Bookshelf v8.0: Locking Schedules and Assignments (End User)

Users can set two flags for an activity to freeze (lock) its scheduled time or assignment:

Even if these flags are set, an activity can be rejected from the schedule if it violates a hard constraint. However, the Optimizer does not attempt to change the activity's Planned Start, Planned End, or Employees fields, so that it remains on the user's calendar. Reducing the number of hard constraints used in the schedule can minimize the possibility of rejecting an activity.

NOTE: It is recommended that activities with a status of Done should have the Lock Assignment and Lock Schedule flags set to TRUE.

Where an activity violates a hard constraint, the Lock Assignment and the Lock Schedule flags are both set to TRUE, and the activity is not loaded into memory or updated.

Table 35 describes the general behavior of the ABS and the Optimizer when the Lock Assignment and Lock Schedule flags are used.

Table 35. Behavior of ABS and Optimizer Using Lock Assignment and Lock Schedule Flags
Lock Assignment	Lock Schedule	Behavior
No	No	The ABS can change both the time and owner on load. The Optimizer can change both the time and owner when optimizing.
Yes	No	The ABS can change the time but not the owner on load. The Optimizer can change the time but not the owner when optimizing.
No	Yes	The ABS can change the owner but not the time on load. The Optimizer can change the owner but not the time when optimizing.
Yes	Yes	The ABS cannot change the time or owner on load. The Optimizer cannot change the time or owner when optimizing.

Table 36 describes the effects of the Lock Assignment and Lock Schedule flags on appointment booking.

Table 36. Effects of Lock Assignment and Lock Schedule Flags on Booking Appointments
Lock Assignment	Lock Schedule	Behavior
No	No	The ABS returns multiple time slots for multiple employees.
Yes	No	The ABS only checks the activity owner's calendar to find a list of available time slots.
No	Yes	Clicking the Book Appointment button does not return a list of time slots. Instead, the Insert Activity method (Contract Scheduling) is called internally to insert the activity at its originally scheduled planned start/end. If the activity cannot be scheduled at that time, a No Appointment message is returned to the user.
Yes	Yes	Clicking the Book Appointment button does not return a list of time slots. Instead, the Insert Activity method (Contract Scheduling) is called internally to insert the activity at its originally scheduled Planned Start/End. If the activity cannot be scheduled at that time, a No Appointment message is returned to the user.

The ABS performs validation before scheduling an activity. If the activity has the Lock Assignment flag set without having an owner, the ABS generates a validation error and the activity is not loaded into the cache. The user must correct the error and retry. Similarly, with the Lock Schedule flag set, the Planned Start/End must be set before the user clicks the Book Appointment button. Otherwise, the ABS cannot find an appointment.

NOTE: During loading or when the Insert Activity method is called (this method is the same as the GetConfirmedAppointment method—see GetConfirmedAppointment Method for more information), if an activity with both flags set cannot be scheduled, the ABS does not reset the activity's status to Unscheduled. The activity status remains unchanged. However, the activity is not present in the ABS cache; it only appears as scheduled in the system.