ARUtilities Plus 5.6

Copyright © 2004 – ARUtilities.com

http://www.arutilities.com

Help Topics

About ARUtilities
What's New
Login Information/Account Information
View By
Speeding up Searches
How to Find Forms

How to Find Fields and Workflow Objects

How to Export Objects to a Definition File
How to Export Objects to Another Server
How to Export Form Data
How to Import Form Data
How to Document Objects

How to Mass Create DSO Objects

Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts

About ARUtilities

Remedy Development and Debugging Tools
ARUtilities is host to a suit of tools that will reduce Remedy development and debugging time drastically. Find workflow objects quickly with many options for defining each search. Results are displayed in easy to read lists. Each list provides a Right-Click menu offering a number of options for manipulating object. Export or import data with an interface into the runmacro and arimportcmd utilities provided with your Remedy client tool, or, export objects directly to another server. Document your forms and workflow in HTML for quick viewing.

Multi Form Searches
A "View By" function similar to that of the Remedy Admin tool. ARUtilities does not limit you to 10 forms.
Exporting

Now export objects related to the selected forms to definition file or directly to another server.

Editing

ARUtilities provides you with the ability to modify more properties including Run If and Change History.

Result List control

You now have more control over the items displayed in the result lists with the ability to remove items (this will not remove the items form the server) from lists. You can now select multiple items for export allowing you to export only items you want rather than exporting the entire list.

Right Click Menus

Many functions are available by right clicking on result lists, with the most common function available by double clicking as well.

Data Export

ARUExport has been integrated into ARUtilities and updated for improved performance.

Data Import

ARUImport is a new tool that provides an interface for the arimportcmd utility provided by Remedy.

HTML Documentation

HTML Writer is a new tool that will help you document many details of your Remedy systems in HTML format.

SQL

Now running SQL commands is even easier. If specific columns are queried, they will be displayed in the results pane. You can now save and reuse your commands.

Field References

The old Check Affects has been updated to include Escalations and Menus in the search. This function has been updated to provide more accurate results. Searching for Core Fields or fields with an ID less than 100 is more successful.

Login Information/Account Information

You login to the various tools the same way, and using the same account information you use when logging into the Remedy Admin Tool.

Login Information Dialog

Enter your administrator User Name.
Enter your administrator Password.
Click the Accounts button.

Account Information Dialog

Click the Add button.
Enter your Remedy server name.
If you are using TCP then enter this information by clicking on the same row as your server name, and in the TCP column.
Enter your default administrator User Name by clicking in the same row as your server name, and in the Default User column.
Click the OK button to save the list, or, click the Cancel button to close the window without saving the list.

The View By option allows you to narrow your search results for fields and various workflow types to those that are directly related to the selected forms. The View By option does not limit the number of forms you use, and can quickly be turned off

To View by forms do the following

Click the > button to move the selected forms to the View By list
Click the >>> button to move all forms from the Available list to the View By list.
Click the < button to remove the selected forms from the View By list.
Click the <<< button to remove all the forms from the View By list.

Speeding up Searches

When searches are performed there are several processes to complete based on the information to return. These processes can take time and delay the results of the search. Some of these processes may return information that you are not interested in for a particular search. You can turn some of these processes off and thus reduce search time. When in an ARUtilities Search window, choose Preferences from the File menu. The following window will appear.

All of the items listed take time to process. Imagine searching for all Active Links. For each Active Link a process will need to determine the permissions etc. Turning some of these processes off can drastically improve search time. Play around with them until you can reach a happy medium.

How To Find Forms

ARUtilities Search provides several methods for finding forms on your server. Once desired form or forms have been located they will be displayed in the results list including many attributes for each form. The results list can be scrolled up and down, or left and right to view all the information.
Right-Clicking on a form or a number of forms in the results list will display a popup menu giving you many options. Some options include exporting, counting records, copy text from a cell, and modifying attributes.

To find forms do one of the following

Choose a search option from the Find field.
Enter a date in the Modified Since field.
Enter a User Name in the Modified By field.
Enter a complete Form Name, or a partial Form Name using the Wildcard option.
Click the Search button next to the desired field.

