What's new for Project Tracker in CollabNet Enterprise Edition 5.0 & 5.1

1. What's new in CollabNet Enterprise Edition 5.0

1.1. Query changes

Default query result columns

In previous versions, the Administrator/Project Owner was not able to define query result layouts for saved queries to make them default layouts available for all members.

The "Add/remove columns" link could help you determine which attributes are seen in the query result, but every user set this personally. These changes were not associated with each saved query so that every user saw the same default layout.

With this release, you can now save a full definition of a query which includes the:

• Artifact types involved
• Filter criteria
• Subset of details to be displayed
• Sort order

You can set the columns for personal and project queries when creating or editing the query. These will serve as default settings for any user who subsequently runs a project query. Users can still select their own columns for a project query after executing it, and if they do so, they can revert their selection back to the default. When a global query is copied to a project the default columns from the global query become the default columns for the project query.

Configure query result columns UI overhaul

In previous versions, when changing the columns to display in query results, the only way to display all attributes in the results was to individually select a column position for each attribute. This was tedious when there were many attributes. When only a partial subset of data was to be displayed the configuration was made difficult, as the displayed columns were mixed with those which were not selected.

You can now set your search result view preferences using position icons, so that the columns are displayed on the configuration page in the same order they will be in the query results. Data which has not been selected for display is separated into a different table. For JavaScript-enabled clients, the configuration can be completed within the client in a much more intuitive way using arrows and other icons.

"Select all" available for query column configuration

In previous versions, when changing the columns to display in query results, the only way to display all attributes in the results was to individually select a column position for each attribute. This was tedious when there were many attributes.

As part of the overhaul of the "Add/remove columns" UI, it is now possible to select all columns for display with a single button click.

Return to query result

Previously in Project Tracker, when you ran a query and clicked on an artifact listed in the query results page, you had to use the Back button to return to the query results page. Or you would have had to run the query again to return to the results. Navigation is much easier if the artifact screen has a link to take you back to the query results page.

In this release a new link "Return to list view" has been added to the artifact pages next to the "Next/Previous" links. This link takes you back to the query results list of the query you last performed after you have navigated to an artifact on the list.

Search for artifacts based on "No value" or "Any value" criteria

Previously it was only possible to search based on "no value" for user attributes. Now this is possible for the other artifact types. Additionally, it is possible to specify "Any value" as a criteria for most attribute types. (For example, show artifacts where "Resolution description" has "Any value" would return all artifacts which have a value for the attribute other than it being empty.)

As a part of this enhancement, the query UI is changed to make it easier to see which attributes are part of the criteria selecting the artifacts.

1.2. Email changes

Artifact change email notification per attribute

You can now ensure that email notifications are sent to the right people.

When an attribute value is modified, then the users associated to an artifact where that attribute resides receive an email notification informing them of the changes. To ensure that the automatic email notification is sent to the recipients who are likely to be interested in that modification, you can identify user attributes associated with the artifact as those who will receive the email when an attribute is changed.

To configure these settings:

1. Click the "Administration" tab.
2. Click the artifact type you want to configure.
3. Click the link "Configure notifications" at the top of the page.
4. Scroll down to the section "Attributes with notification." All the attributes in the artifact type will have the "Edit" link against them.
5. Click the "Edit" link to list the user attributes whose associated users may receive change notification for the attribute. The section opens with the user options that have been created for this artifact type. For example:
   • Created by
   • Assigned to
   • CC
   • QA contact
6. Select the user attributes whose associated users may receive change notification for the attribute you identify as those who should receive the automatically email notification triggered when there is a change to that attribute.
7. Click "Save."

Notification of changes made by myself

In previous releases, you received an email notification for changes you made to artifacts in Project Tracker, if you were associated to the artifact. Some users find this unnecessary and it inundates your mailbox. Within a user's profile, users can now choose whether to receive these notifications.

Email subject configuration

In this release, you can set the email subject line template for the automatically generated email notifications sent for artifact changes.

An automatic email notification is triggered when there is a change to an artifact. This email has a subject line that can be configured by the domain administrator for the domain or by the project owner for an artifact type or for a project. There are five fields/tokens you can choose from to make up your email notification subject line template along with other text.

To configure the subject line template at the project level:

1. Click Project Tracker > Manage artifact types.
2. Click the artifact type to view the "Edit Artifact Type" screen.
3. Click the link "Configure notifications"> to configure the email notifications subject line.
4. Select from the 5 options listed.
   • The name of the project
   • The type of artifact
   • The artifact ID
   • New-To indicate when an artifact is new
   • Identifier attribute value

1.3. Artifact type administration changes

Movement of attributes to different groups

In previous versions, attributes in an attribute group could not be directly moved to another attribute group. The only way you could move an attribute was by deleting the attribute from one attribute group and then adding it to another. This required the removal of attribute values within current artifacts. In this release, Administrators (including Project Owners) can move attributes directly from one attribute group to another without affecting data within artifacts.

Filtering attributes when adding an attribute to an artifact type

In previous versions, the administrator had to peruse all the available attributes when wishing to select one for addition to an artifact type. It is now possible to filter the list.

2. What's new in CollabNet Enterprise Edition 5.1

2.1. Artifact relationships

Blocking relationship between artifacts can be created from either direction

In previous releases, in Project Tracker you could make one issue dependent on another. But the reverse process of making an issue block another from within the same issue was not possible. Now with this enhancement, you can set the two relationships "Blocks" and "Blocked by" from within a single artifact without having to navigate to the other artifacts to which the relationships are being defined.

Example: When you are in the artifact screen of artifact ID: SC1, you can make it dependent on SC2 by selecting "Blocked By" and also make it block SC3 by selecting "Blocks."

Note: You can enter a comma-separated list of artifact IDs for children, blockers, blocked artifacts, and other related artifacts.

Parent-child artifacts

In this release, new relationships between artifacts are available in Project Tracker. The parent-child relationship has been introduced to allow you to group artifacts under a single tracking issue. This helps with establishing hierarchy and the breakdown of task artifacts so that they can be individually assigned to different members of a team.

These relationships can be established between artifacts of different artifact types and once established, the User Interface affords you a view of all artifacts related to a particular artifact and the nature of the relationships. The complete list of relationships available in Project Tracker are:

• Parent
• Child
• Blocker
• Dependent
• Duplicate
• Other

Note: The relationship "Other" is used to delineate a relationship that falls beyond the pale of the other relationships. For example: Similar but not a duplicate.

State attribute value shown when viewing related artifacts

You can establish a relationship between two artifacts. When you are in the artifact screen of one, the status of the artifact that this has a relationship to is displayed. For example, if SC1 is blocked by SC2 and SC2 is in the resolved state, the artifact screen of SC1 will clearly indicate the "Resolved" state of artifact SC2.

Note: The State attribute must have a value for it to be displayed.

Related artifacts available for display in query results

In Project Tracker, the Add/remove columns screen can now be configured to make related artifacts available in the query results. The related artifacts that are now available for display in the query results are:

• Related artifacts: blockers
• Related artifacts: children
• Related artifacts: parent
• Related artifacts: dependents
• Related artifacts: other
• Related artifacts: duplicates

2.2. Bulk artifact edit

With this release, you can modify the attribute values of several artifacts at the same time.

To modify several artifacts at the same time:

1. Run a query.
2. Select one or more artifacts, or select all artifacts (not more than 250 artifacts).
3. Select Bulk Edit displayed or Bulk Edit selected from the Process Results: dropdown menu
4. All field values that can be modified are displayed. Depending on the type of attribute you want to modify, select:
   • Clear value
   • Change to:
   • Replace with
5. Make changes to one or more of the regular attributes.
6. Apply the changes to all of the artifacts

2.3. User attributes

Browse users functionality separated into 'Project members' and 'All users' tabs

In Project Tracker, when you want to assign an artifact to a user and you do not remember the name of the user, you can click the button "Browse Users." A pop-up window opens to display two tabs.

• All users
• Project members

The first tab lists all users in the domain and the second tab displays members of the project. The advantage with this display is two-fold. You know from the display who the project members are. You can also choose to assign the artifact to a user who is not a project member. This will save you the trouble of inadvertently assigning it to the incorrect user who has a name similar to the one you intended to assign it to.

Note: In private projects only the project members' names are displayed.

User attributes included in attribute groups with other attributes

In previous releases, user attributes were available only under the Personnel tab. User attributes have now been included within attribute groups just like other types of attributes. This reduces the time you take navigating between the personnel tab and the attributes tab for assigning users to work on the artifact. You can view the artifact in a single screen of merged attributes.

User attributes available within artifact templates

With this release, you can select a user attribute for an artifact template you create. For example, if you were to do the following:

1. Log into a project with Project Tracker as the tracking tool.
2. Click Project Tracker > Enter artifacts links in the left navigation menu.
3. Click "Manage templates" on top of the screen.
4. The "Manage Templates" link will take you to the "Template list" where all of your templates for the current artifact type are displayed.
5. From the Template list screen click the "Create New" button.
6. Scroll down to enter a username or browse to select a user for a User Attribute. That user is displayed by default in the "Enter new artifact" screen when you create an artifact using the template.

2.4. Artifact detail view/edit screen

Artifact detail defaults to read-only view

In previous releases, artifacts were editable by default when you accessed them. The problem with this was that several attribute values were not immediately visible within the form fields and some links included in the attribute values were not active. You could, however, switch to a read-only view.

Solution: Now the default view for artifacts is read-only. However, you can switch to the editable view.

Tabs in artifact view replaced with links to individual sections

Tabs in Project Tracker [Attributes, Comments, Attachments/Dependencies/URL/ History] have been replaced by sections [Attachments/Links, Related Artifacts, Comments] and links in the same page. You don't have to navigate between different tabs to enter artifact details. And now, since the artifact details are captured on the same page, there is no loss of data that used to occur while flipping back and forth between tabs.

Two column format for attributes in artifact view

The artifact view page and the artifact edit page were redesigned to a two-column format to make better use of available space. With this redesign, scrolling is no longer necessary and the page is compact.

Direct linking to individual comments within artifact

In Project Tracker comments can be entered and linked to other comments in the same artifact or to comments in other artifacts. For example, when you enter a comment in an artifact and you want to point a reference to another comment in another artifact, you:

1. Enter a comment in artifact ID: SC1
2. Hover the mouse on the comment date.
3. Right-click and select the option "Copy shortcut" or "Copy the link" (depending on the browser you use)
4. Navigate to artifact ID: SC2.
5. Enter a comment and paste the link you copied earlier (or enter the comment ID by typing it in - for example "SC2 comment20071021133025").

You have now established a link from a comment in SC2 to a comment in SC1.