Behavior changes are changes in existing functionality that you need to be aware of when upgrading to BlackBerry AtHoc release 7.22. These changes require that you re-learn existing functionality.

• Alert tracking and user attribute synchronization: Alert tracking now synchronizes with user attribute values to maintain data consistency. User attribute values are updated only by the first response from a user, and both alert tracking reports and user attribute values now reflect the same response. Subsequent responses from additional devices are consistently ignored in both tracking and attribute storage. This eliminates the previous mismatch where alert tracking showed one response value while the user's attribute reflected a different response. Alert administrators and report users now have more reliable and consistent response tracking data.
• API support for alert response comments: The Alerting APIs have been enhanced to support response comments functionality. This change affects the following API endpoints:
  • POST /orgs/{orgCode}/alerts: Now includes new Content.ResponseOption values for the "Allow Comments" field, enabling operators to configure comment capabilities when creating alerts.
  • GET /orgs/{orgCode}/alerts/{auId}: Returns additional fields for the "Additional Info" field to provide enhanced alert context.
  • GET /orgs/{orgCode}/alerttemplates/{templateCommonName}: Now supports response options with comment configurations.
  • Reporting APIs: The following reporting endpoints now include comment data in their responses:
    • GET /orgs/{orgCode}/alerts/{auId}/report/alertresponsedetail
    • GET /orgs/{orgCode}/alerts/{auId}/report/DetailsByUsers
    • GET /orgs/{orgCode}/alerts/{auId}/report/DetailsByUsersDevices
    • GET /orgs/{orgCode}/alerts/{auId}/report/alertsummary

  API users can now access and use comment functionality when working with alert responses, providing richer context and communication capabilities.

• Accountability event title character limits: The following changes have been made to address character length limitations for Accountability Event titles:
  • Placeholder Validation: An error message now displays when expanded placeholder values in Accountability Event titles exceed the 100-character limit, preventing publication of events that would violate this constraint.
  • Ending Message Format: The format for Accountability Event ending messages has been shortened from "Accountability Event for [[AccountabilityName]] Ended" to "Event Ended: [[AccountabilityName]]" to reduce character length.
  • Account Officer Message Truncation: Account Officer initial messages that exceed character limits are now truncated with ellipses, while the full message text remains accessible via hover tooltip.

  These changes ensure that Accountability Events can be published without exceeding character restrictions while maintaining visibility of complete information through tooltips where truncation occurs.

• Automatic enablement of user move and organization subscription on suborganizations: When the user move or organization subscription features are enabled and selected at the enterprise or super enterprise level and suborganizations are selected, BlackBerry AtHoc automatically applies these features to the suborganizations. This ensures that the "Organization Subscription for End Users" and "User Move for End Users" settings are enabled by default in General Settings > Customization > Self Service in each suborganization. This streamlines the enablement of these enterprise features across the organization hierarchy. To disable Self Service access to the user move or organization subscription features, on the suborganization, go to Settings > General Settings > Customization > Self Service and uncheck the Enable option.

• Call bridge passcode field update: The call bridge Passcode field can now accept digits (0 - 9) and the [# ,*] special characters.
• Desktop app alert response comments support: The desktop app (Windows and Mac) now supports adding comments to alert responses when this feature is enabled by the operator. New behavior:
  • When responding to an alert with comment-enabled response options, a text input field appears below the selected response option.
  • The text field displays the custom prompt defined by the operator when the alert was created.
  • Users can enter up to 300 characters of additional context with their response.
  • Responses can be submitted with or without adding comments.
  • Comment functionality is only available when explicitly enabled for specific response options.

  Users can now provide additional context and information when responding to alerts from the desktop app, enabling more detailed communication between responders and operators. This feature enhances the emergency response workflow by allowing for richer, more informative alert responses.

  To use this feature, you must have desktop app release 7.9 (Windows) or 2.8 (Mac) or later desktop release.

• Desktop links now authenticate through SSO when enabled: The BlackBerry AtHoc desktop app was updated to properly handle single sign-on (SSO) authentication for desktop links, such as the "Access My Profile" link. When an organization has SSO enabled, desktop links will now authenticate users through the organization's SSO provider. If an organization has both username/password and SSO enabled, the desktop links for operators prioritize the SSO authentication method.

  A new "Display operator login link" option was added to the Desktop App settings. This option is enabled by default to enable SSO authentication for desktop links.

• Enhanced alert visibility for Advanced Alert Manager and Report Manager roles: Advanced Alert Managers and Report Managers in enterprise and super enterprise organizations now have expanded visibility across their organizational hierarchy. They can view and export all sent alerts from suborganizations, including alerts from:

  • All suborganizations
  • Selected alert folders and inherited enterprise folders
  • System default folders across all sub-enterprises and suborganizations
  • Live map alerts across all suborganizations
  • Distribution list restrictions for inherited distribution lists
  • Alerts targeting restricted user bases

  This enhancement provides appropriate alert oversight without requiring excessive administrative privileges.

