Comparing Casebook Versions in Studio

You can run a report to show the differences between two Casebook Definitions or two Casebook Definition versions. This illustrates added, removed, and changed design components. You can also compare two different versions across two different vaults.

By comparing versions, you can more easily identify changes and required actions across versions. For example, you may want to compare the current version in your production vault to a newer version in your development vault. You can use the comparison report to identify all the changes and share that information with a study administrator.

The report includes any changes to values in the Properties panel or other object fields, for example, changing an Item Type from EDC to Read-Only. The report does not include the changes to the following properties:

• ID
• Version Number
• Private Key
• Created By
• Created Date
• Last Modified By
• Last Modified Date
• Status
• Study

How to Compare Single Versions

To compare casebook versions:

1. Navigate to the Study containing the version you want to compare.

2. From the Actions menu, choose Compare Single Casebook Versions.

3. In the Select First Version dialog, click to select the version you want to compare another version to.

4. Click Next.
5. In the Select Second Study dialog, select a Vault.
6. Select a Study.
7. Select an Environment.
8. Click Next.
9. In the Select Options dialog, you can configure additional options for your comparison report:
   • Select Exclude Order to include changes to layout order in the report.
   • Select Include “Same” records (only show differences) to include records that are unchanged between versions
   • Select checkboxes to indicate which worksheets to exclude from your report. The options available depend on your vault’s configuration.
10. Click Submit.
11. Vault begins the job. When finished, Vault sends you an email notification with a link to download the job log and any relevant output files.
12. Click Close.

About the Output File

When the version comparison job finishes, Vault generates an Excel™ file containing your report. You can download this output file from the email notification.

The Excel™ workbook contains the following worksheets:

Worksheet	Description
Summary	Contains high-level details about your casebook version, including the number of definitions that changed between the two versions you’re comparing.
Schedule	Displays all definition object records and their difference status (either Same or Modified) in the order that they appear in your study’s schedule, including multiple rows for reused definitions.
Form Impact	Displays a row for each Form in the Study and a column for each Event, with a marker indicating which Events contain which Forms. This worksheet does not use difference statuses or present and not present. Instead, this worksheet highlights changed markers in pink.
Detail	Displays all definition object records and their difference status. Each object record only displays once per study, even if you reuse it.
Item Group Defaults	Displays details about the Default Data configuration for each repeating Item Group and the difference status.
Codelist and Unit	Displays all codelist and unit definitions in the Study, their items, and their difference status.
Rules	Displays a list of all Rules within your study, including rule configuration details and the difference status. Because rules aren’t versioned, Vault only shows differences for rules when comparing Studies, for example, comparing your Study in your TST vault and your Production vault.
Casebook Variables	Displays a list of all Casebook Variables within your Study and which Item or Event Date is mapped to each variable.
Study Settings	Displays the study’s settings, including settings from the Study Configuration record and the study’s Signature Definition, and their difference status. Because Review Plans aren’t versioned, Vault only shows differences for rules when comparing Studies, for example, comparing your Study in your TST vault and your Production vault.
Coding Configuration	Displays coding configuration details from Medical Coding Item Definition object records and their difference status.
Views	Displays the View Set Definition configurations between the two studies and their difference status. Because views aren’t versioned, Vault only shows differences for rules when comparing Studies, for example, comparing your Study in your TST vault and your Production vault.
Reviews	Displays Review Plan Item Definitions, grouped by Review Plan, and their difference status. Because Review Plans aren’t versioned, Vault only shows differences for rules when comparing Studies, for example, comparing your Study in your TST vault and your Production vault.
Protocol Deviations	Displays a row for each protocol deviation Category, Subcategory, and Severity, tracking differences for the Label, Name, and Hidden values, as well as the relationships between Categories and Subcategories
Subject Groups	Displays a row for each Subject Group within the Study, tracking differences across Label, Code, Type, and External ID
Data Loader Configurations	When enabled, displays a row for each Data Loader Configuration and its difference status, tracking differences across the configuration details and column mappings

How Vault Indicates Changes Across Versions

Vault notes changes between casebook versions in two ways: by setting a difference status and by indicating “Present” or “Not Present”.

Difference Statuses

When a record is unchanged between casebook versions, Vault marks it as Same in the comparison report. If a record changed, Vault marks it as Modified. For example, if you updated the Short Label of a Form Definition in your new version, Vault would mark it as Modified.

For new and deleted records, Vault marks those records’ Difference as either New or Deleted.

