The architecture-centric methodology supported by ARCWAY Cockpit implies that several users are working on the same documents. This is fully supported in ARCWAY Cockpit. The server provides the central repository for the project and multiple users, on different clients, can access and work with the central repository. ARCWAY Cockpit therefore uses a locking mechanism to guarantee that two users working concurrently on the same project do not overwrite each other's changes.
When one user edits e.g. a plan, this plan is secured by a lock that denies other users to modify the same plan. Whenever another user attempts to modify the plan, he will receive a notification that the plan is locked and by whom.
Locks will automatically be released when the user holding the lock commits his changes to the server, or discards his changes.
There exist various different locks for different purposes:
| Lock Type | Locked Object | Prevents other users from... |
|---|---|---|
| Folder Lock | The folder, its content and subfolders | ... deleting the folder or its content or sub-folder
... renaming the folder or its content or sub-folders ... creating new folders or plans in this folder or its sub-folders ... moving folders or plans into, within or out of this folder or its sub-folders |
| Plan Lock | The plan | ... modifying or renaming the plan
... deleting or moving the plan |
| Unique Element Lock | The Unique Element | ... renaming the Unique Element
... deleting the Unique Element ... creating another Unique Element with the same name |
| Stakeholder Lock | The entire list of stakeholders | ... modifying any stakeholder in the list
... creating or deleting stakeholders |
This list is not necessarily complete. In particular, modules which provide Project Data may define their own lock types.
When you work with ARCWAY Cockpit all changes only affect your local copy of the data. The client tracks your modifications and the Project Navigator displays a modification flag for each modified object.
Other users must commit their modifications the very same way. When data on the server changes and you are connected to the server, ARCWAY Cockpit will automatically download the changed objects and update the data on the client. This synchronization happens automatically whenever the client talks to the server.
You can also update your project by opening the context menu with a right mouse click and selecting Refresh.
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Sometimes you may want to discard your local changes and return to the version of the central repository. To do so, right-click the modified changes, select Discard Changes in the context popup menu and press Discard in the confirmation dialog that will pop up. |
