We are proud to announce Stages release 26.1. It is the successor version of Stages 7.12. Subsequent versions will be numbered accordingly with the year and sequential number of its release.
Please note, that Stages 26.1 is not yet a Long Term Support (LTS) release, but will become LTS later this year. Until then, Stages 7.11 will continue to be the LTS version.
The main feature of Stages 26.1 is its completely new backend platform. End users should not notice any differences, but modelers will benefit from its improved handling of process interfaces and faster data transfers, e.g. during process module updates. Also, the new technology platform allows us to release future product innovations quicker and perform upgrades easier than before.
We also announce the availability of the Stages MCP Server as part of a beta program. This MCP Server allows you to include process data managed in Stages to be used in other AI systems like chatbots, AI search, and other AI-based applications.
Release 26.1 is currently only available for Stages Managed Service instances. On-premise usage will be made available later this year.
When process modules are integrated into other workspaces or whole processes or single elements are copied into new workspaces, the creation of process interfaces is now solely controlled through workspace collections. Only processes in any workspace collection of the current workspace are being searched for potential process interface target elements. If a target is found in multiple workspaces, multiple interfaces are being created. If a workspace is not contained in any workspace collection, no process interfaces will be created.
The handling of process interfaces via workspace groups and common element workspaces has been removed.
As a result, process interface creation should be much more consistent, transparent, and easier to control.
See here for more info on how to transition to the new mechanisms.
TBD
Multiple SAML IdPs can now be configured. Upon login, the users have to select the respective authentication provider.
This improves the support for organizational mergers and large multi-domain organizations.
Custom attributes that were never set and have no default value in the meta model will now return null in the facade API. Previously, an empty String was returned. The user interface will continue to not show attributes without values in the viewing mode. Those are displayed only in edit mode.
Dates are now shown consistently with four-digit years throughout the whole application.
Config property “operation.list.filter.types” has been renamed to “operation.list.exclude.types”.
TBD: are there other changes in config.xml, etc.? Multiple SAML IdPs?
Most configuration changes are now recognized automatically and do not require a service restart anymore. The only exception are license changes, which still require a restart.
The database.properties file is not needed anymore for setting up the database connection. The database connection parameters are now configured in config.properties and secret.properties.
Java SDK has been upgraded to the latest LTS version 25.
The ability to export a process description for translation through external tools is not yet supported with this release. The feature will be supported in a future release upon customer request.
In the meantime, the AI-assisted translation is available for automated translations.
The script “transferMappings” (copies compliance mappings from an older reference model version to a newer one) is not implemented yet.
Scripting changes (e.g. in reports, admin jobs, visualizations, etc.):
asCurrentUser, currentMetric, currentCollector, currentFolder were removed, because they are not needed anymore.org.apache.commons.collections.map.MultiKeyMap is not supported anymore and should be replaced by the default Javascript Map.User authentication:
ZIP import support:
Database support:
Stages V6 features:
Article, Category, Ypuser, Orgunit, Resource) and associations of these elements will be deleted from the database during upgrade.tbd
Due to changes in PTC partner agreements, the integrations with Windchill RV&S (ex Integrity) and Codebeamer are not yet included in this release.
Sharepoint 2019 support has been retired, because of Microsoft's declared End of Life for this software, and should be replaced with Sharepoint 365 (Online).
tbd
In addition to new product features, we also made new reference models available to manage compliance.
Please reach out, if you are interested to use one or more of the following standards in Stages.
TBD
See here for the full list of available reference models.
Please let us know if you have additional compliance requirements. Our teams are ready to implement them for you.
Version 26.1 is currently only available on Stages Managed Service instances. On-premise usage will be made available later this year.
Please contact our customer care team to request an upgrade of your Stages Managed Service instance.
For topics marked with *: please contact your product consultant for more info on how to integrate those enhancements into your configuration.