In the upper portion of the Main Topology Import Panel are boxes for each of the seven Import Modes. In many situations, the entire set-up of the eXpressSpreadsheet Topology Import can be accomplished by clicking on one of these seven boxes.
The top four Import Modes
- Import Topology, Update Topology, Merge Topology and Duplicate Topology—all assume that the source spreadsheet file was created by the eXpresseXpress Model topology export (or contains the same columns created by the export). When one of these Import Modes is enabled, the corresponding box on the panel is colored blue and all column fields are automatically selected. The only exception is when the spreadsheet file contains multiple worksheets, in which case the Analyst must manually select the column header that corresponds to the Object Name column (after which the other column fields will be automatically selected). The other three Import Modes—NetList Model, Functional Model and Stub Model—do not assume that the column headers in the source Excel file match the names used by the eXpress eXpress Model topology export. For these Import Modes, eXpress attempts to automatically select the best match for each of these columns.
Seven Import Modes
Import Topology - The topology represented in the spreadsheet is imported into the model as new objects, with existing objects not being modified in any way.
Update Topology - Existing Objects are modified based on information in the spreadsheet, with new objects only being added when they are not found in the existing model. Objects in the model that are not found in the spreadsheet file are removed from the model.
Merge Topology - Existing Objects are modified based on information in the spreadsheet, with new objects being added when not found in the model. Existing objects not listed in the spreadsheet are retained in the model
Duplicate Topology - The topology represented in the spreadsheet is imported a specified number of times, with existing objects not being modified in any way.
NetList Model - The objects listed in the spreadsheet are imported as a block diagram.
Functional Model - The objects listed in the spreadsheet are imported as boxes laid out in equally-spaced rows and columns (assuming explicit locations are not provided).
Stub Model - A set of ambiguity group sizes are imported as a "stub" model—in which the different group sizes are represented by rows of object instances assigned the same abbreviation.
