Updating Shells
The Update Shells function lets you quickly add or modify information in a shell. This will "push" the new information to the shells that you specify. By allowing data to be entered or modified once, this function helps to reduce set up time and ensure cross-shell uniformity.
The Update Shells function is available for select modules in shell type templates. Go to: Company Workspace > Admin mode > Templates > Shells
Note: When you copy a Setup (Company Workspace > Admin mode > Templates > Shells > Projects > … > Setup > …) from a Shell template, all the fields in the shell details block will be copied.
The modules that you can update are listed below.
- Users: users, group membership, permissions
- Groups: group names, permissions
- Business Processes and BP Setups: Business processes, setups
- User-defined Reports: Reports, report permissions
- Access Control: modules, users, groups, permissions
- Cost Sheet: Cost sheet columns, column access and restrictions
- SOV: General and Payment Applications structures
- Commitment Funding: Commitment funding sheet structure
- Cash Flow: Properties and permissions
- Rules: Cost or fund rules
- Schedule Sheet Properties: title, description, Master Schedule, status, auto-control, project start date, and error notification. Updating Schedule Sheet Properties from Templates
- Gates: Active or Inactive setups
- Shell Instance Dashboards: dashboards created at the shell level, and are available for users to view (but not edit) with granted permissions
Each of these modules has an Update function where you can use Find to isolate the shells you want to update. The find window contains data elements from the Find form (designed in uDesigner). This makes targeting shells with specific information possible. For example, if you add new users, to the company, and need to add them to many shells, but not every shell, you can add them to a shell template and use the Update Shells functional to add the users to only those shells that require them.
Shells with a status of Active or On-Hold can be updated with this functionality. Inactive or View-Only shells can only have their users or groups updated with this functionality. Users with create permission for the shell type template modules can do this operation.
Note: You update shell information one module at a time. Any Active or On-hold shells can be updated in this way.
When you create a configuration package for your shell templates, the system includes the following configurations from the selected component list:
- All shell templates that are included in the component list.
- Content of the shell template.
- Configuration of selected shells and business processes.
You can package the shell templates that exist in the Development/Test environment and transfer the configuration package to the Production environment, and your configuration package will include the shell details data (data from all tabs in the shell setup).
Currency
The currency, defined in the Currency tab, is included as a part of the configuration package. If the selected currency does not exist, then the system creates one in the destination environment. The currency attributes such as Code, Name, Symbol, and so forth cannot be updated by means of configuration package import. The Currency tab content is update upon every import. If the exchange rates, defined for currencies in the source shell template, do not exist in the destination environment, then the system creates a new exchange rate record for that currency and that exchange rate will be set to Active, and:
- The Effective is set to the configuration package Import Date.
- The Peg rate is brought over from the source environment.
- The Float rate is brought over from the source environment, if the rate does not exist in the destination environment.
Calendar
The calendar, from the Calendar tab, is included as a part of the configuration package. If the selected calendar does not exist, then the system creates one in the destination environment.
Shell Details
The following shell details, in the form, will be exported and imported in the destination environment upon every import:
- Text fields, Pull downs (Integer and String), Radio buttons, check boxes, Integer, Decimal and Currency Amounts and Dates. The dataset values, or the default values, will not transfer unless you include those in your configuration package.
Note: Any picker that refers to some other design object like BP pickers, data pickers, and so forth will not be included.
- The contents of the Organize tab (shell configuration), which defines the shell hierarchy, will be included. This includes the defined sub-shells.
Shells cannot be created if you do not activate them in the Configuration module.
The configuration package creation will fail if:
- The design of the included shell is not a part of the component list.
- The shell design version that is included in the component list does not match the deployed Shell design version.
Business Processes
- A Shell Template can have several Business Processes in the Development/Test environment.
- Only those Business Processes that have been included in the configuration package, marked as publish for production, can be transferred to the Production environment.
- The configuration package can contain Workflows that have been set up (activated in Configuration module). If there are multiple Workflow setups in a Business Process, then all the setups are included in the configuration package, regardless of the status.
- Business Processes, and other design objects, in a template depend on their setups in the Configuration module. Only the configuration setups of the Business Processes, and the Shell that the Business Process resides in, are included in the template can be a part of the configuration package.
- In Workflow setups, where additional filtering on assignees exist for steps, the published design for user attribute form in the configuration package must include the deployed design.
- In Workflow setups, in case the Advance workflow when next step is determined option is selected:
- When the user updates shells (Update Shells option), all of the shells (or the selected shells) will receive the next step setup.
- When the user updates a BP setup, from an environment different than the current environment, then the next step setup will be imported.
User-Defined Reports (UDRs)
You can transfer User-Defined Reports (UDRs) that have been included in a Shell Template (Company Workspace > Admin mode > Templates > Shells) from Development/Test environment to Production environment. The data source for the reports can be a design, a Data View, or a system-provided source.
Single Record Business Process (BP)
The data from the Single Record BP gets exported from the source environment and then gets imported into the destination environment. This includes: Text fields, Pull downs (Integer and String), Radio buttons, check boxes, Integer, Decimal and Currency Amounts and Dates. The dataset values, or the default values, will not transfer unless you include those in your configuration package.
The following data/items are not included in the configuration package:
- Any picker that refers to some other design object like BP pickers or data pickers.
- Attachments, linked records, and general comments.
Groups and Users
- Only the Shell Administrator user will be extracted for User Mapping, when importing the configuration package.
- Only groups will be extracted for the selected components in the shell templates.
Access Control
- For both Admin and User modes, the user can select the permissions for the Design objects in shell templates.
In This Section
Updating Shell Formation - General Procedure
Updating Shells - Setup Node, Business Process
Updating Shells - Setup Node, Dashboards
Updating Shells - Setup Node, Gates
Updating Shells - Setup Node, Planning Manager
Updating Shells - Setup Node, Resource Manager
Updating Shells - Setup Node, Configurable Modules (Classes)
Updating Shells - Configurable Modules Node (Sheets)
Updating Shells - Cost Manager Node, Cash Flow
Updating Shells - Cost Manager Node, Cost Sheet
Updating Shells - Cost Manager Node, Funding - Funding Sheet
Updating Shells - Cost Manager Node, Funding - Commitment Funding Sheet
Updating Shells - Cost Manager Node, Schedule of Values - General Spends
Updating Shells - Cost Manager Node, Schedule of Values - Payment Applications
Updating Shells - Cost Manager Node, Schedule of Values - Summary Payment Applications
Updating Shells - Document Manager Node
Updating Shells - Space Manager Node, Levels Sheet
Updating Shells - Space Manager Node, Stack Plans
Updating Shells - Schedule Manager Node, Schedule Sheets
Updating Shells - Activity Manager Node, Activity Sheet
Updating Shells - Access Control Node
Updating Cost Sheet Columns in a Shell
Update Schedule of Values Structure
Updating Shells - Reports Node
Update Commitment Funding Structure
Update Cash Flow Properties and Permissions
Update Generic Cost Sheet Columns and Rows
Last Published Thursday, December 14, 2023