Product(s):	Promis.e
	Version(s):	prior to 08.11.13.96
	Environment:	N\A
	Area:	Installation_Configuration
	Subarea:	N\A

Why should I upgrade Promis.e to a newer version? My version still works!

Background

Bentley recommends using the latest version of Bentley software whenever possible.

Why?

• To boost productivity with the latest enhancements and fixes. See the New features and enhancements section below.
  
  
• To eliminate the need to purchase and maintain a separate drafting platform. If you are a promis.e for AutoCAD user, the last version to run on AutoCAD was promis.e V8i SELECTseries 6 (08.11.11.xx), and the last supported version of AutoCAD is AutoCAD 2015. Know that the latest version of Promis.e includes an integrated, MicroStation-based platform. The learning curve for this platform may not be as steep as you think, and we are here to help you with the transition.
  
  
• To maintain compatibility with newer operating systems and SQL Server versions. Don't wait until Microsoft end support for yours.
  
  
• To receive Continuous Support and avoid Support Discontinued. The last release of Promis.e V8i is SELECTseries 8. As of this writing, software versions older than the latest V8i SELECTseries are categorized as Expiring Support and will be categorized as Support Discontinued on July 1, 2019. For more detail, see the Bentley Support Policy for Desktop Applications, which applies to Promis.e, Bentley Substation, Bentley Raceway and Cable Management, and other software.

New features and enhancements

If you have not upgraded Promis.e over the last few years, here are some key features and improvements you have missed out on:

Promis.e V8i SELECTseries 8 - 08.11.13.96

• Hexagon and Ellipse balloon shapes have been added to [[Options]] > Balloon Settings.
• A new field has been added to the [[Parts Database Manager]] where the user can define a Balloon Number for a certain part number. An option has been added in [[Options]] > Balloon Settings which, when set, will automatically assign the defined Balloon Number whenever the part number is assigned.
• Added functionality to reconcile possible scenarios where a user may have symbols in different drawing modes which have the same Device ID but different device SubID values. The user now has the ability to assign a new SubID value provided certain criteria is met.
• Promis.e now maintains the original Microstation XAttribute element ID on an object when the user modifies a device ID become a duplicate of another one. Previously, a new element ID was assigned to the symbol whose ID was just edited.
• Fixed issues with Catalog.MDB and Device.MDB files caching folder causing problems with Citrix implementation.

