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Toolsuite

An overview of the Toolsuite Products in Cradle Software

Toolsuite is a set of tools which utilises the applications in Microsoft® Office. These tools will only work on a Windows environment utilising MS Office from 2007 and up.

Supported Versions and Platforms

The Toolsuite supported versions of MS Office are:

  • 2007 32‐bit
  • 2010 32‐bit and 64‐bit
  • 2013 32‐bit and 64‐bit
  • 2016, 32‐bit and 64‐bit

Any of the Click To Run (CTR) Office suite is also supported by Cradle Toolsuite.

This can be on any of the following Windows platforms:

  • 7 32‐bit and 64‐bit
  • 8.1 32‐bit and 64‐bit
  • 10 32‐bit and 64‐bit

Also it can be installed on the following servers:

  • 2008 R2 32‐bit and 64‐bit
  • 2012 64‐bit
  • 2012 R2 64‐bit
  • 2016 64-bit

Tools

The different tools within the suite utilise the following Office applications:

  • Word
    • Document Loader for loading documents

      New document version to be captured using Document Loader
      Document Loader Screen
    • Document Publisher for creating and printing of official documents
    • Spellchecker to check the spelling in item frames
    • Word/document frames for items e.g. .doc and .docx frames
    • Document Coverage shows the items covered by a document
    • Document Compare compares different versions of source documents against each other
    • Word frame to RTF Frame converter
  • Excel
    • Add-in for imports

      The Excel add-in for Cradle's Toolsuite
      Excel Add-in
    • Excel frames for files
  • Project
    • Add-in for importing and exporting to a project file
    • Project frames for files
  • Visio
    • Plug-in allows import of pages and symbols as items
    • Visio frames for files
  • PowerPoint
    • Allows WorkBench to print diagrams to RTF and convert the file to PowerPoint presentations.

Installing Toolsuite

For a successful install of Toolsuite, the MS Office needs to be of one version and not mixed versions. For example, if the user has Word/Excel 2007 but Visio/Project 2013, the plug-in or frames for Visio/Project 2013 is not installed. The installer automatically checks for the architecture of Word/Excel as each MS Office version needs different library files installed by Toolsuite. All other MS applications versions are disregarded if a different version to Word and Excel.

Upgrading or changing MS Office

If upgrading or changing your Office then you should always uninstall Toolsuite first. Once Office is upgraded or changed, Toolsuite can be reinstalled to allow the correct library files to be installed.

Uninstall Toolsuite not Cradle
Uninstall Toolsuite not Cradle

The user doesn’t need to download a separate Toolsuite installer but can find the installer within the main Cradle install folder.

Toolsuite folder
Shows the Toolsuite folder within the main Cradle install folder

During the install the InstallShield will automatically pick the version to install based on the version of Word and Excel that are installed.

Once Toolsuite is installed successfully, you can access the plug-ins by opening the relevant MS application and selecting the Cradle tab. Document Loader, Document Publisher and Spellchecker are opened through WorkBench, Project Manager or the start menu.

The ‘Word frame to RTF‘ frame converter is accessed via a command line utility. This will take Word frames and copy the data into an RTF frame. More information for using the converter can be found by entering c_word2rtf into the Search bar of our Help system or online at https://www.threesl.com/cradle/help.

Both Document Coverage and Compare are used inside WorkBench and are started by selecting one or more Source Documents and selecting the option in a context menu.

For information on binary and other frames types check our help section or search our blog.

Trouble Shooting Issues

If you are having issues with the install of Toolsuite, then try the following:

  1. Make sure your Windows platform is fully up to date including:
    a. Visual V++ Redistributables (https://support.microsoft.com/)
    b. ‘.NET’ (https://support.microsoft.com/)
  2. Ensure the installed MS Office is fully up to date and check compatibility with Toolsuite here
  3. Ensure your old office keys are no longer in the Registry especially if you are using Click-to-Run versions
  4. Check the Compatibility tab in the Properties for the Toolsuite setup.exe. Select Change settings for all users and uncheck the Compatibility mode checkbox at the top of the dialog. Click the Apply button and OK to close Properties.
  5. Make sure you perform  the install with System Administrator privileges not just logged in as an Admin user

If you are having issues after install then try the following:

  1. Make sure you have restarted your machine after the install
  2. Check you have opened your Office and registered it if you need to
  3. Check .Net framework and C++ redistributables are up to date
  4. Make sure your Toolsuite version is the same as your server version

If none of the above trouble shooting works then send an email to support@threesl.com with any logs created, exports and screenshots if possible.

For more information either look for blogs about the individual applications or see our online Help.

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May 2018 Newsletter

May day, Mayday

Festival of Flora Roman goddess of flowers
Floralia

We most certainly mean May Day, not Mayday!  But have you ever stopped to think of the origins?

May day can be traced back to the Roman goddess of flowers Floralia, whose day was celebrated at the end of April. As secular celebrations became more popular, and with the calendar of the day, the 1st of May marked the first day of Summer.

From flowers to maypoles and crowning of the May Queen, a celebration of fertility and new life is now more commonly linked to the early holiday in May. (BTW the UK office will be closed on the 7th May 2018 as it is a bank holiday). The celebration is also closely aligned in the USA with Labor Day, a celebration of workers rights to fair and just working practice.

On the other hand the Anglicisation of the French  m’aider, meaning ‘help me’ is used as a verbalisation of S.O.S. We hope a phrase you never have to use. However, if you do feel your project is having a bit of a Mayday moment, maybe you need to ensure its all in Cradle and you have complete control of your requirements…….

Here at 3SL towers we’re celebrating the ‘New Life’ aspect with the birth of Cradle-7.4!

Cradle Version 7.4

Cradle 7.4 Logo
Cradle 7.4

3SL are pleased to announce the release of Cradle-7.4.

There are some really helpful new features to look out for, so watch the blog posts over the next few weeks.

Those with maintenance agreements may request to receive new security codes by email.

User 3SL30 for a £30 discount see https://www.threesl.com/blog/birthday-voucher-30/ ‎
Discount code

Those with Single User licences for 7.3 or before, or those wishing to purchase extra licences, may want to keep an eye open for a 30th Birthday discount. I can’t say too much but you might want to take note of this code. Ts&Cs apply

 

GDPR

padlock over computer based on images from negativespace.co pixabay.com on pexels.com
GDPR

Time is racing towards final implementations for GDPR.

Watch our website for the final policy updates. If you have any comments please get in touch.  social-GDPR@threesl.com !!

Social Media

Twitter

PNNL discover a way to capture Xenon
Xenon Catcher tweet

We love keeping an eye on what’s new with our customers and changing in the engineering community. A ‘vacuum cleaner’ for Xenon caught our eye.

We looked at long distance communication BI (Before internet) #AmateurRadio Day 2018 with a SysML (Systems Modelling Language) sd (sequence diagram).

Hints of the Month

Last month’s blog articles included:

Looking at how to control duplicate expansions on a Hierarchy Diagram (HID). And how to control the rules that allow or prevent those links in the first place.

 

You can read Hints & Tips in the 3SL Blog

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Cradle 7.4 – Now Available

We are pleased to announce the latest Cradle release!

3SL customers with active maintenance have been sent an e-mail notification of this release, and details of which enhancement requests and bug reports are in it.

Cradle 7.4 logo
Cradle-7.4

New Capabilities

This release contains a range of new capabilities that are described in its release notes:
https://www.threesl.com/downloads/download.php?version=v7.4&section=documentation&filename=rm00780-V74ReleaseNotes.pdf

Some of the highlights are:

  • SMTP support – Cradle alerts on both Windows and Linux can be sent with a new  SMTP client.
  • Email Alert Templates – More comprehensive and tailor-able SMTP emails for alerts produced by Cradle.
  • Lifecycle Workflows – An extension to the Configuration Management System. This allows items to advance through a number of user defined stages.
  • Attribute Sets – Allows users to define a ‘unique’ identity based on more than one item attribute
  • Web Access Views – Now even closer to those you are familiar with in WorkBench
  • Forms – Collapsible panels, linked item filtering, an run a command button are all new here.
  • Views – Additional commands, linked item filtering get you the actions and items you need more easily.
  • Queries – More fields now support Regex formats for more flexibility
  • Hierarchy Diagrams – More colouring options to highlight the parts of the data you want to draw attention to.

Download

It is available from our website here:  https://www.threesl.com/downloads/software.php

You need a new Security Code for Cradle-7.4, other Security Codes cannot be used. There is a database conversion from 7.3 to 7.4. The converter will run automatically if you install Cradle-7.4 over the top of, in the same directory as, the earlier version of Cradle from which you are upgrading.

You must upgrade all Cradle installations to 7.4. Cradle-7.3 clients cannot connect to a Cradle-7.4 server, and a Cradle-7.4 server cannot serve Cradle-7.3 clients.

We hope that you will welcome the new capabilities in Cradle-7.4!

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Birthday Voucher Discount

Celebrate 3SL’s 30th Birthday Year with a Discount

To help celebrate 3SL’s 30th year we’re offering £30** discounts*.

30th Birthday Cake
30th Birthday Discounts
* terms and conditions apply
** fixed equivalent € and $ available

We hope you’ll agree that Cradle is already a great value package in any of its single user or enterprise versions. It combines a hugely powerful Requirements Management tool for massively scalable requirements engineering, with Model Based Systems Engineering capabilities (MBSE). From the initial inception of  your project through the elicitation, analysis, design, testing and documentation phases of your project, Cradle is there to support you. With this birthday offer we’re giving you even better value, or offering to support a charity – see ‘Enterprise licences’.

Single User Product Discount

User 3SL30 for a £30 discount see https://www.threesl.com/blog/birthday-voucher-30/ ‎
3SL30 – Discount Voucher

Use the special discount voucher code to get £30** off any single user product. If you’re not already on the latest version of Cradle, this is an ideal opportunity to upgrade.

All you need to do is enter the ‘secret’ £30** discount voucher code in the “Discount Code” field  at the bottom of the shop checkout page.

Need help finding a discount voucher? (Look closely!!)

Enterprise Licences

We will offer £30** off EACH licence purchased during the offer period. This may be taken as a discount from your invoice or you can nominate a registered charity of your choice and 3SL will make an equivalent donation. If you find your project is expanding and you add a single REQ licence for another engineer you can claim one £30** discount / donation. If you are buying a new set of licences for a project say 5-REQ, 2-SYS and  1-DASH that’s a total of 8*£30 = £240 off the licence cost, or a lovely donation to a charity of  your choice.

(*) Terms and Conditions

Continue reading “Birthday Voucher Discount”

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Creating Link Rules in Cradle

Creating Link Rules in Cradle

Creating link rules in Cradle is performed in the Link Rules section of Project Setup. If you require more information on how to find this please see the previous post Getting Started with Link Rules in Cradle.

New link rules are added by selecting the Add… button to the right of the Project Setup window.

Select the Add... button to create link rules
Select the Add… button to create new link rules

Selecting Add… opens the Link Rule Setup dialog. The purpose of this window is to select the attributes for our new link rule.

Creating link rules in the Link Rule Setup dialog.
Cradle’s Link Rule Setup Dialog

Specifying Options and Attributes in Link Rule Setup

When creating link rules, you need to decide their purpose and to what items/aspects you want them to apply.

