AX2302

Updating a Control Sheet

From time to time, new features are added to Control Sheets for Axiom files. When this occurs, any files that you have created prior to the introduction of the new feature will not have access to that feature. If you want the file to have access to the new feature, you can update the Control Sheet.

NOTE: If a setting is not present on a Control Sheet, then the default value for that setting is used. You only need to update the Control Sheet if you want to use something other than the default value.

When you update a Control Sheet, all settings from the old Control Sheet are copied to a new version of the Control Sheet. The old Control Sheet is kept in the file and renamed Old_Control_Sheet.

Important: Before you update

Before you update a Control Sheet, you should review the existing file to see if it contains configurations that may not transfer cleanly to a new Control Sheet.

Does the current Control Sheet contain notes or calculations that are outside of the standard Control Sheet settings?

When the Control Sheet is updated, only the content within standard fields will be transferred to the equivalent fields in the new Control Sheet. Anything outside of these fields will not be moved to the new Control Sheet. The non-standard content will remain in the old Control Sheet, and any formula references to the non-standard content will point to the old Control Sheet.

After updating, you should review the old Control Sheet to determine if you need any of the non-standard content. If you do, then we strongly recommend reconfiguring your file to place this content on a "regular" sheet (non-Control Sheet). If you simply move this content to the new Control Sheet, then you will have the same issue the next time you want to update the Control Sheet.

Do the sheets in the file contain formulas that reference the Control Sheet?

If a sheet in the file references a cell in the Control Sheet, these references will be treated as follows:

  • If the cell reference is to a standard field on the Control Sheet, then the reference will be maintained and updated as needed. For example, if the reference is to the Current Dynamic View setting, and the location of this setting is different between your current Control Sheet and the new Control Sheet, the reference will be updated to point to the appropriate cell on the new Control Sheet.

    NOTE: In a small handful of cases, the formulas cannot be converted to point to the new Control Sheet. This includes references to blank cells in the sheet filter area (references to populated cells are updated).

  • If the cell reference is not to a standard field on the Control Sheet, then it will not be updated to point to the new Control Sheet. The reference will be maintained, but it will point to the same location on the old Control Sheet.

    In this case, we strongly recommend reconfiguring your file to place this referenced content on a "regular" sheet, and update your formulas accordingly.

If any reference cannot be converted to point to the new Control Sheet, then a warming message will appear after the sheet has been updated, informing you that some formulas now point to the Old_Control_Sheet.

If you are not sure whether your file will update cleanly, then you should make a backup copy of the file before updating the Control Sheet. Even though a copy of the old Control Sheet will remain in the updated file, if any issues occur it may be helpful to view the original configuration. Also, if the updated file needs additional work, you can continue to use the original copy while you adjust the updated file.

Updating the Control Sheet for a single file

You can update Control Sheets on a per file basis. This is the best approach if you want to review the file afterward to make sure that the file updated cleanly.

NOTE: Updating the Control Sheet requires the file to be open with read/write access. Once the Control Sheet is updated, you must be able to save the file.

  1. Open the file that you want to update and make sure it is the active file. In the Axiom Assistant pane, select Sheet Assistant to display the Sheet Assistant task pane.

  2. At the top of the Sheet Assistant, click Update the control sheet.

    This option is only available if the Sheet Assistant detects that the Control Sheet is not current. If this option does not display, then either the Control Sheet is current and does not need to be updated, or the file is opened read-only.

  3. At the confirmation dialog, click OK to continue.

    The confirmation dialog reminds you that any non-standard changes to the Control Sheet will be lost when the update occurs. If you have any doubt regarding this file, you should cancel out of the process and make a backup copy of the file before proceeding with the update.

The Control Sheet is updated in the file. You can now use any new features that were added to the Control Sheet, and you can use the Sheet Assistant to modify configuration settings for each sheet.

IMPORTANT: You should review the new Control Sheet and test the file to make sure that it is operating as expected.

Once you have reviewed the file and made any necessary adjustments, you can delete the old Control Sheet. While you can keep the old Control Sheet in the file indefinitely if desired, you may want to eventually delete it in order to avoid confusion when editing or viewing file settings.

Updating the Control Sheet for multiple files

You can use utilities in the standard QA Diagnostics task pane or ribbon tab to update the Control Sheet for all files within a designated folder. This functionality is only available to administrators. To do this:

  1. Set the currently active file to a file that is not eligible to be processed using the diagnostics tools. For example, click Reports > New Report to open a new blank report. Later, you can simply close this new report without saving it.

  2. In your QA Diagnostics task pane or ribbon tab, in the Utilities section, run Update Control Sheets.

    You may have renamed this task pane or ribbon tab, or otherwise customized it. If you have not yet created a QA Diagnostics task pane using the standard template, see Using file diagnostics for troubleshooting and optimization. You can also build your own task pane or ribbon tab by using the Run QA Diagnostics command.

  3. In the Choose Folder dialog, navigate to the folder where you want to update the Control Sheets, then click OK.
  4. At the confirmation prompt, click Yes to continue.
    • Axiom Software cycles through each file in the designated folder.
    • If an out of date Control Sheet is detected, Axiom Software updates the Control Sheet and saves the file. Otherwise, no action is taken to the file.
  5. Once the process is completed, a status message displays the number of documents that were updated. Click OK.

After upgrade, the Old_Control_Sheet still remains in the files. You can review any of these files as needed to ensure that the file updated cleanly. After you have performed any necessary verification, you should remove the Old_Control_Sheets from the files. To do this, you can follow the same process described above, except this time run the Remove Old Control Sheets utility. You will be prompted to select a folder, and then the utility will process each file in that folder and remove any Old_Control_Sheets.