2020 Release One (1) Expere Engine and Tools Changelog

Expere Engine Release: 2020 Release One (1)External release date is May 2020. Expere Engine build number is: 2020.1.0.1503.

Content used for testing:
  • May 11, 2020: 2020051120.1.1.3008-J20190326Y
New Features
Enhancements
Defect Corrections
EnableEsignatureManifest method behavior enhanced
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 607893
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: Previously, content was identified as esignable via an ESignature manifest file stored with the content. In order to take advantage of esignable documents, the configuration setting of com.bankerssystems.expere.render.EnableEsignatureManifest within the bsi.properties file had to be set to “true.”

Content has been updated to indicate eSign in the .REQ file replacing the ESignature manifest file previously stored with the content. As a result, the ESignature manifest file and its bsi.properties setting is no longer needed. Expere bsi.properties has been updated to default the com.bankerssystems.expere.render.EnableEsignatureManifest setting to “false.” If your content still uses the old ESignature manifest file, we recommend you update your content to use the new ESignature indicator within the .REQ file. This setting can be set back to “true” until your content is updated to use the new ESignature setting in the .REQ file.

Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
OR Together Package rules processed
  • Type: Feature
  • Reference: PBI 600087
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: A scenario existed where a user wanted to combine packages of documents and merge them into one package. For example, merging Home Equity with Mortgage, to make one large package for Residential Lending. For base content, the Home Equity package(s) and Mortgage package(s) use different package names and autoselection criteria. Previously, Expere would only look at the first Package autoselection rule, if it was not met, the document would not be generated. Expere has been updated to us an “OR” process where it will look at ALL autoselection rules for the specified package. For example, a single document could have 3 different autoselection rules for one package. With this enhancement, Expere now evaluates all package rules for the given document.
Note: Documents will only be generated once for a given package. For example, if the document meets two autoselection rules for a specific package, only one instance of the document will be generated.
Implementation Notes: This feature is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
Special character values supported
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 429547
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: As part of a dedicated long term effort to support previously-unsupported Unicode characters when generating static documents, we now support the following special characters in this release through the Arial font character map:
Code Description Replacement Value
8239 Narrow no break space Space character (32)
8226 Bullet Black circle (183)
8242 Prime symbol Single quote (39)
8203 Zero width space Character removed
65292 Full width comma Comma (44)
8206 Left-to-right mark Character removed
8208 Hyphen Minus character (45)
750 Modifier Letter Double Apostrophe Double quote (34)
730 Ring Above Degree symbol (176)
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the Expere Engine 2020 Release One (1).
Updated user documentation shortcut available within Expere Engine release media
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 607206
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: We have updated the Expere Engine user documentation landing page shortcut in the Expere Engine release media. The new shortcut is named Expere Engine Documentation.url, available in Documentation folder on the release media.
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the Expere Engine Release One (1).
Expere updated to honor of copies in package document (PKGD)
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 606934
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: Expere now honors the number of copies for a given document when authored in an .REQ file. When working with number of copies in EZ Config Packages and Packets, the number of copies specified within EZ Config Packages and Packets will be honored in addition to the number of copies specified in the .REQ file. For example, a document authored with three copies in the .REQ file and two copies in EZ Config Packages and Packets will result in six copies of the document. The document file names are incremented with (1), (2), (3), etc. to identify multiple copies.
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the Expere Engine 2020 Release One (1).
ADA Implementation Guide updated
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 603625
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: ADA Implementation Guide
Summary: We have updated the ADA Implementation Guide to reflect current procedures for setting and using Tagged PDF as a rendering option for ADA-compliant documents. Additionally, we have implemented other enhancements in the document verbiage to be more in line with WCAG requirements.
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the Expere Engine 2020 Release One (1).
Signature issue resolved in Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Uniform Residential Loan Application
  • Type: Defect
  • Reference: PBI 589263
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Issue: It was reported that when electronically signing the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Uniform Residential Loan Application, the signature was appearing above the X on the form (see example below). The correct behavior should consist of the X appearing to the left of the electronic signature (Borrower's Signature: and Co-Borrower's Signature) and Date fields.


Solution: This issue has been resolved; the X now appears to the left of the electronic signature (Borrower's Signature: and Co-Borrower's Signature) and Date fields in the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Uniform Residential Loan Application.
Implementation Notes: This defect correction is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
Privacy Notice logo issue resolved
  • Type: Defect
  • Reference: PBI 588374
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Issue: It was determined that a specific authoring element, in the document file, was not merging appropriately with the logo. We have modified how the logo is applied to the document so document text is no longer covered by the logo.
Note: The following documents were also impacted by this change, as they share the same authoring element as the Privacy Notice:
  • Amortization Schedule
  • Form 159 Fee Disclosure And Compensation Agreement
  • High Cost Counseling Notice RI
  • High Cost Loan Disclosure RI
  • Prohibited Acts And Practices Disclosure High Cost RI
  • Prohibited Acts And Practices Disclosure RI
  • Rate Lock Disclosure NM
  • Tangible Net Benefit Worksheet RI
Solution: We have modified the document so that when applying a logo, the What We Do table starts lower on the document so that the logo does not obscure the table text.
Implementation Notes: This defect correction is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
Logo enhancements - <LogoID/> reference
Summary: We have enhanced how we handle logos within the request file. Previously, when applying a logo to a transaction from EZ Config Packages and Packets, or using the InLine package, the logo file for the image was inserted in the request with each document being selected. This would cause the request file to be exceptionally large and cause performance delays in generating the document package. The logo is now passed in one location and will contain a <LogoID/> element that can be referenced in other places within the transaction, such as an Ancillary Output Option within a packet or document. We updated the Expere schema with the following:
  • We added a new <LogoDetails/> element that is a child of the <InlinePackage/> element and a sibling of <PacketTypes/> element. <LogoDetails/> contains the logo image and configuration options as well as the new <LogoID/> element.
  • We modified the <Logo/> ancillary output option to allow users to pass in either entire logo or just the <LogoID/> element.
Technical Notes: Sample request file:

Inline Package:

<c:LogoDetails>
					<c:LogoDetail>
						<c:LogoID>1</c:LogoID>
						<c:Image>/9j/4QAYRXhp...(encrypted data)</c:Image>
                                       <c:Justification>Center</c:Justification>
						<c:Placement>AllPages</c:Placement>
						<c:HeightInInches>1.8</c:HeightInInches>
						<c:AlternateText>Fer Logo</c:AlternateText>
					</c:LogoDetail>
		</c:LogoDetails>

Ancillary Output Option:

<c:AncillaryOutputOption>
					<c:OutputType>Logo</c:OutputType>
					<c:Logo>
						<c:LogoID>1</c:LogoID>
					</c:Logo>
		</c:AncillaryOutputOption>
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
"&" symbol now allowed in certain elements
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 599080
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: A customer reported failed transactions; after internal analysis, it was determined that the "&" character in the Mailing Address 2 line (<MailingAddressStreetAddr2>Test &amp; Business name </MailingAddressStreetAddr2>) was causing this particular transaction to fail.

This behavior has been enhanced. We have updated Expere to escape the "&" when it is submitted in a request; Expere now serializes this special character and returns it in the response file successfully.

Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
Fillable field/checkbox size modified with dynamic documents
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 595023
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: A customer reported that the size of our fillable checkboxes were smaller than its non-fillable counterpart for dynamic documents; subsequently, issues occurred in their scanning process. After internal assessment, it was determined that Expere was decreasing the size of checkboxes when making them fillable.

As a result, we have enhanced the size of our fillable fields and checkboxes to match those of their non-fillable counterparts.

Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
Additional guidance provided for using mutually exclusive checkboxes and GroupID's
Summary: We have added supplemental guidance on using mutually exclusive checkboxes and GroupID's, consisting of various scenarios and code sample. Please refer to the link above for more information.
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the Expere Engine 2020 Release One (1).
OPPSA printing behavior enhanced
  • Type: Defect
  • Reference: PBI 592245
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Issue: A customer reported that when sending an Expere request with multiple accounts, OPPSA data appeared multiple times on the Reg E - Disclosure and Limits and Fees documents when the data should have appeared only once. After internal research, it was determined that an issue existed with the Expere Engine.
Solution: The Expere Engine has been updated so that OPPSA data appears only once unless otherwise specified.
Implementation Notes: This defect correction requires a 2020 Release One Expere Engine update. .
Default document margin behavior enhanced for use with barcodes
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 591870
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: It was reported that when a document (.REQ file) did not contain predefined margins and utilized a barcode in the tagline, the barcode appeared over the tagline information.

As a result, Expere now uses .5 inch default document margins when they have not been authored in the document and when using either barcodes or logos.

Note the following:
  • If all margins have been defined, Expere will honor the defined margins in the document.
  • If some, but not all, margins have been defined, Expere will honor the defined margins and set the remaining margins to .5 inches.
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
Ehcache.xml file functionality enhanced to use specific values
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 581720 / 590085
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: Expere Implementation Guide: Caching; Caching Notes
Summary: We have made the following updates to the Ehcache.xml functionality:
  • The file now allows users to specify values for each cache
  • The file now includes version 3.8.1

This enhancement requires users to upgrade to Java 8; for those users still using Java 6, an enhanced version of Expere will be sent to them.

Additionally, Expere source compatibility has been updated to use Java 1.8.
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
iText 7 enhancement for use with ancillary options
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 588118 / 592823 / 592830
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: Previously, Expere utilized iText 5.5; however, we made a determination that we needed to update our technology to optimize our PDF rendering. As a result, we have upgraded Expere to utilize iText 7 with the following ancillary options:
  • Barcodes
  • Watermarks
  • Duplex
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
iText upgraded for use with MergedPDF and TaggedPDFEmbeddedFonts
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 591309
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Summary: Expere has been upgraded to iText 7 when merging PDF's and using TaggedPDFEmbeddedFonts. Previously when merging PDF's with TaggedPDFEmbeddedFonts, the tags were stripped from the merged PDF.
Implementation Notes: This enhancement is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.
Signer Signature Sequence behavior modified - static documents
  • Type: Defect
  • Reference: PBI 589461
  • Compliance Impacts: This item is not a compliance or regulatory issue.
  • Documentation Impacts: No documentation impact
Issue: A customer reported the following issues in generated PDF's using static documents with the sequencing in signature date fields:
  • An #<x> was appended to the end of the date field name with merged PDF's; for example: "WKES_Signdate_26#0" and "WKES_Signdate_26#1"
  • Field names with identical names and sequence numbers for non-merged PDF's; for example: multiple instances of "WKES_Signdate_7"

The root of the issue is that the Signer Signature Sequence is not being recognized and incremented by the Expere Engine when two signature lines and date fields for the same party exist on the same page.

Solution: Modifying the Expere Engine to force the Signer Signature Sequence to increment automatically resolves these issues.
Implementation Notes: This defect correction is available in the 2020 Release One (1) of the Expere Engine.