HP Quality Center Synchronizer Readme

Software version: 1.30

Publication date: May 2010

This file provides information about HP Quality Center Synchronizer 1.30.

For detailed information about Quality Center Synchronizer, refer to the HP Quality Center Synchronizer documentation set.

Documentation

The first page of this readme document contains the following identifying information:

Version number, which indicates the software version.

Publish date, which changes each time the document is updated.

The Quality Center Synchronizer documentation set includes the following guides and references.

HP Quality Center Synchronizer User Guide explains how to create and manage synchronization links to synchronize data between Quality Center and other applications.

HP Quality Center Synchronizer Installation Guide explains how to install and configure Quality Center Synchronizer.

Readme provides last-minute news and information about Quality Center Synchronizer.

To access the documentation set:

To access the Quality Center Synchronizer User Guide, from the Synchronizer, select Help > User Guide. Alternatively, select Start > Programs > HP Quality Center Synchronizer Client > User Guide.

For the most up-to-date versions of these documents, see the HP Quality Center Add-ins page. From the main Quality Center window, select Help > Add-ins Page.

All documents are available on the Quality Center installation DVD in the Quality Center Synchronizer folder.

Enhancements/Defects Fixed in Build 830

Problem: ClearQuest Reference_List fields, which are a multi-value list field type, are treated by the Synchronizer as a Single value list field type.
Solution: The problem is fixed. Reference List fields are now displayed as a Multi value list field, enabling mapping of multiple values to these fields.

Problem: Third-party adapters developed for synchronization between flat and hierarchical entities cannot synchronize data without changing the hierarchical structure.
Solution: The problem is fixed. Refer to the specific adapter's documentation for details on implementing this solution.

Defects Fixed in Build 820

Export

Problem: When a requirement link is exported, the subtype of the requirement is not exported in the identity map. As a result, when the link is imported back, all records stored in the link are marked with the Unknown requirement type and are no longer updated during synchronization.
Solution: The problem is fixed.

Defects Fixed in Build 785

Documentation

Problem: The User Guide is missing information on mapping release and cycle fields.
Solution: The problem is fixed. An updated version of the User Guide is available on the add-ins page.

Synchronization

Problem: If a new record is locked, fields marked with the Synchronize back on create option are not synchronized back.
Solution: The problem is fixed. The record is marked with an invalid version that causes it to be synchronized in the next synchronization.

Configuration

Problem: It is not possible to map a constant value to a memo field.
Solution: The problem is fixed. String values can now be mapped to Quality Center memo fields whether or not the option to ignore html formatting is selected.

What's New

This section provides an overview of the features that were introduced or enhanced in Quality Center Synchronizer 1.30.

Quality Center defect synchronization. You can now synchronize defects between two Quality Center 10.00 Premier Edition endpoints.

Editable endpoint names. Previously, the endpoints were displayed throughout the Synchronizer tabs as Endpoint 1 and Endpoint 2. Now, you can edit the Endpoint Name field that the Synchronizer displays to identify each endpoint.

Refresh endpoint schema option. This usability enhancement enables you to refresh filter lists and endpoint field schemas on demand.

Quality Center endpoint connection wizard. The new Quality Center Connection wizard enables you to connect to Quality Center during link creation and select a project from the list of available domains and projects with which to connect.

Memo field type. The Quality Center Memo field type, previously displayed for field mappings as String type, is now displayed as Memo type.

Support for Release and Cycle fields. The following Quality Center fields are now available for mapping between the endpoints: Target Release, Target Cycle (for defects only), Detected in Release, and Detected in Cycle.

Custom field order support for ClearQuest endpoints. You can set the FieldsDependencyChain parameter to control the order in which fields are updated in ClearQuest during synchronization. This addresses the possibility of a ClearQuest hook resetting a field value based on the value of another field.

Additional usability and supportability improvements.

