Summary
This article covers the sections of the structure template that include the column grouping, data type, column header, and the requirements field.
Table of Contents
The structure template is the simple Excel document that is used to design requirement sets. Structure templates have four primary sections, the column grouping, data type, column header, and the requirements field.
Column Grouping
The Column Grouping is the first row in the structure template and is shaded blue. The Column Grouping is used to create a grouping of one or more columns in the requirement set and place a label over them. This is done by entering a value in the column you would like the grouping to begin at, and placing an ‘*’ in each column you would like the grouping to extend across. The following example:
Would produce the column groupings you see here:
Data Entry Type
The Data Entry Type is the second row in the structure template and is shaded green. The Data Entry Type is used to define what type of data will be collected in the column beneath it. It is an interactive field. Clicking it will display the options currently available in the system. These are: Label (Text), MultiLine (Text), Check (Checkbox), MultiCheckbox, File, Select, MultiSelect, and Date. When Label fields contain data values in the template, the screen will display the text as read-only. When Label fields do not contain data values in the template, a text field will display on the screen.
Note: Label fields accept a max of 255 characters. If a template file contains a Label field with more than 255 characters an error will display and the file cannot be loaded.
The following example:
Would produce the data entry fields you see here:
Column Header
The Column Header is the third row in structure templates and is shaded grey. The column header is simply the label that appears above each column in the produced requirement set. Each column accepts any text entry and will produce that column heading above its associated column. The following example:
Would produce the column headers you see here:
Requirements Field
The Requirements field is the last section of structure templates and it comprises all rows that follow the Column Header. Additional rows can be added to this portion, as the Requirements field is responsible for generating the desired rows in your resulting requirement set. One of two things can be done in this field. The first is that each cell can be left blank. Leaving a cell blank in the Requirements field results in the creation of a blank data entry field in the requirement set of the type defined in the Data Entry Type row.
However, you can also enter a value into any cell in the Requirements field. This will result in a static value at that point in the resulting requirement set, meaning that point in the set will not be capable of accepting data entry. This can be used to create labels or add fixed values in your set.
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