My Manual Alternates Disappeared After Binding a Group

When a step's manual alternate work centers disappear the moment you bind a work center group, that is by design: a group and a manual alternate list are mutually exclusive because the group is the alternate list, and one step uses one source of alternates at a time. EDGEBIC by User Solutions clears the manual entries at bind time so a step never carries two competing sources of alternates, which would leave the choice of machine ambiguous.

This post covers the vanished-alternates symptom in the EDGEBIC troubleshooting guide. It is related to a work center group step did not explode, which covers a group that failed to resolve to a member, and to the schedule ignored my alternate work center, which covers a manual list that was not used. For what groups add and how they resolve, see how work center groups add capacity without buying machines.

What You Are Seeing

You had one or more manual alternate work centers configured on a step. You bound a work center group to that same step, and the manual alternates are gone from the step. The group is now the only alternate source, and the step shows a group badge rather than your machine list.

Why It Happens

Cause 1: The Group Replaces the Manual List (the Rule)

A step uses one source of alternates. When you bind a group, its members become the candidate machines, so the manual list is removed to prevent two conflicting sources. The group carries its own selection strategy to pick the member, which plays the role your manual priority order played.

How to tell: the step shows a group badge, and the manual alternate rows are cleared.

Cause 2: A Machine You Wanted Is Not a Group Member

If one of your old fallbacks is not part of the bound group, binding the group loses that specific option, because the group only offers its members. The other members remain available, but the non-member is no longer a candidate.

How to tell: a machine you relied on as an alternate is not in the group's membership.

Cause 3: You Expected Both to Coexist

Binding a group and keeping a manual list on the same step is not supported, so if you expected the two to combine, the removal reads as a loss. It is the exclusivity rule, not a fault.

How to tell: you intended to add the group alongside the manual list rather than in place of it.

How to Fix It

• If the group contains your machines, do nothing. The group already offers them, chosen by its selection strategy, and you no longer need the manual list.
• If a needed machine is missing from the group, add it to the group's membership so every step bound to that group gains it.
• If this step needs a one-off list the group does not fit, unbind the group and re-enter the manual alternates for this step alone.
• Confirm the group's selection strategy matches how you want the member chosen, since that strategy replaces your manual priority order.

How to Diagnose It, in Order

1. Confirm the step shows a group badge. That confirms a group is bound and the manual list was cleared by the rule.
2. List the group's members and compare to your old manual alternates.
3. If all your machines are members, the flexibility is intact; check the group's selection strategy.
4. If a machine is missing, decide whether to add it to the group or unbind and use the manual list.
5. Re-run scheduling and confirm the step resolves to the machine you expect.

How to Prevent It

• Decide per step: group or manual list, not both. The two are mutually exclusive, so choose the one that fits the step.
• Put stable, reusable pools in a group, since a group is defined once and shared by every step bound to it.
• Keep one-off fallbacks as manual alternates, for a step whose alternates do not belong to a named pool.
• Check group membership before binding, so no machine you rely on is left out when the manual list is cleared. For how the chosen member is selected at run time, see how work center groups add capacity without buying machines.