Hi,
Is it possible to capture web URIs for external documentation and diagrams that can be exported as links in the Viewer? Is the common External Repository Instance Reference slot strictly intended for data synchronization with external sources? I expected to see something similar for linking to external sources.
Many thanks and keep up the great work!
Regards,
David
Links to external documentation
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jonathan.carter
- Posts: 1087
- Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44
Hi David, thanks for your post
You are correct about the External Repository Instance Reference is strictly for synchronising instances in the Essential Repository with external sources, from a spreadsheet to an Enterprise Configuration Management repository.
As it stands, we don't have fields in the meta classes for doing what you need. However, this a very simple extension (that makes a lot of sense!). It would be straight-forward to add a String slot to the classes that you wish to associate these external references to. You can then use the Form tab to make sure the new field appears as you need it on the UI form for that class. It would be worth looking at using the URLWidget in Protege for this as it will also render what's at the end of the URL underneath the URL text in Protege.
Let me know if you need more help with making that work.
Having said all that it may make sense to introduce this to all the classes by adding it to the EA_Class meta class - as a generic capability. Let me know whether this fits your requirements better.
That takes care of the modelling side - you simply enter the URL of the external reference for the instance in question.
Some further (small) extensions would be required to the Essential Viewer reports to include and render the URL but again it is very straightforward.
If there are specific classes that you need right now, let me know and we can prioritise those and look at how best to make this happen.
Jonathan
You are correct about the External Repository Instance Reference is strictly for synchronising instances in the Essential Repository with external sources, from a spreadsheet to an Enterprise Configuration Management repository.
As it stands, we don't have fields in the meta classes for doing what you need. However, this a very simple extension (that makes a lot of sense!). It would be straight-forward to add a String slot to the classes that you wish to associate these external references to. You can then use the Form tab to make sure the new field appears as you need it on the UI form for that class. It would be worth looking at using the URLWidget in Protege for this as it will also render what's at the end of the URL underneath the URL text in Protege.
Let me know if you need more help with making that work.
Having said all that it may make sense to introduce this to all the classes by adding it to the EA_Class meta class - as a generic capability. Let me know whether this fits your requirements better.
That takes care of the modelling side - you simply enter the URL of the external reference for the instance in question.
Some further (small) extensions would be required to the Essential Viewer reports to include and render the URL but again it is very straightforward.
If there are specific classes that you need right now, let me know and we can prioritise those and look at how best to make this happen.
Jonathan
Essential Project Team
Hi Jonathan,
Thanks for the quick response. I don't have an urgent need for this feature. At present I am working with a client on product evaluation and planning.
The generic capability offered provided by the EA_Class level change you mentioned sounds like the better alternative. I'll take a look at making the related changes.
Any chance this is something your team is likely to implement in the not-too-distant future anyway? The user is likely to prefer using an off-the-shelf solution going forward.
Thanks again,
David
Thanks for the quick response. I don't have an urgent need for this feature. At present I am working with a client on product evaluation and planning.
The generic capability offered provided by the EA_Class level change you mentioned sounds like the better alternative. I'll take a look at making the related changes.
Any chance this is something your team is likely to implement in the not-too-distant future anyway? The user is likely to prefer using an off-the-shelf solution going forward.
Thanks again,
David
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jonathan.carter
- Posts: 1087
- Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44
Yes, I'm going to raise an ECP (Essential Community Process) to introduce this. We'll initially provide this as an extension pack - both to Essential Viewer and to the meta model - but it will make its way into the main product.
The meta model extension will be fairly simple (adjusting the forms to cope with the extra slot will be the most fiddly bit). On the Viewer side, I think that it makes sense to provide the link on the "details" views of the elements in the repository. This means that it wouldn't be a tweak to all of the reports.
The upshot of this is that it shouldn't take too long for us to get this implemented.
I've now raised this as ECP-3 and I'd be very interested in your views and comments on the proposals.
Let me know if you have any issues or queries if you want to have a go yourself.
Jonathan
The meta model extension will be fairly simple (adjusting the forms to cope with the extra slot will be the most fiddly bit). On the Viewer side, I think that it makes sense to provide the link on the "details" views of the elements in the repository. This means that it wouldn't be a tweak to all of the reports.
The upshot of this is that it shouldn't take too long for us to get this implemented.
I've now raised this as ECP-3 and I'd be very interested in your views and comments on the proposals.
Let me know if you have any issues or queries if you want to have a go yourself.
Jonathan
Essential Project Team
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jonathan.carter
- Posts: 1087
- Joined: 04 Feb 2009, 15:44
Just to let you know, I've posted a meta model update and sample repository to add this feature in ECP-3
Jonathan
Jonathan
Essential Project Team
