Branch Types

Branches have statuses like other objects in IXIASOFT CCMS. The status of a Branch determines the type of Branch.

Branches can have any of the following statuses:

Development
Maintenance
Delivery
Closed

Effect of Branch type on actions

Branch types have different requirements and behaviors:

Behavior	Development	Maintenance	Delivery	Closed
Allows Editing	Yes	Yes	No. Read-only	No. Read-only
Minimum Status for Objects	No minimum. Objects can be at any status.	No minimum. Objects can be at any status.	Objects must be in one of their final statuses (for example, Done). Cannot move objects to a lower status (such as, Work).	Objects must be in one of their final statuses (for example, Done). Cannot move objects to a lower status (such as, Work).
New Objects	Can create new objects in Branch	Can create new objects in Branch	Cannot create new objects	Cannot create new objects
Deleting Branches	Can delete a Development Branch	Can delete a Maintenance Branch	Cannot delete a Delivery Branch	Cannot delete a Closed Branch
Content Pushed from Other Branches	Content can be pushed to these Branches	Content can be pushed to these Branches	Content can be pushed to these Branches. However, the content in the other Branch must be in the minimum status for the Delivery Branch before you can push it. When content is pushed, a new revision is created for the instance of the object in the Delivery Branch even though it is at one of its final statuses.	Content cannot be pushed to these Branches

Automatic forking

When an object is shared between different Branches, it might automatically fork depending on the combination of Branch types and whether there is a clear context you are editing within. It can automatically fork when you edit the object or when you change its status from Done back to Work.

CCMS Web determines the context you want to edit within by assuming the following:

If you edit an object while in Map Editor, the map open in Map Editor is the context
If you edit an object that is assigned to you, any context map for the assignment is the context

Note: The map that you edit an object within overrides the context of any assignment.

An object forks automatically only when:

You can edit the object in only one of the Branches it is in
You are editing the object within the context of a Maintenance Branch
You are editing the object within the context of a Development Branch, and it is not shared with any other Development Branches

Note: Instances in Delivery and Closed Branches never automatically fork because they are in a final status (such as Done) and cannot be checked out.

For example, you are in Map Editor and want to edit a topic. CCMS Web will assume you want to edit the topic within the context of the map. If this map is in a Maintenance Branch, the topic will fork automatically. When you click Edit, you receive a message about the automatic fork before the fork happens.