Sandrila Ltd

TTCN for Visio - V2.7 - 1st September 2008

System Requirements and Installation

Requirements

• Any version of Microsoft Windows that can run Office Visio.
• Microsoft Visio 2007/2003/2002/2000 (Standard, Professional or Enterprise).
• Notes:
  • TTCN for Visio should work with all language versions of Visio.
  • We only use the International English version for development. Please inform us of any problems with non-English language versions of Visio.

Installation

1. Create a folder 'c:\Program Files\sandrila\ttcn' and unzip ttcn.zip into this folder.
2. Start Visio.
3. From the 'Tools' menu select 'Options | Advanced' then select the 'File Paths' button.
   Add the path to the 'sandrila' folder e.g. : 'c:\Program Files\sandrila'
   to the Templates, Stencils and Add-ons file paths.
   Multiple paths should be separated by ';' e.g. Stencils;c:\Program Files\sandrila
   P.S. Setting the path to point to 'sandrila' will allow Visio to present ttcn
   as a new drawing type on the File | New menu.
4. Visual Basic for Applications is used by this template for some of its operations.
   VBA and Automation Events must be enabled.
   From the menu
   1. in Visio 2000/2002 - 'Tools | Options | Advanced'
      
   2. in Visio 2003 - 'Tools | Options | Security'
      
   ensure that:
   1. 'Enable Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications' is ticked and
      
   2. 'Enable Automation Events' is ticked.
      
   and for Visio 2007
   menu Options -> Trust Center
   Trust access to the VBA project object model: enable tick box
   
5. Check your security settings (below)
6. Close and restart Visio.
   Now when choosing a new drawing type, 'TTCN' and 'TTCN_2000' should be visible.
   'TTCN' is for use with Visio 2002 or later.
   'TTCN_2000' is for Visio 2000.
   Choose drawing type 'TTCN', the unregistered version should show the about box.
   
7. You can add a shortcut to TTCN on the desktop and/or to the Start menu.
   The target path in the shortcut should be to the TTCN template e.g. :
   "C:\Program Files\sandrila\ttcn\TTCN.vst"
   and the 'Start in' path should point to the TTCN folder e.g. :
   "C:\Program Files\sandrila\ttcn\"
   

Security Settings

You may need to check or adjust your Visio/Office security settings. This seems to change with every new version so I shall point you to Chris Roth's excellent article:
http://visguy.com/2007/05/17/vba-macro-security/

Visio 2000/2002 Options - File Paths

Visio 2003/2007 Options - File Paths

Uninstall

1. Remove the ttcn folder
2. Remove the path to TTCN in Options | FilePaths (unless you also have other Sandrila software)
3. Close Visio.

Registration Key

When you purchase TTCN for Visio you will be sent a registration key by email.

1. Select and copy this registration key
2. Open TTCN for Visio
3. From the TTCN menu and select TTCN About'.
4. Click on the Registration Key button and paste this into the 'registration key' text area.

The registration key is stored in the registry, hence, the key only needs to be entered once.

Please use the registration key to login to the Sandrila TTCN website and download the registered stencil. This stencil is in a zip file. The stencil should be saved into the Sandrila TTCN program files folder.

TTCN menus

TTCN for Visio adds a new menu to the Visio menu bar -



The 'Add...' item expands to the following submenu -



and 'Tools' expands to -

Adding a new diagram

Use the TTCN menu and select 'Add' then 'Add new diagram'. This will create a new diagram based on the TTCN template.

Adding a new page to the current diagram

To add a new page to your diagram, use the TTCN menu and select 'Add' then 'Add new TTCN Page'. A new page based on the first page will be added.

Adding n new pages to the current diagram

To add several new pages to your diagram, use the TTCN menu and select 'Add' then 'Add n new TTCN pages'. At the dialog box, enter the number of pages required (1 .. 99). This number of new pages based on the first page will be added.

TTCN diagram types

Setting the diagram type

Use the TTCN menu and select 'Set Diagram Type' and select the required diagram types. All the pages in the current document will be set to this diagram type. Set the diagram type before adding symbols to that diagram. Once symbols have been added to a diagram, it will not be possible to change the diagram type as this may allow an incorrect symbol type on a page.

• TTCN testcase
• TTCN altstep
• TTCN function
• TTCN module

Tools

Go To Diagram

When dealing with a large number of diagrams, the built-in Visio method of selecting which document to view is far from ideal. Use the TTCN | Go to Diagram menu to select which diagram to view. It provides the diagram type and name to allow you to clearly see all the current diagrams that are open. The current diagram is highlighted.
To save the list of diagrams in a text file, use the 'Save' button.

