What does the "Working Version Always Available" setting mean?

[Anonymous]

Hi, can I get some more information regarding the following setting:

General Settings --> Revision Control Settings --> Working Version Always Available

It is currently set to No in our tenant and the working version of a revision-controlled item is always available from the Revision drop-down of an item's record.  I assume this is what this setting controls?

The primary reason that I ask is that we would like to update the Sourcing information for a released item without being prompted to update the "working" version.  Will changing this setting to "Yes" allow us to do that?  Also, it just seems like we don't always want to see the "working" version as an option.

I would test this myself but I get the following ominous warning when trying to change this setting:

"You are updating settings that affect the global configuration including changes to descriptor formatting which will force the descriptor to be updated for ALL records across ALL workspaces."  --Can I get some explanation of exactly what this means?  Will it irreversibly change the descriptors across all of our workspaces?  This sounds bad as different workspaces have different descriptor combinations.

Any and all help appreciated.  If there's a document out there that I've missed just point me that way.  Thanks.

[jpiggee]

Hi Joe,

Great question, Yes there isn’t much out there on this option and the message one gets when wanting to change this option can be quiet ominous.

So let’s look at what this means and what it will do:

What it will do for you?

  If your Lifecycle is set up to disallow access to the “working” version at any point in the workflow, this setting will allow the said item to go into the “working” state at any point in time. (A good way to think of this is as a master override button.)

Will this bypass the having to switch an item to “working” version to make changes?

  Nope not at all, you will still need to change the item to working version to make changes to the item, this follows the rules of life cycling. This will only allow you to access the working version despite its state in the lifecycle. (Such as obsolete and production items which normally do not allow access to the working version.)

--  A little more thought on this:

  In theory, if anything dealing with the item is changed including supplier it should go through a change order… So this would require the item to go to working, supplier changed / added / modified / then a new revision of the item is created.

Read more about it: About Lifecycles

Will this change all my current descriptors in my PLM tenant?

  Possibly, but the only change that may take place is with the Revision portion of the descriptor. All other options will indeed stay the same.

Hope this clears up some of your questions over this, Let me know if you have anymore!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Joe.  I think I got it.  Unfortunately our tenant has always been setup with this option turned on plus those of us designing/using the system have the permissions to override locks, so it's difficult for me to really comprehend exactly how these control mechanisms are really supposed to work.  I think I'll flip the switch and see what happens.

We do want to be able to modify sourcing, attachments, minor details, etc without needing to increment the release letter.  Unfortunately what PLM refers to as the release letter is what we consider the revision of an item.  It sounds like we will need to do the whole revisioning process even if we aren't really "revisioning" the physical product just "revisioning" details about the item in PLM.  We are using PLM to manage product lifecycles including manufacturing, assembly, and sales activities so an item gets a "revision" very early on in the lifecycle then stays at that "revision" to the end, even as sourcing, attachments, details, and grid notes might change.  Perhaps as we mature we'll appreciate the control offered but right now it's a little more strict than we need.

But we'll make it work as long as you keep answering!  Thanks again.

[dvirh]

Just to shed a bit more light on this, data on an item can be considered 'Controlled Data' or 'Uncontrolled Data'. In order to change any piece of Controlled Data on a Released item you must either Revise it OR have the 'Admin Override Revision Locks' permission. However, Uncontrolled Data can be changed at any time by anyone who has simple write permission to that piece of data. Note that Sourcing data is considered Uncontrolled Data and therefore can change at any time whether or not you have the override permission. Sections on the Item Details page can also be marked as Controlled or Uncontrolled.