Release Notes: January 1, 2026

Welcome to the New Year! We are starting 2026 with a massive update focused on automation power, data visualization, and seamless mobile experiences. Here is what’s new in Valstorm. For a video overview, scroll to the bottom

🚀 Top Features

Automation Builder Overhaul

We have significantly expanded what you can build without writing code.

  • Salesforce Integration: You can now Create, Update, and Query Salesforce records directly within your automations.
  • Generate PDFs: Automatically generate PDF files and fill form fields using your data sources.
  • Send Emails & SMS: New nodes allow you to send emails via SendGrid and text messages (individually or in bulk) directly from your workflows.
  • Voice Control: We've added "Say" and "Play" capabilities to the Gather node, allowing for fine-tuned voice instructions in multiple languages.

The New Kanban Board

Visualizing your work just got easier. Our Kanban view has been completely overhauled:

  • Drag & Drop: Easily move cards between stages.
  • Swim Lanes: Organize data horizontally and vertically.
  • Visual Customization: Cards now respect your specific Tag colors and ordering.

Contact Scanner (OCR)

Gone are the days of manual entry. You can now take or submit a picture of a business card or website contact info, and the system will automatically scan the text to create a Company, Contact, and Lead record for you.

☎️ ValPhone & Communication

Salesforce Deep Integration

  • Pop to Contact: Navigate directly to a Salesforce Contact record from a Call or Text conversation with a single click.
  • Automatic Transcripts: Call transcripts are now automatically saved to Salesforce for better record-keeping.

Availability Management

  • Holidays & Vacation: You can now log vacation days and company holidays in your settings. The system will automatically adjust your availability and routing logic on these days.
  • Smarter Statuses: If you set yourself to "Busy," "Away," or "Do Not Disturb," the system will respect that status even after you finish an outbound call, rather than resetting you to "Available."

Call Control

  • Call Routing: Users now have absolute control over calls directed at them, and teammates can join or take over calls via the active calls screen.
  • Enhanced Call Details: Active call records now display the Call Flow Source and the specific "From Number" used.

💻 Web App Productivity

Data & Editing

  • Excel-Style Editing: The Data Table now supports selecting full rows/columns and includes custom editors for Dates, Numbers, and Colors.
  • Tag Coloring: Visual tags are now color-coded across the app, making it easier to categorize data at a glance.
  • Intuitive List Filters: We've added a new component to make filtering your lists and views much more intuitive.

Shortcuts & Navigation

  • Keyboard Shortcuts: Use Ctrl/Cmd + X to close tabs, or add Shift to close all other tabs. We've also added shortcuts for Edit, Save, Delete, and New Record.
  • Smart Creation: When creating a record from a Related List (e.g., creating a Task from a Contact page), the related fields are now auto-populated.

Flexible Data Requirements

  • No Name Required: You are no longer forced to enter a First/Last name for Leads and Contacts. This is helpful for automated texts where you might only have a phone number.

📱 Mobile App

Feature Updates

  • Call Recordings: You can now listen to past call recordings directly inside the mobile app.
  • Click-to-Call: Tapping a phone number inside a text conversation or a hyperlink now initiates a call immediately (Android & iOS).
  • Improved Search: We have upgraded the filtering and search capabilities for Contacts, Calls, and Texts on mobile.

🛠️ Stability & Polish

  • Performance: We have moved heavy background processes (like bulk updates) to a separate system, ensuring the main app remains fast and responsive.
  • Fixes:
    • Fixed an issue where "Do Not Disturb" was being overridden by nightly resets.
    • Resolved connection drops when transferring calls to mobile users.
    • Corrected text contrast issues in pop-up modals.
    • Fixed a bug where scheduled messages occasionally failed to send.
    • Smoothed out the "Reconnect" process if your phone line disconnects.

Video

<video src="https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/valstorm-public/valstorm/Valstorm%20LLC/Release%20Jan%201st.mp4" width="800" height="450" controls

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