GUI Operation

Documentation

Tasks

This section describes the user interactions for a few simple tasks.  The following section describes the menus currently implemented.

Producing Versioning Report

To produce a versioning report, two DTSes have to be open.
  1. Select open file (open file toolbar button) and choose the “fromDTS”.  (If done recently you may select a prior-opened file from the files menu recently-opened files list.)
  2. Select open file (open file toolbar button) and choose the “toDTS”.
  3. Select compare DTSes (compare toolbar button) and enter the file name to save the versioning report.
  4. If done, you may close the DTSes by selecting close (close toolbar button) twice (once per DTS).

Consuming (Validating) a Versioning Report

To validate a versioning report, it first has to be opened.
  1. Select open file (open file toolbar button) and choose the versioning report file.
  2. You may browse its contents in the Versioning Report tab.  Selecting an entry in the versioning report will display any detailed properties in the Properties tab.
  3. Select validate (validate toolbar button).
  4. Messages in the messages pane may be saved to a file with the tools menu, save messages to file.
  5. close (close toolbar button) the report

Running test case, test suite, or validating an XBRL DTS or instance.

  1. Select open file (open file toolbar button) or open web (open from web toolbar button) and choose the
    • Test case file
    • Test suite index file
    • XBRL instance or inline XBRL instance
    • XBRL DTS schema or linkbase
    • Archive file (zip, xfd, or frm).  (When chosing an archive file, a secondary dialog will allow chosing the file to open within the archive.)
  2. You may browse contents of the test case, test suite, XBRL instance, or XBRL DTS, in the appropriate tab panes.  Selecting entries in a tab pane will display any detailed properties in the Properties tab and also synchronize any linked entries in other tab panes.
  3. Select validate (validate toolbar button).
  4. Messages in the messages pane may be saved to a file with the tools menu, save messages to file.
  5. close (close toolbar button) the input
Note that there is a special case for selecting disclosure system rules validations (SEC EFM and ITA GFM) for test cases, test suites, and XBRL documents.  The tools menu, Validation -> Disclosure system checks, has to be selected, which places a check mark in the menu entry, before loading the test case, test suite, or XBRL document.  This is to enable certain disclosure system rule checks which are performed prior to loading and parsing the input files.  The Disclosure system rules checks menu entry is a toggle, selecting it again will turn off the checkmark.
The disclosure system checks are controlled by a file lib/disclosuresystems.xml, which specifies each disclosure system (such as Japan FSA, US SEC) and pertinent information (such as the file of standard taxonomies to be loaded).  There are two US SEC entries, one for Edgar Filer Manual rule checking, and the other for Global Filing Manual rule checking.
Note that the following validations are currently available:
  • Versioning report features of CR-Base, CR-Concept Basic, and CR-Concept Extended
  • Base spec XBRL 2.1 tests
    • Calculation tests either inferring precision or decimals
  • XBRL Dimensions tests
  • Disclosure systems:
    • SEC EFM features tested by the SEC EFM test suite (no others yet)
    • ITA GFM
    • Users can update the lib/disclosuresystems.xml file
  • Unit Type Registry tests
  • Formula:  Formula output instance, consistency assertions, existence assertions, value assertions, sequence partitioning, fallback values processing, and commonly used filters and functions are complete.  Extension modules are complete, including validation messages, multi-instance, chaining, aspect-cover and concept-relation filters. (Less common filters and functions will be added as users need them and otherwise as time permits.)
The current source code uses the lxml XML parser, its XML schema validation is not reliable for XBRL.  Arelle implements schema checks for data typing, particle model composition, and attribution checks.

