Want to ensure the files you have downloaded are the original files published by 3SL?
On our website as well as being able to download the Cradle software we supply two text files. These files contain checksums, which are used to ensure the integrity of a file after it has been transmitted from one storage device to another.
Checksums available on 3SL website
SHA512.txt
This file contains SHA512 checksums for the files. You can generate a SHA512 checksum using the sha512sum command. For example:
sha512sum Cradle72_Setup.exe
Compare the output to the contents of the sha512.txt file.
SHA512 Integrity Checksum on Windows
MD5.txt
This file contains MD5 checksums for the files. You can generate a MD5 checksum using the md5sum command. For example:
md5sum Cradle72_Setup.tar.gz
Compare the output to the contents of the md5.txt file. The md5sum utility is available for Windows from various websites on the Internet.
This feature provides the ability for Cradle to authenticate a user against an LDAP server instead of passwords held in Cradle user accounts within a Cradle project database.
Used to look up user login information from a server
Avoids the need for user to enter username and password entry when launching the tools
LDAP is an optional part of Cradle that you can enable or not (disabled by default)
Supported by all Cradle tools
Login dialog showing LDAP being used
Cradle supports two methods of LDAP authentication:
The first for systems where the username can be inferred from network username and the second for systems where the username can not be inferred from the network username.
Force Network Login Name
The first method assumes that Cradle username is to be inferred from the current network username (Force Network LoginName). A user authenticates against LDAP when they login to the network by supplying a network username and a network password.
This method is to allow a user to login to a Cradle project without specifying a username or password. In this situation, the users are already authenticated to their desktop or Citrix environment and we do not require them to login again with a username and password to gain access to Cradle. So, provided that a user has logged-in to their desktop or Citrix environment and they have a User Profile in a Cradle project, the users will be able to login to Cradle without supplying a username or password.
Username/Password validated via LDAP server
The second method allows users to enter username and password to be validated via LDAP server. A user authenticates against LDAP when they login to the Cradle tools, by supplying a username and password.
LDAP control with ldap_config
Contained within the ldap_config file is an attribute called AUTO_LDAP_LOGIN
If AUTO_LDAP_LOGIN is TRUE then Force Network Login Name method is used (login with current network username) If AUTO_LDAP_LOGIN is FALSE then Username/Password validated via LDAP server is is used (allows users to enter LDAP username and password)
For more information on how to setup Cradle to intergrate/interact with your LDAP server please refer to the online help section.
Want to run a Consistency Check on just a single diagram?
Consistency Check from the Project Sidebar
If the user doesn’t wish to open the diagram, to run a consistency check. They can just right-click on a diagram in the Project sidebar tree and select ‘More –> Consistency Check’ from the context menu.
Using the Consistency Checker for a single diagram
This will bring up a report on the errors and warnings within the diagram; it will not open the diagram:
PAD Consistency Check Report
Check Diagram within a Form
If the user is happy to open the diagram in a form, they can right-click on the diagram and select ‘More –> Consistency Check’ from the context menu. They can also select the Diagram tab and click on the Consistency button.
Single Diagram Consistency Checking from a diagram form
Once the check is done the diagram will show you with the colours red (item has an error) and green (item is fine) in the diagram. A report with the errors within the diagram will now open as well.
Physical Architecture diagram showing the errors
Once you have checked and corrected the errors found, you can then recheck the diagram if you so wish.
Complete Consistency Check of a single diagram in a form
Once the diagram is error free, it will show all symbols as green and the report will not show any errors.
Here are some small hints and tips for formatting/preparing your documents correctly, which will save you time and energy otherwise expended on laborious cut and paste exercises.
Microsoft® Word Formatting
In order to parse documents, Document Loader uses the hierarchical Word document structure. That is, it will assume that a Heading 1 is of higher importance than a Heading 2. It is important to remember that the document structure is more complex than just making a title by ‘increasing the font size’. Switching views to ‘Outline’ can help you understand how Word see the document. This will assist in preparing your documents for Document Loader to parse.
