Defining Lifecycle Definitions for a Workspace from Altium Designer

Parent page: Workspace Configuration

Each Item in a connected Workspace is comprised of a series of revisions, with a new revision used to accommodate new data, each time that data is modified and committed/uploaded/released. The revision, therefore, reflects the progress of the Item as it undergoes changes. Or to say that the other way around, if the data entity represented by the Item changes, the revision must be incremented to reflect that.

For any revision of an Item, it is also important to reflect the current state of that revision – what stage of its 'life' it has reached. This status is referred to as the Item Revision's Lifecycle.

The lifecycle allows a company to manage the Item from a business perspective, and in accordance with company policies and practices. With this lifecycle information, people that need to use an Item in a Workspace – from a designer contemplating reuse of a released design 'building block', to the supply chain needing the data to fabricate and assemble a board – are able to see, at-a-glance, what stage a revision of an Item has reached in its 'life' and therefore what it can be safely used for.

Modeling the Lifecycle

While different organizations may choose to model or label the lifecycle of design items slightly differently, they will all follow a similar theme. For example, the general cycle of a product’s life will be something like: it starts as a design idea, then becomes a prototype, then goes into production, then at some point becomes obsolete and is no longer made or sold.

Using lifecycle status information on every component of a design helps to ensure that a design can only be promoted to a higher state if that new state is less than or equal to the lowest-state component within the design. For example, if a design is ready to move into production, it should only be allowed to do so if all components within it are also in production – i.e. components that are still In Prototype (or New From Design) must be promoted to In Production before the design as a whole can be promoted to that level.

In many cases, the revisions of design Items will progress through the various lifecycle states linearly however it should not be assumed that this is the only path that can be taken. For example, some Item revisions may end up being abandoned before they have even reached the prototyping stage. In a connected Workspace, the allowable states that an Item's revision can move between are defined by a Transition table included in the lifecycle definition.

A connected Workspace supports two levels of lifecycle management: Simple or Advanced. These essentially determine the style of management, upon which the lifecycle definitions themselves are then built. For a lifecycle definition based on the simple management style, only states and state transitions are involved. For a lifecycle definition based on the advanced management style, states can be further clustered into defined stages.

States, Stages, and Transitions

Related page: Accessing the Detailed Item View

Each point in an Item Revision's lifecycle is referred to as a State, for example In Production. When an Item's revision changes state it is referred to as a Transition, which can only be to another state.

Lifecycle definitions based on the advanced management style support states being clustered into Stages. Stages allow labels to be created that identify where an Item's revision is in its development. For example, it could be in Design, or in Prototype, or in Production.

An example lifecycle definition whose states are clustered into three stages.

The image below shows a snippet from the detailed Item view for an Item that employs a 3-level Revision Naming Scheme: Model, Prototype, and Revision. Each model is shown as a separate block. Within a model, each prototype is a sub-block. Below each prototype are the revisions of that model/prototype, then within each revision are the different states that the revision existed in.

Example lifecycle states for various revisions of an Item.

Default Lifecycle Definitions

A connected Workspace provides eight default lifecycle definitions. These default definitions can be used 'as is', or modified to suit company (or personal) requirements. New, custom definitions can also be added and configured, as required.

The default lifecycle definitions are as follows:

• Component Lifecycle
• Design Lifecycle
• Extension Lifecycle
• Generic Lifecycle
• Sample - Basic Lifecycle
• Sample - Simple Lifecycle
• Sample - Simple Lifecycle With Approvals
• Sample - Structured Lifecycle With Approvals

The lifecycle definition applied is chosen at the individual Item level, when creating an Item. Different Items can therefore have different lifecycle definitions assigned to them.

Managing Lifecycle Definitions

From within Altium Designer, lifecycle definitions can be viewed and managed from within the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog. To access this dialog for the connected Workspace to which you are currently signed in:

1. Open the Data Management – Servers page of the Preferences dialog.
2. Click the Properties control, at the far right of the Active Server's entry.
3. Choose the Lifecycles command from the associated menu.

