Working with Gates and Actions

The Hierarchy view of the DFR planner allows you to create and modify a tree-based configuration of gates and actions that represent a Design for Reliability process, as described below.

Note: To add or delete gates/actions, you must choose Selected item only at the top of the planner.

Adding, Editing, Deleting and Moving Gates

To add a gate to the DFR planner, follow one of the instructions below. The DFR Gate Properties window will then open so you can define your new gate.
- To add a new top-level gate, choose DFR > Gate > Add Gate.

- To add a new gate to the next level below a selected gate, choose DFR > Gate > Add Next Level Gate.

- To add a new gate to the same level as a selected gate, choose DFR > Gate > Add Same Level Gate.

- To insert a gate at a specific location in the planner, right-click a gate and choose Insert Gate from the shortcut menu that appears. After you define the new gate, it will appear directly above the gate you selected.
To edit a gate, double-click it in the DFR planner, which will open the DFR Gate Properties window. You can also choose DFR > Gate > Edit Gate.

- Note that some properties are automatically set by the software based on other properties, and thus cannot be changed manually.
- If a top-level gate has no precedent, you can shift the start date and/or due date of the gate (and thus its dependents) by a specified number of days/months. Choose DFR > Tools > Shift Dates to open the Shift Dates window.

To delete a gate and all of its associated information (e.g., description, comments, start date, etc.), select it and then press DELETE (or choose Home > Edit > Delete). You can undo the last deletion only.
You can move a gate to a higher or lower level in the hierarchy by right-clicking it and choosing Promote or Demote from the shortcut menu that appears.

Adding, Editing and Deleting Actions

You can add a new action or an existing one to a gate in the DFR planner. This will place the action on a lower level beneath the selected gate.
- To add a new action to a gate, select the gate and then open the Action window by choosing DFR > Action > Add Action.

- To add an existing action to a gate, select the gate and then open the Select Resource window by choosing DFR > Action > Add Existing Action.

To edit an action in the DFR planner, select it and then open the Action window by choosing DFR > Action > Edit Action. Note that this action may be used elsewhere, and so editing it here may affect other analyses.

If you have a single action used in multiple locations, but you want to change its properties in only one location in the DFR planner, select it and choose DFR > Action > Make Action Unique. This will replace the action in that location with a copy.

To remove an action from the DFR planner, select it and press DELETE (or choose Home > Edit > Delete). Note that while the resource will no longer be used in this location, it will not be deleted from the project and will still be accessible via the Resource Manager and Select Resources windows.

Cutting/Copying Items

You can cut or copy gates in the DFR planner and paste them to the same project or to another project within the same database.

After you select the gate, you can use the standard keyboard shortcuts for cut/copy (CTRL+X and CTRL+C) or you can right-click the gate and choose Cut or Copy from the shortcut menu that appears. When a gate is cut or copied, all next-level gates also will be cut or copied.

Pasting Items

You can paste a gate as a dependent to another item in the same project or to another project within the same database by opening that project and pressing CTRL+V or right-clicking a gate and choosing Paste from the shortcut menu that appears. The item will be pasted as a dependent to the selected item in the hierarchy.

To paste the cut or copied item as a top-level gate, right-click the hierarchy and choose Paste as Top Level from the shortcut menu. The pasted gate will appear at the bottom of the DFR planner.

You also can choose Paste Special from the shortcut menu to open the Paste Special window, which allows you to choose the level at which the cut or copied item will be pasted to the hierarchy, and whether dependent gates and/or actions will be pasted along with it.

If a gate is cut or copied and then deleted from the project, the copied gate will also be deleted from the Clipboard. In addition, once a gate has been cut or copied, any edits that are made to the original will also be applied to its copy in the Clipboard. Also note that you will not be able to cut or copy a gate in a project that is locked by another user.