Xuse User Guide: Properties

Xuse defines several properties that give you (the user) choice on file locations, output styles etc. These values are stored in a simple text file called xuse.properties that should be stored in the root of the current requirements project folder. Note if you use the xuse:new-project command this file should be created for you. The tables below list these properties, the default value (shown in brackets) if not overridden and the list permissible values if appropriate to that property.

The properties are divided up into the following categories:

  1. Properties controling the generated output (styles etc.).
  2. Source folders and destination output folder control.
  3. Propeties controlling import and export behaviour.
  4. Other miscellaneous settings.

Generated output options

The following properties control the format and style of the output. The defaults may well suit some users, however it is anticipated that different projects may prefer different styles and formats.

Property Description Permissible values (Default)
xuse.output.html.theme The theme for HTML document generation. Essentially controls which CSS styles are applied to the generated output. Current themes include: xuse-standard | xuse-tabular | xuse-soft (xuse-standard).
xuse.requirements.model.navigation.style How to organise requirements in the generated HTML model view. Requirements can either be arranged by package or in a hierarchical fashion from parent to child. Additionally the requirements can be split onto multiple HTML pages. hierachy-single-page | hierachy-multi-page | package-multi-page (hierachy-single-page)
xuse.company.name The name of the company/organisation sponsoring the project (if any) Any valid name (XML Solutions Ltd)
xuse.project.name The name of the project Any valid project name (My Project)
xuse.customer.name The name of the customer Any valid name (there is no default)
xuse.graph.usecase.package.html Determines whether or not package diagrams are created for the HTML view. yes | no (yes).
xuse.graph.usecase.package.pdf Determines whether or not package diagrams are created for the PDF documents where pertinent. yes | no (yes).
xuse.graph.usecase.package.degrees When creating use-case package diagrams this property determines whether related use-cases from outside the package are included on the diagram. 1 | 2 where 1=just from package; and 2=related use-cases outside package as well (1).
xuse.graph.usecase.package.splines Determines whether or not to draw associations within the use-case package diagram as splines or straight lines. splines | false (false).
xuse.graph.usecase.activity.html Determines whether or not use-case activity diagrams are created for the HTML view. yes | no (yes).
xuse.graph.usecase.activity.pdf Determines whether or not use-case activity diagrams are created for the PDF versions of use-cases. yes | no (yes).
xuse.graph.usecase.activity.splines Determines whether or not to draw associations within the activity diagrams as splines or straight lines. splines | false (splines).

Folder and file locations / names

The table below describes properties that define the folder structure and file names of the resources Xuse uses. In general it is not anticipated that users will have to override or change these, however these properties provide some flexibility should the defaults not be desirable.

Property Description Permissible values (Default)
xuse.requirements.dir The directory where the requirements repository XML file will be located. Note this is relative to the current project directory. Any valid local path (src/requirements)
xuse.requirements.filename The name of the requirements repository file. Note this is the name of the file Xuse will look for in the directory specified by the xuse.requirements.dir Any valid filename (xuse-requirements.xml)
xuse.usecase.dir The directory where Xuse will search for use-cases. Note Xuse will treat all XML files in this directory or all descendent directories as use-cases. Any valid sub-folder of the project directory (src/use-cases)
xuse.actors.dir The directory where the actors repository file will be located. Note this is relative to the current project directory. Any valid sub-direvctory (src/actors)
xuse.actors.filename The name of the actors repository xml file. Xuse will look for this in the directory specified by xuse.actors.dir folder. Any valid file name (actors.xml).
xuse.stakeholders.dir The directory where the stakeholders repository file will be located. Note this is relative to the current project directory. Any valid sub-directory (Value specified by xuse.requirements.dir)
xuse.stakeholders.filename The name of the stakeholders repository xml file. Xuse will look for this in the directory specified by xuse.stakeholders.dir folder. Any valid file name (stakeholders.xml).
xuse.resources.dir Directory where the glossary and user-dictionary can be found. Note this is relative to the current project folder. Any valid sub-directory (src/resources)
xuse.glossary.filename The name of the XML file containing the project glossary. Any valid file name (glossary.xml)
xuse.user.dictionary.filename The name of the user dictionary file (if any). Note Xuse looks for this in the directory specified by xuse.resources.dir. Any valid filename (user-dictionary.xml)
xuse.output.dir The directory where all generated artefacts are saved. Any valid project sub-directory (target/docs/xuse).
xuse.home Xuse's working folder Any folder with write permissions (USER_HOME/.xuse)
xuse.document.dir The project sub-folder where documents (e.g. SRS and Vision documents) wil be stored. Any valid sub-folder (src/documents)
xuse.document.vision.filename The XML file with the current project's vision document. Note Xuse will search the directory defined by xuse.document.dir for this file. Any valid file (vision.xml)

Import and Export

The table below describes properties that related to importing and exporting CSV files.

Property Description Permissible values (Default)
xuse.csv.glossary.import.file Name of the CSV file to be imported. Any valid filename (src/resources/requirements-import.csv)
xuse.glossary.import.result The name of the XML file that Xuse will generate as a result of the CSV glossary import operation. Note: Running the xuse:import-glossary command will overwrite any file at this location so be sure to have backed up your work. To import directly into a file that will be included in generated documentation this can be set to the same value as xuse.glossary.filename. Any valid file name (src/resources/glossary-import.xml).
xuse.csv.requirements.import.file Name of the CSV file to be imported. Any valid filename (src/requirements/requirements-import.csv)
xuse.requirements.import.result The name of the XML file that Xuse will generate as a result of the CSV requirement import operation. The file will be created in the directory specified by the xuse.requirements.dir. Note: Running the xuse:import-requirements command will overwrite any file at this location so be sure to have backed up your work. To import directly into a file that will be included in generated documentation this can be set to the same value as xuse.requirements.filename. Any valid file name (requirements-import.xml).
xuse.csv.requirements.export.file The name of the CSV file generated when the xuse:export-requirements command is run. Note the file will be saved in directory specified by xuse.requirements.dir. Any valid file name (requirements-export.csv)

Miscellaneous

The table below describes some additional miscellaneous properties.

Property Description Permissible values (Default)
xuse.logging.level Determines the level of information xuse logs to the console and xuse.log file. One of DEBUG, INFO, WARN, ERROR and FATAL (INFO).
xuse.model.validation.skip Controls whether Xuse will perform model validation as part of the publication process. It is recommended that validation is left on where possible, however it can be disabled to speed up the publication process. yes or no (no).
xuse.glossary.linking.skip Controls whether Xuse will perform automatic glossary linking for the published HTML view. It is recommended that linking is left on where possible, however it can be disabled to speed up the publication process. yes or no (no).
xuse.theme.creation Indicates that the generated HTML should be created with different relative paths so that it is compatible with a local themes directory. This is typically used when using a theme editing project structure. The properties xuse.output.dir and xuse.output.html.theme should also be set as per the theme editing instructions. Note: if you use the new-theme-project command Xuse will set these properties for you. yes or no (no).
xuse.default.locale.override Overrides the default locale detected by Xuse for generating output in the desired language. Where possible Xuse will use this setting to generate the documentation in the desired language. and locale e.g. de-DE, or de (default locale detected by Xuse).