System Requirements

You must install the Quality Center Synchronizer server on a dedicated server machine that is not being used as a Quality Center, ClearQuest, or RequisitePro server.

For information on system requirements and supported environments, refer to the HP Quality Center Synchronizer Installation Guide.

Installation Instructions

For installation instructions, refer to the HP Quality Center Synchronizer Installation Guide, available from the Quality Center Add-ins page. The guide is also located on the Quality Center installation DVD in the Quality Center Synchronizer directory.

If you are installing from the Quality Center installation DVD, first check the Quality Center Add-ins page for the most up-to-date version of the Synchronizer and Synchronizer documentation. The Add-ins page also provides you with any alerts related to the Quality Center Synchronizer.

Notes and Limitations

This section includes notes and limitations to consider when working with the Quality Center Synchronizer. In collapsed drop-down sections, it also includes notes and limitations specific to synchronization with the endpoint with which you are working.

Working with this Readme file: Much of the information in this Readme file is incorporated in collapsed drop-down sections. To search these sections, expand them.

General

The usage of HP Quality Center Synchronizer or HP Quality Center Synchronizer Adapter SPI to develop an adapter for Quality Center is not supported.

Installation

You cannot install the server from read-only media such as a CD or DVD because the configuration tool tries to create a Temp folder to which it writes the installation log.
Workaround: Copy the installation files to a read-write location such as a local hard drive or a network hard drive and run the installation from there. Alternatively, run the server configuration manually: <Quality Center Synchronizer installation directory>\bin\run_config_tool.bat

During the Synchronizer server installation, if you try to install the PostgreSQL database on a computer on which a PostgreSQL database is already installed, the database installation fails and an error message opens.

During the Synchronizer server installation, if you are prompted to restart your computer and you choose to restart, the Server Configuration Wizard does not run.
Workaround: If prompted to restart your computer, choose to restart at a later time.

During the Service Configuration stage of the Synchronizer server installation, the Server Configuration Wizard does not verify the user logon credentials that you supply. If you mistype or otherwise enter incorrect information, you will not be able to start the Synchronizer server.
Workaround: Make sure that you enter the correct logon credentials in the Server Configuration Wizard.

This issue applies if version 1.0 of the Synchronizer client was installed with the Just Me option. After you install version 1.10 or 1.20 of the Synchronizer client, two Synchronizer clients are listed in Windows Add or Remove Programs, and the Synchronizer User's Guide is listed twice in the Windows Start Menu.
Workaround: Uninstall the previous version of the Synchronizer client before installing the new version.

Microsoft Windows 2003. This limitation applies when the Synchronizer server is installed on Microsoft Windows 2003. The Synchronizer client cannot connect to the Synchronizer server if the Windows Firewall is switched on.
Workaround: Add QCSynchronizerService.exe manually to the Windows Firewall Exceptions list.

Synchronization

Based on incompatibility issues between versions of the Quality Center Open Test Architecture (OTA) API, you cannot have synchronization links on the same Synchronizer server machine going to two Quality Center endpoints of different versions or patch levels. For example, the following are not permitted on the same Synchronizer server:

Example 1 - Link 1: RequisitePro and Quality Center 9.2; Link 2: RequisitePro and Quality Center 10.00.

Example 2 - Link 1: RequisitePro and Quality Center 10.00 patch 3; Link 2: RequisitePro and Quality Center 10.00 patch 5

Example 3 - One link: Quality Center 10.00 patch 1 and Quality Center 10.00 patch 4

while the following links can all exist on the same Synchronizer server:

Link 1: RequisitePro and Quality Center 10.00 patch 3

Link 2: ClearQuest and Quality Center 10.00 patch 3

Link 3: Quality Center 10.00 patch 3 and Quality Center 10.00 patch 3

The Synchronizer client is not always automatically updated when changes are made by the Synchronizer server. This can affect the actions available to perform on a link. For example, when a task runs automatically on a link, the client is not updated to display that a task is running on the link.
Workaround: Click the Refresh button to update the data.

The Synchronizer client cannot connect to a Quality Center server configured with basic IIS authentication. A link cannot be created between Quality Center and another endpoint. When a Quality Center client connects to a Quality Center server running IIS, a logon dialog box is displayed for user and password information. When the Synchronizer client connects to the Quality Center server running IIS, the logon dialog box is not displayed.
Workaround: Refer to HP Software Support (http://www.hp.com/go/hpsoftwaresupport) and search for Document ID KM175889.

If you modify a record during a synchronization, and the record is due to be synchronized by the Synchronizer, data inconsistency issues may occur.
Workaround: It is recommended that you do not modify endpoint records while a synchronization task is running.

Synchronization of the Quality Center Group requirement type is not supported. If you attempt to synchronize child requirements of a Group type requirement, an error occurs.

Locked records in an endpoint are not synchronized even though the time stamp is updated.

Workarounds: Do any of the following:

Modify the record and run an incremental synchronization task.

Reset the time stamp and run an incremental synchronization task.

Run a full synchronization task.

The Synchronizer does not support workflow procedures while creating and updating requirements or defects.

If a source record is locked during creation in the destination endpoint, a field mapped with the Synchronize back on create option set to 'Yes' is not synchronized until the record is manually updated in the destination endpoint.
Workaround: Manually update the entity in the destination endpoint and run synchronization. The fields are updated and will continue to be synchronized during future synchronizations.

Field Mappings

The following fields are not available for mapping and are not displayed in the list of fields available for mapping between the endpoints:

Defect entity fields: Subject.

Requirement entity fields: Target Cycle.

The Target Cycle field is relevant only for Quality Center 9.2 or later.

This limitation applies when a field is mapped from Quality Center to an endpoint that does not have multibyte character support. If the field's value for a record in Quality Center is longer than the maximum length of the field in the other endpoint and contains non-English characters, the Synchronizer is unable to synchronize the record and writes an error message to the log file.

A constant value cannot be mapped into a memo field. This problem may occur after you upgrade from a previous version of the Synchronizer and you proceed to synchronize the field mappings. It may also cause an error during an integrity check.

Attachment Mappings

This issue applies when synchronizing entities with attachments. If the Quality Center user defined in the link does not have modify permissions for attachments, the entity is synchronized without the attachment and an error occurs.
Workaround: The user defined in the link must have modify permissions for attachments in Quality Center.

A change to an attachment's description is not considered a modification to the attachment and does not cause the attachment or its description to be synchronized. An attachment's description is synchronized only after creating or updating the attachment itself.

This limitation occurs when you map the Quality Center attachments field to a field of type Attachment in another endpoint and then synchronize the attachments from the other endpoint to Quality Center. If you then map the Quality Center attachments field to a different field of type Attachment in the other endpoint, the attachments previously synchronized are not synchronized correctly and may be deleted.

Reports

If you view a log file from a task run report and move between pages using the Previous and Next links, a memory leak may occur.

Non-English characters may be displayed incorrectly in a Synchronizer report.

Filtering

Favorite views defined in the Quality Center Requirements Grid view are not displayed in the Synchronizer Filters tab.
Workaround: Define filters in the Requirements Tree view.

If you rename a filter that is selected for use in the Synchronizer, the filter appears twice in the Filters tab.
Workaround: Clear the check box for the previous filter name and save the link settings.

Additional Notes and Limitations for Synchronization with Rational ClearQuest»

Microsoft Access. Synchronization with ClearQuest projects created in Microsoft Access is not supported.

If the ClearQuest user defined for a link does not have create permissions for the ClearQuest project's entities, the Synchronizer cannot obtain the schema for the project and the link cannot be created.
Workaround: The ClearQuest user defined for the link must have create permissions for the project's entities.

This limitation occurs when changing a ClearQuest field and setting it as mandatory in the ClearQuest schema after a synchronization link between Quality Center and ClearQuest was created and enabled. If an empty value was mapped to this ClearQuest field, the synchronization still passes, even if the field is now mandatory in ClearQuest. A warning is added to the log file.
Workaround: Edit this link and map the mandatory field to a valid value.

Memo type fields in Quality Center are handled as fields of type String in Quality Center Synchronizer. Therefore, such Quality Center fields are synchronized into plain text in ClearQuest, even when the Quality Center field contains HTML elements.

An attachment description in Quality Center with length greater than 50 characters is truncated when synchronized to ClearQuest.

This limitation occurs when you map the Quality Center attachments field to a ClearQuest field of type Attachment and then synchronize ClearQuest attachments to Quality Center. If you then map the Quality Center attachments field to a different ClearQuest field of type Attachment, the attachments previously synchronized are not synchronized correctly and may be deleted.

ClearQuest is a case-sensitive system, while Quality Center is not. This may result in errors when synchronizing data from Quality Center to ClearQuest.
Workaround: Create matching value lists in the endpoints or map field values between the endpoints.

This limitation applies when an integrity check on a link passes, and you later delete a field from Quality Center Project Customization that is included in the field mapping for the link. In such a case, future synchronizations pass successfully without warnings, but you may lose some data in the ClearQuest field mapped to the deleted field.

Quality Center date fields do not support time elements (hours, minutes, and seconds). Therefore, when synchronizing a ClearQuest date field containing hours, minutes, and seconds with a Quality Center date field, these time elements are removed in the Quality Center record. Later, when the record is synchronized back to ClearQuest, the time elements are removed from the Clear Quest record because the Synchronizer identifies them as removed.

Additional Notes and Limitations for Synchronization with Rational RequisitePro»

If you built synchronization tasks using the Quality Center Requirements Synchronizer for Rational RequisitePro Add-in for synchronization with Quality Center 8.2 or 9.0, and you are upgrading to Quality Center 10.00, you must upgrade the tasks to work with the Quality Center Synchronizer. For more information, see the section on migrating to the Quality Center Synchronizer in the HP Quality Center Synchronizer User Guide.

Microsoft Access. Synchronization with RequisitePro projects created in Microsoft Access is not supported.

If a create, update, or delete event is selected for a requirement type mapping, the user must have the corresponding create, update, or delete permissions for all requirement types in RequisitePro, including types that are not mapped. For example, if the create event is selected for one requirement type mapping in the Synchronizer, the user must have create permissions for all requirement types in RequisitePro, including types that are not mapped.

If you change a mapped requirement type in Quality Center, an error occurs during synchronization and the change is not made in RequisitePro. The RequisitePro API does not support requirement type changes.

Changes made to a requirement in RequisitePro are not updated in Quality Center if the requirement type was changed in Quality Center and the new requirement type has a different set of field mappings.

Using the "|" symbol in a requirement type name, field name or field value may prevent the Synchronizer from loading the RequisitePro schema. This can prevent editing of the link or running Integrity Checks. If the symbol is part of a field value, it may also prevent creation or update of the record in Quality Center.

This limitation applies when running a full synchronization on a link between Quality Center and RequisitePro. Quality Center folder data that has changed may be overwritten by RequisitePro data, even if the RequisitePro data is older.

If you move a requirement to a different folder in RequisitePro, the requirement is not synchronized under the new folder in Quality Center when performing an incremental synchronization. This is because the record itself was not modified.
Workaround: Modify a mapped field. The record is identified as modified and is synchronized.

RequisitePro Real, Time, and Userlist type fields are defined as String type in Synchronizer field mappings.

Memo type fields in Quality Center are handled as fields of type String in Quality Center Synchronizer. Therefore, such Quality Center fields are synchronized into plain text in RequisitePro, even when the Quality Center field contains HTML elements.

