Using Saved State

Overview

The SAVED STATE is the method that we use to preserve account (or "tenant") configuration so that it can be brought forward between multiple sandbox imports, and then directly into the final production import.

Important: Remember that Saved State only saves SETUP or CONFIGURATION information between tenants, and not actual data. For example, you can manage Event Type data, but not the events themselves -- or changes to the events. The same with CRM data, tasks, invoices, and so on.

Getting Started

It is generally a bad idea to ever delete anything in a sandbox and then save the state.

• Some items (such as Users) support active/inactive.
  • These are the simplest – just set them to inactive.
• Some items (such as Event Types) support renaming. 
  • If the client wants to delete any of these, you can rename them (“DELETE ME”) to make it easy to delete them post-launch.
  • (This is probably why several clients have ended up with duplicate event types. If they delete one, and then change their mind and re-create it with the same name, they will get a duplicate.)
• Some items (such as Contact Role Types) are checklists.
  • These only support adding.
  • If the client wants to delete any of these, you will need to make a note and do this post-launch.

You should think of Save State as a short-term thing like Copy to Clipboard. It's way of capturing the setup of the current sandbox tenant so that it can be used for a new conversion import. 

The best practice is to:

• Always keep track of the current sandbox tenant for a client.
• Do a Save State immediately before the next import into a new sandbox tenant.

How to save state

How to clear Saved State

Go to Tools > Conversion Tools and find your client under the "Client Slugs" area. You can click the 🛈 information icon to see information about the specification and saved state. This information includes the version and tenant it was saved from.

You can click the 💾 floppy icon with a slash through it to delete the saved state

What is retained by Saved State?

General setup

Venues

• You can add, rename, and edit venues
  • You can move rooms between venues
• You cannot delete venues
  • Well, you can, but they'll just come back in the next import.
  • If you move rooms out of the venue you wish to delete, they will stay where you put them.

Rooms

• You can add, rename, and edit rooms
  • Update the revenue stream
  • Add them to groups
  • Move them to different venues
  • Add them to combos
• Please be careful and think through the implications of any room editing/additions you do so that the booked spaces for events are not imported into an invalid state. You'll be able to do this, but editing the booked spaces later could be problematic.

Revenue Streams

• You can add, rename, and edit revenue streams
  • You can assign them to rooms and rental rates
• Active/inactive state is remembered
• Notes
  • If a revenue stream is inactivated in the saved state, it will still be assigned to rooms and item categories; but if you wish to make any edits, you'll have to select a new revenue stream.
  • Since revenue streams are created in the capsule and can be assigned, it may be best to manage those there for the most part. If the client has different revenue streams for rental, though, this will allow you to move the rooms to the correct revenue stream.

Document Templates

• You are able to set the template engine for the various template types

Roles

• Standard roles created by Capsule Import
  • A “Default” role is created and assigned to all users. I would recommend editing this role into a view only role (rename and update permissions) rather than creating a new role and having to assign it to all users.
  • A “Converted Document Viewer” role is created and attached to all documents.
• You can add, edit, or rename roles.
• Role assignment to users will be saved.
• You will not see these roles listed in the document sharing in the app until they are assigned to an active user.

Staff Assignments

• You can add, edit, and rename event staff assignments
• You cannot add, edit, and rename function staff assignments

Users

• You can add, edit, and rename users
  • You can add users to roles
• Active/inactive state is remembered

CRM setup

Account Tags

• You can add, edit, and rename account tags
• Active/inactive state is remembered

Contact Role Types

• These are pick lists - you can only add them

Lead Sources, Market Segments, Reasons For Loss

• These are pick lists - you can only add them

Email, Phone, and Address types

• These are pick lists - you can only add them

Event setup

Event Types

• You can add, edit, and rename event types

Business Classifications

• These are pick lists - you can only add them

Genres

Probability of Closing

• You can change the probabilities list.

Space Usage

• You can add, edit, and rename space usages

Event Document Folders

• You can add, edit, and activate/inactivate folders

Instruction Sets

• You can add, edit, and rename instruction sets
• Active/inactive state is remembered

Performance settings

• You can add, edit, and rename
  • Attendance Types
  • Revenue Types
  • Note Sets.
• Active/inactive state is remembered

Function Types

• You can add, edit, and rename function types 

Inventory library

Note that this will not preserve item allocations made to events.

Inventory Units

• You can add new units.
• If you rename a unit, it is treated as a new item
• If you delete a unit, it will appear again when a new import is run (you aren't removing the item from the capsule)

Departments

• You can create a new department
• Active/inactive state is remembered
• Departments can be renamed

Categories

• Active/inactive state is remembered
• New categories are remembered
• Categories can be renamed
• Categories can be moved to different departments
• You can only set Category Type here – for example, if you want F&B type. This affects the units.

Items

• You can add, edit, and rename items
• Items can be added to price schedules
• Active/inactive state is remembered

Packages

• You can add, edit, and rename packages
• Active/inactive state is remembered
• Notes
  • Assignments to events will not be remembered

Prices

It will preserve the price schedules themselves, but not any new assignments to events.

Price Schedules

• You can add new price schedules
• You can edit price schedule contents
• Active/inactive state is remembered
• Exhibitor flag remembered (need to active exhibitor ordering on the account to apply and see this)

Information: GL Codes, Services Charges, Taxes

• You can create GL codes, service charges, and taxes
• Active/inactive state is remembered
• Able to edit (rename, apply GL codes and taxes as applicable)
• Able to apply to categories, items, and rental rates

Items

• You can create new items
• You can add/remove items from price schedules
• You can create and assign category taxes, service charges, and GL codes
• All item info is remembered (cost, price, add't taxes, GL codes)
• Active/inactive state is remembered

Rental Rates

• You can create rental rates
• Taxes and GL codes will be remembered
• All rates and rate information will be remembered

Financials

Credit Type

• You can add, edit, and rename
• Active/inactive state is remembered

Refund Type

• You can add, edit, and rename
• Active/inactive state is remembered

Payment Type

• You can add, edit, and rename
• Active/inactive state is remembered

Tasks

Changes to individual tasks themselves will not save.

Task Templates

• You can add, edit, or rename task templates.
• Notes:
  • New tasks or changes to tasks will not save.
  • Assigning a task template to anything will not save.

Task Types

• These are pick lists - you can only add them 

Saved views

These saved views are supported:

• Avails calendar
• Event calendar
  • Saved views colored by event type will NOT work correctly. These should be created on production after the final import. These are now working.
• Filter account list
• Filtered contact list
• Filtered event list
• Filtered function list
• Filtered function detail
• Filtered activity log
• Operations

Insights Reporting

Reports

• You can add, edit, and rename reports
• You can delete reports

Dashboards

• You can add, edit, and rename dashboards
• You can delete dashboards

Templates

• You can add, edit, and rename templates
• You can delete templates

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: If the sandbox cluster is about to be upgraded to a new major version, should I save state before that happens?

A: No. The save state information is incompatible between major versions. If anything, you should do a new save state after a major version upgrade.

Q: If I add an Event Type and then assign a bunch of events to it, will the saved state remember all that?

A: No. The saved state will remember that you added the Event Type, but cannot preserve any changes to events.

Q: If I merge a bunch of Accounts and Contacts, can I use the saved state to preserve that?

A: No. The saved state can only preserve changes to the account setup, not the actual CRM or event data.