What's New

The latest TIBCO Spotfire data functions enhancements make visual data science easier, faster, and auditable:

• Import R or Python script files when creating a new data function
• Edit data functions outputs with ease directly from Spotfire data canvas settings. This new editing experience allows for adapting functions on-the-fly in an analytics context and also provides a great access point for reviewing all output parameters.
• Audit data function usage through the Spotfire user action logs.
• Navigate from data function outputs to corresponding data tables, and vice versa, directly from the data canvas.
• Group optional input parameters to show required parameters first.
• Display output parameter descriptions when configuring where to add data function results.

Building on the many administration improvements introduced in 11.7, including the new user interface, the latest updates for Spotfire administrators include:

• Action logs now log data function actions when adding or removing functions, editing inputs/outputs or scripts, or pinning them to the f(x) flyout data panel.
• Azure Blob Storage is now supported as the Spotfire Library external file storage.
• The new Spotfire configuration tool command config-library-external-azure-blob-storage enables configuring Azure Blob Storage as the Spotfire external storage.
• Spotfire now supports PostgreSQL version 14 as the Spotfire Server database.
• Admins are now able to resize the main and secondary pane views allowing for easier navigation on different devices and resolutions for the following Spotfire Server web administration pages:
  • Nodes & Services > Network.
  • Monitoring & Diagnostics > Instances.
  • Deployments & Packages > Deployment areas.

Additionally, Windows Server 2022 is now fully supported as the operating system for:

• TIBCO Spotfire Server
• TIBCO Spotfire Statistics Service
• TIBCO Enterprise Runtime for R
• TIBCO Spotfire Service for Python

Usability improvements to Spotfire Mods include:

• Show/Hide feature of Spotfire visualizations is now available for mod visualizations. This makes it possible for to use simple rules like "Show Top 5 categories" or more complex rules based on custom expressions when configuring visualizations.
• Add locally saved visualization mods (.mod files) to an analysis page using “Browse local file” in the
• Files and data flyout.
• Search for visualization .mod files in the Spotfire Library via Find (Ctrl+F) by typing the expression "type:mod."

Visit the Spotfire Mods Hub regularly. Mods are posted for download on the TIBCO Exchange often (even between mainstream Spotfire releases).

The latest updates for TIBCO Spotfire administrators include:

• New, faster, and easier to use interface for Administrators. A new modern look and feel, improved responsiveness, a new left-side collapsible navigation menu, better table sorting, more intuitive search capabilities with filter menu for Library items, and Automation Services scheduled updates and jobs.
• Data source names are now available from server diagnostics. Server Diagnostics now displays the names of the data sources created on a Spotfire server, for easier understanding of what data source the information belongs to.
• Delete library items by path with the new config tool command delete-library-items which allows to delete library items by specifying the path and type of items.
• List imported root certificates for code trus with new config tool command list-code-signing-root-certificates, which lists all the code signing root certificates, both those issued and those imported to the Spotfire Server.
• Easier reverse-proxy configuration for Spotfire Server cluster through a new Spotfire Server config tool option.
• Automatic Spotfire Database creation with the scripts for Spotfire database schema setup (configuration and action log).

It's now possible to connect to TIBCO Cloud Data Streams from Spotfire on-premises installations. A simple point-and-click experience makes it easier than ever for Spotfire on-premises customers to incorporate streaming data alongside historical analysis for the most current, comprehensive view of their business.

For users of on-demand data tables, new support of tuples in SQL IN clauses results in performance gains for the following connectors:

• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• Oracle
• Amazon Redshift
• Apache Drill
• Apache Spark SQL
• Dremio
• Greenplum
• SAP HANA
• Vertica

Seamless single sign-on (SSO) to data sources and more secure and flexible authorized access to role-based data is now supported for Spotfire users connecting through Information Services. Enabled by using OpenID Connect (OIDC) to login to Spotfire combined with the latest release of Spotfire Information Services, this solution is highly configurable and may be used with any data source that supports token-based authentication including (but not limited to) Snowflake, Google BigQuery, TIBCO Data Virtualization.

Also, configuring OAuth2 for Information Services data sources enables now authorized access to role-based data. This means a user will only see the data he/she is allowed to. In other words, different users of the same Spotfire analysis see different data depending on their role.

