Winter is coming! And a new Service Market of course!
In this version we’re delivering a few requested features – keep the requests coming, ladies and gentlemen! We’re always happy to get your ideas, and sometimes we can even be persuaded into making something out of them!
We’ve added a new Product Question type that can search for computers and select them to get a computer name. It can also default to the computer you’re logged into. Might come in handy in your custom services!
You can now set one or many additional AD attribute(s) to use in Active Directory User Searches. Find it in the Configurator – Active Directory tab – General expandable box. This can be used for example to find users by title, by department or why not by phone number. Be aware that the attribute(s) you enter must work with string search in an LDAP request, and using it might have an impact on performance, especially in larger ADs (but try it!) or if you use a lot of attributes.
All services (as good as) make use of the configurable Display Name Format – this has been lurking in the configuration for ages, but has been used sparingly if at all. From now on, all services should follow the format when displaying user names, and also sort the users in views according to it. The new default looks a bit tricky but it’s simple really:
{FirstName=& }{LastName=& }({UserId}){Disabled= [disabled]}
What is this cryptic stuff? Well – each curly bracket represents a property on the user, and using the equal sign ‘=’ you can set a format that’s get set if the property exists and has a ‘truthy’ value. In that format the ampersand, ‘&’ represents the value. Having no equal sign means the property is displayed as it is. Outside of the curly brackets all characters and whitespace is preserved. Finally the disabled property.
So to use this to sort your users according to Last name, I’ll give you an example to fiddle around with:
{LastName=&, }{FirstName=& }({UserId}){Disabled= [disabled]}
Also, we’ve added an IP address column to the CDC monitor view. (Did you know about that one, folks?)
Finally, we’ve been looking over the 2016 versions of Windows Server, SQL Server, SCCM and Exchange to verify the functionality of Service Market in that environment. From what we’ve seen so far – it’s working without hitches. Should you experience something out of the ordinary with the latest versions and Service Market, don’t hesitate to let us know!
It’s early yet for season’s greetings – but still: Enjoy December! 🙂