FAQ - Working With AQdevTeam
Search in AQdevTeam FAQQ.: What should I do to install AQdevTeam and start using it in my work?
A.: Installation of AQdevTeam Client is as easy as installation of any other Windows application. The same is with the installation of the AQdevTeam Server. However, the Server requires the database engine to be installed on the computer. So, you should install the database engine before installing the AQdevTeam Server. After the Server has been installed, you may need to create custom item types and tune the workflow graph to meet the document-management scheme adopted in your organization. The whole procedure includes the following steps:
After you install all the desired software, you will need to create the AQdevTeam database that you will use for your work and customize its properties. The AQdevTeam Server installation includes the Default database. Use this database as a base for your database: you can modify predefined items types in it, create projects, users, etc. That is, in order to obtain the database you need, you do not create a new database, but simply modify the existing Default database. The general procedure includes the following steps:
To perform all these tasks, you should use AQdevTeam Client (except for the customization of Web Interface pages - you can do this using your Internet browser). For complete information on how to perform these tasks, see AQdevTeam Client help.
Q.: How can I create a new AQdevTeam database or copy an existing one?
A.: Copying and creation of databases have much in common. First, we will describe copying of a database and then we will explain how to create a new database.
To copy your AQdevTeam database, follow these steps:
To back up and restore databases, use the AQdevTeam Database Manager that is part of your AQdevTeam Server installation. The Database Manager is a wizard that lets you back up and restore AQdevTeam databases and validate their structure.
To back up and restore the database, you need administrator permissions for your database engine.
To back up your database:
To specify the connection settings, press Browse. This will open the Data Link Properties dialog in which you can select the desired properties:
After you specify the desired connection settings, click OK to close the Data Link Properties dialog. You will return back to the second page of the Database Manager
To restore your database under a new name:
On the next page, specify the .pdx file, to which you exported the database, and the connection settings that will be used to create the database.
To specify the connection settings, press the Browse button that is shown next to the Database edit field. This will call the Data Link Properties dialog. In this dialog you can specify the server that will hold the database, the database name and login information. In the Select the database on the server box, type the name of the new database:
Press OK to save changes. You will return to the Database Manager.
After the new database has been created, register it in the AQdevTeam Server:
Note that to register a new database, you should be a member of the Administrator(s) group.
As you can see, copying a database is quite an easy task. As for creation of a new "clean" database, currently it is impossible to do this. You can only build it on the basis of the Default one by making a copy of it. That is --
For information on how to do this, see the steps described above.
Q.: Is it possible to run AQdevTeam Server on another computer than the one storing the database server and the AQdevTeam database?
A.: Yes, it is possible to do this. AQdevTeam Server can register AQdevTeam databases that reside on other computers. However, you will need to install the database engine (MS SQL Server, MSDE, InterBase or FireBird) on the computer where AQdevTeam Server is installed. That is, you have to install the database engine on each machine anyway.
If the database you are going to register in AQdevTeam Server is already registered on another server, you should unregister it. If the database is registered on two AQdevTeam servers, the events that will occur in AQdevTeam will be duplicated. You may receive duplicate messages, two identical server macros will run simultaneously, etc.
Q.: I would like to store HTML and RTF documents as items in AQdevTeam. Can I modify HTML and RTF fields in AQdevTeam?
A.: Yes, you can. AQdevTeam offers special types for fields that will store RTF and HTML content: Rich text memo and HTML memo. The special AQdevTeam's edit controls are used for editing and displaying these fields. These controls support standard shortcuts used to apply bold, underline and italic formatting, change paragraph alignment, etc. So, editing RTF and HTML fields is similar to editing RTF and HTML documents in Microsoft Word and FrontPage. To modify font and color settings of text in RTF fields, the Edit Form includes the special Formatting toolbar (by default, this toolbar is hidden, to make it visible, right-click somewhere within the toolbar area and select Formatting from the ensuing context menu).