Lifecycle Definitions for the active connected Workspace are created and edited – in Altium Designer – through the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog. Shown here is opening the dialog for a connected Altium 365 Workspace. Hover the cursor over the image to see opening the dialog for a connected Enterprise Server Workspace.

Browser-based Lifecycle Management

Your connected Workspace provides the ability to define and manage lifecycle definitions through its browser interface, complementing the ability to do this through Altium Designer. And providing better visibility of the states and transitions involved, each lifecycle is built in a graphical way, showing at-a-glance the flows involved.

Defining and managing a lifecycle definition through the Workspace's browser interface is very much a visual affair. A definition is built rather like a flow diagram, using various graphical objects representing the states and state transitions (and stages if using an Advanced style of management).

Define your lifecycle definitions in a visual way, with graphical objects representing the stages, states, and transitions. Shown here is an example of a lifecycle definition in the browser interface of a connected Altium 365 Workspace. Hover the cursor over the image to see an example for a connected Enterprise Server Workspace.

Adding a New Definition

To create a new Lifecycle Definition, click the button at the bottom of the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog. A new tab will appear in the dialog, ready to be configured.

Create your own, custom lifecycle definition.

Configuring a Definition

Use the controls available within a lifecycle definition's tab to configure that definition as required.

First, enter a meaningful name for the definition in the Definition Name field. The tab will dynamically reflect the name entered.

Use the Lifecycle Management controls to select the style of lifecycle management – either Simple or Advanced. The simple style means there are only States and State Transitions involved. The advanced style allows definition of Stages, into which the states are clustered.

Specify the name and style for the lifecycle definition.

Initial State

Use the Initial State of Revisions field to determine the starting state for an Item Revision, that is, the state for the revision in which it contains no released data – the 'pre-release state' as it were. By default, this state is named Planned. To change it, click the link and use the State Properties dialog to determine its name and a description, as well as text and background colors.

Configure the initial state for revisions.

Stages

If the Advanced style of lifecycle management is chosen, controls for adding and defining the required stages become available. A single stage – named Design - is provided by default, with the possibility to add a further two stages. To add an additional stage, click the Add Stage link.

Enter names for the stages as required by typing directly into the respective Stage Name field.

Add stages as required, which will be used to cluster states and create a more enriched, structured lifecycle definition.

To remove a stage, click the control, to the right of the respective Stage Name field.

States

The next step is to add the required states for the lifecycle definition. For a lifecycle definition based on the simple style of management, this will be a flat listing. For the advanced style of management, this will require adding states to the various defined stages.

Click the control below a state listing to add a new state. Use the State Properties dialog that appears to define that state in terms of its name, description, and color attributes.

Adding a state to the lifecycle definition.

A new state is added to the bottom of the list. Click on a state to select it, then use the and controls (below the state listing) to move it to the required location in the list.

When defining states for an advanced-style lifecycle definition, additional controls are available (below the state listing) to move a state between stages. Depending on the position of the stage, push the state to the stage on the right (), or left () as required.

To edit the properties of a state, click to select it, then click on the control, to the far right. To delete a selected state, use the control.

Example states defined across a two-stage lifecycle definition.

Transitions

The last step is to define the State Transitions – the paths between the different states. Click to select a state, then click the control to the far right to add a new state transition. Use the State Transition Properties dialog that appears to define the transition in terms of its name, target (next) state, menu text, and permissions.

Adding a state transition.

A new transition is added to the bottom of the list. Click on a transition to select it, then use the and controls beneath the state listing to move it to the required location in the list.

Where the next state for a transition resides in a different stage, an indication arrow – in the color of the target state – will be displayed to show this.

Example of fully defined states and state transitions across a two-stage lifecycle definition. Arrows are used to indicate transitions across stages.

To edit the properties of a transition, click to select it, then click on the control, to the far right. To delete a selected transition, use the control.

