The Overview view is where you find basic elements relating to your selected item. Since it gives an overview, it's a good starting point which is why when you log into SystemWeaver, the default view for any open page is Overview. 

You can always return to the view by clicking on the Overview button on the Items ribbon or by selecting it in the View drop-down list.




Getting Acquainted with the View


The view has four sections:

  • Properties
  • Attributes
  • Description 
  • Open issues



With the exception of the Properties section, each section can be collapsed or expanded to meet your viewing needs. 


Viewing Item Properties

The top section is read-only and displays the common properties of the item listed below. Most of these can be also be seen and edited in other views, such as the Properties view and the Status view.


Last Changed: The date the item was last modified. Changes to the following elements will update the Last Changed value:

  • Name of the item
  • Description of the item
  • Attributes of the item
  • Any parts of the item, e.g., part attributes. (Changes to the defining item of a part do not affect the Last Changed value.)

Last Changed By: The user who made the last change according to the Last Changed property

Creation Date: The date on which the item was created

Access: The current user's access rights in accordance with the Version Status of the item and the rights according to the Library of the item

Owner: The user that owns the item

Status: The version status of the item which determines if the item can be changed and if new versions can be created

Version: The version name and number

Setting Attributes

Some item types are configured to have default attributes to capture information about the item in a structured manner. Such attributes display in the Attributes section in Overview.  To edit or delete a value for a default attribute in the Overview view, use the method provided, e.g., a text box, a drop-down list, a browse button, etc. depending on the attribute type just as you would using the Attributes view. 



A warning indication  is used whenever an attribute value is not correct according to a predefined rule. A rule can be that the attribute must be coded or that a string value must conform to a rule, defined as a so called regular expression. If you place the cursor on top of the icon, a hint should appear telling you about the specific problem.


Adding an Additional Item Attribute

You can add one or more additional item attributes by right-clicking in the Attributes section and selecting Add attributes... which will open the Select attribute type dialog. You can select among all attribute types defined in the meta model that are not yet used for the item. An additional item attribute will remain even if you do not assign a value.


Note: Additional attributes can be created for exceptional uses, but it is not recommended unless they are formally incorporated into the model. Otherwise, views and reports that are not aware of their use will ignore the attribute value causing them to go unnoticed in, for example, the creation of a report. See Adding Additional Attributes for more details or consult with your system's Architect if needed.


Removing an Additional Attribute

You can remove one or more additional attributes along with their attribute values in Overview, by selecting one or more attribute rows, and selecting Remove attributes...


Copying and Pasting Attributes

You can also copy and paste attributes in Overview using the context menu: 



Learn more about the different types of attributes and how to edit them. 


Tip: If an attribute label is very long and has been truncated, you can do Alt+Click on the attribute row to view the entire label.

Writing a Description

The Description shows the formatted description of the item and can be edited using: 

  • Your keyboard
  • The available context menu
  • A template
  • The Description editor


Keyboard Options

  • You can type text directly into the Description.
  • You can use common text editing operations like pasting plain or RTF formatted content from the clipboard into the Description using shortcuts, e.g., Ctrl+C (Copy), Ctrl+X (Cut), Ctrl+V (Paste), or Ctrl+Z (Undo). RTF or Rich Text Format is the standard Windows format for formatted text. Windows applications can normally read and write to the RTF format.
  • You can use the common formatting shortcut options for Bold, Italic and Underline, i.e., Ctrl+B (Bold), Ctrl+I (Italics) or Ctrl+U (Underline). These options can be used either to change the format while typing or by selecting a range of text.


Context Menu Options

The text editing and formatting options described above are also available via the context menu when right-clicking in Description: 



Description References

The context menu also provides a number of options to add hyperlinks to items and parts in the Description. These are called description references and there are two types - Item and Part. See Description References to learn more.


If configured by a System Architect, you may see a page width indicator line to the right. It allows you to preview whether or not the content of the description fits within the width of a configured document width.




Description Templates

A template provides formatting as a starting point for the description. They are created by Architects for user convenience and you can chose not to use them. If there are description templates defined for the selected item type, the Description section will display a selection dialog where you must first make a selection.

If you single-click on any of the alternative templates, you get a preview of the template:


If you double-click on an alternative the template content will be copied into the description.


Description Editor

To access more advanced editing tools and a spell checker, you can open the Description editor by double-clicking in Description: 


One important advantage of using the editor when adding content to the description is that you can pay attention to the width of your work. When adding content to an item that will be printed, elements, e.g., images, should be kept/sized to just under 18 cm of the work area in the Description editor. This does not apply to text as it auto-grows. In the below example, the image and the table (if the table width has been set to a specific width) will be cut-off in the output:



See Using the Description Editor for more information on formatting Description content as well as how to ensure that content is not truncated in printed output.

Viewing Open Issues

The Open Issues section at the bottom of the Overview view will display an interactive list of any open (i.e., the issue is still in a workflow) project issues linked to the item. You can double-click on an issue to open it in Projects or use any of the context menu options provided:


Closed issues (i.e., the issue has been completed and reached the end of its workflow) will not display in this section. Learn more about Change Management.