Xerox Asset DB Architect Ver.4.8.1 Software User Manual PDF

Version 4.8.1

MARCH 2021

Asset DB Architect User Manual

2021 Xerox Corporation. All rights reserved. Xerox is a trademark of Xerox Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. BRXXXXX

Other company trademarks are also acknowledged.

Document Version: 1.0 (April 2021).

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Contents

1 What is Architect? ......................................................................................................... 1

2 The Solution Design Process ....................................................................................... 1

3 Getting Started .............................................................................................................. 2

3.1 Capturing and Understanding the Existing Environment ..................................... 2

3.2 Creating a Solution ............................................................................................... 3

3.3 Synchronising a Solution ...................................................................................... 4

3.4 Locking and Unlocking features of a Solution ...................................................... 5

3.5 Assigning Sites, Buildings and Floors .................................................................. 7

3.6 Marking project tree elements as complete or incomplete .................................. 7

4 The Device Fate Tab .................................................................................................... 8

5 The Product Catalogue Tab ........................................................................................ 11

5.1 Altering Categories in the Product Catalogue .................................................... 12

5.2 Adding Redeployed Devices to the Product Catalogue ..................................... 13

5.3 Locating a Redeployed Device in the Catalogue ............................................... 15

5.4 Adding and editing New Models within the Product Catalogue ......................... 15

5.5 Creating a New Catalogue ................................................................................. 17

5.6. Undoing and reverting changes in the Product Catalogue ..................................... 17

5.6 Importing/Exporting Product Catalogues ........................................................... 18

6 The Product Costs Tab ............................................................................................... 19

6.1 Entering Cost Data ............................................................................................. 19

6.2 Importing/Exporting Product Cost Data .............................................................. 20

7 The Solution Design Tab ............................................................................................ 22

7.1 Adding Virtual Devices to the Floor .................................................................... 23

7.2 Volume Transfer ................................................................................................. 23

7.3 Changing a Virtual Asset Icon Type ................................................................... 25

7.4 Transferring Volume from Virtual Devices ......................................................... 26

7.5 Transferring Volume from Multiple Devices ....................................................... 26

7.6 Undoing Volume Transfers ................................................................................. 26

7.7 The Volume Bin .................................................................................................. 27

7.8 Invalid Volume Transfers .................................................................................... 28

7.9 Changing the Fate of an Existing Asset ............................................................. 28

7.10 Volume Transfer Statistics ................................................................................. 28

7.11 Generating the Solution ...................................................................................... 30

7.12 Redeployed Device Movement .......................................................................... 30

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7.13 Solution Generation Errors ................................................................................. 31

7.14 Asset Status Labels ............................................................................................ 33

7.15 Overriding Architect Decisions ........................................................................... 35

7.16 Manually Assigning Make and Model to a Virtual Device .................................. 35

7.17 Manually Mapping Redeployed Assets .............................................................. 37

7.18 Using Filters ........................................................................................................ 39

7.19 The Statistics Tab ............................................................................................... 40

7.20 The Financials Tab ............................................................................................. 41

7.21 The User/Device Ratio Tab ................................................................................ 41

8 The Future State Tab .................................................................................................. 42

8.1 Viewing a Summary of the Changes .................................................................. 43

9 Creating a Future State Green Analysis ..................................................................... 44

9.1 Future State Assumption Sets ............................................................................ 45

10 Generating Solution Reports .................................................................................. 46

10.1 Moves and Changes Report ............................................................................... 46

10.2 Device Fate Report ............................................................................................. 46

10.3 Future State Proposal ......................................................................................... 46

10.4 Editing Solution Reports ..................................................................................... 47

11 Exporting and Importing Solutions ......................................................................... 47

11.1 Exporting Solution to an Asset DB Project ......................................................... 47

11.2 Exporting Solution Data as a Project and Solution pair ..................................... 48

11.3 Exporting the Solution only ................................................................................. 49

11.4 Importing Solution Data ...................................................................................... 50

12 Invalid Changes ...................................................................................................... 51

12.1 Adjusting Existing Fleet Volumes ....................................................................... 51

12.2 Deleting Existing Assets ..................................................................................... 51

12.3 Changing Make and Model Data ........................................................................ 51

13 Frequently Asked Questions .................................................................................. 52

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1 What is Architect? Asset DB Architect is a software tool that has been developed to aid the process of print

fleet redesign. A Device Fate matrix allows the current state print fleet (which has been

captured using Asset DB) to be divided into devices for disposal, redeployment and

devices to be kept in situ. A Product Catalogue then allows you to decide which new

devices will make up the redesigned fleet. The fleet can be modified in a designer view

that provides a graphical means of creating new assets and automatically transferring

features and volume from existing assets to new ones. Assets from the existing

environment that have been marked for redeployment are automatically redistributed in

the new fleet with minimal intervention from the user. The distribution process will find an

optimised solution that places each asset where it is needed most. When the new fleet

has been designed, an evaluation view is provided to inspect the design and understand

the changes that will be required to the existing fleet. You can also calculate the costs

and environmental impact of your new solution and then generate reports summarising

the changes in textual and graphical form.

2 The Solution Design Process Asset DB Architect is much more than just a software tool it embodies a solution design

process that is captured in the workflow of the tool. The design process can be broken

down into a series of distinct steps that are illustrated in Error! Reference source not f

ound. and described in more detail in the following sections.

Figure 1. The Solution design process

The solution design process works best if there is an agreed print policy covering the

following:

The overall user to device ratio

Access to colour and Legal/ A3 devices

What is the maximum distance between a user and a device

Any special needs of certain departments or workgroups

Re-use/dispose guidelines for existing assets

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If the design is to be generic or make and model specific

With these guidelines in place, the task of entering data into Architect is far more

straightforward.

3 Getting Started The starting point for a solution design using Asset DB Architect is an Asset DB project

representing an existing printing environment. Before continuing, you should ensure you

have read the Asset DB Auditor and Analyst Manuals and are familiar with their contents.

3.1 Capturing and Understanding the Existing Environment

The first stage of any solution design is the detailed capture and analysis of the existing

print environment. There are a number of categories under which data needs to be

collected for later analysis and design work:

Device Attributes

For each asset in the project, it is important to have valid make and model data so that

these assets can be identified in the Architect views. Paper handling capabilities etc. of

the current fleet are required to know which print features are required in the future fleet.

Location Data

The physical location of the current fleet devices is essential to help decide upon the

distribution of future fleet devices.

Volumes

The solution design process makes use of volume data in the existing print fleet. It is

therefore crucial to ensure all assets have valid monthly volume data entered for them in

the Asset DB project. This can be accomplished in a number of ways see the Asset

DB Analyst manual for more details.

When the print environment has been captured, a thorough analysis of the data is

necessary before a new design can be started. The analysis should pay particular

attention to the distribution of devices and volume through the site, the distribution of

colour and A3 capability in the fleet and the print capacity at each location versus the

volume requirements at that location.

