What is planning version, how does it work, and what is version management?
The current version and planning version
Modify nodes in the planning version
Removing nodes in the planning version
Administrative settings in the planning version
The current version and planning version
When your organization undergoes changes in structure and processes, it is important that your system support reflects these updates. However, making changes during ongoing work can create confusion and complicate the tasks for users. Often, you know well in advance that something will change, and it's good to update the system in advance as well.
This is possible in Stratsys through the concepts of "current version" and "planning version".
In the current version, you work on monitoring and reporting. In the planning version, you prepare processes and the organization for changes in the upcoming business year without disrupting the ongoing work.
Switching between the current version and planning version
How you switch between versions depends on your specific setup. In some cases, you have a version selector available:
In other cases, the version changes automatically when you select certain menu tabs.
As an administrator, you will notice that not all administration features are available in the planning version. Switch to the current version to access the complete administration menu.
Modify nodes in the planning version
Make sure you are in the planning version. To do so, you must first break the link between the current version and the planning version. This creates a planning version of the node, which contains all the data and history, allowing you to make changes to the information without affecting the current version and vice versa. If the node exists in multiple departments, the link is broken in all departments.
We refer to this as "Break the link" for nodes in the planing version.
Once you have saved your changes, the node in the planning version will be marked with an icon that looks like a pushpin. This symbol indicates that the link has been broken, and the node is no longer a reflection of the current version. Instead, it is now disconnected and may differ from the node in the current version.
Behavior after a broken link
Changes you make to a node in the planning version will not affect the current version.
Changes you make to a node in the current version will not be reflected in the planning version for disconnected nodes. You will receive information indicating that the node has been changed in the planning version, and if you want the corresponding changes in the planning, you will need to manually make the same changes in the disconnected node.
Nodes that do not have a broken link will continue to be updated when any changes are made in the current version.
Behavior after a broken link - comments and reported data
- Comments for all nodes continue to be shared between the current version and the planning version, even for nodes with broken links.
- Numbers and responses in KPIs also continue to be shared between the current and planning versions, as long as no changes have been made that make the data incompatible between the versions, such as changes to formulas or periodicity. Metric columns that are disconnected between versions (and therefore do not flow data) are displayed with a pushpin icon for each metric column where reporting is possible, regardless of the version. You can see this under the settings tab for each metric.
Undo a broken link
Currently, there is no simple function to undo a broken link retrospectively. However, you can achieve this by first removing the node from the planning version and then selecting it from the current version to the planning version using the function to select existing nodes as seen in the steps below. This feature needs to be enabled in the administration if it is not already supported.
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Removing nodes in the planning version
You typically mark the information that you no longer want to work with in the planning version for removal (rather than deleting). This function is useful if you are unsure whether you really want to delete certain information or if you are unaware that the underlying departments have nodes that they want to keep connected to this object. You then choose to Mark the node for removal.
The node that is marked for removal will then be displayed in a dark red color, and everything connected to this node on all departments will be shown in pink. All departments that have something connected to the node being removed now have the opportunity to see this and choose to reassign their information to ensure that it remains intact going forward.
Note! All information that is marked for removal (red or pink marking) will be automatically deleted when the planning version becomes current version, which happens in connection with the version management of your database.
In reports or views, you can easily choose to filter out any information that is marked for removal if desired. You can activate this filter option as an administrator under "Miscellaneous" in the Filter Settings for each view or report section.
If you want to delete nodes directly in the planning version, you can select the option "Delete".
Note! Nodes that are removed from the planning version cannot be restored using the Event History. However, there is an option to select the node again from the current version or from any of the "removed items" lists. This can be quite extensive if nodes have been removed from multiple departments. Therefore, it is recommended to keep the information marked for removal and use filter settings to automatically exclude these nodes from views and reports.
When you click on "Delete," you will be taken to a confirmation guide. If the node has multiple connections, you will first need to choose whether you want to delete the connection you are currently viewing or if you want to delete the node for all models simultaneously, which will result in the node being completely removed when the planning version becomes current.
Here you also have the option to remove the connection for the entire consolidation chain (pre choosen). If you only want to remove the connection on the current department because underlying departments still need to work with the node, simply uncheck the checkbox.
The next step shows what will be deleted. In some cases, the number of nodes or connections to be deleted may be very high because there are many items connected to the node. It is not just the nodes displayed in the department you are currently on that will disappear when the node is deleted. It also applies if other departments have nodes connected to the node, if there are more nodes in a consolidation chain, or if there are columns not visible in the view you are looking at.
Administrative settings in the planning version
There are limitations on the administration settings that can be made when the planning mode is activated. The supported settings for planning include Organization, Users, and Changing the main unit for nodes. You also have the ability to view Views of scorecards and Planning, but any changes made in these two sections will always apply to both the current version and the planning version.
Permission for the planning version
To work in the planning version, it is necessary to have the following permission selected in the user group.
Organization
The organization settings are accessible from the planning section to enable making organizational changes in the planning version without affecting the current version.
Observe! For more significant changes to your organization, we always recommend seeking assistance from someone at Stratsys. Contact your account manager for help! This is to prevent unneccesary data loss.
The following can be done:
- You can create a new organizational unit that is only visible in the planning version by clicking on "Add to the unit structure."
- It is possible to rename a unit. Click on the unit and then enter the new name in the "Name" text box. The new name will only be visible in the planning version.
- By clicking on the "Mark for deletion" button, you can indicate that the unit should be deleted when the planning version is converted to the current version. (Only units that do not have any other units beneath them can be marked for deletion.)
- You can move a unit or an entire unit tree by first clicking on the unit you want to move, and then selecting the new location as shown in the image.
Users
The user settings are accessible from the planning version, allowing user-specific settings to be made for units that are only created in the planning version. For example, you can assign additional permissions to a new unit that exists only in the planning version.
The only difference from the user page in the current version is the availability of additional search options to search for users belonging to units marked for deletion. Such a search can be useful for rearranging users who belong to units that will be removed during a version change.
Planning
In planning, different versions are managed in Stratsys. Here, you can make certain settings that affect the work with multiple versions, such as controlling which text should be displayed and how the version selector should appear.
The setting "All users should see the planning version" is recommended to use when you want all users, regardless of their permission group, to have access to the planning version without having to individually mark it in each permission group.
Change the main department for nodes from the planning version.
Version management
When all reporting for the year is completed, the current version is archived, and the planning version becomes the new current version. This is what we call version management in Stratsys.
During version management, all information marked for deletion will disappear, and even completed activities may be automatically archived as part of the version management process.
Note! Version management is always performed by a Stratsys representative. Contact your account manager to schedule an appointment if you have not been contacted by them.