MDG Integration for Microsoft Office – Word Importer

Sparx Enterprise Architect is a powerful modeling platform that helps organizations to create and manage their models. It also provides a range of features such as EA Word Importer, which helps in integrating Microsoft Office documents with the models created using Sparx Enterprise Architect.

Key features in MDG Integration for Microsoft Office – Word Importer

• Word Importer offers a powerful interface for instantly converting Word documents into Enterprise Architect model elements.
• The tool brings Requirements, Use Cases, Glossary, Processes, Classes, Connectors, and other data from Word documents into Enterprise Architect as model elements, Connectors, and Tagged Values.
• It greatly reduces the time and effort involved to translate the information available in requirements documents, use case documents, test plan documents, etc.

Introducing the Interface

Word Importer lets users import Word documents in four simple steps.

1. Select the word document that contains the information to be imported.
2. Choose the profile that has been defined for the particular document.
3. Preview the model contents to be imported.
4. Click Import to create model elements in Enterprise Architect from the selected word document.

 

Figure 1. Word Importer Interface

Word Importer Interface provides a step-by-step approach for mapping items like section tables and delimited name-value pairs from Word Documents to model Enterprise Architect elements and properties through profiles.

Profile Mapping

• Profile mapping helps to map the word document styles and structured information to Enterprise Architect Object & its Properties.
• Profile is reusable for all Word documents which are in similar structures.

Figure 2. Word File Getting Started.

Step 1. Get Started

Get started wizard is categorized into three sections:

• Profile Information
• Element Properties
• Element Definitions Table (Excel-like).

Profile Information

Basic information about the profile – Profile Name, Description, and Word document path.

Element Properties Mapping

It gives users the flexibility to map additional details in Word documents as Element Properties.  The additional details in the Word document are expected to be given as name-value pairs separated by delimiters.  Delimiters symbols can also be provided in the “Delimited by” field.

The delimited name-value pairs could be.

Element Definition table (Excel)

It allows the user to select whether the table information provided in Word Document contains Headers in the first row or Headers in the first column.  The below-mentioned options are available in the Element Definition Table section.

• None
• Excel-like tables with a header in the first row
• Excel-like tables with a header in the first column

Step 2. Map Headings

It allows users to map the document headings to the corresponding Sparx Enterprise Architect Element types.

Step 3. Map Properties

The Map Properties window lists all unique properties identified across the word document. Users can map these identified properties to the corresponding Sparx Enterprise Architect Element properties.

Note: Configure Connectors – This button should be enabled only when a user needs to map any of the columns as a “connector” in the EA Element Property. By default, the connector has some pre-selected values to import when using this button.

More Properties – In the EA Element Property column, we have an option called More Properties. By selecting ‘More Properties ‘from the drop-down, it displays ‘Additional Properties ‘.

In ‘Additional Properties ‘, the Properties drop box contains,

• Tagged Values
• Use case
• Glossary

Step 4. Map Tables

It allows the user to specify how element definitions specified in table format in the Word Document are mapped during the import process.

Step 5.Set Hierarchy

It creates a hierarchical structure in the Project Browser while importing from the Word document that reflects the structure of the model.  This helps to keep documents organized and easily accessible, improve collaboration among stakeholders, and better manage project tasks and issues.

Step 6. Review and create

It provides a summary of the mappings defined in the profile as well as a preview of the final model structure corresponding to the sample document.

 By following six simple steps, EA Word Importer allows us to create a profile successfully.  The Created Profile should be chosen in the EA Word Importer starting interface (refer Figure 1).  Using this Profile, allows the user to create EA Artifacts and their relationships from Word Document as displayed below.

Figure 3. Import Word Document as EA Artifacts using MDG Integration – Word Importer

Further Information

Please contact us or write an email to info@sparxsystems.in to have a live demo about the new EA 16 features and capabilities.