Aeon 5.2 Release Notes

Added several new endpoints to the Aeon API:

• Get Users: Returns a list of all users up to 2000 results. OData filtering options are available for use with this endpoint to specify and limit the type and number of results.
• Post Note: Adds a note to an existing request
• Get Note: Returns a list of notes associated with a given request
• Update Request: Updates information for an existing request

For more information, see Aeon API.

The Create Request endpoint (/api/Requests/create/) will now perform validation to ensure that the request can be added to the associated appointment based on the timeframe configured in the associated reading room's Request Minimum/Maximum Lead Days settings in the Aeon Customization Manager.

The Create Request endpoint will now return detailed error messages when invalid values are submitted for the requestFor and customFieldValues properties. Bug# 13747

Fixed an issue where validation would not be applied to ensure that users were properly associated with activities attached to requests created using the Create Request endpoint. The endpoint will now return an error if the specified activity is not associated with the user for whom the request is created. Bug# 11562

Fixed an issue where the Create Request endpoint would return an error stating that the format, serviceLevel, and shippingOption field values were invalid if the specified requestFor or username values contained an invalid username. Bug# 13743/Bug# 17649

Fixed an issue where the API would return incorrect or redundant error messages when validating transactions. Bug# 8889

Fixed an issue where certain configuration changes such as updates to existing activities, users, and appointments would not be detected by the Aeon API until the IIS service was restarted. Bug# 13746

Added support for the Microsoft Edge WebView2 embedded browser within the Aeon Desktop Client and Client addons. Support for the WebView2 browser will include the following enhancements:

• Easier updating process: The WebView2 browser is updated via the Windows Update process on your local machine, removing the need to update the version of the browser used by Aeon by manually updating the Aeon Desktop Client.
• Accessible version tracking: The version of WebView2 currently installed on your machine and used by Aeon can be easily checked by navigating to the Resources tab located within the Aeon Options form in the Aeon Desktop Client. 
• New cache clearing options for easier debugging: A Clear Cache button is available next to the WebView2 version number information on the Aeon Options form that will clear the cache for the WebView2 browser (cookies, logins, and browser history) on the local machine for the user currently logged into the Aeon Desktop Client.

Updated the Aeon ArchivesSpace Client Addon to use the new WebView2 embedded browser.

For information on installing the addon, please see the addon's page in the Aeon Addon Directory.

Added the collection of telemetry data to the Aeon Desktop Client and Web API. This feature will track the number of times each form and button is used in the Aeon Desktop Client and each time an endpoint is used in the Aeon API to assist with prioritizing features for future updates. Data collection will operate under the following restrictions and privacy considerations:

• The data collected will not be associated with your institution and only a general number of total clicks by all Aeon users will be recorded and transmitted to Atlas (e.g., the total number of times the Activity tab is opened on a certain day by all Aeon users).
• To protect user privacy, no personally identifying data including request, activity, appointment, staff, or user details will be collected.
• All data collected will remain internal to Atlas Systems and will not be shared with third parties.

For more information on this feature, see Aeon Telemetry Data Collection.

Logs for the following Aeon components are now configured to use UTF-8 encoding by default to fix an issue where some characters, such as those with diacritics and non-Latin characters, did not display correctly (Bug# 21305):

• Aeon Desktop Client
• Customization Manager
• Staff Manager
• System Manager
• Web Platform

Appointment Status and Confirmation Workflows

Reading rooms can now be configured to require that appointments booked in the room by patrons on the Aeon web interface are manually reviewed and confirmed by staff in the Aeon Desktop Client using new appointment confirmation workflow options:

• All appointments will now have an associated appointment status that will be displayed in the Aeon Desktop Client and patron web interface. The status can be one of three values: Confirmed, Unconfirmed, or Cancelled
• Appointments are no longer deleted from the database when cancelled and will remain accessible in the Aeon Desktop Client and patron web interface with a status of Cancelled
• Appointments created by staff in the Aeon Desktop Client will be confirmed automatically by default
• Appointments booked by patrons on the web will be unconfirmed by default unless the Auto-Confirm Appointments setting in the Aeon Customization Manager has been configured to automatically confirm appointments for the reading room
• Both confirmed and unconfirmed appointments will be considered as occupied "seats" in the reading room when calculating reading room booking availability on the Aeon web interface
• The number of unconfirmed appointments for each reading room will display in the new Appointments to Confirm List on the Home screen of the Aeon Desktop Client 
• Unconfirmed appointments can be reviewed, confirmed, or cancelled from the new Appointment Confirmation form in the Aeon Desktop Client, which provides a central location for staff to view the list of all unconfirmed appointments for each room, a list of each unconfirmed appointment's associated requests, and a list of other appointments booked in the same room for the same date
• New Confirm and Unconfirm buttons can also be used to update an individual appointment's status directly from the Appointment form

Appointment Reminder and Notification Emails

To support appointment confirmation workflows, new email templates and notification options have been added for sending patrons additional appointment notification and reminder emails throughout the appointment booking and confirmation process:

• Appointment Received: Sent automatically by Aeon when a patron books an appointment on the web if the new Notify Appointment Received setting has been checked (enabled) for the reading room in the Aeon Customization Manager
• Appointment Confirmed: Optionally sent to the patron to notify them that their appointment is confirmed when the appointment is manually confirmed by staff in the Aeon Desktop Client
• Appointment Reminder: Sent automatically by Aeon a configurable number of days before an appointment to remind patrons of their upcoming confirmed appointments if the new Reminder Days setting has been configured to send reminder emails for the reading room in the Aeon Customization Manager

Added a new Reading Room Description field to the appointment scheduling settings for each reading room calendar configured in the Aeon Customization Manager. This field can be configured with reading-room-specific policies and then added as a merge field on appointment-type email templates to customize them with information related specifically to the room in which the appointment has been booked.

New and Improved Client Appointment Form

Updated the Appointment form used to display and edit information for individual appointments in the Aeon Desktop Client with the following new options and features:

• Detail and History Tabs: Appointment change history will now be tracked in the new History tab that will display a grid containing detailed information for changes made to the appointment as well as a grid of all appointment-type emails sent to the user for that appointment. A separate Detail tab has also been added that will contain all other information for the appointment.

  Appointment-type emails that were sent before updating to Aeon 5.2 will not display in this grid and will continue to display on the User form.

• Appointment Notes: Added a new Notes grid (located under the Detail tab) that gives staff users the option to add notes for individual appointments

  Appointment notes can only be added and viewed by staff users in the Aeon Desktop Client and will not appear to patrons on the Aeon web pages
• Callslip Printing: Added a Print Callslips button to the Appointment ribbon that will allow staff to print callslips for requests associated with the appointment directly from the Appointment form. Options are available to print callslips for all associated requests or only for requests in the Awaiting Request Processing status
• Reading Room Sign In Options: Added Sign User In, Sign User Out, and Away buttons to the Appointment ribbon that can be used to sign researchers in and out of reading rooms directly from the Appointment form
• Form Customization Options: The layout of the form can now be customized for staff layout templates. For more information on the custom template feature, see Creating and Assigning Templates to Staff Users.
• New Fields: Added new Creation Date and Status fields to the Detail tab that will display the date and time that the appointment was created and the current status of the appointment (these fields are read-only)

• Redesigned Cancel Button: The Cancel Requests checkbox option that was previously located next to the Cancel button has been moved to a dropdown menu below the button. Options for sending and editing the Appointment Cancelled email have been moved into Send Email and Edit Email toggle options next to the Cancel button for a smoother user experience:

  

Redesigned Reading Room Calendar Configuration Interface

The Appointment Scheduling tab in the Aeon Customization Manager has been redesigned so that appointment settings for each reading room are now configured in two separate Policies and Open Hours sub-tabs:

• Policies: Contains general settings for the reading room (including Reading Room Name, Seats Available for Appointments, and Minimum/Maximum Appointment Length) as well as the tables used to configure the room's Associated Sites and Status-Specific Policies (see release notes entry below)
• Open Hours: Contains the room's Open Hours settings and the Exception Dates table used to configure the reading room's hours, closures, and partial closures

New Status-Specific Configuration Options for Reading Rooms

The following new and existing reading room appointment settings in the Aeon Customization Manager can now be optionally configured into separate sets of status-specific policies that will be selectively applied based on the status of the user requesting an appointment (e.g., staff, undergraduate, faculty, etc.):

• Appointment Minimum Lead Days (new)
• Appointment Maximum Lead Days (new)
• Request Minimum Lead Days (new)
• Request Maximum Lead Days (new)
• Appointment Required 
• Auto-Confirm Appointments (new) 
• Reminder Days (new)
• Notify Appointment Received (new) 

These settings are found and configured in the new Status-Specific Policies table that has been added to the Policies tab for each reading room calendar configured for appointments in the Aeon Customization Manager.

Separate Minimum/Maximum Lead Days Settings for Appointments and Requests

The Minimum Lead Days and Maximum Lead Days settings used when configuring reading room calendars in the Aeon Customization Manager have been split into separate Appointment Minimum/Maximum Lead Days and Request Minimum/Maximum Lead Days settings to allow patrons different time windows for booking new appointments in the reading room and for adding new requests to existing appointments:

• Appointment Minimum/Maximum Lead Days: Determines how close to the current date and how far in advance of the current date that an appointment can be booked/requested for the reading room
• Request Minimum/Maximum Lead Days: Determines how close to the appointment start date and how far in advance of the appointment start date that new requests can be associated with an existing appointment booked in the room

These settings are configured in the Status-Specific Policies table for each reading room calendar configured for appointments in the Appointment Scheduling tab of the Aeon Customization Manager.

Added two new status lines to the Aeon Customization Manager under Web Interface | Status Lines that will be displayed to patrons on the web interface after attempting to add new requests to an appointment outside of the timeframe allowed by the Request Minimum/Maximum Lead Days settings for the reading room:

• SLRequestViolatesMinLeadDays: The web status line that appears when a request is submitted inside the Request Minimum Lead Days setting of the associated reading room
• SLRequestViolatesMaxLeadDays: The web status line that appears when a request is submitted outside the Request Maximum Lead Days of the associated reading room

Added a new SLEditAppointmentInvalid status line to the Aeon Customization Manager under Web Interface | Status Lines that will be displayed to patrons on the web interface when attempting to edit an appointment that has been cancelled or already occurred.

The Appointment Required setting configured on reading room calendars in the Aeon Customization Manager will now apply only to the individual reading rooms for which the setting is enabled instead of applying to all reading rooms on the site. Additionally, the Aeon DLL will now also properly validate and enforce the appointment requirement on the EAD Request form (EADRequest.html) according to the settings configured for the selected reading room in the Customization Manager.

For multi-site instances of Aeon, the Aeon DLL will now perform additional validation when submitting requests from the Saved Requests web page (ViewUserReviewRequests.html) to ensure that the reading room selected is associated with the site value for each request:

• If the reading room selected is not associated with the pre-existing site value for any selected requests, those requests will not be submitted and a new SLReadingRoomAssociationError status line will display explaining which requests failed validation due to the invalid reading room selection
• If the reading room selected is associated with the pre-existing site value for any selected requests, all of those requests will be submitted and the SLSubmitUserReview status line will display indicating how many requests were successfully submitted for processing
• If any selected requests did not have a pre-existing site value, the request(s) will be associated with the site selected from the Site dropdown when submitted

See Appointment Scheduling Web Interface for more details.

Appointment Scheduling 5.2 Web Pages

The feature-specific appointment scheduling pages were updated with a variety of new features and fixes to meet the latest web page accessibility requirements, provide a better experience for screen reader and keyboard-only users, and streamline the appointment scheduling process:

• Updated the web pages with a new fully accessible, in-line appointment scheduling interface that replaces the modal pop-up scheduler tool to provide users with an easier, more streamlined appointment booking process: 

  

• Added a Filter dropdown to the Appointments web page (ViewAppointments.html) that will allow users to filter the list on this page to display only active (upcoming, uncanceled) appointments:

  

• Appointments are now sorted by newest first (i.e., the appointment with the start date furthest in the past will be listed last) on the Appointments web page (ViewAppointments.html). Users who are proxies for a researcher will now see appointments for their associated researcher(s) in addition to their own appointments on this web page by default. 
• Added new functionality to update the Appointment field dynamically on request forms to add or remove "(required)" text according to the appointment requirement setting configured for the selected reading room in the Aeon Customization Manager
• Added the Appointment Status field to the information displayed for each appointment on the Appointments web page (ViewAppointments.html) and on the Appointment Information web page (ViewAppointment.html)
• Added new feature-specific DefaultRequest.html, GenericRequestManuscript.html,  GenericRequestMonograph.html, and GenericRequestSerial.html files, and their corresponding Edit files, to the appointment scheduling web pages. These files contain the appointment scheduling fields in place of the scheduled date field by default to ease the process of implementing the appointment scheduling functionality on the Aeon web pages

• Added new feature-specific EADRequest.html and include_appointment_info_ead.html files to the appointment scheduling web pages to ease the process of implementing the appointment scheduling functionality on the EAD Request form

  For information on updating your existing EAD Request form with the new appointment fields, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes.

Added the Appointment Name and Status fields to all grids containing appointment-related information in the Aeon Desktop Client and to the information displayed for individual appointments on the Client calendar interface.

All fields from the Appointments database table and select fields from the ReadingRooms table (ReadingRoomName, MinAppointmentLength, MaxAppointmentLength) can now be added as merge fields to the print templates for requests and callslips (PrintRequest.docx and PrintCallslip.docx). For more information on adding these fields to the print templates, please see Appointment Scheduling Overview.

Added a GetAppointmentAvailabilities AJAX endpoint that will retrieve all available appointment slots for a reading room across a specified range of dates. For more information, see Appointment Scheduling AJAX Endpoints.

Deleting or anonymizing a user will delete all Appointment-type emails that had been sent to that user from the database.

The Appointment Rescheduled email template will now be sent automatically to the patron when an appointment is rescheduled from the Aeon web pages.

Changed the default behavior for the initial appointment start time when creating a new appointment in the Aeon Desktop Client:

• When in the appointment calendar's Week, Month, and Agenda views, the start time will default to the beginning of the open hours defined for the selected reading room on the selected date
• When creating a new appointment from the Request and User forms, the start time will default to the beginning of the open hours defined for the selected reading room on the current date 
• If no open hours are defined for the selected reading room on the selected/current date, the start time will default to midnight

Updated existing API endpoints to reflect new Appointment Scheduling features:

• Updated the /api/ReadingRooms/ and /api/ReadingRooms/{id}/ endpoints to remove the deprecated Minimum and Maximum Lead Days settings from the data returned. These endpoints will now additionally return objects containing the settings configured in the reading room's Status-Specific Policies table in the Aeon Customization Manager.
• Updated the /api/ReadingRooms/{id}/AvailableAppointments/{date} endpoint to ignore cancelled appointments when determining reading room availability and to add a new 'userStatus' parameter that will return the availability for a specified user status based on the status-specific policies configured for the reading room in the Aeon Customization Manager.  

Several improvements were made to the grid of appointments that is displayed while using the appointment association controls located on the Request form, Requests tab of the User Information form, and Request list grids in the Aeon Desktop Client:

• Appointments are now sorted by start time with the patron's next upcoming appointment listed first
• Added a Hide Completed/Cancelled checkbox control option that will hide all cancelled appointments and appointments that occurred in the past from the grid when checked
• Added a column to display the information contained in the Appointment Name field for appointments in the grid

Fixed several issues affecting the appointment scheduling web pages:

• Removed unnecessary hidden <div> tags for the username field on include_appointment_info.html and ViewAppointments.html
• Fixed an incorrect label for the 'ReadingRoomID' field on ViewAppointments.html that would prevent the field label from being read out to screen reader users Bug# 18913

To implement these fixes, please update your appointment scheduling web pages.

Fixed an issue where using the Submit Request button to submit a saved request via the Actions dropdown menu or from the Request Details page would not enforce the appointment requirement for the reading room or site associated with the request. Bug# 13543

Fixed an issue where the entire Aeon Desktop Client would become unresponsive if any appointments contained bad data. Bug# 15330

Fixed an issue where an appointment could be created with invalid data and cause errors in the Aeon Desktop Client if a user created the appointment while logged into the web interface with a username containing trailing spaces or a different casing than the username associated with their user record. Bug# 15329

Fixed an issue where appointments could not be saved using the Request form controls in the Aeon Desktop Client when the computer's time zone was set to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Bug# 15576

Fixed an issue where the Appointments tab could be added to the Aeon Desktop Client using the layout customization tools even when no reading rooms were configured for appointment scheduling in the Customization Manager. Bug# 14767

Fixed an issue where setting a Reduced Availability exception for a reading room in the Customization Manager would cause the appointment scheduling calendar on the web pages to show the entire day as unavailable no matter how many seats were still available after the exception. Bug# 16362

Fixed an issue where a reading room could potentially be overbooked by a patron on the web under certain configuration settings. Bug# 16912

Fixed an issue where appointments with only one associated request would display the incorrectly pluralized text "1 Requests" on the calendar in the Aeon Desktop Client. 

Fixed an issue where changes to the name of an appointment in the Aeon Desktop Client would not be saved when the Appointment form was closed. Bug# 19121

Fixed an issue where Appointment merge fields used in Transaction-type email templates would appear blank when emails were generated for the template. Bug# 17993

Updated the ArchivesSpace Request Fulfillment plugin to v20230302. This version of the plugin is only compatible with Aeon 5.2 and contains the following new features:

• Clearer and more accessible presentation: When a record is not requestable in ArchivesSpace, the Aeon Request button will be removed and replaced by one of three customizable notes explaining why the request cannot be created
• Support for new Archival Request box picker form: The plugin can now optionally direct users to the new box picker form, ArchivalRequest.html, which allows users to select only the boxes they wish to request rather than automatically attempting to request all boxes associated with a record
• Additional data mapping options: The plugin supports eight new data mapping options that can be used to pull additional information from the ArchivesSpace record into the Aeon Request

Added new default and feature-specific Archival Request form web pages to the Aeon web directory to support the new plugin options. When the Archival Request form is configured to work with the plugin, clicking the Aeon Request button in ArchivesSpace will bring users to the new form containing the following new features:

• Easier navigation: The top of the Archival Request form will display a breadcrumb trail indicating the location of the requested record in your ArchivesSpace repository to make it easier for users to navigate back and forth between Aeon and ArchivesSpace
• Container selection: Users can use the checkbox controls next to each container/box on the Archival Request form to select the specific boxes they would like to request. An individual Aeon request will be created for each selected container when the form is submitted
• Improved messaging: Customizable field notes will display under the name of a container on the form if it is located offsite or if it is restricted. Restricted containers will not be requestable.
• Support for appointment scheduling fields: The Archival Request form can be configured with appointment scheduling controls so that users can associate an appointment with their request(s) directly from the form

The Aeon Customization Manager's OpenURLMapping table will now contain several pre-configured, default mapping entries for the ArchivesSpace Request Fulfillment plugin to streamline the plugin configuration process. These default mappings can be changed or removed from the table as needed and will not affect any sites that do not use the ArchivesSpace Request Fulfillment plugin.

