The ClearQuest connector depends on Tasktop Pro being installed. Before installing the ClearQuest connector, obtain a trial or purchase a subscription to Tasktop Pro. After installation you can proceed with installing the ClearQuest Connector.
The Tasktop ClearQuest Connector brings your ClearQuest change requests into the Mylyn Task List. Due to the infinite flexibility of ClearQuest, additional configuration is required to refine how attributes of a ClearQuest change request are presented in Mylyn.
Configuration consists of placing a SchemaName.properties file within a hidden folder nested within your workspace. The path where these properties files must be placed is "workspace/.metadata/.plugins/com.tasktop.ibm.clearquest.core/".
The properties files act primarily as a map between the names of attributes in a ClearQuest record type (SchemaName) and the id of the Mylyn task attribute counterpart.
A properties file needs to exist for whichever ClearQuest record type is read as a Task in Mylyn's Task List. Supplemental properties files may also be required depending on the complexity of your particular ClearQuest schema.
Lets create the necessary properties files to support IBM's sample ALMTask schema. First we need to create an ALMTask.properties file in our local workspace/.metadata/.plugins/com.tasktop.ibm.clearquest.core/ folder. If this folder does not exist, create it.
ALMTask.properties content:#Mylyn TaskAttribute mappings id=task.common.key State=task.common.status Headline=task.common.summary Owner=task.common.user.assigned Description=task.common.description DateSubmitted=task.common.date.created #ClearQuest type mappings clearquest.attribute.attachments=Attachments clearquest.type.comment=ALMComment clearquest.type.comment.attribute=Comments ## Properties associated with the Notes package ## Use this instead of clearquest.type.comment above if your ## Schema uses the Notes style comments (Comments appear in a single text field) #Note_Entry=task.common.comment.new #task.common.comment.new=Note_Entry #clearquest.attribute.comments.log=Notes_Log #clearquest.attribute.comments.delimiter===== #clearquest.attribute.comments.authorprefix=by: #clearquest.attribute.comments.dateprefix=on #clearquest.attribute.comments.dateformat=dd MMM yyyy HH:mm:ss #ClearQuest attributes to hide # These consist mostly of Mylyn mapped attributes and any other additional # fields that you don't want to see as attributes within the Task Editor clearquest.attributes.hidden=OldID,Name,Obsolete,Headline,Description,Owner ## Custom Sections - move attributes to custom defined sections in the task editor. ## A comma separated list of Section names: #clearquest.sections=Project,Resolution ## For each Section add a clearquest.section.[SECTION_NAME] property with comma separated list of attributes to contain therein #clearquest.section.Resolution=ResolutionCode,ResolutionSummary #clearquest.section.Project=PhaseLabel,Iteration,IterationLabel
Lets go over this file in detail. The first section "#Mylyn TaskAttribute mappings" maps from ClearQuest ALMTask attribute ids to Mylyn TaskAttribute ids. The most recent set of Mylyn TaskAttribute ids can be found in the TaskAttribute source.
Each Mylyn mapping we add to this properties file has the result of ensuring your ClearQuest attributes are represented appropriately within Mylyn. NOTE that not all attributes need be included in the properties file, only those that have specific distinction within Mylyn such as those that map to the Summary, Comments, Attachments, Owner etc.
So in our example, we've provided mappings from the ClearQuest specific attribute 'Headline' to Mylyn's Summary field (task.common.summary). This ensures the Headline gets mapped and presented within Mylyn's Task List and Task Editor where the summary should normally appear. This is repeated for a few other Mylyn attributes: id, State, Owner, Description, and DateSubmitted.
The second section of the properties file has a few ClearQuest Connector specific attributes necessary to handle Attachments and Comments. If your schema supports attachments, add the "clearquest.attribute.attachments" key and map it to the attribute name associated with Attachments in your ClearQuest record schema. If new comments are supported, add a mapping from "clearquest.type.comment" to the name of the type that represents attachments in your schema. You also need to add a mapping from "clearquest.type.comment.attribute" to the name of the attribute associated with comments, in this case "Comments". Since we are referencing another type in this properties file, it is necessary to create an additional ALMComment.properties file:
ALMComment.properties content:#Mapping from CQ attribute to Mylyn TaskAttribute ids Comments=task.common.comment.text DateSubmitted=task.common.comment.date Author=task.common.comment.author #Reverse map from Mylyn attribute ids to CQ attributes task.common.comment.text=Comments task.common.comment.date=DateSubmitted task.common.comment.author=Author
Comment type properties files are special in that they need both forward and a reverse map but this will be resolved in future versions of the connector.
In the final section of our ALMTask.properties file, a comma seperated list of ClearQuest attribute names is assigned to clearquest.attributes.hidden. This is a list of ClearQuest attributes that you don't want visible in the Task Editor. The list will contain some attributes that already map to Mylyn ids, and other ClearQuest specific attributes that don't make sense to display to users (i.e. OldID).
NOTE Refining these properties files needs to be done once as part of initial configuration and will require some iteration. As you make changes, they won't immediately appear to be having any effect on the Task Editor. From the Task Repositories view, right click on your ClearQuest repository and select "Update Repository Configuration". Then select the task in the task list and choose Synchronize from the popup menu. After synchronization completes, re-open the task and the changes will be visible in the editor.
With the above properties files in place, the connector will be able to interpret and present your data in a meaning full way.
To get your ClearQuest change requests into your Task List will require setting up a connection to your repository.