Add links when creating a communication

See Create a communication for more information about saving a new communication.

Note If the communication templates of the communications to be linked do not support the same type of financial values (either expenditure or not expenditure), you cannot create financial associations but only add the communications to stories.

Note If you want to link progress communications when creating a communication which supports both expenditure and progress, the available progress communications are automatically listed on the Create Communication page. See Create a communication for more.

To add linked communications when creating a communication:

1. In the Add Linked Communications section, click Add Link.

   The Add a Link to Another Communication page is opened.

2. Complete the pages of the wizard as required. Depending on the types of communication being linked, not all pages are displayed.

   Click Next and Previous to move between pages.

   Page	Displayed If	Options
   Search for a Communication to Link To	Always	Type the text you want to search on in the Search for field. You can click to display further criteria on which to search: Enter the date you want to search from in the From this date field. Note that this date defaults to the Start Date of the contract. Select the fields by which you want to refine your search. Tip Select Latest Revision from the Communication Revisions drop-down list to view only the latest revisions of communications. Click Search. You can also click List All to display all communications in the contract. From the Results list, select the communication you want to link to.
   Choose Type of Link	Both communications have financial values of the same type, defined by the communication template (commitment change or expenditure)	Select the type of link you want to create: Create a Financial Association:Add the new communication to a story AND create a financial association with the communication you are linking to. Create a General Association: Add the new communication to a story.
   Choose Direction of Link	Create a Financial Association was selected on the Choose Type of Link page	Select the direction of the process chain link. The predecessor is displayed on the left and the successor on the right. The information displayed for each communication shows any changes to the financial and schedule impact values and reporting categories which will occur when the link is made. Click the Change Direction button to swap the predecessor and successor.
   Choose a Story Group	Always	Select the story you want to add the new communication to. Story options are: Add both communications to a new story. If the communication you are linking to already belongs to one or more stories, add the new communication to one of these stories.

3. Click Finish.

   The story and any process chain links are displayed in the Add Linked Communications section.

   Note You can remove any of the process chain or story links by clicking the icon for the link.

   If you remove a process chain link for communications which are not configured as Expenditure, you are asked to confirm whether you want to:

   • Remove the link and the associated financial values.

   • Remove just the link.

4. If a financial association is created, the financial impact value from the predecessor in the process chain is added to the Financial Impact field (if this is displayed for this communication type). This field shows the sum of any financial value already specified for the communication, plus the financial values copied from the linked communications:

   • If the communication has commitment change values which apply to line items, these are copied from the predecessor and can be viewed and updated once the new communication has been saved in an editable state.

     For communications that have a single commitment change Financial Impact value, this can be edited before the communication is saved as Draft or sent.

     See Edit the core details of a communication for details of when a communication is in an editable state.

   • If both communications are configured as Expenditure, the expenditure values and any line items are copied from the predecessor and can be viewed and updated once the new communication has been saved in an editable state. The Financial Impact cannot be edited.

     Warning If a Milestone Payments line item already exists in the successor communication, it is not copied to the successor because only one instance of a Milestone Payment value can be claimed in a contract. This may lead to an incorrect financial value being shown for the successor on the Choose Direction of Link page of the linking wizard.

     Note If the communications have different currencies, the financial impact value copied from the predecessor is converted to the base currency of the successor, using the currency rates specified in the Contract Configuration.

     Both the original and converted values are shown in the Add Linked Communications section.

     If the currency of the successor communication is later changed, only the financial impact values due to line items are recalculated.

     If the predecessor had a schedule impact value, this is added to the Schedule Impact field (if this is displayed for this communication type).