Added new AccessRestrictions and ContainerID fields to the Aeon Transactions database table. These fields can be configured in the OpenURLMapping table to import restrictions and container information from the ArchivesSpace record into the Aeon request.

See the Staff Desktop Client section below for more information on configuring these new fields in the Aeon Desktop Client. For more information on configuring OpenURLMapping table entries for the ArchivesSpace Request Fulfillment plugin, see ArchivesSpace Request Fulfillment via Aeon.

Added new files to the Aeon 5.2 default and feature-specific appointment scheduling web pages to support the new Archival Request box picker form:

• Default Web Pages:
  • ArchivalRequest.html
  • DataRow_ArchivalRequestContainer.html
  • ArchivalRequest.js
• Feature-Specific (Appointment Scheduling) Pages:
  • ArchivalRequest.html
  • include_appointment_info_no_site.html

Added four new customization keys to the Aeon Customization Manager to support new plugin features:

• ArchivalRequestContainerRestricted (Web Interface | Archival Requests)
• ArchivalRequestOffsiteContainerMessage (Web Interface | Archival Requests)
• ArchivalRequestOffsiteLocations (Web Interface | Archival Requests)
• SLShowArchivalRequest (Web Interface | Status Lines)

Fixed an issue where the plugin's language import field would not properly import language values from the ArchivesSpace record into the Aeon request. This field will now import the following information from the ArchivesSpace record into Aeon when it is configured as an import field for the plugin in the Aeon Customization Manager's OpenURLMapping table:

• Archival object and resource records: The combined values of the lang_materials[*].language_and_script.language fields for the associated record will be imported
• Accession records: The value of the language field for the associated record will be imported

Records with multiple language values will have those values imported as a semi-colon-separated list.

For more information on configuring import fields for the plugin in the OpenURLMapping table, see ArchivesSpace Request Fulfillment via Aeon.

Changed certain hard-coded colors within the Customization Manager to instead adjust depending on the skin chosen by the user to provide better color contrast ratios. For example, fields that have been edited and not yet saved had been always highlighted in yellow, but will now adjust to different colors based on the selected skin.

Fixed an issue where the WebFormValidationLinks table contained two default entries for the "AllRequests" and "ReadingRoomRequests" rule sets that used an incorrect form name to apply these rules to the EditEADRequest.html web page ("EditGenericRequestEAD").

Added new tables to the database to support new appointment scheduling features:

• AppointmentNotes: Holds Appointment-type notes added to an appointment by staff in the Aeon Desktop Client
• AppointmentHistory: Holds the history and tracking information for an appointment that is displayed under the History tab of the Appointment form in the Aeon Desktop Client
• ReadingRoomPolicies: Holds the settings in the Status-Specific Policies grid for each reading room configured under the Appointment Scheduling tab of the Aeon Customization Manager

For details, see Aeon Database Tables.

Added new columns to the Appointments table:

• CreationDate: Stores the appointment creation date
• AppointmentStatus: Stores the current status of the appointment. Can be Unconfirmed, Confirmed, or Cancelled
• ReminderSent: Tracks whether the Appointment Reminder email has been sent to the patron for the appointment. A value of 1 indicates that the reminder email has been sent, otherwise the value will be 0

Added new AccessRestrictions and ContainerID fields to the Transactions table. See the Staff Desktop Client section below for more information on these new fields.

The following changes were made to the ReadingRooms table:

• Added the ReadingRoomDescription field
• Moved the AppointmentRequired field from the ReadingRooms table to the new ReadingRoomPolicies table
• Removed the MinLeadDays and MaxLeadDays fields
  • These fields have been replaced by the AppointmentMinLeadDays, AppointmentMaxLeadDays, RequestMinLeadDays, and RequestMaxLeadDays fields in the ReadingRoomPolicies table

Fixed an issue where requests could be created with a null (empty) Transaction Status and cause issues in the Aeon Desktop Client. The Aeon Database will no longer allow a  null transaction status and will default the request to the Web Request Created status. Bug# 19511

Fixed an issue where the From address specified on email templates would not be used when sending emails and would instead default to the value set in the LocalInfo table. The From address will now only default to the LocalInfo table value if this field is empty on the email template. Bug# 13531

Fixed an issue where the From address would be inconsistent on emails sent from the Aeon Desktop Client and those sent from the Aeon web interface. Emails sent from the Aeon web will now have this information populated in the same way as those sent from the Aeon Desktop Client. 

Fixed an issue where SMTP header information contained in the SMTP.config file would be overwritten by Aeon in some cases. Bug# 13531

Added several new default queues that will be installed to the Aeon Customization Manager's Queues tab for new Aeon installations:

• Awaiting Staff Request Processing (Equivalent State: Awaiting Request Processing)
• Item On Hold for Staff (Equivalent State: Item on Hold)
• Item Checked Out to Staff (Equivalent State: Item Checked Out)
• In Conservation/Preservation (Equivalent State: Item Checked Out)
• In Cataloging (Equivalent State: Item Checked Out)
• In Processing (Equivalent State: Item Checked Out)
• New Reading Room Request (Equivalent State: Awaiting Request Processing)

Added several new default routing rules that will be installed to the Aeon Customization Manager's Routing tab for new Aeon installations:

• New requests submitted by users who are currently signed into a reading room and not marked as Away will be automatically routed from Awaiting Request Processing to the new New Reading Room Request status
• New requests submitted by users with the status 'Staff' will be automatically routed from Awaiting Request Processing to the new Awaiting Staff Request Processing status
• Requests placed on hold for users with the status 'Staff' will automatically be routed from Item on Hold to the new Item on Hold for Staff status
• Requests for items checked out to users with the status 'Staff' will automatically be routed from Item Checked Out to the new Item Checked Out to Staff status

Added the apiParentWebsite parameter to this server installation/update PowerShell scripts that can be used to modify the IIS website under which the Aeon API is installed (default value: "Default Web Site").

