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Hermes Release
The following updates have been made in the period from 01 June 2023 – November 2023 – the changes added below are included in the Hermes release following an extensive testing process (Release Management Process).
This page will be regularly updated to display the features in each release. It is important if you are a client to review these regularly, particularly configuration options which you may need to turn on. We release updates in this way – wherever possible – so clients can control changes where it may interfere with the user’s interface and forewarn appropriately.
Open eLMS
Summary
The following is a summary of the more significant updates inherent in Hermes.
- Integrated Power BI dashboards (no licence needed)
- Enhanced booking functions (multiple event notifications, drop off date added )
- Automated resource/venue checking via Outlook integration
- Enhanced data tables to include custom fields
- Artificial Intelligence:
- Enhanced integration with Open eLMS AI
- Learning programme production (outcomes/criteria) automated with AI
- Enhanced Open eLMS API
- Enhanced auditing to include internal server errors and data management
- System admin email alerts for failed processes (imports, CRON tasks etc.)
- Customised help systems
- Enable multiple accounts for the same learner
- Share learning
- Career pathways
Detailed Configuration Changes
The following list contains all the updates in the Coeus release. To change any of these values log in as an administrator and go to System Setup > Defaults > Configuration and change the values accordingly. The default values are visible below.
| Name | Key | Default | Description |
| Zoom Verification Token | ZoomVerificationToken | JXrY2wj0TFafy7yioW3mzw | This is the ‘Zoom Verification Token’ string connecting the system to the Open eLMS Zoom web app. Do not change this value – i.e. JXrY2wj0TFafy7yioW3mzw |
| Event Reminder Advance Notification Interval | eventReminderAdvanceNotificationInterval | 1,7 | Send reminder interval measured in days for an automated email called “Event Reminder Advance Notification” (editabled in System Setup > Defaults > Emails). This email will be sent to all meeting attendees in the denoted number of days prior to the event starting. |
| Loading Animation | loadingAnimation | gears.svg | This is the name of the loading image which appears between screens. To review the options for changing this, go to Admin > System Settings > Branding to review the options displayed in this order: block-pulse.svg, circles-warp.svg, circles.svg, dna.svg and gears.svg. |
| Manual URL | manualAdminURL | https://docs.google.com/document/d/1my5uV3i2xezHQeZ44nltTjRTBDnjmd4HvWqGYXT8Ocs | This is the link to the system manual available via the administrator’s menu in the top right hand corner of the screen. The default manual is linked at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1my5uV3i2xezHQeZ44nltTjRTBDnjmd4HvWqGYXT8Ocs but this can be changed to a custom branded manual or branded document should you wish to do this. |
| Knowledgebase URL | globalHelpURL | https://openelms.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/2 | This is included in the menu or all roles to access the support knowledgebase. The default URL is https://openelms.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/2. |
| Legacy Reporting | showLegacyReportsManageButtons | TRUE | Legacy reporting include ‘Learning Resource’ and ‘Learning Programme’ reports. These are being phased out and can be disabled by making this false. A value of true will show the respective “Add view” and “Report visibility” buttons. |
| Assigned Learning Email Alert | sendEmailsCronAssignTask | TRUE | Setting this value to true will send email alerts to users in departments, jobs and groups when they are assigned Learning Resources. |
| Show Linked Accounts for All Roles | showLinkedAccountsInUserMenuAllTheTime | FALSE | If set to true, linked accounts will be shown for all user roles, not only learner interface. This will allow users who are logged in as managers, admins etc. to switch to another (linked account) in the system. Note users can have linked accounts by sharing Alternative User IDs; the configuration value alternativeIdsEnabled needs to be true to start enabling this functionality. |
| Allow emails to be used as user IDs | enableEmailUserLogin | FALSE | Set this value to true to use the email as a unique user ID for logging in. Note that this is not the same as using emails in the username/employee ID fields. If alternative user IDs are used so that a user can have linked accounts with the same email (check alternativeIdsEnabled is set to true for this to happen), then when logging in using email, the first linked account will be found and user logged into that, unless any of linked accounts are defined as primary. |
