AdminClient Basics

© AUVESY GmbH

Last updated: 25 Februar 2019

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TOC

AdminClient Basics 4

1. Licencing 5

Activation, renewals and upgrades 5

2. Global settings 8

Server: Server settings and paths 8

Clients: Global settings for clients 9

Components: Global settings for components 9

Security: Security rules for the versiondog system 10

Email: Settings for sending emails from the server 10

Scripting: Settings for client and server scripts 12

Upload: Global job settings 12

Web server: Web server settings and activation 13

Comparison results: Configure caching of comparison results 14

Proxy: configure how the versiondog server connects to the internet 14

3. Component type editor 16

Adjusting component types 16

Creating a new component type 21

4. User management 23

Creating new groups 23

Creating new users 24

Account policies 26

Finding a user or group from the ID 27

Assigning rights 27

Grant rights according to the path in the project tree 29

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 Granting group rights for component types 29

Assigning group roles 31

Importing/exporting users or groups and binding to Active Directory 31

5. Jobs 33

6. Expanded settings in INI files 39

7. Archive manager 44

Configuring actions 44

Carrying out actions 49

Performing action without estimation 49

Perform action with estimation 49

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AdminClient Basics

AdminClient enables you to manage the entire versiondog system. The AdminClient is available on all
computers installed with versiondog. This provides you with an easy access to administrative func-
tions at all times. Only users that are Administration members can access the AdminClient.

The AdminClient consists of twelve modules. The tutorial AdminClient Basics provides a description
of the functions in the six most important modules (In order of relevance for new users):

1. Licencing- ensure functionality, renew or review licence

2. Global settings - configure the server

3. Component type editor - create, change and delete component types

4. User management - create users and groups and bestow rights

5. Jobs - secure device data (create, configure and execute jobs)

6. INI files - add additional settings

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1. Licencing

You will require a valid licence to operate the versiondog system. This might be a regular purchased
licence or a 30-day trial licence for a pilot installation. In either case, you will receive your versiondog
licence in the form of a file named licence.bin.

Please note that:

n During the initial installation, you will be asked where to save the file licence.bin

n When you have reached the maximum amount of clients that you ordered, you will need to
obtain a new licence. This can be done in the module

Activation, renewals and upgrades

Start the AdminClient then go to the module Licencing. The licencing module consists of three tabs.

i. Information
This tab is selected as the default tab when you open the module. This shows all important

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data related to your versiondog licence (See screenshot)

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ii. Activation
In this tab, versiondog can be activated by entering the activation code. Under normal cir-
cumstances, you will need to activate versiondog within 30 days.If you have any questions
regarding licencing and activation, please contact us.
This tab also shows your versiondog System ID. This is installed on your server and is unique to
your versiondog installation. After successfully installing and configuring versiondog, you then
need to send us your system ID via email. You will then receive the activation code for your
licence. Please copy the activation code into the field Activation code. Click on the button Activ-
ate and wait until you see the success message from versiondog. You now have successfully
activated your versiondog licence.
If you have any questions regarding licencing and activation, please contact us.

iii. Update
If you wish to renew or expand your versiondog licence, you will receive a new licence bin file
from us. Go to the tab Update and enter the path to the licence or select where you want to
save the file licence.bin by using the menu. Click on Update and wait until you see the success
message from versiondog. You have successfully installed your versiondog licence.

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2. Global settings

Start the AdminClient and start the module Global settings. To the left of Global settings, you have a
selection of tabs to choose from:

i. Server: Server settings and paths

General settings

n Language of server messages:

Here you have the option to set the language which you would like to have appear. This
setting is not be confused with the language selection for the user interface. This is loc-
ated in the UserClient under Extras and Client settings

n Location of client setup share:

Here you have the option to inspect the current path of the approved directory in Cli-
ent-Setups. This indicator serves the purpose of providing you with information and is
updated when you install versiondog

n Location of local server archive:

Here you have the option to inspect the current path to the versiondog server archive.
This indicator serves the purpose of providing you with information and is updated
when you install versiondog

n Location of remote archive:

Here you have the option to inspect the current path to the remote archive where the
versiondog server archive is located. This indicator serves the purpose of providing you
with information and is updated when you install versiondog

n CSV separator for job result email attachments:

Based on the selection list, you here have the option to adjust the hyphen between the
words in the CSV file that the versiondog server sent to you by email

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 Free disk space

n Warning if free disk space reaches:

Here you can adjust the free disk space that produces an error message

n Error if free disk space rearches:

Here you can just the free disk space for your server archive that produces an error mes-
sage

Temporary directory:
Here you can select or adjust the directory for temporarily saved

ii. Clients: Global settings for clients

New in versiondog

n Show "New in versiondog" on first launch of a new release

If you deactivate this checkbox, you will no longer be shown after updating version
when you do the first restart

n Delete all local data in the client archive on closing the client
If you active this checkbox, all working directories on the client will be automatically
deleted when you close the UserClient

n Warnings
Here you can edit warning that are generated when you open the editor with no edit
rights. For example, the User has only reader rights, checks out components and makes
local changes (risk of data loss by overwriting)

iii. Components: Global settings for components

n Version
If you deactivate this checkbox, you can no longer delete versions from the server
archive. (For example old versions that you no longer need)

n Comment
Here you can set a minimum comment character length that users have to enter when
creating or deleting version or when locking a component. For components, this needs