Go To Page

When dealing with a diagrams containing a large number of pages, the built-in Visio method of selecting which page to view is far from ideal. Use the TTCN | Go to Page menu to select which page to view. The current page is highlighted.
To save the list of pages in a text file, use the 'Save' button.

Open TTCN Stencil

When opening a diagram that has been saved without saving the relevant stencil, this menu will open the relevant stencil for the current drawing type.

Options

The template contains custom properties (shape data in Visio 2007) that may be changed to suit your own preferences.
These custom properties are best viewed by using the TTCN menu and selecting 'Options. This will present you with a tabbed dialog box showing you the current options.

Diagrams and pages

A few lines to describe how TTCN for Visio handles TTCN diagrams and pages.

TTCN diagrams may contain 1 or more pages but each page in that diagram must be of the same type e.g. Testcase.
Each page within a diagram can have individual settings for paper size, page size and custom properties.

Starting a new diagram

Start a new diagram based on the TTCN template.
Initially a new TTCN formatted page will be displayed with the following attributes:

• diagram type is 'Testcase'
• diagram title is 'name'
• page title is '1'

Choosing the paper size

Use the Visio page setup menu to select your paper size.

Choosing the page size

Either:

1. Use the Visio page setup menu and select 'Page size'. Use the 'predefined size' option to select your page size.
2. or move the top and/or right page borders using the mouse and Control key

Changing the page name

Double click on the tab at the bottom of the page and then type in the new name or edit the old one. The pages indication in the top right-hand corner of the page will show the current page name and the total number of pages.

Adding a new diagram

Use the TTCN menu and select 'Add new diagram'. This will create a new diagram based on the TTCN template.

Adding a new page to the current diagram

To add a new page to your diagram, use the TTCN menu and select 'Add page to this diagram'. A new page based on the first page will be created

Adding symbols to a page

Drag and drop a symbol from a stencil onto a diagram page. Note that only valid symbols can be dropped onto a page.
Various attributes (particularly the height and width) of the symbol may change when the symbol is dropped. These attributes may be viewed and changed in the TTCN options.

Hyperlinks

When a symbol is dropped on a diagram, an 'Add/Edit Hyperlink' item is added to that symbol's right-click menu. This menu starts the 'Insert Hyperlink' dialog, which allows you to add/edit links to any other document. Not only can you link, say, a system diagram 'block' to the relevant block diagram but also add links to documentation and source code. The hyperlinks relevant to a symbol are visible on the right-click menu.

Connection Points

Adding Frame connection points

For diagram types that contain a frame, right-clicking on the frame and selecting 'Add connection points' will add connection points at intervals around the frame. Changing the page size/orientation of your drawing will automatically add or remove frame connection points as required. There is a limit to the number of connection points currently set to 500.

Adding Instance connection points

Right-click on the instance symbol and select 'Add connection points'. There is a limit to the number of connection points currently set to 500.

Visibility of connection points

When connection points are added, viewing of connection points is always enabled. To prevent connection points from being shown, use the 'View | Connection points' menu. Connection points still operate as normal even when they are not visible.

Troubleshooting

If you have any problem with this software, here are a few pointers and solutions: Please contact Sandrila Ltd at http://www.sandrila.co.uk/ with any questions or problem reports.

• Visio cannot find template or add-on
  After the initial installation, sometimes Visio cannot find the Add-on. There have also been reported occasions when Visio loses some of its Options settings, including the File Paths.
  1. After the initial installation, sometimes Visio cannot find the Add-on. Restarting Visio several times seems to fix this.
  2. Ensure that the template file (TTCN.vst or for Visio 2000 - TTCN_2000.vst) and the add-on file (TTCN.vsl) are in a directory where Visio can find them. The normal installation path is defined in the installation instructions.
  3. Ensure that the file paths in Options | FilePaths are set and point to the sandrila/TTCN folder.
• 'Cannot find stencil '
  The stencil is not in a path recognised by Visio. Set the stencil path as per the installation instructions.

Acknowledgements

The development of TTCN for Visio has been aided and abetted by the following software applications and tools (in alphabetical order) :

• Andrey V. Sorokin - Regular Expression software
• Bjoern Kalkbrenner - PHP encryption software
• Borland Delphi
• Component Software CS-RCS version control http://www.ComponentSoftware.com/csrcs/
• Diagramantics Delphi VSL Framework http://www.diagramantics.com/
• TnT Delphi unicode controls
• Turbo Power Lock Box encryption