Topics

16

Suggestions and Requests / Revamp communications diagram message tools

« on: April 18, 2006, 04:23:34 pm »

Hi guys,

Persuant to thread http://www.sparxsystems.com.au/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=general;action=display;num=1144934126 in the General Board I humbly suggest you take a look at the possibility of moving the messasge ordering tool into a floating window thingo like tags.

regards
Bruce

17

Suggestions and Requests / Header line on Compare util

« on: February 27, 2006, 05:54:31 pm »

The baseline compare is great - even with the current weirdities:
1) changing the root view name (or probably any parent package name) means all children are marked as changed
2) if an element note is very long, the scroll bars execute a strange tango
3) sometimes element notes seem to have been excluded from the baseline (e.g. very nested packages)
but...
It would be nice if
a) the compare "diagram" header displayed the comparison pairs instead of "No current diagram" (my aging and fading memory gets me confused after a while as to which one is which
b) there was a way to resize the detail view columns together so thay stay in synch for multiline notes, and
c) there was some indicator in a shallow view that child elements have changes... I know this sort of kills off the idea of shallow.. what I mean is after[ have drilled down and found differences the parent chain could be highlighted somehow (say italics???) so I can go back and find them 2 minutes later when I've forgotten which one I was looking at before I toddled off to anther branch to check something.

Apart from that the compare has saved us many, many hours of checking out a current problem we have with a divergent pair of models.

tx
bruce

18

Suggestions and Requests / Double click feature is gone

« on: January 09, 2006, 05:01:00 pm »

Could someone on a release less than 781 please check / confirm this.

I use composite elements and "sub"-diagrams extensively in my models.

In 781 double clicking on a composite element opens the relevant diagram as it always did...

but,

I also extensively use the trick of adding the composite element itself to the child diagram.

Previously, I am sure that I could double click on the element in the child diagram and it would open the properties form!!!

This appears to be gone in 781  

or have I done something silly.

bruce

19

Suggestions and Requests / QuickLinks draws extends backward

« on: January 22, 2006, 09:29:54 pm »

While Quicklinks is pretty cool, to my mind it draws extends relationships in use case diagrams "backward".  IOW I will typically have the extended use case in the diagram and want to add the extending use case.  But QL draws the extend from the extended to the extending.  Clear???

Any others think the same way?

bruce

20

Suggestions and Requests / Virtual directories

« on: January 10, 2006, 01:55:09 pm »

Now that EA links to external documents in a neat way, I'd like to see the introduction of some virtual directories to let me shortcut access.

Let me explain.  Lets consider Element File Links - say a link to something trivial like a requirements doc.  Now, being just a test monkey, I am at the whim of the Project Office comedians when it comes to the location of a) the "latest" version, b) the current release version and c) the latest "approved" version (plus occassionally the variious "obsolete" versions).  Now, currently these versions lie at the end of a 7+ level directory structure with a path string like "G:\GROUPS\CountryLink Reform Program\TravelLink Upgrade (ORION)\SPECIFICATIONS\3.1.14 Quote Fare Module - OrionV5v2.0.pdf".  They are comedians because every now and then (approx monthy) just to justify their existence they restructure the directories.  This generates several days effort updatinng the models so the links are correct.


As an aside, could we have the Notes instead of the path displayed in the Files tab list? or better still a short title for the doc would be even better.


It would be extremely cool if I could associate external documents with a virtual or logical location - like %CurrSpec%, then I wouldn't have to go through this pain every time they have another good idea!

I am sure others have the same type of problem.  Any support?

bruce

21

Suggestions and Requests / Moving tests

« on: January 10, 2006, 02:53:43 pm »

(Missing functionality)
It should be possible to change the Test Class of a test for an element.

That is, move a test between the tabs.


bruce

22

Suggestions and Requests / Diagram frames - petty but irksome

« on: January 10, 2006, 02:42:14 pm »

Any support?

I know its trivial but it really PMO^* that the envelope flap/ that appears when diagram frames are selected for printed diagrams gets clobbered by any element that is too close to the TLH corner.

Surely its a trivial matter to rescale the diagram around this!

bruce

^* Cheeses me orf

23

Suggestions and Requests / EA abstract virtual help window feature

« on: January 09, 2006, 09:57:22 pm »

I have obviously been working too hard this year and deserve several weeks holiday.  

Selected top level package of use case model in project browser.
Selected Search Project button from main toolbar.
Enter "usecase" for term and "ObjectType" for search.
Click [Advanced]
Add a filter for element/Status/Contains/optional
Select the new filter line
Click [Edit filter]
Click [Help]

Voila! an abstract virtual help window is created but doesn't appear.  

i.e all EA windows have lost focus, an EA help item appears on the taskbar, but there is no active window on the desktop.

As I said, is it me, the gremlins, or Windows 2000.


bewildered as ever

bruce

p.s. I have also noticed that the AVHW can be minimized and restored!  (i.e. the wundows animation occurs)


p.p.s.  :-/  It only happens if the EA wundow is maximized.


(p.p.ps. practicing my kiwi for a possible imminent move)

p.p.p.p.s  D*mn! Now I've forgotten what I was trying to find out anyway.

24

Suggestions and Requests / yabb dont print pictures!

« on: October 04, 2005, 11:39:22 pm »

After finally getting enough time to start looking at the "Collections, Containers, Composites & Nests" and allied threads I decided to print them all out and read them carefully.

yabb does'nt print the included pictures  


I have no suggestion, this is just a complaint.


bruce

25

Suggestions and Requests / Replace File Path as displayed name of attachment

« on: August 10, 2005, 07:01:16 pm »

The files tab on an object does not have a short title field and EA displays the full file path/URL of the associated file everywhere.

Since paths and URLS can get very long this is not optimal in places like the Element Browser or even in documents.

I suggest that a short title field be added to the files tab fields and that this be displayed in all other places rather than the path/URL.

bruce

or just display the filename/page name part of the path?

26

Suggestions and Requests / Copy/drag/move element items in element browser

« on: August 01, 2005, 07:31:52 pm »

It would be helpful to be able to drag and ctl-drag element characteristics, eg constraints from one element's element browser to another element on the current diagram.

Tricky, probably but copying and/or moving characteristics from one element to another is still pretty painful.

Going out on limb here but......



... it would be really truly wonderful to be able to select [glb]multiple characteristics[/glb] and move them.


bruce

27

Suggestions and Requests / Select diagram type on composite elements

« on: August 01, 2005, 05:06:34 pm »

It would be helpful if, when an element is made composite, EA would ask for the diagram type to be created.  The same dialogue as for Diagram | Change Diagram Type would be fine.

bruce

28

Suggestions and Requests / Resizing / relocating interface element labels

« on: June 22, 2005, 05:33:05 pm »

 

Needed NOW!

bruce

29

Suggestions and Requests / Sequence-Collaboration converter

« on: June 16, 2005, 08:08:01 pm »

Initial informal impressions.

Looks like this will save hours and hours of work.

1) It should be possible to select part of a diagram and run the converter on that protion.

2) It should have an option to convert classifiers to instances and v.v.  

3) "Found" and "Lost" messages dont seem to work properly. (Haven't had a good look though"

4) Classes in seq diags end up as lifelines in communications diagrams.  Design or blunder?

5) Message sequencing and grouping (using numbered messages in seq diagrams) is lost on conversion to communications diagram.  

6) Why is the addin located on the element context menu?  Does not seem to make sense as we are talking about the diagram.  Unless 1) is a future directions.

7) (Possibly) It should be possible to direct the output to a new/existing package and optionally create new elements/link to existing.

More after the weegend....

bruce

30

Suggestions and Requests / Reordering page tabs

« on: April 21, 2005, 06:07:31 pm »

I would like to be able to re-order the open diagram tabs. I tend to have about 10 or so diagrams open at once but flip back and forth between two or three diagrams. Sometimes these get separated on the tab bar too far to be seen at once.  I would like to be able to grab-and-drag a page tab the same way the test tabs can be re-ordered.

bruce