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 to be done in the comment section. The preselected controlbox Also apply for base ver-
sions requires that you also have to add a comment when creating a new version. Please
remember that a missing comment cannot be entered later on

n Directory structure
If you disable this checkbox, you will only have the possibility to have a single simple dir-
ectory structure (e.g. directory/sub directory/.../component)

n Quicksave:
If the checkbox Enable Quicksave has been activated, the functionQuicksave will be dis-
played. This is located in the UserClient under the tab Extras. You can here determine
how many Quicksaves every user is allowed to make before older ones are automatically
overwritten (The standard setting is 5). For further information on Quicksaves, please
refer to tutorial Quicksave

iv. Security: Security rules for the versiondog system

n Authentication:
Here you have the option to set higher standards by checking three checkboxes. These
consist of additional user identification and the two person rule. These can be enabled
for versioning and Check-In procedure

n Passwords
Here you can disable the clear text display for passwords

v. Email: Settings for sending emails from the server

n SMTP server settings

Based on the schedule of your in-house network topology, enter the SMTP server data
into the SMTP server settings. When selecting Connection security, choose your pre-
ferred method of encryption from the drop down menu. Your options consist of
STARTTLS and TLS (until v1.2)

TLS encryption is possible from Windows Server 2003 onwards. Older windows ver-

sion can work with versiondog. This is however without TLS encryption
Under Authentication method, select one of the following as required: Plain (=none),

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 Login (clear text), CRAM-MD5 or Digest-MD5.
The Send test email enables you to receive an email from the versiondog server on test-
ing the connection once you have entered the relevant data

n Email settings
Enter the versiondog server data as stated by your system administration into the email
settings. When you check the checkbox Activate email logging, an extensive protocol of
your email exchange is created that you can directly open by clicking on the button
Show email log

n Email options for automatic uploads:

From the drop down list, select one of the following: none, Job specific or Daily. With
Job specific, an email will be sent for every job execution. With Daily, you will be sent a
summary every day. Through this, you can avoid being sent a large amount of emails

This setting is the first step that you need to do so that email notifications can be

sent. In the second step, user management, you need to enter the email addresses to
who you want to have email notifications sent to. The third and final step consists of
selecting the users/groups, who are set to receive the email notifications. This can be
selected under Job configuration

n Email options for warnings and errors

When you check the checkbox, the field notifications: will be enabled. Members of the
administration group are already reselected. In addition to this, you can enter in the win-
dow Who to notify: which other users/groups that you want to receive warnings and
error messages by email

FAQ:Why is it possible to send emails using the versiondog server?

Example of a failed communication

EasyMail SMTP version 2,0 2,0

22-
0************************************************************************-
*********************

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 EHLO smtpserver

500 Unrecognized command

HELO smtpserver

500 Unrecognized command

221 versiondogserver Goodbye

Explanation

You may not be able to send emails using the versiondog server if the
ESMTP Inspection has been activated in your firewall. The ESMTP Inspection checks
commands before they are sent onto the mail server. If commands are invalid, they
are replaced with asterisks. The mail server does not accept the commands and sends
the error message "Unrecognized command".

Solution

In your firewall's ESMTP Inspection, insert the versiondog server as an exemption.

Follow the manufacturer's instructions regarding your firewall

vi. Scripting: Settings for client and server scripts

n Activation
If you want to incorporate scripting into versiondog, you will need to activate the appro-
priate checkbox. Depending on what you are using scripting for, it can be used for cli-
ents, on the server or both. If you happen to receive a timeout message, you can adjust
the times in the settings accordingly

n Synchronisation
If you disable this checkbox, the consistency check for the scripts between the client and
server will no longer be carried out

vii. Upload: Global job settings

n Upload and Compare

Despite the preprogrammed times, timeouts can still occur when you attempt to carry

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 out large data uploads. In the first window, you can adjust the time Maximum time for
job execution (maximum 540 minutes). In the second window, you select the Maximum
number of results per job that will be shown in the UserClient under Jobs (Maximal
amount 2000 jobs)

viii. Web server: Web server settings and activation

n Enable web server

Check this checkbox so that you can see access the following information by using a web
browser (Supported browsers: Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari):
o Factory Floor Status (extra cost addition) with device list
o Factory Floor Status (extra cost addition) with SEW overview + S7 MLFB overview
o Job results + Job statistics + Job results log
o Admin log
o Event log
o Component log

Please keep in mind the follow information when you activate the web server:

1. The ports in your fire wall need to be activated. HTTP Port 80 and HTTPS Port 443
are preselected as standard. This can be changed later on

2. The Webserver address is shown to the right of the checkbox as a link. The link will
become active as soon as the checkbox has been checked.

3. When communicating by using a HTTPS port, a versiondog certificate is used

( {Installation setup directory of versiondog server}\Resources\cert\server.pem}).
This is not recognised by many web browsers and seen automatically as invalid.
For further information, see: WebClient- Launch the web server.

