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How to add a custom menu for DOORS modules

Question & Answer


Question

How do you add a custom menu to modules in IBM Engineering Requirements Management DOORS?

Cause

You can create your own menus to display in DOORS that provide functionality from menu items you define and associate with DXL scripts.

Answer

Here is an example of how to create a menu and add the functional components to display the menu in a DOORS module. Menu components are stored in a folder in the addins directory.

As an example you have two DXL scripts "makeattr.dxl" and "archive.dxl" that need to be available from a menu Titled "MyMenu" that will display a menu item for each script that you click to activate.


  • Note: your DXL scripts must contain both forms of comment delimiters ""//" and "/* */" otherwise, the menu item will not display. Below are examples of the two required comments
        1. // this is the first form of comment required in your script
           
        2. /* this is the second form of comment required */

Please input your comments *:



It is also worth mentioning that the comments must appear in that order, and that they don't need to be in the script heading. Because of that, a script placed in a menu directory, not referenced in the idx file (for example, a library used by an actual menu entry) can appear in the menu anyway.



How to Create a menu:
  1. Navigate to $DOORSHOME/lib/dxl/addins
     
  2. Create a folder for the menu you are creating

    For example: MyMenu
     
  3. Copy and paste two files from the addins directory into the MyMenu folder
    • addins.hlp
    • addins.idx
       
  4. Rename the files with the new folder name MyMenu
    • MyMenu.hlp
    • MyMenu.idx
      Note: Adding addins.idx and renaming it to MyMenu.idx is an optional step.
  5. Edit the MyMenu.idx file to create the menu items

    All comment information in the idx file is prefaced with two forward slashes

    Below the comment information are the menu item lines

    BEFORE:

    user    U _ User


    AFTER:

    makeattr M _ Create Custom Attributes
    --------
    archive  A _ Archive Closed Items


    Explanation:
    • Line 1 has two parts:

      1. makeattr is the name of the dxl script to execute when the Hotkey M is pressed


      2. Create Custom Attributes is the name of the menu item label that is to be displayed
       
    • Line 2 "--------" is a menu item separator
       
    • Line 3 is the second menu item use the same syntax as line 1 for other menu item
  6. Put the dxl files listed above into the same directory as the .idx file
     
  7. Save and Exit DOORS
     

When you open a module the new menu is displayed

Related Information

Using DXL from a custom location

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Document Information

Modified date:
04 June 2021

UID

swg21396989

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