Get Organized with the WDSc Tasks View

January 5, 2005 Bruce Guetzkow

The iSeries Projects perspective of WebSphere Development Studio client allows you to organize source members so that you can better manage project requests. To more effectively manage individual tasks of a project, WDSc provides the Tasks view.

Although some functions within WDSc automatically add tasks (saving a Java source member with syntax errors will add errors to the view), you can also manually add your own tasks as reminders of steps left to complete. Tasks can be specified for a project, a source file, a source member, and even lines within a source member. You can use these tasks to remind yourself of specific program changes or tasks that need to be completed prior to installing your changes.

The Tasks View

If the Tasks view is not visible, you can open it by selecting the following from the WDSc menu: Window, Show View, then Tasks. The information available in this view from left to right is:

• An icon indicating the type of item (task, compiler error, warning, or information).

• Completed task checkbox.

• Task priority (low, normal, high).

• Text description of the task.

• Resource and In Folder columns providing the name of the source or project folders.

• Line number associated with the task.

Toolbar buttons are available to add a new task, delete a task, and filter the list of tasks. There is also a menu that offers sort options, along with another method to reach the filter. Clicking the column headings also changes the sort order.

Adding Tasks

Tasks may be added in several ways. If you select (single-click) a project, source file, or source member, you can click the New Task button on the Tasks view, or select Edit, then Add Task, from the WDSc menu. This opens a New Task dialogue window, where you can specify a description, priority, and task status (completed checkbox). Up to three other pieces of information are displayed identifying the task reference: On Resource, In Folder, and Location. The contents of the first two fields vary, depending on whether you selected a project, source file, or source member. The Location is always blank for projects, source files, and source members.

Tasks at any of these levels are useful to remind you of general tasks, such as updating a database file after source updates are installed. The Tasks view is especially powerful when you add reminders for specific lines of a source member, like removing code inserted for testing purposes or indicating points where code needs to be modified before maintenance is actually done. Unless you delete these tasks from the Tasks view, they will remain associated with your project as long as the project is not deleted. Remember that the tasks will be found in the Tasks view, not in your source members.

To add tasks to specific source lines, first open the source member in the LPEX editor. Next, right-click in the left margin of any line, to the left of the line sequence number. A menu will appear with options to Add Bookmark… and Add Task…. Select Add Task… to add a task associated with that line number. When the dialogue window opens, you will again be able to add a description, but that is all.

Once a task has been added to the Tasks view, you can right-click it and select Properties to maintain its characteristics. Other right-click options include:

• New Task is yet another option to add a task.

• Go To opens the source member, if it is not already open, and positions the source member at the indicated line.

• Copy/Paste allows you to create multiple tasks with the same reference.

• Delete will delete the task.

• Mark Completed marks the Completed checkbox.

• Delete Completed Tasks deletes all completed tasks.

Filters

After you have created several tasks, you may find it confusing to have them all visible all of the time. This is where filters can help. Select Filters, from the Tasks view toolbar, to open the Filter Tasks dialogue window. You can choose from any combination of the following:

• If limit visible items to is checked, the Tasks view will display up to the specified number of tasks.
• Show types of items does not apply to the iSeries Projects perspective.
• Radio buttons, selecting tasks based on the item selected in the iSeries Project Navigator:
  On any resource–tasks on all resources are included.
  On any resource in same project–all tasks related to the currently selected project are included.
  On selected resource only–only tasks with the selected resource.
  On selected resource and its children–tasks with the selected resource and any items below it in the iSeries Project Navigator tree.
  On working set–a series of dialogue boxes are presented, allowing you to specify the selection criteria.

• Where description contains/does not contain – select based on text in the task descriptions
• Where problem severity is – select based on problem severity options listed
• Where task priority is – select based on priority options listed
• Where task status is – select based on status options listed
  

I suggest that you experiment with the filter options until you find the combination that works best for you. You can change them as often as you need. My personal preference for a filter is to select the following:

• Limit visible items to 2000.

• On any resource in same project.

• Where task status is Not Completed.

This shows all tasks for the current project that have not been completed. As I switch from project to project, I can see outstanding tasks that apply only to the selected project. As I work with different source members in the same project, my list remains constant until I update the status of each task to Completed.

Completing Tasks

When you have completed a task, you can mark it as Completed by right-clicking it, in the Tasks view, and selecting Mark Completed. You can also right-click and select Properties, then select Completed from the Task Properties dialogue window. If your task filter excludes completed tasks, marking the task as completed will cause the task to no longer be visible in the Tasks view. Remember that, as long as the task has not been deleted, you can see the task in the view again by changing your filter.

Put It to Work for You

If you’re still using the Remote Systems Explorer (RSE) perspective, you can still use the Tasks view, although it is not as powerful. Since there are no “projects” in RSE, you can only add tasks to a source member or to specific lines in a source member, but this can still be very useful.

Having the Tasks view open allows you to quickly and easily jump into source members as you progress through the steps needed to complete a project. Challenge yourself to take advantage of all of the views available to you in WDSc.

Bruce Guetzkow has programmed on the AS/400 and iSeries since 1990, in manufacturing, distribution, and other industries. He is currently the IS director at United Credit Service in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. Click here to contact Bruce by e-mail.