The folder and tree area in ReqSuite® RM provides users with the ability to access and organize the elements of the defined categories. For maximum flexibility in terms of desired perspectives, this area can be switched between a folder view and a refinement view (see Figure 1).

Folder View

In this view, the area lists all categories as defined in the project template. These categories can be further structured by folders. By clicking on a specific category or folder, the contents table to the right of the folder and tree area displays all the items that are in that category or folder. Dependencies between different elements are not shown in this view.

Refinement View

In contrast to the folder view, the refinement view does not display the categories and their folders. Rather, the complete hierarchical refinement of the elements located in the project is displayed, i.e. starting from one or more root nodes, all derived elements are visualized in the expandable tree structure. When clicking on an element of this tree, the content table to the right of the folder and tree area is filtered accordingly.

Functionality

Depending on the selected view and the marked element in it, the folder and tree area provides the following functions.

Search in project

By typing a (partial) search term into the search field “Search in project…”, a search result window is opened which lists the results of the search in a tabular overview sorted by content category. By clicking on any of the resulting table rows, the editing window of the corresponding element will be opened. The replace function in this search result window is accessible via button “Replace…” and can be used to replace all occurrences of a specific term within the search results with another term based on the option of considering parts of words or “whole words only”.

Reload project

By clicking on the “arrow circle” icon, the entire project including all categories and elements is reloaded anew from the server. This is recommended in cases where data is not up-to-date from the user’s point of view.

Collapse all elements

By clicking on the “dash” icon, all expanded categories, folders, or element dependencies are collapsed, reducing the corresponding view to the root categories and elements only.

Expand all elements

Clicking the “expand” icon opens all element dependencies and the corresponding view is expanded to the entire hierarchy. This function is only available in the refinement view.

Collapse / expand area

By clicking on the “double left angle” icon, the expanded folder and tree area is collapsed, reducing the corresponding area to the category icons only. By clicking on the “double right angle” icon in the reduced view, the whole area can be expanded again.

New folder

When being in the folder view and marking a category or already existing folder, a new (sub) folder can be created by clicking on the “directory” icon.

Delete folder

When being in the folder view and marking a folder, this folder can be deleted by clicking on the “trash” icon.

Calculate dynamic attributes

If the project template contains at least one attribute with a calculation formula, a “calculator” icon will be shown in the folder and tree area. By clicking on it, ReqSuite® RM will automatically update the values of all attributes with a calculation formulas. Please note, that these values will not be updated otherwise!

Only items outside folder

When clicking / activating this button, only the items below a category that are not part of a folder below this category will be displayed in the table on the right side.

Show changes to referenced elements

When an orange “exclamation sign” appears in the folder and tree area, this indiciates that there are changes on reused elements in the corresponding source project. By clicking on it, the users will have the possibility to compare the changes between the reuse based and the given project and the possibility to decide whether to update the project or not.

Assign Groups

When selecting a category or an existing folder in the folder view, Project Managers can assign groups to them (see Figure 2). Here you can only select from groups which are assigned to the users of the current project. The difference between the default group and the state-specific group assignment is that users assigned to the standard group can always edit elements of this category, even if they are not assigned to the element as the responsible person. In the case of the state-specific group assignment, users in these groups can only edit the elements of the category if the element is in this specific state.