Link Switcher

What it is and why it exists

Traceability models change. A team starts with generic "Link To" links and later agrees that they should be "Satisfies"; an import creates "Validated By" links that point the wrong way; a new model needs a second link type next to the existing one. In the standard interface each such link has to be deleted and created again, one by one, and it is easy to lose a link on the way.

Link Switcher changes existing links in bulk and safely: you choose which links to change, the link type they become and their new direction, see every link before anything changes, and run the change in one controlled pass. It can also copy links as another type and keep the originals.

Problems it solves

• Hundreds of links of the wrong type after an import, a migration or a change of the traceability model.
• Links that point the wrong way and have to be reversed.
• Deleting links and creating them again by hand, which is slow and risks losing links.
• A new link type that must exist next to the old one for a transition period.
• No record of which links were changed.

Benefits

• Bulk change: any number of link types become one new type, in the same or the reversed direction.
• Safe order: the new link is created first and the original is removed only after that; if creating fails, the original stays.
• Copy mode: "Keep the original links" adds a copy with the new type and leaves the originals alone.
• Preview: every link is listed per artifact with what it becomes, and the counts are shown before the run.
• Safe by default: only links in the module context are changed unless you include links on base artifacts, and that option switches itself off after every run.
• Long runs under control: progress, Stop and Continue for very large modules, a list of links that could not be changed with Retry, and an Excel change report.

How to use

1. Under Link types, click Change. Under From, tick the link types to change and choose their Direction: All directions, Outgoing or Incoming. The list comes from the link types defined in your project.
2. Under To, choose the New link type and the Direction of the new link: Same as original or Reversed.
3. Optionally tick Keep the original links (to copy instead of change) and Change links in the module and on base artifacts, then click Done.
4. Under Change, choose Whole module or Selection (artifacts selected in DOORS Next) and click Find links. Nothing changes yet: open a row under Links to see each link and what it becomes.
5. Click Change (or Copy), read the confirmation and confirm with Change N links (or Copy N links).
6. The result shows the links changed, the new links that were already there, the links on base artifacts and any failures, with Retry. The Log saves the change report to Excel.

Good to know

• A bidirectional link stays bidirectional: it changes its type, and the Reversed choice does not apply to it.
• If the chosen links already have the new type and direction, there is nothing to change and the widget says so.
• A link between two artifacts of the same module is changed once, not twice.
• Links on base artifacts change in every module that reuses the artifacts; use this option deliberately.
• Always work in a change set: discarding it is the only way to bring the original links back.
• On the whole module, Change also works without a search, in a single pass after the same confirmation. On very large modules a stopped run goes on with Continue from …, also after a page reload.
• Outside a module, the widget works on the artifacts selected in DOORS Next.
• If the base artifact of an artifact cannot be read, its links in the module are still changed and a warning names the artifact.