Tag: Project Manager

Project Manager is a utility that is used to manage your Cradle projects. It provides access to all Cradle systems that are accessible to the user (usually only one) and all projects defined in the Project Register(s) of these Cradle system(s).

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Create a New Database Based upon a Previous Database

The Problem

I want to create a new database that is a copy of a pre-existing database minus the actual data.

Cradle Project Environment

The environment for the Cradle project will contain:

  • Project Setup
  • Supporting definition files (views, forms, queries, documents etc.)
  • Users*

*If you will have the same users in the new project that are in the existing project.

The Solution

To avoid the Personal and/or User definition files being part of this import, we would suggest the following:

  1. Log in to the existing project as MANAGER
  2. Select Project > Export
  3. In the Export dialog set Owner to  Everything and Info Type to Project Schema and User Profiles (if users are required, see comment above)

Screenshot showing export of project schema and user profiles

  1. Press Export to create the export file and close the Export Status dialog but do NOT close the Export Information dialog:Screenshot showing Export Status
  2. In the Export Information dialog, change the Info Type to ONLY show Definition Files:
    Screenshot showing Export Definition Files
  3. You will see that some new options appear – Definition Type and Location:
    Screenshot showing Info Type Definitions filter in Export
  4. The Definition Type option allows you to specify the types of definition file to be included in the export. For this example, we will leave this as All:
    Screenshot showing Definition Types in Export
  5. The Location option defines which location you are exporting the definition files from.
    Users may have created Personal or User definition files that might not be relevant to the new project.
    Personal and/or User definitions might only have been useful to an individual person rather than the project so could be omitted.
    In this case, we would only need to select Team*, User Type* and Project

    * It may only be necessary to select Project

    Screenshot showing Location of definitions in Export

  6. Press the Export button again. This will present you with the option to Overwrite, Append or Cancel. Select Append:
    Screenshot showing Overwrite or Append
  7. In Project Manager, create your new project with an EMPTY schema:
    Screenshot showing Create New Empty Project
  8. Log into the new project as MANAGER
  9. Select Project > Import and set Owner to As in File and Overwrite to On:
    Screenshot showing Import Information
  10. You will see that your new project contains:
  • Users
  • All the Project Setup information including the phase hierarchy and all supporting definition files

Summary Note

If you had NOT chosen to append the definition files, it is highly likely that the phase hierarchy from the existing project would not work in the new project and would produce errors.

These definition files are important to define the WorkBench environment.

Also, if you had chosen to export all the definition files, this may have resulted in numerous views, forms, queries, documents etc., that are not particularly relevant or accepted into project definitions.

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Do I have to retype my password if I have many projects?

Using Project Manager with Multiple Projects and Passwords

In an environment where you have numerous projects that you switch between, using Project Manager to Login can save retyping your Cradle password.

If you have many projects that you need to switch between and don’t have a limitless desktop to open multiple copies of Cradle or don’t want to lock multiple licences, use Project Manager to look after switching.

Once you Login  to a project through Project Manager your Cradle password is cached for that session. You can then access the project through WorkBench, Web Access, or the Toolsuite applications; Document Loader, Document Publisher or Spell Checker. When you exit a tool, you can open another project through Project Manager as you work through your day. When  you need to re-enter any previous projects, you’ll only need to use the Open command as your login details will be cached.

If you need to clear the cache (for security reasons) then simply use the Clear User Cache option. Alternatively close Project Manager.

Using Project Manager to login
Project Manager Login

LDAP Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

For an alternative way to manage your logins and passwords, see Cradle help LDAP Authentication.

Switch User

Another option to change to a different user is to use the “Switch Identity” option, this can be enabled in the “User Setup” A User Profile’s switch identity can only be set if you have read-write access to the User Profile. If you have no access to a User Profile, you cannot see any part of it, including the switch identity. If you have read-only access to a User Profile, the switch identity is disguised in the same manner as the User Profile’s password.

Article Updated 04/02/2019 – Added swith user
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Can I disconnect users and free up their licences?

Disconnect Users and Release Licences

Users can be disconnected and their licences released by another user from Project Manager without the need of restarting the CDS.

This could be useful in the following circumstances:

  • A user has left a login dialog open locking a RW connection
  • A user has locked a licence and cannot manually release it
  • You have locked a project for maintenance and need to remove users while the maintenance is carried out
screenshot of user management screen
Disconnect Users and freeup their Licences.

Solution

Disconnect your users through Cradle’s Project Manager. To disconnect a user select User Management… from the System pulldown menu which produces a User Management dialog, from here you can see details of all connections to the CDS, select a user and then choose Log Off. This will kill the connection and free up any licences they had in use.

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Can I See, Who is Using What and Where?

Report on Who and Where.

It is easy to see who, using what, where from the Users report in Project Manager.  This details the host system user name, their Cradle login name and the project they are connected to.

Why is there an Executing Client and Display Client shown?

These would show different values if your system is set to have the executable running on one machine with the UI redirected to another. For example a Windows® user may remotely log on to a Linux® machine, and start WorkBench, viewing the output on a Windows X terminal emulation.  The machine running the Cradle Database Server may be a third machine.

User report from Project Manager showing users and licences
User Report

Additional brief information detailing which module licences they currently have in use is also given. For full details on the licence usage users would run the Licence Usage report.

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Check You Have IPv6 Running

New Cradle-7.2 Feature

If you need to check your new installation is running IPv6, then you can use Project Manager, or the Help->About screen in WorkBench, Document Publisher etc.

There’s a whole host of other information on these screens which will tell you; how your client found the CDS (Cradle Database Server), which language variant is active and which licences you are currently using.

Showing WorkBench and Project Manager IPv6 connection status
IPv6 Connection Display
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Locking Projects

New Cradle-7.2 Feature

Why would you want to lock a project?

If you need to ensure no-one  can log into your project,  in order that you can:

  • Back-up the hard disk while no data can change
  • Perform maintenance on Cradle items assured that none can be locked by others
  • Prevent users you are adding to a project can’t start until an official go-live point

Then locking the project to a selected user can ensure a data manager has the appropriate control.

Solution

Lock your projects to a selected user through Cradle’s Project Manager. Only MANAGER and the optional named user can login to the project. They are also the only users who can unlock the project once again.

Shows a project being locked
Lock a project to a selected user.

 

Article updated 05/12/2018 – Fixed typo
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Managing Projects

Managing Projects in Cradle

When you have a large number of projects and users it can get difficult to track them all. Project Manager, part of the Cradle suite, provides a method to hierarchically organise, categorise and sort your projects.

Project Manager showing projects in folder organisation.
Organise projects in Project Manager

Classification / Categorisation

A Project may belong to more than one sub category, “Mechanical Department” and “Current Project”, you can place a link to the project in each of these folders. In the future the link may be in the “Mechanical Department” and “Completed” folders, its up to you. Project manager can also add a host of user defined categorisations and references. This will help identify a project and its associated contracts or references,  now and in years to come.

Attributes

You can set attributes for each project. These can provide extra details about the project’s purpose, status, dates and so on. Project Manager ships with nine default attributes, however, you can add your own or change those supplied.

  • Alias  ‘Alias ID for the project, such as an alternative project ID number’
  • Division ‘General Description such as the company division doing the project’
  • Branch ‘General description such as the company branch doing the project’
  • Customer ‘General description such as the name of the customer for the project’
  • Reference ‘General Description such as the RFP or ITT reference number’
  • ‘Inception Date’ ‘General description such as the start date of the project’
  • Purpose ‘General project description, used in any manner found to be useful’
  • Summary ‘General project description, used in any manner found to be useful’
  • Description ‘General project description, used in any manner found to be useful’
Showing the range of Project Attributes that can be set for a project

    Setting Project Attributes

Continue reading “Managing Projects”

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Ensure Your Avast AV Definitions are Up to Date!

Avast AV Definitions

We have seen reports of some strange behaviour caused by the Avast Anti-Virus software:

– When Cradle is being installed
– When running Project Manager

on a virtual PC with Windows 10 running inside Oracle VirtualBox on a HP EliteBook 8570p with OS Mageia 5 Linux 64-bit.

The problems were seen with Avast Internet Security 2015 version 10.4.2233 running inside the Windows 10 virtual machine. The new version of Avast Internet Security, version 11.1.2245, works OK.

So, please ensure that your Avast is up to date!

UPDATED: April 2020 – Meta Data/Link