Q.: For some status I created a user assignment to the projects (Workflow Design | Status Properties Dialog). But sometimes this doesn't work. Why?
A.: The Assigned To field of an item is changed in the following cases:
To determine why the User-Status setting does not work for the given status, follow these steps:
Q.: Can I change the size of an item field?
A.: People usually ask this question about fields of the Raw data.String type. There is no need to change the size of other fields.
The field type and size are specified when you are creating an item type. The only way to change the size of a field after the item type has been created is to follow the steps below:
- Create a new field of the needed size
- Copy the data from the old field to the new one using a macro (this should be done in each item of this type)
- Delete the old field
- Specify the old field name as the name of the new field.
After you rename the field, you should modify the Edit Form and Preview Pane that hold this field. Namely, you will have to re-associate this field with controls on that forms.
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Remove the old fields only after you ensure that all data was copied to the new fields correctly in all the projects. |
To create, delete and rename fields, use the Item Types dialog (Administration | Item Types). You must also have the administrator permissions.
Below is a sample script that copies data from one field to another.
[VBScript]
Dim OldFieldName, NewFieldName, ItemTypeTitle
Sub UpdateProject(AProject)
Set Items = AProject.GetItems.BaseItemByTitle(ItemTypeTitle).GetAllItems
For i = 0 To Items.Count - 1
Set Item = Items.Items(i)
FieldValue = Item.GetFields.GetFieldByDisplayedName(OldFieldName).GetAsString
Item.GetFields.GetFieldByDisplayedName(NewFieldName).SetAsString FieldValue
Call Item.BaseItem.Commit(Item)
Next
End Sub
Sub Main
OldFieldName = "Subject"
NewFieldName = "NewSubject"
ItemTypeTitle = "Tasks"
Set ProjectCollection = AQdevTeamManager.GetItemManager.GetProjects
For i = 0 To ProjectCollection.Count - 1
Set Project = ProjectCollection.Items(i)
UpdateProject Project
Next
End Sub
Q.: How can I create a bug report on the basis of another report?
A.: Right-click the basic item in the Issue Explorer and select Operations | Copy from the context menu. Then, select Operations | Paste. AQdevTeam will create a new item whose fields will hold values stored in the fields of the copied item.
You can also link items to each other. See the answer to the next question.
Q.: I have several items that concern the same issue. Can I link them somehow?
A.: Yes, you can. You can link one item to another:
Note that you can link items of different types. For instance, you can link a bug report to a task to show what bug a developer should fix.
The described approach is only one of two ways to establish links between items. Another way is to make one item a parent item and add another item as a child to that parent item. For instance, several users may report you about the same issue in your application. In this case, you can post the report that came first as a parent item and post the other reports as children of this item. To add a child item, right-click the parent item in the Issue Explorer and select New Child Item from the context menu.
Q.: How can I change information displayed in the upper part of the Preview Pane?
A.: The field, which content is shown in the upper part of the Preview Pane, is specified by the Caption name property of the Preview Pane. To modify this property, right-click somewhere within the Preview Pane and select Options from the context menu.
Q.: How can I change information that is displayed in item rectangles in TItemLinksControl?
A.: The rectangles hold the same data that is shown in the upper part of the Preview Pane. This is specified by the Caption name property of the Preview Pane. For more information on how to modify this property, see the answer to the previous question.
When a user executed an action, I need to verify that he entered correct data in the item's fields and cancel the action if the data is not valid. How can I do this?
A.: You can create a shared client macro that will be triggered by the event that is linked
to the status change. The macro will check the data and undo the last action (if the data is not
valid) by calling the UndoLastAction method of the AQdevTeamCurrentItem
object. Note that the UndoLastAction method does not restore the previous state of
an item. It just removes the last record from the item's Audit Trail list.
The following script code demonstrates the use of this method. It removes the last record from the item's Audit Trail list and reassigns the item to the user who executed the last action.