Top Tip: ensure your project volumes are stable before creating your solution and do not

recalculate volumes after your solution is in progress. Recalculating volumes after you

have begun a solution can result in negative volumes and errors in your solution design.

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3.2 Creating a Solution

Each Asset DB project can be assigned multiple solutions to show multiple future fleet

options without the need for multiple projects. A new solution is created and associated

with the currently open project by selecting File > New > Solution:

Figure 2. Creation of a new solution

After the new solution is created, five new tabs should be visible across the top of the

screen as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. The Solution tabs

Each tab represents a phase in the solution design process described previously. The

role of each tab is summarised briefly below:

Current State: This tab shows the current print environment it is simply the

Asset DB project.

Data Preparation: This tab enables users to review meter readings from the

current state and also to generate volumes for the current fleet.

Device Fate: This allows a decision to be made about the fate of each device in

the fleet.

Product Catalogue: This allows decisions to be made about the new devices to

appear in the future fleet and their volume capabilities.

Product Costs: This tab allows for the entry of cost data for the devices to be

deployed in the future state.

Solution Tabs

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Solution Design: This is the design view where the new virtual print

environment will be designed.

Future State: This tab shows the new print environment after it has had new and

redeployed devices deployed to it. It also provides a summary view of all the

changes on each floor.

The Current State tab and the Data Preparation tab will not be discussed further in this

document see the Asset DB Auditor and Analyst Manuals for further information.

3.3 Synchronising a Solution

To allow for better collaboration, it is possible to synchronise a solution to the Asset DB

Cloud so that it can be shared with others.

After you have created a new solution for a project which has been synchronised with the

Cloud, simply select Solution > Synchronise (see Figure 4) or File > Synchronise >

Solutions and the solution will be synchronised with the Asset DB Cloud. It is possible

to create and synchronise several solutions for a project.

Figure 4. Synchronising a solution with the Asset DB Cloud

Once a solution is synchronised with the Asset DB Cloud, other users that have the same

current state project open and up-to-date with the latest changes will be able to download

any available solutions from the Asset DB Cloud by going to File > Synchronise >

Solutions and then selecting a solution from the list (Figure 5).

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Figure 5. Download solution from Asset DB Cloud

In addition, there is the option to update your client with changes from the server without

uploading any of your changes to the server. This is done via the Solution > Update

Client menu option.

This allows you to receive all changes that other collaborators have made even if your

changes are not yet ready to be shared.

The functionality to write and view solution synchronisation messages is the same as in

synchronising the current state, you can find more information in Section 22 of the

Auditor manual.

3.4 Locking and Unlocking features of a Solution

When you have a solution open that has already been synchronised, you will need to

lock the element you are working on before you are able to make any changes. The

element could be the Product Catalogue or a site, building or floor. This is to ensure data

integrity is maintained within the Solution.

Figure 6. Locking a location

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To lock a location in the project tree, simply select the site, building or floor you want to

lock and click on the yellow lock (Figure 6). A key will then be displayed right next to the

project tree item to indicate that you have that element locked.

Once a lock is set on a location, only the lock owner is able to perform the following

tasks:

Change fate of current state devices.

Drag volume, or otherwise change volume in the Solution Design.

Relocate a virtual asset onto another floor. Only the source floor needs to be

locked.

Other users are still able to access that element in order to perform the following tasks,

necessary to be able to complete other parts of the solution and reporting:

Create a new Virtual Asset

Assign a device from the product catalogue to a virtual asset

Assign a redeployed device to a virtual asset

Run Solution Generator

Run reports

Once the user who set the lock finishes work on the solution and synchronises it, the lock

is removed. Nevertheless, it is possible to override another users lock on an element by

clicking the lock yourself while they are offline, at which point the message in Figure 7 will

be displayed. It is not advised to do this, as by overriding the lock, their changes will be

discarded.

Figure 7. Override Lock dialogue box

When working on the Product Catalogue and in the Product Costs tab the padlock is

located above these tabs (Figure 8). Applying a lock to the Product Catalogue will lock

the Product Costs tab as well and vice versa.

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Figure 8. Product Catalogue lock

A lock applied on the Product Catalogue and Product Costs elements will prevent any

other users from being able to perform the following tasks:

Adding new Models to the catalogue

Adding redeployed models to the product catalogue

Updating Costs of models in the product catalogue

3.5 Assigning Sites, Buildings and Floors

As explained in the Asset DB Auditor manual (section 4.4) it is also possible to assign

project tree elements at the Solution stage. These assignments are separate from the

assignments in the Current State tab, so a floor assigned to a person in the current state

can be assigned to someone different in the future state.

To assign a project tree element to a person, make sure the project as well as solution

are synchronised with the Asset DB Cloud. Then follow instructions from section 4.4 in

the Auditor manual. Anyone who has the same project and solution open, and is

connected to the Asset DB Cloud will then see these changes in real time.

3.6 Marking project tree elements as complete or incomplete

To mark project tree elements as complete or incomplete, please see section 3.3 in the

Auditor manual. Marking a project element as complete in the Solution is independent

from marking it as complete in the Current State.

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4 The Device Fate Tab

Figure 9. The Device Fate view

The Device Fate view lists all the in-scope assets in the project in tabular form. Any

assets marked Out of Scope in the current state will not show in the Device Fate.

Use the navigation tree at the top right hand corner of the screen to view the assets by

site/building/floor. The tabular view shows various attributes for each asset that are

considered useful in determining the fate of the asset. Further attributes can be added to

this view by right clicking in the column header bar and selecting More as shown in

Figure 10.

Figure 10. Adding new columns to the Device Fate table

This will bring up a Column Selection window where you can decide which categories

you would like to show/hide.

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The purpose of the Device Fate view is to decide the fate of each asset in the project.

Assets can be assigned one of three fates:

Dispose the asset is not required in the new fleet.

Redeploy the asset is to be utilised in the new fleet if possible.

In Situ the asset will remain in the fleet in its current location with its

current volume or less.

There are multiple factors that will help determine the fate of each device such as age,

cost etc. all of which should be decided in the print policy.

The fate of an asset can be selected in one of three ways; by highlighting the asset row

and using one of the fate buttons in the toolbar, by right clicking on the table row for the

asset and selecting a fate from the popup menu or by using the dropdown in the Fate

column (see Figure 11). Initially the fate of each asset is set to UNDETERMINED

(shown in the Fate column).

Figure 11. Modifying the fate of devices

A fate can be assigned to multiple assets by highlighting a number of rows and selecting

their fate using either method described previously. Multiple rows can be highlighted by

using the left mouse button and dragging the mouse or selecting the top row of the group

Fate

buttons

Select a

fate from

the drop

down

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and holding Shift while clicking the bottom. To highlight rows that are not adjacent press

the CTRL key on the keyboard.

Sometimes it is necessary to view an asset on the floor plan before a decision can be

made about its fate. This can be achieved by right-clicking the asset row and selecting

View On Floor Plan as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12. Viewing devices on the floor plan

This will take you to the Solution Design tab and highlight the asset on the floor. Note that

the fate of a device can also be changed in the Solution Design view (see Section 7.9).

Data can be sorted in the table by clicking on any column heading; clicking on the

heading again will reverse the sort order. You can also apply filters to the table by

clicking on the down arrow next to each column header as shown in Figure 13. This is a

very useful feature for grouping assets by any one of the displayed attributes and

assigning them a fate in one step.

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Figure 13. Applying filters

Column widths can be changed by clicking on the divider between the headers of any

two columns and dragging the mouse.

5 The Product Catalogue Tab

Figure 14. The Product Catalogue view

The Product Catalogue view is composed of three separate areas; in the top right hand

panel there is a table containing the distinct assets that are to be redeployed. Beneath

this panel is an empty panel that will hold information about the assets that will make up

the future state as they are assigned amongst the columns in the main panel to the left.

For more details please go to section 5.2.

Product Catalogue

New models in a

selected volume

band

Assets to redeploy

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The main panel contains the Product Catalogue that will be customised for the given

requirements and consists of a series of columns that each represents a particular

category of device. The category represented by each column is shown in the column

header.

5.1 Altering Categories in the Product Catalogue

The Product Catalogue has ten predefined device categories:

MFD A4 Black and White

MFD A4 Colour

MFD A3 Black and White

MFD A3 Colour

Printer A4 Black and White

Printer A4 Colour

Printer A3 Black and White

Printer A3 Colour

Fax

Scanner

These may not all be present in the catalogue initially as only the required categories

(derived from the existing print fleet population) are displayed. Categories can be added

or removed by selecting the Add/Remove button.

Figure 15. Add/Remove device categories

Within each category column in the main panel of the Product Catalogue there are a

series of volume bands that have a description and a numerical range. These represent

a categorisation of the overall volume range for the type of device described by the

column. The range for each band can be adjusted by clicking on the boundary between

any two bands and dragging it up or down.

Add/Remove Columns

button

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Figure 16. User defined volume bands.

Each column therefore represents a volume profile for a given category of device. The

first step in setting up your Product Catalogue is to decide the volume capabilities of a

low, medium, high and very high volume device in each of your categories.

For example, the Product Catalogue in Error! Reference source not found. shows that f

or Mono A3 MFDs any device that can do 0 to 7,999 pages per month is considered a

Low volume device. Any device that can do 8,000 to 19,999 is considered a Medium

volume device, etc.

5.2 Adding Redeployed Devices to the Product Catalogue

Once the volume bands have been set for all categories of device, the next step is to add

devices into these bands to make up the catalogue.

The Product Catalogue will be made up of two groups of devices. The first group consists

of brand new devices and the second consists of models that were redeployed in the

Device Fate view.

The assets marked for redeployment are all contained in the table shown in the top right

panel shown with their serial number (see Figure 14). Initially all rows in the table are

highlighted in pink to indicate they have not yet been assigned to the Product Catalogue.

A redeployed device is added to the product catalogue by first selecting the device,

turning it red, and then click and dragging it across to one of the volume bands in the

Product Catalogue on the left. When the drag operation is started, the column into which

the model should be dropped is highlighted with a red border as shown in Figure 17.

Moveable

boundaries

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Figure 17. Automatic highlighting of the correct device category and volume band

Select one of the volume bands in the highlighted column and release the mouse button

to assign the model to that band. If the model has been successfully dropped into the

volume band the text describing the band will change to bold and underlined. If you

select the volume band and look at the bottom right hand panel, you will see the model

listed under Redeployed Models along with its capabilities. This area is described in

more detail in Section 5.3.

You should also notice that the model name in the top right table is no longer highlighted

in pink as shown in Figure 18.

Figure 18. Visual indicators for Redeployed device allocation in the Product Catalogue

This process should then be repeated for all the models highlighted in pink in the top right

table. Models can be dropped into more than one volume band if required.

Red highlight removed

Bold, underlined text to

indicate devices

assigned

Device in

list

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Multiple redeployed devices can be added to a single volume band by using the Control

key to multiple select and dragging as above.

Note that if you remove a redeployed device model from a volume band and the model

has not been allocated anywhere else in the Product Catalogue it will be highlighted in

pink again in the top right hand table.

5.3 Locating a Redeployed Device in the Catalogue

The location of a redeployed device in your catalogue can be displayed simply by clicking

on the device in question in the top right panel. This will then highlight in yellow the

volume band(s) in which it has been placed as shown in Figure 19.

Figure 19. Visual indicators for Redeployed device allocation in the Model Matrix

5.4 Adding and editing New Models within the Product Catalogue

In addition to redeployed device models, it is also possible to add any model to the

Product Catalogue. The Product Catalogue provides an opportunity at this stage to

decide which models will be considered for use in the new print fleet and where they sit in

the Product Catalogue.

To assign a model to any volume band click the volume band to highlight it and then

select the Add Device button in the bottom right panel as shown in Figure 20.

Figure 20. Add/Remove new models to the catalogue

Add Remove

Selected device

highlighted in purple

Location of

redeployed device

highlighted in

yellow

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First, select a manufacturer and model in the New Model pop-up. This is done by either

using the drop down lists or typing key characters into the field and selecting from the

options given. You should now select each of the capabilities that apply to that model

using the tickboxes as shown in Figure 21 before clicking on Allocate New Model.

Figure 21. Add/Remove new models to the catalogue

The text in the category should now have changed to bold and the bottom right panel

should now list the model you have added under New Devices. You can add multiple

models to each volume band to cover as many capability options as you require. It is also

possible to add multiple instances of the same device if required to allow for different

capability options of the same model as shown in Figure 22. These distinct models will

then appear as unique items in the Product Costs tab, which is further explained in

Section 6.

..

Figure 22. Multiple new models added to the catalogue

New models and Re-deployed devices can be removed from any volume band by

selecting them and clicking on the remove button (see Figure 20).

Existing models can be edited by right-clicking and selecting Edit Model Figure 22). When the same asset is included in different volumes ranges or categories it is possible to edit the capabilities of an individual model without needing to create a new one. Once the model has been edited and the Solution Generator has been run then the model information will automatically update on the floor plan. Please note that once the information has been changed then the pricing will be reset to 0 in the Product Costs tab.

Multiple Models in a

Volume Band with different

Capability Options Edit Models in a

specific Volume Band

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Figure 23. Edit models in the Product Catalogue

Once a new feature has been added, the Update Model button becomes available.

If there is an existing project and solution on the Enterprise Server then the product

catalogue needs to be locked for the model to be edited. For further details on how to

lock and unlock features of a solution, please refer to section 3.4.

If new models are not added to the Product Catalogue at this stage, Architect will use

generic descriptions for new devices until they have been added. This method will not

allow a financial or environmental comparison to be run however.