Menus

File – open file (open file toolbar button) can open any of these, from an open file chooser dialog:
  • XBRL instance
  • XBRL inline XBRL instance
  • XBRL taxonomy schema file
  • XBRL linkbase
  • XBRL test case file (SEC and Versioning have been tested)
  • XBRL test case index file ( ” )
  • ZIP, XFD, or FRM archive file of any of the above
  • RSS feed file
File – open from web (open from web toolbar button) from a textbox to paste or enter a URL
File – import file (import web) can open a separate formula (or any other) linkbase (or schema file) to be attached to a loaded DTS.  All GUI views of the DTS will be reloaded.
File – save (save file toolbar button) can be used in the following tasks:
  • Table linkbase pane:
    • saves the instance document including any edits in the table linkbase form (if original entry point was an instance), otherwise
    • saves an HTML rendering of the table linkbase or XML table layout file (new instance can be chosen by right-click context menu in table linkbase pane).
  • Test suite pane:  saves a CSV file of the test suite (and results)
  • Tree view pane (such as linkbase or concepts): provides file save options for .csv, .html, .xml, and .json
  • Formula output instance pane:  saves as an instance document.
File – close (close toolbar button) closes the most recently opened file
File – quit (closes the application)
File – recently opened files list
File – recently imported files list
File – packages list (installed and enabled packages, to view by Name, if Taxonomy Package, or file structure, if Oasis Catalog).
(To produce a versioning report you must open two DTSes or instances, the first being the fromDTS and the second being the toDTS.)
Tools menu
Tools – Validation – Validate (validate toolbar button) .  Validates according to what was opened.
  • If an instance, inline XBRL instance, DTS schema or linkbase file were loaded, validation will perform XBRL validation (Base spec, XDT, Generic, and formula) and Disclosure Systemvalidation (if the toggle is switched on).
  • If a test case, the variations of the test case are run.  That means any readMeFirst files are loaded, and validation is then performed, before advancing to the next variation of the test case.
  • If a test cases index file, each test case file in the index is run.
Tools – Validation – Disclosure system checks.  This is a toggle which produces a check mark when selected.  If selected every file is inspected before loading for the allowed files and file contents, and validation is set to use the SEC Edgar tests.
Tools – Validate – Select disclosure system…: a tree view of the disclosure systems that may be selected.
Tools – Validate – Calc linkbase checks.  This is a toggle which produces a check mark when selected.  If selected the summation-item (calculation linkbase) checks are run, and also the essence-alias and requires-element (definition linkbase) checks.
Tools – Validation – Infer Decimals in calculations.  This is a toggle which produces a check mark when selected.  If selected the summation-item (calculation linkbase) checks infer decimals (as proposed for spec. change) instead of the current inferring of precision.  When inferring precision, instance values of zero are always invalid, but legal and processed as expected when inferring decimals.  The current XBRL 2.1 Recommendation is for inferring decimals.
Tools – Validation – Unit Type Registry validation.  This is a toggle which produces a check mark when selected.  If selected Unit Type Registry validation is performed as part of the Tools – Validation – Validate operation.  Some of the disclosure systems (such as SEC) enable Unit Type Registry validation based on their specifications.
Tools – Formula – Parameters:  Provides checkbox selection of tracing features and entry of external values to formula parameters.
Tools – Compare DTSes (compare toolbar button) .  If exactly two DTSes are loaded, this initiates versioning report production.  The user is asked where to save the versioning report.  This should be a convenient neighboring directory to the two DTSes (as relative paths are used in versioning report URLs.
Tools – RSS Watch.  A submenu (also available on the RSS watch pane) allows configuring options (what feed, what validations to perform, text matching (regex), and a formula linkbase of assertions to run.  Start initiates the RSS watch feature.  Stop requests it to stop at the next opportunity (it is running in the background and can be interrupted at certain points in the cycle).  The feed refreshes 10 minutes after last cycle completes.  The publish date is used to determine what has been looked at already (clear this field in the options dialog to look at all filings again).
Tools – Internet – Work offline.  Use in firewall, airplane, hotel, or camping modes to prevent web access for checking on Python web cache for file updates.
Tools – Internet – Clear cache.  Removes the contents from the Python web cache.  The web cache is also checked weekly for file updates on host servers.
Tools – Internet – Manage cache.  (Windows only)  Invokes the operating system’s File Manager on the web cache directory.
Tools – Internet – Proxy.  Select proxy server settings.
Tools – Messages log – Clear (clear message log toolbar button).  Clears the messages log window.
Tools – Messages log – Save to file.  Prompts the user to choose a save-to file name, and saves the messages window contents.  (Individual messages can also be selected and cntrl-C copied to clipboard.)
Tools – Messages log – Collect profile stats.  A checkbox toggle that when checked accumulates the statistics of processing time and memory usage by task.
Tools – Messages log – Log profile stats.  The accumulated profile stats are written to the log.
Tools – Messages log – Clear profile stats.  The accumulated profile stats are cleared.
Language – dialog to override system selection of user interface and labels language settings.  (Labels language can also be overridden in some tree view panes by right-click context menu.)
Help – Check for updates: checks if the current download is more recent than the running program, and if so, downloads and restarts program.  (May require adequate premission to replace the executable program.)
Help – Manage plug-ins.
Help – Manage packages.
Help – About provides the Apache 2 license information.
Toolbar – provides buttons for the file open, web open, close, find, validate, and compare DTSes functions.
Find dialog – allows finding entries in instances, DTSes, and RSS feeds.  Tooltips on dialog give details of the options.
Instance and DTS searches:  Matching is either by text (case insensitive anywhere in scope of target), regular expression, or XPath 2 expression.
Text and regular expressions have choices of scope of matching, in DTS (such as name, label, substitution group) and in instances (such as in label, value, context).
XPath 2 expressions match any of the DTS options by a context item (“.”) set to the schema element node, and any of the instance options by a context tiem (“.”) set to the fact item node.  For instance matching implemented xfi functions registry functions are available.  Expression result of effective boolean value of true( ) causes the concept or fact item to be matched for the search.