Controlling Transitions between Lifecycle States

The connected Workspace provides great flexibility for deciding who can make particular state transitions for an Item Revision in that Workspace – the action of transitioning a revision from one state to another different state, as defined by the lifecycle definition employed for its parent Item. It is possible to prohibit standard (non-administrative) users from transitioning between specific lifecycle states on the fly while opening up permissions to more than just Workspace Administrators. You have the ability to specify permissions at the global level – as part of global operation permissions for the Workspace – and also at the individual state transition level. The latter act in conjunction with those settings at the global level, and facilitate fine-tuning of permissions for those more important transitions (for example setting an Item Revision to be Ready for Production).

Alternatively, standard users can be made to request approval for specific state transitions. In turn, these Approval Requests are sent to, viewed, and acted upon, by those designated to be members of one or more Approval Groups.

With various levels of permission control, you can define a lifecycle state transition strategy that adheres to your organization's preferred approach.

Permissions can be defined at two levels:

• Globally – defining which users and/or roles can perform state transitions, for the entire range of defined transitions across all defined lifecycle definitions.
• Locally – specifying permissions at the individual state transition level.

Global State Transition Permissions

Global state transition permissions are defined and managed from within Altium Designer using the Edit Operation Permissions dialog. Access to this dialog is made from the Data Management – Servers page of the Preferences dialog. For the connected Workspace whose permissions you wish to browse/modify, click the Properties control at the right-hand side, and choose the Operations command from the associated menu.

The Workspace operation entry of significance here is Move revision between lifecycle states.

Access and configure, at the global level, who is permitted to perform lifecycle state transitions. Shown here is opening the Edit Operation Permissions dialog for a connected Altium 365 Workspace. Hover the cursor over the image to see opening the dialog for a connected Enterprise Server Workspace.

For a new connected Workspace, the default permission settings for this operation are:

• Administrators
• Collaborator
• Librarians
• Managers

Define additional permissions as required (click the Add button). State transition permissions at this global level can be assigned to the following entities:

•   Administrators (itself a defined role).
•   Collaborator (this is a user who has edit rights for an Item/Revision).
•   Owner (for released data, this is the person who created the initial Item).
•   Specific user-defined Role.
•   Specific User.

Local State Transition Permissions

Permissions for a particular state transition are defined in the associated State Transition Properties dialog, accessed from the applicable States and Transitions region of the lifecycle definition currently being configured in the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog.

To edit the properties of a transition, click to select it, then click on the control at the far right.

Access controls for defining permissions for the state transition being edited.

Choose the type of permission control that you wish to employ for the transition using the State Transition Permissions field. Two options are provided:

• Controlled – this type allows you to refine exactly who can perform this transition, through specification of one or more users and/or roles. This type of local permission control is used in combination with permissions set at the global level (see How Permissions are Applied). Use the controls in the region below to define permitted entities accordingly. By default, the Anyone entity is added, meaning that all users at this local level are permitted to perform the transition.

  To set up specific users and/or roles, first select and then remove the Anyone entity. You can then add a user or role as required from the menu associated with the Add button. Use the subsequent Search For Users dialog, or Search For Role dialog, to find the required user or role respectively.

  
  With Controlled permissions, you can switch from access by anyone to only those users/roles specified.

• Using Approvals – this type allows any standard user to request that this state transition be performed. Requests are handled by one or more users added (individually or through roles) to defined Approval Groups. Any member of such a group can authorize, or reject a transition request. In addition, multiple approval groups can also be defined and ordered. This allows for multiple levels of approval.

  Use the controls in the region below to define the approval group(s) accordingly. By default, a single, empty approval group is added ready – New Approval Group. This can be renamed as required using the Edit Approval Group Name command from the menu associated with the Add button (or the region's right-click menu).

  You can add a user or role to a selected approval group as required, from the menu associated with the Add button (or the region's right-click menu). Use the subsequent Search For Users dialog, or Search For Role dialog, to find the required user or role respectively. Order multiple approval groups using the Move Up and Move Down commands from a menu – approval is from the top, down.

  
  With Using Approvals, all non-admin users must request transition, which is acted on by a user in one or more defined approval groups.

