Understanding Source of Truth
When several documents describe one product, one of them controls the shared facts. Here's exactly how that works.
When a product has more than one document, DataSheets Pro needs to know which document's facts are authoritative. That document is the product's source of truth, internally its "origin" document.
What Source of Truth means
The source-of-truth document controls the product's shared facts it shows: name, subtitle, model, part numbers, category, internal reference, description, product image, logo, key features and specifications. The product record reflects that one document. A fact the document's layout has no place for (a cover-led data sheet, say, has nowhere for part numbers) stays as it is on the product and is edited from the product page. Editing any other document linked to the product does not change the product's shared facts.
Why DataSheets Pro works this way
It prevents inconsistent product information. With one authoritative source, you don't have to remember which document has the "right" part number. The source does, and everything else can be brought into line with it.
What happens when the source changes
When you edit and save the source-of-truth document, DataSheets Pro automatically refreshes the product record to match. Any other documents made from that product are then flagged as possibly out of date, but they are not changed automatically.
Does information synchronize automatically?
Only in one direction, and only for the source:
- Product ← source document: automatic. Saving the source updates the product record.
- Other documents ← product: on your command. DataSheets Pro flags a related document as having an update available; you choose when to apply it. Nothing rewrites your other documents on their own.
This is deliberate. A Sell Sheet that intentionally drops the spec table shouldn't have it forced back in because someone edited the data sheet. When you do apply an update, only the blocks a document already has are refreshed. Layout, image positioning and anything unique stay exactly as you left them. See Keeping related documents up to date.
What happens to documents that aren't the source
They keep their own layout and their own copy of the facts they were created with. They're connected to the product only through that link, so they can offer to update when the source changes, but they stay under your control. To change which document leads, see Setting a document as the source.