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Relate Components | RelateScript | BlueStep.js |
Bundles
Bundles provide project documentation and change management features. They are intended primarily for use with large or complex Relate configurations. Bundles allow Relate components spread across the system to be brought together into organized groupings where they can be documented and managed. The documentation features include version notes, so changes over time can be recorded and reviewed. Bundles also have limited locking and ownership management features designed to create separation between parts of Relate maintained by the BlueStep team versus local IT staff. Bundles are easy to create and maintain with automated features integrated into all other areas of Relate. BUILDING BUNDLES: The first and most obvious feature of bundles is implied by the name: Bundles bring together Relate components into logical groupings. After a bundle is created components are added to the bundle by going to the components and adding them. If you aren't familiar with bundles you probably have never seen this feature as you have worked with other Relate components. This is because it is hidden until at least one bundle is created. Components can be added one at a time, or a component can be added with all of it's child components, recursively. For instance, when adding a form to a bundle you can also add all of the fields on the form by checking the box to add recursively. The same holds true for option lists and option items. If you've already organized your Relate structure into folders you can also add a folder and all of its child components recursively. This means the folder and all of its components including forms and their fields, option lists and their option items and sub-folders with their contents recursively until every component contained in the folder has been added. When a component is added to a bundle you can optionally include a description of how that component relates to the bundle. If you add components recursively the description is only added to the main component, not all of the child components. The description is shown when viewing the the bundle and its members. Full details on building bundles can be found at the bottom of this page under the "Bundle Membership Settings" section. CHANGING BUNDLES: Once a component is a member of a bundle its membership can be altered by editing the component. Any bundles that the component belongs to will be listed on the first edit screen. Click on the bundle name and the description tied to that bundle will be displayed and can be edited. Even though the component is already a member, you can still add all of the child components recursively. Also, you can click the "X" button to remove the component from the bundle. The status of the bundle membership with the description and pending actions to be taken can be reviewed by mousing over the name of the bundle. Finally, a component can be removed from a bundle while viewing the bundle, again by clicking the "X" button, but from the membership list. AUTOMATIC BUNDLES: If you create a bundle for a new project before beginning work on the project you can have the bundle auto-create itself. Simply mark the bundle as your primary bundle. Any component you edit will automatically be added to your primary bundle unless you explicitly cancel the add by clicking the "X" button. When you are done working on that project, go to the bundle and un-check the "primary bundle" option. Or, you can switch projects by going to another bundle and making it the primary bundle. You can only have one primary bundle at a time. VERSION NOTES: Once a component is a member of a bundle you will be prompted to add a version note each time the component is saved. Depending on the status of the bundle the version note may even be required. Assuming the version note is not required you can skip adding a note by just pressing the [Enter] key or the "Save" button. You can also cancel the save by pressing [Esc] or closing the note prompt. A list of version notes is available when viewing the membership list of the bundle. Each version note includes a timestamp and a record of who made the change. BUNDLE SCREEN: Once components have been added to a bundle you can return to the bundle screen and review the list of bundle members. The members of the bundle are organized in exactly the same structure and order as they are in Relate Structure. Components that are outside Relate structure are listed at the bottom, first by type then alphabetically. The description note is listed for each member as well as the last modification date. There is also a link to edit each component and a link to remove the component from the bundle. Sometimes it is useful to know everything that has changed since a specific date and time. When viewing a bundle you can have the system highlight in blue everything that has changed since a particular point in time. For items with child components a blue dot is placed next to the modification date if any of the child components has been modified. This allows you to find modified components even if the tree structure is collapsed. Finally, for each member that has version notes, there is a link to the notes. BUNDLE STATUS: Bundles can have one of three statuses which create progressive restrictions on the members of the bundle: in progress, complete and locked. Locked is only available for the BlueStep team. The first status level, in progress, prevents non-Relate-Admin users from modifying the bundle's member components. The second status level, complete, additionally makes version notes required. In practice the restrictions of the first two levels primarily mean that Relate licensees will be locked out of editing any queries and reports added to bundles. In the future, elements HQ and Connect may also be potentential members of bundles and this access restriction will be more useful. The third status level, locked, additionally prevents local Relate administrators from modifying the members of the bundle. Only BlueStep can modify these components. This allows greater flexiblity when BlueStep needs predefined configuration to be locked down for licensing and maintainence reasons while still allowing customization for the rest of Relate. As mentioned, the final two levels of status make version notes manditory. The purpose is to indicate that the bundle is complete and any further changes are customizations or enhancements that need tracking and documentation. BUNDLE PARENTS: Bundles can have one or more parent bundles. Parent bundles should contain Relate components that the members of the current bundle depend on. Another way of thinking of it is: parent bundles contain the components that are common to more than one bundle. If there are a number of components used in many areas of the system, these components belong in a bundle which is the parent of other bundles. BUNDLE ANALYSIS: Bundles have an analysis feature which reviews all of the members of a bundle. The purpose is partly to satisfy curiousity (Just how many components are there anyway?) but more importantly determine if something is missing or misconfigured. There are multiple sections which analyze various potential issues. The first section is just for curiousity and shows basic bundle statistics. The next section indicates what components are needed by the members of the bundle which are not in the bundle nor its parent(s). The third section shows which members have dual membership with other bundles and might need to be moved into a parent bundle. The fourth section shows forms and option lists with missing children since they are usually built and used as a unit. The final section analyzes what has changed since export. This assists BlueStep Support in pushing out new features and bug fixes to our clients. EVERY component listed on the bundle analysis screen has a Relate inspector link to help gather any additional details needed. Also, suggestions are given for likely solutions to each issue shown. Each suggestion may be immediately implemented by clicking the link. Bundle Membership Settings
Bundle membership settings are available on ALL Relate components. However, they are hidden until at least one bundle exists, so even experience Relate configuration staff may have never seen them.
There are many parts to the bundle membership settings. They are as follows:
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