Copyright 2006 Aras Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Aras Corporation Heritage Place 439 South Union Street Lawrence, MA 01843

Transcription

1 Just Ask Innovator

2 ARAS CORPORATION Copyright 2006 Aras Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Aras Corporation Heritage Place 439 South Union Street Lawrence, MA Phone: Fax: Website: Notice of Rights Copyright 2006 by Aras Corporation. This material may be distributed only subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Open Publication License, V1.0 or later (the latest version is presently available at Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Distribution of the work or derivative of the work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder. Aras Innovator, Aras, and the Aras Corp "A" logo are registered trademarks of Aras Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Notice of Liability The information contained in this document is distributed on an "As Is" basis, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose or a warranty of non-infringement. Aras shall have no liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this document or by the software or hardware products described herein. Copyright 2006 Aras Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Page 2

3 Table Of Contents Innovator Administration...1 What's New...1 What's New in User Management...3 Alias Tab...7 Permissions...12 Data Types...20 ItemTypes...30 Views...45 Implementation Types...54 Single Item...55 Poly Item...55 Relationships...59 Creating a No Related Relationship...68 Life Cycles...82 Using Variables in Text...89 Behavior When Parent (the Source Item) Is Versioned First...91 Behavior When Child (the Related Item) Is Versioned First...94 Workflows...97 Activity Header Properties Activity Tabs Escalation Example: Override Example Default Path Example Required Example Wait For All Votes Example Using Variables in Text Revisions Preferences Preferences Package Definitions PackageDefinitions Configurable Grids About Configurable Grids Configuration Management About Configuration Management Client User Interface Getting Started Logging Off Using Innovator Navigation Wildcards Append Results Tree View iii

4 Just Ask Innovator View Modes Default Views Filtered Item Browser Actions About Actions Creating an Action Modifying an Action Action Properties Deleting an Action Files About Files Adding a File Modifying a File Deleting a File File Properties FileTypes About FileTypes Creating a FileType Modifying a FileType FileType Properties Deleting a FileType Forms About Forms Creating a Form Modifying a Form Adding Elements to a Form Layout Adding Additional Fields to a Form Layout Form Property Tabs Field Type Properties Field Label Properties Field Physical Properties Field Border Properties Form Properties Form Body Properties Form Event Properties Form Layout Designer Toolbar Icons Events Deleting a Form ItemTypes Items and Relationships - Standard Work Procedure Item Appearance ItemType Properties ItemType Tabs Properties Tab Fields History Modifying an ItemType iv

5 Table Of Contents Deleting an ItemType Copy and Paste Versions Methods About Methods Standard Work Procedure for Methods Method - Printable Worksheet Method - Example Worksheet Methods Dialog Toolbar Creating a Method Modifying a Method Method Properties Deleting a Method Reports About Reports Creating a Report Report Properties Running Reports Modifying a Report Report ItemType Report Tab Report Query Designer Tab Deleting a Report Variables About Variables Creating a Variable Modifying a Variable Variable Properties Deleting a Variable Vaults About Vaults Creating a Vault Check-in and Check-out Vault Storage Locations View With About View With Viewers About Viewers Adding a Viewer Modifying a Viewer Deleting a Viewer Viewer Properties v

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7 Innovator Administration Who Needs to Read This Guide The Innovator Administration Guide describes how to setup, use, and maintain Innovator. This guide is written for database administrators (DBAs), system administrators, and business process administrators who want to configure Innovator. Administrators should be familiar with their existing DBMS system, Web services, and the normal administrative and management tools associated with your business systems. For information about database administration procedures specific for your DBMS system, refer to the product(s) reference information. While Innovator uniquely combines object and business rule definition with its internal user interface, full customization typically requires the knowledge of JavaScript and HTML coding for application behaviors (i.e. methods invoked during workflow execution) and presentation (i.e., Web-based page views). What's New What's New in 8.1 Administration Allow Fields to be disabled on the Form definition Program Management Project Critical Path is calculated and highlighted in the Project tree Project Critical Path constraint dates enforced in project scheduling Project Template tree supports filtered searches Enhanced calculation of Start/End Dates based on duration Support for scheduling of FF SS FS SF Precedence types, lead and lag activity Multiple Assignees for Project Activities Activity Completion Dialog supported as standard Aras Innovator Form to facilitate customization Activity and Activity Assignment completion support customer defined rules. Update Project and Schedule Project methods support customer defined rules on the scope of an individual project Automatic invocation of Scheduling and Project update on different events, customizable on the scope of an individual project Product Engineering Added new action to recalculate rollup of Part Goals for all Parts in the database Values for part cost can use decimal format that can be customized and the calculations will dynamically adjust to the new format 1

8 Just Ask Innovator What's New in 8.0 Configurable Grid Ability to copy a row from within an instance of a configurable grid and paste it into the same instance. Searching The user is now able to abort a search request that is in the process of execution using the new Stop Search button in the search toolbar. Ability to hide columns from the search grid on an individual basis. Preferences User Preferences are now stored as an Item Type in the database and not as an XML file on the client. Allowing preferences to be shared over separate Client Machines. Saves User Query Preference on an individual user basis for each Item Type. Each user has the ability to re-set their preferences to the default preference at any time. Default preferences can be modified by the Aras Innovator Administrator. Views Ability to designate form view specifically based on adding an item. Ability to set priority for Item Views. Ability to assign Item Views by Identities. ItemTypes ItemType Definition Report ItemType Permissions Report Added an Active Session view. Ability to set the owned_by_id, managed_by_id, and classification properties to required. Ability to designate Item Type singular and plural labels in addition to name. Structure Browser Expand All/Collapse All now included to enable users to expand the entire structure or to collapse the structure to the root node. Classification Ability to define and build a specific form layout for each node within an Item Type's classification structure. Ability to view classification structure from read-only form. The tree that is displayed when selecting a classification for an Item Type will include an icon of the Item Type that the classification tree represents. Configuration Management Ability to filter for the latest released version of a versionable Item. Ability to filter based on effectivity of versionable Item. Life Cycle support for effectivity. Workflow 2

9 Innovator Administration Improved workflow looping capabilities. Dynamic Activity assignment. Logoff Notification of unsaved Items and open Windows upon system exit. User Management Managing Users Access within Innovator is managed by defining Logon Users and Identities. A Logon User is a unique individual that has login rights within the Innovator application. Each Logon User belongs to a unique User Identity defined by an alias assignment. User Identities are then assigned access rights, and can be grouped into Group Identities. A Group Identity may be composed of Individual Identities or other Group Identities, and each group identity may have its own set of access rights. The idea behind these Identities is to define a membership structure for controlling and managing access rights. Let's look at the figure below for a picture of a sample structure. Tip: Best Practice! As a best practice, we recommend a process of setting up User Identities similar to building a company organization chart. Here is a list of steps to make this process easier. 1. Create identities for the top level department headings, for example: Engineering, Sales, and Marketing. 2. For each top level heading, create subordinate departments. For example, Engineering might have: Development, Support, and QA. Support, in turn, 3

10 Just Ask Innovator might further consist of: Customer Support, Documentation, and Training. Make sure you add the subordinate departments as members to their respective group identities. 3. Once the departmental structure is in place, create individual user identities and add them to their respective departments. In Innovator, one user identity can belong to more than one group. To understand the process of creating users and assigning them to groups, follow the links below: Logon Users Grouping Identities Logon Users In order to access Innovator, each user is typically asked to log in through the Innovator authentication screen which requests a user name and password. The user name or login name and password define a Logon User. In Innovator, when a Logon user is created, the user is automatically assigned an associated Identity. The link between the Logon User and an Innovator Identity is called an Alias. Here is how this concept works in Innovator. First, the administrator must create a Logon User: 4

11 Innovator Administration 1. From TOC, Administration, select Users. 2. You can hit the search icon to see what users are already in the system. 3. Hit the New Item button, or from the main menu select File, New, or right mouse click on Users and select New User... from the popup menu. 5

12 Just Ask Innovator The following dialog is displayed: 4. Fill in the properties on the dialog as described: a. Login Name - the login user name which the user will enter in the authentication screen to access Innovator b. Password - the password the user will enter in the authentication screen to access Innovator c. Confirm Password - retype the password to confirm it Warning! Login Name and Password are case sensitive! d. Logon Enabled - check this box if the user has logon privileges. Leaving this box blank will disallow the user access to Innovator through the authentication screen. 5. The following dialog properties are optional, and can contain values on asneeded basis: a. First Name - The first name of the user b. Last Name - The last name of the user c. Company Name - The user's company name d. - the user's address. This information is necessary if the users are to receive notification of specific activities and action items assigned to them and forwarded to their In Baskets. e. Telephone - the user's telephone number f. Mail Stop - the user's mail stop g. Fax - the user's fax number h. Home Phone - the user's home phone number i. Cell - the user's cell phone number j. Pager - the user's pager number k. Employee # - the user's employee number. This information is often used by companies to run metrics on employee activity. l. Manager - the identity of the user's manager. This information is often used for delegation purposes or even for permissions structures. m. Working Directory - 6

13 Innovator Administration n. Starting Page - o. Default Vault - 6. After all the desired properties have values, hit the Save, Unlock, and Close button to exit the dialog. Notice the sample user that was created in the example above. 7. From TOC, open Administration, Identities and search to display all Identities. 8. You should see that an Identity was created automatically for the above user, and this Identity is an Alias (notice that the IsAlias property is checked, or set to True). Thus for each Logon User an Identity is automatically created by Innovator. Now this Identity can be grouped with others to create group Identities. Then, group identities can be assigned specific permissions. Alias Tab Another way to see the identities associated with a specific Logon User is to look at the list under the Alias Tab in the User form. 7

14 Just Ask Innovator 1. Open the user form from TOC, Administration, Users. Let's open the user we created previously. 2. Notice the Hide Tabs button in the main tool bar of the dialog. If you deselect this button, you will see the tabbed properties of this user: 3. As shown above, there is only one tab - Aliases. This tab lists all the Innovator Identities that are aliased to (or associated with) this particular Logon User. You can also manually add or delete entries from this list. Creating and Grouping Identities Identities, particularly group identities, serve many purposes in Innovator. Here are some examples of these uses and purposes: 8

15 Innovator Administration define and control user/group security, or the permissions allowed for the particular group determine what actions may be performed on an Item, such as add, update, and/or delete determine activity assignments, such as an approval process in a workflow step Multi-tiered hierarchy access can be created through the use of Group Identities. All members of an Identity inherit the access privileges of the Identity. Members are assigned through the Member tab in the Identity ItemType. A user may belong to more than one group identity, in which case the user's access or permissions would be cumulative. The table below provides a list of typical Identities. All new Users are automatically added to World. Here is how to create a new Identity and add other identities as its members: 1. From TOC, Administration, select Identities. 9

16 Just Ask Innovator 2. Hit the New Item button to display the Identity form: 3. Fill out the following properties: a. Name - the name of the identity. This is a required value. b. Description - the description of the identity, typically for identification purposes. c. Is Alias - indicates if this identity corresponds to a specific Logon User. Group identities are not aliases. d. Member tab - lists all members of this group identity. 4. To add members to the identity, two choices are available - to add existing identities, or to create new identities as they are being added. Each option has its advantages. If you are creating a new structure, as described in Managing Users, then creating new identities on the spot is a great idea. To add new identities, use the Create Related option from the Actions drop down box. To add existing members, use the Pick Related option from the Actions drop down box. a. Click on the New Item icon next to the Action drop down box. b. If creating a new identity, just type in the name of the new identity. If adding an existent identity, a search dialog will open. Select the identity or identities to add as members, and hit the green check mark. 5. Save, Unlock and Close the new Identity. Special Identities 10

17 Innovator Administration There is number of special identities in Innovator which are reserved for specific purposes. Below is a table of these identities. Identity Name Description Users who have access to system administrative aspects and items in Innovator. Usually the members Administrators of this identity have the most extensive access and permissions. Customers who may need limited access to the All Customers Innovator application All company employees. Once the company All Employees structure is in place, the top departments Identities should be added as members to this Identity All Suppliers Suppliers who need limited access to the application Members of this Identity have control over various Change aspects of the workflow of PRs, ECRs, and ECNs in Specialist I the Product Engineering Solution Change Specialist II Change Specialist III CM Component Engineering CRB Creator Manager Owner Process Planner Admin QP Admin Quality Members of this Identity have control over some aspects of the workflow of the ECNs in the Product Engineering Solution Members of this Identity have control over the auditing actions in the workflow of the ECNs in the Product Engineering Solution Configuration Management group, includes the Change Specialist I, II, and III identities Members of this identity have control over and access to Product Engineering items, such as Parts, Vendors, Manufacturers, Manufacturer Parts, etc. Change Review Board - members of this Identity have control over different aspects of the workflow of the ECNs The identity that created the item Members of this identity have access to various Project Management items, such as the Project itself and its components - activities and WBS elements. This identity is used by the Product Engineering items to specify an Assigned Creator, or the identity responsible for the technical content and review of the item -todo???? Members of this identity have full access to various Quality Planning Items, such as DFMEAs, Process Planner, Quality Planning Library, etc. Members of this identity have specific limited access 11

18 Just Ask Innovator Planning World to various Quality Planning items, such as DFMEAs, Process Planner, Quality Planning Library, etc. All users are automatically added to the World identity Permissions About Permissions Just like almost everything else in Innovator, Permissions is an Item, and as such has certain properties. These properties basically hold the name of the identity and the rights and privileges assigned to the Identity, such as the ability to get or view, edit, delete, etc. For example, below is a permissions item called Life Cycle Map. You can see that it sets certain rights for 3 different identities. The World identity, for example, only has the Get or "view" access. These rights or privileges are called Get, Update, Delete, Can change access, and Can Add. We will explore these further in Creating a Permission. Next, to grant an Item Type a desired permission, you associate the ItemType with a Permissions Item through the Permissions tab on the ItemType form. Below is a view of the Life Cycle Map ItemType, with its Permissions tab exposed: 12

19 Innovator Administration Notice that the permissions assigned to this item are the ones we examined above. Another tab that is of interest, is the Can Add tab, which is where the permission to add or create the item is set for specific identities. And finally, the last tab that we need is the TOC Access tab, which defines where on the TOC the item definition will appear, and which identities will have the permission to see it there. Follow the links below to explore all of these: Creating a Permission Can Add Permission TOC Access Permission Creating a Permission You can create Permissions and then assign them to ItemTypes, or you can create Permission right from the Permissions tab in the ItemType. To create a Permission: 1. From TOC, Administration, select Permissions. 13

20 Just Ask Innovator 2. Click the New Item icon in the main toolbar. The Permission dialog window is displayed. 3. Fill out the name of the permission. Usually the name will be descriptive either of the type of the permission that is being created, or of the items to which the permission will be applied. 4. The next step is to fill out the access rights. The access settings are described in the table below. Notice that the Can Add Permission as well as the TOC Access permission are not available within the Permission item. These two are set from the ItemType directly. Refer to Can Add and TOC Access respectively to learn how to set these permissions. Privileges Get Update Delete Can Change Access TOC Access Definition Enables user to retrieve/view item Enables user to edit existing item Enables user to delete item Enables user to change access settings for a created instance of the item Enables the user to have access to the item through the TOC (table of contents) 14

21 Innovator Administration Can Add Enables user to create instances of the item 5. To enter a value for access: a. Notice the drop down box next to the Actions field. You can select either the Pick Related or the Create Related option. The Pick Related option will bring you to the Identity search dialog. The Create Related will allow you to create a new identity on the spot. For this example, select the Pick Related option. b. Hit the New Item icon next to the drop down box. An Identity search dialog is displayed. Select the Identity that will be given access rights in this Permission and hit the green check box icon at the top. c. The selected Identity will get its own line in the Permissions item. Select the privileges that you wish this identity to have by checking the boxes of 15

22 Just Ask Innovator the corresponding privileges. d. If you selected Create Related from the drop down box, a new empty line will be created for you. You can type in the name of a new identity, that you will be creating on a fly, and add the privileges that you want this new 16

