Programming the Writer Configuration

Important Note: Writing data in DOORS is a non trivial task when it comes to determine exactly what should be written and how, notably when an update of existing data is to be performed.
Rather than using the model writer, you are now strongly encouraged to use the commands framework, which allows a Java programmer to control the update of DOORS data with fine grained interactions.

When the writer is launched from rules or Java code, you can set options to tweak the writer's behavior.

    import com.sodius.mdw.metamodel.doors.connectors.dxl.*;
    ...
    Map options = new HashMap();
    options.put("doors.ignoreConnectorUI", Boolean.TRUE);
    options.put("mdw.doors.dxl.top_level_elements", "/MyFolder");
    
    Model doorsModel =...
    doorsModel.write("Application", null, options);

In this example, we ask to write the folder "MyFolder", and all its content, at the root of the DOORS database.

The option "doors.ignoreConnectorUI" is used to avoid the writer selection dialog. Here this dialog is not desired as the writing scope is programmatically set.

Connecting to DOORS in batch mode

The writer usually requires a DOORS client to be open in order to writer the data. It is possible to configure the writer so that DOORS is executed in batch mode, provided you give the writer the DOORS user identity to connect to. To use the batch mode, you need to set the Common.PREFERENCE_DOORS_IS_SILENT property, as described in the snippet in DoorsReader.

Connecting to DOORS in non-interactive mode

When running DOORS in a non-interactive mode, like from a Windows Scheduled Task or a Windows Service, some files cannot be imported as is into DOORS. You are strongly encouraged to set the Common.OPTION_ZIP_FILE_EXTENSIONS property in such case.
Note: this configuration is not necessary in regular batch mode, when a user is logged in a Windows session.

Programmatic Properties

The model reader can be configured using many options, which are defined in the class Common.

Here is a list of the most significant options:

Common.OPTION_IGNORE_CONNECTOR_UI
- Determines whether the connector selection dialog should be avoided. You should turn on this setting when the Top Level Elements are programmatically set.
- Default: false
DoorsWriter.TOP_LEVEL_ELEMENTS_PROPERTY
- Specifies which elements of your model will be written in DOORS database (See Top Level Elements section).
- Default: "<All>".
DoorsWriter.MODE_PROPERTY
- Specifies the writer mode:
  - Replace ("replace")
  - Update ("update")
  - Add ("add")
- Default: "replace".
DoorsWriter.DOORS_BASE_PROPERTY
- Specifies the Folder or the Project in the DOORS database where to write
- Default: "/".
Common.PREFERENCE_DOORS_IS_SILENT
- Requests to connect to DOORS in batch mode, instead of requiring a DOORS client to be open. If set to true, this setting requires additional properties:
  - Common.PREFERENCE_DOORS_PATH - the full path of doors.exe, used to launch DOORS
  - Common.PREFERENCE_DOORS_PORTSERVER - the port and server name of the database to connect to (e.g. 36677@myServer)
  - Common.PREFERENCE_DOORS_USER - the name of the DOORS user to make the connection
  - Common.PREFERENCE_DOORS_PASSWORD - the password of the DOORS user to make the connection
  The property Common.OPTION_IGNORE_CONNECTOR_UI should also be set true in such use case.
- Default: false
Common.OPTION_ZIP_FILE_EXTENSIONS
- Determines the file types which are embedded into a zip before being inserted into a DOORS Object. This option is to be used when running in a non interactive mode, typically in a Windows Scheduled Task or a Windows Service.
  Note: this configuration is not necessary in regular batch mode, when a user is logged in a Windows session.
  When a file (e.g. a Word Document) is to be inserted into a DOORS Object and is not already wrapped into an OLE container, the DXL API oleInsert() is used to perform this operation. This API launches the corresponding application (e.g. Word), using OLE Automation, to request the creation of the OLE container. Microsoft Office applications are known to not support this action when running in a non interactive mode (e.g. when launched from a Windows Service). This can lead to unpredictable behavior.
  
  This option allows to declare a comma separated list of file extensions. When a file matching one of those extensions is to be imported, the file will be wrapped into a zip file before being inserted.
- Example: doc,dox,ppt,pptx,xls,xlsx
Common.OPTION_ATTACHMENT_RESOLVER
- An instance of the interface AttachmentResolver that determines the physical location of OLE object files to be written in DOORS. The API RichTextUtils.createAttachmentResolver(File) provides a default implementation.