Smart Folders: Hierarchical Entity Navigation in ACCELQ

Smart Folders provide a powerful, hierarchical folder-style view for ACCELQ entities. Instead of a traditional flat list, you can dynamically group and browse entities using customizable, multi-level hierarchies called "Folder Presets". These folder presets are built from entity attributes like Status, Priority, and other Custom Fields, allowing you to create flexible "views" tailored to your workflow.

Key Concepts

• Smart Folder View: A hierarchical tree view in the Navigator pane that groups entities based on the active folder preset.
• Flat List View: The traditional grid-only view with no folder tree in the Navigator. You can toggle between this and the Smart Folder view.
• Folder Preset: A saved folder configuration that acts as a reusable "lens" on your data. It consists of a name and a defined hierarchy that controls how the Navigator tree groups entities. Each entity type maintains its own distinct list of folder presets.
• Hierarchy / Level: A single attribute used for grouping within a folder preset (e.g., Module, Priority, Test Type). You can define up to five levels in a single folder preset.
• Available Fields: The attributes you can use to build a hierarchy. These include standard fields like Status and Status Category and all the project-level Custom Fields of type List, User List, Boolean. 
  • In addition, the following attributes are applicable to the specific entities:
    • For Actions: Owner Context
    • For Test Suites: Type (with values "Static" and "Dynamic")
• Navigator Tree: The left-side panel that displays the hierarchical groups and sub-groups based on the currently active folder preset. Clicking on a node in the tree filters the items displayed in the main grid.

Supported Entities

Smart Folders are available for the following ACCELQ entities. Folder Presets are managed independently for each entity type.

• Scenarios (Automation and Manual)
• Test Suites (Automation and Manual)
• Contexts
• Actions

Working with Smart Folders

Toggling Between Views

You can switch between the Smart Folder view (with the Navigator tree) and the traditional Flat List view at any time. Use the toggle icon in the entity grid's top-right toolbar.

Navigating the Folder Tree

When the Smart Folder view is active, the Navigator on the left displays a folder tree.

• Expand/Collapse: Click on a folder (node) to expand or collapse it and view its sub-groups.
• Hierarchical browsing: Select any item in the left side tree to view assets belonging to that hierarchy.
• Breadcrumb Trail: A breadcrumb trail at the bottom of the Navigator displays your current path in the hierarchy, along with a count of the entities in the selected node (e.g., Module: Flight / Priority: High · 23 Scenarios).
• The unassigned Group: You may see a group labeled unassigned in italics. This is a system-generated group for entities that do not have a value set for the field at that hierarchy level. This is a great way to find items with missing custom-field information, select them, and use the bulk-update feature to assign appropriate values.

Important Note on Navigator Grid Filters

The Smart Folder tree is always subject to the search and filter conditions applied at the top of the navigator grid. For example, if you filter the grid to only show Scenarios with "High" priority, the folder tree will be built only from those high-priority scenarios. This allows you to combine broad, criteria-based filtering with focused, hierarchical browsing.

Using the Folder Preset Menu

Click the three-dot menu icon at the top of the Navigator Tree to access folder options:

• Change Folder Preset: Opens a dropdown to switch to a different folder preset. This also allows you to manage (add/edit/delete) the Folder Presets defined in the project.
• Expand All Groups: Expands every node in the tree.
• Collapse All Groups: Collapses all expanded nodes.
• Show Empty Groups: A toggle that controls whether groups containing no entities are visible.

Managing Folder Presets

Creating a New Folder Preset

1. Navigate to the menu and select Change Preset > Manage Presets.
2. In the popup, click Create New Folder Preset.
3. In the "New Folder Preset" modal, provide a unique Folder Preset Name.
4. Build the Hierarchy by adding levels from the Available Fields panel on the right.
5. You can add up to 5 levels. To change the order, drag and drop them within the Hierarchy list.
6. Click Done to save the new folder preset. The Done button is disabled until a folder preset name is entered and at least one level is added.

• Handling Custom Fields:
  • If no custom fields are defined, Admin users will see a link to Create a custom field.
  • Non-admin users will see a message prompting them to contact their project administrator.

Editing and Deleting Folder Presets

From the Folder Preset Manager, use the pencil icon to edit or the trash can icon to delete any existing folder preset.

Rules and Constraints

• Hierarchy Depth: A folder preset can have a maximum of 5 levels.
• Folder Preset Limit: You can create a maximum of 20 Folder Presets for each entity type.
• Status Hierarchy Rule: If both Status and Status Category are used, Status Category must be a parent level to Status.
• Folder Preset Uniqueness: Within a single entity type, each folder preset must have a unique name and a unique hierarchy structure.
• Entity-Specific Folder Presets: Folder Presets are scoped to their entity type (e.g., Scenario folder presets are separate from Action folder presets).
• Audit Trail: All create, update, and delete operations on Folder Presets are tracked in the Project History.

⚠️ Note on Folder Preset Visibility

Folder Presets are project-wide configurations managed independently for each entity type. They are not personal views; any preset you create or edit is shared and immediately visible to all users in the project.

Best Practices: Thinking in Views

• Build Workflow-Based Views: Create folder presets that align with your team's common tasks. For example:
  • Triage View: Priority → Owner → Module
  • Regression Planning View: Module → Test Type → Status
  • Release Sign-off View: Release → Status → Owner
• Keep Views Simple: For daily use, folder presets with 2-3 levels are often the most effective and easiest to navigate.
• Use as an Analysis Tool: The folder tree provides an instant visual breakdown of your assets. Use it to spot patterns, identify gaps (e.g., a module with no High Priority tests), or check contribution or distribution among owners.

Understanding the 'Smart' in Smart Folders: Views, Not Containers

It is crucial to understand that Smart Folders are fundamentally different from the traditional folders you might find in a file system. They are not static containers that you manually place items into.

Instead, Smart Folders provide dynamic views or lenses that automatically organize your entities based on their current metadata (like Status, Priority, or any Custom Field of type "List", "Boolean", "User List").

This means the folder structure is always up-to-date and requires zero maintenance. If you change a Scenario's priority from 'Medium' to 'High', it instantly and automatically appears in the correct group in any relevant folder preset. There is no manual dragging, dropping, or re-filing required.

Here is a quick comparison:

FAQ

Q. Can I drag and drop a Scenario into a folder?

A. No. Smart Folders are not containers. To "move" an entity, you simply update its metadata (e.g., change its 'Owner' or 'Status' field value), and it will automatically appear in the correct group.

Q. Are folder presets I create visible to other users?

A. Yes, folder presets are saved at the project level and are shared with all users who have access to that entity.

Q. Do Smart Folders change the columns shown in the main grid?

A. No. Smart Folders only organize entities in the Navigator tree and filter the grid. Your grid's column configuration is managed separately.

Q. Can I re-use folder presets across different entities (e.g., Scenarios and Actions)? 

A. No. Folder Presets are specific to each entity type. This is because each entity may have a unique set of available fields for building hierarchies (for example, only Test Suites have the 'Type' field). A folder preset created for Scenarios cannot be used for Actions, and vice versa.

Q. What is a Status Category? 

A. A Status Category is a high-level grouping for status values, such as 'To Do', 'In Progress', or 'Done'. When your Project Admin defines specific statuses (like 'New', 'In Design', 'Ready for Review'), they assign each one to a category. This allows you to create broad groupings in your folder presets.