Overview
When you're satisfied with the information in a Primary Specification and collaboration is complete, change its status from In Process to Approved.
Approving the specification locks it to prevent further changes, except for attributes configured as Editable When Locked in the Primary Specification Template TraceStation.
Important: Do not approve a Primary Specification while you're still collaborating with a supplier. Once the Primary Specification is approved, you may not be able to apply values returned through the Shared Specification.
Approve a Primary Specification
Step 1: Go to Specifications, locate and open the appropriate Primary Specification.
From the Status dropdown, select Approved.
Step 2: Enter your TraceGains password in the sign-off window, then select Submit.
Once the specification is approved, it is locked. With the exception of attributes configured as Editable When Locked, no further edits are permitted.
The In Process option will no longer be available from the Status dropdown.
Review Editable When Locked settings
Before approving the specification, consider whether any attributes should remain editable after the specification is locked.
These settings are configured using Editable When Locked in the Primary Specification Template TraceStation and apply to specifications created from that template.
For the tightest control, make sure only attributes that need to remain editable are configured as Editable When Locked.
Archive a Previous Version
Once the new specification is approved, you can optionally archive previous versions.
Open the previous version and select Archived from the Status dropdown.
An archived Primary Specification can be reactivated if needed.
Approval and Locking Considerations
Keep the following in mind:
- You can continue creating Shared Specifications from an approved Primary Specification unless the supplier has approved the Shared Specification.
- If a user cannot set a Primary Specification to Approved, review their permissions under Configuration > Roles.
- A supplier can approve a Shared Specification by submitting it. This locks the Shared Specification for both the supplier and your users.
- If additional supplier collaboration is needed after a Shared Specification is locked, create a new version of the Primary Specification and generate a new Shared Specification from it.
- You can export a Primary Specification as a PDF and print Primary and Shared Specifications from the specification menu.
Update an Approved Specification
If you need to make changes after a Primary Specification has been approved, retain the approved version as a historical record rather than deleting it.
Create a new version of the Primary Specification, make the necessary updates, and create new Shared Specifications if additional supplier collaboration is required.
See Measurement Attributes and Specification Versioning for instructions on creating a new specification version.