WHD 12.5 release notes
Release date: November 18, 2016
Here's what's new in WHD 12.5. You can find the applicable system requirements here.
To view release notes, system requirements, and product guide PDFs for supported versions of WHD, see WHD previous versions. To view release notes for multiple versions
New features and improvements in WHD
Improved dashboard
The dashboard includes an updated user interface and performance updates for improved response. The user interface is customizable, more responsive, and draws fewer system resources that improve the overall performance of Web Help Desk.
Ticket approvals in the Tech user interface
The ticket user interface now includes a My Approvals tab where you can provide ticket approvals from within the client ticket. You can open the ticket, review the approval, and vote Yes or No. This is a top feature request from the Thwack community.
General improvements
- The Ticket Activity widget located in the dashboard provides information about de-escalated tickets, assisting you with ticket resolution and administration.
- The Search FAQ function displays accurate results when initiated for the first time.
- When you edit a client from the Tech user interface, the Primary Location and Other Location drop-down lists now display in descending order.
- The Notes pop-up window no longer displays the date and time when you created the note.
- Action rules based on custom fields now trigger correctly.
- The SolarWinds Orion platform now fully integrates with Web Help Desk in FIPS mode. SolarWinds Orion platform now fully integrates with Web Help Desk in FIPS mode.
- Notes included in child tickets now display in the parent ticket.
- An error message no longer displays when you create a client account from the log-in page.
- The discovery connection attribute mapping now includes the correct path.
Fixed customer issues
| Case number | Description |
|---|---|
| N/A | A non-authorized user cannot create multiple Web Help Desk tickets using any user name as a log-in attribute in the API call. |
| 397095 708000 760200 767389 791111 914459 957202 966383 989814 1035994 7050573 | The client user interface no longer times out when you submit a ticket. |
| 815999 817670 871471 874060 887975 889620 898404 | When you open the Bulk Action Details page, the Requests tab now includes the Problem Search tab. |
| 863174 | The Ticket History page no longer displays duplicate entries. |
| 937237 | The Reservations calendar no longer displays "Undefined" as the reservation day. |
| 950124 953322 981699 1002501 1023533 1023391 1032570 1043637 | An OpenNMS Java deserialization issue is resolved. |
| 967344 | The FAQs now display correctly when you click FAQs in the toolbar. |
| 971096 | Ticket notes in the Client view now display in the proper order. |
| 972275 | A report with a client customer field no longer includes an error in the report. |
| 875320 976997 1033558 | The application is now protected against concealed hyperlinks (or clickjacking) in a website. |
| 962548 | An issue with executing a blocked task is resolved. |
| 987939 994255 1023443 1030374 1031681 1040365 1056657 | Action rules now fire properly when you select more than one multiple choice option. |
| 309078 | Action rules fire properly when an Asset Custom Field is used as criteria for a matching condition. This issue was resolved in WHD 12.4.2. |
Installation or upgrade
For information about installing Web Help Desk, see the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide.
How to upgrade
You can upgrade from Web Help Desk 12.0.0, 12.01, 12.1.0, 12.2.0, 12.3.0, 12.3.1, 12.4.0, 12.4.1, and 12.4.2 to the latest version. See the WHD Installation and Upgrade Guide for instructions. This guide includes detailed steps to help you plan your upgrade, prepare your deployment, and complete your upgrade.
You can download the upgrade package from the SolarWinds Customer Portal.
Upgrading your Apache Tomcat software
The SolarWinds Web Help Desk software installer includes Apache Tomcat 7.0.70, which provides enhanced security and is required for this release.
When you upgrade your Web Help Desk software, the upgrade procedure replaces the (WebHelpDesk)\conf\tomcat_web_template.xml file with an updated file that includes the Tomcat settings.
Before you upgrade your Web Help Desk software, back up your current tomcat_web_template.xml file to an external directory. When the upgrade is completed, add your personal settings to the updated file from your backup file.
Upgrading your Apache Tomcat server template file
To prevent unauthorized access to your Tomcat server, SolarWinds recommends configuring your tomcat_server_template.xml file using the following procedure. Do not add any additional code or modifications to the file, which may result in system performance issues or errors.
- On your Web Help Desk server, navigate to the following directory:
(WebHelpDesk)/conf
where(WebHelpDesk)is your Web Help Desk home directory. - In the
/confdirectory, back up your currenttomcat_server_template.xmlfile to a separate location. - In the
/confdirectory, open the following file in a text editor:tomcat_server_template.xml - In the file, locate and replace all
_DHE_substrings with the following substring:_ECDHE_ - Save and close the file.
For more information, contact SolarWinds Customer Support.
End of life
| Version | EoL announcement | EoE effective date | EoL effective date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.1 | November 17, 2016: End-of-Life (EoL) announcement – Customers on WHD version 12.1 or earlier should begin transitioning to the latest version of WHD. | February 17, 2017: End-of-Engineering (EoE) – Service releases, bug fixes, workarounds, and service packs for WHD version 12.1 or earlier will no longer actively be supported by SolarWinds. | February 17, 2018: End-of-Life (EoL) – SolarWinds will no longer provide technical support for WHD version 12.1. |
See the End of Life Policy for information about SolarWinds product life cycle phases. To see EoL dates for earlier WHD versions, see WHD release history.
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