Flowchart Versioning

Flowcharts are valuable tools for visualizing processes and workflows. To ensure proper version control and facilitate auditing, it's crucial to have a clear understanding of how flowchart versions are managed. This section explains the concept of flowchart versioning and provide insights into the file management aspects of flowchart creation and manipulation.

Flowchart versioning allows creation and maintenance of different iterations of a flowchart. It serves as a backup and enables future auditing. Every session or campaign has its own flowchart version, ensuring that changes and revisions can be tracked and referenced as needed.

Storage Format: Flowcharts are typically stored in .ses file format, which is specific to the software tool being used. When you save a flowchart, it is exclusively saved to the .ses file. This file is stored on disk and serves as the primary reference for opening the flowchart. However, it's important to note that versions of the flowchart are saved and loaded from a separate database.

Manipulating the .ses File: The .ses file contains the current working copy of the flowchart and can be manipulated using various utilities. These utilities allow the following actions, like copying, moving, or deleting the .ses file. It's important to remember that these utilities only affect the .ses file itself, not the versions.

Working with Flowchart Versions: When opening a version, it is loaded from the database into memory without overwriting the .ses file. This means that the version is read-only and serves as a reference point for reviewing or comparing different iterations of the flowchart. If you wish to save a specific version, you must use the Save Version feature, which updates the .ses file and saves the version simultaneously.

Managing Versions and Utilities: To effectively manage flowchart versions, it is crucial to distinguish between the .ses file and the versions themselves. The utilities mentioned earlier can only be applied to the .ses file, not the versions. Therefore, if you need to use these utilities, make sure you operate on the .ses file to avoid unintended changes or deletions to your flowchart versions.

Conclusion: Flowchart versioning is an essential feature for maintaining an accurate history of changes in the flowcharts. By understanding the file management aspects and the distinctions between the .ses file and the versions, you can ensure proper version control and make the most of the available utilities. With a well-managed flowchart versioning system, you can confidently review, audit, and iterate upon your flowcharts to improve your processes.

Steps for creating flowchart version:
  1. Open a flowchart in edit mode.
  2. Click on Save as version/comments from save menu.

  3. Type version name and comments (optional) if any.

  4. Click on OK.
    Note: Save as version will save its contents into database and override flowchart���s ses file contents.

Flowchart version/history

User can see what all flowchart versions are available using flowchart version/history notch as shown below:

Flowchart versions

User can perform two operations on version.
  1. Load version
    1. Load version ��� user can be able to see version contents. All the contents are read only. Contents are loaded into memory from database. It will not override .ses file contents unless and until user explicitly perform save operation.
    2. User can only create new version from older version.
  2. Delete flowchart version option

Flowchart history

User can be able to see history of version flowchart.