Microsoft SharePoint Connector includes custom Web Parts that enable you to access and display CA Clarity PPM project information in your SharePoint sites. You can use these customized Web Parts to access predefined (stock) and customized data providers in a CA Clarity PPM project. You can add one of the following CA Clarity PPM Web Parts:
You can configure more than one Web Part to access the same CA Clarity PPM project information. You can add CA Clarity PPM Web Parts to more than one Web Part zone or site and configure them to display the same CA Clarity PPM project information concurrently. For example, you can add two CA Clarity PPM List Web Parts: one Web Part to a CA Clarity PPM project site and another Web Part to a non-CA Clarity PPM project site. You can then configure both Web Parts to access the same data provider and the same CA Clarity PPM project. Similarly, you can configure two or more CA Clarity PPM List Web Parts in the same CA Clarity PPM project site, or in the same non-CA Clarity PPM project site, to access the same data provider.
You can use CA Clarity PPM List Web Parts to view and share lists of project sub-object instances or the results from CA Technologies Clarity Studio queries. After you add and configure a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part, you can use Microsoft SharePoint to manage the list that you retrieve from CA Clarity PPM.
After you add and configure a CA Clarity PPM Web Part to a CA Clarity PPM project site, you can use the various Microsoft SharePoint features provided in the Web Part or the associated list, with the exception of a few features that you use to modify information in the list.
CA Clarity PPM List Web Parts are compatible with the following Microsoft SharePoint features:
Note: For more information about creating and managing views, see the Microsoft Windows SharePoint documentation.
Every CA Clarity PPM List Web Part is associated with the following:
Essentially, a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part and the SharePoint list that is automatically created provide the same set of features. The CA Clarity PPM List Web Part acts as a container for the list and provides the features that are available in SharePoint lists. Note that you cannot modify or delete list items or add and delete columns on CA Clarity PPM List Web Parts or their underlying lists, thus ensuring that data is not lost when you synchronize the list with CA Clarity PPM.
When you reconfigure the CA Clarity PPM List Web Part to access a different CA Clarity PPM provider, a new list is not created. When you reconfigure a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part to display information from a different data provider or a data provider on a different CA Clarity PPM server, the associated list is updated with information from the new data provider.
Note: You can use the list that is associated with a CA Clarity PPM Web Part even after you delete the List Web Part; the associated list is not deleted from the site. However, when you delete the List Web Part, the synchronize functionality no longer works on the list.
You must configure the CA Clarity PPM List Web Part to display the list of items that you want to view. You configure the CA Clarity PPM List Web Part to access CA Clarity PPM project data by selecting the desired CA Clarity PPM data provider.
You can configure a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part by using its tool pane. The CA Clarity PPM Data Provider list in the tool pane displays all the data providers that are available for the configured binding parameters.
To configure a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part
The tool pane appears.
The page refreshes.
Select the Task List check box.
Select the start date attribute that you want. This field is optional.
Select the finish date attribute that you want. This field is optional.
Select the attribute that indicates the priority. This field is optional.
Select the attribute that indicates the percentage of completion. This field is optional.
If you do not select the Task List check box, the Actions menu will not display the Connect to Outlook command which enables integration of the list with Microsoft Outlook. Selecting an attribute from the Start Date Attribute, Due Date Attribute, Priority Attribute, and % Complete Attribute lists ensures that these attributes are included in the list in Microsoft Outlook.
Note: For more information about customizing the Web Part, see the Microsoft Windows SharePoint documentation.
The CA Clarity PPM List Web Part displays a list of items retrieved from the data provider.
If you do not select the Task List check box, you can reconfigure the CA Clarity List Web Part when you want to integrate the list with Microsoft Outlook. To integrate the list with Outlook, access the tool pane of the CA Clarity List Web Part and select the Task List check box. Optionally, you can select the start date, due date, priority, and percentage complete attributes if you want to these fields to be included in Microsoft Outlook.
CA Clarity PPM Web Parts display certain columns by default. However, there might be additional columns that are retrieved from CA Clarity PPM but are not displayed by default. You can change the columns that are displayed.
You can:
To modify the columns displayed in a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part
Select the check boxes against the columns that you want the Web Part to display.
