Downloads - IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation

Rational DOORS Next Generation 5.0 New & Noteworthy

Rational DOORS Next Generation is an integral part of the Rational solution for Collaborative Lifecycle Management (CLM). For new and noteworthy information about other CLM applications, see these pages:

New in previous versions of Rational DOORS Next Generation

For details about new features and functionality in the previous release, see Rational DOORS Next Generation New & Noteworthy 4.0.6.

New in Requirements Management 5.0

Product rename
Improved artifact editing
Improved usability
Extensions support for scripting
Improved WAN performance
Storage separation for the Requirements Management application
Multiple Requirements Management applications on the same Jazz Team Server
New getting started guide
Full-text indexing

Product rename

As of version 5.0, IBM Rational Requirements Composer is renamed to IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation. For more details, read this Jazz.net blog post.

Improved artifact editing

Copy and Paste menu updates

The Copy, Paste, and Paste Special menu items are improved to more clearly indicate the various options that are available for pasting copied artifacts.

Rich-text editor update

The rich-text editor has been upgraded, which has fixed several defects and improved editing performance.

Increased support for selecting multiple artifacts in a module

You can now select up to 200 artifacts in a module to make bulk modifications to them.

As in earlier versions, you can select multiple artifacts by pressing the Shift key, or you can individually add or remove them. Your selection can by non-contiguous throughout the module as long as you do not select more than 200 artifacts.

Search for phrases

In the search field in the upper-right corner, you can now search for a particular phrase by putting double-quotation marks around multiple words. The search results will include any artifacts that contain that exact phrase.

Support for editing in Internet Explorer 11

An updated text editor provides new support for Internet Explorer 11.

Artifact header reorganization

All header elements are reorganized. This reorganization provides more vertical space so that you can better focus on your current task. The changes are most noticeable while you work with modules and collections.

Less commonly used actions are now in the More Actions menu. When you are working in a narrow browser window, all menu options are in the More Actions menu.

Attribute fields in the sidebar

Attribute fields were redesigned to simplify attribute editing in the sidebar. Labels and fields are no longer on the same line, which means that you can now edit attributes without maximizing the sidebar.

Improved usability

Alphabetical reordering for attribute data types

As an administrator, if you are managing project properties and are working on the Attribute Data Types page, you can now reorder enumerated entries by label or by value and in ascending or descending order.

If you select Order by Label, the Label column entries are ordered alphabetically in ascending or descending order based on your localization settings.

If you order by Value, the entries are ordered in the Value column in numerical order in ascending or descending order.

Filter by folders

On the Modules and Collections pages, you can now filter by folder. This functionality has always been available on the Artifacts page. All three pages now expand the folder filter by default.

Confirmation before deleting artifacts

On the Modules and Collections pages, if a folder does not contain a module or a collection, that folder might appear to be empty although it is not. To avoid unintended deletions, when you try to delete a folder, the confirmation window that opens has been changed.

If the folder has no contents, the window states that the folder is empty and that you can delete it.

confirm delete

If the folder has contents, the window states that. To proceed with the deletion, you must select a check box.

confirm if contents

Full folder names in the Filter by Folder section

When you hover over folders in the Filter by Folder view, the full name of the folder is now shown. In previous versions, you had to scroll to see the full name.

Options for opening artifacts

The row's edit menu now contains a new menu item: Open Artifacts. The menu items in that menu vary depending on how many rows you selected.

If you select only one row, the menu has options to open the artifact in the current browser tab or window, in a new tab in the current window, or in a new window.

one row selected

If you select two rows, the menu has options to open the artifacts in new side-by-side browser windows, in new tabs in the current browser window, or in two new browser windows.

two rows selected

If you select three to five rows, the menu has options to open the artifacts in new browser tabs in the current window or in new browser windows.

three rows selected

If you select more than 5 rows, the Open Artifacts menu items are disabled for performance reasons.

six rows selected

Changes to the row edit menu

To access the edit menu for a row, you no longer need to save the row; the menu is always available. When you click the menu, the row is automatically saved.

Help for saving edits

Because rows no longer include a save icon, pop-up help is now shown as a reminder that you can save by pressing Ctrl+S or by clicking outside of the row. The pop-up help is shown the first three times that you create or edit a row.

auto pop-up help

After the first three times that you create or edit, you can reinstate the pop-up help to be shown for another three times. To do so, from the User menu, click My User Preferences, and then click Restore.

user preferences

Support for dragging artifacts in Internet Explorer 10 and 11

If you use Internet Explorer 10 or 11, you can now drag artifacts between browser windows to create links or copy. That functionality was previously available only on Chrome, Safari, and Firefox browsers.

Module view information on dashboards

You can now show the results of a module view on a dashboard in the Requirements View widget. You can show that information for both shared and personal views.

Module view in dashboard

Improved sidebar splitters

When you hover over the right or left sidebar splitter, the collapse icons are highlighted so that you can easily see them. If you need to quickly make more space, collapse both sidebars by clicking the new Click to Collapse Both icon. To expand a collapsed sidebar, hover near the edge of the page, and when the splitter is highlighted, click it.

Banner improvements

Shorter headers: More space for your artifacts
The height of the header area has been reduced on the Artifacts, Collections, and Modules pages and on the pages that show individual artifacts. For example, when you view a feature, the header area now looks like this image:
Relocation of options for module-based artifacts
For module-based artifacts, the toolbar that was just above the header area has been removed. The options from that toolbar are now in either a toolbar in the upper-right header or in a menu in the column header. In the column header, click the Configure Page Settings icon to view options, including the settings for how many levels to display. To find or go to information, click the magnifying glass icon on the right.
New location for header menu items
Similarly, on the Artifacts, Collections, and Modules pages, three header area controls have moved into the Configure Page Settings menu. That menu now contains options for setting the number of rows to display, the grouping to use, and the links to show. The first three items in the menu are new.
Ability to minimize the banner
In the upper-right corner of the banner, you can click a new icon to either minimize or restore the banner. For example, if your screen looked like the previous image and you clicked the icon, the interface would change as shown in the next image.