Updated the name of the default Awaiting Order Billing queue/photoduplication status to Awaiting Order Payment for new Aeon installations. The name of this queue will remain unchanged for sites updating from a previous version of Aeon.

The server installation/update PowerShell scripts are now signed with the Atlas code signing certificate, removing the need to set the system execution policy to "unrestricted" prior to running the scripts. 

Non-administrator user accounts on the Aeon Server can now run the server installation/update PowerShell scripts, removing the need to log into the server with an administrator account prior to opening PowerShell.

Increased the Internet Information Services (IIS) maxQueryString value set by the server installation PowerShell scripts to 4096 characters in order to prevent issues caused by OpenURL query strings that exceeded the previous default allowance of 2048 characters.

The following files used by the Aeon DLL are now installed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Aeon\WebDependencies by default instead of to the Aeon web directory (default location: C:\Program Files (x86)\Aeon\Web) in order to prevent these files from being removed or overwritten when changes are made to the web pages:

• AtlasSystems.Interop.SpreadsheetGear.dll
• AtlasSystems.Security.dll
• AtlasSystems.Security.Interop.dll
• log4net.dll
• SpreadsheetGear2017.Core.dll
• SpreadsheetGear2017.Drawing.dll

Removed the SQL Server Native Client component from the Aeon 5.2 server hardware and software requirements due to the end of support for this component by Microsoft. The Aeon server will now use the Microsoft OLE DB Driver for SQL Server in place of the SQL Server Native Client.

The server installation/update PowerShell scripts will now use the SQL Server PowerShell Module during the Aeon 5.2 update/installation process. The scripts will use whichever version of the module is currently installed on the Aeon Server, if present. If the module is not yet installed on the Aeon Server, then the latest version of the module (v22.0.59) will be installed during the server installation/update process.

Added support for the Microsoft Edge WebView2 embedded browser within the Aeon Desktop Client.

Added support for setting Transaction context type custom field values when creating requests from file in the Aeon Desktop Client.

New Access Restrictions and Container ID text fields are now available to add on the Request form in the Aeon Desktop Client and on web request forms in the Aeon web interface. These fields are also available as merge fields for print templates. 

<div class="form-group col-md-8">
<label for="AccessRestrictions">
<span class="<#ERROR name='ERRORAccessRestrictions'>">
Access Restrictions
</span>
</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" name="AccessRestrictions" 
id="AccessRestrictions" value="<#PARAM name='AccessRestrictions'>">
</div>

<div class="form-group col-md-8">
<label for="ContainerID">
<span class="<#ERROR name='ERRORContainerID'>">
Container ID
</span>
</label>
<input type="text" class="form-control" name="ContainerID" 
id="ContainerID" value="<#PARAM name='ContainerID'>">
</div>

Updated the Aeon Citation control located within the Z39.50 search interface on the Request form used to display citation information in rich text format.

For enhanced security, an entry will no longer be added to the User Change History on the User form when a user's password is changed.

Changed certain hard-coded colors within the Client to instead adjust depending on the skin chosen by the user to provide better color contrast ratios. For example, fields that have been edited and not yet saved had been always highlighted in yellow, but will now adjust to different colors based on the selected skin.

Extra spaces are now trimmed from the username saved to the database when creating a new username or updating an existing username for a user in the Aeon Desktop Client.

Fixed an issue where filtering or sorting requests in the grid view by either the appointment Start Time or Stop Time fields would break the results. Bug# 14166

Fixed an issue where the current date could not be selected when adding attendance count to an activity. Bug# 13930

Fixed an issue where request callslips could not be printed from an Activity Information record if any custom fields were defined in the Customization Manager's CustomFieldDefinitions table. Bug# 14570

Fixed an issue where refreshing the Client would sometimes throw a multithreading error in the Client logs and lead to slowness issues. Bug# 16762

Fixed an issue where the Client would sometimes attempt to use a bad database connection when refreshing user or reading room information. Bug# 17093

Fixed an issue where any custom fields added to a custom tab group created on the Request, User, or Activity Information form would display highlighted yellow. Bug# 15993

Fixed an issue where leaving the FutureRoutingDays customization key value blank would cause errors when attempting to import requests from file. Bug# 15791

Fixed a formatting error in the Aeon Desktop Client log entry added when a user signed into a reading room is set to away. Bug# 19730

Fixed an issue where the controls located within the Aeon Options form were not aligned properly within the borders of each section of options on the screen. Bug# 18418

Changed certain hard-coded colors within the Staff Manager to instead adjust depending on the skin chosen by the user to provide better color contrast ratios. For example, fields that have been edited and not yet saved had been always highlighted in yellow, but will now adjust to different colors based on the selected skin.

Fixed an issue where trailing and leading spaces would not be trimmed from the Username, First Name, and Last Name values when creating and/or editing staff users. Bug# 16655

The setup and update installer files downloaded by the System Manager and used to auto-update the Aeon Desktop Client when a new version is available will now be placed in separate Install and Update subfolders within the AeonUpdates\Client folder in the web directory (default location C:\Program Files (x86)\Aeon\Web\AeonUpdates\Client).

For more information on this process, see "Obtaining the Client Installer Files" in Aeon System Manager.

Fixed issues where the System Manager would not detect newly created or modified custom queues and fields for use with addons until the service was restarted. The System Manager will now check the Queues and CustomFieldDefinitions tables in the Aeon Customization Manager for changes and use the most up-to-date custom field and queue configurations each time an addon runs. Bug# 18405/Bug# 15370

The date picker calendar used for the Scheduled Date field in the default Aeon web pages has been updated to a significantly more accessible version for screen reader and keyboard-only users. In addition to the calendar's new accessibility features, unavailable dates will now be crossed out and displayed with a grey background:

As part of this change, the default web pages were also updated to remove the hardcoded Scheduled Date field on each request form and instead implement this field using new include_scheduled_date.html and include_scheduled_date_ead.html files. 