Select the positions in which you want the columns to be displayed.
The columns that you selected are displayed in the CA Clarity PPM List Web Part.
The data you retrieve from a data provider may undergo periodic changes in CA Clarity PPM. Some of the existing items may be deleted or modified in CA Clarity PPM, and new items may be added. If you want to update the list in the CA Clarity PPM Web Part to reflect these changes, you must synchronize the list in the Web Part with CA Clarity PPM.
To synchronize the list displayed in a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part with CA Clarity PPM
In the menu bar of the Web Part, Click Synchronize with Clarity. The list in the CA Clarity PPM List Web Part is updated with the latest information in CA Clarity PPM.
Note: If you do not have a permission level of Design or Full Control, the list appears to synchronize with CA Clarity PPM because the Web page refreshes. However, the list continues to display the information that was retrieved when it was last synchronized by a user having Design or Full Control permissions.
The CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part is based on standard Microsoft Office Excel charting features. You can use CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Parts to view pictorial representations of data from a CA Clarity PPM data provider. You can refresh charts displayed in CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Parts periodically to display charts based on the updated data in CA Clarity PPM.
A CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part can represent CA Clarity PPM data that are of the following data types:
Note: If two or more records retrieved by the project data provider have the same category attribute values, only the first instance is plotted on the chart. Therefore, you must ensure that the CA Clarity PPM project data provider from which you want to retrieve data for display in CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Parts contains unique values for the attributes that you want to plot on the horizontal (category) axis. This frequently means a CA Technologies Clarity Studio query that does aggregation by the selected category attribute.
CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Parts are restricted to displaying charts based on CA Clarity PPM project data. Therefore, CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Parts do not have the standard Web Part menu. You cannot use SharePoint features with this Web Part. You can, however, customize the appearance and layout of the Web Part by using the tool pane that is associated with the CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part.
Use the following process to set up CA Clarity PPM Web Parts to connect CA Clarity PPM with Microsoft SharePoint:
Use the following process to manage CA Clarity PPM Project Information in Microsoft SharePoint Sites:
You can configure CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Parts to display various types of charts, such as area charts, bar charts, line charts, and pie charts.
Note: Some chart types, such as pie charts and doughnut charts, do not support multiple series. Therefore, you must select only one series attribute for such chart types. Additionally, the colors used in the charts are system-generated, so you cannot choose the colors that you want to represent the elements of the chart with.
After you add a CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part to a CA Clarity PPM project site, you must configure it to create the chart that you want to view. You configure a CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part by using the tool pane associated with the Web Part. The CA Clarity PPM Data Provider list in the tool pane displays all the available data providers.
The CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part also displays a legend that identifies each series in the chart.
Note: If two or more records with the same category value are retrieved for the selected data provider, only the first is included in the chart. For example, consider that you select Task as the data provider for the chart and the task name as the category attribute. If the same task name appears for multiple tasks, only the first task is included in the chart. Therefore, you must ensure that the attributes that you choose to display as categories on the chart have unique values.
To configure a CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part in a CA Clarity PPM project site
The tool pane appears.
Specifies the data provider that you want. After you select a data provider from the CA Clarity PPM Data Provider list, the Category Attribute and Series Attributes fields are automatically populated with the attributes contained in the data provider.
Select the type of chart you want to create.
Enter a title for the chart.
Select the attribute that should be plotted along the category axis.
Select the attributes that should be plotted along the series axis. You can select multiple series attributes. However, you must note that certain chart types, such as pie charts and doughnut charts, do not support multiple series attributes.
Enter a name for the set of series attributes that you selected.
Note: For more information about customizing the Web Part, see the Microsoft Windows SharePoint documentation.
The CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part displays the chart.
The chart displayed in a CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part is based on values of attributes that can change in CA Clarity PPM. You can refresh the chart periodically so that the chart is based on the latest values in the CA Clarity PPM data provider. When you refresh the chart, the chart is re-created based on the new values in CA Clarity PPM.
To refresh the chart displayed in a CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part
Click the Refresh Chart button that is provided above the chart area in the CA Clarity PPM Chart Web Part. The chart is refreshed. If the category and series attribute values have changed in CA Clarity PPM, they are plotted using the new values in the CA Clarity PPM data provider.
Note: If you do not have a permission level of Design or Full Control, the chart will appear to refresh because the Web Page refreshes. However, the chart will continue to display the graph that was displayed when it was last refreshed by a user having Design or Full Control permissions.
After creating a CA Clarity PPM project site, you can add CA Clarity PPM Web Parts to the site and configure the Web Parts to view data from a selected CA Clarity PPM data provider.
To manage CA Clarity PPM Web Parts, you must have a Microsoft SharePoint permission level of Design or Full Control.
To add a CA Clarity PPM Web Part
The Web Part page is displayed in edit mode.
The Add Web Parts dialog box opens.
The CA Clarity PPM Web Part is added to the Web Part zone you selected.
Some CA Clarity PPM data providers, such as the Tasks project sub-object, lay emphasis on attributes such as dates and milestones. After you configure a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part to display such a list, if you want to track the list regularly, you can integrate the list with Microsoft Outlook 2007 and track the list from Microsoft Outlook.
Note: You can write and use NSQL queries that filter major milestones, such as phase gates, or common tasks, such as quarterly project review meetings. You can then use the Connect to Outlook command in a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part to get this information on everyone's task list in Microsoft Outlook.
You can integrate a list that is contained in a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part with Microsoft Outlook 2007 only if you selected the Task List check box while you configured the CA Clarity PPM List Web Part.
To integrate a list in a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part with Microsoft Outlook 2007
The contents of the list appear in a new task folder that is created automatically in Other Tasks in Microsoft Outlook 2007.
Note: After you integrate the list with Microsoft Outlook, you must not modify list items from the task folder that was automatically created in Microsoft Outlook. If you want to modify any of the list items from within Outlook, you must first create a new task folder in Microsoft Outlook, move the list to the new task folder, and then modify list items from the new task folder.
The list displayed in a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part may have to be updated regularly; existing list items may have to be modified and new items may have to be added. However, because you cannot modify the list in a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part directly, you must make the modifications from within CA Clarity PPM.
You can use the Link to Clarity feature that is provided on the list item menu to open the CA Clarity PPM properties page for the list item. The item's CA Clarity PPM properties page opens in a new browser window, where you can make the changes that you want.
You can make the changes that you want for the list item in CA Clarity PPM. However, any changes you make in CA Clarity PPM are not reflected in Microsoft SharePoint on the CA Clarity PPM List Web Part. If you modify or delete a list item in CA Clarity PPM, you must synchronize the list with CA Clarity PPM before those changes are displayed in the CA Clarity PPM List Web Part.
To open a list item in CA Clarity PPM from Microsoft SharePoint
If you are logged into CA Clarity PPM, the CA Clarity PPM properties page for the list item appears in a new browser window.
The CA Clarity PPM properties page for the list item appears.
You can configure a CA Clarity PPM Web Part to display documents from a CA Clarity PPM project's Document Manager repository.
Note: A CA Clarity PPM List Web Part displays a nonhierarchical list of the documents that are contained in all the folders in the CA Clarity PPM project's Document Manager. Additional information about the documents, such as a document's parent, can be displayed in columns in the Web Part.
To configure a CA Clarity PPM Web Part to display CA Clarity PPM documents
The tool pane appears.
Note: For more information about customizing the Web Part, see the Microsoft Windows SharePoint documentation.
The CA Clarity PPM List Web Part displays all the documents that are stored in the CA Clarity PPM project's Document Manager repository.
After you configure a CA Clarity PPM List Web Part to display a list of documents that are stored in the CA Clarity PPM project's Document Manager repository, you can view the contents of any document from within Microsoft SharePoint without having to log into CA Clarity PPM.
To view the contents of the document
Point to the title of the document, click the arrow that appears, and then click Open from Clarity. The CA Clarity PPM project document opens in a new browser window or in the associated application if the application is installed.
Note: You can edit a document that is opened by the associated application, but you cannot save the changes into CA Clarity PPM. If you want to modify the document, you must modify it from within CA Clarity PPM.
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