As you can see, the banner height is reduced by more than 50 pixels, and the Home button moved into the reduced banner.
The Create button provides more information
The Create button now shows an icon to indicate the artifact type that you last created. If you click the button again, you will create that type of artifact.

New tab shows the details of a selected artifact in a module

While you are working in a module, you can now select an artifact and view its details in the right sidebar. The sidebar has two tabs: Module and Selection.

Selection tab

If you click the Selection tab, information about the selected artifact is shown. You can expand or collapse the sections in the sidebar by clicking their headers.

Attributes in the sidebar
The top section of the Selection tab shows all of the attributes of the artifact that is selected in the module.

You can edit the attributes and save your changes directly on the tab.

Like inline editing in a module, when you make another selection, your changes are saved.
Comments section
On the new tab, you can also expand the Comments section to view the comments for a selected artifact.

You can add comments, answer them, or remove them. If the module includes comments about base artifacts, those comments are also shown.
Links section
In the Links section, you can view links to and from the artifact. You can also create links.

If the module includes links to and from base artifacts, those links are also shown.
Where Used section
The Where Used section shows the places where the selected artifact is used. The current module is listed in this section, along with any other modules or collections that contain the selected artifact.

Extensions support for scripting

You can enhance the Requirements Management (RM) application by authoring extensions for it. The extensions can enhance productivity and are useful for analysis. You can add the extensions to your mini dashboard and remove them as needed. Extensions are authored by using a combination of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS files. The extensions access data within the RM application by using an RM API.

Artifact creation in a module

In a module, you can create an artifact that has a specified set of values. At a minimum, you must specify the artifact type. Only the Text format is currently supported. You can create artifacts before, below, or after another artifact in a module, or you can create them below a module to create them in the default location in that module.

Artifact movement in a module

You can move an artifact before, after, or below another artifact in the same module. When an artifact that has children is moved, its children are moved along with it. Movements that create circular structures, such as moving a parent artifact below a child, are prohibited.

Artifact removal from modules and deletion

You can remove an artifact from a module and optionally delete the underlying artifact associated with it if it that is the last use of it in a module. When you remove an artifact that has children, the children are removed and, if appropriate, deleted along with it.

Artifact type manipulation

ArtifactType is now available as a property that an extension can read. You can specify it when you request attributes from an artifact, and the display name of the artifact's type is returned to you as the value. Similarly, if you are setting the artifact type on an artifact, the display name of the type is specified as the value to set. Both system and user-defined types are accessible in this way.

Access to information about the current user

Extensions can now access information about the current user, who is logged-in and running the extension, by using a new JavaScript API method: RM.Data.getCurrentUser().

Invoke a remote web service

The API documentation for the RM client extensions includes a new sample that shows how to invoke an external web service from an extension. The sample also shows how to configure the system so that it can pass a single sign-on (SSO) token to the external web service. Then, the external web service can make OSLC requests back to the originating system without prompting the user for authentication.

Updated documentation and samples

Documentation about the 4.0.5, 4.0.6 and 5.0 client extension capability is currently available on this Jazz.net wiki.

In particular the 5.0 API specification covers these updates:

Information about the RM.Data.Module operation to remove, create, and move artifacts in a module
Information about using RM.Data.getCurrentUser to determine the current user's details
Information about how to use the RM.ArtifactType object to read the RM.Data.Attributes.ARTIFACT_TYPE property of artifacts

Additional samples that demonstrate functionality are provided on the 5.0 Examples wiki.

Updated version number

The Version property is now updated to read 1.1.

Improved WAN performance

Performance is improved when you access Rational DOORS Next Generation via a high latency WAN connection. It now takes less time to load a new browser session, create module artifacts, and render rich hovers over linked artifacts.

Storage separation for the Requirements Management application

Requirements management data is now stored in its own database. Previously, that data was stored in the Jazz Team Server database. Separating data from the central Jazz Team Server has several advantages:

Scalable architecture: The load on Jazz Team Server, which is used by the CLM applications, is reduced.
You can independently back up and restore requirements management data.
During the upgrade process for the requirements management repository, other CLM applications no longer need to be locked.
It takes less time to upgrade the requirements management repository.
RM administrators can use repotools to upgrade data offline and non-interactively.
The system performance is improved.

Multiple Requirements Management applications on the same Jazz Team Server

Multiple Requirements Management (RM) applications can now share the same instance of Jazz Team Server. When you share applications on the same server, you have more deployment flexibility for hosting RM projects on multiple servers. Additional benefits include central user and license administration and shared dashboards.

New getting started guide

A new getting started guide is available on developerWorks®, just in time for Innovate: Getting started with IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation, V4.0.6. The guide is in the format of a tutorial; as you complete the exercises, you gain experience completing essential tasks in the product.

Full-text indexing

Unique names for full-text index directories

Before the 5.0 release, the default full-text index directory had a hard-coded subdirectory name, as shown in the following example: "JazzTeamServer\server\conf\ccm\indices\workitemindex\fulltext_index"

However, a conflict occurred if multiple applications, for example CCM and QM, configured their full-text index directories to be the same folder. For details, see Work Item 285962. To avoid these conflicts, a unique identifier that is specific to each application is now used, as shown in the following example: "JazzTeamServer\server\conf\ccm\indices\workitemindex\_rgHxIpTTEeOSIqepiraiyw"

IBM Rational DOORS Next Generation

Definition � Management � Analysis

Rational DOORS Next Generation 5.0