Why can't I see all the Rational Team Concert features in Rational Software Architect?

This page describes what to do if you do not see, for example, the Work Items perspective after installing the Rational Team Concert Client for Eclipse IDE (Extension) and Rational Software Architect for WebSphere in the same IBM Installation Manager package group.

Initial assessment

Symptoms

• After you install Rational Software Architect for WebSphere in the same package group where you previously installed the Rational Team Concert Client for Eclipse IDE, the Work Item perspective disappears. Before the Rational Software Architect installation, the perspective was visible.
• After you install Rational Team Concert for Eclipse IDE (Extension install) in the same package group where you previously installed Rational Software Architect for WebSphere, the Work Item perspective is not visible.
• A NullPointerException with the stack trace:

  java.lang.NullPointerException 
   at com.ibm.team.workitem.rcp.ui.WorkItemUI.openEditor(Unknown Source) 
   at com.ibm.team.workitem.rcp.ui.internal.explorer.view.AbstractWorkItemExplorer.openSelection(Unknown Source) 
   at com.ibm.team.workitem.rcp.ui.internal.explorer.view.AbstractWorkItemExplorer$7.open(Unknown Source) 
   at org.eclipse.jface.viewers.StructuredViewer$2.run(Unknown Source) 

  may appear in the workspace log file when accessing Rational Team Concert functionality while the Jazz Source Control Capability is disabled, as reported in APAR PM72410.

Impact/scope

• Does it affect multiple installations?

Data gathering and subsequent analysis steps

Installation Manager logs

1. Start IBM Installation Manager.
2. Collect the installation logs by clicking Help > Export data for Problem Analysis
3. Save the resulting compressed file to a temporary folder.
4. Extract the files.
5. Check what exact products are installed by opening: installed.xml.
6. Look for installation errors by opening this file: logs\index.xml.
7. Compare the date and times of the installation logs with the installation history: histories\index.xml. This helps in establishing the phase during which the installation errors occurred.

Workspace logs

1. Gather this file:

    workspace\.metadata\.log 

2. In the file, look for any exceptions that occurred at the time when you tried to access Rational Team Concert features.

Possible causes

A capability is not enabled, but the product is correctly installed

• When you install Rational Team Concert in the same package group with Rational Software Architect, you will see a new capability called Jazz Source Control. This capability is not enabled by default. This capability is not visible in a standalone Rational Team Concert client installation.

Installation errors

• When installing two Eclipse-based products in the same Installation Manager package group, the Equinox P2 reconciler process runs. At times, this process fails to include all required components in the resulting Eclipse configuration.

Incompatible product versions

• Not all versions of Rational Team Concert and Rational Software Architect are compatible and can be installed in the same package group. The Rational Team Concert for Eclipse IDE (Extension install) is a smaller package designed specifically for installing on an existing Eclipse-based IDE, such as Rational Software Architect for WebSphere.

Possible solutions

Enable the Jazz Source Control capability

1. Start Rational Software Architect.
2. Click Window > Preferences > General > Capabilities.
3. Click Advanced.
4. Click Team > Jazz Source Control.
5. Try again to open the Work Items perspective by clicking Window > Open Perspective > Work Items.

Investigate any errors in the IBM Installation Manager logs

1. If the errors occur on only one machine, you might have to uninstall/reinstall the two products.
2. If the same errors persist or happen on multiple machines, it is possible that you have selected incompatible product versions. If you have checked that the products are compatible and the errors persist, contact IBM Rational Support and supply the logs.

Check for incompatible versions

1. Make sure that you have installed compatible versions of the two products.
2. You can check for compatibility among IBM products using this tool: http://www.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity/softwarePrereqsMatrix.html. Note however, that FixPacks are currently not listed.
3. Check the Rational Team Concert compatibility in the Rational Software Architect & Rational Software Architect for WebSphere Software v8.x - Supported Integration Information document

Related topics:

• Still need help troubleshooting your integrations issue? Refer to Integrations Troubleshooting for additional topics.

External links:

• http://www.ibm.com/software/reports/compatibility/clarity/softwarePrereqsMatrix.html
• https://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg27019498&wv=1#RTC
• The Work Items perspective is not available in Rational Team Concert: http://www.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21455459

Additional contributors: LaraZiosi