Variation Work Flow Tools	???	????
New role available in setup	Workflow Analysis	New	There is a new Workflow Analysis Staff Role, “Estimator - All Key Estimating Roles". This new staff role is available in the Work Flow Analysis Setup and is a combination of the current "Sales Estimator" role/selection (used against the Tender) and also the Production/Ordering Estimator role/selection.	Personal Work Flow Analysis	58051	32843
Additional merge fields are available	Communication Templates	New	Support to use additional fields in Communication Templates as merge fields have been added for: All details for the Client Secondary Contact (ie. the matching set of fields we have for the primary contact). Construction Complete Manual Forecast date.	N/A	61035	35011 Delivered in 7.2
Work Order Approval User Interface	Work Orders	New	A new "Approvals" MDI option has been added to the menu/sidebar under User Group - A new dialog from this MDI will allow management of this data This new MDI/Dialog is used to list and manage Work Order Approval Thresholds - implement all standard rows, behaviour, etc. as per our standards	Work order approval user interface	64225	FWALL-166
VPB Browse/Search changes	VPB	New	When the search text entered is only a reference number (ie. numbers and full stops, with no spaces), the search only refers to the Full Reference field and not the Notes fields.	N/A	26831
Forward Date Permissions	Land Overview	Change	The following labels have changed in the Security module; “Add Forward Date” has changed to “Add Future Date” “Edit Forward Date” has changed to to “Edit Future Date” The logic of Edit Forward date (now called Future), compares the new value to Today (not the current date value) - ie. same as when we Add.	Forward Date Permissions	65654	41694
Logistics Item PO List Changes	Logistics		The grouping/sorting of Logistics Items POs has been updated The grouping/order of POs Linked POs at the top, then Under separate 'orders not linked to this item' heading/group Orders linked to other activities, in ascending activity # order, then Any unlinked POs that are active, but not linked to any activity, then Under a separate heading "Cancelled Orders" All cancelled POs	Logistics Item PO List Changes	66266	FWALL-258
New PO Balance Content		New	Where the PO amounts are shown, there is a new field group "Balance" and field "Balance (ex GST)" Note: we are only showing the 1 exGST field on the screen, and not the GST or incGST	New PO Balance Content	66422	FWALL-259
Override business rules	Logistics	New	There are new preferences and permissions to allow overriding business rules New Pref Under ‘Framework ECM -> Configuration’ New preference “Enable Business Rules - Logistics” ID: -50424 Default ID: -11750 Permission A new permission, “Override Business Rules - Logistics,* has been added*	Override business rules	66764
Logistics Claims Emailing	Logistics	New	New functionality has been added allowing emailing a (system) communication when a claim-type logistics item is called/completed. New preferences have been added under Claims Management. “Logistics Claims - Email Accts. when Called?” “Logistics Claims - Email Accts. when Completed?” “Logistics Claims - Accts. Email Address” “Logistics Claims - Accts. Email Template“ These are for automatic emails when AR Claims are raised from Logistics (ECM or Tablet).	Logistics Claims Emailing	66765
Invoice Attachments	Batch claims	Fix	An issue with invoice attachments has been resolved. Improvements have been made to the batch claims process,	Invoice Attachments	64569	41086
Claim Amount Totals	Claims	Fix	Validation messages are shown when the calc process cannot complete as expected	Claim Amount Totals	56772	31915
Work Order Dialog	Work Orders	Change	New view-only fields have been added to the top of the Work Order dialog. A field group "Job", has been added with fields: "Number" - the job number "Address" - the job's full address (multiple lines needed) "Stage (Major/Minor)" - the job's major and minor work flow stage names	Work Order Dialog	67307	39540
Entity Resources	Logistics	New	We have added new content called Entity Resource These are the teams, gangs, people, etc. under a supplier that are specifically allocated work (Logistics items/activities) This data comes from Framework Cloud via integration into the ECM database and the entity_resource table. This data is synchronised to tablets, and is available for selection against Logistics Items in both ECM and Tablet.	Entity Resources	65989	FWALL-247
Drafting workflow tests have further criteria	Workflow Analysis Tests	New	Workflow tests can have/use further criteria to apply and show the test only to staff/users that are the draftsperson of the drawings entry.	Drafting workflow tests have further criteria	69799	42972
Document Reprice Option	VPB	New	There is a new "Reprice" action for a document that allows for the selection of a different VPB Version, and for the documents items' pricing to be updated to the equivalent item in the selected VPB.	Article Pending	69802	44658
Highlight Assigned Maintenance Items	Maintenance	New	The "Assign" dialog launched from the Inspections tab in the Maintenance Request Dialog has been updated so that; We show inspection items in the top list, and maintenance items in the lower list. When an inspection item is selected, maintenance items in the lower list linked to the item are to be highlighted	Highlight Assigned Maintenance Items	70474	45434
Drafting Workflow Tool	Drafting	New	There is a new consolidated multi-job MDI Work Flow Tool for all drafting entries.	Drafting Workflow Tool	70783	FWALL-296
Mail Merge Fields	Mail Merge	New	New mail merge fields and support, is now available, for the following entities (for the given name(s) field): Salesperson Pre-Admin Administrator Admin Administrator Tender Presenter (from tender appointment) Colour Consultant (from colour appointment) Contract Presenter (from contract appointment) Construction Administrator Construction Supervisor Construction Manager	N/A	69659	45105
Land Climate Zone Content	Land	New	New national standard climate zone content has been added to Framework.	Climate Zone Content	71618	FWALL-306
Council Determines Land Climate Zone	Land	New	Content has been added to Councils (Municipality Entities) that will record their default climate zone.	Council determines Land Climate Zone	71629 71630	FWALL-309
Minor Stage Tools Filters	Work Orders / Drafting	Change	Previously the list of minor stages for the various workflow tools screens listed all minor stages. Now when showing/including "All" major workflow stages (in the first filter list), only the minor stages for these 4 stages are to be seen in the Minor Work Flow Stages filter list. This applies to the Work Orders Tool This applies to the new Drafting Tool	N/A	70887	N/A
Logistics Reschedule for ECM	Logistics	Change	The reschedule call up process has been standardised between ECM and Tablet	Logistics rescheduling standardised	71869	FWALL-311
Select Dialogs in Report Field Criteria	Reporting	Change	When using select dialogs (such as for Construction Manager, Supervisor), the data listed was only the people in those roles for the region/division of the job currently selected. This is correct if changing the supervisor for a job, but when reporting, the user needs access to all supervisors that they might want for report criteria (ie. across multiple regions/divisions. A change has been made, for reporting only, so that the dialog lists all entities from all region\divisions that the user has access to (ie. as dictated by their user permissions and rDiv access)	N/A	71384	FWALL-303
VPB Version Area Management	VPB	Change	The management of VPB Version Areas has been updated. You cannot add the same area to a version more than once, even if one is inactive. If the area is to be used in the version, it must be reactivated.	N/A	72437	FWALL-322
New Mail Merge Field	Mail merge	New	New mail merge fields are available for Warranty Mail d_warr_issed and S_certificate_num	N/A	72831	48470
Extra Orders from PO Items	Work Orders	New	It has been made easier to create work orders from existing items on a purchase order.	Extra Orders from PO Items	73176	FWALL-333
Manager Filter for Maintenance Tools	Maintenance	New	A new "Select Manager" filter has been added to the Maintenance Work Flow Tools screen	N/A	73185	FWALL-334
Communication Rule Notifications/Override	Communication rules	Change	Changes have been made to allow the configuration to cancel a comm run	Communication Rule Notifications/Override	72827	22578
VPB Items Are Not Available In Framework	VPB	Fix	There was an issue when importing a Sales Advice. This has been resolved The ECM import of a Sales Advice has been updated. The check done ensures that items in the Sales Advice Doc are still in the ECM VPB that has been changed This check only applies to doc items selected and included in the document for import, and not all items that might have been in the document/template but NOT selected.	N/A	73498	50989
Tender Document Size Changes	Tenders	Fix	The document item dialog columns have been widened to support values up to "$9,999,999.00"	N/A	73682	51315
Invoice Number Mail merge field	Mail Merge	New	An additional field, Invoice Number, is now available as merge "field code" for when claim invoices/emails are sent via the Batch Claims process.	N/A	74724	42751
New Commencement Method		New		N/A	74950	51320
Workflow and Colours mail merge fields	Mail Merge	New	Additional mail merge fields are available Workflow Overview - Contract Raised Workflow Overview - Constr Dwgs Drafts Colour Selection Overview - Checked By	N/A	74170	55759
Add to DMS for Inbox Attachments	Inbox	New	You can now add Inbox Communication attachments to the DMS	Add to DMS for Inbox Attachments	75177	FWALL-345
Managing Schedule Request Failures	Cloud Connector	New	There is better visibility and management of failures that can occur with the queuing solutions we have in place. For the Cloud Connector sending notifications from the office	Managing Schedule Request Failures	75532	FWALL-346

