Creating a view

Views give teams insight into the state of the key artifacts. The key artifacts can be test cases, requirements, work items, and design models. For example, the V Process view shows the lifecycle of the artifacts, from system design to item integration and test.

Before you begin

You must have permission to create views or you cannot use the views editor.

Creating views is a specialized customization. You must be able to modify or create SPARQL queries, visualize view layouts, modify X/Y coordinates, manipulate resource types, and more.

For help with creating custom views for your team, contact your IBM® service representative.

About this task

You can either create a view from scratch or from an existing view. In the following steps, you can use the editor to create a view that is called Simple from a blank template. The editor is an easy way to control the data in the view, and the look and feel of the view. Learn about the editor by hovering over the small question mark to the right of Page Properties and Properties.

After you complete the steps, the view will look like this image, but it will contain your data:

This image is an example of what the "Simple" view looks like after you complete the following steps.

Procedure

  1. Create a view that is called Simple. In My or Shared Views, click Create View in the icon bar in the upper right.
  2. In the Create a new view from template dialog box, set up the view.
    1. Give the view a name of Simple.
    2. Set the kind of template to be created by selecting Blank View from the View template list box.
    3. Save the view in My Views.

      Save the view in your private views folder until you thoroughly test the view and are satisfied with the results. After your testing is completed, then share the view with your team, if appropriate.

    4. Click Finish and the Simple view opens.

      In version 4.0.4 and earlier, click Finish. Find the Simple view in My Views and click it to open it.

      The view is empty, so let's create Simple from scratch.

    5. Open the editor by clicking the Edit the Configuration icon in the upper right.
    6. In version 4.0.4 and earlier, notice the small square in the upper left of the view area. You do not need it, so click it and delete it.
  3. Create a container by dragging Container-Grid Layout from the palette to the view area. Place the container on the upper left of the view area. Create a second container to the right of the first.
  4. Set the queries to populate the containers with artifacts.
    1. Click the first container. In the Properties editor, click Edit Query next to Query.
    2. In the Edit Query dialog box, change the Query ID to describe the change you are making to the query.
    3. In the SPARQL section, replace the sample code with your custom code.

      Standard editing keys are available for your platform. When you edit the SPARQL query, you can type Control+space to receive content assistance.

      In version 4.0.4 and earlier, the query code displays in black, without content assistance.

      If you use one or more parameters in your query, read about a known issue.

    4. Click OK.

      The query is executed and the results are displayed in the first container. The container format might look strange, but you can fix the format after you populate the next container.

    5. Click the second container and repeat steps a - d.
    6. After you click OK, the query is executed and the results are displayed in the second container.
  5. Change the number of columns in the containers so that you can view the results side-by-side.
    1. Click the first container. In the Properties editor, change Number of columns to 1.
    2. Click the second container. In the Properties editor, change Number of columns to 1.
    3. Adjust the column placement by dragging the containers so that they are even.
  6. Show relationships between the two containers by setting connectors.
    1. Click the first container. In the Page Properties editor, click Add next to Connections.
    2. In the Connections dialog box, use the Link Type list to set the kind of link to show.

      The following link type example establishes links between a work item and its child work items.

      rtc_cm:com.ibm.team.workitem.linktype.parentworkitem.children

  7. Edit the connectors to make them more visually unique.
    1. Still in the Connections dialog box, change the connector arrows by setting the UI Type to roundConnection.
    2. Change the connector color in UI Parameter by changing the value of stroke to orange.
    3. Save your changes by clicking OK.
    4. You can change many other properties by using the Page Properties editor, such as background, user interface types, and artifact nodes.
  8. Save the view.
  9. Create a report to collect information and display it visually as a printed or PDF report.

    To run a report on the Simple view, see Running and printing a report to show the status of artifacts

  10. If you are satisfied that the view results are valid, share the view.
    1. In the My Views screen, hover over the Simple view and click the Move or Copy Selected Views icon on the far right.
    2. Choose to copy the view into a folder in Shared Views, and then click OK.
    3. The view is available to everyone in Shared Views.

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