Several additional changes were made to the default web pages. The new web pages are not installed automatically to prevent overwriting any customizations your institution may have created. The complete set of v5.2 web pages are available for download on the Aeon Downloads page. For more information on implementing these changes, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes:

• Fixed an issue where hidden billing fields on request forms (such as those hidden by a customized photoduplication toggle on the EAD Request form) could become enabled and prevent submission of the form Bug# 16440
• Removed unnecessary hidden inputs and <div> tags for the username field from various web pages to improve the efficiency of the code Bug# 13641
• Fixed an issue where fields marked with the "data-persisted-value" attribute would not persist their values in the Safari web browser
• Removed an unnecessary "required" attribute from the ItemSubTitle field on EditEADRequest.html Bug# 18920
• Corrected outdated information on the default FAQ page regarding web browser and cookie requirements for using the Aeon web pages Bug# 18264
• Added missing 'type' attributes to buttons used in various places on the Aeon web interface to fix issues including those where order payments sometimes would not be correctly processed through a payment provider gateway (Bug# 13028) and where all requests could be inadvertently selected on the Saved Requests web page without being announced to the user (Bug# 19801)
• Improved color contrast against the default Aeon web pages for several buttons and dropdown menu items in the DataRow template files
• Fixed a broken 'aria-labelledby' attribute on webAlerts.js to address an accessibility issue affecting the modal dialog for web alerts Bug# 18686
• Removed a broken 'aria-describedby' attribute affecting the 'Current Password' field on ChangePassword.html Bug# 18687
• Changed the default color used for hyperlinks added to the cookie consent banner to address contrast issues Bug# 18486
• Changed the default label color used for fields that fail server validation when a form is submitted to address contrast issues against the default web page background colors Bug# 18758
• Added additional formatting for the search box on ViewSearchResults.html to address color contrast issues and to improve the layout of the web page for a better user experience Bug# 19937
• Fixed an issue where the transaction menu (include_TransactionMenu.html) was not fully visible on smaller display sizes and added an underline on hover to its enabled menu buttons for better consistency with other buttons on the Aeon web pages Bug# 18917
• Realigned the Actions menu dropdown options contained in the DataRow template files to fix an issue where this menu was not fully visible on smaller display sizes Bug# 18915
• Fixed an issue where text was not properly responsive and could become unreadable on some web pages when viewed on smaller display sizes/high zoom levels 
• Updated the hardcoded copyright year on Logon.html to 2023
• Added Transaction Number and Site information to requests displayed on the Saved Requests web page

Added a new WebHomePage customization key (located in the Aeon Customization Manager under Web Interface | Defaults) that can be used to set the home page of the Aeon web interface to one of three options:

• Outstanding Requests (ViewOutstandingRequests.html)
• View Appointments (ViewAppointments.html)
• Main Menu (MainMenu.html) - Pre-existing Aeon Installations Only

Added a WebCookieSameSite customization key to the Aeon Customization Manager under Web Interface | System that will set the SameSite property value on the Aeon session ID cookie in order to fix an issue where users would be forced to log back into the Aeon web interface when submitting requests from an external website (i.e., from a website outside of the Aeon web pages, such as a library catalog or finding aid).

For more information on configuring this key, see Configuring Login Persistence Options for External Websites.

Changed the web page redirect behavior when submitting requests from the Saved Requests page:

• If all selected requests were submitted successfully, the user will be redirected to the Aeon home page and a status line will display indicating that the requests were submitted for processing
• If any of the selected requests could not be submitted (e.g., due to validation errors, an unmet appointment requirement, request limit constraints, etc.), the user will be redirected back to the Saved Requests page and status lines will display indicating which requests were successfully submitted and which requests failed submission 

Fixed an issue where the <#OPTION> web tag could not be used to automatically generate a list of checkbox options for CustomDropDown type custom fields on web forms. Bug# 14532

Fixed an issue where the web pages would display a blank space if no title was provided for an item, causing issues for screen readers. Bug# 17579

Fixed an issue where the Request For dropdown on request forms was not properly validated to ensure that the researcher or activity selected was associated with the user submitting the request. Bug# 11699

Fixed an issue where cloning a photoduplication request on the web would create a non-photoduplication request. Bug# 14459

Fixed an issue where status lines would not display on photoduplication request pages when accessed using the Clone to Copy button. Bug# 15485

The session cookie generated by the Atlas Auth Portal will now include SameSite and Secure properties that will allow Aeon to persist the user's login when placing requests through the portal from an external website (i.e., from a website outside of the Aeon web pages, such as a library catalog or finding aid) in most instances. By default, the SameSite and Secure cookie properties will be set as follows:

• When a user places a request from an external website using HTTPS:
  • The SameSite property on the session cookie will be set to None and the Secure property set to True allowing currently logged-in Aeon users to skip the Atlas Auth Portal login page when placing the request
• When a user places a request from an external website using HTTP: 
  • The SameSite property on the session cookie will be set to Lax and the Secure property set to False allowing currently logged-in Aeon users to skip the Atlas Auth Portal login page when placing the request only if the external website is under the same domain as the Aeon web pages. If the external website is not under the same domain, then the user will need to log back into the Aeon system to place the request.

The following new configuration options are available for the Aeon web interface to prevent bot-driven spam account creation via the New User Registration form (NewUserRegistration.html):

• Aeon can now integrate with one of three supported third-party captcha providers to add a captcha challenge requirement to the New User Registration form (NewUserRegistration.html). The captcha challenge will provide extra security against bot-driven account creation by requiring new users to solve the challenge in order to submit the form and create their accounts. The following captcha providers and plans are supported by Aeon (note that a separate account must be created with your chosen captcha provider to implement this feature): 

  • Google reCAPTCHA: reCAPTCHA v2 (both the "invisible" and "checkbox" variants) and reCAPTCHA v3
    • Note that reCAPTCHA Enterprise is not supported by Aeon
  • hCaptcha: Free "Publisher" plan
  • MTCaptcha: Free plan
• As an alternative to implementing the captcha requirement, user registration can now be completely disabled for accounts created through standard Aeon authentication (AeonAuth) from the New User Registration form (NewUserRegistration.html) using the new AeonAuthUserRegistrationEnabled customization key. This option will prevent the creation of spam accounts by completely blocking account creation for users who are not pre-authorized for an Aeon account via an Aeon Exclusive, LDAP, PatronAPI, or Remote Authentication configuration. This option should not be chosen if you only allow users to register for accounts through the standard Aeon account creation and authentication process.

