How do you find where 'attribute data types' and 'link types' are used in a DOORS Next Project?
Context -- the first module in the list had this attribute data type created
Context 2 - the second module in the list had this attribute data type
Context 3 - the third module in the list had this attribute data type created
...
Context 10 - the tenth module in the list had this attribute data type created
There was also a corresponding artifact attribute created for each attribute data type in each module.
An artifact type was created for each module that was imported.
I cleaned up the import by, for instance, having the 2-10th modules all refer to the 'Context' attribute, to the 'Context' artifact type, and creating a single type of module, called "Requirements" and changing the artifact type of all the imported modules to "Requirements."
I *think* that I am not referencing any of the duplicate attribute data types, artifact attributes, and artifact types, and yet when I try to clean them up by deleting them, Next won't let me. For instance, it says that attribute data type that I am trying to delete is in use. This is the error message I get:
Notice
1) Is there a way to export to REQIF or import to Next such that creation of duplicate types is avoided? For example, how do I get Next to understand that an attribute data type named "Context" in module 1 is the same as attribute data type named "Context" in modules 2 through N, and it should therefore create a single "Context" attribute data type and not 10 uniquely named ones?
2) Now that I have gotten myself into this mess, how can I delete the duplicate types in the Project I imported? Currently Next won't let me because it claims they are in use. Manually, I can't find any uses of the types I am trying to delete, but I can't be sure there aren't any lurking in the database out of my sight. And I don't see a search facility in Next that would allow me to find uses of types so that I can de-reference/eliminate them and then perform the deletes.
2 answers
Comments
Daniel, Thank you for this answer. I was able to find some artifacts in my imported modules that are using the attribute data types I am trying to delete.
I have a follow-up question for you that is related to my first question. I would like to delete 9 artifact types that are not used in my Project. I created a filter and demonstrated to myself that none of the artifacts types are used in the module. However, when I try to delete these artifact types, NG puts up a warning that I can't delete because the artifact types are in use. But they aren't in use, and I just demonstrated that by the fact that my filter didn't catch anything. Do you have a workaround that would allow me to delete the unused artifact types? I would really like to be able to do this in order to clean up my migrated 9.X project.
As Daniel suggested, can you try to delete any unneeded attributes that may be referenced by the Artifact Type, and then try to remove the type? Another trick you might try is to do a reverse filter: filter on Artifact Types where 'is not any of' and select all of the other types, except for the one you want to delete.
Thanks,
Tom