Closing Vs Locking & their automation

[AndreaF]

Hi all, what do you usually suggest to clients as last step of a budget/forecasting cycle, to Close the workflow hierarchy or to Lock its workflows? I am just checking if there is any disadvantage by using one against the other.

Also, is there a way of automating the closing/locking so that it is trigger on a certain date? I was thinking I can may create a rule encapsulated in a data management job and schedule that, but is there an easier way? Thank you 

[JackLacava · Accepted solution]

Closing Workflows is not recommended anymore. It does some "optimizations" behind the scenes, severing ties from the original sources of data and reshaping records in a data-warehouse-oriented fashion; which means that data retrieval becomes slower, some drilldowns stop working, and reopening the workflows later on might create problems. It's a feature we recommend only when you're 200% certain that the data will never, ever, be modified again, and you are ok with paying a performance penalty to retrieve it (think "Amazon Glacier", or tape backups).

As for automating locking - apart from the Lock After Certify option in Application Properties, I'm not aware of any feature to do that automatically. A rule from a DM job sounds like a good way to go.

[gregwills]

Is there any SQL we can use to lock units based on the Entity hierarchy for specific scenarios and times? 

[JackLacava]

Don't use SQL, use the officially-supported BRApi calls in rules. Search in your helper tree for "lock" and they will appear.

[BenvanBergen]

Hello Jack, do you know if there is a way to reopen a closed workflow? Someone closed it somehow, but we can find how or how to open it. Thanks

[AndreaF]

@BenvanBergenClosing/Opening of a workflow is done from the Root workflow profile of the workflow hierarchy. The 2 buttons are next to each other.

[BenvanBergen]

Hi Andrea, Thanks a lot for your quick help, Feels silly but I don't see the screen with Manage Workflow. Workflow Name is Process, Certify.

I have below in the root.

1 level lower it's this view.

[AndreaF]

@BenvanBergen  I think "SupplyChain_Inputs" is not a root workflow. You cannot have input or adjustment steps in a root workflow as far as I know. A root workflow is one that has a cube icon in from of it.

[BenvanBergen]

Wonderful! Thanks so much. Didn't realize that some could be done at that level.

[gregwills]

Is there any SQL we can use to lock units based on the Entity hierarchy for specific scenarios and times?