Using The Repository

Overview

The Designer Repository contains all shared Designer Projects that have been stored and saved within an environment. These Projects can be sent, imported, or added to the Decisions Repository.

The Repository allows for safe development practices within Decisions. When Projects are completed on a development server they can be moved to the Repository for testing and then on to the production server. 

Within a Designer Repository, all stored Projects can be viewed and accessed within the Folder Tree. Selecting a Project Folder from the tree will display the Project Dashboard, providing an overview of the selected Project.

Deploying Projects

Deploying a Project is done through User Actions at the top of the Project's sidebar. There are also two quick icons for Checkin and Checkout.

Project Validations on Check-In

All projects go through a series of validations when users attempt a Checkin.

To complete a Checkin the user will need to have an account on the Repository Server. That account will also need appropriate permissions.

The Comments box must be filled in before the COMMIT button will accept the changes.

By default all changes to a project are selected, however users can check the box Include Only My Changes to only send changes they made.

VIEW BY TYPE changes the view of the entities being considered to organize them by type.

A successful Checkin will provide the below screen and produce a new Revision number.

Deployment Server View

Successful Checkins will be available to view on the Repository Server.

Repository Server - Project Actions

In the Actions Bar, Create Branch will be shown. Additional actions can be found by right-clicking the Project Folder in the Folder tree.  

Repository Server - Create Project

There are multiple methods to create Projects in Decisions. One method is through using the Create Project action, which is available on the Designer Repository Folder. When the action is ran:

1. Provide a Project Name, Description URL, and Description, then click CREATE. 
   Note that the Description URL needs to be in a typical web address format. 

   

2. The Project will appear in the Folder Tree. Selecting the Project will open the dashboard.
   

Repository Server - Delete Project

Projects can be deleted and removed from the Repository.

1. Right-click the Project and select Delete Project. 
2. Click YES to Delete the Project.

Repository Server - Download Project

Users can Download a Project to store it for later use or as a backup copy to restore back to.

1. Navigate to the Project Folder.
2. Select Download > Download Project from the top Action Bar. 
3. From the Download Resources dialog, select the desired Branch then click OK. 
4. Click the Download link. 
   The Download Resources box then displays the file path and name for the configured download. (for example: C:\Program Files\Decisions\Decisions Services Manager\Instances\Control\Repository\Downloads\MyFirstProject-MyFirstProjectDevelopment-12102018-050634.zip)
   
   Selecting the Download link proceeds with the download process by downloading the Project in .zip file to the displayed file path. From here the .zip file is saved and acts as a version of the Project that can be referenced/rolled back to at any point. 

Repository Server - Rollback Actions

The Rollback menu provides users with two options; Rollback to Revision (version) of the Project or Rollback to Date, which Rollback to whatever state the Project was at based on a specified moment in time.

Checkout/Update Project from Repository

Below is a list of terms used for the Action state on the checkout screen:

1. Navigate to System > Designers > Repository. 
2. Select the CHECKOUT/UPDATE PROJECT button from the top Action bar. 
3. Search for and select the Project, and Branch, then click CHECKOUT. If Advanced is checked, a specific Revision can be used instead.
4. If any items require updating, select UPDATE, if not, close out the window via X.
5. The Project will begin to download and begin to update the locally stored version of the Project. Once the Project has finished downloading, select Done. Any errors found can be downloaded using the Download Log button.
6. The Import Resolution Screen will appear if there are validation issues after importing the project. Certain resolution actions will not be available depending on the Designer Element.

Once the import completes, the Project will be available in the Folder Tree.

Committing/Sending Project Changes To Repository

Any changes to a Project can be checked into the Designer Repository. To check in a single Element (such as a Flow, DataStructure, etc...) to a Repository, it must be assigned to a Project. Checkins only occur from the environment connected to the Repository. There are no actions from the Repository server to trigger a Checkin.

1. Right-click the desiredProject.
2. Select Designer Repository > Checkin Changes for Project [Project Name]. There is also an icon under the Project Name that can be pressed.
3. If the resource count for checked-in items is greater than the value defined in the Repository Settings, a form will open, displaying the count of the Designer Elements. The elements to be committed with the checkin can be selected from this form. Users can toggle "Include Only My Changes" to see only Designer Elements that they personally have modified. The comment field must be filled in before a commit will complete. Verify which items to include and press the COMMIT button.
   The total count of items is in the top right corner. In this example 143 elements have been selected.

    

4. Items will then begin to be checked into the Repository. Any errors during the check-in will be shown in the following Form.
   A revision number will be provided once the check-in has been completed. Select CLOSE after confirming that the changes were committed. 
   Notice the Revision number in the top right.

    

Reverting Changes to a Branch

The Revert Revision action allows the user to revert a branch in a Project to the current revision. This action is available on the Designer Repository.

1. In the Designer Repository, locate and select the Project
2. On the Repository Dashboard for the Project, select the name of the branch in the Repository.
3. The Branch Summary Page should appear. Right click the latest Revision in the branch and select the Revert Revision action.
4. Right-click the desired Revision ID and select Revert Revision.
5. Confirm with OK.  The Repository environment may need to be restarted to apply changes.