Generating HTML documentation


The report is a set of HTML pages. Each page corresponds to a concept. And thanks to hyperlinks, it is possible to navigate between pages.

Open ModelSphere offers the possibility to generate HTML documentation from any semantic object. The report can be used to publish the contents of a model thus providing quick access to the information. This useful feature also allows you to share information easily. As a matter of fact, it can be integrated into a Web site or consulted locally.

If you generate a report for a data model, it will be an excellent reference for the users of a database built from this model. And, offering a lot of flexibility as to contents and format, the Generate Report feature will prove to be essential.

To generate a report:
  1. Make your selection in the explorer window, it can be anywhere from the project level to the lowest level. This selection will be, recursively, the source of information for the report generation process.

  2. From the main menu, select Tools > Generate > Report. The Report Generation window appears.



  3. Check the concepts you want to add to the report, uncheck the ones you do not want. It is possible to Save your concept setting and Reload it whenever you need it.

  4. Set the parameters: color, dimension, alignment, general settings, etc. Each concept may be set differently. In the concepts’ list, expand the node by clicking the handle next to it. You can also set lower levels of concepts in the same manner.

  5. Click the Option tab to customize the options.



    • Generate Table of Contents: check the box if you want a table of contents to be generated. The table of contents is located on the left side of the report. It lists all the concepts included in the report.

    • Home Page: choose the page that will open with main.html

    • Output Directory: choose in which directory the HTML files will be generated. The default output directory is the same one as in the Tools: Options menu. Changing the output directory here will not change it in the Options menu.

    • Diagrams Directory: name the directory in which the diagrams’ JPEG images will be stored. Just type the directory’s name, it will be created next to the output directory. Ex.: directory’s name is ‘images’. Output directory is C:\report. Then the Diagrams Directory will be C:\report\images

    • Use Background Image: check the box if you want a background image to appear on every page (except TOC.htm).



  6. Click Generate and Close. Once files are generated, you will get a completion notice. You can Show details or not. In the Details section, there is information regarding date and time of HTML generation, generated files and their location, as well as errors, if any.

  7. Navigate to the output directory and open index.htm.



From there, you can use the hyperlinks to navigate through the different files.

If you need to generate HTML documentation for more than one model at a time, make sure that all the physical names are different.

Remember, template files can be customized, thus customizing the report’s content.