DTS Table Viewer User Guide

Version 1.4

 

Introduction

 

The DTS Table Viewer is a DTS Editor plug-in module that provides a table-structured view of DTS Concepts and their attributes. Concepts can be individually selected from Namespaces or loaded from existing DTS Subsets. Concept attributes can also be individually selected for display. The content of the displayed table can be searched and edited, and exported for use in pick lists, code tables, or other application data structures.

 

Installation

 

Extract the files in TableViewer-1.4.zip into your DTSInstall directory. Be sure the Use folder names box is checked. This will place all the Table Viewer files into the appropriate folders:

 

Folder                                                  Files

DTSInstall\bin\tableviewer                   TableViewerV14Sources.zip

DTSInstall\lib\modules             tableviewer.jar

                           dtsutil.jar

DTSInstall\docs                                   tablevieweruserguide.pdf

DTSInstall\docs\help                            tablevieweruserguide.htm

 

 

Operation

 

The Table Viewer appears as an additional tab panel on the right side of the DTS application interface. It is also available as a floating panel by selecting Tools|New TableViewer from the menu bar. The panel consists of an upper tab panel for selecting the source of viewed Concepts (either Namespaces or Subsets), and a lower panel which is the table viewer/editor. (Click on the small arrows in the border between the panels to expand or collapse the associated panel.) The functions of these panels are described in the sections below.

 

Table Data Viewer
 

Table Data Source
 


View Namespace Tab 

The View Namespace tab is used to view and edit DTS Concepts that reside in a single Namespace. Once the desired Namespace is selected from the combo box, click on Open to clear the Table Viewer in preparation for viewing selected Concepts (see Viewer/Editor Panel below for directions on adding Concepts to the table), or Load to load the table with all Concepts in the Namespace. Open can also be used after the table has been populated to remove all current Concept rows and reset the table layout. Note: While either Subscription or Local Namespace Concepts can be viewed in the table, it is not recommended that large Namespaces (those having more than a few hundred Concepts) be loaded. Indeterminate behavior may result.

 

View Subset Tab 

The View Subset tab is used to view the Concepts in DTS Subsets. Select the Subset name in the combo box and click on Load. This will load all the Subset’s Concepts into the table. An attempt to view a Subset whose size is larger than a Table Viewer defined maximum (currently 500 Concepts) will not be permitted. Note that it is not possible to modify the Concept content of a Subset using the Table Viewer.

 

Viewer/Editor Panel

The lower viewer/editor panel displays Concepts in a table format. Each row in the table corresponds to a Concept from the selected source. Table columns correspond to the Concept’s attributes (Properties, Roles, Associations, etc.). The columns can be resized, moved, added, and deleted. Concept attribute values can be edited and rows can be sorted in ascending or descending order. For Namespace sources only, Concepts can be added to or removed from the display. For Local Namespace sources, new Concepts can also be created and existing Concepts deleted. Finally, the table contents can be searched, edited, and exported to a file.

 

The following sections provide details on these functions.

 

Changing the Table Format

The display format of the table (the column attributes, order, relative size and sort status) can be changed by the user. The format is automatically saved in a DTS Editor configuration file. A separate format is maintained for each Namespace and each Subset.

 

To Resize Columns – Drag a column header border to resize a column.

 

To Move Columns – Left click and drag any column header horizontally to change its location. The other columns will shift as required.

 

To Add A Column – Right click on a column header to add a column to the right of the selected column. This will open the column edit menu. (To add a new column at the beginning of the table, add the column in any position and subsequently move it to be the first column.) Select Add Column in the menu. The Select Concept Attribute dialog box will appear. Select the desired attribute from the Add Attribute Combo Box. Available attributes include Concept Properties, Roles, Associations and Inverse Associations, as well as the Table Viewer “fixed” attributes shown in Table A. (Available attributes are all those attributes from the table’s Namespace as well as all local Namespaces.) If the selected attribute is indirect (i.e., having a Concept value such as a Role or Association) the value displayed in the associated table cell can be any fixed or Property attribute of the original attribute’s target Concept. This displaying attribute is selected from the lower combo box. Indirect attributes are given a header label such as: Local Map -> Name.

 

To Delete a Column - Right click on the header of the column to be deleted to display the column edit menu. Select Delete Column in the menu to delete the column. Note that deleting a column only affects the Table Viewer display. No modification of the DTS Knowledgebase is performed.

 

To Sort Rows – Left click on a column header to cycle the column sort status from unsorted, to ascending, to descending. A small arrow appears in the header to show the status. When a column is selected for sorting, sorting is canceled for all other columns.

 

Editing Table Data

Some Concept data (table cells) can be edited directly. Cells corresponding to DTS Property values can be edited by simply double clicking on the cell. This will open a standard text editor in the cell. Editing can also be initiated by selecting a cell (with the mouse or a navigation key), then pressing the F2 function key or simply typing new data. After editing, press Enter to save the value into the DTS Knowledgebase, or ESC to cancel the edit and restore the original value. Setting a null value into a Property cell will delete the Property from the associated Concept. Local Associations can be edited if the Association is shown in the column via its Name Attribute. For these cells, a Concept can be dragged from another DTS Editor panel and dropped into the cell. The cell will be highlighted during a “drag over” if a drop is acceptable. Association Name cells can also be editable “manually” (similar to Property cells), but use of this option should be limited to deletion of the Association by clearing the cell contents.

 

The Find Button below the Table opens the Table Viewer Find and Replace dialog box. This box provides string search and replace actions for the table. To search for a string, click on the Find button and select the Find tab in the dialog box. Enter the search text in the input field and select the desired column (or All Columns) from the combo box. Click on the Match case checkbox for case-sensitive searches (otherwise searches are case-insensitive) and check the Match entire cell contents checkbox to force a match on the entire cell (otherwise a “contains” match is used). Finally, click the Find button to initiate the search. The search begins at the appropriate column’s cell in the selected row, or in the first row if there is no current selection. When a match is found, the matched cell is highlighted.

 

To continue a search, click on the Find Next button. The search begins at the cell after the highlighted cell. Note that any change in the search parameters, e.g., the search string, search column, or search checkboxes, resets the search start location (and changes the label on the Find button).

 

To replace one string with another, select the Replace tab in the dialog box. Enter the find and replace strings in the input fields and select the desired table column from the combo box. Note that only columns representing local Properties and Concept Associations (displayed with a Name attribute) are available for selection. Click on the checkboxes as with Find. Finally, click on the Replace button to replace the first occurrence of the find string with the replace string.  The search begins at the cell as described above for Find. Continue replace by clicking on the Replace Next button. Alternately, click on the Replace All button to replace all occurrences of the find string in the column.

 

Click on the Close button to close the Find and Replace dialog box.

 

 

Adding and Removing Table Concepts (Namespace Sources Only)

For Namespace sources, the DTS Concepts displayed in the table can be modified using the buttons at the bottom of the table viewer/editor. Note: Some of these actions may make modifications to the DTS Knowledgebase. See the detailed descriptions for further information.

 

Drop/Add Button – This button adds Concepts to (or removes Concepts from) the table. Click on the Drop/Add button to open the Add Concepts dialog box. Drag and drop desired Concept(s) from another DTS panel onto the drop field in the dialog. (The field will be highlighted during the “drag over”. Multi-Concept drops are permitted.) Dropped Concepts must be from the selected Namespace. Next select the desired Action from the combo box.  Permitted Actions and their descriptions are given in Table B.  Click OK to perform the Action: the designated Concepts will be added to (removed from) the display. No changes will be made to the DTS Knowledgebase. Note that the Table Viewer will not permit duplicate Concept entries to be created. As an expedient, a Concept(s) can be simply dropped onto the Drop/Add Rows button. This will automatically bring up an Add Concept dialog populated with the selected Concept(s).

 

Remove Button – This button removes selected Concepts from the table. Select any cell in the row(s) to be removed and click Remove. Multiple rows may be selected.

 

New Concept Button – The New Concept button creates new Concepts in a Namespace. This option is only available for Thesaurus (Local) Namespace sources. Click on New to bring up the New Namespace Concept dialog. Enter the name of the new Concept and click OK to add the Concept to the DTS Knowledgebase (in the source Namespace) and the display. When all desired Concepts have been created, click Cancel to exit the dialog.

 

Delete Concepts Button – The Delete Concepts button deletes Namespace Concepts. This option is only available for Thesaurus (Local) Namespace sources. Select any cell in the row(s) to be deleted and click Delete Concepts. Multiple rows may be selected. Since Delete Concepts will permanently remove Concepts from the DTS Knowledgebase, a confirmation dialog box is shown.

 

Clear Button – The Clear button removes all rows in the table and resets the column configuration to show only the Concept name. Clear only affects the table display; no changes are made to the DTS Knowledgebase. 

 

Exporting Table Data

To export the displayed Concept data to a file, click on the Export button. Exports are made to tab-delimited text files (.txt). Select the desired file in the File Chooser and click on Save to write the file. An example of the text-delimited file format is shown in Figure A below.

 

Dragging Table Viewer Concepts – Table Viewer Concepts can be used in other DTS Editor panels by dragging a row to the panel. Note, however, that to avoid confusion with cell editing, drags cannot be initiated from any cell containing a DTS Property attribute.

 

 

Table A –Table Viewer Fixed Attributes

 

Attribute Name

Description

Name

Displays the Concept Name.

Code

Displays the Concept Code.

Id

Displays the Concept Id.

Namespace

Displays the Concept’s Namespace.

Pref. Name

Displays the Preferred Name for the Concept.

 

 

Table B – Concept Actions for Drop/Add

 

Action

Description

+ Concept

Adds the named concept to the table.

+ Children

Adds the children of the named Concept to the table.

+ Concept & Children

Adds the named Concept and its children to the table.

+ Descendants

Adds the descendants of the named Concept to the table.

+ Concept & Descendants

Adds the named Concept and its descendants to the table.

- Concept

Removes the named concept from the table.

- Children

Removes the children of the named Concept from the table.

- Concept & Children

Removes the named Concept and its children from the table.

- Descendants

Removes the descendants of the named Concept from the table.

- Concept & Descendants

Removes the named Concept and its descendants from the table.

 

Note: For Thesaurus Namespaces, children and descendants are those defined by use of the inverse Parent Of Association.

 

Figure A – Tab-Delimited Text Export File Format

 

Name       Code in Source[Demo] Demo Maps To[Demo]->Name

A flu      D002                 Disease (disorder)  

Bird Flu   D003                 Chronic disease (disorder)

 

 

Revision History

 

Version 1                     Initial release.

Limitations:

        • Repeated attributes are not supported.
        • Concept changes in other DTS panels are not monitored, although Table Viewer Concept changes are reported to other panels.

 

Version 1.1                  Rebuild for Eclipse.

 

Version 1.2                  Support for DTS V3.4. Previous “Property Set” subset functionality disabled. DTS Subset sources added. XML export type disabled. User Guide available in DTS Editor Help menu.

 

Version 1.3                  Find button and Find/Replace panel.

 

Version 1.4                  Drop/Add supports Children and Descendants in Thesaurus Namespaces via the Parent Of relationship. Improved documentation of cell editing capabilities. Inverse Associations are supported as column Attributes. Table Viewer monitors Concept/Association/Subset events from other DTS Editor panels, e.g., Concept adds/deletes are automatically reflected in the table (if Load was selected).