4. The versiondog webserver uses SSL encryption.

o This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL
Toolkit (http://www.openssl.org/)

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 o This product contains cryptographic software written by Eric Young (eay@cryptsoft.com)

ix. Comparison results: Configure caching of comparison results

n Activation
Check both checkboxes if you wish to cache comparison results from versions and job
results

n Location
Save the data in the server archive, or insert the path to a remote directory. The VDo-
gMasterService requires write rights to this directory

n Cache size
Maximum amount of space occupied by comparison results

n Clear cache
From the dropdown list, you can select the class that you would like to delete from the
cache or you can select all

x. Proxy: configure how the versiondog server connects to the internet

In order to connect versiondog to the internet using a proxy, proceed as follows:

n Server settings

1. Check the checkbox Use Proxy

2. Enter the proxy address and port

If the proxy address is set to be default on your computer, click on Load system
settings

n Authentication:
In the case that your proxy needs an authentication, please contact your administrator

1. Check the checkbox Proxy uses authentication

2. Enter the authentication data

The authentication for proxy is not loaded using the default settings

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 Global settings are server settings that have an impact on the server and/or all clients. These are

not be confused with versiondog Client settings. These can be done individually in the UserClient (loc-
ated under the tab: Extras)

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3. Component type editor

Components and component types are central to the versiondog system. Please refer to the ver-
siondog INFO tutorial Components and component types.

In the module, Component type editor, you have the option of customising existing component
types to your requirements and configuring new component types.

Adjusting component types

Standard procedure:

We strongly recommend that you keep the library of standard component types to use as
templates. When you want to customise a component type, make a copy of a standard component
type. Place it in your desired directory structure, rename it, then edit the renamed copy

Step by step instructions:

1. In the component type library, select the component type from the directory tree that you
would like to use as a template. Right-click and select Copy component type

2. Edit the Hierarchy field (Directory levels are separated by a backslash), in order to make a folder
for the copy or to move an existing copy. Changes are directly taken over in the Component

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 type library

3. In order to rename a copy, edit the field Name. Please keep in my mind that the name of the
copy is not identical with the name of the original. Otherwise, you would not be able to save
your changes at the end. For technical reasons, it is not possible to have a double layout for a
component name

4. Configure the windows relevant to the Comparison: Compare these files, Ignore these files
during comparison and Recognise changes
INCLUDING
the window related to saving Save these files, Do not save these files and Memory settings

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When editing these columns (see screenshot), keep in mind the following:

1. Column Specification:

n click on a cell and enter the desired value

n In data types, the place holder * can be used (e.g. *.txt)

n File names can also be set (e.g. info.txt)

n When sharing file names, you can use multiple place holder symbols and for place
holders the symbol ? (e.g. *-info_???.txt)

n Files/file types that are not specifically set up for comparison/save, will not be
compared/saved. If no files are being compared, it is only possible to create new
versions that are version without difference. If not files are saved, you will not be
able to create new versions

2. Column Comparator:

n Click on a cell and activate the drop down menu to select the comparator
you want (the pre selection automatically will align to the letters that you
have entered)

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3. Column Subdirectoreis:

n Click on a cell and activate the drop down menu

n Select the option Include or Don't include

if you want to save empty directory structures, check the checkbox Ignore empty
directories located under settings

In the case of contradictory rules, said files will not be compared /saved

Examples
Affected files Action

Compare Save

l UnderCompare
l Under save these
these files enter
files enter *.txt
All txt files *.txt
Include sub-
Include sub-
directories
directories

l Under do not com- l Under Do not

pare these files compare these
no txt file enter *.txt files enter *.txt
Include sub- Include sub-
directories directory

l Under save these

Only txt files from root directory/ l DO NOT include files enter *.txt
None from subdirectory Under subdirectory DO NOT include
subdirectory

l Enter under com- l Enter *.txt

pare these Include sub-

Only txt files from subdirectory/
files.txt* directories
none from root directory
Include sub- l Under Do not
directories compare these

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 Affected files Action

l Under Do not com-

pare these files
enter *.txt
files enter *.txt
DO NOT include
Do NOT include
subdirectory
Under save these
files

All files under the subdirectory l Under save these l No files from the
"UVZ" files UVZ/* subdirectory UVZ

l Enter UVZ/* under l Enter UVZ/*

No files from the subdirectory
DO NOT compare under DO NOT
"UVZ"
these files save these files

5. Click on Save in the ribbon.

FAQ: Should I select in AdminClient > component type editor > recognise changes by time stamp
or by checksum? How does the setting affect system performance? Do I have to consider file size?

Before a detail comparison can be started, you need to ascertain which files have been changed (It
would be a waste of resources to always compare all files).

By timestamp needs less time as the time stamps can read very quickly. There is however the risk ,
even when unlikely, that two files could have different content but the same time stamp.

By checksum is slower as it is requires much more time to create checksums. The advantage is that
the file content is examined and every difference results in another checksum.

Potential scenarios

Scenario 1:

The content type, that you are currently editing, is normally used for components with large files
that are only rarely changed. In this scenario: By timestamp offers the best solution.

Scenario 2:

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The content type, that you are currently editing, is normally used for components with small files
that are regularly changed. In this scenario: By checksum offers additional security for only a minor
performance loss.

