The following is a list of the new features in CA ERwin Data Modeler (CA ERwin DM) r7.3, including a brief description and where relevant, a hypertext jump to more information about each feature.
Extensive support has been added for Teradata Version 2.6.x and Version 12. You can access new features in the property editors from the Database menu or from the Model Explorer. Complete Compare, Reverse Engineering and Forward Engineering functionality has been updated to support the new properties.
A full suite of check model validation routines has been added for Teradata.
New features include a tool for working with SQL queries and an option to activate an ODBC-based driver within CA ERwin Data Modeler to enable query access from third-party reporting tools.
The Query Tool provides an easy way to execute SQL SELECT queries against the model or against a database catalog. You can execute a query against the objects and properties in the model, the metadata defining those objects and properties, and the action log that records the changes that are made to your model during the modeling session.
You can create new queries or paste text from another source (such as a *.sql file) into a query.
You can save a query to a *.qry file for later execution. Query results can be saved to a *.csv (comma-separated values) file.
Although the Query Tool provides a built-in query interface in CA ERwin Data Modeler, you can also use any third-party reporting tool that has ODBC capability to query CA ERwin Data Modeler modeling data.
CA ERwin Data Modeler r7.3 allows you to use any third-party reporting tool that has ODBC capability to query CA ERwin Data Modeler metadata. For example, you can use queries you created in Excel, Access, Crystal Reports, and Cognos and run them against the CA ERwin Data Modeler metadata. At this time only query syntax (SELECT statements) is supported.
To enable this functionality, you activate the read-only ODBC-based driver provided with CA ERwin Data Modeler on the Integrations tab of the Options menu. This feature enables open access to the modeling metadata for reporting purposes.
This new feature lets you query one model at a time (the current model). Although you cannot query a model in CA ERwin Model Manager, you can query an open model from a mart, if it is the current model.
Crystal Reports 2008
A licensed copy of Business Objects™ Crystal Reports® is provided with each copy of CA ERwin Data Modeler. You can install your copy when you install or upgrade CA ERwin Data Modeler. Sample reports are also installed to the \ODBC Reports folder to help you get started.
The Forward Engineer wizard now includes a link to a Template Editor that you can use to view, modify, and create new template files (*.fet) for use with schema generation. The Template Editor features give you a wide range of options for controlling schema generation for your models. You can review and print database-specific features of the default template files, create a custom template file based on a default template file, or create a completely new template file. All of the currently supported CA ERwin Data Modeler macros are available in the Template Editor, along with online documentation and customization options.
A "universal" File Close dialog replaces the different Close dialogs in earlier releases to ensure a standardized look and feel throughout the product.
Changes have been implemented to let you save an XML file in one dialog. In earlier versions of the software, you needed to go through several dialogs to choose the proper XML format. When you select Save As from the File menu, you can select from among three different XML format options.
Optimization with CA ERwin Model Manager for "Three Way Merge"
New features have been added to maximize performance when working with CA ERwin Model Manager models and Complete Compare. You can choose from two new options on the Model Manager tab of the Options dialog (Tools menu). You can select to skip the Difference Reconciliation dialog if no conflicts are detected between the version of the model in the mart and the local version, or select to display all objects.
Advanced Options Added
New options have been added to the Advanced pane of the Complete Compare wizard:
Auto-Resolve Missing UDPs
In some cases, the Type Resolution box appears when Complete Compare detects missing UDPs or property differences for common UDPs. You can select to skip the Type Resolution popup box when all the differences are due to missing UDPs. When you select this check box, all missing UDPs are automatically copied to the target model.
Display Unified Attributes
Select this check box to simplify the display of foreign-key attributes in the Resolve Differences dialog. When selected, a Unified Attributes group object is used to display all unified attributes (role-named or not) of the same unified set of attributes.
Any attributes that are aligned to the attributes under the Unified Group object appear as part of the Unified Group object, even if they are not unified attributes.
The Unified Attributes group object carries the unified name if all the attributes under it are part of the same unified set. If not, the name consists of a comma-delimited list of names of all the attributes under it.
Select Active Subject Area
Specifies that you want to select the active subject area by default in the Object Selection pane. This simplifies the subject area selection, especially in models that contain a large number of subject areas.
Ignore Code Comments
Select this option to exclude blocks of comments from the body of a trigger, before including it in the compare process. This enables Complete Compare to recognize that a trigger has not changed, if the only difference is in the comment text attached to the trigger.
Exclude Unaligned Objects/Display Only Aligned Objects
Two features on the Advanced Options pane of the Complete Compare wizard enable you to exclude unaligned model-level objects in either the left or right model. They are "Exclude Unaligned Objects in the Left Model" and "Exclude Unaligned Objects in the Right Model". In earlier versions of the product, these options were mutually exclusive - you could not select both. In CA ERwin Data Modeler r7.3 you can now select both check boxes to display only aligned model-level objects in the Resolve Differences dialog. These features are useful when you work with a submodel or subject area of a larger model, and then want to compare changes against the larger model. When you select the "Exclude Unaligned Objects..." check box for the larger model, you exclude the model-level unaligned objects from the Resolve Differences dialog display. This results in a more relevant list of differences and a display that is easier to read.
In earlier versions of CA ERwin Data Modeler when the type signatures of the two models were not identical, a popup window displayed, enabling you to review and accept the choices for missing types or type conflicts. In CA ERwin Data Modeler r7.3 this popup dialog has been replaced with a wizard. The wizard makes it easier to navigate and use the available options.
