ReqIF (Requirements Interchange Format) is the standard file format for moving requirements between tools such as DOORS, Polarion, Jama and Trace.Space. A .reqif file carries not just the requirements but their types, attribute definitions, enumerations, hierarchy and relations, so Trace.Space can rebuild all of that on import and write it back on export.
Importing a ReqIF file
Click ... on the Items header in the left sidebar, or on the item you want to import under, and choose Import (.docx, .reqif, .csv).
Pick the .reqif file. There is no settings dialog: the file is converted straight away, and a dialog shows Converting document and then Creating items (n/total) with a progress bar.
When it finishes, Trace.Space opens the first imported item.
What the import creates
Item types. Each spec object type and specification type used in the file becomes an item type. If your organization already has a type with the same name and compatible attributes, that type is reused and any new attributes are added to it; otherwise a new type is created. Types created by an earlier import of the same file are updated rather than duplicated.
Attributes. String and XHTML attributes become text, DATE becomes a date, INTEGER and REAL become numbers, BOOLEAN becomes a boolean, and ENUMERATION becomes a picklist attribute. Attributes that Trace.Space itself exported as parameters or user lists come back as parameters and user lists. The first text attribute whose name contains heading, title or name becomes the item heading, and common body attributes such as Description, Text, Statement or Rationale are shown in document view.
Picklists. Each enumeration in use becomes a picklist with the enumeration's values. If the same enumeration is used both as a single-select and a multi-select attribute, two picklists are created, named with the suffixes (single-select) and (multi-select).
Hierarchy. The specification's hierarchy becomes the item tree. A file with exactly one specification imports that specification as the container item. A file with several specifications, or none, gets a root item named after the file's title whose description records the tool it was exported from, the original identifier and the creation time. A spec object that appears in more than one place in the hierarchy is imported once, with an extra parent trace for each additional place.
Traces. Every spec relation becomes a Related trace between the two items.
Files that Trace.Space itself exported are recognized and imported without the extra wrapper items, and every item, type and picklist keeps the identifier it had, so a round trip through another tool updates your items instead of duplicating them.
Exporting to ReqIF
Open the ... menu of an item and choose Export > Export to .reqif. The export covers the item and everything below it and runs in the background; it downloads when ready. See Exporting items for the other formats and where to find running exports.
The file contains the item types used as spec object types, their attributes with Trace.Space data types for text, number, boolean, parameter, date and user list, the picklists as enumerations, the tree as one specification, and the traces between exported items as spec relations. Baselines, reviews and saved filters export to Word and Excel only.
The ReqIF viewer
If you only want to look at a ReqIF file and do not have a Trace.Space account, use the public ReqIF Viewer:
North America:
https://tracespace.ai/reqif-viewerEurope:
https://tracespace.app/reqif-viewer
Drop the .reqif file onto Click or Drag & Drop your files here, or click to pick it. The file name appears below with a bin button to remove it.
Enter your E-mail and click Continue. The button reads Setting up while Trace.Space creates a personal organization for you, named after the part of your email address before the @, with you as its admin.
The page shows Processing file... with a progress bar while the file is imported at the top level of the new organization, exactly as described above. Large files can take a few minutes; you can wait or come back later.
When it finishes you land in the new organization with the imported items open.
At the same time Trace.Space sends an email titled View your ReqIF doc on Trace.Space from [email protected] with a magic link, so you can get back into the organization later. See Email authentication using Magic Link for how those links work.
The viewer is for first-time visitors. If the email address already has a Trace.Space account, the page switches to Log in to Trace.Space with a Log in button; sign in and import the file from inside your organization instead. The same applies if an organization already exists for your email domain.
If a ReqIF file will not import, or an export is rejected by the other tool, see Troubleshooting import, export and AI.