Metering Lines of Code

Editing Year Types and Rules

Chapter 5: Configuring Tools and Settings

Analysis tools are used to find points of interest (POIs) and add them to, or extract them from, the worksheet. The tools can work with different settings, varying the criteria of the searches. You should decide how to use an analysis tool before starting work on a full project.

5.1 Introduction

SmartFind Plus supplies single-step and composite tools. Composite tools are an automatic sequence of single-step and/or other composite tools. It is possible to build your own composite tool. You can hide both types of tools from view in the Tool Palette Editor. This enables you to have only those tools on view that you are using. You can customize the settings of both types of tools to suit your own requirements.

Internal tools are built into the supplied specialized Year 2000 analysis tools. You can customize internal tool settings. They are not accessible individually for building your own tools. Internal tools are not available in the Tool Palette Editor.

Settings are the criteria that each type of tool uses when searching. Tools have default settings which are saved in the tool file. You can create new settings using the Configuration Wizard and these are saved as a separate file.

Note: If you do not see an analysis tool that is described here, it might be excluded. To access any excluded tools; in the Analysis Tools palette, click Options and then the Tool Palette Editor tab. You can add or remove tools from the tools palette.

5.2 Analysis Tools

To run an analysis tool you either double-click on the tool name or drag code from the worksheet or a set onto the tool name in the Analysis Tools palette.

5.2.1 Which Code is Searched?

Which code the tool searches is dependent on its settings. The scope of a tools search is:

• Tools beginning with Verify and Find will search the project database. To define the scope of the search click Options in Analysis Tools, and on the Scope tab, select Universal or Custom scope.

• Tools beginning with Categorize will search the points of interest already in the worksheet.

• Tools with neither of those prefixes will either require input or search the project database.

After a search, matching POIs are displayed as a set or in the worksheet.

5.2.2 Which Tool Settings?

The settings are the criteria that determine how a tool searches code. The methods below apply to both supplied and customized tools.

You can:

• Use the default settings

• Temporarily alter the default settings by editing them before a tool runs. These settings will be lost when you close the current session of SmartFind Plus. There are two ways of doing this:
  • You can right-click on the tool and select Properties

  • in the Analysis Tool palette, click Options, click the Analysis Tools Options tab and check Edit settings before running a tool.
  If the tool is a composite tool, the Composite Tool Editor displays the sequence of tools and operations within the composite tool. You right-click on the required tool and select Properties and continue to do so until you have accessed the tool whose settings you want to edit.

• Create new additional settings with the Configuration wizard and make them active in the tool palette. As customized settings are saved separately, you can always return to the default settings. The tools settings currently active are shown at the bottom of the Analysis Tools window.

• Create a composite tool which has its own default settings

Note: Not all tools have settings that can be edited.

5.2.3 Editing Tool Settings

You can edit tool settings to change the search criteria.

1. Right-click the tool whose settings you want to change.

2. Click Properties.

3. When the tool's settings are displayed, change them as required. You can click for help on any of the settings.

   If the tool is a composite tool, the Composite Tool Editor displays the sequence of tools and operations within the composite tool. You right-click on the required tool and select Properties and continue to do so until you have accessed the tool whose settings you want to edit.

5.3 Composite Tools

You can create a tool that includes an automated sequence of tools. This is a composite tool. You can save a composite tool and use it again. A new composite tool is saved as a <Toolname>.ct file. You can also share a composite tool with others (see the Group Working chapter). Using the same tool ensures consistency and saves effort when complicated selection processes are required.

You create a composite tool by right-clicking in the Analysis Tools window or on the audit trail of a Set View window and selecting New Composite Tool.

Note: When you create a composite tool, the Settings active at the time become the default settings of the new composite tool. If you distribute the composite tool you do not have to distribute a Settings file if you are only going to use the default settings. If you wish to use different settings for the same tool, you must distribute the other Settings file(s) with the tool. See the Group Working chapter.

