Lifecycle Definition Enhancements

Old Content - see latest equivalent
Modified by Jason Howie on May 31, 2017
Contents

Altium Vault 2.1, together with Altium Designer 15.0, bring enhancements to lifecycle definitions. Previously, the different lifecycle states in which an Item Revision could find itself, differed only in their color and name. And while this was sufficient to tell which state the revision had reached in its life, there was no further control. This has been extended with two additional attributes that control the visibility, and applicability, of a revision, in relation to its current state. In terms of applicability, a new project compiler violation can be configured to detect and flag any vault items being used in a design, whose revisions are in non-applicable states - catching and averting issues prior to release.

In addition, you can now modify, to a certain degree, a lifecycle definition that is currently being used (in use by an Item in the vault) - something that was not previously allowed. Modification to state attributes is permitted (color, transitions, applicability, visibility), as well as the ability to add new states to the definition, remove any unused states, and link stages to revision levels (where applicable).

Controlling Visibility and Applicability

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 ().

The Edit Lifecycle Definitions dialog is itself accessed from the Data Management - Vaults page of the Preferences dialog, by selecting the vault, clicking the Properties button, then selecting Edit Lifecycle Definitions from the drop-down menu.

The two options are:

  • Visible in VaultExplorer - with this option enabled, a revision of an Item using the parent lifecycle definition, will be displayed in the Vaults panel (and Libraries panel) when it is set to be in this lifecycle state. When this option is disabled, the revision will be hidden in both places. A hidden revision can, however, be displayed (overriding this option) 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 for Schematic Component dialog, and the Item Manager dialog. The project compiler can also be configured to catch such occurences.

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

Showing Hidden Revisions

For an Item Revision entering a lifecycle state that has its Visible in VaultExplorer attribute disabled, that revision will, by default, not be displayed in both the Vaults panel, and the Libraries 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 Vaults panel), or all loaded vault component libraries (when browsing in the Libraries panel), respectively.

  • Vaults panel - to display all Item Revisions that are currently not visible, simply click the  control, at the top-right of the Items region of the panel, and enable the Show Hidden Revisions option, on the associated menu.
This option is a global setting that applies to all Items in the vault, irrespective of type, and the visual folder in which they reside.

Displaying hidden Item Revisions while browsing content in the Vaults panel.

  • Libraries panel - to display all Item Revisions that are currently not visible, simply click the  control, at the bottom-right of the component listing for any currently loaded vault library, and enable the Show Hidden Revisions option, on the associated menu.
This option is a global setting that applies to all Component Items in all loaded vault libraries.

Displaying hidden Component Items while browsing content in the Libraries panel.

Flagging Inapplicable Revisions

Typically, a lifecycle state that is set to be hidden (Visible in VaultExplorer 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 even 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 the workspace. This is achieved through the Item's associated properties dialog, or through use of the Item Manager.

  • Properties dialog - in the Properties for Schematic Component dialog (for a placed Component Item Revision), or Properties for Managed Sheet Instance dialog (for a placed Schematic Sheet Item Revision), indication is presented to the right of the Revision State 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 at the properties level for a placed instance of a revision of a Component Item, and Schematic Sheet (managed sheet) Item.

  • 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 for a placed instance of a revision of a Component Item, and Schematic Sheet (managed sheet) Item.

Use controls available in the relevant properties dialog, or Item Manager dialog, to choose a later revision of the Item that is in an applicable state or, if this is not possible (the Item in general is not for design use), simply choose an applicable revision of a different Item.

Detecting Inapplicable Revision States on Compilation

For placed instances of Component Item Revisions, the applicability of the states of those revisions can be checked as part of project compilation. At the heart of this checking is the Inapplicable revision state violation type, part of the category: Violations Associated with Components. 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.

The Project Compiler includes a check for violations concerning 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 component will display a colored squiggle beneath it. Hovering over the component will display a pop-up hint, summarizing the violation. A notification is also displayed in the Messages panel in the following format:

Component <Designator> <Comment>: Revision under unapplicable lifecycle state,

where:

Designator is the component instance's Designator.

Comment is the component instance's Comment.

Example of Inapplicable revision state violation (set to Fatal Error for impact).

The Altium Content Vault does not support revision state validation. If a component from this vault has been used in the design, it will violate the Inapplicable revision state check. Hovering in the workspace, will present a hint stating this, while in the Messages panel, the entry will be in the form: Component <Designator> <Comment>: Altium Content Vault doesn't support revision state validation.
If a placed vault component loses connection with its vault - for example the vault from which it was placed is disconnected - it will violate the Inapplicable revision state check. Hovering in the workspace, will present a hint stating this, while in the Messages panel, the entry will be in the form: Component <Designator> <Comment>: Failed to connect to vault.
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 regemin. For more information, see Component Status Validation.

 

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