Using Library Manager to Archive Forms and Data

The GenArc program only saves data, not forms. Using Library manager, you can have multiple FAP and LOG files with the same name but with different effective dates.

Archived records include a list of the section names included in the form set and the date on which the data was created. With this information, you can find the version of the form used to create the form set.

You are still responsible for forms management, which means you must determine when changes need to be made to forms and when those changes should be applied in daily operations. No function which calls the Entry module can alter a library.

You can create and maintain libraries in several ways. One way is using Studio’s Library manager. There you can create a new form and save it into a library. Or, you can check out an existing form from a library, make changes, and then check the revised form back into the library.

The Library manager keeps all versions of the form and assigns to each version a revision number. When you check in a form, you can change the date on which the form becomes effective. Effective dates are then used by Documaker Desktop and Documaker Server to find the correct form to use on a given date.

This concept of check-out and check-in is known as version control and also makes sure two people are not working on the same revision of a form at the same time.

Using these tools, you can also add forms and logos to the library and set effective dates—just as you can using Studio. In addition, these programs let you delete forms or revisions of forms from the library or extract forms back to an external FAP or LOG file. These tools also let you change the effective date of a form or graphic without changing its revision date.

You can change a form and enter a new effective date for that revision in the library. When you use the Entry module of Documaker Desktop or Documaker Server, the system determines which forms are required. It then loads the forms from the library—selected by effective date—and saves the data to WIP or Archive. When you retrieve and view the archived form set, the system uses the original date of creation for Documaker Desktop (or Run Date for Documaker Server) to again match the proper effective date of each form.

For example, suppose these entries are in a library.

Notice APPFORM has two entries, each with different effective dates. DECPAGE has only one entry because it has not been changed.

If a transaction which contains APPFORM(1/1/99) and DECPAGE(1/1/98) has a run date of 1/24/99, the system chooses these forms because they had the latest date (and revision in case of a tie on date) which did not exceed the run date.

If you choose to view an archived policy which has a run date of 12/12/98, the system returns APPFORM(1/1/98) and DECPAGE(1/1/98). The system chooses the earlier version of APPFORM because the new revision had an effective date which was later than the archived data.

Notice, however, that Documaker Desktop and Documaker Server do not alter the library. Those in charge of revising the forms are also in charge of establishing the effective dates in the library.

Documaker Server compares the Run Date to the Effective Date in the library database. This helps it determine which version of the fap or log file to print using the GenPrint program, or to archive using the GenArc program.

You must include the Run Date in the recipient batches and in the trnfile in this format: yyyymmdd. The Run Date is the date you get from the extract file—not the date you ran Documaker Server. The fsiuser.ini file must have lby set up in the MasterResource control group.

If you check in the fap and log files into the library, Documaker Server looks for the FAP file first. If the fap file does not include logos, the system ignores the LOG files even if there are effective LOG files in the library. If the fap file contains logos, the system uses the logo file names specified in fap file to look for the logos based on the run date vs. effective date, regardless of which version that you designate in the fap file.

You should not have more than one version of a fap, DDT, or log file for each effective date. If you do, the system will select the version with the highest version\revision number. For example, if you have two versions, both with an effective date of 1/1/999, the Library manager selects version two. If keeping version one is necessary, change its effective date to an earlier date. If you really want to have both versions effective on the same day, do not check the files into the Library manager.

Documaker Server works similar to Documaker Desktop. The main difference is that Documaker Server uses the Run Date from the extract file and stored in the trnfile, instead of the Creation Date.

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