Importing Rules (Requirements) into a Class

[ssands]

Hi all,

I have a textual list of requirements that I would like to import into some classes I have already defined. I would like to import these into the requirements section on the Class dialog.

Can I do this?

(I would like to include a screenshot of the dialog section I am referring to, but I don't know how to do that. I only get <img> tags.

Thanks!

[Geert Bellekens]

Hi,

To import them as internal requirements is not trivial and requires writing some code.

Importing them as external requirements is much easier. You can choose to use the standard CSV import, or use my Simple Excel to EA importer

If you really want internal requirements I suggest you look a the Excel importer and modify the VBA code a bit. It shouldn't be too hard to make it import internal requirements as well.

Geert

PS. In order to add an image you have to first upload it to a public image hosting site and then add a link to it in the img tag.

[Uffe]

Hi ssands,


Internal requirements look similar to external ones (ie the ones that are proper elements), but they are in fact very different inside EA.

As I'm sure you know, you can turn an internal requirement into an external one (which creates a Requirement element), but it's a one-way street -- you can't turn an external requirement into an internal one. External requirements are proper elements and as such have far more information associated with them than a simple internal requirement, which only contains what you see in the properties dialog.

So no, there's no built-in function to import internal requirements, and there's no out-of-the-box solution to import them as external requirements and then move them to internal ones.

If you only have a small number of requirements, what you can do is drag-and-drop them from the document into the properties dialog of the class.

For some reason, the Requirement text field does not allow you to drop text into it (EA 11.1), but the Notes field does. So you can drop the requirement name there and then cut-and-paste it to the Requirement field.

Not a truckload of fun, I agree, but if it's only a couple dozen requirements and if it's only a one-off thing it shouldn't be too bad.


Cheers,


/Uffe

[ssands]

Thanks Geert & Uffe! I appreciate your quick responses. For my current needs the requirements as "Internal Requirements" is a better fit for the point of view of the people who will use the diagram. I might play with the code (Thanks, Geert!) or may just end up doing a cut and paste as the number is not so great.

Best,
Stuart