SIMS 7 - Change Tracking APIs - User Configuration

The GetXmlChanged interfaces can affect the performance of school system. Hence, these interfaces will not get any data unless the school takes the decision to enable ‘Tracking of changes’. An additional screen has been provided for this purpose in SIMS. It is recommended the Logging frequency to be ‘Once a day’.

The screen has been explained in detail as below:

1) Select Tools | Setups | Data Change Management to display the Data Change Tracking Management page.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The SQL component named Service Broker must be activated in order to use the change tracking functionality. This component is activated automatically as part of the SIMS upgrade process.

The status of the change tracking process is displayed at the bottom of the first panel. If it is currently switched off, the Change-Tracking Enabled option in the second panel is set to OFF.

2) To enable the tracking of data changes in your SIMS system, select the ON radio button in the Change-Tracking Enabled section.

When the ON radio button is selected, the remaining options on the screen become available for editing. Only when you save the settings on this page does the active status change from OFF (accompanied by a red circle) to ON (accompanied by a green circle).

The Logging Frequency section indicates the frequency at which you wish to write change tracking information to the log file.

3) The user needs to select the frequency that they wish to log any changes by selecting the appropriate radio button in the Logging Frequency section. The following options are available:

Once a day – writes any changes to the log file at midnight each night, at which time the effect on system performance will be less noticeable.

Once every nn hours – starting from midnight, writes any changes to the log file at the interval specified. Enter a figure in the field or use the Up and Down buttons to select the required interval.

Consideration must be given to the frequency of change logging. Selecting the Once every nn hours radio button and writing frequently to the log could affect the performance of SIMS on each workstation. For this reason, the logging frequency defaults to Once a day.

4) Select the range of  data you wish to retain in the tracking log by selecting the appropriate radio button in the Limit to Tracking Log section

• Indefinite – retains the entire content of the tracking log until another option is selected.
• Keep for nn days – retains the content of the tracking log for the number of days specified. For example, entering 30 days retains the content of the tracking log that day for the next 30 days. Once this period of time lapses, the content for that day is permanently deleted.
• Keep since – retains the content of the tracking log from a specified date, with no end date. This would be particularly useful if, for example, you wanted to retain details for a whole academic year. Selecting 01/09/09 (for example) will retain all change tracking information in the log from this date (start of the current academic year) onwards. Click the Calendar button and select the date from which you wish to retain the content of the log

5) If you have incorrectly edited any of the information on this screen and wish to revert to the point of your last save, click the Undo button.

6) Once you have achieved the appropriate settings, click the Save button to save any changes made.

The change tracking process can be switched off by selecting the OFF radio button in the Change-Tracking Enabled section and clicking the Save button. Please be aware that switching off this functionality also permanently deletes the current content of the tracking log.