By default, Vault does not include same, or unmodified, records in the report. If you select the Include “Same” records (only show differences) checkbox, your comparison report will include both records with the Same and Modified difference statuses. Reports with this option only show records that were modified.

Present & Not Present

You may also add or remove certain records between versions. Vault indicates this difference using Present and Not Present for each record in the first and second version you’re comparing.

For example, if you added a new form to your study, Vault would mark the form as Not Present in the first version and Present in the second version. If you removed a form, Vault would mark the form as Present in the first version and Not Present in the second version.

Reuse in the Schedule Worksheet

In the Schedule worksheet of the report, if you reuse a component in your study, for example, a Vitals form, Vault only lists that reused component in its entirety once. For each reuse, Vault will list the record and any unique information for that instance, but for the remainder of the record’s information, Vault will list it as All From Above.

Comparing Against Standards Libraries (Form-based Comparison)

Your organization might include a “study” that contains only Forms and their Items, to represent a library of standard forms for use in other studies.

You can compare your version against this library study to easily evaluate the Forms. When initiating the comparison, select the Exclude Event Group and Event Differences (show only form differences) checkbox and select the following checkboxes to exclude these sections: Rules, Study Settings, Coding Configuration, and Review Plans.

How to Compare Studies (All Versions)

In addition to comparing single casebook versions, you can also compare two Studies, with all of their respective versions, at once. This is especially useful for comparing your Study to a “standards” Study, to verify that you have all of the intended Forms in your design.

1. Navigate to the Study that you want to compare to another Study.

2. From the Actions menu, choose Compare Full Study (All Versions). Vault automatically selects the current Study and opens the Select Second Version dialog.

3. In the Select Second Version dialog, choose Current vault to select another Study from the current vault, or choose Another vault to choose a _Study _from a different vault.
   • To compare in the Current vault, choose a Study.
   • To compare in Another vault, enter your User Name, Password, and the URL (the DNS entry from the target vault). Click Connect, select a Vault (if you have access to more than one vault on the target domain), and select a Study.
4. Click Next.
5. In the Select Options dialog, you can configure additional options for your comparison report:
   • Select Exclude “Order” in the Schedule tab to exclude include changes to layout order in the report.
   • Select Include Skip “Same” records (show Modified and Same records) to include records that are unchanged between versions
   • Select checkboxes to indicate which worksheets to exclude from your report. The options available depend on your vault’s configuration.
6. Click Compare.
7. Vault begins the job. When finished, Vault sends you an email notification with a link to download the job log and any relevant output files.
8. Click Close.

About the Output Files

Vault creates one Excel™ workbook for each version, and then another workbook to contain “versionless” object record comparisons (such as study settings and Review Plans).

Worksheet	Description
Version Workbooks
Summary	Contains high-level details about your casebook version, including the number of definitions that changed between the two versions you’re comparing.
Schedule	Displays all definition object records and their difference status (either Same or Modified) in the order that they appear in your study’s schedule, including multiple rows for reused definitions.
Form Impact	Displays a row for each Form in the Study and a column for each Event, with a marker indicating which Events contain which Forms. This worksheet does not use difference statuses or present and not present. Instead, this worksheet highlights changed markers in pink.
Detail	Displays all definition object records and their difference status. Each object record only displays once per study, even if you reuse it.
Item Group Defaults	Displays details about the Default Data configuration for each repeating Item Group and the difference status.
Codelist and Unit	Displays all codelist and unit definitions in the Study, their items, and their difference status.
Versionless Workbook
Study Settings	Displays the study’s settings, including settings from the Study Configuration record and the study’s Signature Definition, and their difference status. Because Review Plans aren’t versioned, Vault only shows differences for rules when comparing Studies, for example, comparing your Study in your TST vault and your Production vault.
Review Plans	Displays Review Plan Item Definitions, grouped by Review Plan, and their difference status.
Views	Displays the View Set Definition configurations between the two studies and their difference status. Because views aren’t versioned, Vault only shows differences for rules when comparing Studies, for example, comparing your Study in your TST vault and your Production vault.
Rules	<p>Displays a list of all Rules within your study, including rule configuration details and the difference status.</p><p>Because rules aren’t versioned, Vault only shows differences for rules when comparing Studies, for example, comparing your Study in your TST vault and your Production vault.</p>
Coding Configuration	Displays coding configuration details from Medical Coding Item Definition object records and their difference status.