Working With Change Assistant

This section introduces you to the Change Assistant interface and describes how to:

• Work with Change Assistant menu options.

• Work with templates and jobs.

• Work with steps.

• Work with embedded documentation.

• Maintain Change Assistant directories.

Understanding The Change Assistant Interface

Change Assistant enables you to run, view, and modify Change Assistant templates. You open Change Assistant on a Windows workstation by selecting Start, Programs, PeopleSoft, Change Assistant.

Note. Before starting and running Change Assistant, application servers, Process Scheduler servers, and PIA. Also, ensure all agents running on the servers are running and sending pulses.

Change Assistant enables you to:

• View, modify, and create Change Assistant templates.

• Run PeopleSoft update and update jobs.

When you have a Change Assistant template open, you use these areas in the project workspace:

Working With Change Assistant Menu Options

This section describes the menu options available when using Change Assistant.

Note. Some menu options are enabled only during a specific Change Assistant mode, which is determined in the Change Assistant Options dialog box.

File Menu

The File menu contains some generic Windows options, plus these specific Change Assistant options:

Edit Menu

The Edit menu contains some generic Windows options, plus these specific Change Assistant options:

View Menu

The View menu contains these specific Change Assistant options:

Run Menu

The Run menu contains these specific Change Assistant options:

Tools Menu

The Tools menu contains these specific Change Assistant options:

Working with Change Assistant Templates and Jobs

Whether you are performing an update or an upgrade, you work with Change Assistant templates and jobs. When performing an update, the Change Assistant template comes in the downloaded change package, and when you are performing an upgrade, you download from Oracle a specific Change Assistant template for your upgrade path. The templates are composites of all possible steps that apply to an update or upgrade, whether they apply to your environment or not.

After you specify the required settings in Change Assistant regarding your environment, you use Change Assistant to build a job tailored to your environment. When building the job, Change Assistant filters the steps so that the job contains only the steps applicable to your implementation. For example, the resulting Change Assistant job will have only steps that apply to your database type, your installed applications, your languages, and so on.

When you apply updates or run an upgrade, Change Assistant automatically loads the template into the Change Assistant internal storage system. You can add additional chapters, tasks, and steps to the template, if needed. To edit a template, you must be in the Create or Modify Templates mode, specified on the Change Assistant Options dialog box.

Examples of custom steps that might be added include, dropping indexes, adding indexes, backing up a database, and so on.

Note. In most cases, it is not necessary (or recommended) to modify a delivered template. Any changes that you make to the imported template won't affect the original template that you downloaded. However, if you choose to edit a template, keep a backup of the original.

Creating New Template Elements

You can add chapters, tasks and steps to an existing template.

To insert a template element:

1. Highlight the location where you want to add the element.

   If you want to add a chapter above the existing first chapter in the template, highlight the template root node (template name) at the top of the template tree.

2. From the Edit menu (or toolbar) select the appropriate option: Insert Chapter, Insert Task, Insert Step.

3. Enter a unique name for your new element.

   Note. Each chapter in the update template must have a unique name, each task within a chapter must have a unique name, and each step within a task must have a unique name.

4. Click OK.

   When creating new steps, Change Assistant displays the Step Properties dialog box for specifying step options.

Deleting Template Elements

To delete a chapter, task, or step:

1. Highlight the chapter, task, or step that you want to delete.

   Warning! If you delete a chapter, Change Assistant deletes all the tasks and steps within the chapter. If you delete a task, Change Assistant deletes all the steps within the task.

2. Select from the following:

   1. If you want to delete a chapter, select Edit, Delete Chapter.

   2. If you want to delete a task, select Edit, Delete Task.

   3. If you want to delete a step, select Edit, Delete Step.

3. Change Assistant deletes the chapter, task, or step and updates the template.

4. Save the template.

Exporting Templates

In order for others to use the template that you create or modify, you need to export it from Change Assistant. If you want to overwrite an existing template file, enter the name of the original template.

To export a template:

1. Open the template in Change Assistant by selecting File, Open Template.

2. Select File, Export Template.

   The Export Template dialog box appears.

