Data Management Capabilities > Using Packages to Import and Export Data for Offline Collaboration > Create Package > Adding Successors
  
Adding Successors
There are three scenarios for using packages to collaborate with external partners. In one case a package is used for a one-time exchange and the delivery may or may not be accepted or rejected by the recipient; a successor does not apply to this scenario. When there are multiple deliveries of a package, a successor is important.
For multiple deliveries where the recipient simply receives a package, but does not have to accept or reject the package, a business process to rework and redeliver the updated package is not required. Each delivery can be completed prior to beginning its successor. In this case, new revisions of the same package can be used to deliver each of the subsequent deliveries. For example, while the Week 1 delivery is awaiting approval, Week 2 is already under development before Week 1 is complete. In this case, Week 1 and Week 2 could be managed as separate packages sharing a successor relationship.
For multiple deliveries where the recipient must accept or reject each delivery, a business process to rework and redeliver the updated package is required. In some situations, a new revision is not sufficient and a separate package should be used. The two packages should use the successor capability to indicate a multiple delivery relationship.
A successor is a package related to the current package, technical data package, CDRL package, or SDRL package. Successors are explicitly set; they are not automatically associated like a subsequent revision in the revision history. Commonly, a successor is created from a save-as copy of an existing package. Successors are not available for replication packages.
Successor links can be accessed from the Successors table, which can be added to the package information page (Customize > Related Objects > Successors). They can be used to create a sequence that provides regular updates or deliveries. There are two ways to add a successor link to a package:
Select Save As from a package action list. In the list of Save As Options, select the Create Successor Link checkbox. For more information about using the Save As action, see Saving as a New Package.
On the Successors table, select Add from the actions menu. The Add Successor window opens, allowing you to search for packages to add as a successor to the current package.
From the Add Successor window, enter attributes of the package you want to specify as the successor to the current package in the provided fields. Click Search to find all packages matching the given attribute values. Select a package from the Search Results tables and click OK to add the selected package as a successor.