Plug in Options

Many of the plug-ins add menu (in addition to command line) options.  For additional detail see the plug-in documentation.  A summary of standard plug in menu-additions is provided here:

inlineDocumentSet.py

Tools -> save target document: saves an XBRL instance document derived from a loaded manifest (Japan FSA) of a document set of inline documents, or loaded single inline document.  (Currently supports one target instance document only.)  File is saved in the directory the inline documents were loaded from.

loadFromExcel.py

(no additional menu options, but the ordinary file load can specify an Excel document which represents a DTS.)

saveDTS.py (produces TaxonomyPackage)

Tools menu -> Save DTS in a package: specifies a file into which to save a Taxonomy Package representing the loaded DTS

saveHtmlEBAtables.py (EBA Table Sets)

Tools menu -> Save HTML EBA Tables Index File: specifies an index file (usually index.html) to represent an html page that holds a table of contents to the EBA tables generated for all loaded EBA Table Linkbase tables in the DTS.

saveLoadableExcel.py

Tools menu -> Save Loadable Excel:  Saves an Excel workbook representing the DTS (which can be subsequently loaded by loadFromExcel.py plugin.

saveSKOS.py

Tools menu -> Save SKOS RDF File: saves a SKOS (OMG standard OWL/RDF file) representing a semantic view of a DTS based on presentation linkbase entries (for US-GAAP, IFRS, and EDInet style taxonomies).

validateSecTagging.py

Tools menu -> Save SEC Tag Dts <atches: adds to disclosure system SEC validation checks for SEC non negatives based on an algorithmic and weighted approach

sphinx

(subpackage, features including generating formula linkbase have not been sufficiently tested)

Files menu -> Open Sphinx Rules Files: Import sphinx files to the DTS for validation.  Multiple file names are separated by a ‘|’ character.
Tools menu -> Compile Sphinx Rules to Formula:  Generate an XBRL formula linkbase from sphinx files.  Multiple file names are separated by a ‘|’ character. Files may be xrb archives, xsr source files, or directories of same.
–generated-sphinx-formulas-directory:  Generated XBRL formula linkbases directory.  (If absent, formula linkbases save in sphinx files directory.)

xbrlDB

Tools menu -> Store to XBRL-DB:  Store into XBRL DB.  Provides connection form for: host, port,  user, password, database, timeout, and technology:
postgres – XBRL-US Postgres SQL
mssqlSemantic – Semantic MSSQL SQL
mysqlSemantic – Semantic MySQL SQL
orclSemantic – Semantic Oracle SQL
pgSemantic – Semantic Postgres SQL
rexster – Rexter (Titan Cassandra)
rdfDB – RDF (Turtle, NanoSparqlServer)
json – JSON (JSON, MongoDB)
For rdfDB if hostname is rdfTurtleFile or rdfXmlFile, then database specifies a local file system pathname to store a file.  For json, if hostname is jsonFile then database specifies a local file system path name to store into a file.
 

6 Responses to GUI Operation

  1. Carlos Miguel FARIAS says:
    May 15, 2013 at 3:52 pm

    I am a university lecturer in the Faculty of Economics and Law at the National University of La Pampa, Argentina
    Would need XBRL instance files.
    These will be used in classes on the subject XBRL.
    The classes are aimed at college students of National Public Accountant career.
    Many Thanks: Carlos Miguel FARIAS

    Reply
  2. Mike Teodorescu says:
    July 28, 2013 at 12:27 pm

    I would like to know how arelle xbrl processor maintain permanently the XBRL taxonomies versions and updates published by the regulators :IFRS team, SEC, UK-GAAP HMRC etc.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • admin says:
      July 28, 2013 at 9:17 pm

      Arelle does not maintain the public taxonomies or updates, it only caches them from the web, the regulators who produce those taxonomies maintain the versions and updates on their web sites or private distributions.

      Reply
  3. flor marina jimenez says:
    July 30, 2013 at 7:42 pm

    I am very happy. I start to learn XBRL, Thanks.

    Reply
  4. Glad Sully says:
    November 28, 2014 at 4:54 pm

    I would like to know one can change the views in the Fact Table of the application to render a view of both discrete (3M) and cumulative (6M) Income Statement period data from a XBRL instance?

    Reply
  5. Jeremy says:
    September 6, 2017 at 10:57 am

    This part of the code doesn’t work, as it does not store the data into the database tables:
    xbrlDB
    Tools menu -> Store to XBRL-DB: Store into XBRL DB. Provides connection form for: host, port, user, password, database, timeout, and technology:
    postgres – XBRL-US Postgres SQL

    Reply

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