Lock time periods
- Comala Publishing
The Lock Time Periods feature allows admins to lock time periods for editing, ensuring that time-tracking data remains accurate and reliable. This feature is handy when admins generate reports at the end of a reporting period and want to prevent any adjustments from being made.
This feature is only available to 7pace admins.
The ability to lock a time period is currently a beta feature, and we are actively seeking feedback. Please get in touch with support to enable this feature.
Watch the video
The following video introduces the Lock Time Period feature.
Add Time Periods view
First, add the Time Periods view to your workspace to use the Lock Time Periods feature. Use the following steps:
Click + > Installed apps > 7pace - Time Periods.
If necessary, rename the view.
Permission - Manage and lock time periods
To manage time periods, users must have the Manage and lock time periods permission. To assign this permission, click Settings > Roles & Permissions:
Define a time period
When you click 7pace - Time Periods, the app displays a message that a time period schedule has not yet been configured. Click Go to App Settings, which opens the Time Periods tab. Here, admins use the following steps to create time period schedules.
Click Create Schedule.
Define the appropriate Cadence for creating time periods, Weekly, Every 2 weeks, or Monthly.
Define the Start Date.
Click Save Schedule.
After saving the schedule, the app creates new weekly time periods based on the selected date. For example, if you select Monday, April 15, as the first time period, all future time periods begin on Mondays (April 22, April 29, etc.).
Similarly, if you select a monthly cadence and select April 1 as the first start date, subsequent start dates are May 1, June 1, July 1, etc.
Time Period summary
After saving a time period, the 7pace - Time Periods page displays a summary of the new time period.
At the far right, you can click the icon to see the time period in the All Times view, which shows the work logs for that time period.
Lock time
To lock time for a defined period, click the button on the summary page.
The lock time dialog box displays, alerting you that time will be locked for everyone and that, once locked, no one can add or edit worklogs for this time period.
Click Yes, lock time. Now, the time period summary displays the date time was locked and the user who locked the time period. There is also an option to Unlock time.
Now, time tracking is globally locked for the defined time period. For example, in Weekly view, there's a lock icon next to each locked day.
You can see logged time but can't change or add time.
Time is also locked in all other views, including Monthly, Timesheets, All Times, and Item.
Time cannot be added to a locked period from any view.
Unlock Time
Use the following steps to unlock a time period:
Click 7pace - Time Periods > Unlock Time.
A message indicates that unlocking the time period allows users to add or edit worklogs for that time period.
Click Yes, unlock time.
Split Time Periods
Use the Split Time Periods feature to manage multiple time period cadences. For example, an administrator might lock time periods on a weekly basis but have another reporting schedule or billing period that operates on a monthly cadence. In this example, there could be a weekly schedule in April where the last day of the month falls on a Wednesday. The monthly time period needs to be locked on Wednesday, April 30, but the last weekly time period must remain unlocked in the first few days of May.
When you enable the split time period option, another field, Split day, displays where you can select the specific day the split should automatically occur. There are three options for the Split day field:
15th of the month
Last day of the month
Custom
When you select Custom, the Custom split day calendar displays, allowing you to specify the split date.
Once the defined day arrives, 7pace automatically splits the running time period, allowing you to lock the time before the split.
When a split time period is defined, it’s denoted by the following icon.
Reset Time Periods
The Reset all time periods feature allows administrators to reset their time period schedules. For example, an administrator tests the feature and then wants to remove the time period from the app. Use the following steps to reset a time period.
Navigate to App Settings > Time Periods.
At the bottom of the time period in question, click Reset all time periods.
The Reset all time periods window displays. Note that all time periods will be deleted and the schedule will be removed from the app. Also, this action cannot be undone. Type the word Confirm."
Click the Yes, reset button.
A message displays indicating the time period was removed.
Settings
To change existing time periods, navigate to App Settings > Time Periods.
Here, changes can be made to future time periods, and you can disable a time period schedule. Disabling a time period keeps previous time periods in place and respects their locked state, but it doesn’t automatically create new time periods. Once you disable a time period, the following message displays:
Click Yes, disable to deactivate the time period.
If you re-enable the time period, make sure to define a new start date.