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agilian_user_guide Chapter 6 - Generating Documentation

Chapter 6 - Generating Documentation

Agilian provides several report generation facilities for documenting your the project. Report Writer streamlines your work by keeping the project and document in sync. HTML/PDF report generation facility outputs your project as web pages and PDF documents, portable to different platforms and environments. Word report generation outputs reports in MS Word format. Project Publisher exports the project into interactive web pages that can be read in any web browsers with no additional plug-in required. Report Writer can extract data from models. Features of sorting elements allow you to prepare a systematic report.


In this chapter:

A report is generated by converting project or diagrams in Agilian to other types of document, such as HTML and PDF.
With report, users without VP can still read the project and diagrams. For example, if the user has installed a browser, he can read the Agilian project if the project is converted to HTML report.

Although both HTML report generation and Project Publisher can generate web pages, they are different. For HTML report, it is a document-like presentation. All the content is shown in one page. On the other hand, for project publisher, it acts like a viewer, allowing reader to browse the project content. There are 3 views - Diagram, Model, Class. Each one is a perspective of the project.

PDF Report Generation

The Generate PDF Dialog Box

The Generate PDF dialog box provides a set of options for changing the report style. To display the dialog box, perform one of the following actions:
Figure 6.1 - Generate PDF Dialog
Field Description
Output path
To select the destination file for the generated report. You can type the path in the text field or you can browse the location by clicking on the ...button.
Launch viewer If this option is selected, the default browser of the system will be opened automatically to show the generated document.
Generate table of contents If this option is selected, table of content for this document will be generated to the report
Generate table of figures If this option is selected, table of figures for this document will be generated to the report
Generate diagrams If this option is selected, the image of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate diagram properties If this option is selected, the properties of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate diagram summary If the option is selected, the summary of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate reference (file/URL) link Select to generate links for referenced files/URLs defined in models.
Generate models/diagrams link Select to generate links for navigating to related models and diagrams.
Shape type style
Icon - using Icon to represent the type of shape and diagram elements
Text - using text to represent the type of shape and diagram elements
Sort element by Automatic - sorting elements by listing them in the most logical order, which is to follow most users’ understanding of that kind of diagram
Follow tree - sorting elements by following the sort order of the diagram tree in the tool
id or name - sorting elements by their ID or names
You can refer to the section 'Sorting Elements in Report'.
Details
Children Select to generate children of model
Members Select to generate members of model
Properties Select to generate properties of model 
Relationships Select to generate relationships of model 
References Select to generate references of model 
Sub-diagrams Select to generate sub-diagrams of model 
Tagged values Select to generate tagged values of model 
Comments Select to generate comments of model 
Anti-aliasing
Graphics To enable/disable the graphic anti-aliasing of the diagram images.
Text To enable/disable the text anti-aliasing of the diagram images.
Table 6.1

Generating a PDF Report

To generate a PDF Report:
  1. Open the Generate PDF dialog box.
  2. Enter the destination location of the generated document in the Output path field.
  3. Select the report options, such as Generate diagrams, Generate reference (file/URL) link, etc...if necessary.
  4. Select the details field such as Children, Members.
  5. Define the page settings for the report.
  6. Define advanced report information such as Header/Footer and Document Info if necessary.
  7. Select the diagrams to generate in the report.
  8. Click Generate to start generating the report.
Figure 6.2 - PDF Report

Figure 6.3 - The Generated PDF Report

Configuring Image Quality

There are two image quality options for the PDF Report: Anti-aliasing for Graphic and Text.

As the dimension of the paper limits the size of the image in the PDF report, Agilian provides an extra image quality option in the PDF report to control how the output image will be displayed in the report.

To change the diagram quality option, select the Anti-aliasing option.

Figure 6.4 - Define image quality

Configuring the page information

This option allows the user to define the page settings, such as the paper size and orientation of the report. To configure the page settings:

  1. Open the Generate PDF Report dialog box.
  2. Select the Page tab.
Figure 6.5 - Page setup
Field Description
Page size To select the paper size of the generated report.
Page Orientation This option is used to select the orientation of the report (portrait/landscape).
Page Margin To specify the page margins of the report.
Table 6.2
Selecting the Page size

Agilian supports a wide range of page sizes for PDF report generation. Different paper sizes can be selected in the Page size drop-down menu.

Figure 6.6 - Select the Page Size
Selecting the Page Orientation

To select the page orientation for the output report, select the desired orientation option in the Page Orientation section.

Figure 6.7 - Select the Page Orientation
Adjusting the Page Margins

To adjust the page margins enter the value in the text box at the margin side you want to adjust, or drag the margin in the preview page.

Figure 6.8 - Adjust the page margin

Defining a Header/Footer

To define the Header/Footer of the document:
  1. Open the Generate PDF Report dialog box.
  2. Select the Header/Footer tab.
  3. Insert text or picture in header or footer section to include header/footer in the report.
    Figure 6.9 - Define a Header/Footer
Three sections, Left Section, Center Section and Right Section, are predefined  for users to insert text, or even pictures, page numbers, time, etc to the report Header and Footer. A separator can be added to the report in order to separate the region between Header, Content and Footer.
Defining the Header/Footer Style
Agilian supports several types of header/footer style for the PDF report. They are described in the table below:
Header/Footer Style Description
To format text style, such as font style, size and color.

To insert an image to the header or footer
Insert page number
Insert page count
Insert date
Insert time
Insert project name
Insert report file name
Insert user name
Table 6.3

Defining Document Info

To define the document info:
  1. Open the Generate PDF dialog box.
  2. Select the Document Info page.
Figure 6.10 - Define Document Info
Field Description
Title The title of the report.
Author The author of the report.
Subject The subject of the report.
Keywords The keywords of the report.
Info header The info header of the report.
Info header content The info header content of the report.
Allow modify Select to allow modification on the report.
Table 6.4
Figure 6.11 - The generated PDF Document Info

Defining a Cover Page

To define the Cover Page
  1. Open the Generate PDF Report dialog box.
  2. Select the Cover Page tab.
  3. Check the Generate Cover Page checkbox to include Cover Page in the report.
  4. Enter information such as Logo image path for the background, Report Title, Organization name and Author Name.
Figure 6.12 - Define the cover page

Word Report Generation

The Generate Word Dialog Box

The Generate Word dialog box provides a set of options for changing the report style. To display the dialog box, perform one of the following actions:

Figure 6.13 - Generate Word Dialog
Field Description
Output path To select the destination path for the generated report. You can type the path in the text field or you can browse the location by clicking on the ...button.
Launch viewer If this option is selected, the default application of the system will be opened automatically to show the generated document.
Generate table of contents If this option is selected, table of content for this document will be generated to the report
Generate table of figures If this option is selected, table of figures for this document will be generated to the report
Generate diagrams If this option is selected, the image of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate diagram properties If this option is selected, the properties of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate diagram summary
If the option is selected, the summary of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate reference (file/URL) link Select to generate links for referenced files/URLs defined in models.
Generate models/diagrams link Select to generate links for navigating to related models and diagrams.
Shape type style
Icon - using Icon to represent the type of shape and diagram elements
Text - using text to represent the type of shape and diagram elements
Sort element by Automatic - sorting elements by listing them in the most logical order, which is to follow most readers’ understanding to that kind of diagram
Follow tree - sorting elements by following the sort order of the diagram tree in the tool
id or name - sorting elements by their id or names
You can refer to the section 'Sorting Elements in Report'.
Details
Children Select to generate children of model.
Members Select to generate members of model.
Properties Select to generate properties of model. 
Relationships Select to generate relationships of model. 
References Select to generate references of model. 
Sub-diagrams Select to generate sub-diagrams of model. 
Tagged values Select to generate tagged values of model. 
Comments Select to generate comments of model. 
Anti-aliasing
Graphics To enable/disable the graphic anti-aliasing of the diagram images.
Text To enable/disable the text anti-aliasing of the diagram images.

Table 6.5

Generating a Word Report

To generate a Word Report:

  1. Open the Generate Word dialog box.
  2. Enter the destination location of the generated document in the Output path field.
  3. Select the report options, such as Generate diagrams, Generate reference (file/URL) link, etc...if necessary.
  4. Select the details field such as Children, Members.
  5. Define the page settings for the report.
  6. Define advanced report information such as Header/Footer and Document Info if necessary.
  7. Select the diagrams to generate in the report.
  8. Click Generate to start generating the report.



Figure 6.14 - The Generated Word Report

Configuring Image Quality

There are two image quality options for the Word Report: Anti-aliasing for Graphic and Text.

Since the dimension of the paper limits the size of the image in the Word report, Agilian provides an extra image quality option in the Word report to control how the output image will be displayed in the report.

To change the diagram quality option, select the Anti-aliasing option.

Figure 6.15 - Define image quality

Configuring the page information

This option allows the user to define the page settings, such as the paper size and orientation of the report. To configure the page settings:

  1. Open the Generate Word Report dialog box.
  2. Select the Page tab.

Figure 6.16 - Page setup
Field Description
Page size To select the paper size of the generated report.
Page Orientation This option is used to select the orientation of the report (portrait/landscape).
Page Margin To specify the page margins of the report.

Table 6.6

Selecting the Page size

Agilian supports a wide range of page sizes for Word report generation. Different paper sizes can be selected in the Page size drop-down menu.

Figure 6.17 - Select the Page Size
Selecting the Page Orientation

To select the page orientation for the output report, select the desired orientation option in the Page Orientation section.

Figure 6.18 - Select the Page Orientation
Adjusting the Page Margins

To adjust the page margins enter the value in the text box at the margin side you want to adjust, or drag the margin in the preview page.

Figure 6.19 - Adjust the page margin


Defining a Header/Footer

To define the Header/Footer of the document:

  1. Open the Generate Word Report dialog box.
  2. Select the Header/Footer tab.
  3. Insert text or picture in header or footer section to include a header/footer in the report.
    Figure 6.20 - Define a Header/Footer

Here, a separator can be added to the report to separate the region between Header, Content and Footer.

Defining the Header/Footer Style

Agilian supports several types of header/footer style for the Word report. They are described in the table below:
Header/Footer Style Description
To format text style, such as font style, size and color.
  To align content to left.

To align content to center.
To align content to right.

To insert an image to the header or footer
Insert page number
Insert page count
Insert date
Insert time
Insert project name
Insert report file name
Insert user name

Table 6.7

Defining Document Info

To define the document info:

  1. Open the Generate Word dialog box.
  2. Select the Document Info page.

Figure 6.21 - Define Document Info
Field Description
Title The title of the report.
Author The author of the report.
Subject The subject of the report.
Keywords The keywords of the report.

Table 6.8

Defining a Cover Page

To define the Cover Page
  1. Open the Generate Word Report dialog box.
  2. Select the Cover Page tab.
  3. Check the Generate Cover Page checkbox to include Cover Page in the report.
  4. Enter information such as Logo image path, Title, Organization name and Author Name.
Figure 6.22 - Define the cover page

HTML Report Generation

Figure 6.23 - HTML Report

The Generate HTML Dialog Box

The Generate HTML dialog box provides a set of options for changing the report style. To display the dialog box, perform one of the following actions:

Figure 6.24 - Generate HTML dialog
Field Description
Output path
To select the destination file for the generated report. You can type in the path in the text field or you can browse the location by clicking on the ... button.
Launch viewer If this option is selected, the default browser of the system will be open automatically to show the generated report.
Generate table of contents

If this option is selected, table of contents for this document will be generated to the report. 

Generate table of figures If this option is selected, table of figures for this document will be generated to the report. 
Generate diagrams If this option is selected, the image of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate diagram properties If this option is selected, the properties of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate diagram summary If the option is selected, the summary of the selected diagrams will be generated to the report.
Generate reference (file/URL) link

Select to generate links for referenced files/URLs defined in models.

Generate models/diagrams link

Select to generate links for navigating to related models and diagrams.

Copy reference files Select to copy referenced files defined in models to the report output directory. 
Shape type style

Icon - using Icon to represent the type of shape and diagram elements

Text - using text to represent the type of shape and diagram elements 

Sort element by Automatic - sorting elements by listing them in the most logical order, following most readers’ understanding of that kind of diagram
Follow tree - sorting elements by following the sort order of the diagram tree in the tool
id or name - sorting elements by their id or names
You can refer to the section 'Sorting Elements in Report' near the bottom of this chapter.
Details
Children

Select to generate children of model.

Members

Select to generate members of model.

Properties

Select to generate properties of model.

Relationships

Select to generate relationships of model. 

References

Select to generate references of model. 

Sub-diagrams

Select to generate sub-diagrams of model. 

Tagged values

Select to generate tagged values of model. 

Comments

Select to generate comments of model. 

Anti-aliasing
Graphics To enable/disable the graphic anti-aliasing of the diagram images.
Text To enable/disable the text anti-aliasing of the diagram images.
Print Diagrams To select which diagram will be generated in the report.
Table 6.9

Generating an HTML Report

To generate an HTML Report:
  1. Open the Generate HTML dialog box.
  2. Specify the destination location of the report in the Output path field.
  3. Configure the report properties, such as Generate diagrams, Generate reference (file/URL) link, etc...if necessary.
  4. Select the template of the report that will be generated.
  5. Select the diagram's image quality if Generate diagrams is selected.
  6. Define advanced report information such as Front Page and Document Info if necessary.
  7. Select the diagram to generate in the report.
  8. Click Generate to start generating the report.

Figure 6.25 - Generating HTML report Figure 6.26 - The generated HTML report

Configuring Image Quality

There are two image quality options for the HTML Report: graphics and text anti-aliasing. To enable/disable the anti-aliasing options, check/uncheck the anti-aliasing options checkbox. The below two images show the difference in graphics with anti-aliasing enabled (left) and graphics with anti-aliasing disabled (right).

Figure 6.27 - Images with anti-aliasing Figure 6.28 - Images without anti-aliasing

Configuring the Document Info

To define the document info:
  1. Open the Generate HTML dialog.
  2. Select the Document Info tab.
Figure 6.29 - Set the Document Info
Field Description
Title Specify the title of the HTML report.
Author Specify the author of the HTML report.
Keywords Specify the keywords meta-tag of the HTML report.
Table 6.10

Defining a Front Page

To define the Front Page
  1. Open the Generate HTML Report dialog box.
  2. Select the Front Page tab.
  3. Check the Generate front page checkbox to include a Cover Page in the report.
  4. Enter information such as a Logo image path for the background, Title, Organization name, Author Name etc.
Figure 6.30 - Configure the front page

Project Publisher

The Project Publisher is a tool that exports the project, including detailed information in diagrams and models, into interactive and well-organized web pages. The generated web pages can be read in any web browser with no additional plug-in required, so collaborative partners may see the published product even if they do not have Visual Paradigm products installed.

Launching Project Publisher

To launch Project Publisher, perform one of the following actions:
The Project Publisher dialog box appears.

Using Project Publisher

To publish the project, you need to enter the Output directory where the published files will be saved to. You may select the Launch viewer option so the default web browser on your computer will open the index page of the published project when the process is completed.
Figure 6.31 - Project Publisher
Click OK to start publishing. The progress dialog box will appear while generating the content and a 'Project publishing complete' message will show once it is done.

Using the Published Project

Go to the output directory of the published project and open the file 'index.html' with a web browser. The web page is organized in frames, namely the Navigator Pane, Menu Pane and Content Pane.
Figure 6.32 - Published project

Navigator Pane

It comprises of the Diagram Navigator, Model Navigator and Class Navigator.

Menu Pane

It shows the sub-menus of the Navigator pane. The contents shown in this pane varies with the link you clicked in the Navigator Pane. For more details about the possible contents please refer to the Navigator Pane section.
To view the details of an item (diagram, model or package/class), click on its link in the Menu Pane and its details will be shown in the Content Pane.
Figure 6.36 - Menu Navigator

Content Pane

It shows the details of the item (diagram, model or package/class) you clicked in the Menu Pane or Content Pane.
Figure 6.37 - The Diagram Content
The diagram type, name, description, together with a full size image of the diagram are shown in the Content Pane. The image is mapped to different clickable regions for each shape, so you can click on a shape in the image to view its details.
Figure 6.38 - Shape link to the descriptions
Using Jump to
The Jump to combo box in the diagram content page lists all shapes in the diagram, you can select a shape to jump to. The content page will scroll to the selected shape and the shape will be highlighted by a red border.
Figure 6.39 - Jump to an element
Besides, there will be two shortcut buttons above the selected shape.
Models
The Models section of the diagram content page shows the name, type and documentation of the models of all shapes in the diagram. You can click on the link of a model to view its details.
Figure 6.42 - Model list
a id="toc-0-3-2-2-1" name="model_content" href="Model Content">Model Content
Figure 6.43 - The Model Content
The type, name and general model properties of a model are shown in the content page.
Parent Hierarchy

The parent hierarchy is shown as a list of models on top of the page. You can click on a parent in the hierarchy to view its details.

Figure 6.44 - Parent Hierarchy
Relationships

The summary of the relationships of the model is shown in the Relationships Summary section. Click on a relationship and it will take you to the Relationships Detail section.

Figure 6.45 - Relationship summary
Other Model Details

Certain types of model have their own properties, for example, attributes and operations of class, or columns of ERD table. They are also included in the content page as custom sections. For instance, the Operations Overview and the Operations Detail sections show the overview and details of the operations of a class respectively.

Figure 6.46 - Other Class details

a id="toc-0-4" name="report_writer" href="Report Writer">Report Writer

The Report Writer is a sophisticated tool for report creation. Users can output the existing project as reports by documenting their project within Agilian. Agilian offers seamless integration of UML modeling tool with word processors to provide a unified documenting environment. By dragging the models from Agilian to Report Writer, data is extracted from models and content is created in Report Writer.

Retaining the conformance between documentation and design is a tedious task. Report Writer maintains the consistency between them. If you create a new model, the content will be appended to the existing one. If you remove a model, the generated element will be removed. If you re-edit the models, the content will be refreshed.

Users can also apply their own style for the generated element, to the Report Writer more flexible.

Launching Report Writer

To launch Report Writer, perform one of the following actions:

Installing Report Engine

If it is the first time you have started the Report Writer, the Report Engine Installation dialog box will be displayed asking for the installation of Report Engine.

Figure 6.47 - Report Engine Installation Dialog
To install Report Engine, perform one of the following actions:

Entering Report Information

Upon launching Report Writer for the first time, the Template dialog box will be displayed and ask for the information of the new report. Enter the report information and select a desired report theme for the report, preview of the selected theme is shown on the preview pane. Click OK to start Report Writer when everything is ready.

Figure 6.48 - Templates Dialog

Panes

When Report Writer is launched you are taken to the Report Writer environment where you can create and edit your reports. Three distinct panes are presented on the screen: the Project Explorer, Template Pane and the Writer Pane.

Figure 6.49 - Report Writer

Diagram Navigator

The Diagram Navigator displays all diagrams within the project in a form of a project tree and organizes them by their diagram type. Through the use of a folding tree structure you can browse the names of these diagrams by either expanding or collapsing the folders and perform sorting by diagram type and name.

Figure 6.50 - Diagram Navigator
Button Icon Description
Collapse To collapse all the nodes within the project tree.
Expand To expand all the nodes within the project tree.
Show Diagram View To show only diagrams but not models in the tree.
Sort by Name To sort diagrams within the project tree by alphabetical order of their names
Sort by Type To sort diagrams within the project tree by their diagram type.
Move Selected Model Up    To move selected models upwards.  
Move Selected Model Down    To move selected models downwards.  
Refresh To refresh the project tree within the Diagram Pane.
Table 6.11

Model Tree

The Model Pane displays models within the project in a form of a project tree. Notice that not all the model elements are displayed, and only the elements that are available for generating report content are shown.

Figure 6.51 - Model Tree
Button Icon Description
Collapse To collapse all the nodes within the project tree.
Expand To expand all the nodes within the project tree.
No Sorting To display the models within the project without sorting. Ordering of models will be based on their order of creation.
Sort by Name To sort models within the project tree by alphabetical order of their names
Sort by Type To sort models within the project tree by their model type.
Move Selected Model Up To move the selected models upwards.
Move Selected Model Down To move the selected models downwards.
Refresh To refresh the project tree within the Model Pane.
Table 6.12

Template Pane

The Template Pane displays all the templates available for the model or diagram selected in Property Pane.

