Cross-reference to EA element linked documents

[Mark Elson]

I realise this is a probably an ask-too-far as EA does not seem to support this …

It is not unusual for us to attach figures to requirements using the RTF linked document, e.g. a graph showing how something varies against a parameter. Traditionally, in Word, we would have given the figure a caption and then cross-referenced that caption in the text. It’s no great problem to change “see Figure n” to “see the figure below” in the text. However, I know some of our reviewers are going to want some unambiguous, explicit reference in the text. Also, sometimes another requirement might need to refer to another requirement’s chart (although I can just insert a hyperlink to the requirement element and get close enough).

Would it be feasible to come up with an auto-captioning and cross-referencing syntax for items in RTF linked documents that EA can process? We did this in DOORS using something like {Figure } (where is some user-specified unique name) preceding the caption and then {} in the text. We then ran some DXL to convert the caption’s {Figure }s in to Figure n and the text’s {} to Figure n as a cross-reference.

What do you think?

Mark

[Administrator]

Mark,
Just so I’m clear what you’re asking for:
1. There are Requirement elements which have LinkedDocuments
2. In the LDs are diagrams
3. you’d like a figure reference, like the ones eaDocX created for EA diagrams ?

Easiest solution would be to copy the diagram from the LD into an EA diagram, then use eaDocX ‘as is’.
There is am internal format which I use between the first & second passes of the generator, to create then resolve all these links, but it’s not accessible from within a document, and I have no way to write into an RTF.

So you were pretty-much right – it was too much to ask 🙂

[Mark Elson]

I had tried the “easiest solution” but it didn’t seem to work. Might have been because the diagram was a child of the requirement. I’ll give it another go.

Thanks,

Mark

[Administrator]

Make sure the Requirement has an eaDocX Profile which prints its diagrams: it’s not one of the default settings.

[Mark Elson]

That was it – and working now. Thank you.

Two more questions now though:

1) I seem to get the border around the diagram in the Word output even though I have unset show border for this diagram. I’d want borders and the accompanying title box in the output for genuine UML/SysML diagrams but not for these sort of charts. The charts end up being too small. Is it possible to inhibit the border and title box in the Word output? The title box is superfluous as we have the caption.

2) is there anyway of getting the hyperlink to diagram “figure n” substituted in the text? E.g. might have see figure below in the text but gets converted to see Figure n in Word.

Mark

[eadocX Support]

The border bit is a setting in EA, which determines whether the graphic which is produced at the clipboard interface does or doesn’t have a border round it. I don’t know how to change those settings from inside eaDocX i.e. through the EA API.
I am currently in discussions with Sparx about getting a much better diagram API, which will give me access to their internal diagram functions e.g. splitting, rotating, but don’t count on it any time soon.

As for the conversion of hyperlinks to page/figure references, this used to be in the original eaDocX, many years ago, but was taken out as people seemed to like hyperlinks better. I’d thought we might get it back as an option one day, but how would it be controlled? I assume that sometime you’d sometimes like a hyperlink, sometimes a page reference (maybe both together), but where would that be specified ? As a new Attribute ? i.e. add it to the list of available attributes: “Name”, “Name – hyperlinked”…”Name – page ref.” ?

[Mark Elson]

I’d specify the option at the document level. I imagine you would want to be consistent within a document.

[Author]

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