Data Locking in ResourceFirst

Posted16 June 2022

Updated2 March 2023

This article explores the ways users and administrators can lock project, resource, and assignment records and periods to prevent data entry.

Overview

This article explores the various types of data locks that can be set in ResourceFirst.

Locks Set by an Administrator

Periods:

(Set via Admin–>Periods)

There are two checkboxes that can be set for periods:

Locked – Financial and labor forecasts and actuals

Inactive; Time tracking is disabled in inactive periods (but not direct entry of actuals on assignment pages)

OBS nodes:

(Set via Admin–>OBS)

There are two checkboxes that can be set for each OBS node:

Locked – Prevents modifying, deleting, and adding objects in the node (such as projects, resources, or assignments)

Active – If unchecked, the node and all related records are in the database but are not visible/loaded in ResourceFirst

Note: Administrators can update resources in locked nodes, preventing the need to unlock the node before changes (this also applies to POST/PUT calls from the API when the token is for an administrator)

Project, Effort, and Scenario States:

(Set via Admin–>Lists, and then the appropriate state list item)

Project, Effort, and Scenario states are each set up as Lists in ResourceFirst, and each has two checkboxes that can impact the ability to enter certain data. A project, assignment, or scenario can be locked implicitly by having its state field set to a state that is locked.

(Project) State	Effort (Assignment) State	Scenario Status (State)

Project State:

Lock Assignments; Assignments cannot be added to a project with a Project State value that is locked for assignments (such as Complete, Canceled, or Closed in the screenshot above), No fields on the project’s labor and financial forecasts and actuals can be modified. Assignments CAN be deleted if the user has proper rights.

Lock Time Tracking; Timesheets cannot be entered on a project with a Project State set to locked for time tracking (such as Complete, Canceled, or Closed in the screenshot above), .

Effort State:

Locked; Assignment attribute field values, and labor and financial forecasts and actuals cannot be modified on an assignment with an Effort State set to a state that is locked (such as “Proposed” in the screenshot above). Assignments with an Effort State value that is locked CAN be deleted and CAN be copied to another project.

Scenario Status:

Project Data Locked; You cannot add or modify project attribute fields in a scenario with a Scenario Status (state) set to a state that is locked for project data – the scenario owner CAN delete projects from a locked scenario.

Forecast Locked; In a scenario with a Scenario Status (state) set to a state that is locked for forecast data, labor and financial forecasts can not be added to or updated.

External Fields:

Fields marked “External” are read only. External means the field values are imported by an API and cannot be modified in ResourceFirst.

Locks Set by Users

Some locks can be set directly by users with sufficient non-Administrator rights:

Individual Project Locks

Forecasts or actuals on a given project

Individual Assignment Locks

Forecasts or actuals on a given labor or financial assignment (field name configured as “ALocked” in assignment column headings)

Locks Set by Managers of OBS Nodes

Managers with Resource Administration (R3) rights to resource OBS nodes can lock them. The result of the lock is identical to when an administrator locks a node in administration.

(Set via Admin–>Lock OBS)

There are two checkboxes that can be set for each OBS node:

Locked – Prevents modifying, deleting, and adding objects in the node.(such as projects, resources, or assignments)

Inactive – Node and all related records are in the database but are not visible/loaded in ResourceFirst.

Effect of Data Locking on Imports

Data locks can also impact the ability to import data:

You cannot import updates to a locked assignment (i.e, its ALocked flag is set to “Y”). It will kick out as an error.
You cannot import new or updated projects, resources, or assignments to a node that is locked.
You cannot import assignments for a project that is in a locked project state.
You cannot import assignments for a project that has its “Lock Forecast” flag set to “Y”.
You CAN import Scenarios (provided they are not in a locked state) to a node that is locked.
You CAN import Scenario assignments (provided they are not in a locked scenario), even if the equivalent non-scenario project or assignment is locked.