26.1 enhancements and patches
Review the BMC Helix ITSM 26.1 enhancements for features that will benefit your organization and to understand changes that might impact your users.
| Version | SaaS | On premises | Fixed issues | Updates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26.1.00 | ✅️ | Known and corrected issues | 26.1 enhancements and patches |
BMC Helix applies upgrades as described in the BMC Helix Upgrade policy. BMC Helix applies upgrades and patches during Maintenance windows.
26.1.00
BMC Helix ITSM enhancements
Configure automated follow-ups for incidents awaiting customer response
Automated follow-ups reduce the need for service desk agents to manually follow up with customers for pending information, saving time and effort. BMC HelixGPT analyzes why the incident is moved to the Pending status and uses the analysis to send an email to the customer. Automated follow-ups help you ensure that requesters respond promptly, preventing delays. Administrators can configure the conditions, methods, and frequency for follow-ups, making the process consistent and easier to manage across all tickets.
Learn more about configuring automated follow-ups in Configuring automated follow-ups for pending incidents. Learn how service desk agents can view the follow-ups in incidents in Information displayed on a ticket to understand an issue.
Generate an incident summary for faster resolution
Generate concise, structured incident summaries that highlight key details for a quick and better understanding of incidents. This capability minimizes the time and effort required to interpret incident information, leading to smoother communication and enhanced collaboration among stakeholders.
For more details about the capability, see Using BMC HelixGPT to generate an incident summary for faster resolution and Generating an incident summary for faster resolution.
Centralized interface to enable and configure the BMC HelixGPT features
Use the HelixGPT Configuration Console with a unified, Innovation Studio-based interface to centrally manage all BMC HelixGPT feature settings across BMC Helix ITSM applications. This capability eliminates the need to access multiple configuration layers, including Centralized Configuration Settings (CCS) and Remedy forms to enable or configure BMC HelixGPT features in BMC Helix ITSM.
For more information, see Configuring settings to use Agentic AI capabilities.
Service Collaborator Value Dashboard
Use the Service Collaborator Dashboard for BMC Helix ITSM to view the value delivered by Service Collaborator in incident management. You can compare key performance indicators for incidents when Service Collaborator is enabled versus when it is disabled in the organization.
For more details, see Service Collaborator Value Dashboard in BMC Helix ITSM
Enable and edit Major Incident Report by using BMC HelixGPT
The out-of-the-box Major Incident Report (MIR) that is generated by using BMC HelixGPT delivers operational benefits by automating post-incident documentation within BMC Helix ITSM. With this report, the turnaround time for post-resolution activities is reduced by eliminating manual effort in compiling detailed and summary reports. It also provides a structured, auditable, and editable record of major incidents.
For more information, see Configuring custom templates for major incident reports.
View an incident timeline in the Ops Swarmer chat to get incident details
Get a visual representation of an incident timeline in the Ops Swarmer chat in Microsoft Teams to gain a deeper understanding of the incident's details. Important events in the incident lifecycle, such as status, group or ownership changes, missed SLAs, key discussion points in the swarm, and root cause identified, are displayed in the timeline. All events are displayed with the date and time, providing a snapshot of the incident investigation. Based on the next action listed in the timeline, a service desk agent can take the correct action to resolve the issue.
Learn more about using the Ops Swarmer chat in Launching Ops Swarmer for collaboration
Get accurate activity log details for service request actions
Activity logs in BMC Helix ITSM display the actual user name who creates, cancels, or reopens a service request. Previously, these actions were attributed to the system administrator account on the associated fulfillment tickets.
This update provides greater accuracy, transparency, and traceability across the service request lifecycle.
Reduce manual efforts to identify missing or invalid CI details by creating data monitoring rules
Use Data Monitor as a part of CMDB Governor in BMC Helix ITSM to detect inconsistent or incomplete CI records based on the qualification that you define in the rule. Running data monitoring rules regularly lets you check for missing or invalid CIs to maintain the health of the asset database. BMC HelixGPT-enabled Insights summarizes the issue and provides the best action recommendation to resolve the inconsistent CI records, saving you the effort of analysis.
For more details, see Configuring Data monitoring rules by using CMDB Governor to detect quality issues.
(Controlled availability customers only) Use BMC Helix Innovation Suite Knowledge Management as the knowledge provider
Use BMC Helix Innovation Suite Knowledge Management (ISKM) as the knowledge provider for BMC Helix ITSM. When ISKM is enabled, service desk agents can search, pin, and create ISKM knowledge articles directly from ITSM tickets. With Knowledge Curator, service desk agents can generate articles from incidents by using AI-assisted suggestions that they can review and refine before publishing. This capability centralizes knowledge, improves search relevance, and helps reduce resolution time.
For more information, see BMC Helix Innovation Suite Knowledge Management documentation. To view the ISKM product documentation, you must be logged in or registered.
Streamline asset management by scanning and auto-populating asset details by using BMC Helix ITSM mobile browser
Use the scanner capability in the BMC Helix ITSM mobile interface to search for, create, and update assets. You can also relate assets to other ticket types by scanning the assets. Scanning the assets on the go results in fewer typing errors, faster data entries, and quicker asset association. It translates to improved data quality, compliance, and a smoother ITSM workflow in your organization.
For more details about the capability, see Scanning assets by using mobile devices. For more details about its configuration, see Creating character fields for scanning QR codes or bar codes.
Preserve your customized table settings for improved user experience
While analyzing tables across BMC Helix ITSM, including Shared Ticket Console, focus on critical data by resizing, reordering, hiding, and unhiding columns as needed. As your column preferences are retained across sessions, this capability enhances your overall user experience and reduces the need for repetitive manual adjustments.
Learn about the capability in Progressive Web Application (PWA) screens. Learn about setting the default column settings in Developer Studio, see Creating list view tables with customizable columns.
Use Froala as the default editor in BMC Helix ITSM
Froala replaces CKEditor 4 as the standard editor in all BMC Helix ITSM interfaces, offering a cleaner and more modern editing interface for rich text content. It supports editing in full-screen and print mode, providing a seamless editing experience. It supports browser-based spell check, helping you accommodate your preferred locales. However, Froala does not support the find and replace functionality, and the Smiley (emoji) toolbar. The Edit table and Edit Video dialog boxes, and the ability to resize them, are available only in the pop-up editor window and not in the inline editor.
Learn more about the capability in Using the RTF editor.
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What else has changed in this release
| Update | Product behavior in versions earlier than 26.1 | Product behavior in 26.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Work Info of Photos and Signatures types are introduced in work order requests. | The following values are not available in the Work Info Type list of work orders:
| The following values are introduced in the Work Info Type list of work orders:
|
BMC Helix Innovation Suite 26.1.00 enhancements
26.1.00 enhancements
The following video (01:29) provides a quick overview of the enhancements in the BMC Helix Innovation Suite 26.1.00.
Configure the language, time zone, and date and time style preferences in BMC Helix applications
In addition to setting your preferred language, end users can set the time zone, date, and time style from My preferences in any BMC Helix application. The existing language preference is retained. This enhancement ensures consistent user settings across screens and improves the overall experience for users working across different regions. For more information, see Setting language, time zone, and date and time style in My preferences.
Enhance search by using multi-form search on non-text fields
As an application business analyst, in addition to Full-Text Search (FTS) on text fields, you can enable Multi-Form Search (MFS) on non-text fields. These non-text fields include structured filters such as date, datetime, time, integer, drop-down list, decimal, checkbox, and radio button. With this capability, you get more relevant results for complex queries from applications such as BMC HelixGPT.
For more information, see Enabling full text search in fields.
Increase the field length in AR System forms to accommodate longer strings
As an administrator, you can use Field Length Updater Utility to automatically increase the input length of character fields across multiple forms in AR System-based applications. This utility ensures that data is not truncated, especially for double-byte languages, helping you avoid manual updates in Developer Studio. To obtain the utility, submit a Change Request (RFC) in BMC Helix Support Central. For more information see Request for Change process.
For more information, see the Input Length property in Field Properties.
Enable users to scan barcodes or QR codes from mobile devices
As an application developer, create fields that enable mobile application users to scan information in barcodes and Quick Response codes (QR codes) to character fields. To learn more, see Creating fields for scanning QR codes or bar codes.
Create customizable tables in PWA screens by using Developer Studio
As an application developer, create tables for Progressive Web Application (PWA) screens that enable application users to add customizations such as resizing columns and rearranging columns. The customizations to these tables persist across sessions for each application user. Also, use the PERFORM-ACTION-TABLE-COLUMN-SIZE-RESET command in active links that enable application users to reset the table customizations.
For more information, see Creating list view tables with customizable columns.
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What else changed in this release
The following table lists the changes in the product behavior:
| Update | Product behavior in versions earlier than 26.1.00 | Product behavior in version 26.1.00 |
|---|---|---|
| Froala editor replaces CKEditor for rich text editing. | CKEditor is used for rich text editing. | Rich text editing uses the Froala editor instead of CKEditor in rich text view component, rich text area field, and expression editor. For more information, see Deprecated and discontinued features. |
Better handling of concurrent process signals
| When a process had wait states on parallel gateway paths, and more than one wait state resumed at the same time, the system sometimes processed those signals simultaneously. This mechanism caused the process to get stuck or enter an inconsistent state, leading to errors or failed API calls. | When a process has wait states on parallel gateway paths, and more than one wait state resumes at the same time, the system processes those signals one at a time. Handling the signals sequentially prevents the process from getting stuck or entering an inconsistent state. For more information, see Defining the application business logic through processes. |
| Session timeout behavior in environments where BMC Helix Single Sign-On (BMC Helix SSO) is enabled | BMC Helix Innovation Suite used its own built-in idle timeout mechanism. If you were logged into BMC Helix Innovation Suite and became inactive, a timeout warning was displayed. You would then be logged out, even if you were active in other BMC Helix applications. | When you log in to BMC Helix Innovation Suite through BMC Helix SSO, BMC Helix Innovation Suite uses the BMC Helix SSO provided idle timeout mechanism. This behavior ensures session activity is tracked across all BMC Helix SSO enabled applications, preventing unexpected timeouts. Users can see localized timeout warnings when the session is about to expire. They can extend their session if they are active in another application where BMC Helix SSO is enabled. For more information, see Enabling idle timeout for integrated BMC applications. |
| Uses separate jetty connectors for reporting and transactional traffic | Both transactional and reporting traffic is processed through the same Jetty server connector on port 8008. | Reporting and transactional traffic are separated using dual Jetty connectors with dedicated thread pools to ensure stable performance. The primary Jetty connector uses port 8008 for transactional traffic, and the secondary Jetty connector uses port 9008 for reporting traffic. For more information, see Configuration-settings-E-M. |
| Support for using custom ClamAV antivirus signature files to scan attachments for malicious content | Support for using custom ClamAV antivirus signature files is not available. | BMC Helix Innovation Suite supports custom ClamAV antivirus signature files for attachment scanning. To apply custom ClamAV signature files, submit a Change Request (RFC) in BMC Helix Support Central. |
| Support for importing additional knowledge article templates | Articles that use the Known Error or Problem Solution templates can’t be imported from BMC Helix Business Workflows to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround. | The articles based on the following templates can be imported from BMC Helix Business Workflows to BMC Helix Knowledge Management by ComAround:
For more information, see Knowledge base import overview. |
BMC Helix CMDB 26.1.00 enhancements
Identify missing or invalid CI details by creating data monitoring rules in the Automated Asset Assignment console
Create a regular schedule of data‑monitoring rules in the Automated Asset Assignment console by applying filtering criteria to identify inconsistent or incomplete CIs in asset management.
When a data monitoring rule is run, incorrect or invalid CIs due to manual entry errors, incomplete integration details, or a lack of consistent validation are listed. You can then investigate them further to correct them. Running data monitoring rules regularly helps reduce manual efforts, and you can check for missing or invalid CIs to maintain the health of the asset database.
When BMC HelixGPT is enabled for your organization, you can get insights about a monitoring rule, such as the results of the selected rule. BMC HelixGPT also provides a resolution recommendation to fix the issue by adding or rectifying the missing CI attributes. For more details, see Configuring Data monitoring rules by using CMDB Governor to detect quality issues.
Enable session timeout by using BMC Helix Single Sign-On
You can enable idle session timeout in the BMC Helix CMDB supports by using BMC Helix Single Sign-On (HSSO). When timeout settings are enabled, users receive a warning message before their session expires due to inactivity. They can choose to continue their session, or they are automatically redirected to the login page if no action is taken.
Idle timeout enhances security by decreasing the risk of unauthorized access to BMC applications. The session timeout applies only when the user is inactive across all applications integrated with HSSO; if the user is active in another Helix application, the CMDB session is extended automatically. For more information, see Enabling idle timeout for integrated BMC applications.
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Identify missing or invalid CI details by creating data monitoring rules in the Automated Asset Assignment console
Create a regular schedule of data‑monitoring rules in the Automated Asset Assignment console by applying filtering criteria to identify inconsistent or incomplete CIs in asset management.When a data monitoring rule is run, incorrect or invalid CIs due to manual entry errors, incomplete integration details, or a lack of consistent validation are listed. You can then investigate them further to correct them. Running data monitoring rules regularly helps reduce manual efforts, and you can check for missing or invalid CIs to maintain the health of the asset database. When BMC HelixGPT is enabled for your organization, you can get insights about a monitoring rule, such as the results of the selected rule. BMC HelixGPT also provides a resolution recommendation to fix the issue by adding or rectifying the missing CI attributes. For more details, see
Configuring Data monitoring rules by using CMDB Governor to detect quality issues
.
Enable session timeout by using BMC Helix Single Sign-On
You can enable idle session timeout in the BMC Helix CMDB supports by using BMC Helix Single Sign-On (HSSO). When timeout settings are enabled, users receive a warning message before their session expires due to inactivity. They can choose to continue their session, or they are automatically redirected to the login page if no action is taken.Idle timeout enhances security by decreasing the risk of unauthorized access to BMC applications. The session timeout applies only when the user is inactive across all applications integrated with HSSO; if the user is active in another Helix application, the CMDB session is extended automatically. For more information, see Enabling idle timeout for integrated BMC applications.
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Related topics
Release notes and notices
Downloading the installation files
BMC Helix Single Sign-on 26.1 enhancements and patches
BMC Helix Digital Workplace 26.1 enhancements and patches