Flow 5.4 – Flow Support

5.4.5 Release | Build 5.4.5747.600

Released: December 7, 2021

Version 5.4.5 includes a number of bug fixes, performance tweaks and a few new features:

Access the underlying raw data from any SQL-based Data Source, including Microsoft SQL, MySQL, Postgres and Oracle, directly in your charts and dashboards via the "Details" bottom sheet. This enhanced drilldown capability provides additional context to your KPI numbers when you need it!
Model Attributes can now be used in Calculation expressions, making calculated measure templates incredibly powerful and flexible. Make sure you start using Model Attributes to drive your template reusability and standardization - they are the future!
Another one for Model Attributes - dynamically "build" Time Based Tables using Model Attributes for section groups. This enhanced template functionality allows for more flexible and dynamic templatized table formats.
For Web API Data Sources that use a secret key or password in a header, rather use the [Key] placeholder to hide sensitive details.
A .Duration property is now available for the Period object in Attribute calculations.
The NotReady() method in Attribute calculations has been extended to accept a short message. This message will be logged in the Activity Monitor to help you debug your calculation expressions.

Note: From version 5.4.4 going forward, the 64-bit version of Flow Config will be installed by default.

For more information about our 5.4 features, please see this article Flow 5.4 is here!

Upgrading existing Flow Systems

If you are upgrading from an earlier version, please make sure you follow the "Upgrading existing Flow Systems" section below.

5.4.4 Release | Build 5.4.4721.930

Released: November 11, 2021

Version 5.4.4 includes a number of bug fixes, performance tweaks and a few new features:

Access the underlying raw data from a tag (e.g. Canary Historian) directly in your charts and dashboards via the "Details" bottom sheet. This enhanced drilldown capability provides additional context to your KPI numbers when you need it!
Support for Canary Historian as a native Data Consumer. Now you can publish Flow information directly to your Canary Historian as a tag. View Flow KPIs directly in your Axiom trends!
Support for Microsoft Teams as a message Notification Service.
Support for Microsoft Outlook as a message Notification Service. This can be used as an alternative and more secure way to send email messages from Flow compared to the other Email (SMTP) Notification Service.
Support for Telegram as a message Notification Service.
Optimized migration performance for large models. The migration process occurs when a Flow system is upgraded to a new version. Some large systems that were taking more than 10 hours to migrate are now taking a few minutes to migrate.
Added Flow Server client connection diagnostic information.

Note: From this version going forward, the 64-bit version of Flow Config will be installed by default.

For more information about our 5.4 features, please see this article Flow 5.4 is here!

If you are upgrading from an earlier version, please make sure you follow the "Upgrading existing Flow Systems" section below.

5.4.3 Release | Build 5.4.3672.810

Released: September 23, 2021

Version 5.4.3 is primarily a bug fix release, however, it does include a few cool new features:

Support for Azure SQL Databases, which means you can create and host your Flow databases on Azure.
Support for a PostgreSQL Database Ignition Historian option.
Support for SQL authentication for internal Flow component database connectivity.
Exposure of Shift ID and Shift Name to calculated attribute expressions.

For more information about our 5.4 features, please see this article Flow 5.4 is here!

If you are upgrading from an earlier version, please make sure you follow the "Upgrading existing Flow Systems" section below.

5.4.2 Release | Build 5.4.2652.850

Released: September 3, 2021

Version 5.4.2 is a bug fix release. For more information about our 5.4 features, please see this article Flow 5.4 is here!

If you are upgrading from an earlier version, please make sure you follow the "Upgrading existing Flow Systems" section below.

5.4.1 Release | Build 5.4.1638.770

Released: August 21, 2021

Version 5.4.1 is a bug fix release. For more information about our 5.4 features, please see this article Flow 5.4 is here!

If you are upgrading from an earlier version, please make sure you follow the "Upgrading existing Flow Systems" section below.

5.4.0 Release | Build 5.4.0624.850

Released: August 8, 2021

Version 5.4.0 is a functional update focused on a number of new features as described in this article Flow 5.4 is here!

Existing users must please note the following key steps before upgrading your Flow Systems:

Before Upgrading

Undeploy all components using your existing Flow Config
Perform a Database backup
Stop the Flow Bootstrap Service
Make a note of the Administrative user that is used to run the Flow Bootstrap Service

Technology updates to .Net Framework and .Net Core

.Net Framework needs to be upgraded to version 4.8 and .Net Core to version 3.1. Here are some links to download and install these components:

Installation and migration

Run the Flow.msi installer you have downloaded
Confirm the Flow Bootstrap Service's logon details are set to the Administrative user not above
Open Flow Config, select your Flow instance in the "Connect" dialog box, connect and then accept the migration process when prompted. If any error messages are received, please contact our support team.
Deploy all components

Are you using a Template Server?

If your Flow System makes use of a Template Server, you will need to follow a few more steps:

Make sure your Template Server Flow System has already been upgraded by following the above steps
Find the Template Server(s) in the "Deployment View" of Flow Config
Right-click on each Template Server, select "Refresh" and then select the "Migrate" option
Note: Some of your migrated templates may indicate an error state. This is because templates that were set to Retrieved will now require a Data Source and related properties to be set. In addition, templates that were set to Manual "Set to Measure" will now require related properties to be configured.