Updating to the latest boundary release

Updating to the latest boundary release is a three-part process:

1. Getting a summary of key changes between your current release and the latest release
2. Making any necessary preparations in your organisation
3. Updating your boundaries in Vision

This article explains how to prepare (and start) the process of updating to the latest boundary release for your organisation.

You will need to be an Organisation Administrator to do this.

Reading time: 10 minutes

Getting a summary of key changes between your current release and the latest release

Vision provides a summary of key changes you can expect with any new release of boundaries. If you haven't yet read our article on what to expect, do that first to help your understanding in this section.

Finding the Boundary Update Summary

Access your Organisation Administration Home page. If you're unsure how to do this, use this article.

1. Scroll down to the Available Boundary Updates section. If this section is not shown, you have no boundary updates available.
2. Click on one of the listed layers that has an update available.
   
3. In the top-right, click Update to latest release.
   
   

   The Update to latest release button is only available for base layers that have a newer release available than the one you are using.

Understanding the Boundary Update Summary

Until you've been through one boundary update, there's a lot more going on than you might realise. Let's take a look at the different sections of the Boundary Update Summary.

Base layers being updated

This section confirms all of the base layers which will be updated. Any of your layers that specify one of these as their base layer (directly or indirectly) will also be updated.

Layers within a natural hierarchy rely on each other, so when you update one, you update them all!

Demographic availability by layer after update

This section lists all of the subscribed demographics you've selected for use on any of the base layers being updated or layers that specify them as their base (directly or indirectly). For each combination, it then provides you with details of any changes you might expect after release.

Combined demographics created from demographics you subscribe to are also included here, but private demographics are handled differently, as described below.

When you've got more than 5 layers to show, we split them across multiple tables to ensure you can clearly see what's happening.

Here is a summary of the different statuses you can expect to see.

Private demographics being migrated

This section lists any private demographics that you have imported and made available at any of the base layers specified in the base layers being updated section. Any subscribed demographics (or combined demographics created from them) are handled in the demographic availability section above.

Private demographics provided by your organisation are handled differently from those you subscribe to.

Private demographics are moved, as best as is possible, to the latest boundary release using the following rules:

• The value is for a base area that exists in both the current and latest release
  The exact value is transferred to the latest release.
• The value is for a base area that is removed in the latest release
  The value can no longer be used and will be removed.
• New areas that exist in the latest release but not the current release
  No value exists, and therefore this area will have a value of zero.

To allow for new areas (and the consequential changes to other areas), we recommend re-importing demographic values at the earliest opportunity after updating.

Area changes in {layer name}

This section is provided for each of your layers that have at least one major change detectable prior to updating. Hand-drawn and Radial type layers do not change during an update and so will not appear in this section.

Detectable changes in the layer are grouped by their type and then listed within a table.

The types of detectable changes are as follows.

The types of changes not currently detectable pre-update are:

• The location of new base areas in the latest release and more specifically, which of your areas they fall within.
• Minor boundary changes caused by improved accuracy.

Any layers with only non-detectable changes will not show in this section.

Making any necessary preparations in your organisation

While data updates are exciting, we understand that some businesses require more preparation than others. Franchising is a great example of this because area boundaries (or the allocation of base areas to them) often form an integral part of legal documentation.

How you handle this is outside the scope of this article. Never-the-less, these updates simply reflect the now, not the was, and you should aim to update to the latest release as soon as possible.

If you need advice or guidance, get in touch by dropping us a ticket.

Updating your boundaries in Vision

Once you update to the latest release, you cannot go back. Then again, why would you want to work with older data?

When you're ready:

1. Return to the Boundary Update Summary (if you're not sure how to get there, follow the steps above), then
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and
3. Click Begin the update process.
4. Confirm the action (this is the point of no return).

When you click Begin the update process, be patient. There's a lot going on in the background and it can take a few minutes!

That's it; you're all updated!