2023 Release Three (3) Expere Engine and Tools Changelog

Expere Engine Release: 2023 Release Three (3)External release date is October 2023. Expere Engine build number is: 23.3.0.5245.

Expere: new Augment Transaction functionality supported
Summary: The Augment Transaction file provides the ability to author logic for setting an XPath value based on the transaction xml and have the transaction xml updated (augmented) prior to autoselection and document generation. For example: the value of /Txn/Notes/Note/NoteCommercialsStandardType can be set in the AugmentTransaction file based on other XPaths in the transaction xml. Then /Txn/Notes/Note/NoteCommercialsStandardType’s value can be referenced in PTRs verses repeating the logic defined in the Augment Transaction file in the numerous PTRs throughout the content. Expere can update, or "augment" an incoming request if the transaction xml contains an /Txn/AugmentTransactionInd = true element and value. When this value is provided, Expere resolves the XPath(s) in the related line of business Augment Transaction file based on the transaction XML and sets the XPath(s) in the transaction. Remaining autoselection logic is employed and documents are generated. This functionality can be utilized with content packages or EZ Config Packages and Packets’ Packages.
  • (PBI 775874) From an application standpoint, DocViewer has been updated to support this new Augment Transaction functionality using the logic outlined above. There is no setup required by the user.
Note: In order to utilize this feature, users must consume an updated base content package that supports this feature. The content used with this feature must have been built with version 23.3 or newer.
OPPSA references removed from Hosted Expere and Document Generation Services applications; user documentation updated for Expere On-Prem, Hosted Expere, and Document Generation Services
Summary: We have removed references to OPPSA-related components in our user documentation. Actual OPPSA references in our software code, including the WSDL, will be removed from our Expere On-Prem, Hosted Expere, and Document Generation Services products in the following releases:
  • Expere On-Prem: a future release
  • Hosted Expere, Document Service, and Document Generation Services: September 2023
Note: Expere has not supported OPPSA since Fall 2021.
WCAG: Expere Engine enhanced to support embedded .PDF's
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 792055, 787821, 787784, 774222, 777009, 760325
  • Documentation Impacts: See below for any pertinent links.
Summary: As part of our continued effort to create WCAG compatible documents, we have updated the Expere Engine to support a new document format that we refer to as Embedded PDF. The Embedded PDF will allow Expere to support Tagged PDFs of what was traditionally Static REQs. We will continue making enhancements to the Expere Engine for Embedded PDF REQ files, so check back for items being identified and corrected. As part of our continued work to support Tagged PDFs for Embedded PDF REQ files, we will have implemented the below enhancements:
  • Embedded PDF field behavior enhanced (PBI 792055): It was reported that a specific Embedded PDF did not generated properly. After internal analysis, it was determined that PDF tagging updates were required to ensure each field of the imported PDF is tagged as individual form fields. See the ADA Implementation Guide > Standard PDF and Tagged PDF - important information > Field Tagging Requirement: one field per <Form> element for more information. Enhancements were also made to the Expere Engine to ensure all non-fillable fields of the imported PDF are flattened.
  • Embedded PDF not producing the instance display name for standard PDF (PBI 787821): it was reported when generating a standard PDF from a specific Embedded PDF REQ file, the Document Title value (found in Adobe Acrobat > Document Properties > Initial View > Show dropdown) was specified rather than the File Name value. Expere has been enhance to specify the File Name value when generating a standard PDF from the specific Embedded PDF REQ file.
  • Embedded PDF displaying fillable fields in tagline for standard PDF (PBI 787784): it was reported that when generating a standard PDF from a specific Embedded PDF REQ file, the tagline fields appeared as fillable fields. The expected behavior is that in the generated PDF document, the tagline fields should appear with populated information supplied in the Expere transaction request. This behavior has been enhanced so that a standard PDF document generated from the specific Embedded PDF REQ file now displays flattened data in the tagline fields.
  • Embedded PDF - bookmark behavior addressed (PBI 774222): it was reported that bookmarks associated with Tagged Embedded PDF documents exhibited incorrect behavior when using the MergedPDF option (i.e. merging multiple PDF documents together into a single PDF document). In the generated merged PDF document, two documents in particular appeared twice in the Adobe Acrobat Bookmarks panel; the first instance of each document appeared at the top of the bookmark order and did not navigate users to those documents if clicked. However, clicking the second instance of each document resulted in users being navigated to the appropriate location within the merged PDF document.