5.5 Creating a New Catalogue

A new, empty Product Catalogue can be created by clicking the create a new default

catalogue button as shown in Figure 24. Note that this will remove the existing matrix

and create a new blank one that does not contain any models. This blank catalogue will

again be modelled on the current fleet population.

Figure 24. Create a new Product Catalogue

5.6. Undoing and reverting changes in the Product Catalogue Any changes that have been made to the Product Catalogue can be undone when

selecting the Undo button.

Create new Product

Catalogue

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Figure 25. Undoing changes in the Product Catalogue

The redo button becomes available when a change in the Product Catalogue has been

applied and one of these changes has been undone:

Figure 26. Redoing changes in the Product Catalogue

Please note that once a change in the Solution has been synchronised all changes are

permanent and they cannot be undone.

5.6 Importing/Exporting Product Catalogues

Product Catalogues can be exported from Asset DB and then imported into other

solutions. This means you can create and export a default Product Catalogue and then

import and customise it for each solution. The exported catalogue will also include all

costs entered within the Product Costs tab (as described in Section 6). To export a

catalogue use the Solution>Export>Product Catalogue menu option (as shown in Figure

27).

Figure 27. Export/Import Product Catalogue

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To import a Product Catalogue use the Solution>Import>Product Catalogue menu option

and then locate the desired .atp catalogue file. When a catalogue is imported, all the

models that have been placed in it are also imported with it. Note that the imported

catalogue will overwrite the existing one. This means that any re-deployed devices that

were assigned to volume bands before the catalogue was imported will need to be re-

assigned to their respective volume bands.

6 The Product Costs Tab The Product Costs tab allows for the allocation of cost data to the future fleet models that

will subsequently be used to determine the costs associated with the new print

environment.

It displays the data information, any lease costs that have been added, as well as if the

model is an existing model in the print fleet or if it has been added via the product

catalogue. A checkmark in the status bar indicates that the model is present in the

product catalogue, while an exclamation mark highlights any models that have the status

of being redeployed but they have not been allocated to a volume band yet.

Figure 28. The Product Costs view

6.1 Entering Cost Data

The Product Costs tab lists all distinct new models that have been added to the Product

Catalogue along with their capabilities. As mentioned previously, if multiple instances of

the same model have been added to the product catalogue then they will each appear as

a separate line item, differentiated by their unique capabilities. It also displays each

individual redeployed and In-Situ device from the existing fleet along with its serial

number.

Devices that have been allocated to a

volume band

Devices still to be

allocated to a volume

band

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Data can be entered for one or more rows by selecting them and then using either the

right click menu option or the Edit button on the toolbar or to edit a single value clicking

on it will allow the value to be edited. See Figure 29.

Figure 29. Editing cost data

Each editable data item is explained as follows:

Lease Cost: The lease cost of the device

Lease Cost time period: The time period for the lease cost payments

Recurring Cost: Any other recurring costs (maintenance etc.)

Recurring cost time period: The time period for the recurring costs

CPP Mono: The cost of printing a mono page

CPP Colour: The cost of printing a colour page

CPP Colour Level 1: The cost of printing a Colour Level 1 page

CPP Colour Level 2: The cost of printing a Colour Level 2 page

CPP Colour Level 3: The cost of printing a Colour Level 3 page

6.2 Importing/Exporting Product Cost Data

Should you wish to construct a new product catalogue or import a product catalogue that

does not contain any product costs: these can be exported, edited and imported

independently of the product catalogue. To achieve this, select menu option Solution >

Product Costs > Export. This will create a .csv file, into which can be added leasing

costs, cost per click costs and any other recurring costs as well as the billing intervals

(monthly, quarterly or annual). Once these data have been entered into the .csv file, they

can be imported back into the Product Costs tab via menu option Solution > Product

Costs > Import. Any costs that were already present in your product catalogue will be

present in the .csv file and are editable in this way.

Right click

menu

Select a

single value to

edit

Edit

button

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Figure 30. Importing/ Exporting Product Costs

Export Product Cost

Import Product Cost dataset

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7 The Solution Design Tab The Solution Design view is the design studio for creating a new virtual print

environment. Initially, this view shows the existing print fleet and augments each icon

with volume information.

Figure 31. The Solution Design view

The print volume for a device is shown below it, mono volume in black and colour volume

(if any) in red. Scan volume is shown above it in purple. Each icon will also be annotated

with an icon that represents the fate of the device as determined earlier in the Device

Fate tab.

Some devices may be shown as hollow circles or squares on the floor plan. Those

devices have no volume data associated with them before continuing you should check

why they have zero volume. There will also be a bin icon on the floor, initially located in

the top left corner. This is the volume bin and it is described in Section 7.7.

Finally, the table view will also be present at the bottom of the screen showing details of

all the current devices. In addition to fields seen in the Current State view, the table view

will also include extra fields that will aid you in the Solution Design process:

Physical/Virtual: This will show whether a device is physical, i.e. a current state

device or virtual, i.e. a future state device (described further in Section 7.1).

Status: This column will show either OK or Error. If it shows as Error, there will

be a problem preventing a complete solution that needs to be rectified. This is

explained further in Section 7.13.

Fate: For all devices that are included in the solution, this will show a symbol

signifying the fate of each device (as chosen in the Device Fate tab).

Included in Solution: This signifies if an asset is to be included in the solution

design process or not. Assets that would be included are all in scope Printers,

The Volume

Bin

Redeployed

Asset

Disposed asset

Redeployed Asset

with zero volume

In-Situ Asset

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MFPs, Scanners and faxes. Out of scope devices and non-print devices such as

PCs and filing cabinets would not be included.

Note that the existing print fleet devices cannot be moved or otherwise modified in the

Solution Design view.

7.1 Adding Virtual Devices to the Floor

The bottom left panel contains an Icons tab that can be used to place new virtual

devices onto the floor to create your future state fleet. A device is placed on the floor just

as it is in the Current State tab (see Asset DB Manual). When a device has been placed

onto the floor, it will be marked with a gold star that indicates it is a virtual device. It will

also appear in the table with Virtual in the Physical/Virtual column. The virtual device will

not have any attributes at this point these will be determined by dragging them across

from surrounding devices from the existing print fleet.

7.2 Volume Transfer

Once you have placed a virtual device, if you click on any existing device and start

dragging the mouse away from it the cursor will change to show a stack of papers to

indicate print volume being dragged from the device. You can transfer the print volume

to a virtual device by releasing the mouse button over the virtual device. A dialog will

appear that contains options for transferring volume and capabilities. Capabilities can be

transferred/added to the virtual device by ticking/unticking the relevant tick boxes.

Customised fields that contain information to be carried over to a solution will appear

under Other Values.

To transfer the volume, you can select one of the predefined percentages to transfer, or

use the slider or volume field to manually enter the exact amount to transfer. The

percentage of volume you are transferring will show beneath the volume (Figure 32).

