Working with the Revision Control Zones

You use two zones in the sidebar to work with revision controlled objects when revision control is turned on.

The Revision Control zone gives you several options for managing the revision of the currently displayed object. This zone also shows when the object was last revised and by whom. This information is linked to the Revision History portal which lists all of the versions of the object.

Using the Revision Control zone you can:

• Check out an object in order to change it.
• Check in an object so others will be able to work on it.
• Revert the object back to where it was at the last checkout.
• Force a check in of an object that is checked out by someone else. You need special access rights to force a check in.
• Compare the latest version of the object to the previous checked in version.
• Delete an object.

See the subsequent sections for more information about each action.

The Checked Out zone lists all of the objects that you currently have checked out. Clicking on an object listed in this zone will take you to the page for that object. The zone is collapsed if you have no objects checked out.

See Revision Control Portal for more information about Check In, Force Check In, and Check Out one or more records simultaneously.

Checking Out an Object

If an entity's maintenance object is configured for revision control, you must check out the entity in order to change it. Go to the object you want to work on and click Check Out in the Revision Control sidebar zone.

The following points highlight behavior related to this functionality:

• When you create a record for a maintenance object that is managed with revision control, the system automatically associates the new record with a revision control in Checked Out status.
• When you update an object governed by revision control, if you forget to check it out first, a dialog box informs you that the object is under revision control. You can select OK to check out the object and save your changes, or Cancel to stop the update.
• If another user has the object checked out, you will not be able to make changes.

Note:

The system also supports Mass Check Out from the Revision Control search portal.

Checking In an Object

Once you are finished with changes, you should check in the object. This captures the latest revision and allows others to check it out.

While viewing the object, click Check In in the Revision Control sidebar zone. You are prompted for an External Reference and Detailed Description. It is recommended to put meaningful information in both of these fields to allow for future users that review changes to this object have a good understanding of the reason for the change.

The Keep Checked Out option is useful if you are checking in a version of the object that is stable but allows you to keep it checked out for further changes. The latest revision is one available for you to restore to later if you want to back out newer changes.

If you are using Bundling to manage copying objects to another environment, use the Add to Bundle option to automatically include this object in a current open bundle.

Note:

The system also supports Mass Check In from the Revision Control search portal.

Reverting Changes

Reverting changes will undo any changes you made since you checked out an object.

While viewing the object, click Revert in the Revision Control sidebar zone. Once your change is reverted, the object is available to be checked out by another user.

Note:

To restore the version of the object to a different revision than the most recent checked in revision, drill into the object's revision history. Refer to Revision Control Portal for more information.

Note:

Any change to the object increments the version number. If you make changes and then revert your changes, internally the system updates the object to match the previously checked in revision. The version number, however, is incremented. It is not restored to the version number of the previous revision.

Comparing Versions

When viewing an object that is governed by revision control, a link on the Revision Control sidebar zone allows you to Compare to Previous Version. The comparison works as follows:

• When viewing an object that is currently checked out, clicking the link compares the current view of the object in the database with the snapshot view of the object from its most recent checked in revision.
• When viewing an object that is checked in, when clicking the link, the behavior differs based on whether or not the current view of the object matches the most recent revision.
  • If they match, you are shown the comparison between the most recent check in to the check in before that.
  • If they do not match, it means that some process changed the object outside of revisions. In that case, you are shown the difference between the current view of the object and the most recent revision.

Note:

The revision history view of an object in the Revision Control Portal allows you to select any two revisions to compare.

Forcing a Check In or Restore

If an object is checked out by another user and that person is not available to check it in or revert it, you may force a check in or force a restore (which is equivalent to a Revert action).

While viewing the object, click Force Check In in the Revision Control sidebar zone to keep the latest updates made by the checked out user. Click Force Restore in the Revision Control sidebar zone to discard the changes made by the checked out user and revert the object to the previously checked in revision.

Note:

A user can only perform the Force Check In or Force Restore actions if they have security for the Force Check In and Restore access modes, respectively for the Object Revision BO application service (F1-OBJREVBOAS).

Note:

The system also supports Mass Force Check In from the Revision Control search portal.

Deleting an Object

If revision control is turned on for an object, you must use the Revision Control zone to delete it. The object must be checked in before it can be deleted.

While viewing the checked in object, click Delete in the Revision Control sidebar zone. You are prompted for an External Reference and Detailed Description. Provide this information and then click OK. The system creates a revision record before the object is deleted so that the deleted object can be restored.

Note:

If the object is maintained on a legacy UI page, you remain on the page with a cleared input form. If the object is maintained on a portal page, after deleting an object, you remain on the maintenance portal page, which should now be blank, which is unusual. Unlike deleting an object using the record actions on the record's maintenance page, deleting from the sidebar zone lacks the metadata to bring the user to a better portal after deletion, such as the related query portal for the deleted object.