State Agencies Bulletin No. 328

Subject
Renaming PS Queries in Preparation for the Upgrade
Date Issued
July 1, 2002

Purpose

To notify agencies of the process for renaming queries designed in the current version of PS Query so they will be compatible with and run effectively in the upgraded version of PS Query.

Affected Employees

All PS Query users and staff who request reports from PS Query.

Effective Date(s)

July 19, 2002

Overview

Because of the large number of saved queries and resource limitations, OSC’s query upgrade efforts (e.g. testing of queries, etc.) will be limited to Public queries and Private queries that agency users identify as essential to be run in the first few days after the upgrade. OSC will provide instructions on prioritizing queries in a future bulletin.

Agency users must test and modify, if necessary, all non-essential Private queries. OSC will provide training and materials to assist agency users in their query testing efforts.

All queries that will be migrated (converted) from the current payroll application to the upgraded version must be renamed. While the upgrade is not scheduled until next year, agencies must begin renaming queries immediately so that the testing process can begin this summer, well in advance of the upgrade. Queries that have not been renamed before the upgrade will not be migrated to the new version and will not be available after the upgrade.

In order to identify the queries that are to be migrated and tested query names must begin with “UG_” and conform to the new PeopleSoft 8.3 query naming standards.  Refer to the final two sections of this bulletin for the new naming conventions and instructions on how to rename queries.

PS Query Testing Assistance for Agencies

The testing process will involve running the queries in the current version and in the upgraded version.  The results will be compared, differences and issues identified, and solutions developed.

A query testing “How-To” guide will be prepared and provided to agencies.  Agency staff can use this guide to test and upgrade their non-essential Private queries after the “Go-Live” date.  The “How-To” guide will include instructions on how to test queries in both the current and upgraded version and make modifications, if necessary.

Agency Actions

Payroll officers should distribute this Bulletin to all query users in their agency.

Query users should:

  1. Review Private and Public queries they created and any Public query associated with their agency code that they run (Most Public query names begin with an agency code.)
  2. Refer to the final three sections of this Bulletin for:
    • strategies to determine if a query should be renamed
    • new naming conventions
    • renaming instrunctions
  3. Rename any query that is to be migrated to the upgraded version.
  4. Save newly created queries according to the new naming conventions.

The target date for completion of this renaming phase is July 19, 2002. If additional Public queries are renamed after the initial deadline, they will be included in OSC's future testing stages. Query names that do not conform to the new naming conventions will not be migrated and will not be available after the upgrade.

OSC Actions

After the July 19, 2002 deadline for renaming queries has passed, OSC will:

  1. Copy the renamed queries into a "test" database.
  2. Send a list of the renamed quires to agencies along with a Payroll Bulletin that includes instructions for prioritizing the renamed queries.
  3. Once the prioritized lists of queries have been returned by the agencies, OSC will begin the testing process.

Strategies for Renaming Queries

Public Queries

Query users should rename any Public query they may need to run after the upgrade. (The generic Public queries have already been renamed.)

Comparable Public and Private Queries

If there are Public and Private queries that are essentially the same, agency users should rename only the Public query. If a commonly used Public query is renamed, tested and converted, it will not be necessary to rename the Private copies of that query.

After the upgrade is completed, agency users can open the Public query that has been tested and converted and save it as a Private version. This will reduce the number of queries that have to be tested.

Private Queries

Agency users should also begin renaming their Private queries with the following guidelines:

To limit the amount of time spent renaming private queries, users should:

  1. Determine if there is a comparable Public version of their Private query.  In such cases, rename only the Public query.
  2. Determine which of their Private queries will be needed after the upgrade. Delete Private queries that will not be needed.
  3. If the Private query will be needed, the user should review the following before renaming the query:
    1. If a comparable Public query has been renamed, there is no need to rename the Private copy.
    2. If a Public version exists but has not been renamed, the user should rename the Public version only.
    3. If there is no Public version, the user should rename the Private version according to the new naming convention. (Public and Private queries cannot have identical names.)
  4. OSC will migrate renamed Private queries to the new version but only test the highest priority Private queries. It is the responsibility of agency staff to test the remaining Private queries after the upgrade.
  5. Private and Public queries that have not been renamed before the upgrade will not be available in the new version.

Naming Conventions

New PS Query naming conventions:

  • must be all upper case alphanumeric characters
  • must not contain any spaces
  • must not contain any special characters (e.g. @, #, $, %, &, -, . ) except for the underscore character. The new query name should not contain any dots or periods. If it does, the query name will not be saved accurately.
  • are limited to 30 characters. (The size limitation has not changed from the current version.)
  • and, for the purpose of conversion and testing, must begin with UG_

Example of a current query name and how it should be renamed:

Current Name: 07000-OT hrs & $
Upgrade Name: UG_07000_OT_HRS_AND_DOLLARS

The above current name has the following elements that are not supported in the new version:

  • The hyphen after 07000
  • The spaces
  • The special characters & and $
  • Lowercase characters

Renaming Instructions

  1. Open PS Query
  2. Click File on the menu bar.
  3. Click Rename from the drop down list
  4. Click the down arrow right of the From: section.
  5. Click the query that is to be renamed. The name should be displayed in the From: section.
  6. Type the new name in the To: section. (It is not necessary to type the Public.Query. or Private.Query. prefix.)
  7. Verify the name conforms to the new naming convention. 
  8. Click OK.
  9. Repeat as necessary.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin. may be directed to the Query Help mailbox.