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Figure 32. Volume transfer dialogue

Should you wish to transfer volumes into a virtual tri-colour meter device, you need to go

to Medium or High volume level tabs by clicking the relevant button at the top of the

Volume section of the window. Within those tabs, the volumes are divided into three

categories and you will need to decide the volume percentage you wish to transfer from

each category. Once the transfer is complete, Asset DB will allocate the volumes to the

corresponding category.

If you are transferring volumes from a tri-colour meter device to a single colour meter

virtual device, you should choose the Low volume button and it will consider mono and

colour volumes as a whole.

Figure 33 shows the volume transfer window for each level of detail.

Determine which

capabilities the

virtual device should

have

Select customised

fields

Can use predetermined % of

volume figure, use the slider

or

manually enter volume

transfer figure

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Figure 33. Volume transfer details

Once the volume has been transferred from an existing device to a virtual device, the

volume path is represented by an orange arrow as shown in Figure 34. The Volume

Transfer links can be turned on or off in the filters tab (described in Section 7.18).

Figure 34. Volume transfer link

If all the volume is transferred from a device, it will be represented as a hollow circle or

square (see Figure 34). This feature allows the user to see at a glance which existing

devices are yet to be addressed.

Dragging volumes and attributes from the existing print devices to new virtual devices is

central to the entire Architect design process. The new virtual print environment is

created by adding virtual devices to the floor and then dragging volumes and attributes

from the existing print fleet to the virtual devices. By encouraging the user to design the

virtual environment in this manner, Architect can guarantee that, at a minimum, the print

volumes and attributes of the existing fleet are preserved.

7.3 Changing a Virtual Asset Icon Type

At any point during the Solution Design phase, it is possible to change the icon type of a

virtual asset (i.e. from an MFD to a printer). This is done in the same manner as in the

current state in that you should right click the device and then select Change Icon. This

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will then show a pop-up where you can select any other solution icon to replace the

current icon.

7.4 Transferring Volume from Virtual Devices

Sometimes it is necessary to transfer volumes and attributes from virtual devices either to

other virtual devices or back to existing fleet devices. To initiate a transfer from a virtual

device hold down the SHIFT key and drag the mouse from the device. If the mouse is

dragged without holding the SHIFT key down, the asset will be moved instead of volume

being transferred. If the volume is being transferred back to an existing device, the

maximum value that can be transferred is equal to the amount that was transferred from

the existing device to the virtual device originally.

7.5 Transferring Volume from Multiple Devices

Volume can be transferred from multiple devices in one of two ways.

Hold down the CTRL key and click on each existing device with the mouse. When all

devices have been selected the transfer can be initiated by dragging the mouse from any

one of the selected devices to a virtual device.

Use the Multiple Select button to select the existing devices and then initiating the

volume transfer by dragging the mouse from any one of the selected devices.

Figure 35. Transferring volume from multiple assets

In the case that virtual devices are also selected with this option, the transfer would not

be possible. To rectify this, the virtual device has to be deselected by holding CRTL and

clicking on the virtual device.

7.6 Undoing Volume Transfers

It is possible to undo a volume transfer by manually dragging volumes back to their

device of origin. The volume transfer link will help to see to where the volume needs to

go back. However, Architect provides two much neater mechanisms to achieve this. The

first of these is an Undo button.

Multiple select

devices

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Figure 36. The undo button

After volumes have been transferred, they can be undone by clicking this button. Each

volume transfer is undone separately, so the button may need to be used multiple times

to revert back to the starting state. Note that the undo and redo buttons are not specific to

volume transfers and can be used to undo/redo many of the Architect operations. To

check which operations are next in line for undo/redo you can hover above the buttons

with the mouse and a tooltip describing the operation will appear after a short pause.

A second more powerful function for undoing all volume transfers is the Reset Volume

Transfers button:

Figure 37. The reset volume button

This button will reset all volume transfers for the whole project. Pressing the undo button

after using this feature will undo the reset operation and return the project back to the

state it was in before the volume reset.

7.7 The Volume Bin

The volume bin is provided for three reasons: firstly, it captures volume when a virtual

asset to which volume had been previously transferred is deleted. Secondly, it can be

used as a store for temporarily holding volumes before they are transferred to their

ultimate destinations and thirdly, it can be used to reduce the amount of volume on a

floor in line with new print rules.

When a virtual asset is deleted, any volume assigned to it is automatically transferred to

the volume bin. This is necessary to preserve the total volume in the environment. If this

transfer to the bin did not take place, the volume on the deleted asset would be lost in the

new virtual environment.

Volume is dragged to the bin for storage or volume reduction purposes just as if it were a

virtual asset. Volume can be dragged from the volume bin in the same manner as for

virtual devices (by holding down the SHIFT key).

Reset

volume

transfers

Undo

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7.8 Invalid Volume Transfers

Not all volume transfers are valid in Architect. It is not possible to transfer volume:

Between existing devices, including onto an In Situ device; or

From a virtual device to an existing device, that was not the source of the volume

on the virtual device. It is only possible to return volume to the source, rather

than transferring it to a different existing device.

7.9 Changing the Fate of an Existing Asset

As mentioned earlier. It is possible to change the fate of an existing asset within the

Solution Design tab.

To set the fate, right click on an existing device and select the desired option from the

Fate menu.

Alternatively, you can use the device fate buttons in the Asset DB toolbar (Figure 11).

Figure 38. Change the fate of an existing asset in Solution Design view

7.10 Volume Transfer Statistics

The state of volume transfer from the existing print fleet to the new virtual fleet is

displayed within the Volumes tab in the bottom right panel.

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Figure 39. Volume Transfer Statistics

The statistics shown relate to the object (site/building/floor) selected in the navigation tree

in the top right panel or the department selected on the floor.

Existing assets with zero volume originally: The number of devices in the

existing fleet with no volume data. These should be reviewed, as there may have

been an error in volume generation.

Existing assets with all volume transferred: The number of devices in the

existing fleet that have had all their volume transferred into the new virtual

environment. All virtual assets should have volume assigned to them.

Virtual assets with assigned volume: The number of virtual devices that have

had some volume transferred to them.

Mono volume: The amount of Mono volume that has been transferred into the

virtual environment from the existing fleet.

Colour volume: The amount of Colour volume that has been transferred into the

virtual environment from the existing fleet.

Scan volume: The amount of Scan volume that has been transferred into the

virtual environment from the existing fleet.

Each statistic is updated automatically.

Once all figures are shown in green with corresponding ticks, you are ready to generate

your solution.

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7.11 Generating the Solution

The new print environment that has been created thus far is a virtual environment. If you

select any of the devices and look at their attributes in the top left panel, you will see that

they are described in generic terms.

Architect contains an automated function for transforming the virtual environment into a

real one that can be accessed via the Run Solution Generator button in the toolbar as

shown in Figure 40.

This Solution Generator function looks at the volumes and attributes of each virtual

device in the future fleet and matches them with a model in the product catalogue.

