UltraCSDB is a comprehensive and powerful S1000D Common Source Database (CSDB) that provides centralised management, workflow, storage and retrieval of S1000D & iSpec 2200 projects, data modules, publication modules, IETP-X, stylesheets, business rules, digital assets and more.
- Works out of the box for S1000D (Issue 1.8 through 5.0), Shipdex, ATA 2200 and legacy data projects.
- Integrated authoring and publishing tools.
- Open system allows complete configuration to add support for any additional schemas, data module coding systems, numbering systems and workflows.
- Unparalleled easy-to-use, rich graphical user interface, requires minimal training.
- Three tier client/server architecture, supporting unlimited users and project sizes.
- Publish to PDF, tablet devices, website and IETP-X formats.
Cost effective, versatile, flexible and completely integrated enterprise S1000D content lifecycle management. Out of the box support for S1000D issue 1.8 to 5.0, Shipdex and ATA iSpec 2200.
Detailed Features
- Support for S1000D Issue 1.8 to 5.0, Shipdex, ATA iSpec 2200 and non-structured legacy data out of the box.
- Manage and organize an unlimited number of projects and users.
- Handles huge projects with no practical limit to the number of data modules and assets per project.
- Advanced project management features including deadline dates, review by date, multi project progress view, resending of email reminders when close to deadline dates etc.
- Project overview display, shows all projects organized into tree structures along with statistics and progress bars for each project.
- Graphically define your Standard Numbering Systems (SNS) within the application, or externally in XML format.
- Automatically generate a Standard Numbering Systems from a DMRL.
- Edit project Information Codes within the application or externally in XML format.
- Enable / disable business rules validation with support for layered BREX (Business Rules Exchange) Validation and Schematron validation.
- Define and generate reports in PDF, HTML, RTF, XLS, XLSX, MHT, CSV and TXT format on project schedules, user workloads and workflow trails.
- Easy workflow setup with support for conditional workflows.
- Asset and link visualizations with link checking and project validation.
- Full Change Driver management through change driver workflows.
- Support for creating work packages and changing priorities.
- Convert or batch correct imported data after validation with XPath Search and Replace functions and scripting.
- Integrated Applicability library.
- Integrated Information Repository library (TIR/CIR).
- Support for multiple Model Identifiers (MODELIC), System Difference Codes (SDC), Responsible Partner Codes (RPC) and Originator Codes (ORIG) within one project.
Project Management
- Store, archive and manage publication modules and stylesheets.
- Full integrated workflow and versioning for publication modules.
- Visually define publication layouts through the publication modules tree editor.
- Create interactive PDF manuals and books.
- Publish your S1000D projects to S1000D book format, ATA CMM, AESP format or any customized publication format using UltraXML Server.
- Resulting publications are automatically stored as deliverables.
- Full review workflow for PDF deliverables (published publication modules).
- Customizable IETP-X generation.
- Customizable publishing module generation rules allow automatic creation of entire complex XML manual structures from publication modules for any schema, including ATA 2200 CMM.
- Copy publication module layouts.
- Stylesheet management and workflow.
- Applicability filtering.
- Integrated loose-leaf publishing.
- Publish to Website.
Publishing
- User management with users organized into groups.
- Add and manage database users from the client.
- Automatic workflow event notifications via Emai.
- Assign users to projects and groups.
- Assign roles to users and groups.
- Assign work to users or user groups.
- Active Directory support with single sign on.
- Secure system, restricts user access to data and projects according to permissions.
User Management
- Full text search.
- Applicability search and filtering.
- Regular expression search.
- Boolean expression support.
- XPath search in XML tags, metadata, content or both.
- Highlighted search results in rendered preview.
- Export from search results.
- Browse and search data modules from other projects to find reusable content.
Search Features
- Full S1000D BREX (Business Rules Exchange) support.
- Layered BREX validation on both UltraCSDB Server and authoring software.
- Read, edit, manage and export BREX from the CSDB client.
- Visualisation and searching of BREX rules and lists/enumerations.
- Project BREX value lists available to integrated authoring tools.
- ISO Schematron business rules checking on both UltraCSDB Server and authoring software.
Business Rules
- Technical Repository (TIR) and Common Information Repository (CIR) support.
- Support for container data modules.
- Full support for Applicability Cross-reference Table (ACT), Conditions Cross-reference Table (CCT) and Products Cross-reference Table (PCT) data modules.
- Reuse data modules from other projects.
Effective Data Reuse
- Store and manage multiple language versions for each data module in a project.
- Unicode enabled.
- Export or publish any chosen language.
Multiple Language Support
- Check out and check in of data modules for authoring.
- Attach tasks and files to data modules.
- Complete asset reference management.
- List all reference points within a module along with the XML required to reference it from another module.
- Validation and cross reference checking of entire DMRL.
- Automatic management of data module metadata.
- Business rules checking and schema/DTD validation.
- Advanced filtering, ordering, searching and configurable DMRL views.
- Related assets and references listed under each data module.
- Real time rendered data module content preview integrated into the client.
- Applicability filtering.
- Define, list and attach tasks and files to data modules.
- Multiple review comments and comment attachments.