Document Loader expects each requirement to be in a single paragraph and formatted with an appropriate heading style to indicate its level in the hierarchy.
Document heading styles to indicate level in hierarchy
Requirement text, figures and other information should be positioned directly beneath the heading and formatted using paragraph style Normal or other body text-level style.
Use separate paragraphs for distinct pieces of information, e.g. Assumption text and Requirement text.
Always use paragraph styles rather than text formatting to change the appearance of a paragraph.
Heading styles apply an outline level to your paragraphs, which tell Document Loader about the level of each requirement in the hierarchy
Document Loader prefers pictures and OLE objects to be inserted in line with text. This means the picture is positioned in the text layer of the document, rather than floating on top of the text. In line pictures produce a better document structure.
If you use captions to describe the pictures in your document, make sure that the caption is positioned immediately before or immediately after the picture, and formatted with Word’s caption style.
If your document contains diagrams built with Word’s drawing objects, then you must ensure that all shapes in the diagram are grouped, otherwise Document Loader will parse each shape as a separate image.
If you plan to capture a table with a requirement in each row, then your table must be uniform, that is, no merged cells and have the same number of columns in each row.
As with pictures, if you use captions to describe the tables in your document, make sure that the caption is positioned immediately before or immediately after the table, and formatted with Word’s caption style.
Caption directly above table
For more information on formatting your documents correctly please refer to our online help.
Most Configuration Management tasks are achieved using WorkBench but Configuration Management in Web Access is also available. For instance you can submit and review information in Web Access as well as unsubmitting items. These CM tasks are available in the Web Access “Configuration Management” sidebar:
Configuration Management in Web Access
You can submit items by query or you can submit them individually. Providing there are reviewers for the information, any user can submit information for approval.
Items can also be unsubmitted which cancels their review. This does depend on:
The ownership of the items
The current user’s privileges
The status of the item in the database
Whether any reviewers have started to review the item
Once items have been submitted for review, they can also be reviewed in Web Access.
If you have the TEAM_APPROVE privilege you can review information on behalf of a team member, therefore preventing reviews being held up due to team absences,
Review Dialog
In conclusion, if you are remotely working, with access to Cradle only via a browser, it is possible to review and approve or reject items. This can have great benefits to time-scales, it alleviates waiting for reviews to complete and negates having to manage an email ping-pong.
Parametric queries prompt you at runtime for values for certain parameters prior to the query being run. They are supported for Identity, Name, Key, Level and free-format categories (including picklists).
You are prompted for values when the query is run from the following places:
Query Details dialog
Definitions sidebar
Phase tree
As part of a report
When performing an export by query
A start page
From the Query dialog press the arrow button next to the field you want to set the prompt for and select “Choose at Runtime“. This produces the “Runtime Parameter Definition” dialog where you can setup the parametric query prompt:
Prompt shown when running parametric queries
You can also specify more than one parametric in the query dialog. This can prove very useful in simplifying the interaction in not having to use the full query details window.
When you run a parametric query the prompt will be shown. An example is shown below:
Parametric Query Prompt
Parametric queries are supported in both WorkBench and Web Access.
Multiple data cells are a useful way to combine a number of attributes in a single view cell. However, unlike other cells, the contents of Multiple Data cells can’t be copied in the same way. However, copying text from Multiple Data cells is still possible.
Usually, when in the Table or Document view styles, to copy the text contained in a cell you can simply click the cell to make it editable, select the text and use a keyboard shortcut (<ctrl> + C) to copy.
A Multiple Data Cell can use data from different sources. This means all cells of this type are uneditable from within a View. For this reason the method used to copy the contents of the cell is different from a standard Text Frame or Category, for example.
To copy the text contained within a multiple data cell, select the item which has the text you wish to copy and right-click to open the context menu. Once the context menu is open, select More -> Copy Item Text -> Multiple. The contents of the multiple data cell for the selected item will now be in your copy/paste buffer.
