2023-3: July Release Notes

A number of new features have been released in the past three months and Miradi has moved to a new server! Learn more:

• Results Chain Guide
• New palette provides group box borders
• Data Views include additional content
• Bulk Import expands to include Indicators and Measurements
• Access the "..." menu to launch new features in tree views
• New "Shareable Factors Across Diagrams" table helps identify duplicate content
• Miradi moves to a new server for improved performance and local Miradi environments

Results Chain Guide

Miradi Share now includes a Results Chain Guide to help users new to building diagrams create effective results chains. Navigate to the Theory of Change section of your project, make sure you are in the Results Chain Diagram page, and click + New to open the Results Chain Guide. 

Within the Results Chain Guide you will find helpful tips explaining how to build an effective Results Chain diagram:

• Expand the blue text for helpful explanations on each page of the wizard.
• Double click on the highlighted factors on each page to add new content.
• Review the narrative logic of your Results Chain as it takes shape.
• Give the Results Chain a Name and ID.
• Click Save to finalize your Results Chain.

Once your new Results Chain has been saved you will be able to edit and add to it in the main Results Chain Diagram page, along with any other Results Chains in your project.

New palette provides group box borders

The recent Miradi v4.6 release (March 2023) updated the color palette and removed the grey borders around group boxes. We heard from some Miradi users that this created challenges with layered group boxes (the layers were impossible to see without box borders), and group boxes with a white background (boxes disappeared into the background of the diagram). We heard you and have added a new palette that allows users to select whether to include group box borders (palette = Online (4.6) + box borders) or retain the clean group boxes with no borders (palette = Online (4.6)). Miradi users still also have the option to use the original Desktop palette.

Data Views include additional content

Data Views are powerful tools that allow teams to view Miradi project data in interactive online spreadsheets and export data as .XLS or .CSV files for analysis in other systems (e.g. Excel, Google Sheets, SmartSheet, Access). See more about Using Data Views to Analyze and Export Data in Tables. 

Data Views now include the following commonly requested data in most Data Views:

• Factor Identifier + Name - display the ID and Name together in a single data field
• Factor Details - view the entire narrative text included in the Details field for all factors
• Associated Results Chain - view the Results Chain (one or many) that a factor appears in)

To add these new data fields to your Data Views, navigate to the Columns tool on the right of any Data View table. Scroll to the factor type you want to work with (e.g. Strategy), and select the checkbox next to the data you would like to include in your table. Once added to your table as columns, the columns can be moved left / right to the preferred position in the table and your customized table can be saved for quick reference. See more about Using Data Views.

Bulk Import expands to include Indicators and Measurements

Miradi users who manage their Miradi projects within a Miradi program have the option to add data or edit existing data in projects using Bulk Import tools. Users can now use the Bulk Import tools to add and edit Indicators and Measurements of Indicators.

Bulk Import allows teams to add large datasets to one or more projects in a formatted spreadsheet. Data can be typed directly into the online spreadsheet (cell by cell), or entire tables of data can be copied and pasted directly into the online spreadsheet in bulk (hundreds of rows of data can be pasted in at once).

For Miradi users with Program Admin or Program Manager permissions, navigate to the Report Management section and select the Bulk Import page. Use the dropdown menu to identify the type of data you would like to add or edit.

Once you have selected one of the import types, download a spreadsheet template with existing project data to develop your dataset offline, or double click a cell to enter data directly in the online spreadsheet. When your dataset is ready for import, click IMPORT to add your data to your Miradi project(s). 

For every type of Bulk Import, detailed instructions about how to import a dataset, including explanations of data fields that are required or optional can be found by clicking on "Show more".

Access the "..." menu to launch new actions in tree views

Target Viability and Results Chain content can be viewed in trees rather than diagrams, and now it is even easier to add, delete and re-order content in tree views. Below is an example of the tree view for Target Viability under the Situation Assessment section. The "Coral reefs" target is selected and its properties are shown on the right. 

When a factor is selected on the left, users are now able to access the "..." menu to delete the factor, add related content, or re-order elements belonging to the factor. In the example below, the "Area of coral reef" Key Ecological Attribute (KEA) is selected; it can be deleted or indicators can be added. 

In the next example, the "Coral reefs" target is selected, and Goals or KEAs can be added to the Target. Miradi is smart enough to understand the relationships between different factors and the diagrams in your project and only presents you with the relevant add/delete options for a specific factor. In this example:

• Targets can not be deleted in the tree views since they are often present in many diagrams. They must be added and deleted in diagram view.
• Goals can be added for the Target.
• Key Ecological Attributes (KEAs) can be added since this Target is currently set to KEA mode.
• Indicators can not be added directly to the target if the Target is set to "Key attribute" mode.

To add an Indicator directly to a Target (in tree view or in diagram view), the Target must be set to "Simple" mode.

Back to the new "..." menu in tree view, another example below shows the actions that are now available for Strategies using the "..." menu in tree view. Note that users can add and re-order content related to the Strategy, but similar to Targets, Strategies themselves must be deleted in diagram view.

New "Shareable Factors Across Diagrams" table

Miradi allows users to "Share" factors across diagrams. This ensures that Miradi users are able to maintain a single copy of key factors within the Miradi project database, rather than creating duplicate content unintentionally. Learn more about Copying versus Sharing Factors in Miradi, and how to use the information about shared factors to remove duplicate content and clean up your Miradi database.

A summary of all of the "shareable" factors in your project can now be found on the Factors page under the Project Overview section. Select the "Shareable Factors Across Diagrams" table under the Factor Summary menu. The factors that can be shared are listed on the left, and the diagrams (Situation Models or Results Chains) in which they appear can be seen on the right. Click the name of the diagram to navigate directly to the diagram.

Miradi moves to a new server for improved performance and local Miradi environments

In late July, Miradi Share was migrated to Microsoft Azure servers. Moving to Azure ensures that Miradi Share can continue to meet the highest data availability and security standards.

The move to Azure has also improved the performance of Miradi Share (perhaps you have noticed that Miradi Share is responding more quickly?) and it opens up the opportunity to develop local Miradi Share instances for Miradi users with specific in-country data residency requirements. Contact Us if you are interested in setting up a local Miradi Share instance for your organization.