Help with Microsoft Office - Import Excel

[stu_cox]

Hi,

I'm trying to automate the import of relationships between two packages within EA using Microsoft Excel - Import Excel Document.

I have two packages A and B, each with multiple components but each packages is of their own stereotype. Package A can have a dependency on or more component from package B. The dependency relationship is from A to B.

Please can somebody advise/provide a template that could import the following into EA:

Package A contains:
x
y
z

Package B contains:
1
2

x is dependent on 1, y is dependent on 1 AND 2, z is dependent on 2.

Thanks,

Stu

[YogaMatt]

Hi Stu_Cox
I have also failed to import the relationships between two types of thing, from an Excel spreadsheet.
It looks as though it's going to work in stepping through the dialogue windows (unlike the other thread: http://sparxsystems.com/forums/smf/index.php/topic,30348.0.html).
And it looks as though it has worked in the import log output window.
But it simply fails to create objects in the browser.
In disbelief, we even exported the package to XMI and searched on the XML - and saw the items that should have been created! Reloading the package content has no effect.
In further disbelief, we searched on the items in the model and they came up in the search results, but "find in browser" does not work.
Now I've written all this down, I think we have a bug report!?!?
Time to submit one. I'll reference this thread and ask support to post a response here.
Cheers and Namaste!
YM

[YogaMatt]

Hello
We're still no further with this - i.e. being able to import relationships into EA from Excel.
Reminder: the elements already exist in EA so we want first to push the elements out to Excel with GUIDs (can do this part), then transpose them with the target elements and relationship type (available in a second file) so that we have an Excel table thus:

Source_GUID, {other source fields}, Target_GUID, {other target fields}, Relationship type

Lastly, to import this back into EA such that the existing elements remain unaltered but that they gain the new relationship type.

Are we hoping for too much?
Namaste
YM

[Geert Bellekens]

I would just write the import myself if I were you.

Seems simple enough.

You can use my excel importer or my excel vbscript class as starting points.

Geert

[Sam Courtney]

We built a platform to address this very issue with the importer, called ModelFlow.
We use this to migrate complex relationships such as those used in UNICOM (IBM Rational) System Archiect as well as direct imports using SQL or ODBC. It will also handle importing of diagrams from System Architect using XMI.
Here is a link to that information - you can download a trial version as well.
Let me know if you want more details:
http://www.aprocessgroup.com/products/apg-modelflow/
Sam

[YogaMatt]

Thanks everyone.
I've had a support ticket in with eaDocX about this and the good souls there have an approach that goes like this:
- import into some temporary elements with tagged values holding the GUIDs of the things that need hooking up, together with the type of connector and it's stereotype;
- run a script on the temp elements to connect up the elements referred to in the temp elements' tagged values.

Simples. 25,000 elements in play, it's still processing (doing it over VPN), but I will report back.

[YogaMatt]

Yep - it's working!