After you create a specification, you can define how it relates to other specifications, use rules to control its behavior in UIM, and add characteristics to capture details that are not included in the entity type defined by the specification.
When configuring specifications, see the following topics:
You can define basic information about a specification, such as a display name, a description, and the dates during which the specification is valid.
To define specification properties:
In a Specification editor, click the Specification Properties tab.
(Optional) In the Description field, enter a description for the specification.
(Optional) In the Start Date and End Date fields, enter the specification's validity dates.
If you leave the Start Date field blank, the application sets it to the date on which the cartridge was built in Design Studio. Leaving the End Date field blank means that the specification is valid indefinitely.
(Optional) If instances of this specification can be assigned to more than one instance of a consumer entity at the same time, select the Can be assigned to multiple entities check box.
This check box appears only if the entity type associated with the specification can be assigned to entity types that are referred to as consumer entity. Consumer entity types include Service, Geographic Site, Logical Device, Network, Pipe, and Pipe Termination Point.
(Optional) If instances of this specification can assign entities whose specifications allow them to be assigned to multiple instances of consumer entities at the same time, select the Can assign entities that allow multiple assignments check box.
This check box appears only if the entity type associated with the specification is a consumer entity. Consumer entity types include Service, Geographic Site, Logical Device, Network, Pipe, and Pipe Termination Point.
(Optional) To enter an ID for this entity instance, select Enter Id Manually.
If this check box is not selected, the ID for this entity instance is auto-generated.
(Optional) Associate to the specification an Entity ID specification.
Do one of the following:
Click Entity ID Specification to associate with the specification a new Entity ID specification.
Click Select to associate with the specification an existing Entity ID specification.
See "Working with Entity Identification Specifications" for more information.
From the File menu, select Save.
You can define relationships between specifications in the current workspace, including specifications in other projects. These specification relationships affect the behavior of entities in UIM. For example, listing Equipment Holder specifications in the Equipment Holders section of the Related Specifications tab of an Equipment specification means that Equipment entities based on this specification can provide only equipment holders based on the related specifications.
Each entity type has a different set of valid possible specification relationships. The Related Specifications tab has sections for the valid specification relationships. The Related Specifications tab also includes an Others section where you can include specifications to which you want to establish a custom relationship. Custom relationships require that you create rulesets to trigger behaviors and actions in UIM.
When you define a specification relationship, its properties are set to default values. You can modify the properties after the relationship has been defined.
To define specification relationships:
In a Specification editor, click the Related Specifications tab.
Scroll to the section for the entity type of the specification relationship you are defining.
Click Select.
The Selection Dialog dialog box appears.
Do one of the following:
Select an existing specification and click OK.
Click New to create and relate a new specification. See "Creating New Specifications" for more information.
The specification appears in the Related Specifications tab, which lists the specification name, the cartridge in which it is located, and the type of relationship (CHILD by default).
(Optional) If the relationship is child-to-parent, change the relationship type to PARENT.
The normal relationship is defined as a child. You must specify a parent relationship only when the related entity is in a separate cartridge that exists independently. See "Changing Specification Relationship Properties" for more information.
From the File menu, select Save.
Changing Specification Relationship Properties
Specification Editor Related Specifications Tab
After you have defined a relationship between specifications, you can change the relationship's properties.
To change relationship properties:
Open the Specification editor of a specification whose relationship properties you want to change.
Click the Related Specifications tab.
Scroll to the section for the entity type of the specification relationship you are modifying.
Select a specification from the list and click Modify.
The Relationship Properties dialog box appears.
Enter or change relationship properties.
See "Specification Editor Related Specifications Tab" for more information about the properties that you can change.
Click OK.
Design Studio sets the properties and closes the dialog box.
You can define the configuration items in which a specification is listed as an option. This process enables you to add specification options to configuration items without having to modify the configuration specification. This is a useful way to extend a cartridge pack. See "Extending Cartridge Packs and Cartridges by Adding Content" for more information about extending cartridge packs.
Note:
If you are not extending a cartridge pack or an external cartridge, define configuration items and specification options from the configuration specification. See "Adding Configuration Items".To define configuration specification usage:
Open the Specification editor of the specification for which you want to define configuration specification usage.
Click the Configuration Spec Usage tab.
Click Select.
The Configuration Types Selection dialog box appears.
Select the type of configuration.
Click Next.
The Select a Configuration Specification dialog box appears, listing all configuration specifications of the selected type in all projects in the workspace.
Select a configuration specification, then click OK.
The Configuration Item Selection dialog box appears, displaying the hierarchy of configuration items in the selected configuration specification.
Do one of the following:
Select a configuration item, then click OK.
Click New to create and use a new specification. See "Creating New Specifications" for more information.
The configuration item is added to the Configuration Spec Usage tab. The name of the configuration specification, its type, and the cartridge in which it is located are displayed, along with the path of the selected configuration item.
From the File menu, select Save.
Specification layouts define how the default data elements, derived data, and characteristics (of entities defined by the specification) appear in the UIM user interface. You can define this configuration for each page and panel associated with an entity. In UIM, a page is an area that serves a function for the entity, and a panel is a section on a page where default data elements and characteristics of the entity appear.
You can define which default data elements and characteristics of an entity appear on a page and panel. You can also configure the row on which a default data element or characteristic appears and the order of elements and characteristics within the row.
Additionally, you can configure user interface settings for a characteristic on an entity. These settings define how the characteristic appears and behaves on a page or panel.
When defining layouts, see the following topics:
You define layouts for specifications to determine the data elements that appear as fields in UIM. You can define layouts for the characteristics that you define for the specification, and for all modeled and derived data elements of the entity.
To define layouts:
In a Specification editor, click the Layouts tab.
In the Page/Panels field, select a page type for the specification.
You can define different attributes for a characteristic when it appears on different types of pages. For example, you can define an edit mask for a characteristic when it appears on an edit page and a display mask for the same characteristic when it appears on a summary page.
Note:
The options available in the Page/Panels field are defined in the ora_uim_mds project. You must import and open this project and the ora_uim_model project in your workspace before modeling UIM entities in Design Studio.Select the elements that you want to appear as fields in the run-time user interface.
To select elements, you can:
Select elements in the Available column, then click the arrow to move them to the Selected column.
Shift-select multiple elements to move them as a group.
Remove elements that you do not want to appear in the user interface.
Select an element the Selected column then click the arrow to move it to the Available column.
Change the order in which the elements appear.
Select an element in the Selected column and then click an arrow to reposition the element.
For Edit Panel layouts, change the distribution of the elements in the layout.
Do any of the following:
Right-click in the Selected Elements area at the desired location and select Insert New Row to create a new row.
Right-click in the Selected Elements area on an existing row and select Delete New Row to remove an existing new row marker.
(Optional) To return the layout to the default version, click Reset.
From the File menu, select Save.
You define user interface settings for each characteristic to determine how the characteristic appears and behaves on each page and panel in UIM.
To define characteristic user interface settings:
In a Specification editor, click the Layouts tab.
In the Selected column, select a characteristic.
The configurable options for the characteristic appear in the UI Settings area.
Note:
You can configure user interface settings only for characteristics.Define the user interface options for each characteristic.
See ”Settings Tab” for information about the options.
From the File menu, select Save.
Media files can be associated to a specification and are used in UIM to display an image of an entity instance created from the specification. Media files are used in UIM to display an entity as an icon in a tree view, as a node in a network visualization, as a node in a service topology visualization, and as a card in an equipment visualization.
To add a media file to a specification:
In a Specification editor, click the Media tab.
Click Add.
The Open dialog box appears.
Select a file, then click Open.
The path to the selected media file appears in the Media tab.
Click the Media Type field, then select a type.
Note:
Only one media type can be selected per row. To use the same image for more than one purpose, you must add it to a new row and select an additional media type.From the File menu, select Save.
To review a specification extension:
In a Specification editor, click the Extends tab.
Review the value in the Extends field.
Design Studio automatically populates the value in the Extends field when you create new specifications. You can remove the value, but you cannot make a different selection.
(Optional) To open the business entity that is extended by the specification, click Extends.
(Optional) To remove the association, click Clear.
You can copy specifications from one project to another. For example, you can extend a cartridge pack by copying a specification into your own project and make any necessary modifications.
To copy specifications:
From the Studio menu, select Show Design Perspective.
Click the Cartridge tab.
In the Solution view, locate the target specification.
The project must exist in the same workspace. See ”Importing Projects” for information.
Right-click the target specification and select Copy.
Navigate to the source project.
Right-click the source project and select Paste.
The Set Name of Copy dialog box appears.
In the Name field, enter a unique name for the specification.
Specification names must be unique in the workspace.
Click OK.
The specification is added to the source project.