Work in Eclipse IDE

You can do your ALM Octane work directly from the Eclipse IDE packages. To do so, install the ALM Octane plugin for Eclipse.

Overview

Using the plugin, developers can connect to an ALM Octane workspace, view ALM Octane items, and make updates.

The plugins are open source. To access the source code, see https://github.com/MicroFocus/octane-eclipse-plugin.

The plugins support two-way integration:

  • The plugin updates all data in the host Eclipse application.

  • Changes made in Eclipse impact data in ALM Octane.

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Prerequisites

This section lists the prerequisites for setting up a connection between Eclipse and ALM Octane.

  1. Verify that your operating system is supported: 

    • Windows 10, 8, 7

    • macOS 10.12

  2. Verify that your software is supported:

    App / Plugin Version
    ALM Octane Eclipse plugin

    12.55.4 and later

    ALM Octane 12.55.4 and later

  3. Verify that other software is supported:

    Software Version
    Java

    11 and later

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Download and install the plugin

There are three methods for downloading and installing the plugin.

From the Eclipse Marketplace

  1. From within the Eclipse IDE, choose Help -> Eclipse Marketplace.

  2. In the Find box, search for the ALM Octane plugin. Follow the on-screen instructions to install it.

From inside the Eclipse IDE

  1. From within the Eclipse IDE, choose Help -> Install New Software.

  2. Enter the URL for accessing the ALM Octane IDE plugin for Eclipse in Work with and click Add.

    The URL is https://microfocus.github.io/octane-eclipse-plugin/update-site.

  3. Enter a name for the software in the Add Repository dialog box.

  4. Click Select All and Next twice.

  5. Accept the terms, and click Finish.

  6. Restart the Eclipse IDE.

  7. Continue to Connect to ALM Octane.

From inside the Eclipse IDE for remote installation

To install the plugin at remote locations without Internet access, download a compressed archive of the plugin onto a storage device.

  1. Access this URL to download the archive: 

    https://github.com/MicroFocus/octane-eclipse-plugin/tree/gh-pages

  2. Click Clone or Download.

  3. Select Download ZIP.

  4. Unzip onto the storage device.

    Example: F:/MyEclipse/octane-eclipse-plugin-gh-pages

  5. For each remote computer, start the Eclipse IDE and choose Help->Install New Software.

  6. Enter the URL for accessing the ALM Octane IDE plugin for Eclipse in Work with.

    To do this, click Local and go to the update-site folder:

    <AnyName> - file:/F:/MyEclipse/octane-eclipse-plugin-gh-pages/update-site/

    Click Add.

  7. Click Select All and Next twice.

  8. Accept the terms and click Finish.

  9. Restart the Eclipse IDE.

  10. Continue to Connect to ALM Octane.

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Connect to ALM Octane

After installing, a new category of settings is available in Eclipse. We use this area to connect Eclipse to ALM Octane.

To complete the connection between Eclipse and ALM Octane|:

  1. In Eclipse, choose Window->Preferences-> ALM Octane Settings and continue to Connect to ALM Octane.

  2. Enter the URL for the ALM Octane server. The URL can include the query parameters for the relevant space and the workspace, in which case the Space and Workspace fields are automatically populated. Either of the following formats is valid: 

    • https://<server>:<port>
    • https://<server>:<port>/ui/?p=<spaceID>/<workspaceID>

  3. Either log in with a browser or directly from the IDE:

    • Login using a browser. The ALM Octane login window displays and you can enter your credentials for logging into ALM Octane. Use this option in for both non-SSO and SSO, federated environments, and for session timeouts.

      Tip: In the login window, you can also click the Click here to use your system default browser link to open an authentication page for logging in. Enter your credentials, close the browser, and you will be logged into ALM Octane.

    • Login with username and password. Enter your credentials for logging into ALM Octane directly. This option retains your credentials so you do not have to enter them each time.

  4. Click Test connection.

Tip: In Eclipse, if prompted, you can specify password hints for recovering your password.

You can now work with ALM Octane from within Eclipse.

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Work on your ALM Octane items

This section describes how to access your ALM Octane items from the ALM Octane's My Work tab.

To view your items|:

  1. Open the ALM Octane My Work tab

    Choose Window > Show View > Other. Then expand Octane: My Work and select the connection. The My Work tab opens, displaying work assigned to you. Use the checkboxes in the My Work tab to filter which items you can see. 

