Below are the most important new features of version 2.7.
The complete list of changes is available at
Version history.
Edit Document management, policies and procedures in the CMDB
Octopus allows you to manage your important documents more efficiently as a CI in your CMDB.
The CMDB is an excellent place to store your policies, procedures, and processes. Why?
- The CI search in Octopus searches in the document content (Octopus indexes the content of the documents).
- You can classify the documents by using attributes (version number, document category) and using these attributes in the Octopus data list.
- The documents are centralized in Octopus, which means easier access for everyone.
- You can create links between the documents and other CIs (for example, the VPN access procedure could be linked to the VPN client software).
Figure 2 - List of CIs - documents
The list of document CIs are presented in Octopus in a way that makes it easy to edit them. When a CI is categorized as a document, the first tab of the CI is the document itself (rather than an attached file).
To mark a type of CI as a document, go to "Reference data management". Under the node "CI", open the node "Types". Select a type of CI et check the box "Is a document". Don't hesitate to create a new type of CI named "Document" to store all of your documents.
Tip : Editing documents supports copy/paste from Word, so you can easily transfer your existing documents into Octopus. Moreover, if advanced editing features are only available in Word, you can easily use Word as necessary.
Edit Merging duplicate users
This new feature, available in a user's form, allows duplicate users to be merged. The merge "transfers" the requests and links of a source user to a target user and then deletes the source user.
Figure 2 - Merging users
The following permission is required to use this feature: "User can merge a user".
Note : This feature cannot be used to merge technicians (Octopus users)
Edit Incidents / SR : Display of the number of open requests for the user and the CI
During the creation of an incident or a service request, the system will automatically display the number of open requests for the selected user and the selected CI, which allows you to quickly see if the CI or the user already have open requests.
Figure 2 - Creation of an incident / SR
Tip : You can click on the message containing the number of open requests to consult the user form or the CI form without losing the information already entered in the incident.
Edit Addition of the editing zone (preview) in the problem and change lists
Addition of the editing zone at the bottom of the lists of problems, changes, and many other modules.
Figure 2 - Editing zone in a list of changes
Edit Automating the download of the Octopus database
You can now automate the download of your Octopus database.
Do you often use the option "Tools > Get database" ?
The new program ESI.Octopus.GetDBApp.exe allows you to automate the download and the restore of the database on a server.
Consult the page
GetDbApp to learn more about this option.
Edit Improvements to TCO calculations and to deferred calculations
In this version, we have improved the calculation of the TCO for a CI to include the TCO of the CI's children. For example, the TCO of an information system now includes the TCO of the hardware and software that make up the system.
Moreover, the calculation of the TCO has been converted to a separate operation to offer a better application performance. The TCO is no longer calculated right after adding an incident related to a CI. Rather, the TCO is calculated by request in "Tools > Recompute all CI costs". The use of this command requires the permission "User can recompute all CI costs".