23 Innovator Administration identity to have. e. Save, Unlock, and Close the Permission. You can set a permission to give different privileges to many different identities. Don't forget that identities can be groups and individuals, and if an individual identity is contained in more than one group identity, its privileges are cumulative. To connect a permission to an ItemType: 1. From TOC, Administration, select ItemTypes and find the ItemType to which you want to assign Permissions. 2. Open the ItemType for edit, and select the Permissions tab. 3. If you have already created a permission, then select Pick Related from the drop down list, and hit the New Item icon. 4. A selection dialog is displayed, showing all available permissions. Search and find the one that you want to assign to this ItemType. Select it, and hit the green check mark button. 5. If you have not yet created a permission, you can create one on the fly, by choosing Create Related from the drop down box on the tool bar of the Permissions tab. You will be guided through the same steps outlined earlier, except that the permission will already be assigned to the ItemType. 17

24 Just Ask Innovator 6. Save, Unlock and Close the ItemType. Can Add Permission The Can Add permission allows the specific Identity to create or add instances of the ItemType. Just like the TOC Access permission, this permission is added directly to the ItemType. Without it, no one can create or add instances. To set the Can Add Permission: 1. From TOC, Administration, ItemTypes, search for an ItemType that you want to edit. In this example, we will use one called Ellen Test. Open the ItemType for edit, and select it's Can Add tab. 2. Notice the drop down list next to the Actions. If you select Pick Related, you will be picking an identity to which you will assign the privilege of adding instances of the Item Type. If you select Create Related you can create an identity on the fly to which you will give the access rights to creating instances. So, select Pick Related, and hit the New Item icon next to the drop down list. An Identity search dialog is immediately displayed. Select the Identity to which you want to grant the Can Add permission, and hit the green check mark icon. 3. A new line is created under the Can Add tab, which contains the name of the Identity that we just picked. In the above example, we picked the World identity, which means everyone. To grant the permission for this identity, you need to check the box in the Can Add column. If you uncheck the box, no permissions will be granted to the specified Identity. 4. Save, Unlock, and Close the ItemType. TOC Access Permission 18

25 Innovator Administration Table of Contents (TOC) Access controls the access of ItemTypes in the main Tree View. The figure below shows a new ItemType created and displayed in the TOC. The Categories are the folders, or the tree nodes in the TOC. The TOC access tab for each ItemType defines the category, or the tree node under which the ItemType will appear for each Identity. Only users who are members of identities that have been specifically given TOC Access will see the node in the Tree View. Users must be given TOC Access to an ItemType to be able to access the ItemType in any way. TOC Access also controls the visibility of Categories in the Tree View. When the user does not have access to any ItemTypes under a category (such as Administration), the Category will not appear. When the user is given TOC Access, but no category is specified, the ItemType will appear at the top of the Tree. To grant TOC Access: 1. From TOC, Administration, ItemTypes, select the ItemType which you want to exposed on the TOC, and open it for edit. In this example, we will use Ellen's Test. 19

26 Just Ask Innovator 2. Open the ItemType's form to the TOC Access tab: 3. Notice the drop down box next to the Actions field. You can select either the Pick Related or the Create Related option. Let's look at the Pick Related first. Select Pick Related and hit the New Item icon next to the drop down box. A search dialog with a list of Identities is immediately displayed. Select the Identity that you wish to allow access to this ItemType. Remember that the only permission this grants is to access the ItemType in the TOC. So, select the most inclusive Identity. Hit the green check mark button to complete the selection. 4. Select the Category cell, and hit the drop down arrow to select the category where the ItemType will appear on the TOC for the selected Identity. 5. If you select Create Related and hit the New Item icon, a new empty line will be created for you. Enter the name of a new Identity you would like to create and enter the Category where the ItemType will appear in the TOC for that Identity. 6. Save, Unlock, and Close the ItemType. Data Types About Data Types When configuring properties for an ItemType, one of the columns is Data Type. Data Type is an attribute of every property of every Item in Innovator. The list of data types in the drop down list of this field are listed below. We will explore each one in detail. Data Type Description 20

27 Innovator Administration Boolean Color Color List allows an answer of true or false, typically used with a check box on a form. a hex color value, automatically associated with a color widget for form selection. to use this property, you must already have a list of colors to be used as a data source. To create a list of colors see Creating a List. If you know how to create a list, and don't know the hex numbers to use for colors, you may refer to this web site, recommended by Microsoft. If you specify the Color List as the data type, you must provide a data source. Then, on the form, the list is represented with a drop down box, like any other list: Date value is date, selectable from the calendar widget. To have the date appear in a particular format on the form, you must specify a pattern in the Pattern field for the property. The available patterns are: 21

28 Just Ask Innovator Decimal Federated Filter List Foreign Float Formatted Text Image Integer Item List MD5 Sequence String Text Variable See Foreign Data Type a predetermined set of values, usually displayed in a drop down box on a form. For more information, please see Creating a List. a continuous series of numbers, incremented and formatted as specified in the Sequence properties. See Sequences for more information. Creating a List A list is a data type which holds a series of similar values, say colors or manufacturer names. When a list is used as a data type of a property for an ItemType, by default it appears as a drop down box on the form of that item. Here is an example of a color list used in a simple ItemType. Below is a view of the ItemType properties definition: 22

29 Innovator Administration Notice that the data type is set to Color List, and the Data Source is pointing to the Shades of Red list shown below. When you put the Colors property on the item's form, it then looks as follows: To create a list: 23

30 Just Ask Innovator 1. From TOC, Administration, Lists, select the New Item icon. The new list form will be displayed. 2. Enter the Name of the list and the Description. 24

31 Innovator Administration 3. Click the New Item icon in the list toolbar, next to the Actions box. This creates a new line in the list members grid: 4. Enter the Label, Value, and Sort Order of the entry. If you are doing a color list, you may want to refer to web site for the hex numbers of colors. Remember that these entries will represent possible property values for a specific ItemType. Label, Value, and Sort Order control how the drop down box looks on the form. Here is an example: a. Labels - displayed in a drop down box, on the form of the item that uses this list as a property for the user to select. b. Values - the actual values that the property will have assigned to it, once selected by the user. c. Sort Order - the order in which these entries will appear in the drop down box (top to bottom). 5. Save, Unlock, and Close the list. 25

32 Just Ask Innovator Foreign Data Type A Foreign Data type is used to represent a property belonging to Item1 as a property of Item2. In the example below, we will create a new ItemType definition, called TestPart, and give it two properties - the first will be of type Item and will reference a Document ItemType; the second will reference a property of the Document ItemType, called name, which will then become a Foreign property of the TestPart ItemType. To create a Foreign Data Type: 1. From TOC, Administration, select ItemTypes and create a new ItemType. You should see a form appear as below: 2. Let's enter some property values as you see above: a. Name - TestPart b. Label - TestParts c. Auto Search - checked d. TOC Access -, or any other Category and access of your choice (see TOC Access) e. Can Add - allow the World identity to add (see Can Add) f. Permissions - allow the World identity to get, update, delete, and change access (see Permissions) 26

33 Innovator Administration g. Add a property called SpecDocument, make it of Data Type Item, and Data Source should be set to Document. (Hit F2 from Data Source to get the Item search and select dialog.) h. Add another property, called SpecID, make it of Data Type Foreign. When you select the Data Source column, you will see a Foreign property selection dialog, listing all the Item type properties of this new ItemType. (You can only select a property of an Item that is already declared as a property). Select specdocument, since this is the Item whose property we want to reach, and open the list of its properties, by selecting the plus icon to its left. The list of properties is shown: 27

34 Just Ask Innovator Select the name property by double clicking it. The dialog will close, but it will not display the property name anywhere. 3. Save the ItemType definition. You should see the name property appear in the Foreign Property column of the Spec ID property row. Once you have created a Foreign property for your ItemType, let's see how it appears on the form. Most likely you would not want it to appear on the form at all, but if you do, it will not be accessible by the user. Here is how the TestPart instance would look: Once you select the SpecDocument, and save the item, then the Spec ID (the Foreign Property) is automatically filled in, and is read only. Configuring Sequences Sequences are used for automatic numbering of PRs, ECRs, and ECNs, or any other chosen item in Innovator. Sequential numbering is an option for Parts and Documents. This section shows how to configure the appearance of a sequence to comply with your company's requirements. To see the pre-defined sequences: 1. From TOC, select Administration, then Sequences. 2. Search as usual, and you should see the following available sequences: Document, Part, ECN, ECR, and PR. Let's use the ECN sequence for an example. To configure a sequence: 1. Open the ECN sequence for Edit 28

35 Innovator Administration 2. You should see the Sequence form like this: 3. Here is a list of the properties and their contribution to the sequence configuration: a. Name - the name of the sequence item. b. Prefix - the alpha-numeric prefix of the generated number. For example, by default, all ECNs will have an ECN number: ECN-10000x. c. Suffix - similar to Prefix, except added to the end of the number. For example, if you were to specify a suffix of -GTX, the ECN number would look like: ECN GTX. d. Pad With - specify the character to fill in the required number of spaces e. Pad To - the total number of characters for the number, excluding the prefix and the suffix f. Step - the increment by which the number differs from the previous and next. Here is a couple of examples to show how these properties work to together to create a sequence configuration. 29

36 Just Ask Innovator Example 1: If the above values are entered, then the ECN numbers would be as follows: ECN-xxxx1003, ECN-xxxx1004, ECN-xxxx1005, etc. Example 2: If the above values are entered, then the ECN numbers would be as follows: ECN xpj, ECN xpj, ECN xpj, etc. ItemTypes 30

37 Innovator Administration About ItemTypes An ItemType is a business object that is managed by Innovator. It is the template, or the definition for the items that are created from it. In Object Oriented programming terms, the ItemType is similar to the class definition, and the items that are created from it are the class instances. Almost everything in Innovator is defined through an ItemType. ItemTypes define properties, forms or views available for this item, lifecycle, workflows associated with the item, permissions, relationships, server and client methods and events to run on the item, and much more. The ItemType is designed to hold as little information as just the name, or as much complexity as required for the most involved business objects. When creating an ItemType, you will see a set of header properties, and a set of tabs. To learn about the Header properties, start at Creating an Item Type. Then, continue through the description of each of the tabs: Properties RelationshipTypes Views Server Events Actions Workflows TOC Access TOC View Client Events Can Add Permissions Reports Creating an ItemType 31

38 Just Ask Innovator Creating an ItemType consists of filling out its header properties and its tabbed properties. Some of the properties may result in complex structures or concepts. For those properties you will find links to the discussion of the underlying concepts. To create an ItemType: 1. From TOC, Administration, select ItemTypes. 2. Click on the New Item icon to create a new ItemType. The ItemType form will be displayed as follows: 3. Let's look at the header properties first. Here is a list of the header properties and their explanations: a. Name - the name of the ItemType b. Label - the label of the ItemType which will appear on the TOC and serve as a general reference to the ItemType c. Class Structure - click on the button if you wish to design a class structure for this item. The Class Structure dialog is displayed: 32

39 Innovator Administration Right-clicking on any item in the structure, brings up a pop-up menu with the choices shown above. You can create subclasses as many levels deep as required. Then, back on the ItemType form, you can create class specific properties for each subclass, as well as designate different forms for each subclass. To gain more information on how these structures work, please refer to Class Structure. d. Small Icon - Click on the link. You will be taken to a directory of 16x16 icons. If not, please navigate to this directory as shown below. Then, select the icon of your choice and hit the green check button to complete your selection. Notice that the link is replaced by the icon that you chose. The small icon will appear next to the ItemType label in the TOC. 33

40 Just Ask Innovator e. Large Icon - Click on the link. You will be taken to a directory of 32x32 icons. If not, please navigate to this directory as shown below. Select the icon of your choice, and click on the green check button to complete your selection. Notice that the link is replaced by the icon that you chose. The large icon will 34

41 Innovator Administration appear on the ItemType form used to create instances of the ItemType. f. Default Life Cycle - every item in Innovator may have an associated life cycle. To understand how to create life cycles, what they mean, and what options are available, please refer to Life Cycles (todo??? place link to life cycles here). The default life cycle which is automatically assigned to every new ItemType consists of just one state - Released (shown below). If you have created a life cycle that you wish to assign to this ItemType click on the select button next to the Default LIfe Cycle field. A search dialog of all Life Cycle Maps will be displayed. 35

42 Just Ask Innovator Select the Life Cycle that you want to assign to this ItemType, then click the green check button to complete the selection. g. Default Structure View - Defines whether the item form will display tabs or not. For each relationship described in the ItemType, a tab is displayed on the item form. For example, let's look at the ItemType definition for Parts: Notice that there are 9 tabs defined, with the labels shown in the center column. 36

43 Innovator Administration If we were to create a new Part, the following form is displayed: Notice that the described tabs appear on the New Part form. So, to allow the tabs to be displayed on the form, select Tab View for the Default Structure View property in the ItemType definition. If you wish to hide the tabs, leave the Default Structure View blank. The Default Structure View controls the tab setting for all instances of this item type, however, there is also a way to control the structure view on an individual basis for each form, simply by selecting the Hide Tabs button directly on the form. If the button is pressed when the form appears, and you wish to see the tabs, simply deselect the button. Similarly, if you do not wish to see the tabs and they appear on the form, simply select the button. h. Versioning - controls the different possible settings of version control of the item instances created from the ItemType definition. i.versionable - when checked, this setting indicates that each time the item is edited a new generation of the item is created. All generations of the item are stored in the database, and can be referenced as necessary. The item's Revision and Generation are also shown in the main list view: 37

44 Just Ask Innovator Notice that for each selected item in the list, the last group of 3 properties shows the Major Rev and the Generation. ii.manual Versioning - when checked this setting indicates that the version increment will take place manually, when initiated by the user. Each version, however, will be saved in the database. iii.revisions - an Item that lists the Revision sequence. The default is each letter of the alphabet in order. To create a different sequence for revisions, see Revisions. i. Search - defines parameters which govern the appearance of the list page when the Item is selected in the main tree view, or TOC. i. Auto Search - a boolean to indicate if the search should be invoked when the user clicks on the defined ItemType in the TOC. For example, if you go to TOC, Administration, Charts, you will see that the Charts list will automatically populate. In the Charts ItemType definition, the Auto Search option is set to true. ii. Default Page Size - if you selected to do Auto Search, you can specify the default page size, which means how many items will appear on a page. Typically this number is set to 25. If left blank, the page size equals the Max Records field. iii. Max Records - Specify the maximum number of records for the search; if there are numerous instances, limiting the search each time this page is opened, improves performance. j. Implementation Type - specifies which type of item is being defined, Single Item or Poly Item. If Poly Item is specified, and the ItemType is saved, it cannot revert back to the Single Item. i. Single Item - the typical implementation where the ItemType represents a definition of a class of items. The Single Item is the Implementation Type assumed in this section. ii. Poly Item - the wrapper item which really points to any number of specified Single Items. For example, in Project Management there is a Poly Item called the Deliverable which can be any number of things, such as a Document, an ECN, a Part, a DFMEA, etc., the idea being that it is 38

45 Innovator Administration the item being delivered as a result of a scheduled activity. Please refer to Poly Items for more information. k. Save History - when the versioning option is turned on, Save History records each lock/edit/save/unlock action, be it the creation of a new instance, an update, a promotion to a new life cycle state, or any other change. Below is a History dialog of an item; it lists the time of the change, the identity who made the change, the action that was taken, as well as the life cycle state of the item, the major revision, and the generation. The dialog below is available from the View -> History menu on the main menu of the item. l. Unlock on Logout - a Boolean to indicate if the item is to be unlocked when the user that locked it logs out. m. Dependent - a Boolean to indicate that this item depends on another Item, and is meaningless without the parent item. For example, documentation for a particular part is meaningless if the part is deleted. So, if the item is PartDocumentation, it would probably be dependent on the Part n. Use Src Access - applies to Relationship Item Types, when checked this means that the permissions to the related items will be the same as on the parent or source item. o. Is Relationship - a Boolean to indicate if this ItemType is a relationship. See Relationships for further instructions on creating relationships. p. Allow Private Permissions - a Boolean to indicate if the access to a single item instance can be changed by an identity in the current set of permissions. For example, if an identity (such as an auditor) needs to be added to the permissions set for a particular Project instance. 4. The next step is to enter the information for the different tabs in the Item Type. Below is a list of these tabs and links to the pages which describe each one. a. Properties - to enter new properties for an ItemType, see Entering ItemType Properties. b. Relationship Types - to define relationships for an ItemType, see About Relationships. c. Views - d. Server Events - this tab holds a list of server side methods that could be triggered by a number of different events, such as lock and unlock. The discussion of these methods is beyond the scope of this manual. To write these methods, one must have a solid knowledge of programming as taught in the Aras Advanced Programming Training. The properties that can be set for each 39

