There are two type of records in IMLSTRXS.BTR file:
"A" - These are the active serial/lot records
"I" - These are the history records
We don't really use this table for tracking history serial/lot purpose. The history serial records are stored in IMLSHST.BTR file.
The reason we still post the "I" record type is for backward compatibility. But there's really no good reason to continue to do this. Continue post "I" type of record enlarge the table size of IMLSTRXS while Elliott users do not use it for history tracking.
So we propose to create a global setup flag "Stop Posting to IMLSTRXS for Serial History?" Default is "N". If user change to "Y", then if user are using Serial Number (per I/M Setup) and when post the serial history, we will stop creating "I" type of records.
On the other hand, for users that use Lot record, we continue to post to IMLSTRXS table to store history information.
Edward Kwang commented as following on 9/18/2025
The reason we keep the “I” records in IMLSTRXS is really for backward compatibility for serial number. But on the other hand, it does have value for Lot items. So, it is more complicated than just simplify eliminate it. If we want to completely eliminate "I" record from IMLSTRXS, we need to first update IMLSHST table for lot items as well which we currently don’t. Then we need to let the lot number accumulate in IMLSHST for some time. Then we need to provide inquiry and reporting for lot records in IMLSHST. Once we know for sure that IMLSHST can replace the “I” type of record in IMLSTRXS for lot item users, then we can proceed to eliminate the updating in a new version. We probably should not do it in a middle of the version.