How Permissions are Applied

How permissions are applied, depends on the type of permission control chosen and configured at the state transition level:

• Controlled Permissions – for a user to be able to perform the state transition, the following conditions must be met:
  • They must have permission at the global level to Move revision between lifecycle states (defined in the Edit Operation Permissions dialog).
  • They must have permission at the local level for this particular state transition.
  • They must also be a collaborator for the Item Revision whose lifecycle state is being transitioned (i.e. they must have editing rights).
  These three conditions are ANDed – if one is not met, then the user will be prevented from performing that specific transition.
  For non-administrative users, the default permission settings (Collaborator at the global level, and Anyone at the local state transition level) mean that you just need to make a user a collaborator for the required Item Revision, to meet all conditions. Then for key transitions, you can simply tighten permissions at the local state transition level, so that not just any collaborator can perform the transition.

• Using Approvals – all non-administrative users must use the approvals system and send a request to perform the state transition. The approvals system doesn't require the user to have permission to make state transitions at the global level, nor does a user require to be a collaborator for the Item Revision.

  While a user does not need to be a collaborator for the Item Revision, it must be shared with them, otherwise, they will not be able to see it in the Workspace.

Linking Stages to Levels of the Revision Naming Scheme

Revisions and lifecycle states can be incremented from the applicable right-click menu in the Item view, or the Lifecycle aspect view tab in the Explorer panel. While establishing a new revision and promoting the lifecycle are completely separate tasks that are done for different reasons (a new revision when there is a design change, a new lifecycle state to reflect the enhanced usability of that Item Revision), they are inter-related.

For a lifecycle definition based on the advanced style of management, the defined stages can be linked to the revision levels of the employed revision naming scheme. Do this using the option at the bottom of the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog.

Option to link stages to revision levels.

This creates a relationship between the lifecycle state and the revision level. What that means is when an Item Revision's lifecycle is incremented so that it moves from a state in one stage to a state in another stage, then the available revision modification type commands – on the right-click menu – will change too.

Consider the default lifecycle definition Sample - Structured Lifecycle With Approvals, and a 3-level revision naming scheme (with levels for Revision, Prototype, and Model). If an Item Revision is in the state New From Design, in the first stage, then the revision-type options on the right-click menu include: establish a new Revision; a new Prototype; or a new Model.

If the lifecycle is then incremented to the point where it is now In Prototype, it will have moved to the second stage. Right-clicking on it, the available revision-type options now include: establish a new Prototype; or a new Model, that is, there is no option to start a new Revision. This behavior is intuitively expected – if the design has progressed to Prototype, then if a design change was needed, a new Prototype would be needed, or even a new Model, depending on the scope of that change.

Once the Item Revision reaches the In Production state, in the third stage, the revision-type option to establish a new model is available only, again as expected.

When linked, revision-type commands change as the Item Revision's lifecycle state progresses through the different stages defined.

Saving a Definition

Whether a new lifecycle definition has been added, or an existing lifecycle definition has been modified in some way, that lifecycle definition must be saved. Although there is no actual 'save' control, there are controls available to perform this:

• For a new lifecycle definition – distinguished by a '+' suffix – either use the Add Definition control (at the top-right of the definition's tab) or click the dialog's main button.
• For an existing lifecycle definition that has been modified – distinguished by a '*' suffix – either use the Apply Changes control (at the top-right of the definition's tab) or click the dialog's main button.

In either case, the suffix will be removed and the new (or modified) definition will be available as part of the set of lifecycle definitions available to the Workspace.

Using the dialog's main button provides batch-style 'saving' while keeping the dialog open.

In the spirit of facilitating a clear and transparent audit trail – of whom changed what, and when – details of when a lifecycle definition was last modified are provided at the bottom-right of its tab.

Identifying when a lifecycle definition was last modified, and by whom.

Renaming a Definition

To rename an existing, used lifecycle definition:

1. Access the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog for the active connected Workspace.
2. Click the tab for the definition whose name you need to change.
3. Modify the name in the Definition Name field.

Example of renaming a lifecycle definition, and verifying the change in the properties of an Item already using that definition.

