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Using Change Manager

The Change Manager application is the Oracle Change Management Pack central interface. Change Manager gives you direct or indirect access to all of the Oracle Change Management Pack operations (in cases where Change Manager cannot directly perform an operation, such as capturing or comparing object definitions, Change Manager starts the application that performs that operation).

Change Manager provides access to all the Oracle Change Management Pack objects owned by all users, and allows appropriate operations on these objects depending on ownership.

Objects are ordered by owner in the Change Manager navigator tree. Each user has read and write access to the object definitions that he or she owns, and has read-only access to object definitions owned by other users.

Starting Change Manager

You can start the Change Manager application in any of the following ways:

• From the Oracle Enterprise Manager console, use any of these methods:
  • Select a database in the navigator panel, click the right mouse button, point to the Related Tools menu option, then click Change Manager.

  • On the Tools menu, point to Change Management Pack, then click Change Manager.

  • Click the Change Management Pack drawer, then click the Change Manager icon.

• On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, then to the Oracle Home where Oracle Enterprise Manager is installed, then to Change Management Pack, then click Change Manager.

See "Starting Change Management Pack Applications from Change Manager" for more information on starting the other Change Management Pack applications from Change Manager and "Starting DBA Studio from Change Manager" for more information on starting DBA Studio from Change Manager.

Using the Change Manager Main Window

The Change Manager main window (see Figure 2-1) has a navigator tree on the left and a detail view on the right.

Figure 2-1 Change Manager Navigator Tree and Detail View

The navigator tree displays the following Oracle Change Management Pack objects, organized by owner:

• baselines

• comparisons

• change plans

If the Change Manager navigator tree contains no objects, this means that no change plans, baselines, or comparisons have been created in the Oracle Enterprise Manager repository that Change Manager is connected to. When you create these objects, they appear in the Change Manager tree.

When you select a Change Management Pack object or object folder and click the right mouse button, a context menu is displayed that lists the operations that can be performed in the current context. If you select an object that you do not own, some of the operations on the context menu are unavailable (for example, you cannot remove or modify an object that you do not own, because you have read-only access to objects owned by other users). On the context menu, choose any available operation that you are interested in performing.

When the Change Manager Users folder (the root of the Change Manager tree) is selected (as in Figure 2-1), the detail view provides information about Oracle Change Management Pack applications and the operations that they can perform. Click on an application's icon in the detail view to learn more about the operations that the application can perform.

When other folders or objects are selected in the Change Manager tree, the detail view provides related information about the selected folder or object.

Starting Change Management Pack Applications from Change Manager

You start the other Oracle Change Management Pack applications from Change Manager, as follows:

• Baseline Viewer

  Expand the Change Manager folder, user folder, and Baselines folder in the Change Manager tree, select a baseline, then on the Object menu, click View Baseline.

• DB Alter

  On the Change Manager Tools menu, click DB Alter.

• DB Capture

  On the Change Manager Object menu, click Create Baseline.

• DB Diff

  On the Change Manager Object menu, click Compare Database Objects.

• DB Propagate

  On the Change Manager Tools menu, click DB Propagate.

• DB Search

  On the Change Manager Tools menu, click Find Database Objects.

• DB Quick Change

  On the Change Manager Tools menu, click DB Quick Change.

• Plan Editor

  On the Change Manager Object menu, click Create Change Plan, then in the Create Change Plan Options dialog box, click Create Change Plan Manually.

Starting DBA Studio from Change Manager

In some cases, you may want to start DBA Studio to quickly create or modify object definitions. To start DBA Studio from Change Manager, on the Tools menu, click DBA Studio.

Working with Baselines

Table 2-1 describes how to use Change Manager to perform different types of baseline operations.

Table 2-1 Performing Baseline Operations

Operation	Steps for Performing the Operation
Create a new baseline	On the Change Manager Object menu, click Create Baseline and follow the steps in the DB Capture application.
View a baseline	Select the baseline in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click View Baseline.
Delete a baseline	Select the baseline in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Remove. This deletes all the versions of the baseline.
Export a baseline to a file	On the Change Manager Tools menu, click Export Plans/Baselines/Comparisons, then specify the baseline to export and the name of the export file.
Import a baseline from a file	On the Change Manager Tools menu, click Import Plans/Baselines/Comparisons, then specify the name of the export file and the baseline to import.
Create a new version of a baseline	Select the baseline in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Recapture.
View a previous version of a baseline	Select the baseline in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Show Versions. In the Versions dialog box, click the version you want to view, then click View.
Delete a previous version of a baseline	Select the baseline in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Show Versions. In the Versions dialog box, click the version you want to delete, then click Remove.
View history entries for baseline tasks	On the View menu, click Show History. In the History dialog box, view history entries for completed baseline tasks on the History page.

For more information on working with baselines, see:

• "Viewing History Entries for Tasks" for more information on viewing history entries for baseline tasks.

