What's new in Swarm 2018.1

This section provides a summary of the notable changes in Swarm for the 2018.1 release. Full details are available in the distribution's RELNOTES.txt file.

Be aware:

Upgrade process changed

The upgrade process changed for Swarm version 2017.3 and later.

PHP version support change from Swarm version 2019.1

We are planning to remove support for versions of PHP older than 5.4 in Swarm 2019.1. This is part of our commitment to move away from using versions of platforms that have reached End-of-Life (EOL).
This means that you will need to ensure that you can install PHP 5.4 or greater when Swarm 2019.1 becomes available

New trigger script added

A new trigger script called swarm.shelvedel shelve-del has been added, this is a prerequisite for the new process_shelf_delete_when configurable. The trigger script must be added to the Helix Server trigger table.
Swarm checks for a supported Helix Server version when you install or upgrade Swarm. If a supported version of Helix Server is not found the swarm.shelvedel shelve-delete trigger and process_shelf_delete_when configurable are not supported, see Helix Server requirements.

Major new functionality

Add a changelist to a review
You can now append a changelist to a pending review, or replace a review with a changelist if you need to modify a review, see Add a changelist to a review.
Improvements to the Swarm comment system
A number of improvements have been made to the Swarm comment system:
Reply to comments: You can now reply to comments and replies are displayed as threaded conversations, see Reply to comments.
Comment notification delay: Comment notifications are now delayed by default to allow you to add or edit comments as you progress through a review without sending a notification for each individual comment on the review. Comment notifications are rolled up into a single notification which you can either send manually, or leave to be sent automatically after the notification delay time has passed. See Comment notification delay.
Mark comments as read or unread: You can now mark comments as read or unread to make it easier for you to find comments that need your attention, see Mark comments as read, and Mark comments as unread.
Comment on descriptions: You can now comment on changelist and review descriptions, see Commenting on a changelist or review description.
Support for Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Swarm now supports MFA if it is configured on your Helix Server.
Review revision selection dropdown
You can now specify which revisions of a review to diff using the new review revision selectors, the dropdown selectors are located in the Files tab above the list of files on the review display page. By default the base and latest review revisions are preselected, see Select review revisions to view.
process_shelf_delete_when configurable
By default, when you delete files from a shelved changelist, the files are not removed from the associated review.
When configured, process_shelf_delete_when enables Swarm to remove files from a review, see Process shelf file delete when, and Remove a file from a review.

Minor new functionality

Improved diff context viewing
Show more context button operation has been improved and expanded to give you more control when viewing diffs, see Show more context buttons.
User preferences
You can now configure how diffs are initially displayed to you when you first view them, and how time is displayed to you by Swarm, see Settings tab.
Activity history links
Swarm events now include a link to the specific revision of the review the event refers to, for an example see Activity streams. Links created before Swarm version 2018. link to the latest revision of the review as before.
Prevent approval of reviews with open tasks
Swarm administrators can now enforce task workflow by preventing reviews with open tasks being approved and committed, see Prevent Approve for reviews with open tasks.
Review type column
The dashboard and reviews list now contain a type column, this enables you to easily identify if a review is Pre-commit or Post-commit, see Dashboard and Reviews list.
My Project definition for the projects list on the home page has changed
Selecting My Projects on the Home page now lists all of the projects that you are an owner of or a member of not just projects that you are a member of, see Projects.
Home page Project list initial default view
The first time you log-in to Swarm you will see a list of the projects you own or are a member of, after that your selection is sticky and your most recent selection will be displayed when you return to the Home page, seeProjects.
Project ownership icon
An icon is now displayed against projects that you own, see Projects.
Moderator, Dashboard change
If you are a moderator for a review, you will only see the review on your dashboard if it is in a state that you can approve it or you are the last remaining required reviewer for the review, see Dashboard.
P4PHP
Updated the compiled latest patched P4PHP against 2016.2 Helix Server API.
Trigger script performance improvement: Windows only
Swarm now spawns a child process when running trigger scripts on Windows to simulate fork() which is not available for Windows. This improves performance when running trigger scripts on Windows.
Perforce job links in associated JIRA issues
When configured, Swarm will automatically add a Perforce job link to the associated JIRA issue, see Enabling Perforce job links in JIRA issues.
API updated to version 9
A number of new endpoints have been added to the API, and it has been updated to v9. See Swarm API.

Known limitations

Access Control
Swarm maintains a variety of information in the Helix Versioning Engine's keys facility. By default, users with list-level privileges can read these keys, which can include comments that contain excerpts of code they may not normally have access to.
The Helix Versioning Engine, version 2013.1/659207 or higher, has a configuration setting to require admin-level privileges for access to read and write keys. See Hiding Swarm storage from regular users.
Task Stream Reviews
Pre-commit reviews in a task stream are not yet supported.
Swarm OVA installation fails with a Run p4 login2 error
Issue: Swarm OVA deployment against an MFA enabled Helix Server fails with a Run p4 login2 error.
Workaround: You must run p4 login2 for a super user account that has MFA enabled before deploying the Swarm OVA. For p4 login2 detail, see p4 login2 in P4 Command Reference.