Editing Objects

As a developer and object designer, you may need to change some properties of an object. If you have writing rights, you can open an object in edit mode from any list, perspective, view, and combo box. You can change all object properties except its name (you must use the Renaming Objects and Folders function for this purpose). The Edit button in the toolbar indicates if the object is in edit or in read-only mode.

Note: An object opens in read-only mode in the following situations:

You are allowed to view the object but not to modify it
Another user has already opened the object
Your browser has crashed and you open the object again

When you open an object in a dedicated browser tab and you start editing the object, an asterisk is displayed in the caption of its browser tab. It indicates that there are unsaved changes. An online message warns you if you try to close the browser or if you click the back button in your browser without saving.

Tip: You may need to work with many objects, lists and monitors simultaneously. To make your work easier, you can open them in different browser windows and arrange them side by side on your screen. For more information about this and other useful functions, see Opening and Arranging Multiple Views.

Multiple Users Editing an Object

When you have an object opened in edit mode, the object opens in read-only mode for other users. However, they can override that by taking over ownership of the object. When multiple users edit the same object at once, the last saved changes apply. This example illustrates it:

User A opens Job X.

The Explorer list in the Process Assembly perspective shows User A's user name and department in the Opened by column.
User B opens Job X.

The Job opens in read-only mode.
User B clicks the Edit button to switch to modify mode.
A dialog indicates that the Job is being edited by another user. User B confirms that they want to reclaim ownership of the Job.
User B clicks Yes on the dialog, starts modifying the Job and saves.
User A modifies the Job after User B has saved.
User A clicks Save.

A dialog indicates that the Job is being edited by another user and prompts to confirm whether to save the changes or not.
If User A saves, these changes overwrite User B's edits.