• "Working With a Particular Version of a Change Plan, Baseline, or Comparison" for more information on working with particular versions of baselines.

• "Exporting and Importing Change Plans, Baselines, and Comparisons" for more information on exporting and importing baselines.

Working with Comparisons

Table 2-2 describes how to use Change Manager to perform different types of comparison operations.

Table 2-2 Performing Comparison Operations

Operation	Steps for Performing the Operation
Create a new comparison	On the Change Manager Tools menu, click Compare Database Objects and follow the steps in the DB Capture application.
View a comparison	Select the comparison in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click View Comparison.
Delete a comparison	Select the comparison in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Remove. This deletes all the versions of the comparison.
Export a comparison to a file	On the Change Manager Tools menu, click Export Plans/Baselines/Comparisons, then specify the comparison to export and the name of the export file.
Import a comparison from a file	On the Change Manager Tools menu, click Import Plans/Baselines/Comparisons, then specify the name of the export file and the comparison to import.
Create a new version of a comparison	Select the comparison in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Repeat Comparison.
View a previous version of a comparison	Select the comparison in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Show Versions. In the Versions dialog box, click the version you want to view, then click View.
Delete a previous version of a comparison	Select the comparison in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Show Versions. In the Versions dialog box, click the version you want to delete, then click Remove.
View history entries for comparison tasks	On the View menu, click Show History. In the History dialog box, view history entries for completed comparison tasks on the History page.

For more information on working with comparisons, see:

• "Viewing History Entries for Tasks" for more information on viewing history entries for comparison tasks.

• "Working With a Particular Version of a Change Plan, Baseline, or Comparison" for more information on working with particular versions of comparisons.

• "Exporting and Importing Change Plans, Baselines, and Comparisons" for more information on exporting and importing comparisons.

Working with Change Plans

Table 2-3 describes how to use Change Manager to perform different types of change plan operations.

Table 2-3 Performing Change Plan Operations

Operation	Steps for Performing the Operation
Create a new change plan	On the Object menu, click Create Change Plan. Then in the Create Change Plan Options dialog box, select the name of the application that you want to use to create the change plan (the Create Manually option lets you use Plan Editor to create the plan). See Chapter 3, "Using Plan Editor" for more information on using Plan Editor to create a change plan.
View and modify a change plan	Select the change plan in the tree. On the Object menu, click Edit Change Plan. This lets you view and modify the change plan using Plan Editor. See Chapter 3, "Using Plan Editor" for more information on using Plan Editor to edit and modify a change plan.
Delete a change plan	Select the change plan in the tree. On the Object menu, click Remove. This deletes all versions of the change plan.
Rename a change plan	Select the change plan in the tree. On the Object menu, click Edit Change Plan. On the General page for the plan in Plan Editor, edit the name of the plan, then click one of the folders in the Plan Editor tree. When the new plan name appears in the Plan Editor tree, exit Plan Editor. On the Change Manager View menu, click Refresh to see the plan's new name displayed in the Change Manager tree.
Export a change plan to a file	On the Change Manager Tools menu, click Export Plans/Baselines/Comparisons, then specify the change plan to export and the name of the export file.
Import a change plan from a file	On the Change Manager Tools menu, click Import Plans/Baselines/Comparisons, then specify the name of the export file and the change plan to import.
Create a new version of a change plan	None. Oracle Change Management Pack automatically creates a new version of a change plan when necessary to ensure that the history features for the change plan work properly.
View a previous version of a change plan	Select the change plan in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Show Versions. In the Versions dialog box, click the version you want to view, then click View.
Delete a previous version of a change plan	Select the change plan in the tree. On the Change Manager Object menu, click Show Versions. In the Versions dialog box, click the version you want to delete, then click Remove.
View history entries for change plan tasks	On the View menu, click Show History. In the History dialog box, view history entries for pending plan tasks on the Pending page and view history entries for completed plan tasks on the History page.

For more information on working with change plans, see:

• "Viewing History Entries for Tasks" for more information on viewing history entries for change plan tasks.

• "Working With a Particular Version of a Change Plan, Baseline, or Comparison" for more information on working with particular versions of change plans.

• "Exporting and Importing Change Plans, Baselines, and Comparisons" for more information on exporting and importing change plans.

Viewing History Entries for Tasks

You can view history entries that show the status of the following Oracle Change Management Pack tasks:

• Script generation

• Script execution

• Capturing baselines

• Performing comparisons

By viewing the history entries for pending tasks and completed tasks, you can determine when each Oracle Change Management Pack task was performed and its completion status.

To view the history entries for tasks in the current Oracle Change Management Pack repository, on the Change Manager View menu, choose the Show History option, which displays the History dialog box. The History dialog box allows you to view both pending tasks and completed tasks.

Viewing and Completing Pending Tasks

Click the Pending tab of the History dialog box to view pending tasks. Pending tasks are script executions that need to be kept or undone. See "Executing the Script with Plan Editor" for more information on keeping or undoing the changes made by a change plan script.

The history entries on the Pending page of the History dialog box enable you to keep track of the Oracle Change Management Pack pending tasks, which need further attention. Each row on the Pending page is a history entry for one pending task.

When you complete a pending task and refresh the History dialog box, the entry is moved to the History page. You also have the option of manually moving an entry for a pending task to the History page.

On the Pending page, you can perform the operations shown in Table 2-4:

Table 2-4 Operations That Can be Performed on Pending Tasks

Operation	Steps to Perform the Operation
Complete a pending task	Select a pending task and click the GoTo button. On the Execution Log page, click Keep or Undo to keep or undo the changes made by the script execution.
Update the pending tasks display	Click the Refresh button. Any new pending tasks are displayed. Any previously pending tasks that have been completed are removed from the Pending page and displayed on the History page.
Manually move a pending task to the History page	Select a pending task and click the Move to History button. This moves the pending task to the History page, where you have the option of completing it later.
Save history entries to a file	Click the Save List button. The Save List dialog box lets you save some or all of the pending task history entries in a file. You have the option of viewing and printing the information to be included in the file before saving the file.
Sort history entries	Click a column heading on the Pending page. The first time you click a heading, the history entries are sorted in ascending order, using the values in that column. If you click again on the same heading, the history entries are sorted in descending order, using the values in that column.

You are notified of any pending tasks on the Pending page and are given the opportunity to complete them each time you exit Change Manager.

Viewing Completed Tasks

Click the History tab of the History dialog box to view completed tasks.

The history entries on the History page of the History dialog box enable you to track the Oracle Change Management Pack tasks that have been completed or that have been manually moved from the Pending page to the History page. Each row on the History page is a history entry for one completed task or a pending task that was manually moved from the Pending page. The status for a particular history entry tells you whether the task completed successfully or not.

On the History page, you can perform the operations shown in Table 2-5:

Table 2-5 Operations That Can be Performed on Completed or Manually Moved Tasks

Operation	Steps to Perform the Operation
Remove a task	Select a task and click Remove.
Update the History page display	Click the Refresh button. Any new completed tasks are displayed.
View a task	Select a task and click GoTo. The appropriate Oracle Change Management Pack window is opened in the correct context for viewing the task. If the selected task is a pending task that was manually moved to the History page, after you click GoTo, click Keep or Undo on the Execution Log page to keep or undo the changes made by the script execution.
Save history entries to a file	Click the Save List button. The Save List dialog box lets you save some or all of the task history entries in a file. You have the option of viewing and printing the information to be included in the file before saving the file.
Sort history entries	Click a column heading on the History page. The first time you click a heading, the history entries are sorted in ascending order, using the values in that column. If you click again on the same heading, the history entries are sorted in descending order, using the values in that column.

Working With a Particular Version of a Change Plan, Baseline, or Comparison

After you create a baseline specification, you can use the specification to generate multiple baselines over time. Similarly, after you create a comparison specification, you can use it to generate multiple comparisons over time. New versions of a change plan are created automatically when necessary to ensure that the history features for change plans work properly.

By default, when you select a change plan, baseline, or comparison in Change Manager, any operations you perform are carried out on the latest version of that object. In some cases, however, you may want to view or remove an earlier version of the object. To do so, after you select the object in Change Manager, on the Object menu, click Show Versions. This displays the Versions dialog box. In the Versions dialog box, select the version of the object that you are interested in, then click View to view the selected version of the object in the appropriate Oracle Change Management Pack window or click Remove to remove the selected version of the object from the Oracle Enterprise Manager repository.

Note: When you remove a version of a change plan, baseline, or comparison, the version numbers for the remaining versions of that object remain the same.

Exporting and Importing Change Plans, Baselines, and Comparisons

You can export and import change plans, baselines, and comparisons using Change Manager. After you export one or more of these objects to a file, you can then import the objects into another repository, which copies the objects from one repository to another.

To export change plans, baselines, or comparisons:

1. In Change Manager, on the Tools menu, click Export Plans/Baselines/Comparisons.

2. In the Export Plans/Baselines/Comparisons dialog box, specify the object or objects to export, then click Export.

3. In the Export Plans/Baselines/Comparisons to which file? dialog box, select a file into which the selected objects will be exported, then click Save.

To import change plans, baselines, or comparisons:

1. In Change Manager, on the Tools menu, click Import Plans/Baselines/Comparisons.

2. In the Import Plans/Baselines/Comparisons from which file? dialog box, identify the file that contains the object or objects that you want to import, then click Open.

3. In the Import Plans/Baselines/Comparisons dialog box, select the object or objects that you want to import, then click Import. If the import utility discovers that any of the objects being imported has the same name as an existing object in the current repository, you will be prompted to either rename the object being imported or to cancel the import operation for that object.

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