Product Updates

Upgrade MySQL 5.7 to 8.0 for Media Uploads

Impact: Administrators, Applicants, and Panelists

• New query functionality
• Better performance
• Better reliability
• Better security
• Better manageability

Upgrade MySQL 5.7 to 8.0 for General Site Functionality

Impact: Administrators, Applicants, and Panelists

• New query functionality
• Better performance
• Better reliability
• Better security
• Better manageability

Grant Manager Dashboard Enhanced

Impact: Administrators

• New Search Field
• New Filter Tool
• New Mass Update Tool
• New Tags
• Updated Dashboard with Column Customization
• Updated Design Changes
• New Default Settings

Applicant Profile Field Labels and Behavior Streamlined Globally

Impact: Administrators, Applicants, Panelists

• Fixed an issue where applicant profile fields and labels were not initially named or ordered alike; updated in:
•      the Applicant’s Create New Profile / Edit Profile page
•      the Admin’s Profile Editor
•      the read-only HTML/PDF form
•      the Custom Report Builder

• Fixed an issue where special characters in the mission statement and organization history did not appear on the Custom Report. 
• Fixed an issue where the category sort select answers appeared in the incorrect order.
• Fixed an issue where the text input box for the Intent to Apply page was not counting special characters correctly making it difficult for applicants to submit accurate responses.

• Enhanced Conditional Logic tool to allow admin to copy conditional logic when cloning a cycle.
• Fixed a bug that affected the Profile Editor settings when saving the Agency Editor.
• Improved accessibility for form fields that were not previously labeled.

• Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) settings updated to include a “remember this device” feature that will save the MFA code for that user on that device for 90 days.

• Reinstate 1600 character limit on profile fields for Mission Statement and Organization History with counter
• Update headers for all user types to include logged in username and website URL
• Removal of link from website logo in header

• Allow admin to modify panel assignments in additional statuses
• Hide headers on NEA Template when all questions of that section are hidden
• Update Captcha on New Profile
• WCAG updates to Media Library Select Page and Media Library pages

• Updates made to:
  • Current Programs & Applications Page UI
  • Cycle form UI
  • Admin Login Page and Login Tools
  • Custom Report Labels
  • Media Library Upload and Library accessibility updates
  • Comprehensive list of UI and Accessibility Updates March 2023
• Updates to the applicant’s registration page and Edit Profile page
  • Text updates
  • Improved error messaging
  • Improved design and layout of the page

• NEA Tools Updated:
  • NEA template page editor updated to allow for admin control of each field.
  • NEA template page in applicant’s forms updated to improve applicant experience.
  • NEA Report updated to offer optional report with English text as well as NEA coding.
• Removal of background colors from portals for accessibility purposes
• Addition of FEIN and 501c3 to the Profile Editor
• Applicant Portal Updates:
  • New Log In, Forgot Username, and Forgot Password pages
    • Update to the emails applicants receive when they use these tools
  • Addition of Log In, Create New Account, and Log Out buttons
  • Navigation/Resource pages housed under a single “Additional Resources” tab on the navigation bar

• Conditional Logic added to Custom Narrative and Intent to Apply question editors.
• Update to layout of Custom Narrative, Intent to Apply, and Custom Calculation question editors.
• Accessibility Update: Red asterisk replaced by (Required) for required fields.

• Ability to preview pages from the Cycle Pages editor.

• Optional UEI Information field added to Enhanced Profile.

• Multiple Submission tool added to Custom Narrative pages to allow for multiple submissions of a single question set within a cycle form.

• Program Cycles editor updated with the introduction of 4 sub tabs, date pickers, label changes to existing fields, and the addition of help text.

November 2021

• Multi-factor Authentication added to admin and panelist portals. Users have the option of using email MFA, an authenticator app, or opting out with a 2-week reminder.

August 2021

• Fix of a bug that caused NEA template data to skew Custom Reports
• Change to the table header on Custom Narrative and Custom Calculation pages to read as Question Title to better reflect the displayed field

April 2021

• Addition of a delete confirmation modal to Front End Manager > Navigation Editor.
• Update of the Edit/Remove buttons of Front End Manager > Navigation Editor.
• Addition of a delete confirmation modal to Status Mailer section.
• Update of the Edit/Remove buttons of Status Mailer section.
• Update of the Edit/Add buttons of Grant Editor > Programs.
• Replacement of Year and Date fields of the Media Upload forms of the Media Library; previously drop down lists now date pickers or text fields that accept 4-digit years.

March 2021

• “HTML/PDF preview” terminology becomes “Read-only form.”
• Read-only forms now generate and cache when requested by the admin on the Grant Manager dashboard or by the applicant on the Current Programs & Applications tab.
• Addition of a delete confirmation modal to Grant Editor > Cycles Pages for pages and questions.
• Update of the Edit/Remove buttons of Grant Editor > Cycle Pages.
• Change to the panelist user editor form that hides Section Access and automatically assigns the appropriate section access.

November 2020

• An overhaul of the Work Sample Banks tools
  • Update to the language of Media and Library where applicable.
  • Update of the UI of the Media Library Select page to streamline the selection and review of media files.
  • Update of the upload forms for all 4 media types to hide the additional metadata fields unless needed.
  • Addition of a feature to the Media Library Selection page that allows the applicant to navigate directly back to the page after uploading media to the library.
  • Removal of storage settings on the Admin’s Media Library Module tab.

