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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.

There are many parts to the bundle membership settings.  They are as follows:

• Main label--On the left is the main label, "Bundle(s)," indicating that bundle settings are available.  This label and all other settings will be hidden if no bundles have been created.
• Bundle Memberships--The top line is the list of bundles that the current component is or will be a member of.  If the component is not currently a member of any bundle, this line will be missing.  Each name is underlined to indicate it may be clicked on.  Holding the mouse over a bundle name gives a description of the membership status of that bundle including any pending actions that will be taken.  Names in black indicate that the component is currently a member of the bundle.  Names in green indicate the component is being added to the bundle. Names in gray italics indicate that the component is being removed from the bundle.  If the name is bold it indicates that the sub-components within this component will be added or removed recursively.
• Description--Below the list of bundles is the description.  Each bundle that the component is a member of has its own description.  The label above the memo field indicates which bundle the description belongs to.  Clicking the name of each bundle will change the label and contents of the description memo field.  The description is displayed next to the component when viewing the bundle and all of its members.  The purpose is to describe, if needed, how the component is utilized by each bundle. This setting will be hidden if the currently active bundle is being removed, or if no bundle has been selected by clicking its name.
• Remove Button--At the upper right corner of the description memo is the  button which removes the current component from the actively selected bundle.  This button will be hidden, along with the description memo, when the actively selected bundle has already been removed or when no bundle has been selected.
• Recursive Add/Remove--The check box below the description memo can be checked to recursively add or remove the components within the current component.  The word "recursive" means (if you are adding) that after adding each child component or sub-component of this component, it will also add any sub components of those components and the process will repeat until all components within this component have been added regardless of how many levels deep the heirarchy of components goes.  This is particularly applicable to folders which may have sub-folders containing other sub-folders to an arbitrary depth.  This setting will be hidden if the current component cannot have sub-components.  It will be visible for folders, forms, option lists, option groups and record types.
  
  Recursive adding or removing is a one-time operation.  It does not mean that components added later will be also be added or removed from the bundle.  Rather it means, "Recursively add/remove child components right now."  It is perfectly acceptable to come back later, after adding additional sub-components, and add recursively again.  It is also acceptable to add a component, then immediately remove it recursively (before even saving the add).  The effect is that all sub-components will be removed from the bundle, even if thier parent component is not a member of the bundle.
• Select Bundle and Add--The final setting is a drop-down list of all bundles that the current component is not a member of.  This will include bundles listed in gray italics on the top line.  To add the current component to a bundle, select it from the drop-down list and click the Add button.  As with other setting changes, the change is completed by saving the component.  Don't forget to click the Add button.  This setting will become hidden if the current component is a member of all existing bundles.
• Version Note Dialog--Once the component is a member of at least one bundle, saving the component will trigger the version note dialog to appear.  If you wish to cancel the save, click the in the corner or press the [Esc] button on your keyboard.  If at least one bundle that the component is a member of has been marked "Complete" or "Locked" then a version note is manditory.  Simply type a note, then press [Enter] or click the save button.  The purpose of the note is to explain what changed and/or why the change was needed.  By consistently keeping notes it will be much easier to go back and look at how a component has evolved over time.  It is also very helpful when working with mutiple Relate designers to facilitate communication.  Version notes are available in the membership section when viewing a bundle.  Version notes are also shown in change history.
• Primary Bundle Behaviors--If you have marked a bundle as your primary bundle then the bundle settings will behave a bit differently.  Namely, if you create or edit a component that is not a member of any bundles, the system will automatically select your primary bundle and click the "Add" button for you.  If you edit a component that is a member of another bundle, but not your primary bundle, then your primary bundle will automatically be selected, but the "Add" button will not be clicked.  If you happen to edit or create a component that you do not want added to your primary bundle, just click the  button to cancel the add.  To make a bundle your primary bundle, edit the bundle and check the box labeled "I am current working with this bundle." then save the bundle. To change primary bundles, edit another bundle, check the box and save.  If you do not wish to have a current primary bundle, edit your primary bundle, uncheck the box and save.  You may have only one primary bundle at a time.  The name of your current primary bundle will be bold when viewing the list of bundles.