46 Just Ask Innovator method, such as the RunAs User, are also fully explained and taught in this course. e. Actions - f. Workflows - this tab lists all the workflows associated with this item, whether the workflow is started programmatically, or is a subflow of another workflow, or is the default workflow started automatically on instance creation, it must be listed here. To learn more about workflows, how they work and how to create them, please see Workflows. g. TOC Access - the information under this tab describes where the new Item will appear on the TOC and which identities will be able to see it and access it. See TOC Access Permission for more information. h. TOC View - the information under this tab may alter what the user sees when they select an Item from the TOC. These settings are identity based, so a different view may be created for different users. See TOC View for more information. i. Client Events - this tab holds a list of client side methods that are triggered with 3 different events: OnBeforeNew, OnNew, and OnAfterNew. All of these events have to do with instance creation. So, for example, when a new instance is created, you might want to run a method to populate certain properties, prior to the user seeing the item form for the first time. The other properties of this tab, such as the RunAs User and Password are explained fully in the Aras Advanced Programming Training. We strongly suggest that you take this class prior to writing methods or designing complex customizations. j. Can Add - this tab contains a list of identities which can add the new instances of this item type. See Can Add for more informations. k. Permissions - this tab contains the permissions for this item, i.e. which identity can see the items, edit them, and delete them. See Permissions for more details. l. Reports - m. Polysources - this tab is used for the creation of Poly Items, to specify the source ItemTypes which are combined to form this PolyItem. See Creating a Poly Item ItemType for more information. Class Structure Each ItemType can contain a class structure of subclasses, many levels deep, where each subclass may have its own class specific properties and forms. Each subclass inherits its parents class properties, and also may have its own. One of the purposes of classification is For these examples, we will be working with an ItemType called Geometric Shape. Let's first examine how to create a class structure. 40

47 Innovator Administration To create a class structure: 1. From the ItemType Form click on the Class Structure button to bring up the Class Structure dialog: Notice that the parent class, the one defined in the ItemType is automatically displayed in the dialog. Right-clicking on any item in the dialog brings up a pop-up menu, enabling the user to add subclasses. 2. Right-click on the GeometricShape Item and choose to add subclass. Name the new subclass Square. Your structure should look like this now: 3. Add some more subclasses to this structure, such as a Rectangle, a subclass of Square, and a Circle, a subclass of Geometric Shape. Your 41

48 Just Ask Innovator class structure should now look like this: 4. Click the green check icon to save this class structure. Now that we have a class structure, we can define class specific properties. Remember, each subclass will inherit all the properties of all its parent classes. For example, all we need to define a square, is the length of one side. However, to define a rectangle you need the lengths of two sides. The rectangle will already inherit one property of a side length, so all you need to define for the rectangle is another side. Let's look at how to define properties and how they are inherited. To create class specific properties: 1. On the ItemType form, click on the Properties tab, and search for all not Hidden properties (put a 0 in the Hidden search column). 2. Add the following properties, paying special attention to the Class Path column. When you click inside the Class Path column cell, a selection dialog of the class structure is displayed, similar to the ones shown above. Select the class to which the property belongs and click the green check 42

49 Innovator Administration button. a. Color - add to the GeometricShape parent class b. Radius - add to teh Circle subclass c. Side Length - add to the Square subclass d. Side 2 Length - add to the Rectangle subclass 3. Make sure you have the TOC Access, Permissions, and Can Add set as desired. (see Permissions) 4. Save, Unlock, and Exit from the ItemType form. 5. From TOC, select Administration, Forms, and search for the GeometricShape form. 6. Place Classification and Color on the form, like this: 43

50 Just Ask Innovator 7. Save, Unlock, and Exit from the Form. 8. From TOC, find the GeometricShape item, and create a new instance. The form should look something like this: Notice the Parameters tab at the bottom. When a subclass is chosen that has class specific properties, those properties are listed under that tab. 44

51 Innovator Administration 9. Click in the Classification property and select the Circle subclass. Immediately the radius property is listed under the parameters tab. 10. Notice that the Color property is inherited by all subclasses, because it was defined at the GeometricShape parent level. Views Type topic text here. TOC View Information in this tab defines what the user sees when he selects an Item from the TOC. For example, when we select TOC, Design, Parts we see what is called a basic Item Grid. This view is also the default view. 45

52 Just Ask Innovator However, if you select TOC, Dashboards, Design To Goal, you will see dashboard metrics, not the item grid. This is so, because in the ItemType definition of the Design To Goal dashboard, the TOC View is defined as a web page, as follows: 46

53 Innovator Administration To create you own TOC View, fill in the following properties: 1. Name - the identity for whom this TOC View applies; different identities can have different views 2. Start Page - the actual http path to the designated web page 3. Parameters - any inputs that are necessary or expected by the web page Entering ItemType Properties The Properties tab in ItemTypes contains all the properties of the item, including system properties. From ItemType form, click on the Properties tab, and you should see something like: 47

54 Just Ask Innovator When you create a new property, a new line in the properties grid is created, which then needs to be populated by user values. To create a new property: 1. Open the ItemType definition for edit. 2. Click on the Properties tab. 48

55 Innovator Administration 3. Click on the New Item icon, next to the actions drop down. Scroll down the properties list, and you will see a new row added at the end: 4. Fill out the values for each column as required. For an explanation of what each column specifies, see the table below. The following is a description of all the columns in the properties grid. Column Description Name Unique, internal name of the property Label The name label for the property displayed on item forms and grids Data Type Determines the data type of the property - such as String, List, etc. Data Source Length Precision Scale Required If the property data type is a List, a Sequence, an Item or some other data type that requires a source of information to receive its data, then the data source is specified here. The type of data source depends on the data type. The maximum number of characters for String data type. For properties of Data Type = Decimal, Precision sets the total number of digits both left and right of the decimal point. When Data Type = Float Precision sets the number of digits to the right of the decimal point, including the decimal point itself. For example, for a Decimal property A precision is set to 5. Valid values for A could be: 12345, , , etc. For a Float property B, precision is set to 3. Valid values for B are: xxxx.12, xxxx.1, xxxx.0. Sets the number of digits to the right of the decimal point in the Data Type = Decimal. For example, for a Decimal property A whose precision is set to 5, and scale is set to 2, valid value would be: , 12.45, Boolean. When checked, it means that the value of the property cannot be 49

56 Just Ask Innovator Unique Indexed Hidden null. For properties of Data Type Text, there is currently a special work around for setting and resetting the value of Required. See Setting Required for Text. If true, the property value must be unique among all item instances of this ItemType If true, it means that the database tables will be indexed on this property in order to increase the performance of frequent searches on this particular property. If true, this property will not be displayed in any of the property grids for the items. For example, one of these grids is displayed when the ItemType is selected from the TOC. Hidden2 Above you can see the 4 properties which are not hidden. The rest, such as the system properties, do not appear on the grid. If true, this property will not be displayed on the relationship grid. For example, look at the Part ItemType. Notice that the only properties which are NOT set to true for Hidden2 (put a 0 in the search criteria of Hidden2 and search) are: When the Part instance is created, and the BOM Tab is exposed, notice that it is only these properties (plus some BOM relationship properties, such as Sequence, Quantity, and Reference Designator) which are visible: Alignment Determines the alignment of the values within the grid cell. Possible values are Left, Right, or Center. Left is the default. 50

57 Innovator Administration Width Determines the width of the column in the property grids (in pixels). In the example below, the Color Width was set to 30, while the rest are 100. Sort Order Integer values that controls the relative position of columns in search grid display with lower values left to right. For example, the GeometricShape properties Color, Side Length, Side 2 Length, and Radius are set as follows: which results in the main item grid displayed as: Keyed Name Order The keyed name is the name that will be used in system messages to refer to the Item, usually the label or name of the item. If no keyed name for an ItemType is specified, a unique, internal name will be used. You may concatenate as many property values as necessary to identify the item in a meaningful way. The properties used in the Keyed Name must have an 51

58 Just Ask Innovator Order By order number assigned to them. For example, say you have an item Eployee with properties Fristname and Lastname. Keyed Name Order value of 1 in the Firstname field and 2 in the Lastname field would generate a keyed name in the form John Jones. Controls the order (top to bottom) of the items displayed in the main item grid, either after a manual or an automatic search. Whichever property has the lowest value of Order by, is the first one to control the order. For example, if you want to order the employees by last name and then by first name, Lastname would have a value of 1 in the Order By property, and Firstname would have a value of 2. Here is an example of an ItemType called Employees, notice that each property has a value for Order By. Here is an example of several employees sorted according to the attribute set above: Default Value Default Search Notice that the Last Name is first criteria, then, within the all the members of the same last name, Innovator orders by the first name (Order By = 20). Then, within the members of the same last name and first name, Innovator orders by SS Number. The default value of a property to be used if no value is given. Blank represents a Null value. Sometimes, it's a good idea to have a default value for the required properties. When the user goes to the main item page, they usually perform a search, or a search is automatically performed for them (if the Auto Search property is checked). The value of Default Search property is entered as a search criteria, displayed in the blue line above the grid. So, for example, if in the GeometricShape, we enter *cir* in the Default Search column of the Name property, then, when the main GeometricShape page is accessed and the search is performed, the result is as shown below. Notice that the 52

59 Innovator Administration Default Search value appears in the blue line of the specified property. Pattern This applies only to properties of type Date, String, or Filtered List. If data type = Date, then the pattern is needed only for display on the client side. The following is a table of patterns which can be used for the Date property. Foreign Property If the property is of type String, then the pattern will follow the basic regular expression syntax. For more information on regular expressions see: These patterns are used for data validation on the server side, and should be used for fields such as a phone number, an address, or perhaps a social security number. For example, for a phone number, you could use the following pattern: \d{3}- \d{3}-\d{4}. If the property if of type Filtered List, then Pattern is the pointer to a property which defines the filter. For more information, please see Filtered List. (todo??? - once the Filtered lists are written this should be a link) This field basically echoes a property value of a property defined for a different Item. It is required that another property, say property A, of type Item is defined. Then, the Foreign Property, can reference any property of the item defined by property A. This field is also populated automatically when the ItemType definition is saved. For example, say you wanted to create an ItemType definition for a Part. You want to associate the engineering specification with each instance of Part. So, for the Part ItemType definition, you create a property, called Specification Document which is of type Item, and whose Data Source would be Document. Then, you can create another property, called Spec ID, of type Foreign, whose Data Source would point to the Name property of Document. Once you save the ItemType definition for Part, you should see name appear in the Foreign Property field. For more examples and 53

60 Just Ask Innovator Item Behavior Class Path definitions of how this works, see Foreign Data Type. For properties where the data type = Item, and the target item specified by the property is versionable; Item Behavior specifies Fixed or Float. Fixed means that this property points to a specific generation of target item, even if newer ones are created. Float means that this property points to the latest generation of the target item. If the Item has a class structure, you can specify which subclass this property belongs to. All subclasses below the chosen subclass will inherit this property as well. If no subclass is specified, then it is assumed that the property belongs to the parent ItemType. For more information refer to Class Structure. To insert the class path for the property, simply click in this cell. The class structure dialog (shown below) is displayed. Select the subclass node to which this property belongs. Click the green check button to complete your selection. Implementation Types Implementation Types An ItemType can be defined with two different implementations - Single Item and Poly Item. 54

61 Innovator Administration Single Item The Single Item type is the most common implementation approach. In Single Item, each ItemType represents an individual business object, and is represented in a relational database as a single table. Examples of a Single Item type include definitions of Part, Document, Project, DFMEA, etc. Poly Item A Poly Item implementation type represents a polymorphic class of ItemType. A Poly Item ItemType can represent a collection of other ItemTypes. A polymorphic (Poly Item) ItemType is typically used when a property of some other item can reference more than one possible type of Item - a project Deliverable, for example. The type of deliverable can be one of many possible types if Item. The deliverable may be a Document, a Part, a Control plan, etc. The Poly Item type has a somewhat limited set of compatible relationships that are applicable in the ItemType definition. Only those Tabs that remain active in the ItemType form are supported in a Poly Item type. To create a Poly Item type ItemType: Creating a Poly Item Item Type 55

62 Just Ask Innovator 1. From TOC, Administration, select Item Type. Create a New ItemType 2. Enter data for the header properties of your new Item Type, selecting Poly Item for the implementation type. 4. You will receive the following warning. Select Ok. 5. Note the many of the relationship tabs are disabled when selecting the Poly Item type. 6. Select the Poly Sources relationship tab 7. Select existing ItemTypes that the Poly Item will support. For example, the following could be a list for the Deliverable Item Type. 8. Select the Properties tab. Enter any common property names that you would like to display in selection search item browser grids. If a property name is added that does not exist in all the Poly Sources, then an error will be thrown when saving the ItemType. 9. Save the ItemType PolyItem Setup In Program Management, the Deliverable Item is defined as a PolyItem. It is up to the system administrator to determine which Item Types can be a Deliverable. To set up the Deliverable Item Type: 56

63 Innovator Administration 1. From TOC, Administration, ItemTypes search for and open Deliverable for edit. 2. Select the Poly Sources tab. 3. In the Actions, select Pick Related. 4. Click the New Item icon. A search dialog will be displayed. Select any Item Types that will serve as deliverables. 5. Make certain that the individual Item Types selected have correct permissions set up, i.e. that Project Management and All Employees have "get" access to each of these Item Types. 6. Save, Unlock and Exit from the Deliverable Item Type. Searching Poly Items A Poly Item can be a property data source of another item (such as the Deliverable property of a Project Activity2) or a Related Item. When selecting existing Items, the Search Browser dialog will display an additional pull down list of the Poly Sources. You can search across all the Poly Source Items at once as shown below. 57

64 Just Ask Innovator Or, you can select a specific Poly Source from the pull down list to confine the search to a single type. In the example below, Parts was chosen as one of the possible Deliverables. Creating a new Item via a Poly Item When a Related Item uses a Poly Item as its source, a user will see an additional dialog when creating a new Related Item. When creating a new Related, you must first select which of the Poly Source types you wish to create. For example, if you are creating a new Deliverable for a specific line item in Project, here is the 58

65 Innovator Administration first dialog that would display: Select the Type of Item, and the rest of the process of Item creation should be familiar. Relationships About Relationships Relationships enable the binding of data between ItemTypes. They define a source ItemType and a related ItemType. This concept can be represented like this: 59

66 Just Ask Innovator where ItemType1 and ItemType2 are connected with Relationship1. Each relationship is composed of two separate Items, the RelationshipType and the relationship ItemType. The relationship ItemType may have other relationships to other Items or relationships. This representation allows for maximum flexibility required by complex data models. If your process requires complex data modeling and you would like to use nested relationships, please contact your Aras Solutions Consultant for help. For the purpose of this manual, we will assume a simple relationship structure of one Source item bound to one Related item. The source ItemType has access to all the properties of the related ItemType. So, for example, if we define a relationship type called Documents between a Part ItemType as a source, and a Document ItemType as the related ItemType, then a particular Part instance would have access to all the property values of the Document instance that was related to it. The source ItemType can be defined to have more than one relationship. Each defined relationship is represented with its own tab in the Item instance. For example, the ItemType definition for Part has 9 defined Relationship Types. See the definition below, and notice that it appears under the RelationshipTypes tab of the ItemType definition. 60

67 Innovator Administration As a result of this ItemType definition, the Part instance form has nine tabs - one for each defined relationship. 61

68 Just Ask Innovator Once you have the source item instance open to a relationship tab, you can either pick or create (depending on the relationship definition) related items. All of the related items will be listed in the relationship grid under the proper relationship tab. Here is an example of how a relationship grid looks: 62

69 Innovator Administration In the following pages we will learn how to create a relationship, how to set its properties, and define its behavior. Here are the steps in order: 1. Create the source ItemType and the related ItemType 2. From the source ItemType create and name the relationship. 3. Modify the RelationshipType item - to modify the behavior of the relationship itself 4. Modify the relationship ItemType - to add and edit properties to the relationship itself (like quantity, for example). Create ItemTypes to be Related Before you can begin to create a relationship you need to define ItemTypes which you wish to relate. For the following example we will define two ItemTypes: a Housekeeping Planner and a Contractor. Below is a view of the definition of the HousePlanner, which is basically the name and address of the House to be serviced and what type of services it requires. 63

70 Just Ask Innovator Notice that it is a very basic definition with five defined properties. The ItemType that will be related to HousePlanner is Contractor. Below is its definition: Notice that Contractor also has five properties, such as its type, controlled by a list of options, its address, name, phone number, and a reliability rating. Now that 64

71 Innovator Administration we have defined two ItemTypes to be related, we can continue to define the relationship itself. Defining a Relationship A Relationship binds two items - the source and the related item, making it possible for the source item to reference the information held in the related item. The relationship is created by starting at the source item, and creating a link to the related item. Another way to create a relationship is to create a RelationshipType item directly. This second method is necessary only in very particular circumstances, such as creating a relationship with all items, instead of a specific source item. Refer to RelationshipType for more information. To create a Relationship: 1. Open for edit the ItemType definition that is to be the source item. In this example, the source item is the HousePlanner. 2. Click on the Relationship Types tab of the source item. You should see the following form: 3. In the drop down list next to Actions, there are two options - Pick Related and No Related. These options refer to the related item. If you know what your related item is, then you would select Pick Related. If you do not know what the related item is, you can still make a relationship, but then select the No Related option. This latter way is discussed later on this page, see No Related. For now, make sure that the Pick Related option is selected in the drop down list. Then, click on the New Item icon will see a search dialog displayed to select the related item.. You 65

72 Just Ask Innovator In our case, we will select the Contractor item and click on the green check mark. 4. A new relationship line will be created for you, with the related ItemType already filled in. The next step is to fill in the rest of the necessary properties. Here is a view of the new relationship: Fill in the following property values: 66

73 Innovator Administration a. Tab Order - (bug, not showing in todo??? document when I see it.) b. Relationship Name - Fill in the relationship name. A RelationshipType and a relationship ItemType will be created automatically with the specified name. We will discuss these two items in detail later. c. Tab Label - the label of the Tab in the source Item instance that will identify the relationship and will contain references to the related items. See an example of tabs. d. Name - the name of the related ItemType, already filled in for you e. Description - the description of the related item, filled in automatically if the related item has a description field and it has been filled in. Below is a view of the Relationship Types tab with the values filled in. 6. Save, Unlock and Close or just Save the HousePlanner item. As soon as the source item is saved, two other items are automatically created - the Relationship Type Item and the relationship ItemType. Both have the name as defined in the Relationship Name column shown above, which in our case would be Contractor Rel. The RelationshipType item is responsible for controlling the behavior of the relationship itself, while the relationship ItemType controls the properties of the relationship itself. We will discuss both of these items in detail in the following pages. 1. The RelationshipType item 2. The relationship ItemType 67

74 Just Ask Innovator Creating a No Related Relationship Now, let's discuss what would happen if we create a No Related relationship from the source ItemType. Because we are creating a relationship, we would still get a relationship tab in the source item instance. But, there would be no related item to connect to. Let's take a look at a possible use case of comments: 1. Open the HousePlanner ItemType and add another relationship as shown below: Notice that the No Related relationship is marked by the icon. 2. Save, Unlock and Close the HousePlanner ItemType. The RelationshipType CommentRel and the CommentRel ItemType are immediately and automatically created. Let's edit the CommentRel ItemType to give this relationship some properties. 3. From TOC, Administration, ItemTypes, find the CommentRel ItemType, and open it for edit. 68

75 Innovator Administration 4. Add a property called Comments, and uncheck Hidden2 for Created_by_id and created_on. 5. Save, Unlock, and Close the CommentRel ItemType. 6. Now, let's create an instance of the HousePlanner. Click on the Comments tab, fill in a comment and Save the item. It should look like this (where the created_on and the created_by_id are filled in automatically on save): 69

76 Just Ask Innovator In the above section we have explored what happens when a relationship is created from the source item without a related item. Depending on your data modeling needs this could be a powerful tool. Modifying the RelationshipType Item When a relationship is created from the source item, one of the items created automatically is the RelationshipType Item. RelationshipTypes can be found in the TOC, under the Administration folder. However, you should not create a RelationshipType on its own, (with one rare exception, see Creating a Stand Alone RelationshipType) but only through the relationship creation from the source ItemType. In our example, when we created a relationship from the source ItemType HousePlanner to the related ItemType Contractor, we called it ContractorRel. So, let's examine ContractorRel. To edit the properties of the RelationshipType Item: 1. From TOC, Administration, select RelationshipTypes. Search for the ContractorRel item and open it for edit. (todo??? - need a new screen capture here, with the correct tabs) Let's explore the header properties first. Remember this item controls the behavior of the relationship itself. Property Name Description 70

77 Innovator Administration Name Label Description Auto Search Sort Order Default Page Size Source ItemType Hide In All Related ItemType Min Occurs The name of the relationship, given when defining the relationship i source ItemType The label of the tab in the source item instance. Under this tab all th related item instances (Contractors in this case) will be displayed in relationship grid. The description of the relationship. When selected will automatically populate the relationship grid with related item instances. Remember that the relationship grid is locat under this relationship tab in the source item instance. determines the relative position of the tab in Source Item display sets the page size in the relationship grid, under this relationship ta source item a unique name of an ItemType which acts as parent in the relation Only one Source can be declared for every RelationshipType, and it automatically when the relationship is created This option applies only if the Source Item is not selected. In that ca relationship uses all ItemTypes as a source item, and creates a rela between all ItemTypes and the related ItemType. In that case, the us choice to hide the relationship tab in all items, which is exactly wha option does if checked. the related Item. This is automatically filled in when the relationship defined in the source ItemType. sets the minimum number of rows for the relationship grid. Max Occurs Behavior The grid above has 4 items. If the minimum was set to 5, you would an error when saving the Item shown above. sets the maximum number of row entry instances for the relationsh See the item shown in Min Occurs. It has 4 rows. If the maximum wa 3, you would receive an error when saving that item. applies only if the related item is versionable, and determines which version of the related item is bound to the source item as follows: Fixed - The Source always points to a specific Generation of the R If the Related Item is modified, the Relationship Item between the and the Related is not changed. The new Generation of the Relat have no Relationship Items pointing to it. This relationship behavi overwritten by the behavior defined in the lifecycle state of the sou item. 71

78 Just Ask Innovator Grid View Float - The Source always points to the latest Generation of the R Whenever the Related is modified, the Relationship Item between and Related is updated. The previous Generation Related no long Relationship pointing to it. This relationship behavior can be overw the behavior defined on the lifecycle state of the source item. Hard Fixed - The Source always points to a specific Generation o Related. If the Related item is modified, the Relationship Item bet Source and the Related is not changed. The new Generation of th Related will have no Relationship Items pointing to it. This relation behavior cannot be overwritten by the behavior of the lifecycle sta source Hard Float - The Source always points to the latest Generation of Related. Whenever the Related is modified, the Relationship Item Source and Related is updated. The previous Generation Related longer has a Relationship pointing to it. This relationship behavior be overwritten by the behavior defined in lifecycle state of the sou The relationship grid displays the two types of properties - the relat properties, and the properties of the relationship itself. The possibl of Grid View are: Right - places the related item properties (the columns) on the rig the grid; the relationship properties are listed to the left of those co Left - places the related item properties on the left of the grid, afte relationship properties have been listed Intermix - the columns are ordered only by the sort_order value of property, so the relationship properties and the related properties intermixed. Grid View also works together with the Order By property on the Ite to determine the properties precedence for ordering of the rows. In case of relationships, we have the properties of the related item tha have an Order By value set, as well as the properties of the relation ItemType itself that may have a set Order By value. Right - Relationship ItemType Order By has precedence Left - Related ItemType Order By has precedence Intermix - no precedence; the Order By values are combined to pr absolute sorting sequence. Consider the following examples. Say we have a source Part which BOM relationship with other Parts. Part ItemType has been defined that Order By for Name = 10, and Order By for Part Number = 20. On BOM Relationship itself, there are several properties, one of which Quantity, where the Order By = 15. Below is a view of the BOM tab of the parent part when Grid View is Left. Notice that the Related Item property columns appear on the L where as the Relationship property columns follow. Also, notice tha list is sorted first by name of the related part, then by part number. 72

79 Innovator Administration Below is a view of the BOM tab of the parent part when Grid View is Right. Notice that the Related Item property columns appear on the after the Relationship property columns. Also, notice that the list of sorted on the Quantity, which is the relationship's ItemType proper whose Order By setting has precedence. Below is a view of the BOM tab of the source or parent part when G is set to Intermix. Notice that the columns are laid out in the absolu as indicated by the Sort Order for each property. The order of the ro also controlled by the absolute sorting sequence of the Order By at The rows are sorted first on Part Name which has an Order By value then Quantity, which has an Order By value of 15, and finally by Par Number, which has an Order By value of 20. Pick Only When creating a new related entry in the relationship grid, you coul pick from the existing Related Item instances. 73

80 Just Ask Innovator Create Only When creating a new related entry in the relationship grid, you coul create new instances of the Related Item. Pick & Create Requires Related When creating a new related entry in the relationship grid, you coul pick from the existing Related Item instances, or create new ones to populate the relationship. When checked, the No Related option is excluded from the drop do of the source instance. So, when creating a new relationship entry f source instance, you have only two choices: Pick Related or Create Related. Either way the related item must be entered. Open Related Form Copy Permissions If true, when creating a new related entry in the relationship grid, an creating a new instance of the Related Item, the form of the Related will be opened automatically for edit. If false, you can just enter the into the property columns, or open the form manually from the pop option. This option is relevant only if Create Related is True (see below). Th deals with the following occurrence: There is an instance of Part, ca Part1 and in its BOM there is an instance of Bracket, called Bracket user copies and pastes Bracket1 to another instance of Part, Part2 BOM RelationshipType the Create Related option is set to True; the Bracket1 is copied to a new instance of Bracket, Copy of Bracket1. If the original instance Bracket1 had private permissions, the user h option to copy those specific permissions by setting this flag to tru Copy Permissions = True - The permission on original part (Brack referenced by the newly created part (Copy of Bracket1) 74

81 Innovator Administration Copy Permissions = False - The newly created part (Copy of Brac have the default permissions set on its ItemType definition. Create Related This option is relevant only when copying and pasting relationships use the example of a Part assembly in whose BOM there is a part ca Bracket. If you copy Bracket and paste it into the BOM of another p Part, the following options are available: Create Related = False - The new parent will reference the same instance as the original Part assembly Create Related = True - The new parent will reference a newly cre Bracket instance, Copy of Bracket Once the properties are entered, the next step is to enter information into the tabs: a. Grid Events - If you wish to run client side methods, triggered on grid events such as: OnSelectRow, OnInsertRow, and OnDeleteRow, you would put your methods here. You might want to consider these methods if say you wish to populate some data into a relationship automatically when it is first created (OnInsertRow). For a great explanation on how to write client side method and how to set the other properties of this tab, such as RunAs User, please refer to the Aras Advanced Programming Training. b. Relationship View - Sometimes you may not wish to see the basic relationship grid when you click the relationship tab in the source or parent instance. You may perhaps wish to see a web page, or a configurable grid (todo??? - put a link to configurable grid here). This tab is the place where you 75

82 Just Ask Innovator would specify these settings. Also, these settings are identity based, so different users could be directed to different pages or grids. Here is an example of the Process Planner PFD (Process Flow Diagram) using a configurable grid instead of the basic relationship grid: Let's examine the properties or columns of this tab: i.name - the name of the identity for which this view is valid ii.start Page - the path to the web page to be displayed iii.parameters - the inputs (if any) that you wish to pass to the web page iv.grid - the reference (chosen from a selection dialog) to a configurable grid designed for this view c. Exclusion - Sometimes relationships may be mutually exclusive. For example, you may have a relationship such as a BOM for a part, and a relationship such as Vendors for a part. However, the part is either made in house, in which case you would need a BOM tab, or it is bought from a vendor, in which case you only need a Vendors tab. So, on the Exclusion tab you can specify a list of relationships that are mutually exclusive. In this example, in the RelationshipType for BOMRel, you would specify VendorsRel under the Exclusion Tab. d. Hide In - When selected, this option will hide the relationship tab in all Source item instances. For example, if we edit the Part BOM relationship, and select Hide In Tab View, the BOM tab will be hidden in all instances of Part. Notice that in the figure below, there is no BOM tab. Modifying the Relationship ItemType As mentioned earlier, when the source item is saved, one of the items created automatically, is the relationship ItemType. This is a regular ItemType, except that its property is_relationship is set to true. Just like a regular ItemType it can have properties, events, and even other relationships created from it. These are 76

83 Innovator Administration all in the area of complex data modeling, though, and are outside of the scope of this manual. In our example, when we created a relationship from the source ItemType HousePlanner to the related ItemType Contractor, we called it ContractorRel. So, let's examine ContractorRel. To edit the properties of the relationship ItemType: 1. From TOC, Administration, select ItemTypes, and search for ContractorRel. When you open it for edit, your form should look like this: Notice that in the header properties the following are set by default: a. Use Src Access - this means that the relationship itself, not the related items, inherit the parent's or the source item's permissions and canadd behavior. b. Is Relationship - this item is actually a part of the Relationship structure, and Is Relationship is set to true to indicate this fact. c. Allow Private Permissions - to do??? 2. Usually, for every relationship we will want to add some properties that are specific to the relationship itself. For example, for a Part, in the BOM relationship we have a property called quantity. This property is placed on the relationship because it only makes sense in the context of both the source and the related parts. In our example of the ContractorRel, we will also add some relationship specific quantities as follows: a. Add a property called ManHours Per Week. The value of this property will indicate how many hours of a particular contractor will be required for a particular property. 77

84 Just Ask Innovator b. Add a property called Pay Rate. The value of this property will vary with each contractor and property. In other words, the same contractor may charge a different rate in two different properties because of the difficulty level. c. Make sure that Hidden2 for both of the added properties is not checked. We do want these properties to show in the relationship grid. Also, uncheck Hidden2 for any system properties that you might wish to be displayed in the relationship grid. 3. Save, Unlock, and Close the relationship ItemType. 4. Create an instance of the HouseKeeper Item and add some contractors. You should see a form similar to the following: 78

85 Innovator Administration Notice that the related item properties are all displayed on the left which is the default we set back in the RelationshipType configuration, followed by the relationship properties. Creating a Stand Alone RelationshipType Another way to create a relationship is to create it directly from the Relationship Type. There is one case where this method is necessary, and that is when creating a relationship using all ItemTypes as a source. Let's say you wanted to add certain data to all ItemTypes in your database, for example, History. This has already been done in Innovator, but we can use it as a good example here. To add History to all Items, you would create a RelationshipType with no source, which would indicate all ItemTypes as source. To create a RelationshipType: 1. From TOC, Administration, RelationshipTypes, create a new RelationshipType. 79

86 Just Ask Innovator 2. Do not set the Source ItemType, but set the Related ItemType to History. 3. Set other properties as you would like. 4. Save the RelationshipType item. 5. Create an instance of any item and you should see the History Tab. However, if you check the Hide In All check box, then the History Tab will not show in any items, but the relationship will still exist. If you create a RelationshipType and select a Source ItemType, as well as the Related ItemType, it becomes the exact same process of creating a relationship as described in Defining a Relationship. The relationship ItemType is created automatically when you save the RelationshipType, and all source instances gain a new tab as specified. Relationships vs. Properties As in all cases of data modeling, there are many ways to do the same thing, some may be more efficient than others, and some more flexible. Say, for example that you wanted to have access to a property of Item2 when working with Item1. One way of accomplishing this task could be to create a relationship between the ItemType1 and ItemType2 and then have access to all necessary properties. Another method of doing this would be to create a Foreign property in the ItemType1 definition, referring to the necessary property of Item2. (See Foreign Data Type) Here are some advantages and disadvantages of creating a relationship vs. using a Foreign property: Relationship gives greater flexibility, allows access to more than just one property value Relationship gives ability for one instance of Item1 to refer to several instances of Item2 Foreign Property is more efficient than a relationship, does not need 2 additional tables in the database 80

87 Innovator Administration RelationshipType Item Behavior One of the properties defined in the RelationshipType is Behavior. While there are only two choices, Float and Fixed there are many variations of what can happen depending on this setting. Let's explore some of these variations. In the figures below we will use Parent and Child to refer to the items. Another way to think about these items is: Parent = Source Item; Child = Related Item. The numbers 1 and 2 refer to the generation number, so Parent 1 is the first generation of the source item. The first case is where the Parent1 is connected with Child1. Then, Parent is versioned to become Parent2. Then, Child is versioned to become Child2. Below is a view of the relationship connections that result from this process. The second Float case should raise the question: If the behavior is Float, why is it that after Child2 is created, Parent1 is not pointing to Child2? Wouldn't that follow the definition of the Float behavior - that the parent points to the latest version of the child? The answer is in the rules of versioning the Parent. When the Parent is versioned, the previous version of the Parent is then set to a Hard Fixed behavior in order to preserve its configuration. In other words, when the Parent is versioned, its previous version will remain forever in the configuration which it had right before the Parent was versioned. In our case above, the first generation of Parent was connected to Child1. Since Parent was versioned first, Parent1 is immediate "frozen" in its current configuration which will always point to Child 1. Also, Parent2 will point to Child1 since it is the latest version of Child. However, once Child is versioned, and Child 2 is created, Parent 2 will break its bond with Child1 and point to Child2, according to the Float behavior that it defines. The next case is similar in that it starts out with Parent1 and Child1 being related at the time of their creation. Then, the child is versioned first, to create Child2. After that, the parent is versioned to become Parent 2. The following is the diagram of the relationship behavior: 81

88 Just Ask Innovator In this case, the question should arise for the Fixed behavior. Why is Parent2 associated with Child2 when the behavior is fixed? The answer is because of another rule. When a new generation of the parent is created, it is automatically associated with the latest version of the children. So, if a later version of the child exists, even if the behavior is defined as fixed, it will automatically be associated with the new version of the parent. The other two behaviors - Hard Fixed and Hard Float only play a role when combined with Life Cycle behavior settings. So, we will explore those in a context of a life cycle. See Item Behavior for an explanation of how life cycles can further change the behavior of related versionable items. Life Cycles About Life Cycles A Life cycle is a series of states (i.e., stages or gates) that an Item instance traverses during its existence. Most business processes define high-level stages to track the progress of an object in a Life cycle. Below is an example of a life cycle of a vendor: 82

89 Innovator Administration A Life Cycle consists of States, which are basically a series of actions and steps, and Transitions, which are basically paths between the different states. Let's go through this cycle together to gain some basic understanding. When an instance of the ItemType Vendor is created, named say PartsVendor1 it is immediately placed into the Preliminary state. Usually, in order to qualify as an Approved Vendor, the vendor must meet some company specific criteria, or go through a specific process. When this criteria is met, a member of the Component Engineering Identity can then promote this PartsVendor1 to the Approved state. If this PartsVendor1 satisfies even more strict criteria (usually tighter delivery dates, or volume discounts), then a member of the Component Engineering Identity can promote this vendor to the Preferred state. Of course if the vendor fails in some way, again according to the company set criteria, then the vendor can be transitioned to the Inactive state. Typically, within each state, there are series of steps or actions that need to be taken by prescribed Identities. These are usually described and assigned to a Workflow map, which can be automatically activated when an item enters a specific life cycle state. As a very powerful tool, there can be all sorts of settings activated and deactivated triggered on the item's state change. For example one setting could be that when someone from the Procurement Identity selects a vendor for a specific part, only the Vendors in the Preferred state are used to populate the list of available vendors. Another feature is that when an item enters any Life Cycle state, an notification can be set to automatically inform the selected Identities of any action items that must be taken as a result of this state change. Creating a Life Cycle Map 83

90 Just Ask Innovator A Life Cycle Map can be created independently of any ItemType to which it may be attached later. As a matter of fact, many ItemTypes can use the same Life Cycle map. However, an ItemType can only have one default Life Cycle map associated with it. To create a Life Cycle Map: 1. From TOC, Administration, Life Cycle Maps, click on the New Item icon. A Life Cycle Map form is displayed: 2. Fill in the Life Cycle Map properties: a. Name - the name of the map b. Description - the description of the map 3. Create a new State, by right clicking on the anywhere on the map canvas, and selecting Add State from the popup menu. A new State is created, and remains selected by default. Each life cycle state has the following properties: 3. State Property Name Image Definition The name of the state Clicking on the Select an image... brings up an icon selection dialog. Select an icon for this state, then click the green check icon to complete your selection. 84

91 Innovator Administration Released Not Lockable Item Behavior State Permissions This property applies only if this Life Cycle map is associated with an ItemType that is versionable. A Boolean to indicate that the status of this state is Released. Items in a state with a Released status are moved back to the Start state upon the next "Lock/Unlock/Edit" sequence, and the Major Rev property is incremented. Only one state per Life Cycle can be marked as Released. A Boolean; when set to true, the item in this state cannot be edited. Typically this property is set to true when the status of the state is Released. In order to edit the item, it has to be promoted to a new state, which would typically (depending on the life cycle) create a new version. Applicable only if the item going through this life cycle state contains one or more relationships with versionable items. There are four types of Item Behavior, and they are described below. Be aware that the Behavior set by the RelationshipType influences the Behavior set by the state as well. To see a full explanation of how these behaviors interact together, see Item Behavior. Fixed - The source item (in the current state) points to a specified generation of the related item Float - The source item (in the current state) points to the latest generation of the related item Hard Fixed - The behavior is Fixed, as described above, and cannot be changed by any subsequent states in this life cycle. Hard Float - The behavior is Float, as described above, and cannot be changed by any subsequent states in this life cycle. A set of permissions may be defined for each state, which will govern the access to the item while it is in this state (see Permissions) The state Permissions override any other Permissions set on the ItemType. If no permissions are set for the state, then it will inherit whatever permissions are set on the 85

92 Just Ask Innovator Configure E- Mail ItemType. For example, say you have a Part, and while it is in the Preliminary state All Employees can get and update it. (That permission is inherited from the Part ItemType) However, once the Part enters the Review state, only members of the Administrators identity can update it. Click on this link to configure , in order to notify specified identities that the item has entered this state. See Configuring Create a transition. To create a transition: a. Right click on the state from which you wish to create a transition. Select Add Transition from the popup menu. b. A transition will be created from the specified state and connected to the mouse. Drag the mouse to the state which you want to connect, and click to connect the transition. 5. Each transition has properties as described in the table below. It is very important to specify the Role, or the identity, which is the only authorized identity 86

93 Innovator Administration to actually promote the item to the next state. Transition Property Role Pre Event Post Event Get Comment Configure Definition The identity that has the authorization to promote the item to the next state Method to run before the transition is completed Method to run after the transition is completed If true, the identity promoting the item to the next state will be prompted for a comment Click on this link to configure , in order to notify specified identities that the item is being promoted. See Configuring The transition also has a number of available menu choices from the rightclick pop-up menu. a. Remove Transition - removes the selected transition b. Insert State - inserts a new state in the middle of the transition, between the two original states c. Add Break - adds a break in the transition to enable the transition to turn for cleaner and neater appearance of the overall map. This becomes necessary as the maps become complicated and difficult to discern which state is connected to what. The Break point can be used as a handle to position the transition as required. d. Remove Break - removes the break to make the transition a simple line as before. 7. Continue creating states and transitions until you have the life cycle map required for the item. For examples of life cycle maps created in Innovator for existent ItemTypes, see TOC, Administration, LifeCycle Maps. Configuring 87

94 Just Ask Innovator is used to notify the selected identities that an item has either entered a specific life cycle state, or that it is in transition between state. So, for both the state and the transition, the configuration dialog is the same. The top part of the dialog allows for the message itself to be specified. You can have more than one message specified, as in fact you might want a different message to be sent to different identities. In the bottom part of the dialog you specify which identities will receive the message currently selected in the top pane. To configure an 1. Select Create Related from the drop down box, and click on the New Item icon. (If you have previously configured s, then you can select Pick Related from the drop down box, and select the pre-configured you would like to use. 2. A new line is created in the top pane. To fill it in see the table below with the explanation of properties: Property Description Name The name of the message itself From User The identity from whom the message will be sent. If none is specified, the identity configuring the notification will be used. Hit F2 to bring up a search dialog with all available identities. The chosen identity must have a valid address. Subject The subject line of the . Body Plain Plain text version of the message to be sent (for recipients who do not accept HTML) 88

95 Innovator Administration Body Html Query String Of Itemtype HTML version of the message to be sent If you wish to write complex notifications, that require data from various items in Innovator, you can write a query to request this data from the database. The retrieved data can then be referenced in the body of the message. For example, if you wish to show values of a related item in the message, you will need to write a query to retrieve it. To learn how to write these queries, please refer to the Advanced Programming course, or contact your Aras Consultant. Because the same life cycle map can be used for many different ItemTypes, this field is used to make the message specific to a particular ItemType that is being promoted or transitioned. If no ItemType is specified in this field, this message will go out for every ItemType that has this life cycle and that is promoted or transitioned to the specific state/transition where this message is configured. 3. Once the is configured, select a list of identities on the bottom pane who will receive the (make certain that those identities have a valid address). Select Pick Related, and then click the New Item icon dialog will be displayed to select identities.. A search Using Variables in Text You can use variables in the text to identify the exact item and its property values, making the message more specific. Any property of the item can be inserted using the syntax ${property name}, including system properties. There are also the following runtime variables supported in Innovator: Variable Definition $[USER] The current logon name $[ALIAS] The alias identity of the user $[DATE] String containing today's date $[TIME] String containing the current time Here is an example. We have an item with the following properties: name, part_number, and color. It also has the usual system properties, and we will use the property state to indicate which life cycle state the item is entering. An message could be configured as shown below. If you right click on the row 89

96 Just Ask Innovator and select View " Message" from the pop-up menu, you will see the message in a separate window, as shown below. Notice the use of two variables in the subject line - ${name} and ${state}. Please make sure that you use the property names, not labels. The Body of the message is using the additional property ${part_number}. When the message is sent, it appears as follows in the recipient's mail box: 90

97 Innovator Administration Item Behavior Item Behavior is a property of the life cycle state that sets the behavior of the connection between the source item, or the parent, and the related item, or the child. This property is only applicable if the source item and the related item are versionable. Also, keep in mind that there is also an Item Behavior property defined on the RelationshipType itself (see RelationshipType Item Behavior). These two properties - the Item Behavior of the RelationshipType and of the Item Behavior of the Life Cycle State - work together to control the configuration of the source and related items. The settings Hard Fixed and Hard Float mean different things for the RelationshipType behavior and the Life Cycle State behavior. The table below explains these settings: RelationshipType Life Cycle State Hard Float Float behavior that can not be modified by the life cycle state settings Float behavior that is in effect until the life cycle ends, and cannot be changed by subsequent life cycle states Hard Fixed Fixed behavior that cannot be modified by the life cycle state settings Fixed behavior that is in effect until the life cycle ends, and cannot be changed by subsequent life cycle states Furthermore, there are two categories to consider - what happens to the items if the child (or the related item) is versioned first, as opposed to the parent (or the source item) being versioned first. Let's look at the first case first. Behavior When Parent (the Source Item) Is Versioned First Let's first consider what happens when there is no behavior set on the life cycle state: Notice that with the Float RelationshipType behavior, when Child2 is created, Parent1 still points to Child1. The reason for this is that when a new version of the Parent is created, the previous versions are then Hard Fixed in their current configuration. So, when Parent2 is created Parent1 is pointing to Child1. It 91

98 Just Ask Innovator remains in that state going forward, no matter how many times Child is versioned after that. When the Life Cycle Behavior is set to Float, it forces the even the RelationshipType defined as Fixed to act as Float. See the figure below. When the Life Cycle Behavior is set to Fixed, it forced even the RelationshipType defined as Float to act as Fixed. See the figure below: When the RelationshipType is defined as Hard Fixed or Hard Float it overrides whatever the behavior is set by the Life Cycle state. Notice the two figures below showing that the behavior defined by the RelationshipType rules the behavior, regardless of the behavior defined by the Life Cycle state. 92

99 Innovator Administration If the RelationshipType Behavior is not set to Hard, it can be overwritten by the Life Cycle State Behavior. The figure below shows what happens when one generation of the parent is in one state, with one type of behavior, and the next state is in another life cycle state, with a different behavior. So far we have been looking at all these cases with the assumption that the Parent or the source item is versioned first. Now, we need to examine all the same cases, but with the Child or the Related item versioned first. 93

100 Just Ask Innovator Behavior When Child (the Related Item) Is Versioned First As previously, let's consider first what happens when there is no life cycle state behavior set. Notice that even for Fixed behavior, Parent 2 is associated with Child2. This is true because of the following rule: When a source item is versioned, it is automatically associated with the latest available version of all its children. In this case, since Child 2 was previously created, instead of pointing to Child1, Parent 2 points to Child2. The Life Cycle State behavior overrides the RelationshipType behavior. As you can see in the diagrams below, Fixed relationship acts like Float when in Float life cycle state, and the Float relationship acts as Fixed in the Fixed life cycle state. 94

101 Innovator Administration When the RelationshipType Behavior is set to Hard Fixed or Hard Float, it overrides the Life Cycle State behavior. In the diagrams below you can see that the Hard Fixed behavior acts as Fixed, regardless of the life cycle state setting, and the Hard Float acts as Float regardless of the life cycle state setting. 95

102 Just Ask Innovator If the RelationshipType Behavior is not set to Hard, it can be overwritten by the Life Cycle State Behavior. The figure below shows what happens when one generation of the parent is in one state, with one type of behavior, and the next state is in another life cycle state, with a different behavior. Remember that if you set the Life Cycle state behavior to Hard Fixed or Hard Float, it will override all subsequent state behavior through the end of the cycle. This is particularly useful if you have a life cycle map with states that follow 96

103 Innovator Administration Released, such as Obsolete, or Superseded. Most likely once an item reaches a Released state you would want to Hard Fix its behavior, so that its configuration remained the same, even if the item is promoted to Obsolete or Superseded. Workflows About Workflows A workflow is a defined sequence of activities that represent a business process, such as an ECN approval process. Workflows often incorporate branching and parallel activities, and have embedded procedural rules. In Innovator, a Workflow Map represents the template for a business process that may be run many times. An instance of a Workflow Map is called a Workflow Process. Workflow Processes track the actual participants, or instances of the items in the process, as well as any decisions that are made. Workflow is invaluable in ensuring that all steps of a business process are completed in the correct order, and in a repeatable fashion. Let's take a look at a workflow map and discuss the many different components of it. In the picture below you see a form divided into 3 parts. The top part is the graphical workflow designer, or the diagram, where the diagram represents Activity Templates and the Workflow Map paths that connect them. The middle part contains the header properties of the selected item in the diagram. In this case, nothing is selected in the diagram, so you see the header properties of the workflow map itself. The bottom part contains the tabs pertaining to the selected component in the diagram. 97

104 Just Ask Innovator As mentioned above, a workflow map consists of Activities and Paths. Each Activity represents a unit of work that must be performed, containing the task list, the assignments to identities responsible for these tasks, any accompanying notifications, and any variables, such as hours spent on the activity, that are tracked and stored by the activity. An activity also has properties which determine its behavior in the workflow, including whether any user interaction is necessary, whether it may be refused or delegated, whether all votes must be received before following a path and whether all input paths must be completed before initiation. The Path also has properties which decide its behavior, including whether the path is the default exit path for an activity and whether the path overrides all other votes. How these properties affect the overall workflow will be discussed in detail and shown in examples. When an activity is activated, those identities that have been assigned to it, or assignees, are notified and the activities appear in their InBasket. The assignees then open what is known as the Activity Completion Worksheet, which guides them through the list of tasks to be completed as well as any other work that needs to be performed before the activity can be completed. Also, the assignees will have a chance to choose the exit path from the activity, or vote. Depending on this vote the next activity to be activated is chosen. 98

105 Innovator Administration Creating a Workflow Map Creating a workflow map consists of creating activities and connecting them with paths. Below you will learn how to open a new Workflow Map and how to create activities and paths to populate it. To open a new Workflow Map form: 1. From TOC, Administration, Workflow Maps, select the New Item icon. A new Workflow Map form is displayed: 2. The following are the header properties of the workflow map: a. Name - the name of the workflow map b. Description - the description of the process which this map governs c. Process Owner - an identity responsible for this process, typically a group identity. 3. There are two tabs for the Workflow Map itself: a. Activities - this tab will list all of the activities as they are created in the map, along with some of their properties. The interface for creating, deleting, and modifying these activities is through the graphical designer. The information on this tab is just a summary. b. Process Variables - list of variables that need to be added to the map as a whole. These variables can be accessed programmatically as properties of the cycle. To create a new Activity or node: 99