Additionally, sharing functionality for TIBCO tibbr is deprecated and no longer supported.

The latest Kanban Board Mod offers a means for visually depicting itemized tasks at various stages of a workflow process using cards. When used in tandem alongside the semi-recent Spotfire Mods Gantt chart visualization, this makes for an especially powerful utility for project management professionals to have in their Spotfire analysis environment.

The configurable Gauge Mod displays a specific data point using a dial over a radial scale with defined limits. It's particularly useful when indicating measures of speed, satisfaction, volume, temperature, or whether a measure is above or below average.

The new Donut Chart Mod is very useful for visualizing proportions of categorical data. While functionally identical to a pie chart, donut charts allow for displaying additional data values in the center as a design best practice.

Visit the Spotfire Mods Hub regularly, as mods become available for download on the TIBCO Exchange (even between mainstream Spotfire releases).

With configurable image interpolation in map charts, users can better inspect small defects and irregularities within pictures produced by sensors. Examples for precise discovery include physical asset maintenance with defective pixel clusters or cellular-level life science applications.

Users of TERR Data Functions will now see faster speed to insight resulting from run-length encoding (RLE) compression and faster export of SBDF files.

New API for custom, cobranded login pages:

The AngularJS-based API for custom login pages has been removed. A new API with the same capabilities, written in standard JavaScript, is now provided as part of the cobranding feature.

Using the new API does not require knowledge about any specific front-end framework and it is not subject to framework-breaking changes.

Users of TIBCO Spotfire® Data Functions are now able to view data tables and data function pipelines from the data canvas. Designed to provide the complete picture of your data, this allows authors to visualize each step of a data model workflow: view input parameters and their outputs—all in one analysis environment.

A new data function editing experience allows for editing inputs directly from the data canvas. Along with the new data function overview, this makes it easy to quickly tune and adapt changes in the analytics context while also providing convenient access for reviewing input parameters.

Take action on smarter insights sparked from the most comprehensive analysis of virtualized data. For TIBCO Spotfire users who are also TIBCO® Data Virtualization customers, it's now easier than ever to search and browse fully governed data. Business author and analyst users may open connections to browse virtualized views directly from the Files and Data flyout panel. These capabilities provide the quickest path to visualizing virtualized data available on the market today.

Other Spotfire visual analytics usability improvements accelerate time-to-insight:

• Several new visualization mods from the TIBCO Community include the very popular project management Gantt Chart, increased data volume support in the Area Chart, as well as logarithmic scale in the Stock Chart.
• For Microsoft PowerPoint exports, the default aspect ratio is now 16:9 widescreen. Administrators may switch between the new widescreen (16:9) format and the prior full-screen default setting (4:3) using the preference "Export Layout Format" in Administration Manager.

In addition to the latest connections to TIBCO Data Virtualization software, the following updates have been made to popular native Spotfire connectors:

• Amazon RDS MariaDB is now supported as a native connector.
• For the Microsoft SQL native connector, it’s now possible to specify connection and command timeouts in a new advanced settings tab in the SQL server connection dialog.

It's now possible to hide all toolbar navigation menus as a configuration option when showing a Spotfire analysis in a web page using the JavaScript API or parameterized URL.

The built-in OAuth2 Authorization Server, leveraged by API clients, now supports the prompt parameter. The prompt parameter is defined as part of the OpenID Connect (OIDC) AuthRequest specification.

The following operating systems are all supported in the platform for TIBCO Spotfire Server, TIBCO Spotfire® Statistics Services, TIBCO® Enterprise Runtime for R - Server Edition, and TIBCO Spotfire® Service for Python:

• Debian 11
• Debian 10
• OpenSUSE 15

The CLI commands export-service-config and list-service-configs now have an additional argument, platform, that filters which configuration to export to match the intended target platform (Linux or Windows). This filtering utility is helpful for a deployment area with several default configurations for different platforms.

Users of TIBCO Spotfire Data Functions are now able to interactively tune parameters directly within data visualizations. With this new dedicated user interface for tuning, users are able to edit input values, link document properties, input columns or expressions, then automatically refresh visualizations with instant results- all in one analysis environment.

Take action with smarter automated insights with the latest enhancements to Spotfire notifications. Prompt users to navigate to another page or bookmark, create new pages or visualizations, or highlight findings in visualizations and close the gap on time-to-decision by acting on data-driven insights faster.

The Spotfire notification service API now supports defining actions and callback functions making it possible to build analytics applications that use the notification service to guide users through clickable custom actions.

The files and data flyout ('+' menu) now includes either a list or grid view of Recommended files. In Spotfire Analyst and Business Author, it's also possible to select a default start view: Recommended, the Spotfire library, or a specific library folder.

Other visual analytics usability improvements include:

• A maximized canvas option.
• Improved scrolling/zooming navigation experience in geoanalytics map charts.
• Several new visualization Mods contributions from the TIBCO Community including the Sankey diagram and Bump chart.

The following updates have been made to popular native Spotfire connectors:

• The TIBCO Spotfire connector for Amazon Redshift now supports cross-database queries or data sharing, enabling connection to Amazon Redshift databases and the querying of other databases in that cluster- all from one Spotfire environment. Select schemas, tables, and columns in a cross-database manner with ease.
• As an Azure Synapse Analytics partner, Spotfire is recognized for providing an optimal experience to users of both Spotfire and Azure Synapse Analytics and SQL. In addition to extensive verification, we now also provide "application name" and "version" for Synapse telemetry tagging.
• The native Google BigQuery connector now uses the Google BigQuery High-Throughput Storage API. The loading of over a million rows is exponentially faster in orders of magnitude.
• Various updates for new data types now supported in the Spotfire connector for TIBCO Data Virtualization.

With a newly added API, it is now possible to configure tooltips for Spotfire Mods visualizations using the standard tooltip panel. This provides the same baseline functionality native visualizations, expanding upon Mods' customizable capabilities as highly tailored, domain-specific applications.

Spotfire now supports PostgreSQL versions 13 as a Spotfire Server Database. PostgreSQL version 13 is the latest stable version and supported by most major cloud service providers.

For easier and faster integration with open standards and APIs, SCIM compliant APIs are supported for Spotfire user and group provisioning. SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) is the open API for managing identities. The SCIM specification is designed to make managing user identities in cloud-based applications and services easier.

• We added support for Token Endpoint, as specified in RFC 6749 and RFC7591. The built-in OAuth2 Authorization Server (used by API clients) now supports the client_secret_post token endpoint authentication method.
• With some SCIM clients requiring a long-lived access token to be provided during configuration, a new CLI command, issue-access-token, has been added to facilitate issuing long-lived access tokens to API clients.
• As these tokens required revoking and renewing, the Spotfire Server now supports RFC 7009 "OAuth 2.0 Token Revocation" for access and refresh tokens issued to API clients. Additionally, a new CLI command, revoke-token, allows now to revoke a given access or refresh a token that was previously issued to an OAuth2 client.

The latest addition to the Community library of TIBCO Spotfire® data functions includes the Autopilot template for Amazon SageMaker. It provides powerful autoML capabilities for both data scientists and business analysts by building, training, and optimizing the model creation process. With model explainability rendered through auto-generated visualizations, AI-driven insights for SageMaker model performance are exploration-ready in Spotfire analytics and only a click away.

Additional Python usability and TIBCO® Data Science workflow improvements in this release also include updates to the Python interpreter, benefiting all Spotfire users leveraging native data science workflows in today’s top programming language.

When using multi-source data loading with complex data transformations and mashup computations, Spotfire users will now experience documents opening up to 70% faster. This provides greater efficiency gains for faster time to analysis and accelerates the overall speed-to-insight.

For more details and other frequently asked questions about performance gains, visit the TIBCO Community.

With the introduction of multi-layer trellising capabilities on map charts, exploration of multivariate comparisons between categories are more powerful. The trellising of a map chart can now comprise more than one layer of data, allowing for comparison of multiple measures of data within a single geographical or diagrammatic map. Recognize similarities or differences between various categories to spot insights with ease.

This release includes all of the following updates to connectors:

• Sharepoint online list expanded support now includes single-tenant setup and authentication endpoints. Organizations using their own authentication endpoints may now configure those via new preferences distributed to all clients.
• Apache Spark SQL now supports Databricks SQL Analytics. This allows for self-service visual data discovery using live pushdown querying in data lake clusters.
• TIBCO Cloud™ Spotfire users can now load and analyze up to 20 million rows in-memory, unlocking completely new use case applications and insights at- scale without needing to compromise data volumes in an analysis.
• TIBCO is now verified as an Amazon RDS Service-Ready Business Application. Joint users of Spotfire software and Amazon RDS, either as a data source or as the Spotfire Server as a database, now enjoy this benefit of the highest Amazon-certified integration.
• Additionally, Spotfire integrations for Impala and Hive are also Cloudera Certified Software for the BI/Analytics program.
• Performance improvements for importing made to PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Amazon Redshift connectors.

A new copy-to-clipboard feature captures all newly introduced details by simple cut-and-pasting of data table properties.

A new Summary view now expands the primary data table by default, allowing for easy adjustments of default settings.

All of these improvements streamline the union of data tables for smarter ML-driven data preparation efficiencies.

The TIBCO Spotfire Service for Python is now available in the TIBCO Cloud Spotfire Enterprise version.

Two new commands are now available (migrate-db and migrate-action-db) to facilitate the migration of the Spotfire configuration database and action database from one supported server to another (e.g. from Oracle database to PostgreSQL).

Administrators now have the ability to configure a maximum number of concurrent sessions per user, forcing logouts if maximum is exceeded. This helps to facilitate license management and also aligns with modern security access controls standards.

For spatial map manipulation, Spotfire analytics now provides a means for disabling geometry simplification to improve acuity in the rendering of rectangle features. By preserving essential shapes, this expands capabilities for more precise visual exploration and discovery.

The interface for saving analyses to the Spotfire library has been unified with that of the experience for browsing library files and data panel. Additionally, the data flyout has new functionality for naming, managing, and sharing files all from within the panel itself.

It's now possible to call the API to determine the current status of a Spotfire analysis as viewing or editing. This allows developers to adapt custom user interfaces for either displaying or hiding authoring capabilities for a much cleaner, more simplified user experience.

This feature applies to the Spotfire Mods API, the C# Custom Visualization API, and the JavaScript API for mashups across all Spotfire installed and web clients.

Several usability improvements to Spotfire Mods include performance gains with API calling efficiencies, more web browsers, and removal of dependencies of third-party cookies.

With new f(x) flyout functionality, it's easier than ever for non-developers to add Python and R data functions to TIBCO Spotfire® analysis files and applications:

• Search the Spotfire® library for data functions and pin favorites.
• Discover new outputs available in the summary view as recommendations.
• Browse a library of data functions on the Community.
• Use a data table as a data function input.

Data functions become shareable assets for repurposing across an organization, allowing for more advanced calculations to answer more questions across more analysis files for the most comprehensive analysis. This also unburdens data science and developer teams to focus on higher value analysis.

Several new contributions have been made to TIBCO Community Mods as well as general usability improvements with drag-and-drop functionality for Mods file management in the Spotfire Business Author client.

With added governance and trust mechanisms, the Package Builder is now available via cloud download for Spotfire developers to use for signing trusted Mods with CA certificates.

For all updates to the Mods API 1.1 and more, view the full Mods Developer Documentation.

Automatic column matching when adding rows, Useful when new columns with the same names and data types are continuously added over time.

All of these improvements streamline the union of data tables for smarter ML-driven data preparation efficiencies.

The Spotfire data panel now displays all supported data sources, allowing for selection of specific data sources without needing to match them with a connector. Search data sources, not just connectors, directly from the flyout.

Additionally, the following connector updates have been made:

• Sharepoint online lists expanded support now includes automation services and scheduled updates.
• SAP HANA HINTS support for improved metadata loading performance, allowing for clauses in queries to guide the adding of metadata.

TIBCO Spotfire Server and related services now support using AdoptOpenJDK as an alternative to OpenJDK distribution instead of the default Oracle Java.

A new configuration file for custom logging settings is available in the node manager to simplify settings reuse and provide persistence upon upgrades.

Newly translated help resources are also available on docs.tibco.com.

Admins can push selected data function f(x) flyout content to end users.

All of the available default map types for multi-layer mapping have been updated with fresh geographical data to provide a more detailed and immersive mapping experience.

Users of Spotfire geoanalytics are also now able to connect to GeoJSON files, making it easier to add custom geospatial data to analysis.

The Spotfire connector for PostgreSQL now supports the GPU accelerated database Brytlyt.

Users of Brytlyt will experience blazingly fast query response times for ad hoc interactive push-down queries, all without needing to import data into the Spotfire in-memory engine.

Additionally, the Spotfire Connector for MySQL now supports SingleStore (formerly MemSQL). ODBC drivers for Apache Spark SQL, Cassandra, and MongoDB have all been updated.

Spotfire users may now exclude the (All) and/or (None) options from the item, list box, and radio button filters. This functionality streamlines the auto-configuration of commonly used filters in regular reports.

Additionally, users may now set a preferred visualization type to display on default when adding data to Spotfire software.

Users of cross tables will enjoy coloring table cells by another column property or a custom expression. All of these feature enhancements help to accelerate insight generation.

The Python interpreter required to run data functions in the current version of Spotfire software was updated to 3.7, benefiting all Spotfire users leveraging native data science workflows in today’s top programming language.

The Spotfire Mods Developer Documentation has been updated with more detailed information for using the Mods API, enabling a much easier getting-started experience for enabling development of new custom analytics applications.

Other API updates include additions to the C# API allowing for automation of new 11.2 functionality noted above (radio button filters, cross table cell coloring) via IronPython scripts and C# extensions.

Microsoft Windows Server 2019 is now supported with Citrix for Spotfire Analyst and Spotfire Desktop. Support for Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops 7 1912 LSTR has been added, and support for Citrix XenApp 6.5 and 6.0 has been removed.

Microsoft Windows Server 2019 is now supported with Remote Desktop Services for Spotfire Analyst and Spotfire Desktop. Support for Remote Desktop Services with Windows Server 2008 R2 has been removed.

Spotfire users connecting to TIBCO Cloud™ Data Streams now have a self-service, no-code environment for streaming business intelligence. Blending real-time data connectivity and easy to use visual analytics, Spotfire analytics now gives users the ability to access data streams on the cloud—with no installation.

The Spotfire MySQL connector now supports both MariaDB on TIBCO Cloud™ Spotfire software and TIBCO Spotfire for AWS, allowing the ability to push live queries and refreshed data directly from TIBCO Cloud web clients to internet-facing MariaDB instances.

Spotfire users can have pop-up notifications set at the user group for greater relevance and a more tailored user experience. Administrators are now able to configure this as a default setting from the Administration Manager.

The latest version of TIBCO Enterprise Runtime for R (TERR) includes support for BioConductor R packages and full compatibility with Open Source R 4.0.2. For more details, see the full documentation.

A new option for accessing hidden intermediate data tables is now available with a "Show in user interface" feature in the Data Canvas. This expands on the previous data table properties settings to allow for creating analysis that is easier to navigate and understand.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 is now supported as an operating system for each of the following:

• TIBCO Spotfire Server
• TIBCO Spotfire Statistics Service
• TIBCO Enterprise Runtime for R
• TIBCO Spotfire Service for Python

Additionally, it’s now possible to perform a graceful shutdown of node manager services, or order on delay, by using the command line. For more details, see full documentation.

Admins are now able to use a new command "copy-deployment-area" to create a copy of a deployment area with a new name within the same Spotfire Server. Also, another new command "export-deployment-area" allows exporting all packages in a specified deployment area and saving them in a distribution file (.sdn) for deployment to another Spotfire Server instance.

TIBCO Spotfire® Mods now offer a lightweight Javascript-based framework for building scalable, highly custom analytics applications directly within the Spotfire® environment.

Mods interact with any library, API, or workflow, always leveraging built-in Spotfire capabilities. This makes it easier for developers to create fit-for-purpose visualizations that blend into the end-user experience as if they are native. Users may also make mods freely available to others in the Spotfire community and also share them in the Spotfire Library. Development and security of mods may be governed by organizations' administrators with new features including a certificate-based trust mechanism.

Spotfire analytics now offers Amazon Redshift Ready certification along with a completely enhanced Amazon Redshift connector. With self-service support for Amazon Redshift Spectrum, users have out-of-the-box support for analyzing data in S3. This, together with the added support for geographical data and the vastly increased number of supported Amazon Redshift analytic functions, without the need to write any SQL, provides a much improved visual data prep workflow experience.

Additionally, new authentication methods include modern identity providers:

• AWS profile
• AWS IAM credentials
• AD FS
• Azure AD
• Okta
• PingFederate
• Username and password

Users of the Spotfire Analyst client will enjoy a new f(x) flyout feature enabling the pinning of frequently used data function definitions to the data panel flyout. A simple click of a pinned f(x) icon applies a data function to new analyses as a convenient and natural step in the workflow.

Spotfire Web Player software can now be configured to gracefully throttle the rendering of visualizations with streaming data, based on the Web Player CPU load. This means that use of the Web Player's CPU can be managed more efficiently, and more users can be served real-time dashboards from the same Web Player instance.

It's now possible to build a Spotfire .spk file containing a Python interpreter and automatically distribute it to all Spotfire Analyst users and server machines running the Spotfire service for Python. This ensures that all users have the ease and convenience of executing Python data functions all in one consistent platform environment.

With added functionality for making columns previously hidden in analyses visible again (e.g. attempting to delete columns that are referenced in calculated columns), improved usability now allows for building more customizable visual data pipelines and applications.

The Spotfire welcome page content is now able to be customized with content such as graphics, text, and links. This extends the possibility to co-brand your Spotfire solution as a domain or organization-specific white-labeled analytics tool.

Users of the TIBCO Spotfire® web clients can now consume Python data functions for applications built with the Spotfire® Analyst client. Now supported natively across web and installed clients as well as automation services, this tight integration between visual analytics and Python libraries for statistics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning allows users to drive computations of data functions interactively with the very same ease that users of R language packages always have.

It's now possible to add comments to custom expressions. This makes it easier to understand and maintain complex custom expressions. For users of the custom expression editor and other dialogs in the installed Spotfire Analyst client, new maximize button functionality allows for easier readability for all of the following diag editors:

• Custom expression dialog (also in the context of data transformations and calculated columns)
• Data function script dialog
• Administration manager
• Library administration
• Folder permissions on library administration
• Edit SQL in Information Designer
• Edit HTML in Edit text area
• Manage data connections

Data access enhancements are headlined by the addition of Sharepoint Online lists. With this new native connector, Spotfire users may log in to SharePoint Online instances directly, browse and select lists, and instantly load list content into data tables all within the Spotfire environment.

Federated authentication with Microsoft 365 allows for in-memory analysis through integration based on the Microsoft Graph API.

With updates to TIBCO Enterprise Runtime for R (TERR) version 5.1, the commercially supported bundled engine for the R language now includes the following:

• Spotfire Server .spk package deployment mechanism has been improved to enable more than one package containing R functions.
• Saving of SBDF files to the Spotfire library directly from TERR.
• Enhanced compatibility with R packages on CRAN.

Users of Spotfire may now arrange custom background and text colors within tables. Applying color to columns, headers, or selected data values provides a visually appealing means for highlighting analysis and accelerating speed-to-insight.

Additionally, Geoanalytics users are now able to add layers to map chart visualizations with ease by simply duplicating an existing layer from another map chart in an analysis.

The following databases are now supported as Spotfire Server database:

• Amazon Aurora for PostgreSQL
• Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL
• Azure Database for PostgreSQL
• Google Cloud SQL for PostgreSQL
• SQL Server 2019 for Linux
• SQL Server 2017 for Linux

Also, the following updates have been made:

• Spotfire Server, Node Manager, and Statistics Services upgraded to Java 11
• Improved performance when saving analysis files

The data canvas makes it easy to see which added rows, added columns, and calculated columns are included in a Spotfire final data table.

Users can now multi-select column matches and data table relationships by using the mouse in combination with the Shift and/or Ctrl key.

Additionally, there are more options to configure automatic Recommendations for newly added data tables.

Expanded data access and support now includes:

• SAP BW display attributes
• Teradata Vantage 2.0
• Edit data source server field while keeping entered username and password
• Cloudera Data Platform (CDP) Cloud Impala and https transport protocol
• IBM Netezza Performance Server

For users of C# API, it's now possible to add new top-level menus for your custom application and document tools. A custom top-level menu can also contain sub menus, providing easy in-platform access for builders of analytic applications.