Document packages are used to group documents. This is useful in document development, since the package function allows you to monitor the (weighted) average progress of a document package. Document packages can be connected to activities in IFS/Project if that module is installed.
Note that the progress of a document can be controlled in two different ways. Each revision has its own progress track, allowing you to make changes directly in the Document Revision/Development tab or the Document Revisions window. If the document is in a package, the progress of the revision corresponding to the associate revision type (in the document package) of the document is controlled in the Document Package window.
The Document Package window refers only to the revision of the document corresponding to the associated revision type in the document package. The available associated revision types are Latest Created, Latest Released and Fixed. The progress of a document in a package is determined through a reference to a milestone profile and a milestone, unlike the progress in the Document Revision/Development tab and the Document Revisions window where you can insert the progress directly. As the document is developed and as new milestones are reached, the milestone level is increased, thus increasing the progress.
When adding documents to the package, if only the class of the document is entered, the record can be saved with any associated revision type (Fixed/Latest Released/Latest Created).
When entering the class as well as the document number, if the associated revision type Fixed is used, the document sheet and revision has to be given as well. For the Latest Released and Latest Created associated revision types, you can enter the document number and save the record without giving the document sheet and revision information.
We can connect two revisions of the same document to two packages using the Fixed associate revision type. In order to support this functionality, all the keys (document class, document number, document sheet and document revision) are needed at the time of saving.
Progress can be updated only when all the keys (document class, document number, document sheet and document revision) of each of the connected documents are available. To indicate progress, the package function uses a set of common milestones, each milestone having an associated progress. The milestone progress definition can be changed even if the milestone is used by a document in a package. Typical milestones and their associated progresses are First draft ready (progress 30%), Final images ready (progress 80%), and Completed (progress 100%).
Creating: The document class and milestone profile with milestones must be registered in the Document Basic/Document Milestone Template tab. Before you can register documents in the packages, you must have registered them in the Document Revisions window or the Document Revision window.
Modifying: If you change the milestone of a document title in a package, the progress of the revision of the document corresponding to the associated revision type is updated. The update is visible in the Document Revision/Development tab and the Document Revisions window. The progress field for this revision cannot be modified in the Document Revision window or in the Document Revisions window if the document is connected to a package. The average package progress and total hours planned are recalculated when the document package is modified and saved.
Removing: You must delete the contents of a document package before you can remove the package itself. Each package must be removed individually.