This limitation applies if there are two or more RequisitePro views with the same name in a folder, and one of the views is Attribute Matrix. Due to RequisitePro API limitations, queries may fail to run, and synchronization is unsuccessful.
Workaround: Each view used by the Synchronizer must have a unique name in the folder in which it is located.

This issue applies in non-standard language environments where the date format has been customized in the Synchronizer server machine. In this case, you cannot map RequisitePro Date fields to Quality Center Date fields.
Workaround: Set the local date format to fit the Synchronizer's expected date format. For more information, refer to HP Software Support (http://www.hp.com/go/hpsoftwaresupport) and search for Document ID KM306341.

In RequisitePro, different folders can contain projects with identical names, for example, Folder1/Project1 and Folder2/Project1. In the Synchronizer, project names are case-sensitive and must be unique.
Example: Suppose you create a link for Folder1/Project1. Then you create a link for Folder2/Project1. In such a case, the Synchronizer may inadvertently use Project1 from Folder1 for the newly created link because the project name is identical to the project in the previously created link. This same error can occur if the project name is not typed correctly, for example, PROJECT1.Workaround: Make sure that each RequisitePro project has a unique name before synchronizing it with Quality Center. In this case, it is enough to change one letter in the project name to lower case or upper case, for example, Folder2/project1 or Folder3/prOject1.

Due to a Windows limitation, the Synchronizer service cannot connect to a RequisitePro project that is stored on a mapped network drive (with a drive letter, such as G:) if the mapped drive requires a separate logon.
Workaround: Change the paths for any mapped drives to UNC paths, or copy the required files (for example, drivers) locally and modify the path accordingly.

In Quality Center, any folder requirement type must be named "Folder". Otherwise, the records for this requirement type cannot be synchronized.

During an incremental synchronization from RequisitePro to Quality Center, the Synchronizer does not synchronize records for which the only change is the name or description of a folder.
Workaround: Perform a full synchronization to synchronize these records.

When synchronizing from RequisitePro to Quality Center in Swedish or German operating systems, multiple values in multi-value lists may not synchronize correctly because on these Windows operating systems a semi-colon (;) is used as the default delimiter (separator character) instead of a comma (,).
For example, instead of retrieving the selected values separated by a comma, ("1, 2, 3"), on these operating systems, the values are separated by a semi-colon ("1; 2; 3"). The incorrect delimiter causes a problem when parsing multi-value field values retrieved from the RequisitePro API.

Workaround: In German and Swedish operating systems, set the delimiter to a comma instead of a semi-colon. To do this:

Close all open applications.

In Windows, choose Start > Control Panel > Regional and Language Options.

In the Regional Options tab, click Customize.

In the Numbers tab, select comma (,) as the List separator.

Apply and close the dialog boxes.

Note: These instructions may be slightly different on different operating systems.

When changing a list item (for example, Medium is renamed to Fair), the requirements will not be synchronized. RequisitePro (versions 6.x and 7.x) does not update this change and therefore the Synchronizer is unable to detect the change.)

Workaround: You must change the values of all the requirements. For example, suppose you want to change the Priority value from Medium to Fair. Perform the following steps in RequisitePro:

Define a temporary item in the Priority list. For example, temp.

Define a view of all the requirements in which their Priority value is set to Medium.

Run the query.

Mark all columns. All values should be Medium, according to the defined view.

Right-click and choose Set Value. Set value to temp.

Modify the Priority value in the RequisitePro schema. Change Medium to Fair.

Rerun the query. Define the view to show all requirements in which the Priority value is set to temp.

Right-click and choose Set Value. Set Priority value to Fair.

Multilingual Support

When using the Synchronizer on a non-English version of Windows, some of the text labels may be truncated. The functionality is not affected.

HP Software Support

You can visit the HP Software support web site at:

www.hp.com/go/hpsoftwaresupport

This web site provides contact information and details about the products, services, and support that HP Software offers. For more information, visit the HP Support web site at: HP Software Support Online.

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