• Enhanced operator audit trail login source tracking: The operator audit trail export functionality now provides enhanced visibility into authentication methods used for operator logins. When exporting operator audit trail data to a CSV file, the Additional Details section now distinguishes between SSO and username/password authentication methods. SSO logins display "SSO" as the source, while traditional credential-based logins display "Username/Password" as the source. Enhanced tracking applies to both successful and failed login attempts across various authentication scenarios including standard operator logins, self-service authentication attempts, smart card authentication, Windows authentication, and attempts with disabled or deleted user accounts. This enhancement enables administrators and security teams to conduct more thorough security investigations and better track authentication patterns.
• Mandatory picklist attributes no longer require default values: Administrators can now create mandatory single-select and multi-select picklist attributes without specifying a default value. Users must explicitly select values for mandatory picklist fields during Self Service registration, profile creation/editing, and dependent user management. This update eliminates accidental form submissions with pre-selected defaults. The change affects user management, Self Service registration, profile management, import/export, synchronization, related APIs, and SMS opt-in processes.
• Manual selection of FIPS codes for IPAWS WEA 3.0 alerts:
  • Operators can now manually select State or County FIPS codes for IPAWS WEA 3.0 alerts when the polygon drawn on the location map does not cover any land area.
  • A new "FIPS Code Selector" section in the IPAWS WEA 3.0 device options enables operators to manually add FIPS codes to the alert. Operators can select from All Counties, Selected Counties, All States, and Selected States.
  • FIPS codes can also be selected in alert templates.
  • A warning message is now displayed in the Mass Devices section, prompting the operator to choose a location manually if no FIPS codes are available.
  • A warning is also displayed if no location is selected in the Content section of an alert when selecting IPAWS WEA as a mass device.

  These improvements ensure operators can publish IPAWS WEA 3.0 alerts even when the polygon does not cover any land area by providing the option to manually select the required FIPS codes.

• Mobile App Settings section added: A new Mobile App Settings section was added to the Users Section of the Settings screen to consolidate mobile app-related configurations. The existing Mobile Alert Settings feature has been moved from the Basic section to this new Mobile App settings section. This change provides a dedicated area for managing all mobile app-specific features and improves the overall organization of the Settings screen.
• New API endpoint for ending account events : A new REST API endpoint that enables programmatic termination of account events was created, providing feature parity with alert termination capabilities. The POST /orgs/{orgcode}/AccountEvents/EndEvents endpoint accepts an array of account event IDs and terminates multiple events in a single request. The API response confirms which account events were successfully ended. This enhancement eliminates the need for manual termination through the BlackBerry AtHoc management system and enables third-party systems and custom applications to fully manage account event lifecycles. Automation teams can now implement automated account event termination based on business logic or external triggers.
• Organization Administrator access to AtHoc Account: Organization Administrators now have enhanced access to the following AtHoc Account features:
  • Publishing: Organization Administrators can now publish accountability events directly, with the publishing menu option visible in the management system.
  • Data visibility: Organization Administrators can view account templates without needing to also have the Accountability Manager role.
  • Account folder permissions: Account folder restrictions now apply to Organization Administrators similar to how they are implemented for Accountability Managers.
  • Command Center Dashboard access: Dashboard displays accountability data for all organizations where an operator has the Organization Administrators role, removing the previous requirement for dual-role permissions (Organization Administrator and Accountability Manager.)

  This enhancement eliminates the previous limitation where Organization Administrators could only see partial accountability data across multiple organizations and ensures consistent behavior with other capabilities such as alert publishing.

• Organization subscription enhancement: Users can now subscribe to the same organization multiple times, as long as the start and end dates for each subscription do not overlap. This provides more flexibility for traveling users who need to receive alerts and events from different organizations at different times. During CSV imports, subscriptions are successfully imported as long as the new subscription start and end dates do not overlap with existing subscriptions. Imports with overlapping dates fail with a warning. Users can subscribe to the same organization multiple times from both the BlackBerry AtHoc management system and Self Service.
• Restricted Geofence Manager role: The Geofence Manager role was updated to restrict access to the Alerts and Reports sections in the BlackBerry AtHoc management system. Users with only the Geofence Manager role will no longer see the Alerts or Reports tabs or their associated pages. If a user has the Geofence Manager role in addition to other roles, such as Alert Manager, they can still access the Alerts or Reports functionality if it is within the scope of their other assigned roles. These Geofence Manager permissions remain unchanged: managing users, creating and editing geofences, and accessing dwelling reports.

  This update provides a more granular permission control and ensures that operators have access only to necessary applications. Geofence Manager access to the Geofencing Application and user management was retained.​​​​

• Sponsor column updates: The Sponsor column's behavior is now consistent with other column types. Operators can remove the Sponsor column by clicking the X icon and restore it using the standard attribute column selection list. The Sponsor column can also be moved and is no longer automatically displayed next to the Display Name column. The import and export functions continue to support the Sponsor column.
  Previously, the Sponsor column could not be removed from the following grid views even though a delete icon (X) appeared, and could not be moved from its fixed position next to the Display Name column:

  • Add/Block Users dialog
  • Users manager screen
  • User Manager
  • Static Distribution Lists
  • User Base Restriction
  • Alert targeting
  • Event targeting screens (when dependents are enabled)