| Replace usernames with employee IDs on import | userImportReplaceUsernameWithEmplyeeId | FALSE | If set to true, this can be used to change usernames for users, replacing them with the employee IDs when importing data. The username (and employee_id) field from spreadsheet will be used to look up users in the Open eLMS system, if the username is different than the employee_id specified in spreadsheet, then username in user table will be replaced with employee_id. This is used for data correction and should not be set to true unless you have consulted Open eLMS support first. |
| Enforce unique usernames | uniqueUsernamePerUser | TRUE | Username field is unique in user table, set this to false to allow importing multiple users with same username. Set this to false if alternativeIdsEnabled is set to true, this allows alternative IDs which sets up multiple users with the same username but a different alternative ID. Under such circumstances accounts are linked and users can switch from one to another. |
| Share learning button | showShareResourceUrl | TRUE | This button will copy the resource url into the learners clipboard so they can paste it elsewhere to share the information. |
| Do not close submitted assessments | AssessmentNoClose | TRUE | If set AssessmentNoClose to true, the assessment will keep open when submitted if submitting assessments before the last screen of any eLearning course. It is advised to set this to true. |
| Hide launch button for skills | hideLaunchSkills | TRUE | When doing skill management programmes, the skills will display on a learner’s dashboard. These skills can have a launch button next to them but this will not do anything so it is advisable to keep this value set to true. |
| Automatically Send Start Up Instruction Emails | enableAutomaticStarUpInstructionEmails | FALSE | Setthis value to true to automatically send start up instructions to newly added users either via registration or via import. This value should only be set to true once the system is launched. ALso check any “Welcome ..” emails in System Settings > Defaults > Emails to see that they are enabled and have the correct messaging prior to setting this value to true. |
| Snooze sign off form | enableSnoozeSignOffForm | FALSE | If set to true , this then lets managers snooze for a certain amount of time when a form should be signed off. This delays system messaging and feedback to all parties completing the form. It is suggested that this value is set to false to avoid clutter on the form. |
| Fire service user fields | ExtraUserFieldsWatchAndPosRef | FALSE | This adds to extra fields called ‘Position Reference’ and ‘Watch’ to the user details. These are specific to fire services and this value can be set to false in 99% of cases. |
| Learner landing page font size | learnerLandingPageDescriptionFontSize | 16 | This will set font size for text on the screen as well as text show above the landing page category images. isLearnerLandingPage needs to be set to true for this change to be visible. |
| Lesson due date overwrites learning resources | forceLessonDueDateToResource | FALSE | Lessons are a batch or collection of learning resources. Learning resources can have separate sign off dates depending on their refresh rate, when they were individually assigned or in accordance with an associated learning prorgamme’s timing. Lessons can have a separate due date which does not coincide with the learning resource due date. Set this value to true if you want all learning resource dates to display the associated lesson’s due date instead. Setting this value to largely due to personal preference and how learning is set up, leave this as false and change to true dependent upon user feedback. |
| Assign linked accounts to managers | assignAllLinkedUsersToAllLinkedManagers | FALSE | Set this to true if you are using linked accounts (alternativeIdsEnabled is set to true) and you want any user assigned to a manager to be cross-assign all linked accounts as well. This defaults to false and is dependent upon how managerial responsibility in your organisation works. |
| Assign programmes with imported linked events | assignUsersToProgrammeDuringEventImport | FALSE | If you are importing events into the system which has a linked programme, then assign the associated programme to the learner for who you are importing the event. This is only relevant if importing linked events which make up part of a programme and that programme would for some reason no already be assigned to the learner. This is a fairly unique use case and it is recommended to leave this value as false. |
| Anonymous password reset message | PasswordResetAnonymousMessage | FALSE | Set this to true if you do not want the username to be sent with the password reset message. Change this in line with your organisation’s security policy. |
| Managers view assigned user with same emails | ManagerAccessToLinkedUsers | TRUE | In the event you are using linked accounts (alternativeIdsEnabled is set to true) then set this value to true for a manager to see all users who have linked accounts. This can be left as true (as will not affect most cases). Check the value of assignAllLinkedUsersToAllLinkedManagers to see how this is set – if set True then this value should be left as true. |
| Only user lessons in learning library | eventsListLessonsOnlyFromLibrary | FALSE | Lessons can be created in one of two ways: they can be created in the Learning Library OR then can be created when an event is created and learning resources are added to it, this lesson can be saved for reuse later. Set this value to true to restrict the lessons to those created in the library, this will give you greater control over learning content but will not allow normal trainers to add to the library of learning. We recommend leaving this as false and switching it to true if the amount of lessons added becomes uncontrollable. |
| email active time period | systemEmailSendingTime | 08:00-17:30 | Set value in the following 24 hour format “HH:mm-HH:mm” for when emails should be sent out. All emails will be pushed to that time window – this will not stop emails from being sent out. |
| Sort learning categories by order parameter | sortLearningCategoriesByOrder | FALSE | Set this value to true to create a ‘Sorting Order’ field when defining categories in System Setup > Learning > Categories. This will manually set the order of presentation other than alphabetical (which is the default setting.) |
| Sign off form text | formSignOffText | Sign Off | This is the text shown for forms with a signature needed. The default text of ‘Sign Off’ will do in most cases. |
| Registration form configuration | registrationFormFields | To modify use: System Setup > Defaults > Registration Form | |
| Embed Power BI | isEmbeddedPowerBI | FALSE | Setting this value to true will embed a Power BI dashboard to the interface (rather than linking to a separate Power BI installation, requiring licences etc.). Please contact Open eLMS in order to purchase this service prior to switching this service on, you will otherwise be charged. |
| Approve emails | approveEmailQueueItems | FALSE | Administrator will need to approve any outgoing email in Email Queue list, Audit section. Set this to true whilst testing the system. Note all emails will be sent in the queue when this is set back to false. |
| Emails to receive system error alerts | sendInternalErrorToEmails | It is a good idea to set this email address(es) as your internal technical support email. Note this should not be an Open eLMS support email as these are Internal Server Error associated with your IT infrastructure (CRON jobs, data connectivity etc.). A generic error internal server message is sent out indicating an unexpected condition was encountered. | |
| Authorization token to access openelms.ai | openelmsAiLinkToken | Authorization token to access openelms.ai | |
| Cron Import Failure Email | cronImportFailureEmail | emilrw@elearningwmb.com | This configuration sets the email to receive alerts when the scheduled user import processes encounter failures. Note this should not be an Open eLMS support email as these are Internal Server Error associated with your internal IT infrastructure or data structure. Ensure sendInternalErrorToEmails is set to true for these emails to be received. |
| Purge audit records days | PurgeAuditRecordsDays | [{“name”: “TableHistory”,”value”: 365},{ “name”: “EmailHistory”, “value”: 365 }, { “name”: “UserLearningModuleArchive”, “value”: 365 }] | This configuration settings determines the number of days after which audit records will be purged from the system. It is important to purge records to prevent the filling up of disk space and slowing down of the entire system. Open eLMS recommends using the 365 day mark as a good compromise between data accountability and system performance. |
| Show cancellations on events | isShowCancellationsOnEvents | FALSE | Set this value to true to show any learners who have cancelled the event once it was assigned to them. Managers will be able to access their reason for cancelling (which would have been sent in an email.) |
| Enable Credly | EnableCredlyBadge | FALSE | Credly is a third party badging system. By setting this setting to true, you can assign Credly badges to user when learning resource complet |
| Credly Organisation ID | CredlyOrganizationID | This is needed to enable the Credly badging system. Obtain the Credly Organization ID from the Credly website | |
| Credly Token | CredlyAuthorizationToken | ******** | Obtain the Credly Authorization Token from Credly website |
| Refresher Notification Timings | RefresherNotificationTimings | 3,15,30,60,90 | This list of timings is the number of days before a learning resource is due when an email alert will be sent to the learner. |
| Booking Deadline | BookingDeadline | [{“name”: “DeadlineHours”,”value”: 24},{ “name”: “DeadlinePassedMessage”, “value”: “The booking deadline has passed as it is too near the starting time for the event. A booking cannot be made through the system.” }] | Set a default time – in hours – before the event time during which a course cannot be enrolled on. For instance if the value was 24, then no bookings on the event can be made a day before the event is due to start. Set a default deadline passed message to display in the system |
| Event Drop Off Deadline | EventDropOffDeadline | [{“name”: “EventDropOffDeadlineHours”,”value”: 1},{ “name”: “EventDropOffDeadlineMessage”, “value”: “The event drop-off deadline has already passed since it’s too close to the event’s starting time. You are unable to drop-off at this point. Please reach out to your manager for assistance.” }] | Configure a default time window in hours before the event starts, during which course drop-offs are not allowed. For example, if the value is set to 1, no drop-offs will be permitted within 1 hour of the event. “EventDropOffDeadlineMessage” is used to set the default alert message displayed in the system when an event drop-off deadline has passed. |
Open eLMS Creator
- Drag and drop editing now available in course structure (menu)
- Surveys including Likert surveys and free form surveys
- Mix randomised and static questions in a quiz
- Lock quizzes after x attempts
- Increased backgrounds library
- Increased animations library
Open eLMS AI
- Upload documents to create eLearning
- Ask AI to expand content during preview
Open eLMS Catalogue
- New courses to be announced in January 2023 – currently the library is expanding by 6 courses per month.
Roadmap
The following list of features is an indication of what is planned, this is by no means an exhaustive list. For more details regarding what is involved in the next releases please consult the Power BI Dashboard at the bottom of this section.
Cronus January 2025
- AI to improve branding image production in Open eLMS AI (i.e. create thumbnails for learning that matches company branding).
- Self-service system from preview to purchase
- Add flexibility to all tables to add/remove any available field with horizontal scrolling and field selection
- Flexible importing from any format
- Enhanced learner control of interface through added settings
- Power BI Dashboards for all project roles
- Add knowledge checks to Open eLMS AI generated eLearning
- 100% multi-language support in Open eLMS AI
- Increased eLearning catalogue to 500 courses
- Increased media library to 20,000 items
Zeus July 2025
- Content curation added to programme creation using AI
- Enhance intelligent searching using AI
- Integrate Kahoot API
- Discussion forums added to all learning (not just events)
- Let managers generate just in time eLearning via Open eLMS AI
- Greater feedback on skills monitoring on learner progress screen
- Signposting: allowing for learning to be ran and tracked outside the LMS
- Enhanced eLearning design heuristics in Open eLMS AI
- Increased eLearning catalogue to 600 courses
- Increased media library to 40,000 items
Dionysus January 2026
- SQL query generation using AI added to query builder
- Learners (v’s managers) self-generate personal learning pathways via AI
- Plug and play payments engine for easier and more flexible payments
- Lip sync video presenters added to Open eLMS AI generated eLearning
- Video generation via Open eLMS AI
- AI image generation added to Open eLMS Creator
- Increased eLearning catalogue to 700 courses
- Increased media library to 60,000 items
Further features will also be added through regular consultations with clients. Users can provide significant input in shaping the future direction of the platform’s development roadmap. The innovation roadmap is client-led, with quarterly user-group meetings and weekly/monthly calls allowing users to share new requirements and ideas. This client-led approach has resulted in a system consistently ahead of the competition. Additionally, features like the Open eLMS ‘Netflix-style’ LXP interface, integrated cloud authoring, native app, smart classroom technology, form builder, and more have been developed based on user feedback. The roadmap of development is likely to change as the company is very much client-led, ensuring that users have a substantial influence on the platform’s evolution.
Roadmap Dashboard
User Groups
We are inviting clients to create user groups where you can communicate with other clients and explore and share your ideas with us, If you are interested please contact your account manager or support@openelms.com for further details.