Rule Control

  • Firstly decide whether the rule is enabled (this allows rules to be written but whether they are applied or not may depend on the stage the current project is at)
  • Next decide whether this rule is an ALLOW (Permit the operation) or PREVENT (Prevent operation) action.
  • Choose whether this is a blanket rule, or whether it only applies to certain Users, or User Teams.

Cross Reference Attributes

  • Pick the item types that this refers to. (If these are model-based there are further options to fill)
  • Optionally restrict this to items with a particular ID. (This might be useful if you have an over arching item e.g. “Reference Set External” to which all external references are linked with a special INCLUDES link type which can be made by anyone adding a reference)
  • The link type can be specified as any of those defined for the project, or <any> which allows all link types to match, or a Link Group which is a set of link types.
  • Choose the cardinality allowed.
  • Optionally mark this as the default link type between two specific item types. This will then be the link type chosen when creating cross references between items of the specified type, either to set the UI as default or when no UI option is available for the action.

Matched Rule Controls

This defines what the rule will allow in terms of Creation, Deletion or Modification.

Ordering Rules

When creating link rules, remember they are applied in a top down fashion, the first match wins. If there is a narrow case you don’t want to allow, you may choose to PREVENT this first and then add an ALLOW below it. If there is a narrow case you want to ALLOW you would order this first and then PREVENT everything else.

Example:

To allow Requirements to be linked to any Equipment Design item, with any link except CHILD you would define two rules.

  1. PREVENT Requirement ⎯ CHILD → EQUIPMENT DESIGN
  2. ALLOW   Requirement ⎯ <any> → EQUIPMENT DESIGN

To allow the Requirements to be linked to other Requirements using the CHILD link, and nothing else a further two rules would be added.

  1. ALLOW   Requirement ⎯ CHILD → Requirement
  2. PREVENT Requirement ⎯ <any>→ Requirement
How the order of link rules plays an important part in their definition
Link Rule Ordering
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World Amateur Radio Day 2018

World Amateur Radio Day 18th April 2018

Celebrating world amateur radio day, we look at the way pre internet, radio shrunk the world. Using a variety of frequencies to transmit locally, or over long distances, radio ‘hams’ passed messages round the world long before there was Twitter, SMS or even phone calls. Relays passed on messages acting as go-betweens in the same way our major backbone carriers pass our messages today. However, it was all a little more civilised and ‘human’ rather than a hub of computers and machine readable protocol.

An "sd" representing an intial amateur radio ham contact
Ham Sequence Diagram

So “CQ from 3SL, calling CQ three sierra lima and listening” “Hello all on World Amateur Radio Day 2018! ” To find out more about your local radio society,  head over to your countries associations. International Amateur Radio Union Radio Society of Great Britain and local to us here in Cumbria Furness Amateur Radio Society 

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Can I control duplicates on my hierarchy diagram?

Duplicates In a Hierarchy?

In the case of a standard hierarchy in a book, it is unlikely you’d see duplicates. Chapter 1 may contain paragraph 1 and sub paragraph 1.1. (A complete reference of 1.1.1).  Paragraph 1 in chapter 2 would be 2.1 and therefore, even though paragraph 1 is a duplicate number the full identity is unique. However, in an engineering context, it is much more likely that information will be referenced in more than one place. Hierarchy duplicates are not unusual for referenced information. After all, it is much better to store the information once and use it many times. This is one of the major benefits of a Requirements Management tool. Imagine each component that has to meet a certain design standard. It makes complete sense to relate each part to the  standard, rather than copying the standard numerous times. In this regard the hierarchy contains duplicates. For each part that is drilled down many  components will end up with the same standard at a lower level of the hierarchy.

Linked Hierarchical Information

The following example shows the expansion of a component (Pump) into the sub components (we’ve followed a link type of SUB-PART). The diagram shows that two of the components have to comply with specific flammability requirements. Both Pump Housing and Pump Electrical Control are linked to REF-13 for Flammability. In turn this has lower elements of Smoke  generation for plastics and flammability of Cables.