Demand Loading Enhancement
When working with a database in Complete Compare, selecting the Allow Demand Loading check box enables you load only the names of the top-level objects from the database catalog. When you perform an action on a partially loaded object in the Resolve Difference dialog, it is fully loaded in order to complete the compare action. In CA ERwin Data Modeler r7.3, demand loading has been optimized to improve overall performance.
Demand Loading and DB Sync
To optimize performance when doing a DB Sync, the Demand Loading option is now activated by default. In earlier versions, the check box (on the Right Model pane of the DB Sync wizard) was selected by default, but could be changed. In r7.3 you cannot clear this check box.
Object Selection Enhancement
When a model contains a large number of objects it may be difficult to locate the objects that have been selected in the Right and Left Object Selection panes of the Complete Compare wizard. For example, if you select a Subject Area set, it may be difficult to locate the selected objects in the list. A check box with the label "Hide Unselected Objects" has been added to the Object Selection panes. Select the check box to remove unselected objects from the Selected Objects display. This change also applies to the DB Sync Wizard.
Range Selection Enhancement
Range selection functionality has been added to the Object Selection panes in Complete Compare. You can now select a range of items on the same level using SHIFT+LEFTCLICK, or select individual items using CTRL+LEFTCLICK. For example, you can use SHIFT+LEFTCLICK to select a range of Entities in the "Selected Objects" list, then clear one check box next to an entity name to clear the check boxes for all the selected entities. In earlier versions of the product, it was necessary to select or clear each check box individually.
Change to Type Selection Filtering
In earlier versions of CA ERwin Data Modeler type selection in the Complete Compare wizard resulted in hiding the selected item from the user, not strictly removing the object from the compare process. This resulted in no performance improvement for type filtering. In CA ERwin Data Modeler r7.3 type selection has been updated so that filtering is applied strictly according to the choices made in the Type Selection pane of the Complete Compare wizard.
"Explain" Button Added
To improve performance and to make compare results displayed in the Resolve Differences dialog easier to understand, a new "Explain" button has been added to the Resolve Differences dialog. When you click the Explain button, an Explanation dialog opens. For object rows, the text explains why the two objects were aligned. For property rows, the text explains why the two property values are equal. The "Explain" button replaces the "Details" button available in earlier versions of the product.
Changes have been implemented to allow you to create model objects for ERwin-generated triggers. In earlier versions of the software, triggers did not exist as objects in the model, they were created during the forward-engineering process but not recognized during reverse-engineering.
In CA ERwin DM r7.3, several features have been implemented to allow you to treat triggers as model objects. These enhancements allow you include the triggers in alter scripts, include triggers in Complete Compare scenarios, and associate triggers with model templates.
The RI Defaults tab on the Model Properties dialog now includes a check box with the label "Automatically Create RI Triggers." When you select this check box, you are prompted with an option to create RI triggers for existing relationships. The option is then enabled for new objects. If you click No to the prompt, RI Triggers are created only for new relationships. This check box is not selected by default - you must select it to activate this new feature.
In the Forward Engineer wizard, on the Options tab for the Triggers object, the wording of the triggers options has been updated to reflect the new distinction between ERwin-generated and User-Defined triggers. When you select to automatically generate RI triggers, a check box is provided with the label "Automatically Generate Missing RI Triggers."
The Reverse Engineer - Set Options dialog now includes a check box with the label "Include Generated Triggers." You select this check box to include RI Triggers in the reverse engineer process.
This release introduces CA ERwin Data Modeler's Template Language (TLX), the new template/macro language for Forward Engineering templates. The macros available in earlier versions of CA ERwin Data Modeler are still accessible using the Macro Toolbox that you can open from the Domain Dictionary dialog, Model Naming Options dialog, Pre and Post Scripts dialog, Triggers dialog, and so on.
For macros you can use in Forward Engineering Templates, a technical document, the Template Language and Macro Reference PDF is installed with the product in the \Doc folder beneath the folder where you installed CA ERwin Data Modeler. This guide provides extensive technical documentation for the Forward Engineering Template macros. You can open help for an individual macro when you right-click the macro name in the Macros pane of the Template Editor.
Support has been added for the following target server databases:
Support has been dropped for the following target server databases or operating systems:
Support has been added for the following operating systems:
The list of supported Metadata Integration Bridges from Meta Integration Technology, Inc. (MIMB) has been updated. You can access the bridges when you click Import, From External Format or Export, To External Format on the File menu.
The full list of supported import and export bridges is documented in Appendix B of the CA ERwin Data Modeler Implementation Guide. This PDF guide is available from the Start menu, or in the \Doc folder where you installed the product.
A new reference document, ERwin Metamodel Reference has been produced that provides a comprehensive list of the CA ERwin Data Modeler metadata object classes, property classes, aggregations, and associations. The document is in PDF format and can be opened from a shortcut on the Start menu. A copy is also installed to the \Doc folder where you installed the product.
Online help for all products in the modeling suite is now provided in Compiled HTML (CHM) format. This replaces Windows Help (HLP) format provided in earlier versions. The CHM help modules include full search capability, indexing, and a comprehensive table of contents. You can click the help button or press F1 in any program context and the online help file opens to the topic relevant to the feature you are using. The table of contents and topics are also synchronized, so that the topic opens the table of contents tree to the appropriate location at the same time it displays the help topic.
The Documentation Bookshelf is an HTML-based reference tool that provides easy access to the online help and core reference documentation for CA ERwin Data Modeler and CA ERwin Model Manager. The Bookshelf provides a "front end" user interface where you can open individual PDF Guides or online help files, or search a combined index for all deliverables.
The bookshelf is installed by default with the product and is available from the Start menu.
A zip file containing the Bookshelf is also provided as a download from the Technical Support page of CA Support Online at http://support.ca.com.
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