Sprint 170 Patch Update (Released 19/12/2024 Version 8.0.5524)

Description	Area	Type	Detail	Guide	#

Description	Area	Type	Detail	Guide	#
Outbox Schedule Requests	Outbox	Change	Improvements to the schedule request outbox in ECM	Managing ECM Schedule Requests	FWALL-353
SupplierConnect Pre-Validation	Call Up/Off	Change	Pre-Validation has been added to Logistics Call Up/Off actions. Cloud Connector Is enabled AND working (ie. not in an error state). The Data Source Instance API Key pref has been set (-50330). The needed/relevent SupplierConnect preferences all have values (URL, username, password, etc.)		FWALL-356
SupplierConnect Response Notes	Logistics	Change	In the Call Forward dialog (Notification tab), the 'Method' has been removed and and 'Notes' (nfn_notif.s_sched_status_notes) has been added	N/A	FWALL-359
Attachment Count & Size Limitation on Callups	Call Up	Change	The SupplierConnect email/attachment restrictions have been changed. It now supports up to 20 files, for a total of 30MB in size.	N/A	FD61024

Sprint 171 Patch Update (Released //2025 Version 8.0.xxxx)

Description	Area	Type	Detail	Guide	#

Description	Area	Type	Detail	Guide	#

Sprint 172 Patch Update (Released //2025 Version 8.0.xxxx)

Description	Area	Type	Detail	Guide	#

Description	Area	Type	Detail	Guide	#