    When you start another session, the ALM Octane Eclipse plugin remembers what you were working on last time, and opens tabs in the ALM Octane pane accordingly.

    Most ALM Octane items are available from the IDE.

    You can see the comments in which you are mentioned. From a comment, you can go to the item that has the comment. To do this, double-click.

    Tip: To indicate that you are working on a particular item, and associate code changes with the item, right-click the item in the My Work pane, and choose Start work. A green triangle on the item icon indicates that you are "on it." When you are done, right-click and choose Stop work.

  2. View details

    Double-click any item to open its details in a separate pane. 

    Click to choose which fields to see. You can also choose None or All. These settings only affect you. When you start another session, the ALM Octane Eclipse plugin remembers your field selection.

    Tip: You can also open the item directly in ALM Octane in a browser. Right-click the item in the My Work pane, and choose:

    • View in Browser (System). This opens the item in a new browser window.

    • View in Browser (Eclipse). This opens the item in a new pane in the current Eclipse IDE.

    To return to the regular Eclipse IDE view, right-click the item and choose Details View.

  3. Search for items

    You can search the list of items in the My Work pane and display the results in a new tab, the relevant items based on search criteria. Enter a search string in the search box. The search results are opened in a new pane.

    The plugin remembers the last five searches you ran. Click to select one and re-run the search.

    The search runs in the scope of the current Eclipse project only.

    Tip: The search looks through all ALM Octane items, not just the ones assigned to you. You can use the search to assign an item to yourself, or click Add to My Work from the context menu.

  4. Update your items

    As you implement stories and fix defects in Eclipse, update your ALM Octane items.

    • Move the status of an item from one phase to another, according to the defined ALM Octane workflow.

    • Update field values.

      Limitation:  You cannot edit the Feature field.

      If a rule exists that makes a field read-only, and you modify its value, the plugin notifies you when you save the item.

    • Click Comments to view and add comments.

    Make sure to save .

  5. Download Gherkin test scripts to implement automation

    Gherkin tests can be initially created in ALM Octane, and then automated using Eclipse.

    1. In the My Work pane, right-click a Gherkin test, and choose Download Script.

    2. Select the folder into which you want to download the Gherkin test. Click OK.

      The downloaded script name is in the following format: 

      <TestName>-<TestID>.feature

      If the file already exists, you are prompted to overwrite it. Alternatively, you can cancel, and first rename the original script.

  6. Download BDD scenarios to implement automation

    You can create and run BDD (behavior-driven development) tests in ALM Octane using Gherkin scenarios, with the Cucumber-JVM framework.

    1. In the My Work pane, right-click a BDD scenario, and choose Download Script.

    2. Select the folder into which you want to download the BDD test. Click OK.

      The downloaded script name is in the following format: 

      <BDD Name>_<BDD ID>

      If the file already exists, you are prompted to overwrite it. Alternatively, you can cancel, and first rename the original script.

  7. Commit changes with generated messages

    You can declare to the SCM system, such as Git, that you have started work on an item in an Eclipse project. This means that when you commit changes for that item, automatically-generated text can be copied and pasted into the commit message for the item.

    You can commit changes for user stories, quality stories, defects, or active tasks.

    1. In the My Work pane, right-click a user story, a quality story, a defect, or an active task.

    2. Choose Start work. A "play button" appears on the icon for the item.

      Also, the item appears as a button in the toolbar in Eclipse. You can click this button to open the item's details in a tab.

    3. To generate the text for the commit message and copy it into the clipboard, right-click and select Commit Message to Clipboard. Alternatively, you can also click the corresponding button in the Eclipse toolbar.

      Tip: You must "start work" to copy the commit message.

    4. Commit your changes. In the Git Staging area, paste the contents of the clipboard into the Commit Message area.

      The format for the commit message contains the type and the item ID, followed by a colon (:). After the colon, enter more details for your commit message.

      For tasks, the item related to the task (such as a story or defect) is also included.

    To cancel the commit message, in the My Work pane, right-click the item and choose Stop work. Alternatively, click the Stop work button in the toolbar.

    You can also manually edit commit messages. For details, see Track commits to your SCM system.

  8. Dismiss items

    Remove items from your My Work list if they are no longer relevant. Right-click the item and choose Dismiss. The items are removed from My Work, but are not deleted in ALM Octane.

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See also: