BizTalk Server 2010Mapper Enhancements

Daniel Toomey, Mexia ConsultingSenior Integration Specialist

The New and Improved BizTalk Mapper

• Lesson 1: Reviewing the Old Mapper• Lesson 2: Features of the New BizTalk Mapper

Lesson 1: Reviewing the Old Mapper

• In this lesson, you will learn about…– Features of the Old BizTalk Mapper– Limitations of the Old BizTalk Mapper

Features of the Old BizTalk Mapper

• Old Mapper Features:– Drag and drop design experience– Grid Preview enables fast navigation of grid area– Use up to 20 pages to separate links and functoids

Limitations of the Old BizTalk Mapper

• Limitations: – Schemas are not searchable– All links on current page visible– No copy/paste functionality– Limited navigation options– Simple automated linking– No undo capability

Lesson 2: Features of the New Mapper

• In this lesson, you will learn about…– Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Functoids and Links– Moving Functoids and Links Between Pages– Navigating the Map Grid – Intelligent Linking of Schema Elements– Using Functoid IntelliSense– Using Relevance View– Using Indicative Match– Searching Within a Map– Selecting Multiple Objects– Documenting Maps using Labels

and Comments– Using Map Infotips– General Map and Functoid Improvements– Demo: The Enhanced Mapper

Cutting, Copying & Pasting Functoids and Links

• How To:– Visual Studio Edit menu and associated shortcut keys– Map grid context menu– Standard keyboard accelerators for cut/copy/paste

• Considerations:– Only selected object will be copied/cut– Links and Functoids can be pasted into other pages and

other maps– Links can only be pasted if target node XPath is valid

Moving Functoids and Links Between Pages• Previously:

– All links and functoids must be selected before anything in the chain could be moved

– Undocumented feature

• Now:– Any object in chain can be selected and dragged to another

page– Context menu option enables moving too

Optimized Display of Links

• Old Mapper:– Static display of links and objects– Visual Noise!

Optimized Display of Links

• Mapper displays objects differently based on scope– Completely In Scope –Links with both the ends currently

visible– Partially In Scope – Links with only one end currently

visible– Completely Out of Scope – Links with neither end

currently visible

Highlighting the Selected Objects

• Cuts the visual noise– When an object is selected, it and all related objects are

highlighted– All other objects fade to grey

– When a schema node is selected relationships on other pages are highlighted

Bringing the Selected Objects in View

• Previously:– User had to scroll around the source/destination schema and

map grid to display all relevant object

• Now:– When user clicks an object the view automatically scrolls to

bring that object and other related objects into view

• Considerations:– Auto-scroll is enabled by default but can be toggled by

clicking the icon

Intelligent Linking of Schema Elements

• When Linking Two Records Together– Context menu pop up prompt asks:

– Link by Structure– Link by Name– Mass Copy

Using Functoid IntelliSense

• Functoid “Intellisense”:– Visualization mechanism– Helps quickly identify problems with a functoid– Tooltip provides description of error

• For example,– If functoid does not have minimum number of valid inputs– Tooltip mentions the number of input parameters required

Using Relevance View

• Relevance View– Uses sibling coalescence to collapse non-relevant elements– Provides a more compact view of the schema– Option on source and destination schema– Enabled by clicking the icon in the Mapper ribbon

• When enabled:– Records without linked children are collapsed– Successive nodes without links are coalesced and are

replaced by the icon

Using Indicative Match

• Indicative Match:– Compares selected node against nodes in opposite schema– Highlights best suggestions for links

• To Use:1. Select schema node2. Press SHIFT + SPACE3. Use arrow keys to cycle through suggestions4. Press ENTER to create link

Searching Within a Map

• You can search for strings in:– Source schema– Destination schema– Map Grid and Functoids

Selecting Multiple Objects

• Two ways to select multiple objects:– Click and drag (old)– CTRL + Left click (new)

– Can be used to unselect previously selected objects

Documenting Maps using Labels and Comments

• Previously,– Labels could be set on links using the Label property in the

properties grid

• Additionally,– You can set labels and

comments on functoids

Using Map Infotips

• Link Infotips Display:– Link label, if set– Name of source element or functoid– Name of destination element or functoid

• Functoid Infotips Display:– Functoid name– Functoid label, if set– Functoid comment, if set (256 character max)– Input parameter values, if existing– In case of Scripting functoid, first few lines of code

Enhanced Functoid Configuration

• Enhancements to Functoid Configuration Include:– Functoid configuration dialog box

indicates whether the parameters are correct

– Name column of parameter displays element name, not XPATH

– Type column indicates the type of parameter (link or functoid)

– Placeholder is created for deleted functoid inputs

– Table Looping Functoid – configure functoid inputs and table looping grid on same dialog

– Scripting functoid – configure functoid inputs and script on same dialog which can be resized

General Usability Improvements

• Mapper Usability Improvements:– Mapper Ribbon – used to search, zoom, enable and disable

relevance view, etc.– Panning the map page – use either the icon, or the

arrow keys– Zooming – CTRL + mouse wheel, or slider on ribbon– Undo and Redo – CTRL + Z and CTRL + Y– Display schema location – pointing at schema name on

ribbon will tooltip the file location of the schema– Copy XSD Path – Right-click schema node

Demo: The Enhanced Mapper

• In this demonstration, you will see how to…– Search within a map– Create links using the Indicative Match feature– Toggle Relevance View– Navigate the map grid

Demo

The Enhanced Mapper

Questions?