3. Navigate to the folder in which you want to save the template.

4. Enter the name of the template.

   Note. If you want to overwrite the original template that you downloaded, enter the original name of the template.

5. Click Save.

Exporting Jobs to XML, HTML, or Microsoft Excel Format

Change Assistant allows you to export jobs to XML, HTML, or Microsoft Excel file formats.

To export a job:

1. Select File, Export Job.

2. Enter the desired exported filename and the select the desired file type format.

You can use this option to enable other implementation team members, who do not have access to the machine on which Change Assistant is running, to view the job. Exporting the job to Microsoft Excel enables you to view the timings in a spreadsheet format.

Note. You can not export a Change Assistant job and either import it or open it on another machine with Change Assistant installed and then run or modify the job on that other machine.

Working with Steps

This section discusses how to:

• Set step properties.

• View step status.

Setting Step Properties

PeopleSoft delivers update templates with default settings and steps to perform updates. If needed, you can modify the steps, or create new steps, based on the conditions that apply when you run the update process.

To modify the step properties, highlight the step for which you want to modify the step properties, then double-click on the step or select Edit, Step Properties. After making any changes to step properties, click OK, and save your template.

Note. Depending on what mode you are in, some of the fields may be disabled.

Note. Under normal circumstances, it is recommended that you do not modify or edit the step properties in your delivered template.

This section describes fields and options on the Step Properties dialog box. You can modify step properties for a step when adding or editing steps in the template.

Step Description	This field displays the current step.
Script/Procedure	Enter the name of the script, procedure, project, or program name to which you want to assign the properties of the step. For example, enter SYSAUDIT. This field is required for all step types except manual stop.
Type	Select a step type. This selection defines the type of action to be performed by the step. For example, if you are running the SYSAUDIT SQR report, select SQRReport. Detailed information related to each step type appears elsewhere in this PeopleBook. See Modifying Step Properties and Parameters.
Parameters	Enter additional parameters that you may need to run the step. For example, for SQL commands, you enter the actual SQL command in this field. In other cases, you use this edit box to override various environment settings or other parameters so that the step completes successfully. Detailed information related to the parameter options for each step type appears elsewhere in this PeopleBook. See Modifying Step Properties and Parameters.
From Tools Release	Specify the PeopleTools releases to which a step applies. Use the associated operator dropdown list to indicate ranges of releases. The default values are All with the = operator. The operator dropdown list enables you to express greater than, less than, equal to, and 'in' relationships. The in operator enables you to specify more specific ranges, such as 'in' 8.48 and 8.49, as opposed to 'greater than' 8.48. When adding multiple release numbers, separate the values with a comma (,). For example: 8.48,8.49 Note. If you enter more than one From Tools Release value, the system assumes the 'in' operator. Change Assistant uses these values to filter the steps when creating the upgrade job so that only the steps necessary for a particular environment remain.
Run Location	Select one of these run location options: Local: runs a step's process on the local machine: the Windows workstation where Change Assistant is running. For Application updates and PeopleTools-only upgrades, steps run locally. However, for full upgrades, steps can run locally or remotely. Remote Agent: runs the step on a remote server. During a full upgrade, some steps are data intensive and, for performance reasons, can be run on a remote server. If you select Remote Agent, before running the step you need to configure the Remote Agent options on the Change Assistant Options dialog. The details of setting up this option are documented in the upgrade portion of this PeopleBook. See Configuring Remote Agent Processing.
Orientation	Specify which database the step needs to be run against. Options are: Source Target Copy of Current Demo Production Step type and type of upgrade determine valid orientation settings. See Source and Target Databases.
Products	Click the Products icon. Change Assistant displays the Select Products dialog box, which enables you to select the product line, the industry, and the products to which your step should be run against (for example, FIN/SCM, Commercial, Asset Management). Note. This feature is used primarily for data conversion processes. You must select at least one product.
Type of Upgrade	Specify the type of upgrade to which this step applies: Initial Upgrade: refers to the initial application of a change package or new release to your demonstration database. Move to Production: refers to the upgrade between your demonstration database and your production system. Both: refers to steps that need to be run in both upgrade types. Note. Depending on the type of upgrade, the system filters out steps that do not apply. For example, if Move to Production is set for a step and you are performing an initial upgrade, that step will be filtered out of the job run.
Allow for Errors	Indicates how the system should react to any errors that may arise during a step run. If set to Yes, if the step encounters errors the system does not perform any error handling and continues on to the next step. Default is set to No.
Run Concurrently	Enables you to set multiple steps (programs, processes, and so on) to run simultaneously. If you select this option for two or more consecutive steps, Change Assistant starts those processes concurrently, until the job reaches: a step with Run Concurrently set to No. a step type of Manual Stop. the Maximum Concurrent Processes value, as set on the Change Assistant Options dialog box. See Specifying Change Assistant Options. By setting Run Concurrently to Yes, you are indicating to Change Assistant that this step can run concurrently with the following step. The total number of processes that can run concurrently is determined by the Maximum Concurrent Processes setting on the Change Assistant Options dialog box. For example, assume there are four steps set to run concurrently, followed by a fifth step set not to run concurrently, with the Maximum Concurrent Processes value set to 3. In this scenario, Change Assistant launches the first three steps to run concurrently. When one of the first three steps completes, the fourth step starts processing, and as soon as another step completes, the fifth step begins processing. The step after the fifth step does not start until the fifth step completes. Running steps concurrently is a strategy reserved for application upgrades to save time when running the following step types on a remote host through a remote EMF agent: Application Engine SQL Data Mover Concurrent processing is not enabled in any circumstances for these step types: DBTSFIX Load Base Data Upgrade PeopleTools Manual Stop Note. If a step is dependent on a previous step, it is not recommended to set it to run concurrently with that step. Note. Steps set to run concurrently can span across multiple consecutive tasks or chapters, and can be of different step types. Note. In an application upgrade, do not run the "Update PeopleTools System Tables" step concurrently, and, unless specifically instructed to do so, do not run any of the steps in the "Apply PeopleTools Changes" chapter concurrently. See the upgrade documentation for your specific upgrade for recommendations on specific steps within that upgrade that can be run concurrently.