October 2020

• Addition of popup modals to the admin and applicant portals where additional information was needed regarding the HTML/PDF preview forms.

August 2020

• Replace mail system with Mailgun; all emails sent from noreply@gosmart.org.
• Added link to applicant portal login directing panelists to appropriate portal.
• Improve display of attachments to a Work Sample Select page as displayed on the HTML/PDF preview.
• Mission Statement and Organization History fields of the profile page converted to plain text; all bulleted, numbered, hard returns removed.

June 2020

• Addition of XLSX and DOCX as accepted file types in the Document Bank.
• Increase in margins for Option Question types.

April 2020

• Addition of JPG and PNG files to the File Upload field question type.
• Rerouting the Tech Tips of the Applicant Portal and Help page of the Panelist Portal.
• Allow for bcc recipients to be separated by commas or semicolons and any number of spaces.

March 2020

• Routing “View File” link for images on the HTML/PDF preview to the high resolution copy of the file.
• Addition of “View Large Image” link to the Support Material section of the panelist portal.
• Redesign of the Administrative portal dashboard (see announcement here).

February 2020

• Removal of Generation Timestamp from HTML/PDF previews.

December 2019

• Decrease load time of HTML/PDF previews. HTML/PDFs of all forms (applications, intents to apply, interim reports, and final reports) are generated and saved at the time the form is saved, modified, or updated by the applicant and called upon when the system opens the HTML/PDF.
• Panel books of more than 5 applications are generated and emailed to the user. Emails contain a link to the HTML and PDF views.

October 2019

• Removed Grantee Race from the profile page for National Endowment of the Arts reporters.

September 2019

• Conversion of PDFs to HTML web page view. Forms previously viewed as PDF documents from the admin, applicant, and panelist portals will now generate initially as an HTML web page, and can then be regenerated as PDFs for printing.

June 2019

• Open and Close date fields added to Panels > Configure Panel tab.  Allow admin to show and hide panels from assigned panelists on designated dates.
• Import Criteria button added to Panels > Panel Scoring tab. Allows admin to copy existing criteria into new panels.
• Increased number of allowed criteria from 20 to unlimited.

April 2019

• Reset Scores button added to Panels > Assign Panelists tab. Allows admin to automatically reset all scores for one or multiple panelists when needed
• Removed deleted applications from assigned panels
• Refactored Grant Manager dashboard to increase load speed for cycles of 200+ applications

March 2019

• Redirect applicants to Current Programs & Applications page upon login

December 2018

• PHPExcel Report Generation updated.
• Dynamic function of date fields enhanced.
• Admin are again able to upload and update their logo from the Agency Editor.
• Active/Disable drop down label settings enhanced.

October 2018

• Amount Funded field added to Custom Report Builder.
• Cross-agency security enhanced.
• Panel configuration enhanced to display Instruction field upon first navigation (some users were experiencing a cache issue that would hide saved text from this field).
• Panelist media viewer enhanced for playback on Firefox; Previous and Next buttons of the media modal work in the absence of attached Work Sample(s).

August 2018

• Revised error message when applicants attempt to upload an image file other than a jpg.
• Extend Cycle bug fix – admin can create sub cycle for any cycle application in the Funded, Approved, and/or Pending field.

July 2018

• Panel Portal – Panelbooks are generated when the “Download Panelbook” button is clicked, rather than when the page is loaded.  This will speed up the time it takes for the Panel Dashboard to load, and appropriate messaging appears to alert panelist if they need to wait momentarily while the panelbook is created and downloaded.
• API integration with Zapier.com

April 2018

• Help tab of Admin portal navigates to Knowledge Base

March 2018

• “Extend A Cycle” includes applicants in Pending, Approved, and Funded statuses
• Work Sample Select Page buttons and default language updated
• Admin can login as multiple applicants from single search on Search tab
• Usernames must adhere to the following:
  • + 5 character minimum
    + 30 character maximum
    + can include digits 0 through 9
    + can include letters A through Z
    + can include only the following special characters @ . _ (ampersand, period, underscore)
    + Does not allow double quotes in the username (“)
    + must not include spaces
    + can be only numbers
    + can be only letters
    + username cannot be the same as another username already in existence

February 2018

• Applicant Site ADA Accessibility updated
• Work Sample Module default text updated
• Custom Registration items separated by applicant display
• Minor updates to Panel creator – Cancel button added

January 2018

• NEA Report updated

December 2017

• Panel process completely revamped

October 2017

• CKEditor (Text Field Editor) added to many text fields of admin portal

May 2017

• Add note to “Allow Applications” section of Program Cycles
• Remove “Application” language from applicant portal for peach application pageset
• Rename Ticket tab to Help tab
• Update Tech Tips link on the applicant portal
• Update language on Page Editor from “Add New Narrative Pages” to “Add New Page”
• Update Activity Locations page language
• Update Favicon to reflect new GO Smart logo

April 2017

• cgo-basic.org converted to admin.gosmart.org
• [domain].cgweb.org converted to [domain].gosmart.org
• Remove 1920 x 1920 parameter for image uploads

March 2017

• Flowplayer replaced with HTML5 Player
• Congressional district link replaced on the applicant registration page

February 2017

• Site status updated in upper right corner of each portal

December 2016

• Clear text passwords are replaced with asterisks for security