Added the following new customization keys to the Aeon Customization Manager to support the new spam prevention options in the Aeon web interface:

• AeonAuthUserRegistrationEnabled: Determines if new user registrations can be created via standard Aeon authentication (AeonAuth)
• SLUserRegistrationDisabled: The web status line that appears if registration has been disabled using the AeonAuthUserRegistrationEnabled key
• CaptchaProvider, CaptchaSecret, CaptchaSiteID: These keys are used to configure the captcha integration for the user registration form
• SLCaptchaFailure: The web status line that appears if a user fails the CAPTCHA challenge during user registration.

Added the <#CAPTCHA> web DLL tag to the Aeon web interface. This tag is used to display the captcha challenge requirement on the New User Registration form (NewUserRegistration.html) when a captcha integration has been configured in the Aeon Customization Manager. 

Added new options for configuring a photoduplication toggle control on Aeon request forms. The photoduplication toggle control will allow patrons to toggle between submitting a reading room request or a photoduplication request from the request form(s) on which it has been configured:

• Add the PhotoduplicationEnabled customization key to the Aeon Customization Manager under Web Interface | System. When set to Yes, this key will display the photoduplication toggle control on any requests form on which the <#PHOTOTOGGLE> tag has been configured. The default value for this key is No.
• Added the <#PHOTOTOGGLE> web DLL tag to the Aeon web interface that is used to display content on the web form based on the setting configuring in the PhotoduplicationEnabled key:
  • When the PhotoduplicationEnabled customization key is set to Yes, the <#PHOTOTOGGLE> tag will display the photoduplication toggle control and either the reading room request fields or the photoduplication request fields (based on the request type selected by the user in the toggle control) configured in the new include_photodup_toggle_enabled.html HTML file
  • When the PhotoduplicationEnabled customization key is set to No, the <#PHOTOTOGGLE> tag will only display the reading room request fields configured in the new include_photodup_toggle_disabled.html HTML file
  Note: The new HTML files are available in the Aeon 5.2.4 default/feature-specific web pages release. To learn how to update your web pages to support the <#PHOTOTOGGLE> feature, see the 5.2.4 web page release notes below.

Users will no longer be able to register for an Aeon account from the TestWeb directory to prevent bot-driven spam account creation from the Aeon TestWeb web pages. TestWeb user registration will be disabled by default upon update and cannot be re-enabled.

Fixed an issue where users could not view appointment details on the Aeon web interface for appointments with start dates in the past or with start dates exceeding the Minimum Lead Days setting for the reading room. Bug# 22857

Fixed an issue where appointments were sometimes visible to unrelated users on the Aeon web interface. 

Fixed an issue where the Aeon DLL would sometimes apply the incorrect set of appointment scheduling policies configured for the reading room in the Aeon Customization Manager when users booked or managed their appointments through the Aeon web interface.

Modified NewUserRegistration.html to include the new <#CAPTCHA> tag and added the following new files to the default web pages to implement captcha support on the New User Registration form:

• include_captcha_none.html
• include_hcaptcha.html
• include_mtcaptcha.html
• include_recaptcha_v2_checkbox.html
• include_recaptcha_v2_invisible.html
• include_recaptcha_v3.html

The following web pages changes were made to implement support for the new <#PHOTOTOGGLE> functionality on ArchivalRequest.html and to make this feature available for configuration on other request forms:

• Removed the feature-specific version of ArchivalRequest.html available in the appointment scheduling web page package and updated the default version of this file in the Aeon default web pages package to include the new <#PHOTOTOGGLE> tag. The default version of this file is now used for both Aeon installations using appointment scheduling features and Aeon installations not using these features.
• Added new include_photodup_toggle_disabled.html and include_photodup_toggle_enabled.html files to both the default web pages and feature-specific appointment scheduling web pages. These files will be used to display content on the form when the photoduplication toggle functionality provided by the <#PHOTOTOGGLE> tag is disabled and enabled (respectively) in the Aeon Customization Manager.
• Added a new include_photoduplication_archival_request.html file to the default web pages. This file is used to display the photoduplication fields on the request form when the photoduplication toggle functionality provided by the <#PHOTOTOGGLE> is enabled in the Aeon Customization Manager and a photoduplication request is selected by the user via the toggle option on the web form.
• Updated the appointments.js,  billingAccountsOptionHandler.js, billingContextHandler.js, duplicationPermissionToggle.js, and include_appointment_info_no_site.html files to support the new <#PHOTOTOGGLE> tag.

Fixed an issue where clicking the Schedule a New Appointment button from the Aeon web pages would sometimes not display the appointment scheduling fields.

Modified the Request For field on several web forms so that usernames are now consistently hidden within the list of users displayed in the dropdown selection across all web pages.

The Hide Completed/Cancelled checkbox option used with the appointment association controls located on the Request form, Requests tab of the User Information form, and Request list grids in the Aeon Desktop Client will no longer hide appointments currently in progress when checked. Appointments will now only be considered completed and hidden once the appointment's stop time is reached.

Fixed an issue where Reply To addresses configured for email templates in the Aeon Customization Manager would not be added to emails generated by the Aeon Desktop Client.

Fixed an issue where the <#Request.CancelNote> tag in the ItemCancellation email template would not be populated with a value for emails generated by the Aeon Desktop Client. Bug# 22789

Fixed an issue where tags used to populate the ItemCancellation email template with information about the user's request would not be generated with values for emails sent by the Aeon Desktop Client.

Fixed an issue in Aeon Web DLL where the last appointment availability for any month would incorrectly show as unavailable on the web if the associated reading room was configured to only offer all-day appointments. 

Fixed various minor issues on the default web pages and the feature-specific web pages used with appointment scheduling functionality. The list of changes can be found below. For more information on implementing each fix, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes. 