[VBScript]
Set Item = AQdevTeamCurrentUIItem
Set User = Item.GetHistory.Items(Item.GetHistory.Count-1).User
Item.UndoLastAction
AQdevTeamCurrentUIItem.AssignedTo = User
Q.: How does AQdevTeam notify me about changes in the database?
A.: AQdevTeam lets you track the moment of creation and deletion of items as well as the moment of changing an item status or item fields and send notifications about the changes. Normally, AQdevTeam sends notifications via e-mail. However, it's not the only means of sending notifications: for example, you can use AQdevTeam's internal messaging system or some external utilities.
The easiest way to customize notification settings for an item is to use the TAutoNotification
control. By default, this control is invisible. To add it to the Edit Form:
TAutoNotification control to the Edit form. Note that this control is large,
so we recommend that you create a new tabbed page for it.
As you can see, at the top of the TAutoNotification component there is a list of users
to be notified about the changes that occur in fields of the currently edited item. The Fields
edit box specifies the fields, changes in which will be tracked. If one of these fields is changed,
AQdevTeam will send e-mail notifications to the users selected in the user list. The E-mail Parameter
section lets you customize the format of the notification e-mail.
The TAutoNotification control is only one of the ways that can be used for notification.
Another way is the use of macros: you can create a macro that will be run automatically at certain
points in time or when an event, such as creation of a new item, occurs in AQdevTeam. Running macros
at certain points in time (such macros are called jobs) is useful when you need to track changes in
a group of items or in some objects that do not belong to AQdevTeam. Running macros as event handlers
lets you track changes that occur in the AQdevTeam database.
A macro can send notifications via e-mail to person(s) who should know about the change. The macro can also include a Script operation that sends notifications via internal AQdevTeam's messaging system or via external utilities like net send:
[VBScript]
If BuiltIn.GetOleObject("WScript.Shell", WScript) Then
WScript.Exec "net send jonny message text"
End If
A general procedure to implement notifications with macros includes the following steps:
If you select To Current Item, the macro will handle events that will occur in the current item (that is, it will run upon changing item fields).
If you select To Current Item Type, the macro will handle events that will occur in the item type that will be displayed in the Project Explorer (that is, the macro will handle creation and deletion of items) and in items of this type (that is, the macro will run when some field is changed in any item of this type).
The Event Wizard lets you specify what changes will run the macro. For example, you can create macros that will send you a notification when a new bug report or a task is assigned to you, or when a new item is created, or when a developer rejects your suggestion, etc. The Event Wizard allows you to get notifications about almost any change made to the database.
Q.: What is the difference between Find, Filter and Full text search?
A.: All these three means are intended to help you find desired items.
The Find command lets you find one item that matches the search criteria. Filters and Full text search let you find a group of items matching the desired criteria. If you use Filters, AQdevTeam Client downloads the needed data from the server and then performs filtering on your computer. So, if the search condition includes binary large object fields (BLOBs) or large text fields, the use of Filters may consume a lot of memory on the client computer. That is why we do not recommend that you use Filters if the search criteria include BLOBs or large text fields. The Find commands works like Filters, so using it may cause the same problems.
To avoid problems, use the Full Text Search panel. The Full text search engine works on the server side, so AQdevTeam Client does not download the BLOB fields from the server. That is, using the Full text search feature does not consume a lot of memory on the client computer.
As you can see, it is better to use the Full Text Search feature if the search condition includes BLOB or large text fields (Of course, the Full text search engine searches for items in non-Blob fields as well). The Filters panel is useful if you want to create an Issue Explorer view that will suit your particular needs
Q.: I noticed that I have the ability to add a check box to a form in AQdevTeam. I was trying to make a field with a Boolean value, but I couldn't find raw Boolean data types. Are you planning to add a Boolean data type? Can you suggest a workaround for this?
A.: There is no Boolean data type in AQdevTeam. But you can create a pick list with two values: 'Yes' and 'No'. Such a pick list can always be used as a Boolean type, so adding a raw Boolean data type is not really a top priority at the moment.