    This behavior has been enhanced to have the Embedded PDF documents’ bookmarks appear in the same sequence as the documents in the merged PDF. If the bookmarks are selected, the user is navigated to the correct location in the PDF

  • ADA Implementation Guide updated (PBI 777009, 760325): the ADA Implementation Guide has been revised to align with the WCAG 2.1 initiative and provide a comprehensive reference when authoring and using Tagged PDF for Dynamic and Embedded PDF documents. For more information, consult the ADA Implementation Guide.
WCAG: Expere Engine enhanced to support Tagged .PDF's
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 786394, 766405, 774614, 771419, 762960, 772116, 709726
  • Documentation Impacts: See below for any pertinent links.
Summary: As a part of our continued effort to create WCAG ompatible documents we have updated the Expere Engine to now support the generation of Tagged .PDF documents. We will continue making enhancements to the Expere Engine for Tagged .PDF support, so check back for items being identified and corrected. As part of our continued work to support Tagged .PDF's, we have implemented enhancements to resolve the following WCAG-related changes:
  • Accessibility validated with fillable fields and esignatures for non-signable documents (PBI 786394): internal analysis was conducted to verify document tag tree order and accessibility checker for tagged PDF documents when including fillable fields and specific eSignature settings. Enhancements to ensure the accessibility checker passes were made for the following scenarios:
    • REQ document containing fillable fields, eSignatures are enabled, and an eSignatureAndFieldSupport ancillary output is not passed in the request.
    • REQ document containing fillable fields, eSignatures are not enabled, and an eSignatureAndFieldSupport ancillary output is not passed in the request.
    Note: The scenarios listed above reference eSignatures being enabled or disabled, the functionality of which is conducted within the Requirements Editor application > Properties dialog > eSignature Document (checkbox is checked or unchecked).
  • Standard PDF / Tagged PDF known differences documented (PBI 788477): the ADA implementation Guide has been updated to include known differences between FOP 2.8 standard PDF and Tagged PDF. For a comprehensive list, click here:
    Note: This online help topic will be updated periodically as differences are identified.
  • Tag Tree incorrectly displays lists across multiple pages for dynamic documents (PBI 766405): It was reported that a list that was split on a Tagged PDF would appear in two separate containers within the Adobe Acrobat Tag Tree. The expected behavior is that regardless of whether or not a list is split across pages within a Tagged PDF, it should exist within one container in the Tag Tree. As a result, this behavior has been enhanced so that lists split across pages appear within one container in the tag tree within a Tagged PDF.

  • Table-related MergedPDF accessibility issues with EmbeddedPDF document (PBI 774614) It was reported that Table-related accessibility issues were present with Embedded PDF's when generating a Tagged PDF with the MergedPDF option. The Expere engine has been enhanced to support tables in Merged PDFs so it does not have Table Regularity failures in Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Check.
  • Transaction barcode behavior enhanced with dynamic documents (PBI 771419): It was reported that Tagged PDF documents would not display barcodes that were authored in the transaction request with dynamic documents. This behavior has been updated so that the appropriate transaction barcode now appears on the generated Tagged PDF for dynamic documents.

  • Cover page behavior enhanced with dynamic documents (PBI 762960): it was reported that when validating a related work item, a barcode cover page did not display a corresponding tag in the Adobe Acrobat tag tree when generating a Tagged PDF for a dynamic document. As a result, running an Accessibility Checker test on the generated Tagged PDF resulted in a failure. This behavior has been enhanced so that a barcode cover page now appears in the tag tree when generating a Tagged PDF for a dynamic document and passes the Accessbility Checker test.

  • Accessibility checker fails unless eSignatureAndFieldSupport is specified (PBI 772116): It was reported that generating a Tagged PDF document resulted in a Figures alternate text - failed Adobe Acrobat accessibility error if the ESignature and Field Support ancillary option was not used. However, using ESignature and Field Support ancillary option resulted in a successful Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Check result. Internal analysis determined that the existence of logos in the native REQ files were the reason the Accessibility Check failed. This behavior has been updated so that documents containing logos are generated as Tagged PDF and passes the Accessibility Checker with or without ESignature and Field Support ancillary option.
  • Column by column read order ignored in some instances (PBI 709726): it was reported that the tagging / read order was incorrect for text within a table cell when using a column by column reading order. For example in the screen shot below under 1e. Income from Other Sources, the tag tree would display the bullets in descending order reading the bullets left to right; however, if a bullet contained two lines of text (for example: Mortgage Credit Certificate, the tag tree would display a tag first for Mortgage Credit, read the rest of the bullets in that same row, start the next row of bullets, then display a tag for Certificate. The expected behavior was that the tag tree display the entirety of the text within the bullet. The tag tree display order is set for the table in the Requirements Editor with the ReadOrder attribute and corresponding value of ColumnByColumn. This behavior has been enhanced: tagging is correct for the aforementioned column by column scenario when generating a tagged PDF output.
Expere: option to specify Barcode Height for transaction barcodes
Summary: The Expere Engine has been enhanced to support a specified transaction barcode height through the use of a new "Height" element in the Requirements Editor. This new element value is modified in the Requirements Editor and can be used with the following barcode types:
  • Barcode Inter 25
  • Barcode 3 of 9
  • Barcode 128
  • Barcode PDF 417
Note: QR Barcode is not supported with Transaction Barcodes.
Note: If changing the barcode height, it is recommended to test with scanning software to ensure readability.
Engine: Apache FOP version in Adobe Acrobat displayed for merged PDF documents
Summary: Per user request, we have enhanced the Expere Engine to populate an Adobe Acrobat PDF properties with the Apache FOP version that was used to generate the PDF in a merged PDF document. The PDF Producer field accessible through Adobe Acrobat > Document Properties dialog box > Description tab displays the FOP version for individual PDF documents, for merged PDF documents, it displays the iText version.

Users can now view the FOP version used for merged PDF documents in the Document Properties dialog box > Custom tab; the FOP version will appear under the Value column for each document.

Expere: special characters supported in barcode value when applied by a mask in %docname%
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 740517
Summary: It was reported that document generation fails when an ancillary barcode value utilizing %docname% (instance display name) contains a DTA with the "$1,234.50" output format. Analysis determined that special characters (i.e. “$”) being applied by the output format (i.e. “$1,234.50”) was not being handled properly. Expere has been enhanced so that ancillary barcodes containing special characters (i.e "$") being applied by an output format (i.e. “$1,234.50”) result in successful document generation with the appropriate barcode value.
Expere: Electronic signings enhanced when Signer Name is unknown - all party types
Summary: The Expere Engine has been updated to set the value for <SignatureText> to an underscore ('_') in the Expere response when the party type does not have a Name value in the transaction request (and is not determined until the actual signing process; for example: a notary or witness).
Expere: Dynamic documents enhanced when using radio buttons / GroupIDs with a merged PDF
Summary: When generating Dynamic documents into a merged PDF containing radio buttons (mutually exclusive checkboxes), fields were not named uniquely across the individual documents within the merged PDF. This behavior has been enhanced for Dynamic documents using radio buttons with GroupIDs. As a result, Expere now sets the GroupIDs uniquely between different document instances when a PdfMerge or MergeCopyPDF ancillary output is specified by appending "_#" to existing field names (UniqueName _#; for example: "OfferGroup_1").
Expere: Engine updated to use Amazon Corretto Java 8 for WildFly and Expere .NET
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 787459
Summary: The Expere Engine has been updated to use the latest version of Amazon Coretto Java 8 (8.382.05.1 as of this release) when using either Wildfly or Expere.NET.
Expere: support added for custom Embedded PDF documents when no desire to produce a Tagged PDF output
  • Type: Defect
  • Reference: PBI 786325
Issue: It was reported if an Embedded PDF was not completely tagged (fillable fields not tagged) that generating a standard PDF resulted in an error.
Solution: The Expere Engine was updated to generated standard PDF's when an Embedded PDF document is not completely tagged.
Note: While these Embedded PDF documents will generate as a Tagged PDF, they will not comply with WCAG standards.
Engine: Saxon component change
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 786126
Summary: The Expere Engine uses Saxon as its XSLT processer. Internal analysis determined that a recent Saxon upgrade for use with the Expere Engine was unnecessary at this time. As a result, we have changed the version of Saxon used by the Expere Engine to 9.9.1-7.
Engine: BSI.Properties acroformSupport property and eSignatureAndFieldSupport ancillary output behavior resolved
Issue: It was discovered during the course of testing a related issue that when the BSI.Properties acroformSupport property was set to "false" and the eSignatureAndFieldSupport ancillary output was not passed in a transaction request that certain field lines, checkboxes, and radio buttons would not appear in the resulting Dynamic PDF document.

Solution: This issue has been resolved: fillable fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons appear on Dynamic PDF documents when BSI.Properties acroformSupport is set to "false" and eSignatureAndFieldSupport is not passed in the transaction request.
DocViewer: scrolling behavior updated
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 772637
Summary: When clicking on the “Additional Appointment of Agents” field in the Data Entry drawer (left-hand pane), it did not advance to the corresponding location in the Document Display (body of the document in DocViewer). This behavior has been modified so that DocViewer now scrolls correctly to the correct location in the document.
DocViewer: caching protocol updated
  • Type: Enhancement
  • Reference: PBI 771907
Summary: DocViewer has been enhanced to only cache those documents that are autoselected, rather than all documents for a particular package.