NetResults Tracker Help
Record History

Tracker keeps a history of all operations which modify a record. This history allows you to keep an audit trail of which individuals worked on a particular record, when they worked on it, and what type of operation was done to modify the record.

To view the Record History for a particular record:

  1. Login to the workgroup
  2. Click on the View icon and enter the number of the record you wish to see.
  3. If you are allowed to view the history, it will be displayed at the bottom of the view page under the heading Record History.

You can also run specific queries over the record history to obtain statistics, such as the number of records that underwent a particular state transition within a particular time period. To run a history query, use the History icon located in the Button Bar.

To run a Record History query:

  1. Login to the workgroup
  2. Click on the History icon.
  3. Click on the Clear button (if you wish to remove the Search Criteria and Report Options selections from previous History operations). Then, select the criteria for your search using the Search Criteria and Report Options sections which are described below.
  4. Click on the Run Query button.
  5. The results will be displayed. When the preference Exclude Time From Reports is enabled, any date information in the history results will not include time information. To view a record which is referenced in the results, click on the record number listed in the PRN (Record Number) column. This will display the View page of the record you selected. Clicking on any underlined column heading will re-sort the results by the field in that column in ascending order. Clicking on the same column heading a second time will re-sort the results by the field in that column in descending order.

    Please note:

    • When the preference Exclude Time From Reports is enabled, the history results will still be sorted using the time information in date fields even though the time information is not displayed.
    • When PRN (Record ID) is selected for one of the Sort By fields, the records will be ordered according to the numeric component of the PRN (Record ID) field. The short name of the form will not be used as part of the sorting when PRN (Record ID) is selected. For example, let's say you have PRNs "REC1" and "REC2". The sorting will be done using "1" and "2", ignoring the "REC".
    • When a Release Number type field is selected for one of the Sort By fields, the records will be ordered by the actual values of the option menu items in the field (not by the order property set for each option menu item by the Tracker Administrator)

The results of a History query can be printed by clicking on the Print link on the page where the History Query results are displayed. If there are a large number of entries that match your search criteria, it may take longer to generate the results for printing. When the preference Exclude Time From Reports is enabled, time information will not be included (only the date) when printing the history results.

The results of a History query can be exported to a *.CSV file (comma separated values format) by clicking on the Export link on the page where the History Query results are displayed. When the preference Exclude Time From Reports is enabled, time information will not be included (only the date) when exporting the history results.

Search Criteria

When running a History Query, the following options are available for defining search criteria:

Action Date
The results can be limited to actions performed within a certain date range. Use the "On or After" field with or without the "AND Before" field to specify the date range for the entries you wish to include in the results. Leaving the fields blank will match entries with any action date.

You can either click on the calendar icon to select a date or you can manually enter a date in the appropriate format (e.g. "mm/dd/yyyy HH:MM:SS AM/PM" or the date & time format selected in the Preferences section.). The time component is optional. Click on the day to select the date to be entered into the date field. Click < or > to move backward or forward one month or click << or >> to move backward or forward one year. Click Now to set the date field to be the current date and time. Click on Exclude Time if you want to exclude the time information from being saved in the date field. For a field where the time information has previously been excluded, click Set Time if you wish to include the current time information in the field. Click OK to choose the highlighted date to be entered into the date field. Date will be selected and calendar dismissed when a date is clicked when the time is excluded. Dates displayed in red are non-business days according to the Business Days option in the Preferences section. Click Cancel to dismiss the calendar without saving changes.

Action
Use the Action field to limit the results of the history query based on the activity that generated the entry in the record history. Selecting * will match entries for any action. The following table lists the actions documented by the record history with a description:

Action Description
ADD The record was added to the database
ATTACH_ADD An attachment file was added to the record
ATTACH_DELETE An attachment file on this record was deleted
ATTACH_EDIT An attachment file on this record was edited
CLONED_AS Another record was cloned from this record
CLONED_FROM This record was cloned from another record
DELETE The record was marked as deleted
EDIT The record was modified while using the Edit operation
SCC_ADD A source code file was added to this record
SCC_DELETE A source code file on this record was deleted
SCC_EDIT A source code file on this record was edited
TASK The record was modified while using the Task operation
THREAD_DELETE A discussion thread was deleted
THREAD_START A discussion thread was started
UNKNOWN An unknown operation was performed on this record

Action By
The history query results can be limited to actions performed by a particular user. Selecting * will match entries for any user.

Interface
Select an interface to limit the results to only actions performed via a particular interface. Select "WEB" to include only actions performed by users logged into Tracker or via users submitting records using the Submit page. Select "IMPORT" to include only actions performed via the Import feature. Select "EMAIL" to include only actions performed through the Submit via Email feature. Select "API" to include only actions performed using the Tracker Software Development Kit (SDK). Selecting * will match entries for any interface.

Comment
Enter a key word(s) to limit the results to actions that contained this key word(s) in the history comment field. Leaving the Comment field blank will match any entry irrespective of Comment.

PRN
Also known as Record Number. You can search for the history entries for a particular record by selecting = and entering the Record Number. Or, you can search for the history entries for a range of records lower or higher than a certain record number using the <, <= > and >= options. Selecting * will match any entries for any record number.

Status
Whether a status was changed or unchanged or changed to or from specific values can be included as criteria for a search. Selecting "changed" will return all history entries where the status was changed. Selecting "unchanged" will return all history entries where the status was not changed. Selecting a state or state group for the pulldown " <State> before action" will return all history entries where the state of the record matched the state or state group selected in the pulldown prior to the action recorded by the history entry. State Groups are denoted as [state groups] within the pulldown.  For example, selecting "Reported before action and * after action" will return all history entries where the state of the record was Reported before the action and any state after the action recorded by the history entry (e.g. an action where a record was moved from the Reported to Closed will be a match for this criteria). Selecting a state or state group for the pulldown "and <State> after action" will return all history entries where the state of the record matched the state or state group selected in the pulldown after the action recorded by the history entry. For example, selecting "* before action and In Development after action" will return all history entries where the state of the record was any state before the action and In Development after the action recorded by the history entry (e.g. an action where a record was moved from Scheduled to In Development will be a match for this criteria). Select the blank value in the 1st pulldown and * for the 2nd and 3rd pulldowns if you don't wish to limit the results by Status (results will match entries for any state).

Assigned To
Whether the assignee was changed or unchanged or changed to/from specific values can be included as criteria for a search. Selecting "changed" will return all history entries where the assignee was changed. Selecting "unchanged" will return all history entries where the assignee was not changed. Selecting a user for the pulldown " <Assignee> before action" will return all history entries where the assignee of the record matched the user selected in the pulldown prior to the action recorded by the history entry. For example, selecting "QA Manager before action and * after action" will return all history entries where the assignee of the record was QA Manager before the action and any user after the action recorded by the history entry (e.g. an action where a record was assigned to the QA Manager prior to the action and assigned to Build Manager after the action will be a match for this criteria). Selecting a user for the pulldown "and <Assignee> after action" will return all history entries where the assignee of the record matched the user selected in the pulldown after the action recorded by the history entry. For example, selecting "* before action and Process Manager after action" will return all history entries where the assignee of the record was any user before the action and Process Manager after the action recorded by the history entry (e.g. an action where a record was assigned to Development Manager prior to the action and assigned to Process Manager after the action will be a match for this criteria). Select the blank value in the 1st pulldown and * for the 2nd and 3rd pulldowns if you don't wish to limit the results by the Assigned To field (results will match entries for any assignee).

Product
Whether the Product field was changed or unchanged or changed to/from specific values can be included as criteria for a search. Selecting "changed" will return all history entries where the Product field was changed. Selecting "unchanged" will return all history entries where the Product field was not changed. Selecting a product for the pulldown " <Product> before action" will return all history entries where the Product field of the record matched the product selected in the pulldown prior to the action recorded by the history entry. For example, selecting "Product 1 before action and * after action" will return all history entries where the Product field of the record was Product 1 before the action and any product after the action recorded by the history entry (e.g. an action where a record had Product 1 selected prior to the action and Product 2 selected after the action will be a match for this criteria). Selecting a user for the pulldown "and <Product> after action" will return all history entries where the Product field of the record matched the product selected in the pulldown after the action recorded by the history entry. For example, selecting "* before action and Product 3 after action" will return all history entries where the Product field of the record was any product before the action and Product 3 after the action recorded by the history entry (e.g. an action where a record had Product 2 prior to the action and {Product 3 after the action will be a match for this criteria). Select the blank value in the 1st pulldown and * for the 2nd and 3rd pulldowns if you don't wish to limit the results by the Product field (results will match entries for any product).

Report Options

The following options are available to customize the content included in the report results:

History Columns
Select the data items from the Record History that you want to be included in the report results. Each item selected will be displayed as a column in the history report results. To select multiple items, hold down the CTRL button on your keyboard as you click on the history column items. "Status Before", "Assigned To Before" and "Product Before" will display the status, assignee or product of the record prior to the action recorded by the history entry. "Status After", "Assigned To After" and "Product After" will display the status, assignee or product of the record after the action recorded by the history entry. See Search Criteria section above for a description of the rest of the items in this option. When the preference Exclude Time From Reports is enabled and a date field is selected as a history column, the time information will not be included (only the date) in the history results.

Record Columns
Select a report layout to display field information from the records which are referenced in the history report results. All report layouts to which you have access will be available in the pulldown. Members of the Admin user group will have access to all group report layouts irrespective of whether they are members of other user groups. Selecting <None> will not display any fields from the records besides those selected in the History Columns option. Note: If you wish to include history entries for permanently deleted records in the History results, this can only be done when <None> is selected for the Record Columns field.

Sort By
Choose up to 4 fields by which the history report results should be sorted. For each field selected, choose whether the sorting should be ascending or descending. The fields that can be selected for sorting are Action Date, Action, Action By, Interface, PRN, Status Before, Status After, Assigned To Before, Assigned To After, Product Before, Product After. Or, select * if you do not wish to select specific fields for sorting. "Status Before", "Assigned To Before" and "Product Before" will sort the results by the status, assignee or product of the record prior to the action recorded by the history entry. "Status After", "Assigned To After" and "Product After" will sort the results by the status, assignee or product of the record after the action recorded by the history entry. See Search Criteria section above for a description of the rest of the fields. Please note when the preference Exclude Time From Reports is enabled, the history results will still be sorted using the time information in date fields even though the time information is not displayed. When PRN (Record ID) is selected for one of the Sort By fields, the records will be ordered according to the numeric component of the PRN (Record ID) field. The short name of the form will not be used as part of the sorting when PRN (Record ID) is selected. For example, let's say you have PRNs "REC1" and "REC2". The sorting will be done using "1" and "2", ignoring the "REC".

Maximum Records per Page
Set the maximum number of records (any number from 5 to 100) that should be displayed on each page of the history report results.




NetResults Tracker © 1997-2009 NetResults Corporation. All rights reserved.