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IMPLEMENTED

Simplify & Automate Version Notes

Related products:TimeXtender Data Integration
  • April 17, 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 68 views

Jan Stroeve
Contributor
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Each time you save an instance (e.g. after deploying a table) you are presented with a screen to add a version note.

Please add a functionality to automatically add log information such as:

  • name developer,
  • date,
  • a description of all changes (maybe a short or long version) made since last saved version and in which data area it was.

This would save all developers a lot of time writing down all changes (version notes) manually. And this would actually encourage developers to add a log note for each change made as I am pretty sure that currently a lot of version notes are left blank. Obviously you would still need to have to possibility to add a custom note. You could think about AI helping out to add version notes. (And even in your own language). I get carried away… just a button to add your own initials and a button to add the current date, would be a good start.

5 replies

  • Problem Solver
  • April 18, 2023

A link to Jira, Topdesk or any other external location would be nice as well.

Not so sure about the date and username/initials, since those are already saved automatically anyways. Unless you are using a shared user account of course.


JTreadwell
Community Manager
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  • Community Manager
  • April 20, 2023

Hi @Jan Stroeve , Thanks for the suggestion. Fantastic idea! So good, in fact, we’ve already done it! 😉. Here’s a screenshot when you attempt to open previous versions: 

Each version has the date, name of the user who saved, any items being worked on (work items), and of course a space for custom notes

I’ll mark this one as IMPLEMENTED. But If you have ideas on how this can be improved any further, please let us know!


JTreadwell
Community Manager
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  • Community Manager
  • April 20, 2023
SUBMITTEDIMPLEMENTED

Jan Stroeve
Contributor
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  • Author
  • Contributor
  • April 20, 2023

Hi Joseph,

Thanks for your reply. I understand what you are saying, though this wasn't entirely was I was suggesting.
As developers might have a shared userid or an id that doesn't have the name of the developer in there, our team is used to write down the initials of the developer at the start of each version note. Maybe it should allow the developer to add a specific project variable in there. Obviously there is no need to add the date in the version note again, as you pointed out.

And my third bullet was about the idea that automatically a description would be made in the version note of all changes (maybe a short or long version) since last saved version. I actually didn't mean a list of work items worked on, but a meaningful description. 
I could imagine it to be present something like (as an example):

  • Added table [DSA].[Sales]
  • Added field [Amount] in table [DSA].[Sales]
  • Added description to field [Amount] in table [DSA].[Sales]: “Amount of Products sold”
  • Changed Transformation on field [Profit] in table [DSA].[Sales]: from Custom Value: ‘…….’ to Custom Value: ‘…...’

JTreadwell
Community Manager
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  • Community Manager
  • April 21, 2023

Hey Jan, I understand. As far as the user, latest versions of the application require specific user sign-in, so this should no longer be a concern. 
 

As for the change log, this is a great suggestion. Can you submit this as a new idea?