Cloning a Definition

New lifecycle definitions do not need to be created from scratch. The Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog provides the ability to quickly clone any of the existing definitions. To do so:

1. Make the required lifecycle definition that is to be cloned the active definition.
2. Click the Clone control at the top-right of that definition's tab.
3. An exact copy of the definition will be taken, creating a new definition with initial default name of New Lifecycle Definition. Rename as required.
4. Click the Add Definition control (or the main button) to effectively save the new definition.

Deleting a Definition

To delete an existing lifecycle definition, select it – making it the active definition in the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog – then click the Delete control, at the top-right of the definition's tab.

Permanent deletion of a lifecycle definition is effected upon clicking the dialog's main button (or clicking OK). Prior to this, the delete operation can be undone by clicking the button, at the bottom of the dialog.

The operation to delete lifecycle definitions can be undone.

Exporting and Importing Definitions

User-defined lifecycle definitions are available for use only in the connected Workspace in which they are defined. Providing the ability to port definitions between Workspaces, the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog features Export and Import capabilities.

To export a lifecycle definition, click on the Export control, at the top-right of its tab. Use the subsequent Save Lifecycle Definition dialog to determine where, and under what name, the file is to be saved.

To import a lifecycle definition, click on the button, at the bottom of the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog. Use the Open Lifecycle Definition dialog to browse to, and open, the required Lifecycle Definition file. The lifecycle definition will be added to the list of existing lifecycle definitions available to the Workspace.

An imported lifecycle definition appears as a new definition, complete with '+' suffix. It's name is that defined within the Definition file and not the name of the file itself. Ensure that it is 'saved' by clicking the Add Definition control, or the dialog's main button.

Controlling the Use of a Lifecycle Definition

Control over which Item types can use a particular lifecycle definition can be defined and enabled at a global level when defining each definition. If this feature is enabled, then only those allowed definitions will be available when choosing the lifecycle definition for a particular Item type. This gives you that extra level of control to ensure created Items of a particular type only use the lifecycle definition you require.

Control is performed from within the Content Types dialog. Click on the tab for the particular definition whose access you wish to configure, then click the Content Types link, at the top-right of the definition's tab.

Accessing the Content Types dialog – command central for determining which content types can use the lifecycle definition being configured.

The Content Types dialog lists all of the supported content types that can be created in your active connected Workspace (by the user, or by the system). The option above the list – Control Lifecycle Definition per Content Type – provides global control over whether the feature is active (enabled) or not (disabled), for that particular definition. Enable this option, then enable the associated Use option for each content type that you would like to be able to use that definition.

Switching between Advanced and Simple Lifecycle Management Modes

You can switch an existing lifecycle definition from using the Advanced style of lifecycle management (states, state transitions, and stages) to using the Simple style of management (states and state transitions only). When you enable the Simple option, the Confirm Merge States dialog will appear. Use this dialog to determine how to handle the switch as follows:

• Click Yes – all defined states (and state transitions) across Stages 1, 2, and 3, are merged into a single flat listing of states.
• Click No – all defined states (and state transitions) in Stages 2 and 3 are deleted. Only those states (and state transitions) in Stage 1 (the left-most stage) will remain in a single flat listing of states.

Switch style of lifecycle management – from Advanced to Simple – with control over how the states (and state transitions) in other stages are handled.

State Transition Approval Requests

The following sections take a closer look at the various aspects of using the approval system to allow non-administrative users of your Workspace, to perform specific state transitions.

Creating a Request (Requesting Approval)

Requesting approval for a state transition is performed within Altium Designer from the Lifecycle aspect view for the required Item Revision (in the Explorer panel), or from the graphical lifecycle region in the detailed Item view. Right-click on the lifecycle for the revision and choose the command that requests the transition. A Confirm dialog appears, in which you can enter a note as to why you are making the request – which can aid the approval group members in their deliberations over whether or not to ultimately approve your request! Click Yes to effect creation of the request.

Request the state transition, and add a helpful note to substantiate your case.

Upon creation, members of the applicable approval group for that state transition will receive an email notification – provided the Email Notifications feature has been enabled.