106 Just Ask Innovator 1. Right click on the map background, and select Add Activity from the popup menu. A new node is placed on the map, and is selected automatically. 2. Fill out the header properties and the tabs as described in Workflow Activity. To Create a New Workflow Path: 1. Right click on the Activity from which you would like the Path to start. 2. Select Add Path from the pop up menu. The Path vector will be connected to the mouse. Point to the Activity where the Path will end, and click. 3. You should see the path connect the two chosen activities. Click on the path again to select it, and notice the properties change in the bottom two 100

107 Innovator Administration panes: 4. Fill out the properties of this path as described and shown in Workflow Path. Workflow Activity The workflow activity is described by header properties and tabs. When a new activity is created, the form below is displayed. The middle pane shows the header properties, and the bottom pane displays the tabs. 101

108 Just Ask Innovator Activity Header Properties The table below describes the activity header properties: Property Name Escalate To Message Expected Duration Description The name of the Activity Template (appears in the graphical display). The identity that is notified when this activity is overdue, or for other reasons that require escalation. When there is no identity specified here, issues are escalated to the Process Owner. If no identity is specified there, they are escalated to the Creator of the workflow map. A description of the work to be performed. The expected amount of calendar time until completion. The due date of the activity is calculated by adding the expected duration to the date the activity was activated. 102

109 Innovator Administration Timeout Duration Reminder Interval The amount of calendar time after the due date before the activity is escalated. The amount of time between reminder messages calculated backwards from the Due Date of activity. So, if the Reminder Count = 3, and the Reminder Interval = 1, the reminder message will be sent 2 days before the due date, 1 day before the due date, and on the due date. Reminder Count Subflow Icon Managed By Role Start Activity End Activity Automatic Activity The number of reminder messages to be sent. The Expected Duration must be greater then Reminder Count * Reminder Interval. The workflow map to be instantiated as a subflow. The activity will not be considered complete until that subflow is complete. The exit path from an activity that represents a subflow, is typically marked as Default Path. The icon to display in the graphical editor. An identity allowed to make on the spot changes to the activity once the Workflow is instantiated. For example, say you have a PR, and in a triage meeting specific employees are identified to work on it. The Managed By identity can then open the PR item, select Views menu, Workflow, and bring up the Workflow Process (the instance of the Workflow for this specific PR). From the Workflow Process the Managed By identity can edit assignments. This property is used only at run time when changes are made to the instantiated workflow by the Managed By identity. Role is the group identity from which the Managed By identity can select individual identities for assignments. If an assignee is chosen that does not belong to the specified Role group identity, an error is thrown. Activities marked as Start Activities are activated when the workflow is started. Reaching an end activity causes the workflow to end. An activity that requires no user interaction and completes automatically. For example, the Start activity is marked as automatic, and will allow the item to proceed to the next activity automatically, as long as its exit path is marked as Default. The 103

110 Just Ask Innovator Can Refuse Can Delegate Consolidate Delegated Wait For All Inputs Wait For All Votes same is true of an activity that contains a subflow. It must be marked as Automatic, and must have a Default exit path. Allows the assignees to refuse this activity, and automatically escalates it. The escalation path is: Escalate To identity on the assignment, Escalate To identity on the Activity, Process Owner, Creator. When the activity is refused, Innovator will assign the next available identity on the escalation path. Allows the assignees to reassign this activity to another identity. When the Can Delegate option is checked, it is possible that the same identity can be delegated to several times for the same activity. Consolidate Delegated = False forces the delegated to identity to vote once for each delegation. Consolidate Delegated = True allows the delegated to identity to vote once where the voting weight will be cumulative of all of the assigned delegations, specifically: Consolidate Delegation = True: before identity votes, another delegated task is received. Still vote only once, cumulating the total weight of all the delegated tasks. Consolidate Delegation = False: after identity votes, another delegated task is received. This new task will have the same vote and the new tasks's voting weight will be added to the cumulative Consolidated weight. Effectively this new delegation will never even appear in the InBasket; the voting will take place automatically. Does not activate the activity until all input paths have been completed. If not checked, as soon as any one input path is completed, this activity becomes active. Does not close the activity until all assignees have voted. Many times the outcome of the vote is obvious before all the votes are in, however this option will force the delay until all the assigned votes are gathered. Activity Tabs The following is a list of tabs for the Workflow Activity. 1. The first tab for the Activity is called Tasks, and contains a checklist of all the tasks that need to be completed for this activity to be considered done. See Completion Worksheet to see how these tasks are displayed on the Activity Completion form for the assignee. Below is an example of the ECR workflow map, the Review ECR activity. Notice that out of 4 tasks, 104

111 Innovator Administration only one is required. Below is a list of properties that describe a task. a. Sequence - the order number of the task. Determines the order in which the tasks will appear on the Completion Worksheet. b. Required - if true, this task will require the assignee's sign off when completed in order for the activity to be considered complete. c. Description - the description of the task itself to be completed by the assignee. 2. The next tab for the Activity is Notifications. Notification allows messages to be configured to be sent automatically from chosen identities to the chosen identities. Notifications are triggered by the selected events, such as On Activate (when the activity becomes active), or On Delegate (when the activity is delegated). Notifications can also contain current instance data, such as the values of any specified properties of the ItemType instance with which this workflow is associated, or the properties of the workflow process itself. You can also include any other instance data, from other items, such as some properties of a related item, or the name of the activity itself, by providing a query to retrieve this information from the database. For more information, see Configuring Notifications. 3. The Paths tab lists all the exit paths that flow out of the selected activity. This list is filled in automatically when the diagram is completed in the graphical map designer. Below is a view of the paths listed for the Review ECR activity. 105

112 Just Ask Innovator From this tab you can edit the paths, but you cannot delete them or create new ones. For a full explanation of the properties of the path, see Workflow Paths. 4. The Variables tab stores activity variables which can receive data from the assignees, or can be used for internal calculations based on activity properties. See how these variables appear on the Completion Worksheet to be completed by the assignee. Below is a list of properties by which a variable is defined. a. Sequence - the sequence number of the variable, determines the display order on the Activity Completion Worksheet where the assignee will be entering the value. If the variable is hidden, the sequence number if of no significance. b. Name - the name of the variable c. Type - the data type of the variable d. Source - data source for specific data types of variable, such as list or a sequence. e. Default Value - If the variable is required, it's a good idea to provide a default value. f. Required - if true, the activity cannot complete without a valid value for the variable. g. Hidden - if true, the variable will not show up on the Activity Completion Worksheet. If the variable is also required, the value must be set by internal code before the activity can be completed. 5. Assignments is the tab where those responsible for the activity are identified. Along with specifying the identity responsible for performing the tasks, here we set the options on how the next activity will be reached. Below is a workflow map where there are two exit paths from the Analyze and Sort activity - Test Data and Reject Data. Once the tasks of the Analyze and Sort activity are completed, each identity responsible for this activity will have to select the exit path, in this case either Test Data or Reject Data. The process of selecting the exit path is called "voting". See Workflow Examples to understand how the different options work together. 106

113 Innovator Administration The columns listed below - Required, For All Members, and Voting Weight - combined with the Wait For All Inputs header property determine when the activity will be considered done, and also sets properties of the voting process. a. Name - The identity responsible for the tasks of this activity, and also for voting on the exit workflow path out of this activity. b. Required - When checked it means that members of this identity must complete this activity (finish the tasks and vote on the exit path from the activity), even if there have already been enough votes to determine the next activity. c. For All Members - this option applies only to group identities assigned to this activity; if false, only one member of the group identity has to complete and vote on the activity, which will then automatically remove this activity from the other group members' In Basket. If true, all members have to complete and vote on the activity and will be assigned equal voting weight with the cumulative weight equal to the assigned voting weight. d. Voting Weight - In order for a path to be selected it has to reach at least 100% vote, or more. Please refer to Examples to see how the voting weight and other options determine the exit path of the activity. e. Escalate To - an identity that will receive this assignment if the activity is not completed by the due date + time out. If no identity is specified here, then the Activity Escalate To identity will receive this assignment. 6. Server Events is the last tab and it contains the methods that can be executed when triggered on the specified list of Server Events. The trigger events are: On Activate, On Assign, On Refuse, On Delegate, On Vote, On Remind, On Due, On Escalate, and On Close. The instruction on writing methods is beyond the scope of this manual. Please refer to the Advanced Programming Course, or contact your Aras Consultant if you wish to write methods. 107

114 Just Ask Innovator Workflow Path The workflow path connects workflow activities. Its behavior is determined by its properties. The header properties of the workflow path are: 1. Name - The name of the path. Typically this name somehow describes or echoes the activity to which the path leads, so that when voting the user has a clear picture of the available exit paths and the activities that they lead to. 2. Authentication - A tool to restrict path access to identities who hold a password or an E-signature. 108

115 Innovator Administration So, on the Activity Completion Worksheet, if a path is chosen that requires authentication, then the user must enter either a password or an E- signature, as specified by the authentication type. For example, if E- signature is specified, then the Worksheet will be displayed as follows: Notice that the Password field is grayed out. If no authentication was specified, both the Password and the E-signature fields would be grayed out. If authentication is requested and none is provided by the assignee, an error is posted, and the activity is not completed. 3. Default Path - a Boolean flag to denote a default path, which is followed if no other path has enough votes to be activated. See Default Example. 4. Override Path - a Boolean flag to denote an override path, which is followed as soon as it receives a vote (unless other selected options require to wait for other votes to be collected). See Override Example. Each path has two tabs - Pre and Post Methods. These tabs list the methods that can be executed before and after the path is followed. You can either create your own methods here, or select from the previously created methods. The sequence number indicates the execution order of the methods. The instruction on how to write methods is beyond the scope of this manual. Please refer to the Advanced Programming Course or your Aras Consultant to learn how to write methods or to have them written for your application. Workflow Examples 109

116 Just Ask Innovator There are a few properties on the workflow activity and a few of the workflow path that work together to create a number of different options. The easiest way to understand how these properties interact together is through some examples. Escalation Example: In this example, the Analyze and Sort activity is activated. Notice that there are two identities responsible for this activity - the Data Analysis group and the Data Analysis Manager. Let's say that these identities complete their tasks and vote as follows: Data Analysis - Test Data (60%) Data Analysis Manager - Reject Data (40%) In this case, since none of the paths are marked as override or default, and since none of the paths have received a 100% vote, the decision is escalated to the identity specified in the Escalate To property, in our case the Data Manager. If there is no identity specified there, then the activity is escalated to the workflow Process Owner. Override Example 110

117 Innovator Administration Let's take the same example we have above, but now, let's say that the Reject Data path is marked as Override. As soon as the Override path receives even one vote, no matter how small the percentage of the total vote weight that vote brings, the override path is executed. So, in this case, even though the Reject Data path receives just 40%, the Reject Data activity is activated. Default Path Example In this example, we are again working with the Analyze and Sort activity, however, there are no longer any Override exit paths from this activity. Now, we have the Test Data path marked as the Default Path. 111

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119 Innovator Administration Here again, the Data Analysis group votes Test Data, which gives it only 60%, and the Data Analysis Manager votes Reject Data, which receives 40%. If none of the paths are marked as Default or Override, this issue would be escalated. However, since we do have a Default Path, the default is chosen instead. So, in this case, the activity Test Data would become active next. Required Example In this example we are again working with the Analyze and Sort activity. Notice however that now there are 3 Identities responsible for completing it - the Data Analysis group, the Data Analysis Manager, and the Testing and Quality group. Notice that the Data Analysis Manager is marked as Required. This means that even if there is 100% vote weight on any one path, the Required identity must vote. 113

120 Just Ask Innovator Let's assume that none of the paths are marked as Override or Default, and that the voting so far yields: Data Analysis - Test Data (60 %) Testing and Quality - Test Data (60%) This would give the Test Data path 120%, which is enough for that path to be selected. However, since the Data Analysis Manager has not yet voted, the activity does nothing and awaits that last input. If the Data Analysis Manager votes Reject Data, the Test Data activity is activated next. However, if the Reject Data was marked as Override, then that one last vote would change the whole picture and Reject Data would be activated instead. Wait For All Votes Example If the Wait For All Votes option is checked on the Activity, then no action will be taken until all the votes are in, even if there is 100% gathered on any particular path, or even if a vote is cast for an Override path. 114

121 Innovator Administration In the above example, all 3 identities have to vote before the exit path is activated. Let's say that the Reject Data path is marked as Override. Then, the votes come in as follows: Data Analysis - Test Data (60%) Data Analysis Manager - Reject (40%) At this point the result is very clear. The Reject Data path will be selected. However, Innovator will wait until the Testing and Quality group votes, and then the Reject Data activity will be activated. Configuring Notifications Notification allows messages to be configured to be sent automatically from chosen identities to the chosen identities. Notifications are triggered by the selected events, such as On Activate (when the activity becomes active), or On Delegate (when the activity is delegated). Notifications can also contain current instance data, such as the values of any specified properties of the ItemType instance with which this workflow is associated. You can also include any other instance data, from other items, such as some properties of a related item, or the 115

122 Just Ask Innovator name of the activity itself, by providing a query to retrieve this information from the database. Here is an example of the Notification tab for an activity. The following is a list of all properties of the notification configuration and their descriptions: Property Description Name The name of the notification itself. These can be reused, so the name should be a good identifier to describe what information this provides. From The Identity from whose address the notification is User sent. Hit F2 in the cell to bring up a search dialog of identities. The chosen Identity must have a valid address. Subject The subject line of the . The subject, just like the body of the can use variables in its text. See Using Variables for more information. Body Plain Body Html Query String Event Plain text version of the message to be sent (for recipients who do not accept HTML). The body of the can use variables in its text. See Using Variables for more information. HTML version of the message to be sent. The body of the can use variables in its text. See Using Variables for more information. If you wish to write complex notifications, that require data from various items in Innovator, you can write a query to request this data from the database. The retrieved data can then be referenced in the body of the message. For example, if you wish to show values of a related item in the message, you will need to write a query to retrieve it. To learn how to write these queries, please refer to the Advanced Programming course, or contact your Aras Consultant. The message is automatically sent on the selected event. The list of events to choose from are: On Activate On Assign On Refuse On Delegate On Vote On Remind On Due 116

123 Innovator Administration Target Alternate On Escalate On Close For example, if you wish to send notification to the assignees that a task which is assigned to them is active and in their InBasket, you would select On Activate for the Event, and All Assignments as Target. The recipients of the notification. The possible choices are: All Assignments - All assignees listed in the Assignments tab for this activity. If there is an assignee which is a group identity, all members of that identity will receive this notification. Open Assignments - All assignees that have not completed the activity. Typically this Target is used with the On Remind event. Closed Assignments - All assignees that have completed the activity. Typically this Target would be used with the On Escalate event to inform From Identity - Used only for escalation or delegation, this identity is the one from which the assignment is being delegated or escalated. To Identity - Used only for escalation or delegation, this identity is the one being delegated to or escalated to. Alternate - the identity defined in the alternate field (see below) An alternate identity for receipt of notification Using Variables in Text You can use variables in the text to identify the exact item and its property values, making the message more specific. Let's take a look at the XML for the Workflow Item, it looks something like: <AML> <Item type='ecr'> <item_number>ecr-1000</item_number> <state>released</state> </Item> <Item type="activity"> <name>vote on me</name> </Item> </AML> So, if we wanted to access the value of the state property of the ECR, we would write: ${Item[@type='ECR']/state} And if we wanted to access the name of the Activity, we would write: ${Item[@type='Activity']/name} 117

124 Just Ask Innovator So, in general, the format for accessing a property value of an item within a workflow message, would be: ${Item[@type='ItemType_name']/property_name} where ItemType_name is the name of the ItemType whose property value you want to access, and property_name is the name of the property. Innovator also supports the following runtime system variables that can be used inside the notification fields: Variable Definition $[USER] The current logon name $[ALIAS] The alias identity of the user $[DATE] String containing today's date $[TIME] String containing the current time Workflow Activity Worksheet When a workflow activity becomes active, it is immediately sent to all of the assignees, specified in the Assignments tab of the activity. The identities who receive these activities can then see all of their assigned activities in their InBasket. The InBasket is a subcategory of MyInnovator, and looks like this: Make certain that the appropriate filtering options are selected to see all of the items of interest. Double-clicking on any item opens the item's Completion Worksheet, which typically looks like this: 118

