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Author Topic: List Numbering in Virtual Documents  (Read 17597 times)

friehmaen

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List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« on: December 17, 2008, 03:34:18 am »
Hi,

is it possible to have continuous list numbering in multiple virtual documents?

List Numbering as explained in the documentation (http://www.sparxsystems.com/uml_tool_guide/enterprise_architect_reports/user_defined_list_numbering.html)
works, but only in one virtual document.
The list starts at 1 in every virtual document.

My table of contents looks like this:
Code: [Select]
1. Example1 (Virtual Document A)
2. Example2
1. Example3 (Virtual Document B)
1. Example4 (Virtual Document C)
2. Example5
3. Example6

So, what i want is i.e.:
Virtual Document A contains List Numbers 1 and 2
Virtual Document B contains List Number 3
Virtual Document C contains List Numbers 4, 5 and 6

And the table of contents should be:
Code: [Select]
1. Example1 (Virtual Document A)
2. Example2
3. Example3 (Virtual Document B)
4. Example4 (Virtual Document C)
5. Example5
6. Example6

Maybe i just missed something.
Thanks and regards,
khr

Dermot

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2008, 12:11:37 pm »
With the Master Document option being a recent feature, direct support of List Numbering across multiple Virtual Documents is yet to be fully adressed. However a work around for this is to create one virtual Document template with a Specific List Numbering to suit your needs - then copy that template to Templates A, B, C - set your levels in these to the newly defined List Numbering - and then set the Level 1, 2 ,3 etc.

friehmaen

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #2 on: December 22, 2008, 09:40:22 pm »
Copying the templates did it.

Thank you!
Regards

Lewis

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2009, 09:01:46 pm »
I followed the instructions on 'http://www.sparxsystems.com/uml_tool_guide/enterprise_architect_reports/user_defined_list_numbering.html' step by step, to create my user defined list numbering for a virtual document. However, when I generate the report the sections still start at 1.0, 2.0, etc, even though I explicitely made it to start at 1. I tried the same template to generate a standard report and I got the same problem.

Any hints on what I could possibly be doing wrong?

Thanks

Graham_Moir

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2009, 03:58:46 am »
"With the Master Document option being a recent feature, direct support of List Numbering across multiple Virtual Documents is yet to be fully addressed......"

Dermot said that last December - anyone know if this has now been properly sorted out and if so what the correct method is to get it to work ?
thanks
G.

Oliver F.

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2009, 05:37:32 pm »
Quote
Dermot said that last December - anyone know if this has now been properly sorted out and if so what the correct method is to get it to work ?

Not sure whether I fully understood your issue but I get here a consistent and subsequent list numbering across virtual documents.

Oliver

Graham_Moir

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2009, 07:24:43 pm »
Oliver - that's good to hear,  but is that using Dermot's workaround (mentioned earlier in this thread)  or a different method ?
G.

Oliver F.

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2009, 10:01:30 pm »
Quote
Oliver - that's good to hear,  but is that using Dermot's workaround (mentioned earlier in this thread)  or a different method ?
G.

Graham as far as I remember we do not use this workaround.
I have recently created a master document with seven virtuals inside using a mix of same and different templates and the numbering ranges from 1.1 to 7.x.x.x without further precautions.

Oliver

Graham_Moir

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2009, 12:08:25 am »
OK Oliver, I'm really glad you've got this working,  but I'm struggling to achieve the same thing.  

Can you provide a step by step guide as to how you do this  ?   I'm OK (I think !) with the process of setting up numbering within one document, it's across model documents within a virtual document that's the problem.   I think the EA help is fine on this topic with regard to what to do in a single document but needs to be improved for multi template virtual documents.

Basically where is the command/directive or whatever to tell the RTF generator to continue with the existing numbering when it moves from one model document to the next ?  (as defined within a master document), instead of restarting from 1.0 - which is what I'm getting at the moment.

Many thanks
« Last Edit: October 08, 2009, 12:12:13 am by Graham_Moir »

Oliver F.

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2009, 12:23:14 am »
Quote
Can you provide a step by step guide as to how you do this  ?   I'm OK (I think !) with the process of setting up numbering within one document, it's across model documents within a virtual document that's the problem.   I think the EA help is fine on this topic with regard to what to do in a single document but needs to be improved for multi template virtual documents.

Basically where is the command/directive or whatever to tell the RTF generator to continue with the existing numbering when it moves from one model document to the next ?  (as defined within a master document), instead of restarting from 1.0 - which is what I'm getting at the moment.