Viewing Approval Requests

For both the originator of a state transition request (Requester) and the user(s) defined in the applicable approval group for that state transition (Approvers), pending requests are presented through the Explorer panel using a dedicated Approval Requests folder.

An example Approval Request in the Approval Requests folder, as seen by the requester (Simon Entist) and one of the members of the defined (initial) approval group for the particular state transition (Des Igner).

The number next to the Approval Requests folder name indicates how many pending requests there are. If the option to Show Approved Requests is enabled (from the menu), then this number will reflect the total (pending + approved).

The following information is presented for each approval request:

• Item Revision – the specific Item revision for which the request is being made.
• Requested By – the originator of the request (the requester). The entry here takes the user's User Name.
• Requested At – the date and time at which the request was created.
• Status – the current status of the request. This can be one of the following states:
  • Awaiting – the request is currently awaiting action by one or more approvers.
  • Approved – the request was approved. Note that this state will only be entered upon full, complete approval, by all approval groups defined for that transition.
• Transition – the specific state transition that is being requested for this Item revision.
• Request Note – any note that has been added by the requester, at the time the request was made.
• Action Forward – the controls presented here are only for pending requests (those with a status of Awaiting). Controls differ to cater for the two parties as follows:
  • Requester – the user who created the request can Remind it.
  • Approvers – a user within an approval group can Approve the request.
• Action Backward – the controls presented here are only for pending requests (those with a status of Awaiting). Controls differ to cater for the two parties as follows:
  • Requester – the user who created the request can Cancel it.
  • Approvers – a user within an approval group can Reject the request.

Actioning a Request

As briefly described in the previous section, both the requester and approver have actions that they can take. The following collapsible sections take a closer look at each of those actions:

Approval Information Stream

When a request is approved, notification is also available in the central region of the page, when browsing that approval request. This information consists of the following elements:

• Created At – the date and time at which the approval request was approved.
• Created By – the member of the relevant approval group who approved the request. The entry here takes the user's User Name.
• Description – an entry that consists of an auto-generated message, along with any note included by the approver, at the time approval was given. The auto-generated part of the description depends on the type of approval:
  • Final approval (from a member of the only, or last, approval group) – task approved and completed.
  • Intermediate approval (from a member of an approval group that is not the last approval group) – task approved and assigned to next approval group <ApprovalGroupName>.

An example of the approval stream for a particular Item Revision, as seen by the requester. In this case, the transition had to pass through two stages of approval (obtaining approval from a member of two different approval groups).

The following people see this information:

• The requester of the state transition.
• The user who gives final approval for the request. So where multiple approval groups are involved, only the member of the final approval group – who gives the final approval – will see this information. A member of an approval group that gives intermediate approval will not see this stream.

Controlling Item Revision Visibility and Applicability

When configuring each individual state for a lifecycle definition, you have the ability to define additional state attributes that control the visibility and applicability of an Item revision that uses that lifecycle definition and which enters that state. In terms of applicability, a project violation report can also be configured to detect and flag any Workspace items being used in a design whose revisions are in non-applicable states – catching and averting issues prior to release.

Controls for determining whether an Item Revision in a particular state is visible and/or applicable are available in the State Properties dialog. From within the Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog access this dialog for the required state either by double-clicking on the state's entry within the parent lifecycle definition or by selecting its entry and clicking the edit icon that appears ().

Use attributes defined at the state level to control the visibility and/or applicability of an Item Revision entering that state.

The two options are:

• Visible in Vault panels – with this option enabled, a revision of an Item using the parent lifecycle definition will be displayed in the Explorer panel when it is set to be in this lifecycle state. When this option is disabled, the revision will be hidden. A hidden revision can be displayed (overriding this option) within the Explorer panel by enabling the Show Hidden Revisions control (see Showing Hidden Revisions).
• Allowed to be used in designs – with this option enabled, an Item Revision in this state is permitted to be used in a design. It is deemed to be Applicable. If this option is disabled, an Item Revision in this state cannot be validly used and is deemed Inapplicable (or non-applicable). It will be flagged as such in the Properties panel and the Item Manager dialog (see Flagging Inapplicable Revisions). The project compiler can also be configured to catch such occurrences (see Detecting Inapplicable Revision States on Compilation).

