Command Line Menu

You don't have to be a command-line wizard to use Spec-Up-T. There's even a menu, so all you have to do is type in a number, which makes a difference, right?

Still, it can be confusing. And if you're used to a regular application you control with your mouse, it takes some getting used to.

info

Currently, the menu is only tested on MacOs and has not been tested on Windows OS.

Assuming you already installed Spec-Up-T, here you find further instructions.

To start, run this command in the terminal:

npm run menu

You will now see this menu:

Please choose one of the following options:

   [0] Add content
   [1] Render specification
   [2] Export to PDF
   [3] Update new xrefs
   [4] Update all xrefs
   [5] Add, remove or view xref source
   [6] Configure
   [7] Open documentation website
   [8] Freeze specification
   [Q] Quit

   An xref is a reference to another repository.

   Enter your choice:

These menu options act as shortcuts to the below commands, such as npm run render and others. You can choose between using the menu or entering the direct commands yourself.

`[0] Add content`

Gives info on how to add content.

`[1] Render specification`

Creates the specification, an index.html, in the docs directory, as specified in the specs.json file.

To view the index.html file, you can:

Open it via file:/// in your file manager or
Access it via HTTP by placing it on a web server.

The easiest way is to double-click the file in your file manager, which should open it in your browser.

By the way, there are three modes for rendering the specification:

Command	Behavior
`npm run edit`	Renders the site and watches for changes, re-rendering automatically when you save a file.
`npm run render`	Renders the site once without watching for changes.
`npm run dev`	Enables debugging features.

`[2] Export to PDF`

Creates a PDF. The PDF will be created in the same directory as the index.html file.

`[3] Update new xrefs`

Creates all newly added “xref”'s (external references).

Also runs [1].

xrefs are references to external glossaries (specifications). Each xref is checked against a local data collection to see if a reference exists, maintaining an external term's original version.

The xrefs are not always automatically looked up when you choose option [1] because every lookup invokes the GitHub API, and you are faced with a limit at some point. You then have to wait for the limitation to be lifted again. Without a unique token, you run into the limit pretty quickly. Hence this option to take it slow. By the way, you can create a token for free at GitHub.

`[4] Update all xrefs`

(re)creates all “xref” (external references).

If you delete an xref, it is also deleted from the system's bookkeeping.

`[5] Add, remove or view xref source`

See an overview of all external references, or add or delete

`[6] Configure`

Configure a new installation.

`[7] Open documentation website`

This command will redirect to the documentation website (the site you are reading right now).

`[8] Freeze specification`

Makes a copy of the index.html file and adds a version number to the file name.

Example: index-v1.html, index-v2.html etc. These files are placed in the same folder as the index.html but in a subfolder called versions.

`[Q] Quit`

This command will take you out of the menu.

Start command line menu​

[0] Add content​

[1] Render specification​

[2] Export to PDF​

[3] Update new xrefs​

[4] Update all xrefs​

[5] Add, remove or view xref source​

[6] Configure​

[7] Open documentation website​

[8] Freeze specification​

[Q] Quit​

Start command line menu