K2 Workflow Designer

• Save As: Save time by using the new Save As feature in the workflow designer to save a copy of an existing workflow as a new workflow. If you need to create a new workflow with similar requirements to an existing workflow, you can use Save As to copy the existing workflow as a starting point for your new workflow. The workflow references, variables, and steps are copied over, however, you must configure the Start step of the copied workflow and potentially other steps as well. For more information see Create a copy of a Workflow.

• IF Inline Function: Use the new IF inline function in your expressions to evaluate a condition and do one thing if the condition is true, and a different thing if the condition is false. Commonly referred to as If-Then-Else, your logic inside an expression can be simple to complex. For example, set content in an email body depending on the outcome of a condition. For more information see Configure a simple or complex If-Then-Else expression using the IF Function.

• Task Action result: You can use the Action Result field, which contains the workflow action taken by the task recipient, in multi-steps for events that follow a User Task. Find this new field in the Task User section of the Context Browser and use it, for example, to audit user task decisions or to send confirmation emails. For more information, see How To: Use the Action Result Property to Update a SharePoint List.

Security and Governance

• Improve security in your environment by controlling who can Create SmartObjects, views, and forms in the K2 Designer. This new right is part of the Authorization Framework. (With the addition of the Create right, the Publish option for SmartObject Security in K2 Management > Integration > SmartObject Security is deprecated). For more information on the expected upgrade behavior and required configuration, please see KB002667.
• View Execute rights: This new right gives you the ability to control who is allowed to open and run views. Set the Execute:Deny right or the Execute:Allow right to control who can run views. If Execute:None is set, the user will not be able to run the view or form.
  If you are upgrading from an existing K2 environment, execute rights on categories already exist and views inherit execute permissions from the parent category. You can, as a security administrator, configure permissions on specific views after upgrading.
• Security Audit SmartObject: Monitor and report on your K2 system's security changes. The Security Audit SmartObject generates an audit log allowing Security Administrators to see who made security changes, when these changes occurred, and the items on which the changes were made.

Integration

• Cloud Storage Broker: Use online file services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive to upload and download files through SmartObjects. To enable the cloud storage features, you must log a support ticket as described in the Cloud Storage Broker Service Type topic.
  For more information, please see the following topics:
  • Cloud Storage Broker feature activation for Box, Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive
  • Cloud Storage Broker Service Type
  • How To: Upload a file to Google Drive from a form
  • How To: Download a file from Google Drive and attach it to an Email
  • How To: Use the SmartForms Tree Control to navigate folders in Google Drive
  • How To: Upload a file to Dropbox from a form
  • How To: Download a file from Dropbox and attach it to an Email
  • How To: Use the SmartForms Tree Control to navigate folders in DropBox
• Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales feature activation: Easily enable integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales using Features in K2 Management. To enable the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales feature, you must log a support ticket as described in the Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales type topic.

Installer

• In this release, software prerequisites have changed, support for certain third-party software has been removed, and newer versions of third-party software is now supported. The installer prevents upgrades from previous versions of K2 that do not meet the supported requirements. See the Compatibility Matrix for a list of supported software for K2 5.3. Here is a summary of the changes:

1. • Microsoft Windows
     Unsupported:  Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 (the installer will prevent installing or upgrading if these operating systems are detected)
     Supported: Windows Server 2019 
   • SQL Server
     Unsupported: SQL Server 2012 (the installer will prevent installing or upgrading if this version of SQL server is detected)
     Supported:  Support for SQL Server 2014 is ending in July 2019. Until then, K2 will continue to support it and you will be able to install K2 Five 5.3 using that version. However, note that the SmartBox row-level security functionality in K2 Five is built upon functionality that is only available in SQL Server 2016 SP1 or later.
   • Microsoft Exchange
     Unsupported: Exchange 2013 (the installer will prevent installing or upgrading if this version of Exchange is detected)
     Supported: Microsoft Exchange 2016 and 2019
   • Microsoft SharePoint Server 2019
     Supported: SharePoint Server 2019
   • Microsoft .NET
     .NET Core 2.1.7 or later is a new requirement (this .NET version is required for the new internal Configuration Service and you will not be able to install or upgrade K2 without installing this .NET Core version)