Creating a new component type

Start the AdminClient then go to the module Component type editor and proceed as follows:

1. On the Start tab click on the ribbon item Create

2. In the Name field, give the new component type a descriptive name.

IMPORTANT:

n If no directory is selected in the Component type library, new component types will be
created at the bottom of the tree.

n If a directory is selected, the new component type appears in that directory.

n If you create a new directory in the Hierarchy field, the new component type will be posi-
tioned accordingly, as in the screenshot below:

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3. If you want to use a custom icon for a new component type, you can upload this to the applic-
ation by going to Select >Open....

4. If you uncheck the checkbox Release for use, the component can no longer be used. This is will
be shown as grey and the name will be displayed in red in the directory tree.

5. In the window Default upload type, you have a selection of different upload types. Here you
can configure the upload type that is suitable for the new component (e.g. Network UNC)

6. Adapt the master data of your component when needed by clicking on the button Edit labels

7. Configure the compare and save settings (See modify component type)

8. Click on Save in the ribbon.

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4. User management

We recommend that you carefully consider your user and user rights management strategy before
you start using versiondog extensively. You need to decide if to use Windows usernames and pass-
words. Please see the versiondog INFO tutorial Binding to Active Directory for more information.

Implementing the right strategy from the beginning can help reduce time and effort later on. Many
problems that are reported to our customer services can be linked back to the fact that the user did
not have sufficient rights to execute their desired action. The tutorial AdminClient Basics focuses with
the most important aspects of user management with a particular focus on group orientated user
rights management.

Creating new groups

Why create groups before users?  We strongly recommend that you manage rights using groups
rather than on a user-by-user basis. Groups need therefore to be created first. The advantage of using
this unified way of assigning rights is that the rights of individual users are derived from the rights of
the group. It is much more time consuming if you were to assign individual rights directly. Fur-
thermore, it is more difficult to ascertain who has what rights to what components.

n First step: create groups for basic rights then groups for specials rights. These rights are often
related to responsibilities within your company. We recommend that you choose to name the
groups according to responsibilities and use that as a starting point for assigning the rights.

n If a user needs to have special rights, create a group for the special rights. That way, if at
some time in the future another user needs exactly the same rights, you only have to add that
new user to the group.

n If you need to remove a specific set of rights from a user, just remove the user from the
group. It is very difficult to be certain that no rights have been unintentionally retained if you
assign rights to individual users and not to groups.

Start the AdminClient and open the module User management and proceed as stated to create new
groups:

1. On the Start tab, click on the ribbon item Create new group.

2. Go to Group details and name the group in Group name

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 3. You can configure assign rights under the Project tree tab. You can open the project tree using
all components if you want to assign specific rights to individual projects

4. Assigning rights is done by activating the checkboxes: Read, Edit, Create and Delete (For more
detailed information, please refer to Assigning rights) (For more detailed information, please
see granting rights)

5. Under the tab Group roles, you have the option to give groups that do not posses any admin-
istrative rights, access to one or more applications in AdminClient (e.g. access to the applic-
ation Jobs), if this were to be required

6. Click on Save in the ribbon

Creating new users

Start the AdminClient and open the module User management and implement the following steps to
create new groups:

1. On the tab Start, click on the ribbon item Create new user

2. Go to User details and enter a Username

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3. Enter the user's full name (optional but recommended). If your versiondog system is located in
a dormain, enter this in the field Domain

4. Enter an email address if needed.

If no email address is entered here, this user will not receive any job result notifications.

5. You need to assign users in the field Groups to a group.

All users are automatically a member of the All Users group. If you manage user rights

using groups, then assigning further group memberships in this step will be the only action
required in order to grant rights to this new user.

6. Note the initial password for this user and the default account policy of Password must be
changed on next login (see Account policies below).

7. If you wish to grant the user individual rights, open the project tree located under the tab Pro-
ject tree and assign so accordingly (See assigning rights)

8. Click on Save in the ribbon.

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Account policies
You have the option to configure registration criteria, user rights, passwords and rules in the Applic-
ation Account policies. Start AdminClient, open User management and then click on Account
policies:

1. In the Authorisation tab, you can decide whether you want to use Authorisation by access
management, authorisation via operating system or authorisation by operating system and
access management. From versiondog version 6.5 onwards, you have option to activate
authorisation with

Single Sign-On. To do this, use the checkbox located under additional options. For further
information, see section Setting up Single Sign-On.

When the user attempts to login for the first time, a message will appear stating that the

server offers Single Sign-On and will ask if the user wishes to use this feature.

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 2. In the password section, you can configure time limitations, password history, coincidental
passwords, a standard password and login criteria.

3. In the Password policies section, you can set the minimum amount of characters as well as the
complexity for passwords.

4. In the Block account section, you can decide by activating the checkbox for what reason and
for how long an account will remained block.

5. In the Miscellaneous section, you can stop local login to the server by deactivating the check-
box.

Finding a user or group from the ID

In some cases, reports, error messages or data bank exports contain the ID but not the name of the
user/group. The ID has the following format:
804B00D5C0DD4AF1ABA07CA6B5EFB898

From versiondog 3.1 onwards, you can find a user or a group based on their ID. To do this, copy the
ID and enter this into the search list Filter User/Groups then press enter.

Assigning rights

You can assign rights on a group level in the group orientated user management. As administrator,

you are more aware of who has rights to what and where these rights were inherited from.

Open the AdminClient, start User management . Then implement the following steps in order to edit
group rights:

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1. In the Groups pane to the left, select a group

2. In the pane to the right, select the tab Project tree.

3. Grant rights by activating checkboxes.

Important information to granting rights:

n Note the folder icons for the four levels of rights (see screenshot).
- Read (Check-Out)
- Edit (edit, create new versions and Check-In)
- Create (create new components)
- Delete (permanently delete components from the server archive)

All users can delete components from their local client archives

n Rights are cumulative, hence lower rights are always automatically checked

n The rights of individual users are irrevocable and independent from group rights
(This is a reason to manage rights using groups) If you use group rights as far as possible
(or even, ideally, exclusively) then you will not have to always review remaining indi-
vidual rights after editing group rights.

n A green check-mark indicates the root of of a right grey check-mark indicates inherited
rights. Grey check-marks cannot be undone if you want to revoke a user's inherited
rights. If you try, you will find that instead of the grey check-mark disappearing, a green
one will appear. Inherited rights (grey ticks) cannot be directly removed. They need to
be removed at the root.

n Move the mouse over the grey ticket and wait for the tooltip to appear. This will show
the root of the right. (See FAQ How do you active tooltips from versiondog 5.5.0
onwards?)In order to revoke one or more users in a group several inherited rights
without changing the rights of other users, you will need to create a new user group with
lower rights

n You are allowed to create a group with only user in it You can save much time if a user
has to be issued with the same rights later on

4. Click on Save in the ribbon.

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 To give rights to an individual user, select the group, extend the group in which the user is located

and select said user. Afterwards. proceed exactly as it is described in the instructions Assigning rights.

Grant rights according to the path in the project tree

This function enables you to assign rights to paths in the versiondog project tree. You can also use it
as a quick way of finding out who has access to a specific component.

1. Open the AdminClient and click on User management

2. In the Extras tab, click on the ribbon item Rights by path

3. Select a component/folder. This is located in the dialogue Rights by path in the project tree.

4. On the right, it is displayed which groups/users have what rights on which components. When
necessary, rights can be edited. (Please remember the important notifications regarding assign-
ing rights in the previous section.)

Granting group rights for component types

This function enables you to grant to rights to groups for existing components according to their
component type. You can do this at the root level of the project tree, or for specific directories (which
will include subdirectories).

This function enables you to assign rights for components that belong to a certain type (e.g.

Simatic S7) and are located in the versiondog server archive.

Open AdminClient and go to User management and implement the following steps:

1. On the Extras tab, click on the ribbon item Rights by component type

2. The window Rights by component type will appear.

3. Select the Group that you wish to grant rights to.

4. Specify the Path by selecting a directory. Rights are granted for all components that are located
in selected directories and subdirectories.

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 5. You have the option to revoke previous rights before you grant new ones. Use the following sec-
tion, to revoke all previous rights from a group for the entire project tree or specific path:

This function is independent of the component type. It will ensure that all previous rights

of a selected group for a particular path or entire tree are revoked.

6. In order to select the component type to which you wish to grant the rights, click on the field
Component types. Check the checkboxes next to the component type(s) which you wish to
grant rights to. If you wish to select all the components of a specific producer, activate in the
highest level the checkbox next to the producer's name (e.g. Siemens)

7. Go to the New rights: dropdown menu and set the rights you want to grant (Read, Edit, Create
or Delete - rights are cumulative, Delete is the highest). All users of the selected group will then
have the same level of rights to all the components in the selected component type (step 6) in
the selected path (Step 4).

8. Click on Execute

9. The dialogue Edit policies will appear and show details about each individual modification that
was made.

If you do not see details of each individual modification, then there were no changes made.

This could happen even if you went through the previous steps and selected group, path and
component type(s). This means that for the particular combination of group, path and com-
ponent type(s) that you selected, the rights that you decided to grant already existed.

10. Close the dialogue Edit policies

11. Use the ribbon to save (or discard) changes.

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Assigning group roles
This function enables a group without administration rights access to all modules in AdminClient. The
only exception to this being the module User management. You can use this to grant users the right
to configure and execute jobs. It does not however give users the right to change the global server set-
tings. This can enable you to delegate tasks and responsibility in a more accurate way to individual
employees.

Giving a group access to a particular module

Open AdminClient and go to User management and implement the following steps:

1. In the Groups pane to the left, select the group whose rights you wish to edit

2. Click on the tab's right hand side, click on Group roles

3. Check the checkbox in the modules that you wish to grant the groups access to.

4. Save the changes

To revoke the rights from a group, disable the corresponding checkboxes and save the changes.

For two groups, the following group roles have been pre-set and cannot be changed:

All Users As every versiondog user is automatically a member of the group

All Users, no modules can be released for this group. The check-
boxes for All Users therefore have been disabled for every module
and all modules have been greyed out.
Administrators versiondog administrators always have access to the entire system.
The group Administrators therefore has access to extensive admin-
istrative privileges that cannot be revoked. All checkboxes for every
module are therefore enabled and all modules are greyed out in the
Administrators group.

Importing/exporting users or groups and binding to Active Directory

By default, there is the option in versiondog for users and groups to export to versiondog and import
into another directory. Import/export can be done manually as well as automatically. In the case of

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an automatic import, we are talking about binding to Active Directory.

Automatic and manual import of groups and users

If you would like to import users and groups from an active directory, proceed as follows:

Open the AdminClient and start the User management. Under the synchronisation ribbon, you have
the following options:

l Import users/Groups from *.CSV files

l Export users/Groups from *.CSV files

For a detailed description of automatic imports, please refer to the tutorial Binding to Active Directory.

FAQ: What happens if I delete a user that checked in the versions? Will versiondog prevent me from
deleting the user? Will the versions that said user checked in be deleted as well?

If an administrator deletes a user, it is no importance if the user has checked in a version. The user is
deleted, all their versions that they checked in, will remain unchanged on the server. The doc-
umentation related to the versions will remain as well unchanged, the user name (as well as the time
stamp and the computer) will remain, after the user has been deleted, in the change history.

It is possible to also delete users who are logged into versiondog. If a deleted user tries to check

in or out a component, an error message will displayed; the user cannot login again.

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5. Jobs

What is a job?
A job is a monitoring/backup task that archives the live data of a device (program files, configuration,
settings, etc.)

When is a job executed?

A job can be executed manually at any time or configured to execute automatically according to a
user-specified schedule.

Is additional software required to execute a job?

With versiondog, you can create upload and compare jobs for a wide range of different devices.

Jobs for certain devices may require additional software to be installed on the versiondog server. If for
some reason the required software cannot be installed on the computer on which the versiondog
server applications are installed, you can use an agent to give the versiondog system access to the
software. Agents need to be installed on the same computer on which the additional software is
installed and this computer must be accessible via the network. The computer needs to be accessible
via the network. You also need access rights to the computer, software and folders/files. For more
information on agents, see tutorial versiondog Upload & Compare Agents.

What is an upload? What is an upload type?

An upload is the process of copying the live data from a device to the versiondog server.

The upload type determines which settings are available when you create a job. There are two cat-
egories of upload type: There are two types of upload:

n Device-specific upload types

n General upload types:

o Local directory (to run a job on a local resource, i.e. present on the same device as the
server applications)
o Network (UNC)

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 o FTP
o SSH

Job configuration: Create a job

Based on the procedure for upload type SINMATIC S7, you will be shown an example of job con-
figuration. (For other upload types, there are specific variations in the job configuration. These can be
found in the device specific tutorials available):

Open the AdminClient, start the application Jobs and go to the Start tab.

1. In the Project tree (on the left) select the component for which you want to create a job.

2. Click on the ribbon item Create.

3. Check in Job configuration (right side) if the preselected Upload type is the one that you want
to use.

4. When selecting execute, you need to decide if the job is to be executed According to schedule
or using versiondog BackupClient

Configure the General section

1. Give your job a descriptive name (limited to 64 characters).

2. Under Component, select the path to your component in the project tree

3. In Who to notify select the users that will receive an email with the job results.

4. In Warn if backup is older than, select when to schedule backup age from the dropdown list (if
required - the default is Never warn).

5. In Schedule, set when the job is to be executed. (execution according to time schedule)

6. In On error select from the dropdown list whether and when to retry in the event of an error.

7. When you want to use parallel servers, you need to select under Executed by on which server
you wish to carry out the upload

Configure the Upload and compare section

1. Select a Save policy from the dropdown – the follow three options are available to you:

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 n Always save backup (overwriting previous backup if equal):
Use this option if you want to add a new backup every time a job is executed. It contains
the current 1 st values and all other information that is ignored during the comparison.

n Save backup only if different to previous backup:

Use this option if you only want to add a new backup, when a change is detected (which
depends on what values are included in the compare process)

n Always save backup (keeping previous backup even if equal):

Use this option if you want to add a new backup every time a job is executed. If your
traceability rules require you to keep backups for at least a year, you need to make sure
that the number of remaining backups (Rollover) is set based on the back frequency.
Bear in mind that use of this saving policy with a high rollover number could result in a
lot of disk space being used

2. Set a value for the Number of remaining backups (Rollover) (After this number is reached, the
new backup will always overwrite the oldest)

3. If you want to use an upload agent for this job, select it under Upload agent. Click on Check
connection to ascertain whether it is possible to access the computer on which the agent has
been installed (if this check is unsuccessful, the job will also fail)

Remember that when you use an agent, all user ID information and paths relate to the com-

puter on which the agent is installed and the not the server. If you later specify a username or a
network path, you need to make sure that this user exists on the computer on which the agent
is installed or that the network path is accessible from that computer.

4. Select a Save policy from the dropdown – the follow three options are available to you:

n server version <-> Backup, previous Backup <-> Backup

The backup of the (online) version on the device is first compared with the last checked-
in (offline) version of the project, then this backup is compared to the last backup.
This option can give you more information than any other. It is however important to

35
 think carefully when interpreting the results
Example:
o If the backup is different from the previous backup, but the same as the last
checked-in version of the project, that indicates that a version was developed in
the offline project, checked-in then deployed to the device (This is the recom-
mended workflow)
o If the backup is different from the last checked-in version of the project, but the
same as the previous backup, that indicates that a new version of the project has
been created and checked-in, but not yet deployed to the device
o If the backup is different to both the last checked-in version of the project and the
previous backup, that indicates that a new version of the project has been
developed and deployed to the device, but not yet versioned and checked-in

n Server version <-> Backup

The program running on the device is compared with the latest checked in version of the
project. Job results will not be compared. We recommend using this option if the ver-
siondog system always detects differences between backup and previous backup
(regardless of the compare configuration). In this case, there is no point running the com-
parison

n Previous Backup <-> Backup

The program running on the device is compared with the previous backup. It is not com-
pared with the newest version.
Detecting a difference here could mean one the following things:
o A new version of the project has been developed and installed on the device.
o This is for if or were the forced values not been excluded from the compare pro-
cess (in which case the backup will always be different from the previous backup)
o The program on the device was changed. You can find out what was changed
using versiondog's compare functionality

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 5. If you want to use an upload Compare agent for this job, select it under Upload agent. Click on
Check connection to ascertain whether it is possible to access the computer on which the
agent has been installed (if this check is unsuccessful, the job will fail)

6. If you activate the button Enable configuration of job-specific compare, you can fit the com-
parison settings for this job by pressing Configure comparison:

Specific job configuration

Configure the settings for chosen upload type. For example: SIMATIC S7 settings.

For further information regarding job configuration for individual jobs, please refer to Device support
in versiondog INFO.

Further information on job configuration for general upload types, please refer to versiondog INFO
tutorail Job configuration for Local, UNC, FTP and SSH upload types.

Copy job configuration by Drag & Drop

Most settings can be simply copied from job to job. To do this, you need to select appropriate field in
the table jobs then place this using drag and drop in the lower right corner so as to decide what

37
should be the appropriate setting. (This is marked with a black space once a field has been select that
is supports this function).
Remember that some configuration settings in the list jobs are only visible if you change the Upload
type from All to a specific upload type. In our example, select: SIMATIC S7.

FAQ: why am I receiving a licence notification when I create, change, copy or execute jobs?

It is set in the versiondog licence how many jobs you are allowed to create.

When the maximum amount of jobs has been reached, you are no longer able to create any new
jobs, copy previous jobs, execute save or unsaved jobs.

If you should receive such a notification, you are no longer required to delete jobs or extend the
licence with support.

To see how many jobs are available with your licence, start the AdminClient and go to Licencing

> tab Information> Number of Jobs.

To see how many jobs have been created, start the AdminClient, open the Jobs module, select

the root directory in the project tree. The total amount of jobs is stated in the lower left corner.

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6. Expanded settings in INI files

In AdminClient, you have the option in the module INI file to implement extended settings that are
not accessible via the user interface. In the case of upload and compare settings, precisely which ones
are available depends on the upload class. Details can be found in the relevant device-specific Tutorial.
There, you will also find the name of the ini file that needs to be edited, the section in which the set-
ting needs to be made along with the key and possible values for the setting.

In order to configure extended settings, proceed as follows:

1. Start the AdminClient and then open the module INI files

2. Select the appropriate INI file and click on the button Edit.

In the case that the required INI file in the module is not available, you can create this with

the file manager in the server or client archive.

3. Search for the section in the INI file, for the device type for which you want to create the set-
tings. If the section is not present, create it

Pay attention in the text sources to the settings that you enter in the INI files correctly.

Otherwise you risk malfunctions or nothing will be changed.

4. Add/modify the desired setting beneath the section name using the format <Key>=<Value>

Example:

39
FAQ: I have changed the settings in the INI files. versiondog is no longer working. What should I do?

If versiondog no longer works when settings have been made to the INI files, the files were most
likely saved with the coding UTF-8 using BOM. In order to make version workable again, you will
need to save the INI files using another coding. (In order to save INI files using the coding UTF-8
without BOM, you will need to edit the file using an edition to enable this setting, e.g. Notepad ++).

FAQ: Is it possible to change the configuration of a client computer using the versiondog server?

Client computers can be configured in the versiondog AdminClient. In AdminClient, open the mod-
ule INI Files then the file ClientConfigUpdate.ini. Here, you can select the settings for one or all client
computers (See Examples). For example, you have the option to adapt certain work flows to sched-
ules at your company. For example, you want that to delete components after every Check-In on cli-
ent computers. Insert a ClientConfigUpdate.ini section into the file:

[Check-
InCheckOut]

5623=Y

The settings to the INI files that you decide to make located inside the AdminClient, will be auto-
matically implemented by the versiondog client application as soon as the user logs into the server
or updates the versiondog client application with the server.

