Changes to your stored records

When a new version changes what you record, the records already stored have to change with it. LobLogix prepares that change, tries it first, and stops anything that could lose information until you decide. On screen these are called database changes.

Two kinds of change

• Changes that add. A new kind of record, or a new detail that can be left empty. Nothing already stored is touched.
• Changes that remove or rewrite. Dropping a detail, renaming it, making it required, or changing its kind, for example from text to a number. These can lose information.

What LobLogix does

1. Shows it in the review. Each release lists the changes it makes to stored records, and of which kind.
2. Tries it first. The changes are applied to a copy of the earlier structure, filled with sample records, before they reach Preview or Stage.
3. Stops what could lose information. A change that removes or rewrites is blocked until you resolve it.
4. Applies it as a step of its own. When you confirm the release, the changes are applied once, before the new version starts.

What the trial run cannot prove

It uses sample records, so it cannot cover every case in records you entered yourself. Where the answer depends on the records in a place, LobLogix checks that place within set limits, and tells you when something could not be checked.

Going back does not undo these changes

Once a change to stored records has been applied, returning to the previous version does not reverse it. This decides which ways back are offered. See If a release goes wrong.

Records stay where they are

Records are never copied from one place to another when a version moves on. Preview keeps its test records, and Stage keeps its own.

Small steps help

A release that only adds is the easiest to install and the easiest to leave. If you plan to remove or rename something, do it in a release of its own.