Figure 40. The solution generator button

When the Solution Generator is executed, Architect initially tries to place as many of the

redeployed devices from the existing fleet as it can into the virtual environment. A

redeployed device will only map to a virtual device if it is appropriately placed into the

Product Catalogue and matches the requirements of that virtual device. If there is more

than one device that matches, Architect will select the device that is located closest to the

virtual device. The mapping process therefore intelligently matches redeployed devices

to virtual devices based on similar capabilities while at the same time minimising physical

movement of the redeployed fleet.

Once Asset DB has mapped all of the redeployed devices, there may still be virtual

devices that have not had a device mapped to them. Architect will then assign a model to

each such device by looking in the Product Catalogue for a suitable new model to use.

Again, the suitability is determined by matching print volumes and capabilities. This is

where the importance of selecting the capabilities of each device in the Product

Catalogue comes into play.

Once volume generation is complete, if you select any of the devices and again look at

their attributes in the top left panel you will see that they now contain specific make and

model details. These details will also be shown in the table view.

7.12 Redeployed Device Movement

When allocating redeployed devices, Asset DB will by default look throughout your entire

project for a suitable location.

Solution

generator

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This movement can be limited however to a Site, Building or Floor level. That is, a

Redeployed device can only be deployed within the Site, Building or Floor in which it

currently exists. This is done by selecting Solution>Redeployed Device Movement and

then selecting the level of restriction you wish to enforce as shown in Figure 41.

Figure 41. Restricting Redeployed device movement

7.13 Solution Generation Errors

It is possible that not all the redeployed devices from the existing print fleet can be

utilised in the new virtual environment. Likewise, there could be virtual devices to which

no suitable model can be assigned. If this is the case, Architect will indicate this in the

dialogue that appears when the Run Solution Generator button is pressed as shown in

Figure 42. If this is the case then the solution will have to be amended to create a

complete solution.

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Figure 42. The Solution Generator pop-up

Further information detailing the specific devices with such errors can be shown by

clicking on the Show Details button.

These solution generator errors are also displayed in the table view. The status column

will show either OK for assets where there are no errors or Error for those that need

amending before a complete solution can be generated.

If you hover over a row in the table that is showing as Error then this will show a tooltip

with further details of that error. It will also highlight the device on the floor with an

additional tooltip as shown in Figure 43. This also will allow you to identify the devices

that need amending to enable you to create a complete solution.

Indicates all redeployed

assets cannot be

utilised in the new

environment

Indicates not all virtual

devices can have a

model assigned to them

Indicates some

physical assets have

not been assigned a

fate

Indicates some

physical assets have

not had their volume

transferred

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Figure 43. Table view error tooltips

7.14 Asset Status Labels

It is also possible to determine the status of redeployed devices in the existing fleet and

the status of virtual devices in the new environment from the Asset Status labels.

Once the solution generator has been run, each device icon in the Solution Design tab

will automatically display with a red cross or a green tick next to it to indicate its status as

shown in Figure 44.

Figure 44. Device status during solution design

Device is highlighted

and tooltip appears

showing details of

the error

Tooltip shows when

hoovering over

device with an error

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The meaning of each symbol varies depending on the asset type.

For existing redeployed assets:

Red Cross: Device cannot be mapped to a virtual device

Green Tick: The redeployed asset can be mapped to a virtual device.

For existing disposed assets:

Red Cross: The asset still has volume that has not been transferred to a virtual

device.

Green Tick: All volume has been transferred to virtual device(s).

All In Situ devices will show a green tick as they cannot encounter the errors that would

cause the red cross.

For virtual assets:

Red Cross: No existing asset or new model can be assigned to it.

Green Tick: An existing asset or new model can be assigned to it.

The presence of red crosses does not necessarily mean something is wrong as in some

cases it may be a perfectly reasonable approach to create a solution in which virtual

devices remain abstract and are described in generic terms. Likewise, it is also

reasonable that some redeployed assets cannot be deployed in the new environment

and will be kept in storage for spares/replacements.

To turn these labels on and off, simply select the Filter tab in the bottom left of the

console, then tick/untick the Asset Status labels field.

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Figure 45. Filter tab in tabbed tool console

7.15 Overriding Architect Decisions

There are sometimes external constraints that cannot be taken into account by an

automated function like the Solution Generator and require manual intervention from the

user. Under these circumstances, it is possible to override the Solution Generator

function and do some things manually.

7.16 Manually Assigning Make and Model to a Virtual Device

It is possible to gain control of a virtual asset by right clicking on it and selecting the

Manual Changes Only option.

Asset status

label tick box

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Figure 46. Gaining control of virtual assets

The gold star on the asset will change to white to indicate the asset will not be modified

by the Solution Generator function. Now that the asset has been put under the control of

the user, it is possible to alter its make and model by selecting a new device from the

product catalogue.

This is done by right clicking the device again and this time selecting Manually Assign

(shown in Figure 46). This will then bring up a pop-up showing all of the devices in your

product catalogue. A device is then chosen by scrolling to find the correct model type,

then expanding the relevant volume band and selecting the desired model as shown in

Figure 47. If the device intended for use does not appear in the Product Catalogue for

selection, go back to the Product Catalogue tab and add the device there. Cost

information will also need to be added to the Product Costs for this newly added device.

Any device in the Asset DB device database may be manually assigned to the virtual

device, the above procedure will still be needed.

Figure 47. Manually selecting make and model

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Note: This process is used to manually assign new devices only, not Redeployed

devices. To manually assign Redeployed devices, please see Section 7.17 below.

7.17 Manually Mapping Redeployed Assets

It is also possible to manually map a redeployed asset to a virtual device. To accomplish

this hold down the SHIFT key when initiating a drag operation from a redeployed asset.

The mouse cursor will change to indicate an asset mapping operation has been started.

Figure 48. Initiating a manual asset transfer operation

If the shift key is not held down the cursor will show a standard paper icon, indicating a

volume transfer has been initiated and not an asset transfer.

The asset can be dropped onto any virtual device provided the device is of the same type

(e.g. printer or MFD). When the asset has been dropped a blue line will be drawn that

will show the mapping between the redeployed device and the virtual asset. The virtual

asset will change to show a white star instead of a gold star. It will also take on the

attributes of the redeployed asset (for example Colour and A3 capability).

Figure 49. A manually mapped asset

When a manual asset transfer

operation has been initiated, the

cursor will change to show an image

of the asset being transferred

Blue line

shows

redeployed

asset to

virtual asset

mappings

that have

been done

manually

Star on virtual device changes

to black and white to indicate

the virtual device is under user

control

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An asset that is under user control is ignored by the Solution Generator function. When

the function is executed it will leave the details of any user controlled assets alone and

will not remap any redeployed assets that have been manually mapped by the user.

A manual mapping can be removed at any time by right clicking with the mouse on the

virtual device and selecting the Return to Solution Generator option.

Figure 50. Returning a virtual device to the Solution Generator function

The virtual asset will now be back under the control of the Solution Generator function

and the white star on it will change back to gold to indicate this.

