Link Remover

What it is and why it exists

Traceability is only valuable when it is correct. After a reorganization, a failed import, a change of the traceability model or a test with the wrong link type, modules end up with hundreds of links that must be removed. In the standard interface every link is deleted separately, artifact by artifact.

Link Remover was created to clean up traceability in bulk and safely: you choose the link types and the direction, see exactly which links are found, and remove them in one controlled run.

Problems it solves

• Hundreds of obsolete or wrong links after imports, migrations or a change of the traceability model.
• Deleting links one by one, which is slow and easy to get wrong.
• Uncertainty about whether links live in the module context or on the base artifacts, and what removing them affects.
• No record of which links were removed.

Benefits

• Targeted clean-up: only the chosen link types, in the chosen direction (outgoing, incoming or all).
• Safe by default: only module-context links are removed unless you explicitly include links on base artifacts, and that option switches itself off after every run.
• Preview: the number of links per type and every link per artifact are shown before removal.
• Clear confirmation that names the number of links, the artifacts and the link types.
• Robust runs: progress, Stop, a list of links that could not be removed with Retry, and an Excel change report.

How to use

1. Tick the link types to remove and choose the direction. The list comes from the link types defined in your project.
2. Optionally tick Remove links in the module and on base artifacts.
3. Open a module and click Find links in module, or select artifacts in DOORS Next. The widget shows how many links of the chosen types were found.
4. Click Remove links (N), read the confirmation and confirm.
5. Review the result in Execution Status and download the change report if needed.

Good to know

• Links on base artifacts disappear in every module that reuses the artifacts; use this option deliberately.
• A link between two artifacts of the same module is removed once, not twice.
• For very large modules, Remove without searching removes the links in a single pass.
• Always work in a change set: discarding it is the only way to bring removed links back.