Copying text from a multiple data cell in WorkBench
Article Updated 04/02/2019 – Added an image showing the setup of a multiple data cell
Sick of having to start from scratch when working with large documents in Document Loader? Want to save your current progress and return at a later date?
You can use a session to save a snapshot of Document Loader, so you can return to the same point at a later time. Sessions are useful when working with large documents or if you need to shutdown your PC for any reason.
What is a Session?
Sessions store information about the state of Document Loader at a given point, such as:
A copy of the current document
A copy of the current capture setup definition
Which parts of the document have already been captured
The state of the Document Explorer tree nodes
Any mappings, e.g. table mappings
Any changes made in the Options dialog
How can I save a Session?
You can only save a session when working with a new document; not a new version of a document. You can save a session at any time, so long as you have a document open.
To save a session you can either:
Press the Save Session button button from the Toolbar
Select Save Session from the File pulldown menu
Press Ctrl + S (The Status Bar shows the progress of the Save operation)
How can I load/restore a Session?
To load a saved session you can either:
Select Load Session from the File pulldown menu
Press Ctrl + L If you attempt to load a session with a document open you will be prompted to close the current document. The Load Session dialog will be displayed as shown below:
Load Session Dialog
Simply identify the session you wish to load and select it in the list. You can sort on any column by clicking on its column heading; click once for ascending order and again for descending order. Click the OK button to load the selected session.
How can I delete a Session?
To delete a session you need to open the Load Session dialog by either:
Selecting Load Session from the File pulldown menu
Pressing Ctrl+L Select the appropriate session and press the Delete button. Select Yes to confirm the deletion and Cancel to remove the Load Session dialog.
Do you want to run your reports faster or wish you could run them overnight or at weekends so they are ready when you arrive at work in the morning? With batch file reports, you can do this quickly and easily.
What is a Batch File?
A batch file contains a series of DOS commands, and is commonly written to automate frequently performed tasks including publishing reports and documents. Instead of typing the same commands over and over in a Command Prompt, you can simply double-click the batch file or use Windows Task Scheduler to set it running during down times e.g. over night or weekends which then creates all the reports you require.
The following report will show you how to create a batch file for these reports.
How to Write a Batch File for Reporting
Using a plain text application like Notepad, you need to first set the folder the application to be used is in. In this case, it is in the same place all Cradle applications are held, the command does need to be surrounded by quotes
“%CRADLEHOME%\bin\exe\windows\c_table.exe”
You then need the login information to the project that you would normally would when using a Command Prompt.
-login admin,ADMIN,demo or -login reqman,REQMAN,demo
After these 2 necessary parts, you need the options for the report; you can find these options in our online Help System for c_table. If you are already in the Command Prompt in the correct location then just type in c_table and you will see the Information popup.
C_Table Command Options
Once you have finished writing you batch file, the command should look something like this:
Remember to put quotes around any options with spaces in them e.g. “Requirements – All”
Save this file using the DOS extension of .bat e.g. batch file reports.bat
How to Run a Batch File for Reports
Running a batch file is simple, as long as all the options in the commands are correct; just double click on the .bat file. You will see a Command Prompt open and as each report finished, the next will begin.
Command Lines for Batch File ReportingReports in the Temp Folder
As you will see running batch file reports is quicker and easier. You can also then add any reports you require to the file. The newly added reports are then also published the next time you run the batch file.
If you wish to use Task Scheduler for out of hour’s usage, you can find information here on the Microsoft website.
You can also use batch files for import and exporting through the c_io, publishing documents through Document Publisher and converting CSV information into a Cradle import/export file for loading into a Cradle PDB using the CSV Converter Utility.
You can expand and collapse items shown in a table in Table view or Document view displaying linked items in views. This is similar to expanding nodes in a tree using the current navigation. When an item is expanded (double click the number in the first column) in a table, a dot(.) is displayed in the first column representing the level:
