Using GEBS Reporting
Web Publisher

In this section we will present three main use cases that cover the basic actions which can be performed by a user having one of the available roles: template designer, specification designer or publisher.

Template Management

We propose the following use case to describe how templates are managed by the user with template designer role. Our scenario is based on “DOORS_RequirementsBook.dta” template which we consider to have previously been created by the template designer in RPE Document Studio. Firstly the template will be added to the library and then made visible to all users. A stylesheet will be uploaded and shared in order to be used with the template. After a while the designer will need to modify the template in RPE Document Studio and then update it in Web Publisher.

1. Upload the template to “My Templates” library

Click the “Add” button from the templates library panel and search for DOORS_RequirementsBook.dta template on your computer. Optionally you can add a description to the template before uploading it.

The template will now appear in My Templates library so now we can proceed to the next step.

2. Share the template so that it will be visible to all users

Click on “DOORS_RequirementsBook.dta” template and press the “Share” button.

You will now notice that in “Shared Templates” library our template has been copied.

3. Add stylesheets to “My Stylesheets” library

Adding and sharing a stylesheet takes the same actions as adding and shering a template. The user has to browse for the desired stylesheet on their computer, add a description if needed and click Add.

Then, by clicking on a stylesheet in “My Stylesheets” panel, which in our case is an already shared one, the user can see its visibility.

4. Perform an update to the template in RPE Document Studio and then update it in Web Publisher with its newer version

To update a template in Web Publisher the user has to click on it and press the “Update” button in the displayed dialog. Then he has to browse for the newer version of the template on his local computer and add a description that offers details on the modifications that have been made.

If the name of the templates’ newer version is the same as the old one, the update operation will be successful and the history of the template will be displayed.

Specifications Management

Specifications are created using templates and stylesheets that were previously shared by template designers.

In order to describe specifications management we will use the following scenario: the user with specification designer role will firstly create a new document specification and then add a template to it. Next, the configuration of outputs and data source properties are made. Finally, the newly created specification will be tested by generating the results and if these are the desired ones, the specification designer can share the specification, in order for other users to publish it.

1. Add a document specification to “My Specifications” library

If the specification designer has already on his local machine a created specification, in order to add it he just has to click the Import button and browse for it on his computer.

To directly create a document specification, the user has to click the Create button and write a name and an optional description in the input dialog. The newly created specification will then be visible in My Specifications panel

You will notice that the specification is automatically loaded to the specification workbench.

2. Add “DOORS_RequirementsBook.dta” template to the previously created specification

One can do this either by double clicking the desired template from the shared templates panel or by clicking it and pressing Add to DSX button. The change will appear in the workbench.

3. Add a stylesheet to the word output

Unnecessary outputs can be removed by right-clicking them in the workbench panel and selecting Remove Output from the contextual menu.

To add a stylesheet to the word ouput, the designer has to click the browse icon in the Properties panel corresponding to stylesheets field. A list with stylesheets and owner names will appear and the desired stylesheet can be chosen.

4. Configure the data source

Click the data source from the tree representation of the specification in the workbench panel. In the Properties panel you will notice that the data source’s properties will be updated. Set for the URI node the path to the doors module from which the data is extracted. In this case we will use the System requirements module from Car project. Next, DOORS server location is set at doors_param node, together with the user’s DOORS credentials. To create a new instance of the DOORS client, the new_instance node must be set to true.

5. Test the specification

The user with specification designer will generate the results by clicking the Start button from the top of the workbench panel. The generation status will be visible in the console panel and results can be opened from the bottom right results panel in an archive.

6. Share the specification so that other users can generate it

A specification can be made visible to other users in the same way as a template, by clicking it and pressing the Share button. Note that before sharing a specification, current user’s doors credentials should be removed since each user that will generate the document can input its own credentials.

Publishing Documents

Publishing documents is the activity performed by the user with publisher role. In order to describe it we will use the following scenario: the publisher will copy a document specification from the shared library, configure its properties and generate the documents. He will then automate the generating process by creating a scheduler.

1. Copy the System requirements specification

In order to copy a document specification the publisher has to switch to the Shared Specifications tab, click the desired specification and press Copy from the details dialog.

2. Load and configure the copied specification.

To load the specification the user has to switch back to My Specification tab and double click it or simply click it and press Load button from the details dialog.

In our case, the publisher user has only got to fill in his DOORS credentials.

3. Generate the document

The generation method is the same as the one performed by the specification designer.

4. Automate document generation by creating a one time scheduler

To create a scheduler that runs automatically on the 2^nd of April, the publisher has to switch to the Scheduler view and click the “Create” button from Document Scheduler Library panel. A representative name and an optional description should be entered in the fields of the input dialog.

The next step would be to add the System requirements specification to the scheduler by double-clicking it in the Document Specifications panel or by simply clicking it and pressing “Add to Scheduler” button in the details dialog that appears. In the workbench panel the specification addition ca be seen. The publisher will now have to decide which time option to use, in our case being One time. Now the last step would be to to insert the desired date and hour and to “Save” the scheduler’s configurations.

One will notice that both the user with specification designer role and the user with publisher role can generate documents and automate their generation by creating schedulers.