Using and re-using icons in customized processes
I've been merrily customizing the process for a project area and this has been generally successful. I've been assigning icons to new states/actions since this seems helpful and is recommended. However I am confused about the selection and use of icons, and I am now getting errors when starting RTC indicating that icons I selected for a customized process cannot be resolved - for example:
Unable to resolve icon: https://iantos.swg.usma.ibm.com:9443/jazz/service/com.ibm.team.workitem.common.internal.model.IImageContentService/processattachment/_Y5G0oLWZEd27lKA2IrNOwA/workflow/inprogress.gif
My suspicion is that I have somehow selected a "transient" icon that was actually owned by something else in the repository and it has subsequently been deleted under the feet of my customized process.
When am setting up some customization, I select Edit for a state or action and a list of icons appears - I have simply been selecting one that looks "appropriate" and everything seems to work ok.
So I am looking for advice and tips on:
1) Am I using the correct method for picking icons for customized processes?
2) How can I resolve the errors I am now seeing with the icons that cannot be resolved?
Thanks in advance!
Simon.
Unable to resolve icon: https://iantos.swg.usma.ibm.com:9443/jazz/service/com.ibm.team.workitem.common.internal.model.IImageContentService/processattachment/_Y5G0oLWZEd27lKA2IrNOwA/workflow/inprogress.gif
My suspicion is that I have somehow selected a "transient" icon that was actually owned by something else in the repository and it has subsequently been deleted under the feet of my customized process.
When am setting up some customization, I select Edit for a state or action and a list of icons appears - I have simply been selecting one that looks "appropriate" and everything seems to work ok.
So I am looking for advice and tips on:
1) Am I using the correct method for picking icons for customized processes?
2) How can I resolve the errors I am now seeing with the icons that cannot be resolved?
Thanks in advance!
Simon.
4 answers
Hi Simon
What you did is the correct way to assign icons in the process specification. The error message states, that there is no workflow icon 'inprogress'. If you could select that Icon in the dialog, this is a bug (please report on jazz.net against the work items component).
However when you e.g. copied the process spec xml from one project area to another without copying the process attachments (or adding and assigning the icons), this will most likely happen. Whether the icon exists in the repository can be seen on the first page of the Project Area editor. There is a (initially collapsed) section named Process Attachments, which lists all icons (with a prefix e.g. workflow/xyz or enumeration/abc for workflows and enumerations). If you think everything is correct and there is a bug on our side, please append a screenshot of this process attachments section and your process specification xml (if it does not contain sensitive data).
Regards
Marcel
Jazz Work Item team
What you did is the correct way to assign icons in the process specification. The error message states, that there is no workflow icon 'inprogress'. If you could select that Icon in the dialog, this is a bug (please report on jazz.net against the work items component).
However when you e.g. copied the process spec xml from one project area to another without copying the process attachments (or adding and assigning the icons), this will most likely happen. Whether the icon exists in the repository can be seen on the first page of the Project Area editor. There is a (initially collapsed) section named Process Attachments, which lists all icons (with a prefix e.g. workflow/xyz or enumeration/abc for workflows and enumerations). If you think everything is correct and there is a bug on our side, please append a screenshot of this process attachments section and your process specification xml (if it does not contain sensitive data).
Regards
Marcel
Jazz Work Item team
Hello Marcel,
Thanks for your quick reply. So the way that I have been customizing process is generally:
1) copy and paste of XML to get started (for example, set up a new workflow based on an existing one)
2) edit the copied XML to make it unique and give it a name
3) then use the Process Configuration tab to edit the process and refine it
Note that the XML that was copied and used as the basis for the new specification was from the same project area - never from a different one. I can quite understand that that could cause problems.
Therefore icons would have been set up in my customized process by both the method of copying XML and by using the graphical editor dialog. I'm afraid I'm not able to recall whether the icons that are now unresolved were done in any particular way or not - so its difficult for me to report a specific defect, even if there is one.
I can see the Process Attachments section - and it does list a lot of icons. The names are of the form:
/workflow/iantos.swg.usma.ibm.comNNNNNNN_<name>.gif
where:
- there is an "optional" dash "-" after the host name
- NNNNNNNN is an 8 - 10 digit number
- <name> is the meaningful bit - high, normal, reopen etc
The dialog for setting and editing icons lists them in this
form also (less the initial "/workflow/". There appear to be many duplicated icons - for example multiple icons that are the same image but have a different NNNNNNN.
Not sure if any of this is significant.
The specific icons that I get the error messages for do not have a NNNNNNN component. They all end in the form:
.../workflow/resolve.gif
I don't know where these came from.
I'd be interested in any guidance you can offer - especially if it is to be more careful, or take different actions when customizing process to avoid this problem.
I plan to seek out all the icons that have errors and reassign them using the graphical editor.
Thanks for your quick reply. So the way that I have been customizing process is generally:
1) copy and paste of XML to get started (for example, set up a new workflow based on an existing one)
2) edit the copied XML to make it unique and give it a name
3) then use the Process Configuration tab to edit the process and refine it
Note that the XML that was copied and used as the basis for the new specification was from the same project area - never from a different one. I can quite understand that that could cause problems.
Therefore icons would have been set up in my customized process by both the method of copying XML and by using the graphical editor dialog. I'm afraid I'm not able to recall whether the icons that are now unresolved were done in any particular way or not - so its difficult for me to report a specific defect, even if there is one.
I can see the Process Attachments section - and it does list a lot of icons. The names are of the form:
/workflow/iantos.swg.usma.ibm.comNNNNNNN_<name>.gif
where:
- there is an "optional" dash "-" after the host name
- NNNNNNNN is an 8 - 10 digit number
- <name> is the meaningful bit - high, normal, reopen etc
The dialog for setting and editing icons lists them in this
form also (less the initial "/workflow/". There appear to be many duplicated icons - for example multiple icons that are the same image but have a different NNNNNNN.
Not sure if any of this is significant.
The specific icons that I get the error messages for do not have a NNNNNNN component. They all end in the form:
.../workflow/resolve.gif
I don't know where these came from.
I'd be interested in any guidance you can offer - especially if it is to be more careful, or take different actions when customizing process to avoid this problem.
I plan to seek out all the icons that have errors and reassign them using the graphical editor.
Hi Simon
Copying XML is dangerous (although it should not be a problem when copying from the same project area, as you noted), but we do not have support to provide a richer copy/paste action, except the Duplicate action in the UI editors (which are also limited to the same project area). In the end, you have to be careful to not mess up the icons.
What you described looks to me that someone has already worked with the project specification and replaced our icons with ones with the names you stated. Our icons have the following patter:
/workflow/resolution.gif
or
/enumeration/high.gif
or
/workitemtype/bug.gif
All other icons where added by someone else. I think, the original icons where deleted, but you pasted a snippet that still referred them.
The fact that you have something like version (the NNNNNNNN in the names) may result from the lack of a delete/remove action in our UI editors.
You can however remove process attachments from the first page of the Project Area editor.
As you noted, the best to do in such a situation is track the errors and re-assign 'bad' icons. (Or, you can also do this by going trough the UI editors, open the edit dialog on e.g. the workflow states and verify that there is an initial selection in the icons list.)
Regards
Marcel
Jazz Work Item team
Copying XML is dangerous (although it should not be a problem when copying from the same project area, as you noted), but we do not have support to provide a richer copy/paste action, except the Duplicate action in the UI editors (which are also limited to the same project area). In the end, you have to be careful to not mess up the icons.
What you described looks to me that someone has already worked with the project specification and replaced our icons with ones with the names you stated. Our icons have the following patter:
/workflow/resolution.gif
or
/enumeration/high.gif
or
/workitemtype/bug.gif
All other icons where added by someone else. I think, the original icons where deleted, but you pasted a snippet that still referred them.
The fact that you have something like version (the NNNNNNNN in the names) may result from the lack of a delete/remove action in our UI editors.
You can however remove process attachments from the first page of the Project Area editor.
As you noted, the best to do in such a situation is track the errors and re-assign 'bad' icons. (Or, you can also do this by going trough the UI editors, open the edit dialog on e.g. the workflow states and verify that there is an initial selection in the icons list.)
Regards
Marcel
Jazz Work Item team