Merging branches

After teams have completed rule development in a branch, you can use the Merge Branches wizard to move the contents of the branch into the base ruleset of the development application.

1. Check in all rules into their base rulesets before you can merge them.

2. Optional: Check if there are any potential conflicts to address before merging branches. See Viewing branch information for more information.

3. Optional: As a best practice, lock a branch after development is complete so that no more changes can be made. See Locking a branch.

4. Optional: To retain a record of your branch and move to branches across different development systems, you can package your branch contents in a .jar file and save the file to a local directory before you start the wizard. See Packaging a branch.

5. Click App > Branches.

6. Complete one of the following actions:

   • To merge all rulesets in a single branch, right-click the branch and click Merge.

   • To merge multiple branches:

   1. Right-click your application and click Merge multiple branches.

   2. In the Select Branches to Merge dialog box, select the branches that you want to merge.

   3. Click OK.

7. If there are conflicts or warnings, the Target ruleset section displays a link that opens the Conflicts and Warnings window. You must resolve conflicts before you can merge branches. See Conflicts and warnings in the Merge Branches wizard for more information.

8. From the drop-down box next to the Target version section, select the base ruleset version into which rules are merged. Complete one of the following actions:

   • Select Create new version to create the new ruleset version in the base ruleset during the merge.

   • Select an existing base ruleset version in which you want to merge the rules.

   As a best practice, the system administrator should create a new ruleset version for the base ruleset, independent of the merge wizard. Individual teams should develop rules in their specific branches and then merge those branches into the existing base ruleset version that was created by the administrator. This process gives administrators better control over versions.

9. If a password is required to merge branches, enter it in the appropriate Password field. If you do not need to supply a password, proceed to step 11.

   Enter the password in one of the following fields:

   • Lock target after merge: Optional. Appears if you merge a branch into a new ruleset version or if the version that you selected is unlocked for the target. Enter a password to lock the selected ruleset version after merging rules into it.

   A best practice is to enter a password to lock the new ruleset version after the merge, because locking the ruleset version alerts other teams that the features in that version are complete.

   • Source version – Appears when the branch ruleset version is locked. The system does not change the protection that i set on the ruleset version.

     Enter the password for the branch ruleset version so that its rules can be merged.

   • Target add version – Appears when you select Create new version for the target and the base (target) ruleset is password-protected for adding a new ruleset version. This password is specified on the Security tab of the ruleset form. The system does not change the protection that is set on the base ruleset.

   Enter the password that is required for adding a ruleset version to the base ruleset.

   • Target version – Appears when you are merging rules into an existing base ruleset version and the selected ruleset version is password protected. This password is specified on the Versions tab of the ruleset form.

   Enter the password that was used to lock the ruleset version.

   • Target update version – Appears when you are merging rules into an existing base ruleset version and the base (target) ruleset is password-protected for updating a new ruleset version. This password is specified on the Security tab of the ruleset form. The system does not change the protection that is set on the base ruleset.

   Enter the password that is required for updating a ruleset version.

10. Optional: Select the Keep all source rules and rulesets after merge check box to retain all the branch rulesets and the rules they contain after merging the rules into the base rulesets. By default, the system removes the branch rulesets and the rules that they contain after a successful merge.

11. Click Merge.

    Details about the merge are displayed when the merge is completed, such as whether the merge was successful, how many rules were merged, and the source and target rulesets. You can also:

    • Click Attachments to add attachments.

    • Click the Gear icon next to the Work Parties link to add work parties.

    • Click the Audit tab to view audit trail information.

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