125 Innovator Administration The different areas of the Completion Worksheet are: 1. Tasks - lists all the tasks specified in the activity Tasks tab. Those tasks that are required have to be explicitly checked to indicate completion. 2. Variables - if variables are specified in the activity Variables tab, where Hidden = false, these variables will appear here. If there are variables that are Required, and no default value is specified, then a value must be entered for them before the activity can be completed. 3. Vote - the assignee chooses to either vote or delegate the activity. The Vote drop down box typically lists all the exit paths from the current activity, plus options such as: Delegate and Refuse. The Refuse option then re-assigns the activity according to the escalation path: Escalate To identity on the assignment itself -> Escalate To identity on the Activity -> Process Owner identity -> Workflow Map creator. The Delegate option brings up an Identity search dialog from which a new assignee can be chosen. 4. Authentication - if the activity requires authentication, a password or an E-Signature (set in the User Preferences for each Logon Identity), it has to 119

126 Just Ask Innovator be entered here before the activity can be completed. If no authentication is specified in the activity, these fields will be grayed out. Action Buttons: 1. Complete - error checks the activity (to make sure that all required tasks have been checked, variables entered, etc.), marks the activity as complete, and continues the workflow. 2. Save Changes - saves all the information entered on the form, but does not process the activity. This is a useful option for activities that have a long list of tasks, and the assignee wishes to keep track of what has been completed. Also, if the activity is assigned to a group, then different members of the group may work on different tasks. Once a task is completed, marked as complete, and saved, all members of that group will see this information on their Worksheets, thereby reducing duplication of effort. 3. Cancel - closes the form without saving any of the changes made to it since it was opened. Attaching a Workflow to an Item Currently a workflow is attached to an item by specifying the workflow in the ItemType definition, under the Workflows tab. 1. From TOC, Administration, ItemTypes, select the ItemType to which you want to add a workflow and open it for edit. 2. Select the Workflows tab. 120

127 Innovator Administration 3. Click on the New Item icon. The workflow search dialog is opened. Select the workflow to add, and hit the green check button. 4. Check Default if you would like this workflow to start automatically when a new instance of the item is created. All workflows associated with the item must be listed on this tab. For example, if you have a subflow for one of the Default Workflow's activities, it must be listed here (but not marked as a Default). If you have a workflow that you wish to activate programmatically, you must also list it here, with the Default box unchecked. Revisions About Revisions Revisions is a list or a series of symbols to be used to signify the major revision of a versionable item. All versionable items automatically get a generation number. This number is incremented every time a change is made to the item; the change including a locking of the item, updating the item, and then saving and unlocking the item. The revision, or the property of the item called Major Rev is incremented only when the item has reached its Released life cycle state, and is then updated again. To learn more about this concept, see Life Cycle Maps and Versioning (todo??? put a ref here to life cycles and versioning). When the Major Rev is incremented, since it does not have to be a numeric, Innovator has to provide the next element in the series. The series that provides this new element, is called Revisions. Let's look at an example: Here is an ItemType definition for an Item called EllenTest. Notice that the Revisions defined for this ItemType is called PartsRevision. 121

128 Just Ask Innovator The PartsRevision Revision looks like this: Notice that the Revision only has two properties - the name and the actual list of revisions. If creating this list, choose names that will indicate a progression, and can be easily recognized as coming before or after a certain element. Here is an instance of EllenTest, called TestPart. Notice that its initial revision is PartA. Notice also that this item is in the Released life cycle state. This means that the next time we update and save the item, it should have not only a new generation, but also a new Major Rev or revision. Let's edit and save the item again. Here is the result. Notice that the next element in the Revision series is used to increment Major Rev. 122

129 Innovator Administration Creating a Revision To create a new Revision: 1. From TOC, Administration select Revisions, and click the New Item icon. 2. The Revision dialog window is displayed. 4. Fill out the following properties: a. Name - the name of the revision b. Revisions - the series of names for new revisions to be used. These names should be sequential and easily recognized in terms of order and increment. 3. Click the Save, Unlock, and Close icon to save this new item. Preferences 123

130 Just Ask Innovator Preferences Type topic text here. Package Definitions PackageDefinitions Type topic text here. Configurable Grids About Configurable Grids Type topic text here. Configuration Management About Configuration Management About Versions About Revisions Lifecycle Item Behavior RelationshipType Item Behavior 124

131 Client User Interface Getting Started Logging In Innovator must be properly installed and its licenses configured prior to general user access. Please refer to the Innovator Install Guide for information on the installation and configuration of Innovator. To log in as administrator: 1. Start Internet Explorer 2. Point your web browser at Note: The logon address to Innovator is determined by the IIS Web Server alias name setup. This is typically InnovatorServer. See the Innovator Install Guide for details. 3. Enter the administrator s designated username and password. Note: Initial administrator login setup instruction is provided in the Innovator Install Guide. 4. Click Login button Main View Once you log into Innovator, what you see is the main view, and it looks like this: 125

132 Just Ask Innovator Sometimes we will refer to the Tool Bar as the Main Tool bar, since other dialogs will also have tool bars and menu bars. The TOC folders are also called Categories, and they can be expanded by clicking on the + icon. Logging Off From release notes: Notification of unsaved Items and open Windows upon system exit. 126

133 Using Innovator Navigation About Navigation Innovator provides a main menu, right-mouse-click menus and toolbar icons for navigation and actions. Access to administrative and end-user functions is through the Main Tree, also referred to as TOC (table of contents) located in the left frame of the Innovator screen. The Main Tree is divided into Categories (folders) that provides access to all objects (Items) within Innovator. Double-click a category, or click on the plus sign to expand the folder and access its items. The right frame displays the Item List for the selected category. The Item List can be filtered through the Search fields at the top of the pane. When you select an item from the Item List, all available menu choices and tool bar icons will become enabled. We will explore many different aspects of navigation including: Search 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Search The following searching techniques apply not only to searching for items in the Item List pane, but also to any type of search from many Innovator dialogs. Let's look at the typical Search tools and icons first. 127

134 Just Ask Innovator The icons used most often are: 1. Blue Row - The row below the column headings and above the listed items is used to enter search criteria. In the figure above, the criteria is entered in the Name property of the item Search. If no criteria are selected, will display the full list of items, else will display only those items that satisfy the criteria Clear Search Criteria. Clears all search criteria from the blue row where the criteria are entered Lookup.???? 5. - Select All. Selects all of the items currently displayed Page Size Limit. This limit is the number of items that can be displayed in one page. If the search returns 100 items, and the Page Size limit is 10, it would take 10 pages to view all of the items. If the limit is not set, all items returned by the search are displayed in one scrollable page Page Up and Page Down. Use these keys to see the next and previous pages of items when the number of items returned by the search exceeds the Page Size Limit. If there are more pages, these buttons are automatically enabled. If they are disabled, that means that the current display is showing all of the items returned by the search Search Result Items Limit - If you wish to see say only the first 5 items returned by a specific search, enter 5 here. The first 5 items of the search results will be displayed. There are three modes of search: Simple, Advanced and Form. Let's look at each one in detail. Simple Search Advanced Search Form Search Tip: If you click on a particular Item contained in a specific category, the search may or may not run automatically, depending on that item's settings. So, if you 128

135 Using Innovator see an empty Item List pane, it's a good idea to always hit the Search button first to become certain that you are seeing all the available items Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Simple Search In Simple mode, a blank filter row (the blue row) appears under the column labels. Enter the filter information into one or more of the fields and then click the Search Records that match all of the filter information are then returned. button. Let's try this example: 1. From TOC, Administration, select ItemTypes. 2. Hit the Search button. You should see pages of ItemTypes. 3. Enter the following criteria in the blue row: a. Name - Act* b. Core Hit Search (or the Enter key). You should see only those items whose name begins with the letters Act, and which are considered core items, i.e. the Core property is set to True or 1. Wildcards To use wildcards in the search criteria, make sure that the wildcards option is checked in the Search menu. 129

136 Just Ask Innovator 1. From the main menu, select Search. 2. Make certain that the menu choice Use wildcards is checked. The use of wildcards, is a great way to narrow down search criteria without knowing the precise wording. For example, if you put a wild card (*) after the letters Act, as shown in the example above, then all Items that start with those letters will be selected. However, if you put the wild card before and after the letters (*act*), the search will widen, and all items that contain the letters "act" anywhere in the name will be selected. See the example below, and notice the three extra items at the bottom: Append Results Another option when performing a simple search is to append the search results from each consecutive search. In effect, this is the logical "and" operator in a 130

137 Using Innovator search that would read - All items that have Activity in their name and Task in their name. Let's see how to perform this search in Innovator. To append results of two searches: 1. Enter Activity* for the search criteria in the Name column, and hit the Search button. 2. From the main menu, select Search, and check the Append Results menu choice. 131

138 Just Ask Innovator 3. Enter *Task* in the criteria line of the Name column, and hit Search. Notice an extra item added at the end of the list: You can keep appending items to this search by entering new criteria and searching. To stop appending, uncheck the Append results menu choice in the main Search menu. Advanced Search In Advanced mode, the user is presented with three fields in which to enter search criteria. Additional criteria lines can be added by clicking the Search button on the menu bar. Records that match all of the filter information are then returned. Form Search In Form mode, the user is presented with a form for entering criteria. The format of the form is based upon the default form definition for the itemtype. One or more of the form fields can be filled in to filter the returned data set. Tree View The Innovator Tree View provides an alternate to the traditional tabbed user interface. The Tree View allows the user to view details of an item and all its related items simultaneously. It also allows multiple levels of the item hierarchy to be viewed. 132

139 Using Innovator Open a node from the Main Tree and select an item from the default grid to enable the Tree View icon View menu. in the Main Toolbar. The Tree View can also be called up from the Tree View Toolbar The Tree View Toolbar sits just beneath the Main toolbar and its properties are described below: 133

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141 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved View Modes Innovator provides three view modes that may be dynamically changed using the toolbar. These views enable users to select a display structure that best suits their use of Innovator. Selecting the appropriate toolbar icon or the View menu selection from the 135

142 Just Ask Innovator main Innovator window sets the default view mode. Additionally, the view mode of each tear-off window can be individually modified. The View Modes include: Tab Bar: Displays item within a tabbed region Print View: Displays item in printer-friendly view 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Default Views When the user clicks on a category in the Main Tree, what gets displayed in the righthand pane depends upon how Innovator is configured. If no changes are made to the standard configuration, Innovator defaults to a search display for the data under any particular object. The category nodes can be customized to display an alternate view of the data by using a form definition Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Filtered Item Browser The Filtered Item Browser allows modification of the Item Browser to enable programmatic control of the default_search criteria. If a predetermined filter needs to be set, the administrator can set up the correct Methods and Actions to apply the filter to the user search bar Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Actions About Actions An Action represents a customizable menu that invokes a Method when selected. The name of the Action is the label on the menu. Each Action is linked to a method that is run when a user selects the Action. Actions can be defined generically or tied to specific ItemType or Items. A generic Action is visible from the menu at all times. Actions that are of type ItemType and Item must be linked on the Action tab as a relationship to the ItemType Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved 136

143 Using Innovator Creating an Action 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Actions node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Click the Create a New Item icon in the main toolbar. The Action dialog window is displayed. 4. Populate fields as indicated in the Action Properties topic of the Actions book. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. The new action is now displayed in the default page in the main window Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Modifying an Action 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Actions node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Action row from the grid and click the Edit Item icon in the main toolbar. The Action [action name] dialog window is displayed. 4. Modify property fields as needed. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. 137

144 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Action Properties Property Name Required Description Name y name of the action Type y specifies what the action runs on Location y specifies where the action runs Method y written code that the action calls Target y where the action runs On Complete n the method that runs once the action is completed Body n a place to specify AML 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Deleting an Action 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 138

145 Using Innovator 2. Click the Actions node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Form row from the grid and click the Delete Item icon in the main toolbar. 4. Click the OK button in the confirmation pop-up window. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. Note: When an error message appears after the confirmation pop-up window the item has not been deleted. The name of the property corresponding to the ItemType appears in the error message as [itemtype_name property_name} and must be deleted from ItemTypes Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Files About Files The Files itemtype is a core itemtype used for managing the storage of files in Innovator vaults. It retains the name of each file stored, the vault in which it is stored, the file type, and the user who has checked it out. It is important to note that the Files itemtype should not be accessed directly as a means of storing files into the vault. To store items in the vault, users should attach a property of Datatype Item, Data Source File to the itemtype to which the file is to be associated Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Adding a File 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Files node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Click the Create a New Item icon in the main toolbar. An Open dialog window is displayed. 4. Select the desired file and click the Open button. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. The new action is now displayed in the default page in the main window. 139

146 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Modifying a File The process of modifying a file is through a procedure of CheckOut and CheckIn. CheckOut locks the File Item in Innovator and sends a copy of the file to the Working Directory of the user performing the CheckOut. The local copy allows a user to make modifications to the file outside of the Innovator environment. When the updated file is ready to be placed back into an Innovator vault, the user proceeds with a CheckIn. On CheckIn, Innovator will search the user s Working Directory for the previously checkedout file. When Innovator cannot find the file in the working directory, the user can browse their folders manually to locate the file for upload. While the File Item remains locked, only the user initiating the CheckOut can upload a revised file. Unlocking the File Item will cancel the CheckOut status of the file Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Deleting a File 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Files node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Form row from the grid and click the Delete Item icon in the main toolbar. 4. Click the OK button in the confirmation pop-up window. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. Note: When an error message appears after the confirmation pop-up window the item has not been deleted. The name of the property corresponding to the ItemType appears in the error message as [itemtype_name property_name} and must be deleted from ItemTypes Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved File Properties Property Name Required Description File Name y name of the File that is stored in the vault File Type y type of file as indicated by its extension File Size y file size in bytes 140

147 Using Innovator CheckedOut Path n location of the local copy of the file when it has been checked out for editing Comments n comment field 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved FileTypes About FileTypes FileTypes define the viewer processing rules for files managed by the Innovator vault. The FileType Items are used to pass the desired mime type association with a file extension to the web browser. The browser uses the mime type association, and launches the application or plugin which is associated with the mime type. Additionally, an explicit application may be defined to be associated with a file extension using the View With tab. The View With tab can direct the file to a specific application to be used for file viewing Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Creating a FileType 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the FileTypes node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Click the Create a New Item icon in the main toolbar. The FileType dialog window is displayed. 4. Populate fields as indicated in the FileType Properties topic of the FileTypes book. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. The new action is now displayed in the default page in the main window. 141

148 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Modifying a FileType 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the FileTypes node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a FileType row from the grid and click the Edit Item icon in the main toolbar. The FileType [filetype name] dialog window is displayed. 4. Modify property fields as needed. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. 142

149 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved FileType Properties Property Name Required Description Name y name of the filetype Ext. (Extension) y extension type (.doc,.pdf,.txt, etc..) Mime Type (Content Type) y the correct mime type that the file will represent Description n description of the mime type Rule Type n defines how many bytes to read from the file Pattern n value of the first X number of bytes defined by the ruletype needed to find a match Priority n defines the order in which the rules are used 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Deleting a FileType 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the FileTypes node to display its default page in the main window. 143

150 Just Ask Innovator 3. Select a Form row from the grid and click the Delete Item icon in the main toolbar. 4. Click the OK button in the confirmation pop-up window. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. Note: When an error message appears after the confirmation pop-up window the item has not been deleted. The name of the property corresponding to the ItemType appears in the error message as [itemtype_name property_name} and must be deleted from ItemTypes Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Forms About Forms A Form is a dynamically generated page that contains content ItemType property information and acts as an area for data entry, viewing and general sharing among users. Forms are designed by administrators to present relevant information in a predetermined layout and can be the basis for end-user interaction through the use of controls (checkboxes, buttons, menus, etc.), and labels on those controls. Users generally "complete" a Form by modifying the control value (entering text, selecting menu items, etc.), before submitting (saving) the Form Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Creating a Form 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Forms node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Click the Create a New Item icon in the main toolbar. The Form dialog window is displayed. 4. Populate fields as indicated in the Form Properties topic of the Forms book. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. The new action is now displayed in the default page in the main window. 144

151 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Modifying a Form 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Forms node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Form row from the grid and click the Edit Item icon in the main toolbar. The Form [form name] dialog window is displayed. 4. Modify property fields as needed. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. 145

