Linking Items Internally or Externally

This procedure describes how to link two items, either internally in the same server configuration, or linking between two items located on different server configurations, called external linking.

In StarTeam, an item is a file, change request, requirement, task, or topic. A link is a connection between two folders, two items, or a folder and an item on the same server, or on two different servers (called External Links).

Creating links can be quite useful. For example, linking a file to a change request allows you to mark it as fixed when you check in the edited file. By linking files to the requirements document that the files fulfill, you can easily refer to or update the document.

You can create several links at the same time if you want to link several items of the same type to one particular item. For example, you might wish to link several change requests to a single file. To accomplish this, you can create links using the Folder Tree menu, component menu, context menu, or Link button on the toolbar.

Note: When creating external links between items on different server configurations, both server configurations need to be opened in Eclipse to be able to create or view the external links.

Open a StarTeam perspective. If you want to link two items on different server configurations, open both server configurations and perspectives.
Select file(s) or folder(s) in the Server Explorer or in one of the Eclipse Explorers, or by selecting the item(s) in one of the Change Request, Requirement, Task, or Topic views.
Click Create/Complete Link in the main toolbar.
Select the folder or item(s) for the end of the link in the project on the other StarTeam Server. This can be:
- A StarTeam folder (if you have not already selected a folder).
- One or more other files.
- One or more change requests or change packages.
- One or more requirements.
- One or more topics/responses.
- One or more tasks/subtasks.
To locate all items, you may need to switch to a different component tab or use the All Descendants button on the toolbar.
To complete the link, click Create/Complete Link again in the main toolbar.

You can also view a link by selecting either of its ends. The end you select, whether a folder or an item, is called the source. The other end of the link is called the target and is listed in the Item Type column on the Link pane.

Note: External links can also be created using drag-drop. With both views open, select the source item, press CTRL + SHIFT, then drag-drop it on the target item.