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# Area management

Dimensions CM enables you to define areas. An area is a location on a network node that is used to contain item files.

Dimensions CM has following types of areas:

Area type | Description
--- | ---
Work area | An area used for development work for one or more users, so that their file operations, such as check in, check out, update, or deliver, take place in the context of that area. The same work area can be assigned to multiple users. For details, see: Web client: Create a work area Desktop client: Create a work area
Deployment area | An area associated with a project/stream for a particular stage in its development. It is used to contain the item files that have reached a particular stage and are ready to be system tested or to be included in a release build. For details, see Assign deployment areas.
Library cache | An area defined to contain copies of item files for a project/stream to improve the efficiency of Dimensions CM item operations when accessing a database over a remote network. When a user needs to access an item file, Dimensions CM first checks if the file is already in the library cache area before attempting to retrieve the file from the remote server. For details, see Administration.

The following diagram provides an example of a library cache area in a Dimensions CM network.

When you define an area, you specify the network node and the folder path where the area is located. You then associate the area with one or more projects or streams. Users can select that work area as the location for the files when they are working in that project/stream.

If the area is a deployment area, you also associate it with a stage in the Global Stage Lifecycle. By default, the Global Stage Lifecycle includes the following stages:

In Dimensions CM, the process of approving item revisions for a particular stage to copy their files to these areas is called deployment.

For deployment areas, you can also define scripts to perform chosen tasks whenever files are deployed to the area. You can have separate scripts for before and after an area is populated, and for when an error condition occurs. For example, you may run a script to tidy up the area before the files are copied to it, or perform a build of the software after the deployment. Dimensions CM maintains full audit trails for these operations.

You associate these scripts with an area when you define the area.

You can deploy baselines, Dimensions CM requests, and individual item revisions. For example, you can deploy all the items related to a request, or a group of child requests.

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See also:

- Use Dimensions deployment

https://admhelp.microfocus.com Dimensions CM 8942
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