Objectives

The new learning objectives of this exercise are to familiarize the user with setting up a reference connection between a SysML element and an object in an external repository or on the local file system.

Preparation

This exercise assumes the student has

• IBM Rational Rhapsody 8.2 installed correctly on his or her machine with a valid license for use, and

• Syndeia 3.3 installed as a plugin for Rhapsody with a valid license for use

The specific instructions call for creating a reference connection to an element on the local file system, so no additional interface beyond the Syndeia base module is required. For this example, the reference connection is made to an image file, but any file (image, pdf, etc.) could be used. Alternatively, the user can carry out the same process to any external repository (including Windchill, Teamcenter Jira, Jama, Doors NG, GitHub or MySQL), assuming that the appropriate interface has been properly installed and the user has created a network connection with access credentials (url, username and password, typically) to that repository.

Exercise

1. Launch the SysML starter project Syndeia_Tutorial_Testbed.rpy.
   

2. Launch the Syndeia dashboard from the Excel Tutorial Part 1 package. If you are using Syndeia Cloud to store connection data, you will need to select an existing Syndeia project or create a new one in the window in Figure 1. Otherwise, you will open the Syndeia dashboard to the Repository Manager tab.
   

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   Figure 1 Selecting a Syndeia project
   

3. We will use a Local File System Repository for this exercise, although this would also work with a PLM or database repository. If you need to add a local repository, right-click on Local File System Repositories and select Add… Figure 2 shows how to add a user-selected name and the root path.
   

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   Figure 2 Adding a local file system repository
   

4. From the Connection Manager tab, the local file repository contents can be displayed, as in Figure 2. Create a reference connection by setting the Connection Type to Reference and dragging a SysML element (e.g. Atmospheric Sensor) on top of an element in the local file system (e.g. CFD 4.0). Confirm by clicking Yes in Create Reference Connection window.
   

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   Figure 3  Connection Manager tab showing Rhapsody and Artifactory
   

5. Go to the Connection Search tab and click Get All. The new connection should appear as shown in Figure 4.
   

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   Figure 4  Reference connection viewed in the Connection Search tab
   

6. Once the reference connection has been made, the target element can be opened in multiple ways:

   1. By right-clicking the row in Figure 4 and selecting Open Target.
      

   2. By right-clicking the connection in the Connection Browser tab and selecting Open Target.
      

   3. By right-clicking the element CFD 4.0 in the Local Repository column on the Connection Manager tab and selecting Open.
      

   4. By right-clicking the element Atmospheric Sensor in the SysML Repository column on the Connection Manager tab and selecting Open Connected Artifacts.
      

   5. By right-clicking the element Atmospheric Sensor in the Rhapsody model view browser and selecting Syndeia -> Open Connected Artifacts.
      

   6. By right-clicking a symbol for the element Atmospheric Sensor in any Rhapsody diagrams and selecting Syndeia -> Open Connected Artifacts.

Note: this only works if you have an application able to open that kind of element and your Windows operating system is set to open the element automatically by double-clicking.