Promis.e V8i SELECTseries 8 - 08.11.13.57

• Single license tier – “Promis.e Standard”, “Promis.e Professional”, “Promis.e Enterprise” consolidated into a single “Promis.e” license.
• [[Cable Manager]] Enhancements
  • Ability to swap the ‘from-to’ targets of a conductor.
  • Ability to change the assigned cable family from the [[Cable Manager]].
  • Ability to reorder the conductors in the [[Cable Manager]] by selecting rows and using the move up/down buttons.
• Usability Enhancements
  • Option to rename all terminals that share the device ID when renaming a terminal.
  • The [[Catalog Manager]] displays a count of the total symbols in the selected catalog.
  • Ability to create desktop shortcuts that specify a particular setup configuration to use
  • The [[Restore Project]] dialog remembers the last path to a .prj file used.
  • Relative paths are now recognized in the URL field of the parts database by use of new %data%, %datafolder%, %projectfolder%, %pagefolder% variables. Format is File://%data%\MyFolder
  • Ability to add a hyperlink to an object and pass it the path to a program’s EXE file to execute another program from a hyperlink.
  • Ability to copy/paste attribute text values from one record to another in the [[Parts Database Manager]] without needing to open the attributes dialog.
  • In previous versions, if you drew a wire in a diagonal direction you would receive an Engineering Design Consideration notifying you that you are drawing a diagonal wire. This message has been removed now since the software recognizes diagonal wire connections to a connection point now.
  • Ability to open multiple sessions of the software simultaneously and work on different projects and pages with those sessions.
• Collaboration Enhancements
  • The [[Import Drawings]] command in the [[Project Manager]] is now able to import an orphaned Promis.e DGN file and rebuild the intelligence of the drawing upon import. You can now import DWG files as well. Some additional UI enhancements were also done to improve the usability of the tool.
  • The Device table in the project database now keeps track of a unique GUID for each device or cable so that we can uniquely identify it and track even ID changes when exchanging data.
• Performance Improvements. We have made an attempt to improve the performance of several features in the software to reduce the negative impact of higher latency networks. We have reduced the number of queries being sent to the project database and cached some data to reduce the chattiness to the project database. A few other types of performance optimizations were also made. The following features have been optimized:
  • [[Restore Project]]: Instead of restoring the database records one by one we now write the contents of each database table at one time.
  • In [[Options]] > User Options > Viewing Preferences you can now disable the toggle named, “Fit View on page open” which causes the software to perform a Fit View whenever opening a drawing file rather than just opening it to the last saved view. This will make the page open operation faster.
  • [[Update Wiring Diagram]] performance was improved.
  • [[Copy Page(s)]] performance was improved.
  • Improved the performance of launching [[Wiring Manager]].
  • Improved the performance of the Compile Connections operation, which is executed by many other features.
  • Improved the performance of the [[Project Publisher - create PDF files of your projects|Project Publisher]].
  • Improved the performance of the macro placement and deletion.
  • Improved the performance of the [[Cable Manager]].
  • Improved the performance of the Search for Wire Links feature.
  • The wait time while browsing ProjectWise folders in the [[Project Manager]] has been reduced.
  • [[Plot Page(s)]] tool no longer attempts to open and update all pages that you are printing unless there are pending changes to those pages that require updating.
• Improved Security
  • Improved the database security to meet product security standards. The software now installs a unique security certificate on each machine that is used to encrypt/decrypt the database password. See also the [[Create a security certificate for password encryption]] article.
• Custom Report Development Enhancements
  • Ability to specify sorting and filtering options for custom reports that you create using the Sorting and Filters dialogs within the [[Run Reports]] dialog.
  • The following new API methods have been added to the software that you can take advantage of to customize which report templates are displayed in the [[Run Reports]] dialog.
    • PopulateTree (List<string> categories): You can pass this method the list of report categories that you want the Run Reports dialog to display.
    • PopulateTemplates (List<string> templates, string defaultTemplate): You can pass this method a list of the templates you want to be displayed in the Run Reports dialog and even specify a default template to use. Passing a NULL value to the templates will cause it to list all report templates.
    • AppendOneTemplate (string category, string templatename, bool check): You can specify a category and a template name that you want to add to the list of displayed reports in the [[Run Reports]] dialog. Passing a true value to the ‘Check’ property will mark the report as selected when the dialog is displayed.

Promis.e V8i SELECTseries 7 - 08.11.12.137

• Option to configure the software in the [[Setup]] dialog to use separate databases per project or multiple databases for groups of projects.
• Option in the [[Setup]] dialog to set the location of the setup.xml file to the current user folder to support Citrix and other terminal services
• Option to maintain terminal numbers when pasting from the clipboard.

Promis.e V8i SELECTseries 7 - 08.11.12.120

• Reports now support Excel XLSX format which increases the allowed row count in Excel reports (> 65,535 rows)
• Symbol Text Sharing: Terminal Strips are broken out as their own "shared text" category ([[Options]] > Symbol Text Sharing now has a Shared Value Over Terminal Strip column of check boxes)
• [[Update Wiring Diagram]]: Added option to process only the open page(s)
• Insert Symbol by Device ID: Added filters for "Drawing Set" and "Page Name"
• Ability to assign a default value for Cable Attribute text fields in [[Create Symbol]]

Promis.e V8i SELECTseries 7 - 08.11.12.88

• [[Project Publisher - create PDF files of your projects|Project Publisher Enhancements]]: Includes a new tree view navigation, sticky notes, and other UI improvements
• Implemented a three-state status for the Set page online check box when Modify Page is used to modify multiple pages in the [[Project Manager]]. This prevents the software from changing the online/offline state of all pages automatically when you try to edit a different setting for the selected pages.

Promis.e V8i SELECTseries 7 - 08.11.12.18

• New Wire Sizing with Sustainability tool to size wires to meet electrical code and provide optimal Life Cycle Costing.
• Wiring Manager replaces Edit Wires and Forced Routing Manager
• Redesigned Family Editor
• Enhanced Wire link, Macro Selection and Symbol selection dialogs.
• Enhanced Wire label and wire property functionality.
• Maintain Macro functionality – option for keeping items grouped when placed via macro

See Also

[[Updating and Upgrading Promis.e]]

[[Moving From Promis.e for AutoCAD to Promis.e Standalone]]

[[Compatibility Chart - Promis.e]]

Promis.e Release Announcements

Promis.e Release Notes (fix lists)

Original Author:

Matt_P