Using BizTalk Mapper Commands
When BizTalkMapper becomes active, it adds a menu called BizTalk to the Microsoft Visual Studio shell. This menu provides access to the BizTalk Mapper commands and their functionality. When BizTalk Mapper is active, the BizTalk menu provides the commands that are specific to editing BizTalk maps.
Where applicable, BizTalk Mapper uses existing Visual Studio menu items for commands that have obvious parallels to standard application functionality. For example, when BizTalk Mapper is active, the Save command on the File menu saves changes to the map that is currently being edited.
The following table describes the commands within BizTalk Mapper that can be used in the process of developing maps.
| Command (menu locations, if any) |
Description |
|---|---|
| Open Map (File | Open | File...) |
Opens a BizTalk map for editing in BizTalk Mapper. Also available on the shortcut menu in Solution Explorer when a map is selected, and by double-clicking a map in Solution Explorer. |
| Close Map (File | Close) |
Closes BizTalk Mapper for the current map, prompting to save any unsaved changes. Also available by using the standard Close([X]) button in the upper-right corner of the main editing window in Visual Studio. |
| New Map (Project | Add | New Item... | Map) |
Creates a new BizTalk map for editing and opens BizTalk Mapper. Select the map template in the Add New Item dialog box. Also available on the shortcut menu for the BizTalk project in Solution Explorer (Add | New Item | Map). |
| Open Source Schema (in source Schema Tree view of new map only) |
Allows selection of the source schema in new maps using the BizTalk Type Picker dialog box. |
| Open Destination Schema (in destination Schema Tree view of new map only) |
Allows selection of the destination schema in new maps using the BizTalk Type Picker dialog box. |
| Save Map (File | Save map.btm) (File | Save map.btm As...) (File | Save All) |
Saves the BizTalk map currently being edited under its own name, under a new name, or as part of saving all unsaved changes, respectively. |
| Create Link (drag-and-drop only) |
Creates a link between schema nodes in the source and destination schema tree views or between functoids in a grid page. You can create a link by: - Dragging a schema node to another schema node in the other schema tree or to a functoid. - Dragging a functoid to a schema node or to another functoid. You can create links by dragging in either direction; in other words, you can start at the source (left end) or the destination (right end) of the link. You can replace a link by dragging one end point of a link from a node or functoid to another node or functoid. For more information, see How to Create Links. |
| Add Functoid (drag-and-drop only) |
Adds a functoid to the displayed grid page. You can add a functoid to a grid page by dragging the functoid from the tab in the Visual Studio Toolbox that corresponds to the category of the functoid. |
| Delete Link and Delete Functoid (Edit | Delete) (BizTalk | Delete) |
Deletes the currently selected links or functoids in the displayed grid page, with confirmation prompting. When applicable, this command is also available on the shortcut menu for the selected links or functoids. |
| Find Schema Node (Edit | Find and Replace | Find) |
Provides search functionality for node names in the Schema Tree views, which can be useful with large schemas. |
| Properties (View | Properties Window) (BizTalk | Properties) |
Provides access to the properties of links, functoids, source and destination Schema Tree view nodes, and to higher-level objects like the maps themselves. Also available on the shortcut menu for the selected link or functoid, but not for nodes in the schema trees. Pressing F4 also displays the Properties window. |
| Add Page (BizTalk | Add Page) |
Adds a new grid page, also known as a layer, to the grid view. Also available on the shortcut menu for the grid page tabs. |
| Delete Page (BizTalk | Delete Page) |
Deletes the displayed grid page, also known as a layer, with confirmation prompting. Also available on the shortcut menu for the grid page tabs. |
| Reorder Pages* (BizTalk | Reorder Pages) |
Allows reordering of the grid pages, also known as layers, using the Reorder Pages dialog box. Also available on the shortcut menu for the grid page tabs. |
| Rename Page (BizTalk | Rename Page) |
Allows renaming of the displayed grid page, also known as a layer. Also available on the shortcut menu for the grid page tabs. |
| Expand Tree Node (BizTalk | Expand Tree Node) |
Completely expands the currently selected (and at least partially collapsed) Schema, Group, or Record node in the source or destination Schema Tree view. When applicable, this command is also available on the shortcut menu for the selected node. Note: In a large and complex schema, when you click Expand Tree Node on a node that contains complex types, some nodes in the schema may remain in the collapsed state. This is because the recursive process expands only the first occurrence of a given complex type. You must manually expand later occurrences of the same type. This behavior is designed to optimize performance when expanding nodes in large and complex schemas. |
| Collapse Tree Node (BizTalk | Collapse Tree Node) |
Collapses the currently selected (and at least partially expanded) Schema, Group, or Record node in the source or destination Schema Tree view. When applicable, this command is also available on the shortcut menu for the selected node. |
| Grid Preview (BizTalk | Grid Preview) |
Allows rapid and accurate scrolling within the displayed grid page using the Grid Preview dialog box. This command is also available on the shortcut menu for grid pages. |
| Replace Schema (BizTalk | Replace Schema) |
Allows replacement of the source or destination schema using the BizTalk Type Picker dialog box. Also available on the shortcut menu for the source and destination Schema Tree views. |
| BizTalk Mapper Options (Tools | Options | BizTalk Mapper) |
Allows configuration of various colors in the Grid view, including selection, link, grid, and background. The font used in the schema node display can also be changed using this command. |
The following table describes additional map commands that are available on the shortcut menu for the selected map in Solution Explorer.
| Schema command | Description |
|---|---|
| Open | Opens the selected map in BizTalk Mapper. Double-clicking a map also opens it in BizTalk Mapper. |
| Open With | Allows the selected map to be opened in a variety of XML editors, including BizTalk Mapper. |
| Test Map | Tests the selected map. |
| Validate Map | Validates the map. |
| Debug Map | If a map is compiled successfully, Debug Map launches the XSLT debugger. It allows you to step through the generated XLST, just like any other Visual Studio debugger. |
| Exclude From Project | Removes the currently selected map from the current BizTalk project. Use the Add | Existing Item command to re-add a map that was previously excluded from the current BizTalk project. |
| Cut, Copy, Paste | Use these commands to perform the standard Visual Studio behavior of cutting, copying, and pasting entire maps within a BizTalk project. You can also cut, copy, and paste the map items, such as links and/or functoids. For more information, see How to Copy, Cut, and Paste a Functoid and How to Copy, Cut, and Paste Links and Functoids. |
| Delete | Permanently deletes the currently selected map, with a confirmation prompting. |
| Rename | Allows the currently selected map to be renamed, in place. |
| Properties | Displays the properties of the currently selected map in the Properties window. |