- Asset reference and cross reference management.
- Rollback data module issue status feature for project managers.
- Reset issue numbers to baseline issue number.
DMRL and Data Module Management
- Complete workflow, management and versioning implemented to official S1000D standards for data modules, assets and publication modules.
- Workflow takes users through authoring, review, comment actioning, approval and raise issue processes.
- Email notifications for workflow events.
- Assign multiple reviewers per data module in serial and/or parallel.
- Assign single authors or author groups per data module.
- Assign automatic authors and reviewers.
- Configurable workflow with an easy to use visual workflow editor.
- Support for conditional workflows.
- Request assets during the authoring process with sub workflows for each asset.
- Workflow tracking and audit trails.
- Return data modules to project manager feature.
- Safely check in DMs as unfinished for continuing work or reallocation at a later date.
- Graphic progress bars for all DMs including percentage complete.
- Copy and reuse review workflows from other UltraCSDB projects.
Workflow
- Import / Export Data Dispatch Notes (DDN).
- Batch Import / Export data modules.
- Batch Import / Export assets.
- Import / Export Publication Modules.
- Import and extract data modules from complete publications with customizable granularity.
- Import and export DMRLs from Microsoft Excel.
- Attach assets to data modules.
- Export publication modules, IETP-X, XML manuals and XML book format.
- Language and applicability filtering of data module content on export.
- Reuse data by importing data modules from other projects as links.
- Import / Export XML or SGML data.
Import / Export
- Store, manage and transfer digital assets including graphics, movies and multimedia objects of any size.
- Batch import / export assets.
- Configurable Illustration Control Number (ICN) formats.
- Automatic association of assets to data modules.
- Add and manage unlimited attachments, companion files and original asset source files per asset. Full integrated workflow and versioning for assets.
- Server generated thumbnails for digital assets.
- Asset reference checking.
Asset Management
- UltraAuthor connects directly to the UltraCSDB web service and reads all available project information and business rules for fast error free authoring.
- Native XML authoring with real time rendered clickable WYSIWYG preview.
- Simple asset and data module reference insertion.
- Integrates to the UltraCSDB applicability library and Information Repository to easily insert TIR and CIR references.
- Integrated BREX, Schema and Schematron business rules validation.
Integrated Authoring Tools
- UltraCSDB exposes hundreds of API functions as a standard web service.
- Integrate your own authoring tools.
- Create your own custom CSDB applications / widgets.
- Open development system allows for creation of 3rd party custom applications or workflow activities.
- Support for any custom schema, coding systems or future S1000D issue through XML configuration files.
Application Programming Interface (API)
- Support any Document Type through XML configuration files.
- Entire system logic, user interface and workflow is configurable through easy to read external XML server files.
Configurable Document Types
FAQs
UltraCSDB is a client/server solution that can operate over the internet/intranet and so can be accessed over WAN & LANs. The system enables full collaborative features such as workflow and email notifications. UltraCSDB is a fully scalable solution and can handle any data volumes. An unlimited number of UltraCSDB servers can be deployed in parallel.
UltraCSDB supports the entire S1000D data modules Issue 1.8 to 5.0. Support for new S1000D issues is easily implemented through XML document type configuration files. Any additional schema can be supported through external configuration files.
ATA can be broken down into any required granularity for example at pgblk level, task or subtask level. The document parts are then treated in the same way as S1000D data modules and go through the full workflow. The CSDB will create the skeleton XML / SGML structure for each ATA module. The ATA modules are then combined by automatically building a publication module with a tree representation of the structure. The rules for creating the publication module chapter structures and filling the chapters with the correct modules and order are defined in the project type configuration files.
The publication module goes through the workflow with review. The ATA publication module can be published to an instance of a full CMM / ACMM, the parts are automatically combined and attributes and structure adjusted according to the server defined XML configuration rules for that project type.
The resulting single XML file for CMM or ACMM can then be published with UltraXML or any other formatter. The stylesheet for the project can be stored as an asset in the CSDB along with full workflow for the stylesheet. Through the configuration files UltraCSDB can support any DTD in the same way.
UltraCSDB stores binary assets of any type on the server machine. Thumbnail previews are also generated by the server as a background process for later viewing by the client application. Full workflow for all asset types is supported. ICN numbers are generated by the system with the correct sequence number. Assets can be associated with a data module. The ICN numbers already used in a data module when importing are read into the CSDB and the associations made in the database.
UltraAuthor is available as an add-on for UltraCSDB. UltraAuthor tightly integrates with UltraCSDB Server to retrieve project information.
UltraCSDB is able to utilise COTS editors such as Framemaker, XMetal or Arbortext Epic Editor.
An UltraCSDB API is available which exposes all existing functionality of the UltraCSDB service. Any programming language that supports web services can be used.
UltraCSDB Multiple Language Support includes:
- Stores and manages multiple language versions for each data module in a project.
- Unicode enabled.
- Export or publish any chosen language.
UltraCSDB is compatible with all Windows and Windows Server platforms from Windows XP / Windows 2003 Server and above. Microsoft .NET 4.0 or above is required on the server and client machines.
UltraCSDB is compatible with the following databases:
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 and above.