Viewing Step Status

When working with templates and jobs, you see these status icons to the left of steps:

Working with Embedded Documentation

Each delivered Change Assistant template comes with embedded documentation to help guide you through an update or upgrade job, especially for manual steps. Typically, full upgrades have significantly more documentation than updates.

The documentation for any chapter, task, or step resides in a separate HTM file with the same name as the template element. A master HTML file stores the compilation of the separate HTM files displayed in an order matching the template.

When working with Change Assistant documentation, you:

• Set the documentation directory.

• View documentation.

• Create and edit documentation.

• Finalize documentation.

Setting the Documentation Directory

You set the documentation directory before an upgrade and prior to customizing documentation. The documentation directory contains the documentation HTM files.

To set the documentation directory:

1. Select Edit, Set Documentation Directory.

2. Navigate to the directory where you want to store the documentation.

3. Click Open.

Viewing the Documentation

To view the embedded documentation associated with a particular template element:

1. Select the template node.

2. View the documentation in the documentation box.

To view the compiled documentation:

1. Navigate to the documentation directory.

2. Open the template_name.HTM file.

Creating and Editing Documentation

To create or edit documentation:

1. Select the desired element node.

2. Select Edit, Edit Documentation.

3. In the edit box on the Edit Documentation dialog box, insert your cursor, and add new content or modify existing content.

   Click Attach to incorporate additional files, such as graphics or additional text files. Attaching files moves that file into the documentation directory and inserts a link to that file in the embedded documentation.

4. Click OK.

Finalizing Documentation

After modifying any documentation for individual template elements, select Edit, Finalize Documentation to compile the individual documentation changes into the master HTM file.

Maintaining Change Assistant Directories

After you download and apply change packages, it's not uncommon for there to be a number of files left in the local Change Assistant directories. This section describes when it's safe to remove the files and what to consider if you want to remove any of the files.