Updated: Updated: Announcing the Big Spring Release of The Welkin Suite!

We are preparing the next big update to The Welkin Suite, which is scheduled for the end of May.

Update can be found at the end. ))

Sure enough, we will start releasing new features sooner, starting from the next release. For instance, in the next sprint we will introduce such new functions as the support of new metadata types (CustomTab, Flow, EmailTemplate, etc), FLS Editor for Mac, possibility to start debugging directly from log files, etc (already released. there are details here) . And yet, our fundamental spring scope of work will culminate in the release of The Welkin Suite on May 22, 2017.

Below are the updates that will see the world in this release.

We will start off with a huge bugfix, which also comes as an improvement and the new big feature all at once - the New Code Completion and Code Assistance module. This way, the aforesaid feature will no longer frustrate our users, and will instead spend up their coding process and help them move forward faster. Just like the other features in The Welkin Suite =)

Most specifically, we shall without fail fix all the problems in this module (including the tips and Anonymous Apex), as well as add many new ‘treats’. For instance, you will be able to enjoy the enhanced Goto Definition, which will allow moving to standard classes, as well as prioritizing the last used objects considering the context.

As part of this item we are going to implement integration with PMD for Apex. I cannot provide you with the details yet but you will be able to use it manually or by automation, edit, etc. 

Second place in our spring release chart is taken by the update to Lightning development. Remember how beautiful and refreshing the first spring thunderstorms are? So do we, and thus, we cannot leave Lightning technology out of our focus! You are probably wondering by now, what exactly we are planning to do in this regard? The answer is ‘many’: Javascript code completion, built-in Lightning previewer for the applications, enhanced Tabs view for bundles, maybe some improvements related to Aura tags (markup) completion and help. We’ll see about that. Currently this update is under construction, as we are only designing and building it up, and we will surely invite all of our friends online to participate in the discussion and share your own vision of this functionality.

The third item on our list has to do with us continuing the update process of the change management functionality. You may have already familiarized yourselves with a new deployment feature that was released in The Welkin Suite Nova R1 for Mac (if not, you can learn all about this feature here and here - check it out, download it, and take it for a spin, it is pure awesome!). In the upcoming spring release, we will transfer everything we have into the Windows platform version. Also, we are planning to add a detailed Org comparison module that includes direct files comparison.

Now that we have something to impress Salesforce Developers with, we also have a surprise in store for Salesforce Administrators! Shall we begin?

For starters, we are planning to introduce Validation Rules Editor. This is the most thrilling part - as we have never done this before. Overall, this module will include:

• A graphical tool for editing Validation Rules
• Code Completion for XML representation of the Validation Rules definition
• Syntax highlighting for Validation Rules description
• An option to debug validation rules step-by-step in the context of Apex Retrospective Debugger. But surely, this will no longer be Apex, but Salesforce Retrospective Debugger. Generation Two!

Second in position, but in no way second in its importance, is the Permissions Sets Editor. This module will consist of two parts:

• GUI for bulk editing permission sets
• Assigning and revoking permission sets to different users.

That’s about everything we have so far. Impressive, right? In addition to what I’ve mentioned already, we will also be making a series of small updates and tweaks, which probably impact your productivity even more. And of course, we are looking forward to all of your suggestions as to the updates you personally would like to see in The Welkin Suite, as we will add them to our plan as well.

Naturally, the plans can change. If they do, I will let you know immediately - I promise! These changes may be triggered by some updates from Salesforce that we will have to consider, or if you prefer that we make some extra changes. We are always open to your suggestions, and we value your opinion! Or maybe, we will decide to make even more improvements in our spring release, and add new items to the list. =) Stay tuned to our updates!

Update 2: 

A lot of functionality were already released.

Mac

* Nova R3: Support Fields and Layouts in sObjects Inspector. See more details here  

* Nova R4: (Oops. it seems it is a bit delayed. But it should be tomorrow). Update for Lightning Bundle Explorer, Git support. See more details here. 

Win

* Spire R12: Serious update for deployment functionality. See details here

* Spire R13: Permissions Sets Editor. See details here. 

Also, I would like to let you know that it seems we will not be able to complete promised functionality related to Validation Rules by 22d of May but we are working on it and going to deploy just after 22d in next releases!