I did the templates some time ago and am just creating ever since but I remember I did the following:
Created a basic template with all the formatting then "derived" all other templates from this one.
You could also try to update styles from the file menu from a standard normal.rtf for all document templates.

There is an option in the list override dialog (I believe) which tells to restart or not at section breaks.

This is actually all what I remember but I hope it leads to success.

Good luck,

Oliver

Graham_Moir

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #10 on: October 08, 2009, 12:33:50 am »
Thanks Oliver, that actually sounds like Dermot's workaround from a while back which suggests this hasn't been properly sorted out yet by Sparx.   I'll give it a go.

thanks again

marcelloh

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #11 on: December 17, 2009, 12:21:57 am »
I'm busy for half a day, but I can't get it to work. I've tried to read the manual about the list and override options, but that doesn't seem to work for virtual documents. I alos tried to have a kind of a template and then apply it to some of my document models.
But still no satisfying result.

It seems that the people at Sparx still don't understand that the end result of my work as Information Analist has to be perfect. If it looks sloppy, the customers will think the content is sloppy :-(

Graham_Moir

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #12 on: December 17, 2009, 01:15:26 am »
I sympathise, but it is possible to get this to work even though it's not intuitive.  

In the end what I did was a variation on what Dermot suggested.    There is a "normal.rtf" that EA ships with that contains default styles,  but it also contains list override definitions.  I created a new version of this file just with the styles I wanted and some overrides for the numbered headings.  

Now whenever you create an rtf template it picks up these definitions from normal.rtf, so you just need to use them   For existing templates,  go to File/Update Styles and the current template is updated with the style  AND override definitions from normal.rtf and you can use them immediately.  

The key thing is that all templates in the virtual document must use the same override - then the numbering it should work.

marcelloh

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #13 on: December 21, 2009, 08:15:32 pm »
This was not helpfull enough  :'(

Okay, so it can be done via the normal.rtf
(I wonder why the numbering doesn;t work in the first place...)

So what to do with it?
There is only one poor paragraph about the normal.rtf, and no mention on how to fix numbering. They mention  you can edit numbering, but how, they forgot.

A step to step tutorial would be very welcome.
I opened the normal.rtf via File > Open source file
and I did see a right mouse menu > Edit > List and Overrides
but can't figure out what to do.
That's why a manual would be handy.... :-/

I fixed a lot of numbering issues, after trying all your suggestions (which didn't do the trick for me). What I did was in the very first template, set up this :
1. Cow
1.1 Color of cow
1.1.1 Black is color of cow
1.1.2 White  is color of cow
1.2 Legs of cow
1.2.1 Four is legs of cow
2. Cat
2.1 Color of cat
2.1.1 Black is color of cat
2.1.2 Red  is color of cat
2.2 Legs of cat
2.2.1 Four is legs of cat

And then for every position that I wanted a numbered header, I put this schema in. Then generated the documentation, to see if the numberen was increasing. If so, I changed the right header into the one that I needed. This worked out fine, with one exeption.
I have multiple scenario's and whatever I do, it won't go right.

I have a demonstration later this day about EA and why we should use it. And of course that decision is also made on the documents that come out of it.  I have to say, the generation of Use Cases and other documentation has improved a lot, but is still not ideal.

I was writing some PHP program to generate documentation based on an extorted XMI of my model, and I was able to generate decent documentation within a few hours. If I can do this, why can't EA do some decent documentation generation?

I now have this situation where numbering works correct, and only for scenario's it isn't good. Even if in my template between the scenario tags I have a header1 with a format "1." the generated document shows "1.1.1" Grrrrr... >:(
« Last Edit: December 21, 2009, 10:39:17 pm by marcelloh »

Graham_Moir

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Re: List Numbering in Virtual Documents
« Reply #14 on: December 22, 2009, 12:01:10 am »
Hi.  As I said I sympathize, this is definitely not intuitive.  I had a lot of trouble with it initially but I can confirm it does work.  

"Okay, so it can be done via the normal.rtf"
It was my suggestion to use normal.rtf but this is not mandatory.  However I find it one definite way of making 100% sure you have the same override definition available to you in different templates - that is critical in getting the numbering to work across different templates in a virtual document.

"(I wonder why the numbering doesn't work in the first place...)"
It does.  But it's not easy to get your head round how.

"I did see a right mouse menu > Edit > List and Overrides
but can't figure out what to do.   That's why a manual would be handy.... "
That's the option you need.  Have you had a look at the white paper on using the rtf generator ? It can be found here
    http://www.sparxsystems.com/downloads/whitepapers/Working_with_the_RTF_generator.pdf

and section 8 starting on page 23 has some details on how to use the overrides.

Sorry I can't help more.