Relating and Unrelating Objects

Relate objects when you want to show a connection between them. You can relate an object to several other objects. For example, an item might be related to several other items.

You can relate objects by using the Relate/Unrelate menu command for each object type. You can also relate objects by dragging the object to be related onto another object in a content window.

PRIVILEGES To relate one object class to another particular object class you need to have the necessary privilege assigned to you via the Administration Console Privilege Assignments function.

NOTE
You may not be able to relate items and requests when they are in certain lifecycle phases if the CM Rules have been set up to prevent this. For details, see About Change Management Rules in the Process Configuration Guide.

If a request has been deployed to a particular stage, you cannot relate item revisions in response to the request if they are at an earlier deployment stage.

You cannot relate requests belonging to one product with items belonging to another product.

To view related objects:

In a content window, select an object in the left-hand pane. The related objects are shown in the related object windows on the right-hand side.

NOTE The related objects on the right will only reflect the selection of a single object in the left-hand pane. If you select more than one object on the left, the related objects view will not be updated to reflect that selection.

The type of relationship an object has with the selected object is indicated by its icon.

Icon	Description
	A right-pointing arrow indicates that the object has a child relationship toward the selected object.
	A left-pointing arrow indicates that the object has a parent relationship toward the selected object.
	A chain symbol in an object list indicates that the design part is being reused by the selected design part.
	In a design part tree, this icon indicates a design part that is being reused by the design part above it.

To relate objects:

In a content window, do one of the following:

To relate an item to an object, select the item, and select Item | Relate/Unrelate.
To relate a request to an object, select the request, and select Request| Relate/Unrelate.
To relate a baseline to an object, select the baseline, and select Baseline | Relate/Unrelate.
To relate a design part to an object, select the design part, and select Part | Relate/Move.
To relate a project to an object, select the project, and select Project | Relate/Unrelate.
To relate a stream to an object, select the stream, and select Stream | Relate/Unrelate.
To relate a requirement to an object, select the requirement, and select Requirement | Relate/Unrelate.
To relate a release to a customer, select the release, and select Release | Forward.
To relate a customer to a release, select the customer, and select Forward Release.

The Manage Relationships dialog box appears.

In the Manage Relationships dialog box under the Specification column, select the node for the class of object you want to relate and click the Add button.

An <object class> to <object class> relationship dialog box is displayed for the classes of object you have selected.

If you are relating items to requests, and you have configured Dimensions CM to accept requests from an external IDM (Issue Defect Management) select the node called External Requests. On clicking Add, you will be presented with a dialog box enabling you to view and select them.

Click the browse button to find the objects you want to relate.
In the Find dialog box, select criteria to limit your search. To display the results of your search, click the Find Now tab.
On the Find Now tab, select one or more objects, and click the OK button. The object(s) will now be added to the <object class> objects to relate to list in the <object class> to <object class> Relationship dialog box.
If you want to change the relationship type for an object, click the link in the Relationship column, and select another relationship type. (This may or may not be possible depending on the class of object.)
If you want to change the direction of the relationship for an object, click the link in the Direction column, and select another direction. (This may or may not be possible depending on the class of object.)
Click the OK button.
Repeat steps 1 to 8 if you want to relate more objects.
To confirm the changes, click the OK button.

NOTE No processing actually takes place until you have clicked the OK button.

To relate objects by dragging and dropping:

Select Tools | Preferences.
In the Preferences dialog box, click the Miscellaneous tab.
Under Drag & Drop, select Always enable user input, and click OK.

Setting this option displays the Relationships dialog box when you drag an object onto another object in a content window.

In a content window, select one or more objects and drag and drop them onto another object.

You see the Manage Relationships dialog box with the newly selected object(s) shown in bold. Depending on the object class, the default relationship types and directions may be shown as links. You can drag additional objects from the content window into the dialog box.

If you want to change the relationship type for an object, click the link in the Relationship column, and select another relationship type. (This may or may not be possible depending on the class of object.)
If you want to change the direction of the relationship for an object, click the link in the Direction column, and select another direction. (This may or may not be possible depending on the class of object.)
To relate the objects, click the OK button.

To unrelate objects:

In a content window, do one of the following:

To unrelate an item from an object, select the item, and select Item | Relate/Unrelate.
To unrelate a request from an object, select the request, and select Request| Relate/Unrelate.
To unrelate a baseline from an object, select the baseline, and select Baseline | Relate/Unrelate.
To unrelate a design part from an object, select the design part, and select Part | Relate/Unrelate.
To unrelate a project from an object, select the project, and select Project | Relate/Unrelate.
To unrelate a stream from an object, select the stream, and select Stream | Relate/Unrelate.
To unrelate a customer from a release, select Release | Withdraw.
To unrelate a release from a customer, select the customer, and select Withdraw from Customer.

In the Manage Relationships dialog box in the Relationships list, select the object(s) you want to unrelate and click the Remove button. The selected object(s) are shown struck through.
To commit the changes, click the OK button.