5.3.1 New Composite Tool, Details tab

• You have to give each composite tool a Name.

• The Tool ID is unique to each composite tool. The alphanumeric characters up to the first dash (-) are used as a Help file ID, for any help files created for the composite tool.

5.3.2 New Composite Tool, Properties tab

• The Filename is the name you give to the <Toolname>.ct file.

• You have to specify any Help filename connected to the tool. The help file has to be stored in the Bin directory of SmartFind Plus. You do not have to specify a path in this field.

• The Scope decides on where you are going to use this tool. If you select:
  • Project the tool is available for the project you are currently working on
    
  • User the tool is available for all projects on that computer
    
  • Shared the tool is available across the network for all users with the relevant access rights

Tip: If Shared is grayed out, you have to set the path to the Remote fixlib in the Options button (in the tools palette), Analysis Tools Options tab, Remote fixlib.

5.3.3 Adding and Deleting in a Composite Tool

You can edit the tool sequence in a Composite Tool.

• Add new tools to a composite tool by highlighting the composite tool in the Analysis Tools palette, right-click and select Properties. In the Composite Tool Editor window, right-click and select Append Tool. The new tool is added to the sequence of tools.

• Delete by highlighting the composite tool in the Analysis Tools palette, right-click and select Properties. In the Composite Tool Editor window, highlight the tool to be deleted, right-click and select Delete Tool.

• Clear all tools by highlighting the composite tool in the Analysis Tools palette, right-click and select Properties. In the Composite Tool Editor window, right-click and select Clear All.

Warning: If you delete a tool embedded in a composite tool, it can affect the performance of the composite tool.

5.4 Set Views

Some analysis tools produce a set of POIs based on the Settings configured.

You can manipulate sets in the following ways:

• Filter existing sets with the analysis tools to remove any POIs that do not meet that tool's criteria.

• Combine sets with each other: make a union of them, intersect them or subtract one from another.

• Move sets to and from the worksheet. You can also create a set from selected worksheet candidates.

See also the Analysis Tools and Sets chapter.

5.5 Custom Tool Settings

Although you can configure new tool settings each time you run a tool, this does not guarantee a consistent method of locating POIs, especially if you are working on a group project. You can define settings and pass these around. The three types of settings available are:

• Default settings. These are supplied with the tool and provide the most usual settings in a Year 2000 search.

• Custom settings for current session. You start with a set of supplied default settings and customize them: In the Analysis Tool palette, click Options, click the Analysis Tools Options tab and check Edit settings before running a tool. When you then run the tool the relevant settings window for that tool is displayed before it searches code. These settings will be lost when you close the current session of SmartFind Plus.

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  Note: If you customize the settings of a single-step tool, for example, Find valid site date routines, with the Configuration wizard, it will not affect the settings of the tool Find valid site date routines embedded in Verify - all research. Similarly, if you configure a tool embedded in a composite tool it will not affect the settings of the single-step tool.

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• Custom settings for project. You start with a set of supplied default settings and customize them, using the Configuration wizard in the Analysis Tools palette. These settings remain in place even if you close the current session of SmartFind Plus. The Configuration wizard copies the default settings (or previously configured custom settings) and allows you to make changes to the tools and composite tools you select. As custom settings are saved separately, you can always return to the supplied defaults.
  

Tip: You can change to other previously configured custom settings, by using the Settings option on the Year 2000 menu. The tools settings you are currently using are shown at the bottom of the Analysis Tools window.

5.5.1 Imported Settings Files

The Import facility on some tool dialogs imports a text file containing the required settings; for example, all literals potentially referring to year issues. This means you type only once, which saves time and effort and ensures consistency. In the text file, each criterion must be on a separate line.

5.6 Other Custom Analysis Options

SmartFind Plus offers SmartFind Wizard and Revolve/2000 for users who have special requirements or have already set up search patterns using these features.

See the SmartFind Wizard and Revolve/2000 chapters.

Metering Lines of Code

Editing Year Types and Rules