Summary

As a best practice, before you lock and migrate a RuleSet version, make sure that no rules from that version checked out, so users can access and run the updated, latest copies of each rule. This check is especially important before performing a skim operation that creates a new major version.

This article provides an emergency workaround when that best practice was not followed: a RuleSet Version was secured at a time when one or more rules were checked out. With a simple activity, you can "break" the lock on a rule, so that it can be checked out again. (Any work in progress on the checked out copy is lost.)

Background

When you create and begin using a higher RuleSet Version but a locked, lower-numbered version still has one or more rules checked-out, those rules remain checked-out in the new, higher version.

No one can check these locked rules, because their version is secured.. Also, developers will not be able to check them out when necessary (as they are already marked as checked out). They remain locked indefinitely each time you create a new RuleSet version.

Even if you log in as the Operator ID who holds the lock, unlock the lower RuleSet version, and delete the checked-out rules, the higher RuleSet version does not reflect this change and the rules remains checked out.

Suggested Approach

If this occurs to one of your RuleSets, create an activity similar to the one below to release locked rules in a RuleSet:

IMPORTANT: This activity is an example of the type you can build to release checked out rules. Modify this sample activity to fit your organization’s needs.

Step 1: Copy standard activity

To start, perform a Save As on the standard activity Rule-.UnlockRecord rule to create your activity. The steps in this new activity do the following:  

• Opens the locked RuleSet that contains the checked out rules.
• Clears the .pxInstanceLockedBy and .pxInstanceLockedDateTime properties. These properties lock the RuleSet when they contain values.
• Commits the changes.
• Sets a status message to display when the changes are saved. (This step is optional.)
• Removes the new page form the clipboard and exits the activity.

Step 2: Complete Parameters and Step Page tabs

On the Parameters tab, enter "pzInsKey" as a String parameter. The value of this uniquely identifies the rule to be unlocked.

On the Pages & Classes tab. define the Step Page as Rule-:

Step 3: Run the Activity

Save the Activity form. To run the activity, you need to know the pzInsKey (database key) of the record to be unlocked. Find the pzInsKey and run the activity as follows:

1. Click in the Short Description field of the rule you want to unlock and press Shift-F8. The following is displayed:
   
   The pzInsKey in the above example is:
   RULE-OBJ-ACTIVITY RULE- UNLOCKRECORD #20060616T145240.839 GMT
2. Highlight and copy this information in your Rule Info window (up to and including "GMT").
   Then close the Rule Info window..
3. Return to the activity you created above and click the Run button. The following is displayed
   
4. Paste the pzInskey you copied in Step 2 into the inputRule field. Check that he last three characters are "GMT" .
5. Click Execute to run the activity and unlock the rule.

Confirming the rule is unlocked

To confirm that the rule has been unlocked: 

1. Open the rule.
2. Click the Refresh toolbar tool.
3. The rule is unlocked if the Lock icon is not visible in the upper-right of the form.