Note that it is only possible to map a redeployed asset to one virtual asset. If a

redeployed asset is manually mapped to a virtual asset (indicated by the blue line), it will

not be possible to initiate another asset transfer operation from it.

It is also worth noting that a redeployed asset that has been manually mapped by the

user cannot have its fate altered in the Device Fate view until it has been returned to the

Solution Generator function.

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Figure 51. Fate for manually mapped assets

7.18 Using Filters

In addition to the base Asset DB filters (explained in the Asset DB Analyst manual)

Architect provides a filtering capability that lets you display only particular devices relative

to their solution status. The filters specific to Architect are located in the Solution tab

within the Filter tab in the bottom left panel.

Figure 52. The Solution Architect filter tab

The tick boxes control the visibility of assets represented by the description as explained

below:

Existing redeployed assets: If unticked all redeployed assets will be hidden. If

ticked, the assets shown depend on the drop down selection:

o All Assets all redeployed assets will be shown.

o Assets with zero volume only redeployed assets that have no volume

on them will be shown.

Fate is only red for redeployed

assets that have been

manually mapped by the user

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o Assets with outstanding volume only redeployed assets that have some

volume yet to be transferred will be shown.

Existing disposed assets: Tickbox and drop downs as per existing redeployed

assets above.

Virtual Assets: If unticked all virtual assets will be hidden. If ticked, the assets

shown will depend on the drop down selection:

o All Assets all virtual assets will be shown.

o Manual changes only virtual assets that are under the control of the

user will be shown.

o Solution generator controlled only virtual assets that are under the

control of the solution generator will be shown.

Existing assets marked ignore: If unticked all assets marked ignore will be

hidden. If ticked all assets marked ignore will be shown.

Show Volume Bin: Turns on and off the visibility of the Volume Bin.

Asset Status Labels: As described in Section 7.14.

Volume Transfer Links: Turns on and off the visibility of the volume transfer

links as described in Section 7.1.

If a filter is in use, the title of the filters tab is shown in red to indicate it is active.

7.19 The Statistics Tab

The normal Asset DB statistics tab has been enhanced in the Solution Design view to

show both existing and virtual asset totals.

Figure 53. The statistics tab in the Solution Design view

Number of existing printers

(13)

Number of out of scope printers

(1) Number of out of new printers

(2)

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7.20 The Financials Tab

If a TCO calculation has been created for the current state and results applied to the

current state assets (details of this are in the Asset DB Analyst Manual) and Product

Costs for the models making up the new fleet have been assigned (see Section 6.1) then

the Financials tab will show a comparison between the current and Future costs. An

incomplete solution will show a warning sign and the Future State costs are displayed as

0 until the solution is complete.

Figure 54. The Financials tab: incomplete solution for a selected floor

Once a solution has been run the costs for Current and Future State appear next to each

other. It is possible to select an individual site, building or floor to review the costs for this

floor only, or to select the entire project as shown in Figure 55.

Figure 55. The Financials tab: complete solution for a project.

7.21 The User/Device Ratio Tab

The User/Device ratio tab allows you to set a target User/Device ratio and monitor

whether or not this is met.

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To set the target ratio either use the up and down arrows or manually type the value

corresponding to the MFD or Printer target.

Next to these figures will appear a red cross if the target has not yet been reached (i.e.

you have too many of this type of device on the floor) or a green tick if the target has

been reached for the selected object (Floor/Building etc.).

The actual current and future ratios for the selected object are also shown. This function

relies on data entered into the Staff Numbers fields at Floor and/or Building level.

Dropping Person or Person Group icons on the floor plan does not affect the Staff

Numbers field, which is used for the user to device ratio calculations.

Figure 56. The User/Device Ratio tab

8 The Future State Tab The Future State tab is the final view in Solution Architect and is used to show the new

print fleet that was designed in the Solution Design view.

If your solution generator did not create a complete solution for a particular floor, you will

get a warning of this as soon as you open the Future State tab for that floor. This will then

give you the opportunity to return to the Solution Design tab and amend your solution to

ensure it is complete.

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8.1 Viewing a Summary of the Changes

A pictorial summary of the changes for the floor can be viewed by using the Show/Hide

Changes button on the toolbar.

Figure 57. The Show/Hide Changes button

There are several different types of changes that can occur as a result of the design

process and these are all represented as follows:

Assets marked with an X: These are assets from the old fleet that were

disposed.

Assets marked with a blue line: These are assets from the old fleet that have

been redeployed and have been moved on the floor. The start of the blue line

indicates the origin of the asset (i.e. where it is currently) and shows where it has

been moved to as a result of the redesign (the asset icon itself).

Assets marked with a ?: These are assets from the old fleet that have been

redeployed but they could not be mapped to any of the virtual devices created in

the new fleet.

Assets marked with a red triangle: These are assets from the old fleet that

have been redeployed and are moving off the floor to a different floor, possibly in

another site or building. To see where each asset is going place the mouse

cursor over the asset and the destination floor and location of the asset will be

shown.

Assets marked with a green triangle: These are assets from the old fleet that

have been redeployed and are moving onto the floor from a different floor. As

above, to see where each asset has come from place the mouse cursor over the

asset.

Assets with no markings and a gold star: These are new assets that do not

yet exist.

Assets with no markings: These are devices which were marked as In Situ

Show/Hide

Changes

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Figure 58. The change summary view

9 Creating a Future State Green Analysis Just like for the current state, it is possible to create a Green Analysis for the future state

assets.

To start a Green Analysis for your future state, click File > New > Green Analysis (Future

State). This will then produce the Green Analysis (Future State) tab.

The basic process to run a Green Analysis on the Future State is the same for the

process when running a Green analysis for the Current State. This is explained in the

Asset DB Analyst Manual so will not be explained further in this manual.

Redeployed

asset status

unknown

New asset

Redeployed

asset leaving

this floor

Asset disposed

from existing

fleet

Redeployed

asset moved on

same floor.

Existing position

is start of blue

line

Redeployed

asset being

moved onto this

floor

In Situ

asset

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9.1 Future State Assumption Sets

One main difference between the Green Calculation for the Future State and the Current

State occurs in the Assumption Set. An additional option to add a duplex percentage is

added as shown in Figure 59.

Figure 59. Future State Green Analysis assumption set

This allows you to assign a heightened duplex percentage should your design imply that

this will occur.

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10 Generating Solution Reports

Solution Architect has a report generation facility that can produce reports summarising

the changes resulting from a fleet redesign. Select Reports > Run.

There are then three types of System solution reports that can be generated.

10.1 Moves and Changes Report

This is a complete summary of the changes to the existing print environment that result

from the redesign. The output is generated in either PDF or Word format and includes

floor plan images in addition to textual information. The textual information consists of a

table organised by Site/Building/Floor that shows the fate of each asset in the existing

fleet and lists any new assets that must be purchased as a result of the redesign.

For each floor, the following images are generated (if relevant):

Floor plan with assets from the existing fleet that are to be disposed of.

Floor plan with assets from the existing fleet that are to be redeployed. Any

movement of the assets around the floor or onto/off the floor that is necessitated

by the redesign is also shown.

Floor plan showing the new devices that need to be purchased for the floor.

Floor plan showing a change summary. This summarises all the changes in the

previous three floor plans onto one page.

10.2 Device Fate Report

This report lists all devices from the existing fleet and all new devices that must be

purchased as a result of the redesign. The output format is Microsoft Excel (.xlsm

format). Devices are organised into a Disposed, Redeployed, In Situ and New Devices

section, each on a separate worksheet. For each device all attributes are shown.

Customised fields from the Current State, information will be displayed if the box use in

Solution Design is ticked in the icon customisations. For more details, please refer to

section 18.2 in the Auditor Manual.

10.3 Future State Proposal

Asset DB can also create a Future State Proposal Report showing details of the

proposed future state which can be used to present to your customer.

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The contents of this report mirror the Print Assessment Summary report, which

summarises the current state. More can be found on the Print Assessment Summary

report in the Asset DB Auditor Manual.

The report can be generated by going to Reports > Run in the top menu. You can then

select the Future State Proposal from the list and select Run. Note that to generate a

report Asset DB requires a complete solution and for a logo to be available.

The report can then be saved in various different formats including Word, PDF and

PowerPoint using the options in the Save window. The report contains charts generated

from the data in the Asset DB solution. Floor plans are also included based on what has

been set up in the Future State Asset DB screen (i.e. whatever display options you have

set up in Asset DB is what will show on the plans in the report).

10.4 Editing Solution Reports

It is also possible to edit the structure and style of the System Reports or to create new

solution reports using the Asset DB Report Editor Tool. Please consult the Report Editor

Manual for detailed instructions.

For further information on the Report Editor Tool please contact info@newfieldit.com.

11 Exporting and Importing Solutions Solution data can be exported from Architect in three ways; as a stand-alone Asset DB

project containing only the new devices; as a current state project and solution pair or

as a single Solution file.

11.1 Exporting Solution to an Asset DB Project

A solution can be exported to an Asset DB project. This type of export will create a new

Asset DB project that represents the redesigned fleet visible in the Future State view. To

export in this manner select Solution > Create Project from Future State from the menu

bar.

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Figure 60. The export to project button

Note that the exported project is a normal Asset DB project and there is no solution

related data present in the project. If you open the project you will see it is almost

indistinguishable from other projects. Asset DB does maintain some very basic

information about the origin of the project which is viewable by selecting the Show

Project Details menu option. This displays a dialogue that shows the ID of the user who

created the project, the time of creation and the solution from which the project was

created.

Top Tip: Creating a project from the Future State is critical to being able to show a

Current State versus a Future State in CompleteView. Completeview can only reference

Current State data, so to compare the Current to the Future, the Future State must be

made into its own project.

11.2 Exporting Solution Data as a Project and Solution pair

Solution data can also be exported as a project and solution pair. This type of export will

keep all solution related data and allow a subsequent import of the data. Both the

underlying Asset DB project and the solution are exported.

To export solutions in this format use the Export Project and Solution menu option.

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Figure 61. Exporting solution data

The exported data contains all information required to replicate the project and solution in

another Asset DB Solution Architect instance.

Top tip: if you have access to the Asset DB Cloud, it is better to synchronise the project

with the Cloud and export the solution only (see section 11.3) as a means of backing up

your data. This will ensure the solution remains linked to the most up-to-date version of

your project.

11.3 Exporting the Solution only

The final method of exporting the Solution data is to export just the solution element of

the project.

To export solutions in this format, use the Export Solution menu option shown in Figure

61.

Export Solution

component only

Export Project

and Solution

together

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11.4 Importing Solution Data

Solution data that has been previously exported as a Project and Solution pair can be

imported again by using the Import Project and Solution menu option.

Figure 62. Importing solution data

The solution data is imported as a new Asset DB project and solution. This is an

important point to understand even if you export solution data as a Project and Solution

file (.ats) and then import it back into the same Asset DB instance it creates a new project

and solution. The new project will share a root name with the original project but will

have (Copy) appended to it.

The solo Solution element can be imported back into its original project by using the

Import Solution menu option. It is important to note that the Solution cannot be imported

into a different project than the one in which it was created.

It can, however, be imported to a synchronised version of the original project.

Note: if you have access to the Asset DB Cloud then it is always advisable to share your

projects via the Asset DB Cloud and your solutions using the File > Export > Solution

mechanism.

Import Solution

into original

project

Import Project and

Solution as new

project

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12 Invalid Changes In general, it is not advisable to make changes to the current state data once the Solution

Design process has started. If changes are made Architect keeps track of these changes

and automatically performs any necessary adjustments. However there are

circumstances in which an automated resolution is not possible and the solution will be

invalidated without manual correction. The most likely causes of invalid solutions are

described in the following sub-sections.

12.1 Adjusting Existing Fleet Volumes

If volume data is adjusted after a design has been started the following caveats apply.

Device volumes can be increased without any problems. Note that if you increase the

volume on a device you will need to revisit the Solution Design view to transfer the extra

volume onto a virtual asset. You will also need to rerun the Solution Generation function.

Device volumes can be decreased provided the amount to which they are decreased is

not less than the amount of volume that has been transferred from the asset in the

Solution Design view. For example, if the original volume on an asset is 500 and during

the Solution Design process 200 has been transferred into the virtual print environment it

is not advisable to adjust the volume of the asset to below 200. Adjusting the volume to

less than this figure will invalidate the solution and cause the asset to show a negative

volume figure in the Solution Design view.

12.2 Deleting Existing Assets

Removing a device from the existing fleet after a solution design has been started is fine

if the device has been marked for disposal and the volume from that device has not been

transferred to a virtual device. If a device marked for retention is removed the solution

generation function will need to be run again because the device may have been

distributed into the virtual environment and will need to be removed from it.

12.3 Changing Make and Model Data

If the Make or Model for a device is changed and the device has been marked for

retention it is necessary to revisit the Product Catalogue and allocate the new Make &

Model to a volume profile.

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13 Frequently Asked Questions Architect can be a very fluid and helpful tool, below are some of the topics that support

receives inquiries about on a regular basis.

What is In Situ? I cannot add volume to In Situ devices?

In Situ is Latin. It translates to on location or in situation. Architect uses that

designator to show that a device will not be changing in any way in the transition

including adding volume, so volume may not be added to an In Situ device. To be able

to increase the volume, use the Redeploy device fate.

How do I get a product catalogue?

Xerox does not keep or maintain Product Catalogues to provide to users so you will need

to create one (see Section 5.4). Device configuration offerings and costing information for

each group, company and user make this unfeasible. While it may take some time to

develop the catalogue the first time, it can be saved and even shared with teammates

using the Solution > Export > Product Catalogue and Solution > Import > Product

Catalogue functions.

Why does the Current State cost for Redeploy and In Situ devices not carry

into the Future State Product Costs t