• Removed unused image files from the images folder in the default web pages
• Standardized the column widths used for the ItemEdition, ItemVolume, and ItemIssue field text inputs on the default and feature-specific edit form for monograph requests (EditGenericRequestMonograph.html) to match the widths for these inputs on the monograph request form (GenericRequestMonograph.html) 
• Removed extraneous spaces from the code used in the edit forms for manuscript and monograph photoduplication requests (EditGenericRequestManuscriptPhotodup.html and EditGenericRequestMonographPhotodup.html) and from the code used in the default photoduplication request form (PhotoduplicationRequest.html)

Fixed various issues on the default and feature-specific web pages. The list of changes can be found below. For more information on implementing each fix, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes. 

• Removed the jQuery UI JavaScript Library from the web pages for security purposes.

  The jQuery UI JavaScript Library is no longer necessary for the functionality of the web pages and should be removed to ensure the best possible security on the Aeon web interface.

  However, please note that removing this library may break existing implementations of the date picker calendar dropdown tool used with various date fields on the web pages if you have not updated these date picker components to the new version released with the Aeon 5.2 web pages. See Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes for more information.

• Changed the default password reset instructions on the FAQ web page (FAQ.html) to first direct patrons to use the Forgot Password web form to reset their password before contacting staff. For security purposes, patrons should be encouraged to reset their own passwords.
• Updated the appointments.js file to fix an issue where the Aeon web interface would only consider the current date and would not consider the current time when determining whether an appointment could be scheduled in a reading room based on the room's Appointment Minimum Lead Days value in the Aeon Customization Manager. Aeon will now also consider the current time when making this calculation after the appointments.js file is updated. Bug# 19633
• Fixed an issue where manually entering a date when making an appointment on the web interface could cause a JavaScript console error in the web browser in some cases. Bug# 19926
• Fixed an issue where form fields using a date picker calendar dropdown tool would not initialize correctly when placed inside a photoduplication toggle.
• Changed underlined text used for emphasis on the search results web page (ViewSearchResults.html) to instead use bolded text to adhere to W3C HTML5 guidelines. Bug# 17985
• Removed non-functional popup text for file size and added missing transaction number and file size information to the requests displayed on the Electronically Delivered Items web page (DataRow_ElectronicDelivery.html). Bug# 18112
• Updated the hardcoded copyright year on Logon.html to 2024.

Fixed various issues on the default and feature-specific web pages. The list of changes can be found below. For more information on implementing each fix, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes. 

• Fixed an issue where manually entering invalid data into the Appointment Date field (e.g., letters or a string of numbers) when making an appointment on the web interface would cause a JavaScript console error in the web browser.
• Fixed an issue where disabled action buttons for transactions on the Aeon web interface could still be activated using keyboard controls, allowing users to perform actions such as editing cancelled requests. Bug# 15246
• Removed unused CSS properties from the aeon.css file.
• Encoded ampersands used in the code for HTML attribute values on various default and feature-specific web pages.

Updated the Aeon API to v.1.5.2. The new version of the Aeon API uses the Microsoft .NET 8 framework in place of the deprecated Microsoft .NET Core 2.2 framework used in previous API versions for enhanced security.

Added triggers to the Aeon database that will automatically adjust the casing for the username value associated with new appointment or transaction records to match the casing used for that value in the Users database table to prevent issues caused when the casing of these username values did not match.

Fixed an issue in the Aeon Server 5.2.9 release where the associated user's username would be assigned as the researcher username to requests, which could prevent the assignment of appointments to requests after updating. 

Fixed various issues on the default and feature-specific web pages. The list of changes can be found below. For more information on implementing each fix, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes. 

• Added the license and copyright statement for the third-party date picker code library to the datepicker.js file.
• Reformatted the "Important Copyright Information" and "Aeon FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)" section headers on NewAuthRegistration.html as buttons to fix an accessibility issue where these sections could not be expanded or collapsed using keyboard controls. 
• Updated atlasUtility.js to fix an accessibility issue with the "Other" dropdown javascript feature where when the "Other" option was chosen from the dropdown, the associated text field was unhidden and focus was moved to it automatically, failing WCAG criterion 3.2.2. Keyboard focus will now stay on the dropdown field until the user manually navigates to the text field after making the dropdown selection.
• Updated buildSiteMap.js to fix an issue where empty hyperlinks would be generated in the site map (SiteMap.html) if a hyperlinked image was added to the footer (include_footer.html).
• Fixed issues where Boolean checkbox fields configured on the web pages would not correctly load their values from the database and would not submit a value to the database when unchecked in some cases.
• Adjusted the styling of the buttons contained within the DataRow_ElectronicDelivery.html file to improve the responsive accessibility of these buttons and to make the styling consistent with other DataRows containing three or more buttons on the Aeon web interface.

Updated the Aeon default and feature-specific web pages to rename some of the account management-related features for clarity and to ensure naming consistency across the web pages:

• The My Profile dropdown in the navigation menu was renamed Account Info
• The option within the My Profile dropdown menu to navigate to the ChangeUserInformation.html page was changed from Change User Information to Update User Information
• The page title and page header on ChangeUserInformation.html were changed to Update User Information to match the new name for the navigation link

For more information on implementing these changes, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes. 

The following changes have been made to the layout and style used to format the Aeon default and feature-specific web pages when they are printed from the web browser to improve the readability of the printed material and to increase focus on essential information:

• The following elements are now hidden when the web page is printed:
  • Action buttons (e.g., Edit, Cancel, etc.) on web pages containing transaction details
  • Most buttons included in the DataRow template files (e.g., Details, Action, etc.)
  • The "Skip to main content" link
  • Web alerts
  • Form controls on the search results web page
• The summary of charges will now appear before the list of orders when the ViewOrderEstimates.html, ViewOrderApprovals.html, and CreditCardPayment.html pages are printed
• Form fields are now formatted with a black border color and black text when printed to enhance color contrast
• Buttons and badges are now formatted with a white background color and black text when printed to enhance color contrast
• Set the font size used for body text on print layouts to 11pt
• Implemented missing print styling on the Logon.html web page so that this page is now properly formatted when printed

For more information on implementing each change, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes. 

Added new minified versions of most default JavaScript and CSS files used in the Aeon web pages and updated all relevant web page files to use the new minified files in order to optimize the performance of the Aeon web interface and reduce page load times for users. The minified files will have the extension .min.js or .min.css and will be present in the js or css folder of the default and feature-specific web page downloads alongside the original un-minified version of each file. 

For more information on implementing these new files, see Implementing 5.2 Web Page Changes.