152 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Adding Elements to a Form Layout Users interact with forms through named elements called fields. Fields are explicitly bound to a property made available through in the form s ItemType reference. These fields may be logically grouped and arranged in the form layout area with customization of position, control selection (e.g., list/combo box, text area), labeling, fonts, and etc. A control's initial value is determined by the default value of the property which is bound to the control. Thereafter, the control's current value may be modified through user interaction and methods. Upon selection of a Form, the Innovator workspace displays the form-editing tool. The horizontal tabs allow access and modification to the form properties. The lower frame displays the form layout. A new Form template is automatically created when a new ItemType is initially saved. By default, ItemType Properties are displayed in the form layout. When additional properties are added to an ItemType, the related fields must be manually added to the ItemType Form Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved 146

153 Using Innovator Adding Additional Fields to a Form Layout 1. Click the pull down menu from form layout toolbar to access a list of Unused properties. 2. Select a property to add to the Form Layout 3. Click on and drag the property in the layout frame to the desired position. 4. Edit field properties, as needed Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Form Property Tabs 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Field Type Properties 147

154 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Field Label Properties 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Field Physical Properties 148

155 Using Innovator 149

156 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Field Border Properties 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Form Properties Property Name Required Description Name y name of Form Description n description of the Form Width n width of the Form when it is brought up Stylesheet n stylesheet that is applied to the Form when opened Height n height of the Form when opened 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Form Body Properties 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Form Event Properties 150

157 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Form Layout Designer Toolbar Icons 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Events Field Events and Form Events enable Methods to be executed on either the client or server side based on user actions. Methods are stored in Innovator as described in the Methods section. Events can be triggered from user actions such as mouse events (clicking, moving), or by page actions such as loading or printing. Methods can be executed either on the client or on the server as defined within the method code. Event Triggers in Forms 151

158 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Deleting a Form 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Forms node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Form row from the grid and click the Delete Item icon in the main toolbar. 4. Click the OK button in the confirmation pop-up window. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. Note: When an error message appears after the confirmation pop-up window the item has not been deleted. The name of the property corresponding to the ItemType appears in the error message as [itemtype_name property_name} and must be deleted from ItemTypes Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved 152

159 Using Innovator ItemTypes Items and Relationships - Standard Work Procedure Gather data first: Process-map the business application with users. Draw a diagram of the data model (see below). Complete a worksheet for each Item Type and refer to the Creating an ItemType section as needed. Complete a worksheet for each Relationship and refer to the Adding a RelationshipType section as needed. Identify key properties. Sample Data Model 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Item Appearance 1. Create Item Types and Relationships 2. Populate several items with actual data Decide whether to auto-search, Mark at top Decide Default View 3. Choose Search properties to appear in main grid, check or uncheck "Hidden" 153

160 Just Ask Innovator Some fields are more important than others Some fields do not display well in grid format, e.g., text Some core fields, e.g., created by or created on may be used 4. Choose what Order to use across the grid and mark as sort order 5. Determine width for fields and labels, mark as width Default width is 100 pixels (about 10 characters) Consider short labels for short data fields 6. Choose Alignment, note labels are fixed center, mark if data is not left-aligned 7. Determine if any defaults are time-saving, mark if required 8. Choose vertical order on page Relationship grid 1. Choose which properties to show - use "hidden 2" 2. Decide Relationship Item and Related Item properties - left, right, or mixed 3. Decide horizontal order 4. Consider widths, share widths with main grid, change if needed 5. Decide Vertical Order 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved ItemType Properties The following table defines the properties in the upper form area of an ItemType definition window. 154

161 Using Innovator Property Name Required Description Name y name of the ItemType Default Lifecycle y lifecycle that the Itemtype adheres to Label n the name the end user sees Default Structure n how the itemtype is browsed, by 155

162 Just Ask Innovator View default Versionable n if the Itemtype is able to have revisions Manual Versioning n when versionable is selected, the Itemtype is able to have revisions created manually Revisions y revision pattern Auto Search n automatically searches for all items of that type in the main grid Default Page Size n will limit the number of items shown in the main grid when a search is preformed Max Records n total number of records that Innovator will return Save History n determines whether or not the history of the Itemtype is tracked Unlock On Logout n unlocks items current user has locked upon logout Dependent n when the item is dependant on another itemtype Use Src Access n takes the access from the source itemtype and applies it to the current itemtype Is Relationship n if item is a relationship Allow Private Permissions n default is on - allows private permissions be created for instances of this item type Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved ItemType Tabs The following table defines the function of the tabs available in an ItemType definition window. 156

163 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Properties Tab Fields ItemTypes use a set of Properties to describe and identify every Item instance Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved History Innovator provides the ability to track the history of an item and record the changes that have been made since its creation. History is only tracked for those itemtypes that have the Save_History property checked. This prevents the database from being taxed by unnecessary data. Unchecking the checkbox does not remove any history records that have been created, but will prevent any new history records from being saved. Any 157

164 Just Ask Innovator recorded history data can be viewed regardless of the current setting of the Save_History property. History for a given item can be viewed from either the Edit or View forms by selecting History from the Views menu. History Data All history for a given item is stored together so that it spans all of the configurations for an item. When viewing history, the following properties are displayed: Actions that Save History Only specific actions will cause a history record to be written. The actions that trigger the writing of a history record are as follows: 158

165 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved 159

166 Just Ask Innovator Modifying an ItemType 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the ItemType node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select an ItemType row from the grid and click the Edit Item icon in the main toolbar. The ItemType [itemtype name] dialog window is displayed. 4. Modify property fields as needed. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Deleting an ItemType 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the ItemTypes node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Form row from the grid and click the Delete Item icon in the main toolbar. 4. Click the OK button in the confirmation pop-up window. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. 160

167 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Copy and Paste About Copy and Paste The Copy and Paste function allows for efficient production usage of Innovator 7.0. Items can be copied from within the data model and pasted into compatible items. Additionally the function allows the user to: Copy one or more (multi-selected) items from within the relationship grid. Paste the contents of the clipboard into the same or different source item of the same ItemType. View contents of clipboard in a pop-up window that identifies the source item, relationship type, and related item in the grid. Maintain a clipboard that contains items copied from a different source types wherein the paste process has determined whether or not the pasted items are compatible with the target source item. To Copy The copy process use the Innovator Object Model (IOM) to obtain and display the following information for each relationship saved on the Clipboard: Source id Source type Source keyed name Related id Related type Related keyed name The Copy process stores the original ID on the clipboard. New ID's are assigned during the Paste process. To Copy from the Relationship Grid 1. Highlight one or more items (rows) in the relationship grid. 2. Click the Copy icon in the main toolbar. New clipboard entries are then generated for the copied item(s) and appear in the Clipboard Manager dialog. 161

168 Just Ask Innovator To Paste The Paste function is a client-side activity that adds new relationship items and structure from previously copied data returned from the server. Paste uses the Innovator Object Model (IOM) to add the new relationships to the target item. Note: The database is not updated automatically. Effective updating is achieved by saving the target in a separate operation. To Paste from the Main Grid 1. Highlight one or more items (rows) in the relationship grid. 2. Click the Paste icon in the main toolbar. The node list from the last Copy operation is then pasted into the source item. 3. See Note on Compatibility below. To Paste from a Tear-off Window When the Tear-off document.item is the target of the paste: 1. Select Paste from the menu. The last copied node is then pasted into the open item. 2. See Note on Compatibility below. To Paste from the Relationship Grid 162

169 Using Innovator 1. Click Paste from the Relationship toolbar. The last copied node is then pasted into the active tab. 2. See Note on Compatibility below. Note on Compatibility The node list is considered compatible when any of the relationships in the node list meet one of the following criteria: 1. The source and the target share the same RelationshipTypes. 2. The source and target do not share the same RelationshipTypes but do share the same related types AND the related type of the target is!= NULL. A confirmation message is then displayed for the user. Versions About Versions The business rule behavior of an Item is established by the default properties of its ItemType definition and its Lifecycle State Properties stored on the Item instance. As an Item instance moves through the States of a business Lifecycle it may undergo changes (versioning) to its meta-data or its Relationships. These changes result in a reidentification of the Item over time, using revision, version and generation properties. The versioning behavior is controlled by the ItemType definition properties, and the flags attached to the current Lifecycle State. Versioning can be initiated as either an automatic or a manual process. When selected as an automatic process, the Generation of the item is incremented each time the item is changed (i.e., locked, edited and unlocked). The lifecycle for the item is automatically set back to the lifecycle start state. When manual versioning is selected, the item is only incremented upon explicit request by a user. As with automatic versioning, the Generation is incremented and the lifecycle is set back to the start state. Additional logic has been incorporated to control incrementing of a Major_Rev. When the lifecycle state for an item instance is a release state, any subsequent changes to that item will result in a new Major_Rev, as well as incrementing the Generation and setting the lifecycle back to the start state. 163

170 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Creating a Version 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the ItemTypes node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Click the Create a New Item icon in the main toolbar. The ItemType dialog window is displayed. 4. Populate fields as indicated in the ItemType Properties topic of the ItemTypes book. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. The new action is now displayed in the default page in the main window. 164

171 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Automatic Versions When selected as an automatic process, the generation of an item is incremented each time the item is changed (i.e., locked, edited and unlocked). Additionally, the lifecycle for the item is automatically set back to the lifecycle start state. Example behavior of the lifecycle of an Item (for example, a Part) utilizing automatic versioning: 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Manual Versions Manual Versions is an optional capability that an Administrator can perform on an Item. When an ItemType is defined by an Administrator and is marked as Versionable, the action of creating a new Version can be performed by the system automatically, through custom business logic, or manually, by a user. When Manual Versioning is enabled, a 165

172 Just Ask Innovator Version menu option is available. By selecting this menu option, a new version of the item is created. Note: Manual Versioning can only be performed on items that are currently unlocked Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Modifying a Version 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Versions node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Version row from the grid and click the Edit Item icon in the main toolbar. The Version [version name] dialog window is displayed. 4. Modify property fields as needed. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Deleting a Version Please check back here soon! Methods About Methods Methods are scripts that perform business logic and are called in a variety of ways. A Method item has the properties name, code, and type. The type property defines the language in which the code is written. An Action is the end-user wrapper that enables a client interface to invoke the logic of a Method. Developers use the Method ItemType to store the business logic in the Innovator database. Methods may be implemented on either the client or server using Innovator APIs. There are several ways in which Methods can be used for both client and server invocations: One use of Methods is to implement business logic before and after the client or server performs some action on the item. For example, the onbeforeadd server event can call a Method before the server add action is performed so that the user can do something with an item just before the item is added to the database. This provides the application programmer the means to interact with the item before the server acts on it. The 166

173 Using Innovator method might augment the XML for the item from some external source before the server acts on it. Methods are also used to build new server logic that takes action on items. These are called on an item in a manner similar to core server actions: add, version, update, delete, and get. The application developer can implement business logic that can extends the Innovator server capabilities as needed. Methods can also be called in a generically when there is a need for arbitrary business logic not intended to operate on a specific item Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Standard Work Procedure for Methods 1. Gather documents defining Items you will be working with a. Item/Relationship diagram with ItemType names b. List of property names and data_types for each Item 2. Make a plan. Client or Server a. How to call b. What input c. Desired result 3. Walk through process in UI. Make sure that Innovator will do what you want a. Consider effect of lock status on your method b. Consider effect of missing or invalid data on your method 4. Pseudocode 5. Code. Use a variable naming convention a. Test any XPath b. Test any AML c. Syntax check 6. Set up calling method 7. Test Method - Printable Worksheet 167

174 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved 168

175 Using Innovator Method - Example Worksheet 169

176 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved 170

177 Using Innovator Methods Dialog Toolbar The Cut button cuts the highlighted text in the script area to the windows clipboard. The Copy button places the highlighted text in the windows clipboard. The Paste button places the text from the clipboard into the text area where the cursor is located. The Unindent button removes one tab length to the start of every line included in the current selection. The Indent button adds one tab length to the start of every line included in the current selection. The Find button searches in the text area for the input string. The Replace button searches for and replaces an input string. The Undo button undoes the last editing action. Unlimited levels of undo are supported. The Redo button undoes the last Undo action. The Comment button comments the selected lines. The Uncomment button uncomments the selected lines. The Check Syntax button performs a complete syntax check of the method code. Creating a Method 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Methods node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Click the Create a New Item icon in the main toolbar. The Method dialog window is displayed. 4. Populate fields as indicated in the Method Properties topic of the Methods book. 171

178 Just Ask Innovator 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. The new action is now displayed in the default page in the main window Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Modifying a Method 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Methods node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Method row from the grid and click the Edit Item icon in the main toolbar. The Method [method name] dialog window is displayed. 4. Modify property fields as needed. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. 172

179 Using Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Method Properties Property Name Required Description Name y name of the method Method Type y language in which method is written Code n where to enter the method code 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Deleting a Method 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Methods node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Form row from the grid and click the Delete Item icon in the main toolbar. 4. Click the OK button in the confirmation pop-up window. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. 173

180 Just Ask Innovator Note: When an error message appears after the confirmation pop-up window the item has not been deleted. The name of the property corresponding to the ItemType appears in the error message as [itemtype_name property_name} and must be deleted from ItemTypes Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Reports About Reports The Report Tool is the user interface for creating and maintaining Reports about items and their configurations. The principle user interface for the Report Tool is a WYSIWYG designer page that arranges the Report layout using table controls. It is a point and click interface wherein the user is able to interactively edit the page layout by clicking appropriate cells, content and structure. Cell content can be static text, an item property value, the result of a formula or function, or more structural by adding a sub table. Reports are relationships on the ItemType. The Report item has properties that define how to query data for the Report and format it for display. Reports tend to fall into the following types: A report about an item and its relationships. For example, a BOM report. These are Item type Reports. A static query report about items by ItemType. For example, an Open ECO report. These are ItemType type Reports. A dynamic query report about items by ItemType. The user will interactively enter query criteria for the report. These are Generic type Reports Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Creating a Report 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Reports node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Click the Create a New Item icon in the main toolbar. The Report dialog window is displayed. 4. Populate fields as indicated in the Report Properties topic of the Reports book. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. The new action is now displayed in the default page in the main window Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved 174

181 Using Innovator Report Properties These properties are accessible on the Report tab of the Report dialog. Property Name Required Description Name y name of Report Type n how the Report is handled by the server and when it appears on the menu bar Location n defines where the method is called for running a Report, i.e., client or server Target n where to show the Report results Description n description of the Report. Report Query n the AML query or XSLT stylesheet to make the AML query from the item Sample Selected Item n display of data received from the Report Query 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Running Reports The main menu bar has a Reports menu choice, which is context sensitive as the user navigates the main tree. The drop down menu is populated with the Report items related to the ItemType selected from the tree. How Reports appear on the Reports menu: The Generic type Reports are always shown. (Generic Reports will tend to be interactive and the user interface will be implemented in future release.) The ItemType type Reports are shown when the ItemType is selected from the main tree. The Item type Reports are only shown when an item is selected. Plus Item type Reports appear on the right-mouse context popup menu Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Modifying a Report 1. Expand the Administration folder in the tree view. 2. Click the Reports node to display its default page in the main window. 3. Select a Report row from the grid and click the Edit Item icon in the main toolbar. The Report [report name] dialog window is displayed. 4. Modify property fields as needed. 5. Click the Save, Unlock, Close icon in the upper toolbar. 175

182 Just Ask Innovator 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Report ItemType Reports are the result of an AML or a Method query. The Report ItemType implements the properties for the user to define the query and XSLT stylesheet or Method. Additionally, the Report describes where and how the Report is viewed on the client. The Report ItemType has the following properties: 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Report Tab When the user opens a Report item from the Reports tab on the ItemType window, the Report Tool will open. This is the standard Tear-off Item Window which includes a standard menu bar and toolbar. Below it is the Report Tool tab bar allowing the user to switch between the Report Form, the Designer Editor, and the XSLT stylesheet Text Editor. The Report tab is where one sets up the Report, e.g., name, type, target window, and query criteria. 176

183 Using Innovator The Report Tab provides the ability to run the query and visualize the results in a tree structure. The Query Results tree is a read-only interface to navigate and confirm the data completeness for the Report in design. The following icons are used to describe the data in the tree: The table below provides a description for each field on the Report Form: 2004 Aras Corporation - All Rights Reserved Report Query 177