The diagram illustrates that REF-1.3 is a duplicate by the small square in it’s NE corner.

How to control expansion of hierarchy duplicates on a HID
HID Expansions

Controlling Expansion of Hierarchy Duplicates

The Hierarchy Diagram Properties dialog has an option to control whether items seen as duplicates are expanded to further levels. Here the Expand Duplicates option is unticked which is why the user does not see REF-12 and REF-14 expanded below it.

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April 2018 Newsletter

Happy New Year!?

Yes, I know it’s the April 2018 Newsletter. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582. The switch by countries was gradual, with the UK changing in 1752. During the switch the UK lost 11 days in September, and the start of the year was moved to January the 1st. We covered some of the strange naming conventions in our October newsletter. Originally the first day of a ‘new year’ was 25th March, this sudden jump would have messed up financial institutions accounts. So they kept the start of the fiscal year more or less where it was, shifting by those same 11 days to 5th April. Or it could have been that the accountants were so drunk at Christmas they just couldn’t face doing the accounts when they returned to work. Take your pick.

finance image from pexels.com
Budget

So if you are lucky enough to be dealing with a new budget for the “new year” now’s the time to check you are getting value for money across all your projects. Are you still dealing with several different tools to manage your Requirements and model your Systems?
Could you consolidate these tools and methods by adding extra licences to your Cradle installation and then  on-boarding (yuck -Sorry read that one in a trendy blog post somewhere) the less enlightened?
On the other hand if you’ve been Spring cleaning and found your project a little out of kilter, you may realise that the management view you have over it,  is not as clear as it ought to be. Then maybe adding a Dash or Metric licence to Cradle could help with getting to grips on the health of your project. However we can help, don’t hesitate to call  us here in the UK or your local distributor.

Metrics

Measurements and collation of the results are an important management tool.

metrics in Cradle
Metrics

It is obviously important to manage and track the right thing. Using the ludicrous  quote “The majority of people involved in accidents were wearing white underwear….”, you may jump to the conclusion that brightly coloured pants will keep you safe. Of course this statement is completely meaningless without context because if white pants are the most popular colour you could make that statement apply to any topic.

Provided you are measuring sensible information, percentage of  Requirements that are Accepted, or Underway gives a really useful view about the maturity of your project.

In Cradle you can define any number of metrics, save and re-run them at a later date. A metric is made up of a set of elements, each element is a query to the database to retrieve item(s), and an analysis operation on these items. This could be a simple count, or a more comprehensive coverage analysis of attributes.  Available functions include:

  • Item count
  • Minimum value, Maximum value
  • Averages/spread (mean, median, mode(s), variance (population-based), range, standard deviation (population-based) and semi-interquartile range)
  • Total / Weighted total of values
  • Range of values
  • Pivot table for category values
  • Coverage statistics

The returned values can also be further manipulated with  Metric calculations, combining values with basic mathematical operations. Delve into the help section for more information or read the flyer.

Cradle Features Coming Soon….

As we mentioned in February Cradle 7.4 is on the way. Look out for; New colouring options in (HID) Hierarchy Diagrams,  Additional Regex (regular expression) matches in queries,  Unique attribute checks……..

Social Media

Twitter

Yey! Our followers still steadily climbing, but will you be the one that pushes us over the 400 mark?? What happens when we get to 404, do we get Follower Not Found? (Oh dear, sorry,  bad engineering joke crept in. Ed.)

screenshot of @threesl on Twitter
Twitter Account

We read how conventionally CO is seen as bad, but there could be a route to making fuel.

We gave you a peek inside 3SL towers at some of the great staff we have.

We found ourselves hungry on St. Patrick’s day.

And took comfort that we were missed…..

Hints of the Month

Last month’s blog articles included:

We highlighted types of storage in Cradle, last month. Think of this too as a way to get tighter control over some of those files that form part of your Requirements set. Adding them to a Cradle item and then adding meta data to describe how they fit into your project.

We also looked at setting your model drawing preferences.

And to fit in with our Spring Cleaning, some housekeeping tips in Cradle.

You can read Hints & Tips in the 3SL Blog

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What is a System?

System

[sis-tuh m]noun:  an assemblage or combination of things, parts, sub systems, members, operations or principles forming a complex or unitary whole.

Context

To answer the question ‘What is a System?’ you first need to understand your context. When you get down to the ‘atomic’ level for your component parts you’re unlikely to model them any further. A local authority may want to model their transport system. This may include vehicles, termini, and ticketing systems. Whilst their model may include the external specifications of a bus (in terms of weight and width) to plan a terminal, they are unlikely to care whether the bus electrical operates on 24v or 48v batteries.  Unless they have to supply charging points at the depots. The tram’s external specification would again include width, height and mass, but it is very likely that the authority would need to know the electrical operation characteristics in their model if they are responsible for the track.

illustration of systems and context
System Components

The bus manufacturer is not really interested in how the local authority terminal looks or operates. However, they may have design constraints for the width or length imposed by their customer. Being able to identify these parameters in their design will help them design any modifications needed to meet the requirements. Some times there is need for shared information. The ticketing system may be supplied by a third party, both the council and the bus vendor will be interested as part of that system will fall within their responsibility. Ticket sales at the terminal, ticket machines fitted on the bus. The bus manufacturer will undoubtedly model their vehicle, there will be detail plans of what connects to what and what operational parameters are needed for each. In this way if a new component is introduced, it is easier to see the impact. The new air conditioning unit needs 48v supply, the bus currently uses 24v how do we assess the impact and know what is dependent on the current voltage line?

Should I model X?

Whether a system, or sub-system is worth modelling heavily depends on your position in the project chain. Deciding whether this is ‘atomic’ level for you is very dependent on your industry. Assessment should be made as to  the likelihood that parameters of the component may affect higher level systems. The likelihood of whether a subsystem is going to be re-used in a number of different high level systems, and whether stakeholder or external constraints need to be considered.

modelled low level components
Circuit model

If you make capacitors, you’ll have specifications for the capacitor, it’s voltage, capacitance, temperature range and so on. However, there is not much you can model at this level. If you also make wire wound inductors, then it will have similar specifications. However, as soon as they are linked together forming an LC oscillator, you have a system. There are two components who’s characteristics interact. If the LC sub-system is being supplied then the voltage at which it is safe to operate will be dictated by the components within. In this case specifying the inductor and capacitor as blocks with characteristics that form the internals of the oscillator will have a benefit in future design or specifying the operation of the sub-assembly supplied to onward customers. As the vehicle parts designer wanting to make a turning indicator unit, whether the oscillator is LC, RC and Transistor or Op-Amp is of little concern as long as the voltage, current and timing are correct. The oscillator would therefore be the atomic level here. The bus designer is not worried about the indicator unit design as long as the brightness and timing meet regulations and the longevity and power consumption are within performance parameters. They would have no interest in modelling the oscillator.

Model Benefits

Query showing relationships
Linked Specification

The fact that your model contains detailed information of the interconnections, parameters and ranges of your atomic components makes querying your model to analyse change much easier. Being able to identify all components that are expecting the same power will aid a designer in assessing the impact or running a different voltage.

Can you model anything?

Pretty much any system can be modelled. Software was maybe the original stable from which many modelling techniques originated, there is a need to define at what point each module interacts with the other modules. The depth to which the functions are modelled will again depend on the context. There would be no point modelling the printer driver in the system beyond the interface, if that driver is purchased along with the printer hardware. Library functions may be modelled in their own right, but the higher level designer will reference them as white or black boxes.

No one model has to contain everything. The passenger movements, purchases modelled as use cases. The hardware components forming the bus. The sub components forming the indicators. The software controlling the ticket system are all separate systems working as a whole.