Figure 6.52 - Template Pane

Each template represents the corresponding report content of a particular model or diagram. By dragging a template into the Writer Pane, the report content will be printed on the report. There are three types of template: Text, Image and Table. Each of them has its own appearance in the report content.

Type Icon Description
Text The generated element block is mainly composed of text. It is mainly used in the documentation template of elements.
Image The generated element block is mainly composed of images. It is used in the diagram template for UML Diagrams.
Table The generated element block is mainly composed of tables. Most of the content-related templates use this type of template.
Table 6.13

Writer Pane

Writer Pane embeds a word processor to provide a report editing environment.
Figure 6.53 - Writer Pane

Toolbar

Toolbar is the horizontal bars placed below the menu bar. They store all the frequently used commands that appear as a row of buttons.
Icon Button Function
New Report... To create a new report.
Save Report To save modified reports.
Import Report... To import an external document (either an .sxw or a .doc file) as a report.
Export Report... To export the current report as an .sxw or .doc file.
Export All Reports... To export all the reports within the current project.
Update from Model To update the content within the current report from the Agilian models.
Print Report... To print the current report by supplying the printer name.
Undo To undo the last action you performed. 
 Redo To redo the last action you performed. 
Select Report To select a report from the current project for editing.
Remove Report... To remove the existing report(s).
Click to Show Stylist To display the stylist dialog box for modifying the style.
Copy Style to Current Report To copy the style settings defined in another report.
Click to Show Bookmarks To display bookmarks that outlines the boundary for each generated element.
Insert Hyperlink To insert a hyperlink.
Click to Generate Model Documentation To include documentation of model when generating content. 
Close Report Dialog To close Report Writer and go back to Agilian.
Table 6.14

Constructing a Report

Creating a Generated Element

The term "Generated element" here means a block of report content generated by Report Writer and consists of details of a particular diagram or model element.

To create a generated element block:
  1. Click to select the desired model element from either the Diagram Navigator or Mode Tree for content generation.
  2. The supported templates for the selected model element are shown on the Template Pane. Each template represents a way in presenting the selected model element on the report. For example, "Children" template of a System represents a list of children placed inside a particular System.
    Figure 6.54 - Template Pane
  3. Drag the desired template from the Template Pane and drop it onto the report.
    Figure 6.55 - Drag the template from template pane and drop it onto report
  4. When the cursor drags over the Writer Pane, a tiny straight line will appear in the report indicating the position of the expected position of the generated element. Once you've dropped the template onto the report, corresponding content will be generated element to the dropped position.
Figure 6.56 - Drag the template to report
The update process will replace ALL the contents within each generated element without notification. Therefore please insert the content carefully and ensure that it is not located inside the scope of any generated elements.
To create a new report, select from main menu Report > New Report...or click on the New Report...button on the toolbar.

Showing the Bookmarks

Creating a new generated element within the boundary of an existing one is dangerous because the content may be messed up during a report update process. To avoid this, you can display bookmarks to indicate the start and end position of each generated element, and to prevent dropping a new one within the scope of the existing generated element.

Figure 6.57 - Showing bookmarks
To show/hide bookmarks:

Applying Style to Report

A style in Report Writer is a collection of formatting attributes that describe the nature of paragraphs. The generated element highly adopts the predefined styles in Report Writer therefore users can customize the related styles to bring consistency to the whole document. There are two ways for applying style to report.

Style configuration

The Stylist dialog box allows you to configure the pre-defined styles. To display the Stylist dialog box:

In both cases, the Stylist dialog box display.
Figure 6.58 - Stylist

To edit the style, right-click on the highlighted style and choose Modify...from the popup menu. This displays the dialog box for the selected style. You can now adjust it with your own preference. When everything is ready, please click OK to commit the settings and exit the dialog.

Figure 6.59 - Edit Paragraph Style
The changes will take effect immediately and you will notice the style is applied to those generated elements using the same style.
Figure 6.60 - Style Change

Loading Styles from Other Reports

The Copy Style dialog box allows you to copy the style from existing report. To display the Copy Style dialog box:
In both cases, the Stylist dialog box display.
Figure 6.61 - Copy Style Dialog

Select a desired report for getting the style configuration and click Copy Style. The style configuration in the current report is replaced by the style configuration of the selected report. All the predefined styles will be overwritten.

Updating Table of Contents

There is a predefined Table of Contents in each of the report template. Here is the pre-built Table of Contents structure:
Level Paragraph Style
0 Heading 1 (VP)
1 Heading 2 (VP)
2 Heading 3 (VP)
3 - 9 None
Table 6.15
To update the Table of Contents, right-click on the caption Table of Contents and select Update Index/Table from popup menu.

Exporting a report

You can export report as file and edit it outside Agilian. Supported format includes Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP document (with extension .doc) and OpenOffice.org 1.0 Text Document (with extension .sxw).

Exporting current report

  1. Click on the Export Report...button  on the toolbar or select Report > Export Report...from main menu. This display the Save dialog box.
  2. In the Save dialog box, enter the file name and select OpenOffice.org 1.0 Text Document (.sxw) format or Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP (.doc) format for exporting.
  3. When everything is ready, click Save to export the report.

Exporting all report(s)

  1. Click the Export All Reports...button on the toolbar or select Report > Export All Reports...from main menu. This display the Save dialog box.
  2. In the Save dialog box, enter the directory for storing the reports in the File name field and select either OpenOffice.org 1.0 Documents or Microsoft Word Documents for the Document Type.
  3. When everything is ready, click Save to export the report(s).

Importing a Report

You can import a document back into Report Writer for data updating. To import a report:
  1. Click the Import Report...button on the toolbar or select Report > Import Report...from main menu. This displays the Open dialog box.
  2. In the Open dialog box, select either OpenOffice.org 1.0 Text Document (.sxw) format or Microsoft Word 97/2000XP (.doc) format for importing. Select a file and click Open to import the selected document into Report Writer.
  3. If the document has previously been exported from Report Writer, a dialog will appear and ask for overwriting the existing one or not.
Figure 6.62 - Confirm overwrite existing report
If you click Yes, the existing report will be replaced by the imported one. If you click No, the imported report will be stored into Report

Updating a Report

In reality, software design keeps evolving from time to time. Originally, users needed to modify the related documents manually to ensure that it is fully conformed to the latest design. Report Writer binds closely with the Agilian project, and hence generated elements can then be updated without affecting the user-defined content.

To update a report, choose the desired report for updating from the drop-down menu and click the Update from Model button  from the toolbar or select Report > Update from Model from main menu.

Update process will start automatically. Data will be extracted from project and replace with the content within the existing generated element.

Please do not click on the Writer Pane while the update process is undergoing, as it may affect the accuracy of the content. It can also damage the generated element, so that updating cannot be performed anymore unless the damaged block is removed manually.
The update process will replace ALL the contents within each generated element without notification. Therefore please insert your content wisely and ensure that it is not located inside the scope of any generated element.

Printing a report

There are two ways for printing the reports. The first one is to print the currently opened report and another one is to print all the reports within the project. The following steps demonstrate how you can print reports in Report Writer.

  1. Click the Print Report... button  on the toolbar or select Report > Print Report... from main menu. This displays the Print dialog box asking for the printer name.
  2. Select the printer for printing the document from the drop down menu.
  3. To print the currently opened report, click Print Current... To print all reports, click Print All...
Do not click on the Writer Pane while the printing process is undergoing, it may affect the print job.

Sorting Elements in Report

Sorting out the elements in the report helps to prepare a report which is well-organized. 

There are three ways of sorting in a report:

We will use a PDF report as an example.

To set the sorting option:

1. Select Tools > Report > Generate PDF Report... from the main menu.

Figure 6.63 - Select Generate PDF Report...

2. This shows the Generate PDF dialog box.

Figure 6.64 - Generate PDF dialog box

3. Select how elements will be sorted from the Sort element by drop-down menu.

Figure 6.65 - Select way of sorting

4. Press the Generate button.


Different ways of sorting

The report generated is sorted by listing elements in the most logical order, following most users’ understanding of that kind of diagram.

Figure 6.66 - Sorting by Automatic
.

The report generated is sorted by following the sort order of the Diagram Navigator in the tool.

Figure 6.67 - Sort by Follow tree

The report generated is sorted by name or ID of the element.

Figure 6.68 - Sort by id or name

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