Potential Settings

General/common

Path: <Drive:>\vdServerArchive\VD$A\Configuration

File: ClientConfigUpdate.ini

Settings for common:

Key Description Possible values

40
 [TEMP_DIR_OS] (Temporary Window's directory)
Directory for tem-
5500 [RootDirAdmin] (Temporary versiondog directory)
porary files
<Drive>:\directory name

5501 Language e.g. DE/EN/CZ/DE/IT

Only open an editor

5516 Y/N
simultaneously

5517 Client's login history Y/N

Update interval of
5519 background pro- 1-1440 (Minutes)
cesses

Refresh all com-

5520 Y/N
ponents

5523 File manager options Path to the exe-file of the file manager

Comment base ver-

5524 Y/N
sion

Authorise clients
5532 using the versiondog Y/N
server

Settings for Check-In and Check-Out (Section [CheckInCheckOut]

Key Description Possible values

5620 Carry out detailed comparison during Check-In Y/N

Performing a rollback, if the Check-Out process

5621 Y/N
fails

5623 Delete component locally after Check-In Y/N

{0,1…n} (0 for no archives

5624 Maximum number of local archives after Check-In
will be deleted)

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 0 (no default)

1 (under development)

5625 2 (lock for other users)

Default Modus upon CheckOut

Can be changed by the user

0 (no default)

1 (under development)

2 (lock for other users)

5626 Force Modus upon CheckOut

CANNOT be changed by
user

Examples

o Changing the language for all clients

[configuration\Client.ini|Common]
5501=EN

o Change to the setting Delete local component after Check-In for a client

[{domain.computername}|configuration\Client.ini|CheckInCheckOut]

5623=Y

[{domain.computername}|configuration\Client.ini|CheckInCheckOut]

5623=Y

o Removing the setting delete local component after Check-In from a client's INI file

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[{domain.computername}|configuration\Client.ini|CheckInCheckOut]

-5623=Y

Important Information

By deleting the entry in the file ClientConfigUpdate.ini, this will not delete it from the client's INI

files. In order to deactivate an entry from an INI file, the selected entry has to be entered into the file
ClientConfigUpdate.ini ein "-"

Please keep in mind that entries in the file ClientConfigUpdate.ini are correct! If this is not the

case, this can have limit the client's function! Please check the resulting changes

43
7. Archive manager

The role of the archive manager is to copy and move data from the server archive. If the data is con-
figured, you can also copy it from the remote archive. When you copy the data, it remains present on
the servers. However once the data has been moved, it is also removed from the server archive.

Any data that has been moved cannot be imported back into the versiondog system.

Both actions (copying and moving) can be carried out for both component data (e.g: versions or
backups) and database entries (e.g: job results, event log data etc.). Database entries are saved as
PDF files.

Configuring actions
The settings for the action and file in question are saved in the configuration. You can manage mul-
tiple configurations and carry out actions when required.

To create a configuration, proceed as follows:

1. Click on the Create button located in the menu ribbon

This step will start the wizard needed to create a configuration. Using the Next and Back but-
tons, the user can navigate between the dialogues.

2. A general introduction will be shown in the wizard.

To undo this, click on the show introduction button located in the help tab.

3. In Create configuration, enter the name of the configuration then click on next

The name may compromise of 64 characters (at maximum) and needs to be clearly stated in

the existing configuration.

4. In the dialogue Define action, select which action using which data you want to execute.

44
 Using the options in the following data will be archived, select whether you want to secure
component data or database entries. Below the selected option, the following subentries will
be activated as well. You can select one or multiple options.

The Option button will only be activated once you have activated at least one checkbox.

In Type of archiving, select the action that you want to carry out.

5. After selecting Move versions and clicking on Next, the dialogue Settings for moving will
appear

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 In the section Change history of affected components, you can set if you want versions that
have been moved to still be displayed in or removed from the change history.

l If you decide to remove moved versions from the change history the first visible version
of the component is no longer version 1, but instead the lowest version after the move

l If you keep the moved versions in the change history, the complete version history with
all changes can be seen.

A moved version cannot be restored or launched.

In Base version of affected components, you need to decide if the base version of moved ver-
sions are to be as well removed from the server archive

6. Click on Next and select in Included data the data that you want to carry out the action for

46
 Here, you can set rules on which data you want to be copied/moved. You can base this
decision on the following factors age/date when the entries were created. A set number of
entries can be kept in the server archive by default.

7. Click on Next and enter in Destination directory the directory that you wish to copy/move the
data to

8. Click on Next. If you want to copy / relocate component data, the Components to archive dia-
logue will appear. Here all components on the server are displayed. You can select which com-
ponents you want to incorporate into the action via the arrow.

9. To close the wizard, click on Save

The configurations as well as the details are displayed on the opening page of the Archive module
module

47
 When you click on one of the fields the wizard’s dialogue will open in which you can edit the

entries

By clicking on Duplicate or Delete in the menu tab, you can copy selected configurations or delete
them based on a safety check.

48
Carrying out actions
You can implement configured actions with or without having estimated the amount of disk space
available on the sever as well as in the selected directory.

Performing action without estimation

1. Click on Perform action without estimation

2. The dialogue Perform action will appear

The dialogue will display the progress made in the form of two progress bars. Lower down,
reports on each individual part of the action is shown.

Perform action with estimation

1. Click on Perform action

2. The dialogue Space estimation will open

49
3.

Here you can find information on free and available diskspace on the server as well as selected
directories (before and after carrying out the action) in the form of a pie chart. This enables you
to recognise before performing an action, if there is enough place in the directory that you
intend to use, or if performing an action will result in space being extremely limited, or if you
want to copy data but not move it.

4. Click on Perform action

5. The action will be carried as described above

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