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Overview of the Workspace Mode for Siebel Tools

The Workspace feature provides users a new way to manage configurations of repository artifacts in Siebel Tools. This feature allows multiple developers to work on the same repository objects in the Siebel database.

A workspace provides a user with a sandbox for editing, compiling configuration changes until these changes are ready to be delivered into the main workspace (parent, root, or master workspace). This feature ensures isolation from other users making changes to either the same objects or other objects in the application. It is also an alternative to using local databases to make changes to the repository data. Until all updates are coordinated and the final Siebel repository files (SRF) are compiled and distributed to all Siebel Servers and Siebel Mobile Web Clients in the test and the production environments, repository updates that are made in a developer's environment can be compiled and tested without affecting other developers.

In other words, the Workspace feature in Siebel Tools provides the following capabilities:

• A user can make configuration changes to the repository application without any impact on other users.
• Configuration changes are persistent but in isolation from the metadata of the deployed application.
• Only modifications to the configuration (delta) are tracked and stored, while other configurations are referenced from the base repository in order to render a consistent view of the modified application.
• Persistence of configuration changes enables configuration to be a long-running operation or transaction.
• Concurrency is achieved so that multiple users can each modify the same application in isolation from one another.

Workspace is also a feature of Siebel Composer, which is an alternative to the traditional Siebel Tools client. When Siebel Composer is used, Siebel repository files are not generated or used in the Siebel environment. Siebel Composer is provided as a developer preview in Innovation Pack 2016. For more information, see Siebel CRM Composer Developer Preview Guide.

Workspace administrators can enable the Workspace feature for Siebel Tools at the database level by running the executable utility. After the Workspaces mode is enabled for Siebel Tools, it cannot be reverted back to the non-workspace mode. For more information about how to enable Workspace for Siebel Tools, see Enabling the Workspaces Mode for Siebel Tools.

NOTE:  All Siebel Tools developers in a given Siebel development environment must either use a local database or use workspaces.