How to Find Fields and Workflow Objects

Finding workflow objects when debugging an application can be a time consuming task at times. ARUtilities will make finding particular objects much easier. Searching for fields and workflow objects is very similar to searching for forms. The main difference is that some searches may be narrowed to only include objects related to a particular form. Using the View By option will make your searches perform faster and provide fewer results to sift through.

To find fields or workflow objects do one of the following

Place a check in the View By Selected Form(s) box
Click the View By button and choose the forms to base your search on
Choose a search option from the Find field.
Enter a date in the Modified Since field.
Enter a User Name in the Modified By field.
Enter a complete Form Name, or a partial Form Name using the Wildcard option.
Click the Search button next to the desired field.

How to Export Objects to a Definition File

Each list containing forms or workflow objects has a popup menu that will appear when you Right Click on an item. When the popup menu appears, click the Export menu then the Definition File menu. If you right clicked on a form you will be asked if you would like to include related items. A new window will appear.

A list will contain all items selected, or related to the selected form(s). You can Right Click in this list and remove any items you do not wish to include in your export. Once you are happy with the list, click the Export button. You will be prompted for a file name and location to save the definitions. Once the export if complete the window will close automatically. You can click the Close button to dismiss the window without exporting your definitions.

How to Export Objects to Another Server

Each list containing forms or workflow objects has a popup menu that will appear when you Right Click on an item. When the popup menu appears, click the Export menu then the Export to Server menu. The Login Information window will prompt you for the Destination server, user name and password to copy the definitions to. After you have selected a server a new window will appear.

The list will contain all items you selected. You can Right Click in this list and remove any items you do not wish to include in your export. Once you are happy with the list, choose your import options then click the Export button. Once the export is complete the window will close automatically. You can click the Close button to dismiss the window without exporting any objects.

How to Export Form Data

On the Tools menu choose Data Export. The Login Information window will prompt you to choose a server from which to export. Once you select a server, the Data Export window will appear.

Right Click in the list and choose Forms Containing Records. A list of forms and entry counts will be displayed. You can choose the format of the export by Right Clicking and choosing Destination. The options for Destination are ARX, CSV and XML. You can limit the records to export by providing Search Criteria. Right Click on a form and choose Search Criteria. The Search Criteria window will appear.

Enter search criteria here the same way you would if you were using the Advanced Search function in your Remedy User tool. Click the Perform Search button to count the number of records and to confirm that the criteria is valid. Clicking the OK button will close the window and add the search criteria to the form properties list. Be sure to place a Check next to the forms you want to include in the export. Once you are happy with your settings, click the OK button. You will be prompted to enter the path to runmacro.exe (normally located in your AR System install directory), and a location to save the data export files. Click OK to begin the export. ARUtilities will call the runmacro.exe program and the export will begin.

Saving Data Export Properties
If you would like to use these properties in the future you may choose to save the information to a text file. Click the File menu, then the Save menu option.

Loading Data Export Properties
If you would like to use a previously saved property list you can do so by selecting the File menu, then the Open menu option.

How to Import Form Data

On the Tools menu choose Data Import. The Login Information window will prompt you to choose a server in which to import. Once you select a server, the Data Import window will appear.

You can choose to import ARM, ARX or XML files. Click the File Menu then the Open menu option. Browse to the location where your files are stored and select as many files as you wish. Once selected, the files will be added to the list. A default setting for Duplicate ID will be set for you, however, you may change this option by Right Clicking on a form and choosing Duplicate ID, then select from the options presented. Once you are happy with your settings, click the OK button. You will be prompted to enter the path to arimportcmd.exe (normally located in your AR System install directory). Click OK to begin the import. ARUtilities will call the arimportcmd.exe program and the import will begin.

How to Document Objects

There are two methods of producing documentation. Using the first method you can Right Click in any list and choose Export then CSV file. This will produce a CSV file that may be opened using MS Excel and manipulated as you wish.

The second method will produce HTML documents that may be viewed in your internet browser, or opened in MS Word and manipulated as you wish.

