Archive a live version
Lesson 18 of 25 5 min read
Stop a live map or profile, predict what takes over, and avoid leaving messages with nothing to run.
Archive is the "off switch" for a live map or profile. It is useful, for example to send a customer back to the shared base, but it does not replace the version with anything. In this lesson you will learn to predict what happens before you archive.
What archiving does
Archive stops the live version. Nothing takes its place. Supply Lens then uses the next most specific published map or profile. If there is none, messages fail.
Archive a live version
- On the live version, select Archive.
- Read the dialog. Nothing takes the place of an archived version, so the next most specific map or profile is used. If there is none, the messages fail.
- Select Archive.
There is no un-archive
You cannot bring back an archived version. To use its body again, edit the live version (or a draft) and copy the body in, then publish. If you archive the only version, there is no live version to edit: you create a new map or profile and paste the body in.
Archive or publish a fix?
| Situation | Better choice |
|---|---|
| The organisation's own map is wrong and the shared base would be fine for them | Archive: they fall back to the shared base. |
| The live version is wrong, and an earlier version was right | Roll back by copying the earlier body into a new version and publishing it. |
| The live version is wrong and there is nothing to fall back to | Publish a fix. Archiving would make messages fail. |
Before you archive, use What actually runs (next lesson) to see what the organisation would fall back to.
Good to know
The developer notes say that after an archive, the organisation falls back "within the cache expiry", so the change may not be instant. They also say some archives can be refused, for example archiving a create map that a send profile reads outputs from. If an archive is refused, read the message and check with a developer.
Sending Riverside Teas back to the shared base
Riverside Teas had its own Acme create map from a trial last year. The shared base has since caught up and does everything their map does. You run What actually runs for Riverside: it shows their own map. You archive it, read the dialog, and confirm. Running What actually runs again shows the shared base. Riverside now gets every future base improvement automatically.
Recap
- Archive stops the live version and puts nothing in its place.
- The next most specific published map or profile takes over; if none exists, messages fail.
- Archived versions cannot be brought back; copy the body into a new version instead.
- Check What actually runs before and after archiving.
- Prefer publishing a fix when there is nothing to fall back to.
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