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Full, Reportable Auditing using Nessie DNA Reactivation

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Level 10
For those seeking a way to have full auditing that they can report on natively within Workfront... With many thanks to help from @Alison Angilletta and @Bonnie Shaw (and years searching for this elusive solution, I might add) I'm delighted to confirm that our "https://one.workfront.com/s/question/0D50z00006Px4SCCAZ/">Nessie DNA theory "https://community.workfront.com/discussions/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?MessageKey=ddcfb9ae-403f-4303-b580-3f65b40218c2&CommunityKey=ccf3381b-a473-4ef2-9f81-4dd3244cf522&tab=digestviewer">actually worked -(STOP)- Now, both women can track all kinds of interesting Audit changes -- whether core or custom data (including "https://community.workfront.com/discussions/community-home/digestviewer/viewthread?MessageKey=510a38b6-b20e-49b4-97a4-79eef8491aee&CommunityKey=aaafaff0-5e4e-4e38-8903-f1f990935567&tab=digestviewer&memberkey=5n1H2oNYJSCtYvFfR1xT4UEFt7nqrC17yB0zotcNSvqLONMtRSBkS6k7%2FflFkJI%2FgMwPHEWUbUY%3D#bm510a38b6-b20e-49b4-97a4-79eef8491aee">date field changes as @Benetta Perry , @David Cornwell , and @Stef Slobuski are seeking) -- by simply creating good old fashioned NOTES reports, right within Workfront: no API knowledge required. To leverage our solution in your Workfront environment, please contact me via doug.denhoed@atappstore.com for details. Regards, Doug Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore Got Skills? Lend a hand! https://community.workfront.com/participate/unanswered-threads
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Level 10
Hi Doug, Sounds really really cool! Pardon my ignorance though - was Nessie actually "reactivated", or was she always there...? Jamie Hill JLL

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Level 10
Thanks Jamie, Yes, I'm pretty excited about Nessie (obviously): valuable, validating, and fun, too! I like the term "reactivate" because our solution is essentially repurposing some classic AtTask plumbing (namely, Auditing, Notes, and Reports) - aka the " Nessie DNA " - using a light touch amount of API code on my part (namely, to reset, and keep set) - aka the " activate " and " booster shots " mentioned in the background reading. I appreciate your interest! Regards, Doug Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore Got Skills? Lend a hand! https://community.workfront.com/participate/unanswered-threads

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Level 10
Nice. Glad to hear something good come of all the exploration! Admin Kelly-Wehrmann SSFCU

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Level 3
Though I am very late in my response, I am pleased to confirm that @Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore has found and rejuvenated Nessie! It feels like reuniting with an old (AtTask) friend! We are using Doug's solution to track changes to a custom project status field so we can see who has (and by process of elimination, who hasn't) done their updates as required. It has saved my team a ton of manual time and gave us a solution that didn't seem possible when I started tracking it down. I highly recommend contacting Doug if you're looking for a similar solution (which I know you are!) As always, Doug, you have been a fountain of knowledge and answers! Thanks for this. Looking forward to another adventure to break out my fedora! Alison Angilletta PMP Director, PMO RWJBarnabas Health

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Level 10
Haha -- awesome, Alison, Me too! Tracking down Nessie was fun! I'm glad to hear it's saving you and your team time, as you'd hoped. On that note (see what I just did there?) I'm going to release "Nessie DNA Reactivation" in our catalog within the next week or two (prior to LEAP). Regards, Doug Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore Got Skills? Lend a hand! https://community.workfront.com/participate/unanswered-threads

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Level 3
I know this is an older post, but i came across it linked from a more current post regarding updates. @Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore I looked at your catelog, but didn't see Nessie. I'm trying to see updates on Task Level Projected Completion Dates. I understand it's not an option to "turn this update on" for Projected Completion Dates. Would Nessie help? Thanks, Patricia Patricia Greene JLL

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Level 10
Well, Nessie's a bit elusive these days, Patricia. Since this post: I've learned that Workfront has a backdoor button that Turns On full auditing for users (which is essentially what our Nessie solution does) I've confirmed that some users have asked Workfront to click that backdoor button for them, and had their wish granted I've observed that some (really old or relatively new) domains have full auditing "on", but others (created during a certain stretch of time) have it "off" I've relayed that observation to a colleague at Workfront who agreed with me that such an inconsistency is bad I've concluded that there's a good chance Workfront will (eventually) turn it on for everyone again (although official decision no date's been set yet) I've decided to pull Nessie off the market, since "charging for auditing that might come back at any time" seems...odd That said, coming from a health and safety (life and death) industry where such auditing was imperative, I appreciate that auditing can be critical; or even super helpful. So, given that, and all of the above, I'd suggest you (first) ask your rep to click the button for you; but if they cannot, or it doesn't help, if you're (then) interested in a science experiment, I'd be willing to turn Nessie on for you to see if it gives you what you need. Regards, Doug Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore Got Skills? Lend a hand! https://community.workfront.com/participate/unanswered-threads

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Level 3
Thanks Doug, I'll find out if our button is on or off. I'm afraid even if on, projected completion may not be included. ... more to come. Thanks for your quick reply!! Patricia Greene JLL

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Level 9
Hey Doug - any idea what this 'button' is called? We have a relatively new rep and I'm afraid its going to take multiple explanations to get to where we need to go for asking!

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Level 7
Hi Christina, I'll chime in here. It's called "Recorded Change Defaults". It's only available via the back end through a system admin account. Here's an example of a customer's instance that has none of them enabled: We can enable them for customers, but it will only impact data created after enabling them. The changes are not applied retroactively. Thanks! Dustin Martin Assigned Support Engineer Workfront

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Level 10
Thanks Dustin, And with that: Nessie's officially resting again, until after the next ice-age. Regards, Doug Doug Den Hoed - AtAppStore

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Level 2
Dustin, When those Recorded Change Defaults are enabled, where do we see the resultant audit information? Is it under the "Audit Logs" option in the Setup area, or are these audit events visible on the relevant object pages? Thanks Richard Petley Coretexa

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Level 7
Hi Richard, Those will only appear on newly created objects, on their respective update feeds / audit text entries (see Note Report, or (object) Audit Text) Dustin Martin Assigned Support Engineer Workfront