HTML Documentation
On the Tools menu choose HTML Writer. The Login Information window will prompt you to choose a server to document. After logging into a server the HTML Writer window will appear.

Place a check next to the items you wish to include in your documentation. You should limit this list to only the items you really need as each item will lengthen the processing time and increase the number of files produced. You can Right Click in this list for options. Once you have selected the items you want, click the OK button and the writing will begin. Once the HTML writing is complete, the index page of the documentation will be displayed.

How to Mass Create DSO Objects

ARUtilities will quickly create Distributed Mappings and DSO Filters for each form you select with just a few clicks of the mouse, it's never been easier. From the Forms Results list, right click on the forms you wish to create DSO mappings and filters for then choose DSO Writer.

When creating Distributed Mappings the following naming convention will be used.
zDSOz-[FORMNAME]
Where [FORMNAME] is the complete name of the "From Form" for the mapping (ie. zDSOz-Alert Events).

When creating DSO Filters the following naming convention will be used.
zDSOz-[TRIGGER]-[FORMNAME]
Where [TRIGGER] represents the triggering option for the filter, and [FORMNAME] is the primary form for the filter (ie. zDSOz-SubModMerg-Alert Events). The example filter triggers on Submit, Modify and Merge.

All options on the form are explained in the Admin Tool or using Help in the User Tool.

Tips, Tricks and Shortcuts

This section lists some of the things you can do with ARUtilities.

You can submit a Tip, Trick or Shortcut by sending an email to feedback@arutilities.com

Unused Else Actions - In the Active Links, Filters or Escalations section, perform your search. Then scroll to the Else Action column. Sort by Else Actions until all Else Actions are grouped at the top of the list. Now scroll to the right to the Run If column. This will help you locate Active Links that have an Else Action but NO Run If line.
Checking Permissions - In any section that includes Permission details, perform your search. Then scroll to the Permissions column to quickly confirm the appropriate permissions are in place.
Finding Active Links that are included in Guides - In the Active Links Section, select Execute On form the Find selection. When presented with the Execute On dialog simply click Search. All active Links that have no trigger will be returned. NOTE: The same applies for Filters.
Finding Active Links that are triggered by a particular field - In Remedy Admin choose any field (character, date, integer, button etc...) and copy the ID. Then go to the Forms section of ARUtilities and select the form where the field is located. Go to the Active Links section and either paste the copied ID into the Field ID field and click the search button or select the field from the Field Name list. All active Links that are triggered by that field will be returned, even if the trigger is Gain Focus, Return etc...
Empty Guides - To find Guides that have no workflow associated with them, go to the Active Link Guides section or the Filter Guides section. From the Find selection list choose Unused Guides.
Unused Menus - When you need to clean your Remedy server of unused items you can simply delete the associated form and all related workflow will be removed. However, menus are not deleted at this time and can become unused if all fields and active links that referred to them are gone. In ARUtilities go to the Menus section. From the Find selection list choose Unused.
Orphaned Menus - When you delete or rename a form that provides data for a Search Menu the menu becomes orphaned. In ARUtilities go to the Menus section. From the Find selection list choose Orphaned. To confirm that a menu has been orphaned you should go to your Remedy Admin tool and open the menu. If the menu is in fact orphaned you will get a message to the effect "Form does not exist on server". If the form has been renamed then simply choose the form from the list.
Fields related to menu - To locate fields that reference a particular menu, go to the Menus section and perform your menu search. Then Right Click on the menu you wish to check and select Related Fields. This will list all fields that reference the menu even if it is only attached in an active link Change Field action .
Rogue Messages - Sometimes while testing my Remedy Apps I will use test messages to confirm an If Action or an Else Action is firing. To prevent these messages from being forgotten only to be found later by a client, I use ARUtilities to locate them. ARUtilities will also allow you to quickly modify a Message Action by Double Clicking on the message item.
Field Effects - When searching for the effects of a field, limit the number of items to search. For example, if you know the field will never be in a Run If line then you can prevent ARUtilities from searching Run If items. NOTE: Set Fields and Push Fields actions take the longest to search.