Typically, a SystemWeaver Architect will create document templates which are used by users when creating new documents. In essence, a template is simply an existing document in SystemWeaver. Templates provide a type of standardized document structure which includes optional items that give it structure, e.g., a title page, title header, title footer, page header, page footer, and that define what content should actually be printed. This way, documents that are produced frequently, e.g., requirement specification reports to suppliers, can follow a consistent format regardless of who is generating them. The easiest way to create a new document is to create it using a template. The basic steps for doing this are described in this article.


Prerequisites

  • An existing document in SystemWeaver to use as the template.
  • Because a trace part to the template is created in the new document, the original document will, technically, be part of the structure of the new document. You should, therefore, only use released documents as a template, or be careful so that you do not release the template document by mistake, when you release you release the new document that you create.

Find the Template Document

To get started, you will need to find the template to be used for creating the new document. How to access your organization's approved templates will depend on which option has been configured by your SystemWeaver Architect. Typically, templates will be easily available to users via a one-click menu option on the Items ribbon: 


 

 Or, users may be instructed to access a list of document templates in the architecture they are working in:



Either option is good and helps to ensure consistency of documentation. Another option is to search for the document template as described below.


Searching for the Document Template

  1. On the Items tab, expand the Open item drop-down, and then under Type, select either Other item type... or General Search.
    Tip: If you frequently open items of type Document, Document will be listed in your Open item drop-menu and you can select it directly. If you frequently use a template that is never changed, you can consider adding it to your favorites as a quick way to open it in the future.

  2. In the Select Type dialog, select Document and then double-click the Document item in the filtered list or select it and click OK. A list of existing document items in the database will display:

  3. Select the document you wish to use as a template for your new document and double-click it.


Once you have found and opened the Document item template, expand the Document menu drop-down in the Documents ribbon group and select Create new document from this template.

Getting Acquainted with the Feature

The dialog will display a "clone tree" of the selected Document item and its content in the left-side pane. 

You can select an item in the clone tree to view its Properties, i.e., Name, Last changed, Creation date, etc., and Description in the right-side pane. The item Name and the Description can be modified if the item is in Work status, however, as mentioned above in Prerequisites, it will likely be in Released status and not editable.

By default, the Document item itself is set to be copied (Option: Clone), and all sub-sections are set to be included in the new document.


The right-click context menu in the clone tree offers Open and Copy item options. When used, a message is displayed in the Messages window at the bottom of the view for verification of these operations. 


Setting the Options for the New Document

  1. To make changes to the default setting for any item in the document, right-click on the item in the clone tree, and select the desired option (Clone, Include, Ignore). These options are described in Introduction to the Documents Model and Features. Note that Clone is the only valid option for the top item Document. 
    Tip: You can hold down the Shift or Ctrl key to multi-select items:


Things to Consider When Including Items

If you Include any content, that exact content will be used in both the new document, as well as the original document. If you do this, make sure that the original section is released, or that any changes to the section are coordinated between you and the author of the section.


When you include a section item, you get all the content of the included section. This means that you cannot modify the option for any of its content. As shown in the example below, the option cell(s) below each "Include" section is grayed out: 


Creating the New Document

  1. Once you have set all of the item selections and are ready to create the new document, click OK. The New item dialog will display. 
  2. Select the desired Document type as an Item type.
  3. Select the library/access that is valid for your new document under Chose Access.
  4. Enter the name for the new document in the Name field. 
  5. When you are ready to create the new document, click OK. The new document is now created and will open. 


Note: You can exit the Create new document from this template dialog at any time without creating a new document, by clicking Cancel, the window Close button (), or the Esc key.


Trace Part

As part of the copy process, a trace part called Copy of is created and can be viewed at any time for a clone document via the Parts view. This is useful if traceability to the template is of interest: