This is the more general term meaning a connection between two articles in Cradle. They may take the form of an association or pseudo cross reference, say between a parent and child diagram related by number, or a cross reference.
Cross References
This is a database item that defines the link between two items. It can have parameters associated with the link and rules to control it.
In the query details dialog, users can now set the ‘Delete State’ of linked (or not linked items).
Those states are:
Normal an item considered live and accessible
Recoverable an item that has been deleted but could be brought back, hidden in most operations
All a combination of the two.
Why is Delete State Important?
It would be logical to run a query to check that all your Requirements are linked to System Requirements. Therefore, setting a query to return Requirements ‘Not Linked’ to System Requirements that are of a Normal Delete State would give you the required list.
On the other hand, before permanently deleting a batch of items, you may want to check that they are not linked to Recoverable items first. In that way you can ensure those items linked items are deleted too.
Since the state of both the primary item and the linked items can be set this gives all query combinations for an item’s deleted status.
If your Word document contains cross-reference hyperlinks to other document sections then Document Loader can capture this link as a cross reference in your project database. Typically, a hyperlink might be a reference to a heading, figure or table, implying a loose association between two items. If any hyperlinks are found in your document then this option is enabled by default. Untick this checkbox if you do not want to create such cross references. Use the Link Type dropdown to select a specific link type. It makes sense not to use the same links as you are using for the document hierarchy
Recreate Word internal links as Cradle cross references
Each Cradle database contains different sets of information. These can be imagined as layers, where each layer uses the data in the layers below it. For example, cross references cannot exist until the items exist whose relationships are shown by the cross reference. These layers are, highest to lowest:
1. Cross references – the links between the data 2. Items – the data 3. Definitions – how to find, view and report the data 4. User profiles – who can own and access the data 5. Schema – the structure of the data You can export/import each layer individually, or in any combination, or all layers. You should only import a layer of information if the lower layers already exist in the database (unless you know that it is safe).
To initialise a new database from an existing database, you need as a minimum:
– The schema – Definitions
User profiles are needed to use a database and may be needed for some parts of the schema (such as workflows and alerts) and definitions (user and personal scopes).
When you want to see the other items that are linked to the current item in a Cradle display, you can do so by showing the linked items in a Form. This is an effective way to get a comprehensive overview of the interconnections in a formatted and repeatable way.
Items that are linked to the current item
You can find more information on setting up a form to display this links in this Cradle help article.
Alternatives
You can see items that are linked to the subject item in a number of different ways including:
Configure a View to show a linked items column
Use the right click context menu and select Show Linked Items
Double click the item in a Table View to expand extra rows
Follow the [+] expansions in a tree view
The View method is as repeatable as setting in a form, the other methods are transient.
Article updated 05/12/2018 – Added link to Cradle help
A Hierarchy Diagram (HID) is a diagram style that is used to graphically show cross references between items. A HID is a tree that starts with the item of interest (source item) and shows the items that are linked to it by cross references. Each of these items’ cross references can be shown with their cross referenced items.
What’s linked to what?
Generate a HID (Hierarchy Diagram) in Cradle for a clear graphical representation of how your items interconnect. Simple to see what depends on what at many levels.
Hierarchy Diagram Options and Information
When a HID is opened, the Control sidebar is refreshed to show the following tabs:
Starmap – Is a highly zoomed view of the diagram.
Starmap
From Item – Shows details of the from item.
From Item
Hierarchy – Ability to define a hierarchy and set the links to follow for each item type.
Hierarchy
Diagram Summary Information – Shows the number of items, cross references, levels and symbols in the current HID.
Diagram Summary
If you would like more information on Hierarchy Diagrams and how you can use them, you may find this Cradle help article useful.
Article Updtaed29/01/2019 – Added more information and examples
What’s the difference between “All linked items” and “All cross referenced items”
If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between these link types in a view in Cradle, this should clarify:
Cross references are actual links that have their own properties and can be tailored by the user. They have rules to control their creation, modification and deletion.
Links include Cross References, but also include pseudo associative links. An example would be a Specification that is associated with a Diagram by its identity.
It is easy to traverse a SysML bdd (block definition diagram) to an ibd (internal block diagram). This is achieved via the cross references between the specification, holding the details, and its use on each diagram. A common piece of data represented in different ways on different diagrams. A case of record once, use many.
Follow cross reference from ‘bdd’ to ‘ibd’
Article updated 22/10/2018 – Added links to Cradle online help
There are multiple ways to create cross reference links in Cradle.
Drag and drop the items to create a cross reference link, use the Link Details dialog to manually enter, or use the ‘Make Link To‘ and the ‘Make Link From‘ option. The video above demonstrates how quick and simple these methods are.
A slightly more graphic method of producing cross references is to double-click, or right click and choose Create Cross Reference on the inter linking cell in a Matrix.
Create Cross Reference in a Matrix
The cell also gives access to the items from the column and row that are referenced at the intersection, or details of the existing link between them
Rules
What can link to what, by whom and with what link type is controlled by link rules. Covered in this blog article.cross ref
Cross Reference Attributes
Each of these options creates a link. Each one can have sixteen user defined link attributes. These are defined in the Project Schema, if you don’t define any, Cradle will default to providing “Reason, Rationale, Reference and Note” for the first four attributes to get you started.
What better way than using Hierachy Diagrams (HIDs) that show link types in colour!
Hierarchy Diagrams (HIDs) are an excellent way to show the relationships between items in your database. The boxes in the diagrams are the items and their connecting lines are the cross references.
You can define a colour for each cross reference link type in the schema. If you do, then these colours are used to draw the cross references in HIDs.
This means that you can easily interpret the connections shown by the HID as, for example ‘has child’ or ‘is satisfied by’, or ‘allocated to’ relationships.
If you have not tried setting colours for your cross reference link types, please try it and see how this will transform the ease with which your HIDs can be interpreted!
Cross references are links between items in the database. They are how you show that an item is dependent on another item in some way. For example, one item may satisfy another item, or an item may be a decomposition (a child) of another item.
How are Cross References created?
Drag and Drop
You can select a group of items in a tree and then drag and drop them onto another item. Cross references will be created from the item that you dragged onto, to the items that you dragged.
You can select an item and choose Make Link From and then select another item and choose Make Link To. A cross reference is created between the items. This is available from the right click popup menus, and Item menus, and has the advantage that it can be used anywhere:
Selecting items in a tree
Selecting items in a table
For an item in a form
Selecting an item in a matrix
So it has the advantage that you do not need to have both items open in trees.
You can display the Link Details dialog that shows the details of a cross reference, including the user-defined attributes inside it. You can manually enter ‘from’ and ‘to’ Identities into the dialog and select Save to create cross references. This is sometimes the fastest way to create a set of cross references.
Link details dialog
Of course, you can also import cross references from other tools, from Word tables and Excel spreadsheets. Cross references will also be created automatically when you import from source documents.
