By following certain simple rules, you can greatly help PowerDesigner to recognize the information in your Excel files, and thus improve the accuracy and speed of the import.
Follow these rules to ensure that your import goes as smoothly and quickly as possible:
- Determine your extensions strategy – The wizard can create simple extensions (new object types or new properties not included in the PowerDesigner metamodel) for you during the import. However, to define more complex extensions or to speed up the import process, you may prefer to predefine your extensions beforehand (see Extension Files) and have the import automatically map them.
- Insert only one table of objects per worksheet – If you have more than one table on a worksheet, only the first will be recognized and imported.
- Name your worksheet after the object to import – If the name of your worksheet matches the name of a PowerDesigner object type, then the wizard will suggest mapping the table to that object type. The wizard does not recognize plural forms so, if your sheet contains tables, you should call it Table, and if it contains classes, call it Class.
For sub-objects (objects linked to their parent by composition), you must prefix the name of the object with that of its parent object, (eg Table.Key) or it will not be recognized. - Name table columns after the property they contain – If you name each of your columns after the attribute or collection that it contains, then the wizard will suggest mapping the column to that attribute or collection. As a general rule, attributes are singular and collections plural so that, for example, you should name the column that contains your tables' names Name and the column containing its columns, Columns.
- Determine how you will reference other objects – Properties can contain references to other objects. For example, a table
Owner property contains a reference to a user object and a business process
references the organization unit that performs it. The import tries to
resolve references first by searching for an appropriate object in the Excel
file, and then in any of the models open in the Workspace (creating a
shortcut to the referenced object). Follow these suggestions to optimize
your references:
- Control whether references will be made via object names or codes using the Reference associated objects by option.
- To maximize the clarity of dependencies between objects, place objects that are to be referenced on a worksheet before the objects that will reference them.
- Ensure that the necessary target models are open in the Workspace to create shortcuts, if appropriate, and select the Search for referenced objects in other models option.
- Use the Create associated objects if not found option to instruct PowerDesigner to create the necessary objects if it cannot resolved references either in the Excel file or in models open in the Workspace.
- Quickly create collections by listing objects in a single
cell – You can create a collection simply by listing its items in a
single cell, separated by commas:
To change the separator, use the List value separator option. - Represent relationships of composition using a Parent column – To specify composition relationships (such as columns in a
table, classes in a package, or attributes in a class) between objects on
different worksheets, specify the parent or location for the sub-object in a
Parent column. You can specify a multi-level hierarchy
of parents separated by a qualified name separator. Note: Whereas specifying a collection of sub-objects in a single cell on the parent worksheet allows you to quickly populate the collection, specifying sub-objects on a separate worksheet allows you to detail all their properties.
