Use Libraries and Baselines

The Libraries module enables you to create and manage libraries and baselines. The libraries tree provides a graphical representation of your libraries.

To learn more about libraries and baselines, see Overview.

In this topic:

Libraries module overview

The libraries tree provides a graphical representation of your libraries.

Icons

The following icons are available in the Libraries module.

Tabs and fields

You can add user-defined fields and change the label of any of the fields in the Details tab. You can also customize project lists. For details, see Customize project entities and Customize field lists.

You can use the Script Editor to restrict and dynamically change the fields and values in the Libraries module. For details, see Create and edit workflow scripts using Script Editor.

The Libraries module includes the following tabs.

UI Element	Description
Details tab	Describes the library folder, library, or baseline selected in the libraries tree.
Content tab	Displays the entities included in the selected library.
Imported By tab	Displays a list of projects that have imported the selected library. For details, see Imported By Tab. Editions: Available only for the ALM edition and OpenText Enterprise Performance Engineering Edition. For information about editions and their functionality, see Editions and lifecycle. To find out which edition you are using, ask your site administrator.
Imported From tab	Displays details about the library from which the currently selected library was imported. This tab is visible only when the selected library is imported. For details, see Imported From Tab. Editions: Available only for the ALM edition and OpenText Enterprise Performance Engineering Edition. For information about editions and their functionality, see Editions and lifecycle. To find out which edition you are using, ask your site administrator.

Menus and buttons

The Libraries module includes the following elements.

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Create a library

You define a hierarchical framework for your libraries by creating a libraries tree that can contain folders and subfolders.

1. Open the Libraries module. On the sidebar, under Management, select Libraries.

2. Create folders. Right-click the Libraries root folder and select the New Folder button . To create a sub-folder, right-click a folder and select New Folder.

3. Add libraries to folders. Right-click a folder and select the Create Library button. In the New Library dialog box, provide a name for the library and fill in fields on the Details page. A unique numeric ID for the library is assigned automatically.

4. On the Content page, select content from the Requirements, Resources, Components, and Tests modules that you want to include in the library. The entity tree for the selected module displays the folders that are available for selection.

   When selecting Test Plan module content , select an option for including tests in the library:

   • Tests in selected folders. Enables you to select folders in the tree to include in the library.

   • Tests covering selected requirements. Includes only the tests that cover the requirements that are selected for the library.

     Note: Selecting this option clears any previous selection or filter defined in this tab.

5. Select a folder to include it in the library. contents of the selected folder are displayed in the right pane. In the Requirements tab, you can also select individual requirements.

6. You can define a filter to help you select the entities that you want to include. This can be useful, for example, if you want to create a library that is not based solely on the hierarchical structure of your project. For example, Jim, the project manager, has a new project with a major security impact. The test plan tree in his project is organized hierarchically based on products and versions. Jim creates a library that includes the relevant test folders, and defines a filter for the library to include only security-related tests in those folders.

   The filter determines the following:

   • The folders and records that are displayed and available for selection in the content tab

   • The entities that are included when you create a baseline or import the library

   Creating a relative filter for a library, such as filtering by the Test Plan Path field, is not supported.

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Create a baseline

Create a baseline for a library to track changes made to entities in your project over time.

When you create a baseline for a library that includes tests, related entities that the tests need to run, such as their called tests and test resources, are also included in the baseline. These related entities do not need to be defined in the library.

The baseline is created in a background process, and may take some time. You can continue working during baseline creation.

To create a baseline:

1. In the Libraries module, right-click a library and select Create Baseline. The Create Baseline wizard opens and the verification process starts.

2. Assign a name to the new baseline.

3. Click the View Log button in the Details tab. The Log: Create Baseline dialog box opens and displays progress. Review the log and resolve any issues, if necessary. The verification process also checks that the size of the library does not exceed the limit defined in Site Administration. For details, see the LIBRARY_FUSE parameter in the Site Configuration tab. See Set parameters at site level.

Note: When the process is complete, view the log before refreshing the display. If you refresh the display after the baseline is created, the View Log button is no longer displayed, and you cannot view the log.

4. Click the Refresh button on the module toolbar to refresh the display. The baseline details are displayed in the Details tab.

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Monitor library tasks

When you create a baseline, the task is performed in the background, enabling you to continue working while the process is running. You can view the status and progress of all asynchronous tasks run for the project using the Task Manager.

On the masthead, click the Tools button and select Task Manager. For user interface details, see Task Manager.

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Compare baselines

Compare two baselines in a library, or compare a baseline to the current entities in the library.

Changes made to Target Release and Target Cycle fields are not considered when determining whether an entity has been modified. If coverage or traceability between two entities was deleted and then added again, those entities are considered modified.Coverage of tests or requirements in the library by entities outside of the library is not considered when comparing baselines.

To compare two baselines: 

1. In the Libraries module, right-click a baseline, click Compare To, and choose one of the following:

   • Select Baseline. Compares the baseline you selected with another baseline in the library. Opens the Select Baseline dialog box. Click the browse button to select a baseline from the list.

   • Current Entities. Compares the baseline you selected with the current entities in the library.

     When comparing baselines, the following options are available (unlabeled elements are shown in angle brackets).

   UI Element	Description
   <Sidebar>	Enables you to view comparison results for entities by module. For example, select Tests to view comparison results for the Test Plan module. The sidebar displays only the modules that are included in the library.
   	Comparison Settings. Opens the Comparison Settings dialog box, enabling you to define settings for comparing baselines: Ignored Fields are not considered when determining if an entity has been modified. Considered fields are taken into account when determining if an entity has been modified. Additional considered fields The entity is considered modified if changes were made to the selected fields. Note that to ignore coverage, you must clear the Coverage check box in the Requirements tab. Move fields between Ignored to Considered using the arrow buttons or click the double arrow button to move all fields.
   	Compare Entities. Compare an entity between two baselines in a library, or between two libraries. In a version control enabled project, you can compare two versions of an entity. In the Compare Entities dialog box, select if you want to view everything, or only changed or unchanged items. The Changes column indicates a modified field. Note: Version Control: Changes to some fields are not stored under version control. For details, see Version control. For traceability and coverage, if a linked entity is marked as both Deleted and Added, or is displayed as Missing on both sides, this can indicate that the link between the entities was deleted and then added. If you are comparing a OpenText Functional Testing entity, the QTP Comparison button is displayed, enabling you to open the QuickTest Asset Comparison Tool. For details on working with OpenText Functional Testing, refer to the OpenText Functional Testing help.
   	Export Comparison Results. Enables you to save the baseline comparison results in .csv file format. After saving, the file opens in the default application defined for opening .csv files on your computer, such as Microsoft Excel.
   	Details. Select and entity and click the Details button to view details of the selected entity stored in the baseline.
   	Go to Next/Previous Change. Moves to the next/previous change for the selected module.
   <Counter bar>	Located above each baseline pane, displays the number of entities that were added, modified, deleted, or moved, according to change status.
   <Left pane>	Displays entities stored in the older baseline.
   <Right pane>	Displays entities stored in the more recently created baseline or current entities.
   Entities	Displays the library's entities in the same hierarchical structure as defined in the selected module.
   Changes	Indicates differences between the two baselines. Possible values include the following: Added. The entity did not exist in the older baseline. Modified. There is a difference in the entity between the baselines. Absent. The entity does not exist in the newer baseline. Moved. The entity is in a different location in the tree structure in the newer baseline. Moved and Modified. The entity has changed and has been moved to a different location in the tree. A deleted or moved entity is displayed in its original location in the tree, indicated by a placeholder. This maintains the hierarchical structure, enabling you to compare changes between baselines.

2. To save the baseline comparison results in .csv file format, click the Export Comparison Results button . After saving, the file opens in the default application defined for opening .csv files on your computer, such as Microsoft Excel.

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Pin a test set to a baseline

You can pin a test set to a baseline to associate the test set with the versions of the tests stored in the baseline you select.

• In the Test Lab module, right-click a test set and select Pin to Baseline.

• To clear a pinned baseline, right-click a test set and select Clear Pinned Baseline.

For concept details on pinned test sets, see Overview.

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View baseline history

View and compare all versions of an entity that are stored in a baseline.

Select an entity in the tree or grid, and click History tab > Baselines tab.

For details, see Entity history.

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Share a library

Import a library to reuse an existing set of entities within a project or across multiple projects. As development continues, compare and synchronize libraries. For details, see Share Libraries.