Showing Hidden Revisions

For an Item Revision entering a lifecycle state that has its Visible in Vault panels attribute disabled, that revision will, by default, not be displayed in the Explorer panel. And if it is the latest revision of the Item, then the entire entry for that Item will effectively be hidden from view. This visibility state – defined at the state level – can be overridden globally for all Items when browsing in the Explorer panel. To display all Item Revisions that are currently not visible, click the control at the top-right of the Items region of the panel, then enable the Show Hidden Revisions option on the associated menu.

Displaying hidden Item Revisions while browsing content in the Explorer panel. Hover over the image to see the result.

Flagging Inapplicable Revisions

Typically, a lifecycle state that is set to be hidden (Visible in Vault panels option disabled) will also be made inapplicable (Allowed to be used in designs option also disabled). For example, a revision of a component that is currently Depracated or Obsolete should have no place on the latest design spin! Hiding revisions of Items that have entered such states is one thing – if you can't see a component, for example, you can't place it. But you may already be using instances of such Item Revisions in a design, or inadvertently placed an inapplicable revision of a component by virtue of having shown hidden revisions whilst browsing!

Not to worry. Aside from catching Component Item Revisions that are in inapplicable states upon compilation (see next section), you can manually interrogate the applicability of Item Revisions (components and managed sheets) directly in your design software. This is achieved through the Properties panel, when browsing the item's properties, or through use of the Item Manager.

• Properties panel – when using this panel to browse the properties of a placed instance of a revision of a component or managed schematic sheet, indication is presented to the right of the revision status entry. If the revision is in an inapplicable state (not allowed for use in designs) the entry will display Not applicable. If the revision is in an applicable state (allowed for use in designs) the entry will either reflect that the revision is the latest (Up to date) or not (Out of date).

  
  Reflecting inapplicability at the properties level for a placed instance of a revision of a component and managed schematic sheet.

• Item Manager – in the Item Manager dialog (Tools » Item Manager), indication is presented in the Revision Status field. If the revision is in an inapplicable state (not allowed for use in designs) the entry will display Not applicable. If the revision is in an applicable state (allowed for use in designs) the entry will either reflect that the revision is the latest (Up to date) or not (Out of date).

  
  Reflecting inapplicability through the Item Manager dialog for a placed instance of a revision of a component and managed schematic sheet.

Detecting Inapplicable Revision States on Project Validation

For placed instances of Component Item Revisions, the applicability of the states of those revisions can be checked as part of project validation. At the heart of this checking is the Component revision has inapplicable state violation type, part of the Violations Associated with Components category. Configure the reporting mode for this check on the Error Reporting tab of the Project Options dialog.

The default Report Mode for this violation type is . Modify to suit your design requirements.

Project validation includes a check for violations concerning components in inapplicable revision states. A violation will occur if the lifecycle state of a placed Component Item Revision has been specified as not being allowed for design purposes.

If compiler errors and warnings are enabled for display on the schematic (enabled on the Schematic – Compiler page of the Preferences dialog) an offending object will display a colored squiggle beneath it. A notification is also displayed in the Messages panel in the following format:

Component <Designator> <Comment>: Component revision has inapplicable state,

where:

• Designator is the component instance's Designator.
• Comment is the component instance's Comment.

Example violation (set to Fatal Error for impact).

Things to be aware of:

• If a placed component loses connection with the connected Workspace from which it was placed – for example, that Workspace is disconnected or you are signed out from your Workspace – it will violate the Component revision has inapplicable state check. This will be reflected in the Messages panel, with an entry in the form: Component <Designator> <Comment>: Can't perform revision status validation: Failed to connect to server.
• You can also catch components that are being invalidly used within a design during the design release process. Simply add and configure Component State Checking to your overall release validation regimen. For more information, see Validating Component Status.