Relate and unrelate objects

Relate objects to show a connection between them. You can relate an object to multiple objects. For example, an item may be related to several other items. Unrelating objects removes the connection.

Overview

To relate objects, use the Relate/Unrelate menu option for each object type. You can also relate objects by dragging the object to be related onto another object in a content window.

Guidelines and limitations:

  • To relate one object class to another, you need the necessary privilege assigned to you in the Administration Console > Users, Groups, Roles and Privileges > Privileges section.

  • You may not be able to relate items and requests in certain lifecycle phases if the Change Management (CM) rules have been set to prevent this. For details about the CM rules, see Set up the process model.

  • If a request has been deployed to a particular stage, you cannot relate item revisions in response to the request if they are at an earlier deployment stage.

  • You cannot relate requests belonging to one product with items belonging to another product.

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View related objects

To view related objects, select an object in the left-hand pane of the content window. The related objects are displayed in the related object windows on the right-hand side.

Note: The related objects view reflects only the selection of a single object in the left-hand pane. If you select multiple objects on the left, the related objects view is not updated to reflect that selection.

The following icons indicate what type of relationship an object has with the selected object.

Icon Description
child_item_icon.gif  A right-pointing arrow indicates that the object has a child relationship toward the selected object.
parent_baseline_icon.gif  A left-pointing arrow indicates that the object has a parent relationship toward the selected object.
reusage_icon.gif  A chain icon in an object list indicates that the design part is being reused by the selected design part.
reused_design_part_icon.gif  In a design part tree, this icon indicates a design part that is being reused by the design part above it.

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Relate objects

Create a connection between objects by relating them.

To relate objects:

  1. In the desktop client's content window, select the objects to relate:

    Task Description
    Relate an item to an object. Select the item, and select Item > Relate/Unrelate.
    Relate a request to an object. Select the request, and select Request > Relate/Unrelate.
    Relate a baseline to an object. Select the baseline, and select Baseline > Relate/Unrelate.
    Relate a design part to an object. Select the design part, and select Part > Relate/Unrelate.
    Relate a project to an object. Select the project, and select Project > Relate/Unrelate.
    Relate a stream to an object. Select the stream, and select Stream > Relate/Unrelate.
    Relate a requirement to an object. Select the requirement, and select Requirement > Relate/Unrelate.
    Relate a release to a customer. Select the release, and select Release > Forward/Withdraw.
    Relate a customer to a release. Select the customer, and select Customer > Forward/Withdraw.

    2. The Manage Relationships dialog box opens.

  2. In the Manage Relationships dialog box, under the Specification column, select the node for the class of object you want to relate, and click Add.

    An <Object Class> /<Object Class> Relationship dialog box is displayed.

  3. To find the objects to relate, click Find.

    In the Find dialog box, specify criteria to limit your search. For details, see Create and use object filters.

    If you are relating to requests, and you have configured Dimensions CM to use requests from other providers, select the External Requests node. Then click Add to view and select external requests.

  4. To view the results of your search, select the Find Now tab.

  5. In the Find Now tab, select one or more objects, and click OK. The objects are added to the <object class> objects to relate to list in the <object class> to <object class> relationship dialog box.

  6. For some object classes, you can change the relationship type if needed. Click the link in the Relationship column, and select another relationship.

  7. For some object classes, you can change the direction of the relationship if needed. Click the link in the Direction column, and select another direction.

  8. Click OK.

  9. Repeat the steps to relate more objects.

  10. To confirm the changes, click OK.

Note: No processing takes place until you have clicked OK .

To relate objects by dragging and dropping:

  1. In the desktop client, select Tools > Preferences.

  2. In the Preferences dialog box, select the Miscellaneous tab.

  3. Under Drag & Drop, select Always enable user input, and click OK.

    Now when you drag an object onto another object in a content window, the Manage Relationships dialog box opens.

  4. In a content window, select one or more objects and drag and drop them onto another object.

    5. The Manage Relationships dialog box is displayed, with the newly selected objects highlighted in bold. Depending on the object class, the default relationship types and directions may be displayed as links. You can drag more objects from the content window into the dialog box.

  5. For some object classes, you can change the relationship type if needed. Click the link in the Relationship column, and select another relationship type.

  6. For some object classes, you can change the direction of the relationship if needed. Click the link in the Direction column, and select another direction.

  7. To relate the objects, click OK.

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Unrelate objects

Unrelate objects to remove a connection between them.

To unrelate objects:

  1. In the desktop client's content window, choose the objects to unrelate:

    Task Description
    Unrelate an item from an object. Select the item, and select Item > Relate/Unrelate.
    Unrelate a request from an object. Select the request, and select Request > Relate/Unrelate.
    Unrelate a baseline from an object. Select the baseline, and select Baseline > Relate/Unrelate.
    Unrelate a design part from an object. Select the design part, and select Part > Relate/Unrelate.
    Unrelate a project from an object. Select the project, and select Project > Relate/Unrelate.
    Unrelate a stream from an object. Select the stream, and select Stream > Relate/Unrelate.
    Unrelate a customer from a release. Select Release > Withdraw.
    Unrelate a release from a customer. Select the customer, and select Withdraw from Customer.

  2. In the Manage Relationships dialog box, in the Relationships list, select the objects to unrelate, and click Remove . The selected objects are displayed crossed out.

  3. To commit the changes, click OK.

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See also: