Setting up additional traceability columns

 

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The number of traceability columns allowed

By default, 48 traceability columns are created for storing information about SPC and DMS data. You can increase that number up to 250 traceability columns. This topic will explain how that is done.

Legacy GainSeeker modules that cannot be used with additional traceability columns

Note: Legacy GainSeeker modules do not function correctly with more than 48 traceability columns. These include:

    • SPC Charts and Reports

    • SPC Database Monitor

    • DMS Charts and Reports

    • Enterprise Dashboard

    • SPC Data Entry

    • DMS Data Entry

    • SPC Designer

    • SPC Planner

    • Standalone versions of modules that are now built into the GainSeeker Utility module (such as Note Manager, Import/Export Manager, SPC Standard Utility, etc.)

If you rely on these legacy modules, you should not use additional traceability columns. However, the functionality in the modules listed above is built in to the newer GainSeeker Charts and GainSeeker Utility modules, which do support the additional traceability columns.

 

Note: When using more than 48 traceability columns, all workstations must be updated to version 10.1 or later. Older versions of the GainSeeker Suite may produce unexpected errors if more than 48 traceability columns are defined.

How to set up additional traceability columns for a Configuration

While setting up the GainSeeker database for the first time

If you know that you want to use additional traceability columns before you have even installed GainSeeker, you can use a variation of the initial database script to create tables with the expanded columns, and then use the window shown below to set the number of columns for the Initial Configuration. For full instructions, see Database setup.

While creating a new configuration that uses all new table names and file paths

    1. Create the new configuration and Submit the change.

    2. Go to the settings for Tables and File Paths for the new configuration.

      1. Use the Tables and File Paths window to set all new file paths as appropriate for the new configuration, but do not click Check for Tables or run the Table Creation Utility.

      2. Use the Tables and File Paths window to set all new table names, but do not click Check for Tables or run the Table Creation Utility.

      3. On the Tables and File Paths window, click the Additional Traceability Columns button. This will display the Additional Traceability Columns window with the default column count of 48:

      4. Enter a new value for the number of traceability columns  - up to a maximum of 250 columns.


      5. This window compares the column count you specified to the table names listed below.

        • If the Missing column displays an asterisk, then GainSeeker will create the table with the new number you specified.

        • If the Table Name already exists, GainSeeker compares its existing columns with the new number you specified.
          If these do not match, you have four options:

          • Use the Set Name or Append All button to specify one or more existing tables with the new column count you specified

          • Use the Set Name or Append All button to specify one or more existing table names that do not yet exist, so that GainSeeker can create the new tables with the new count you specified

          • Change the count to match the tables listed

          • Click Cancel to exit this window without changing the count

      6. On the Additional Traceability Columns window, click OK to accept your changes and return to the Tables and File Paths window.

      7. On the Tables and File Paths window, click Check for Tables. If any tables or file paths are missing, choose the option to run the Table Creation Utility.

Converting an existing configuration to use Additional traceability columns

These steps will use GainSeeker to create new tables with additional traceability columns and then use the export data and import data functions to copy your existing data records into these new tables.

    1. Select a current configuration whose tables you wish to convert. Anyone using the tables referenced in that configuration must log out of GainSeeker and remain logged out until this process is finished.

    2. Ensure that you have a good backup of the tables you want to re-create. GainSeeker will not automatically drop or alter these tables or the data they contain, but you will probably want to manually drop the tables after data has been imported into the new tables.

    3. Use the GainSeeker System Administration module to copy the current configuration to a new configuration and Submit the change.
      The remaining steps instruct you to change the tables for your current GainSeeker configuration, using the new configuration in a purely temporary capacity. If you prefer instead to make all changes in the new configuration and "retire" the old configuration after the process is complete, you may reverse the configurations listed in the remaining steps.

    4. Go to the settings for Tables and File Paths for the current configuration.

      1. Use one of these options to set new table names:

        • Use the Tables and File Paths window to set all new table names, but do not click Check for Tables or run the Table Creation Utility. For tables that were created in versions 8.5.2 and below, this has the added benefit of recreating all tables to use variable-length character (varchar) fields which help to reduce your database size on Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL databases.

        • If you do not set the new table names on this window, then you must do so on the Additional Traceability Columns window in the steps below. This option makes it easy to convert only the tables that are affected by the additional traceability columns you specify.

      2. On the Tables and File Paths window, click the Additional Traceability Columns button. This will display the Additional Traceability Columns window with default column count of 48:

      3. Enter a new value for the number of traceability columns  - up to a maximum of 250 columns.

      4. This window compares the number of columns you specified to the table names listed below.

        • If the Missing column displays an asterisk, then GainSeeker will create the table with the new field lengths you specified.

        • If the Table Name already exists, GainSeeker compares its existing field lengths with the new field lengths you specified.

          If these do not match, you have four options:

          • Use the Set Name or Append All button to specify one or more existing tables with the new field lengths you specified

          • Use the Set Name or Append All button to specify one or more existing table names that do not yet exist, so that GainSeeker can create the new tables with the new field lengths you specified

          • Change the field length settings to match the tables listed

          • Click Cancel to exit this window without changing the field lengths

      5. On the Expand Column Column window, click OK to accept your changes and return to the Tables and File Paths window.

      6. On the Tables and File Paths window, click Check for Tables. If any tables or file paths are missing, choose the option to run the Table Creation Utility.

    5. Use the GainSeeker Utility to Export data from the original tables. Then use Import data to load the data into the new tables. You must use the XML format for both the import and export of data. It is better to move the data in small groups rather than all the data in one export/import session. You can do this by filtering on Part numbers or date ranges.


      Note: Any Users that specify a configuration of "Default Settings Configuration" must be edited to specify one of the configurations listed.

    Related topics

    Tables and File Paths

  2. Setting up Expanded data field lengths