save_offline_and_delete command

The scope determines what objects are considered for deletion, what associated objects to delete, and rules for what objects not to delete. Databases ship with predefined scopes that represent typical reasons for deleting objects. Users can also create their own custom scopes.

See the soad_scope command for details.

For more information about SOAD scopes and how SOAD evaluates scopes, see Save Offline and Delete scopes.

You can delete objects from a database to:

• Reduce the size of the database as part of disk space management, or to speed database backups.
• Remove working or prep projects that are no longer in use.
• Remove unwanted history or baselines because they are not required.

The following examples show the types of data that you can delete.

• Unwanted Insulated Development projects for specific developers
• Unwanted Integration Testing projects
• Old, static project hierarchies, and the old files associated with them, where the hierarchies have been superseded by later released versions
• Unused old products
• Baselines that have been marked for deletion
• Integration Testing baselines for an old release.

SOAD also saves objects offline before they are deleted so that the objects can be restored in a Synergy database at a later date. Users in the ccm_admin role can use this feature in databases that are DCM initialized. The objects to be saved are stored in a save offline package that is similar to a DCM package. The objects are restored using a DCM receive operation. See Receiving a transfer package for details.

The scope defines which role a user must be in before they can use that scope. In addition, normal Synergy security rules apply about when an object can be deleted. You can delete any working-state project or object owned by you. If you are working as a build manager, you can also delete prep projects and objects. If you are in the ccm_admin role, you can delete objects in any non-working state or objects owned by other users. SOAD also has a number of built-in safety measures to prevent certain types of objects, such as type definitions and other administrative data, from being deleted.

Use the soad command to:

• Preview a delete by using a scope. The preview shows what objects would be selected for deletion without changes to the database. The advantage is that you can check that the preview results are what you expect before deleting the objects.
• Delete the objects found by a previous preview.
• Delete using a scope without a preview. This setting allows you to perform the deletion without seeing a preview of the results. The advantage is speed, but you must be certain that previewing the objects is unnecessary. The disadvantage is that you are not able to verify the objects to be deleted.

To save objects offline, the current database must be initialized for DCM and a DCM license must be available.

The save_offline_and_delete command supports these subcommands.