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You can use the ER/Studio Business Architect menus to gain access its features. The menus are: File, Edit, View, Repository, Diagram, Format, Tools, Window, and Help.
Menus provide access to many of ER/Studio Business Architect functions. Click any item on the menu bar to access its submenu items. The table below describes the functions available under the relevant menu bar items:
Menu | Function |
---|---|
Create, open, save, and close the current workspace, its models, projects, and diagrams. You can also export/import from this menu. | |
You can access functionality for undo, redo, cutting, copying, pasting, deleting, and selecting all. You can also access the Find and Search functionality. | |
Gives you access to the toolbars, and zoom levels in a view. | |
Gives you access to Repository operations such as log in and out, and check in and out workspaces and objects. | |
When a diagram is open, the following commands are available: Case Shift, Layout, and Grid. The Show All Links and Update Impact Analysis commands are also available when applicable. | |
You can use these commands in a diagram to group objects, align objects, or reorder the layers of objects. | |
Gives you access to the following commands: Create Diagram from Selected Objects, Create Link, Create Usage, Generate Impact Analysis Diagram, Show Diagrams, Grid Editor, and Reports. | |
Reset perspectives, Show Views, or Preferences. | |
You can open ER/Studio Business Architect online documentation, view the licensing information, open the Evaluation Guide, contact support, and open the About dialog. |
Contents
File
The table below describes the functions available when you click the File command:
Menu Item | Icon | Description |
---|---|---|
New - Workspace |
Opens the New Workspace dialog where you can create a new workspace, new project, new model, and new diagram. | |
New - Project |
Opens the New Project diagram. You can enter a description of the new project and select where to create the project. | |
New - Model |
Opens the New Model dialog. You can enter a description of the new model and select where to create the model. | |
New - Diagram |
The pull-right menu gives you two options: Business Process or Conceptual. This menu displays the type of diagram to be created. For example if you are creating a new diagram in a Conceptual Model, only Conceptual is available from the pull-right menu.You can enter a description of the new diagram and select where to create the diagram. You can also rename the pool and lane in the New Diagram dialog for a Business Process diagram. | |
Opens the standard windows dialog listing existing workspaces from the file system where you can select one to open. You can also press Ctrl+O. | ||
Close - Workspace |
Closes the currently opened workspace. | |
Close - Diagram |
Closes the active diagram only. | |
Close - All Diagrams |
Closes all the opened diagrams. You are prompted to save the diagrams before they are closed. | |
Close - All Property Views |
Closes all the opened Property Views. | |
Save |
This saves everything in the Workspace. You can also press Ctrl+S. | |
Save As |
This saves everything in the Workspace into the same or a new directory. | |
Import - Comma Separated Values (CSV) |
You can import large amounts of Reference Objects data in the Comma Separated Value file format into ER/Studio Business Architect. | |
Import - From ER/Studio Data Architect |
Conceptual Objects Create New: Select this command to open a wizard where you can select data files to import from ER/Studio Data Architect. Update Existing: You can use this option to update an existing data source. All existing objects that match an object you have selected will be updated. External Data Objects Create New: Select this command to open a wizard where you can select data files to import from ER/Studio Data Architect. Update Existing: You can use this option to update an existing data source. All existing objects that match an object you have selected will be updated. | |
Import - Microsoft Visio Model |
Diagrams created in Microsoft Visio can be imported. | |
Import - Workspace |
You can import a compressed workspace. | |
Export - Workspace |
You can export a workspace and store it as a compressed file. | |
Export - Diagram |
You can export diagrams and save them in the following file formats: jpg, rtf, and pdf. | |
Export - Grid Editor |
You can export the Grid Editor in the four formats: csv, html, pdf, and rtf | |
Export |
You can export Conceptual Models and diagrams to ER/Studio. If you right-click on a Conceptual Model node ( | |
Opens the Print dialog. You can also press Ctrl+P. | ||
History |
A list of the most recently opened workspaces is displayed. You can set a preference that determines the number of entries that appear in this list. | |
Exit |
Exits the application. A Save Workspace dialog opens asking if you want to save the current workspace. |
Edit
The table below describes the functions available when you click the Edit command:
Menu Item | Icon | Description |
---|---|---|
Undo |
Standard undo functionality. | |
Redo |
Standard redo functionality. | |
Cut |
Moves a selected object to the clipboard and removes it from the diagram display. | |
Copy |
Copies selected items to the clipboard. | |
Paste |
Pastes the data from the clipboard into a diagram. | |
Delete |
Deletes an object from the Diagram View. The deleted object is not placed on the clipboard. | |
Select All |
Selects all objects in the Diagram View. | |
Select All of Selected Type |
All related types on a Diagram View are selected. For example, if you select a start event and your diagram contains start, intermediate and end events, all events are selected. | |
Opens a dialog where you can search for items by Name and Object Type in the opened diagram. The searched-for item is highlighted in the diagram. | ||
Opens a dialog for an advanced search of the metamodel. The results of the search appear in a separate Search Results View dialog. | ||
Opens the Property View dialog for the selected object. |
View
The table below describes the functions available when you click the View command:
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Toolbars |
Allows you to hide or view the following: Business Process Objects Toolbar, Conceptual Objects Toolbar, Reference Objects Toolbar, External Data Objects Toolbar, Drawing Shapes Toolbar, Repository Toolbar, Formatting Toolbars, and Layout and Alignment Toolbar. |
Enlarges the active diagram by a preset increment each time you select this option. You can also use the Fit to Page or Custom command. |
Repository
The table below describes the functions available when you click the Repository command:
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Log In |
Logs you into the Repository specified in Window > Preferences > Repository Options. Users must be defined in the Repository. For information on creating users, see the “Administrator’s Reference Guide” in the ER/Studio User Guide. |
Log Out |
Logs you out of the Repository. When you are not using Repository commands you should log out. |
Workspace |
Add Workspace: Copies the local open workspace to the Repository and changes the permissions of the open workspace to read-only. Get Workspace: Copies the latest version of a workspace in the Repository to local storage. Opens a dialog where you can browse through the Repository for the desired workspace. Get Latest Version: Updates the local copy of the workspace with the copy that is in the Repository. Check Out Workspace: Changes the permissions of the workspace to read-write and records in the Repository that this workspace has been exclusively checked out. Other users cannot check out the same workspace simultaneously. Undo Check Out Workspace: Makes the workspace available for other users to check out. Permissions of the local copy are changed to read-only. Check In Workspace: Updates the Repository version of the open Workspace and changes the permissions of the local copy to read-only. Delete Workspace: Deletes the open workspace from the Repository. The local copy of the workspace is not deleted. Check Out Object(s): Changes the permissions of the local copy of the selected object(s) to read-write and marks the Repository copy as exclusively checked out. Other users cannot check out the same object(s) simultaneously. Check In Object(s): Updates the Repository copy of the selected object with the local object content. You can check in Diagrams and Models using this command. |
Security |
Change Password: Allows the logged in user to change their Repository account password. Security Center: Allows the logged in user to change their Repository account password. |
Diagram
The table below describes the functions available when you click the Diagram command:
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
You can set the case format for all element labels. When you make a selection, all labels in the diagram conform to the new selection. You have three options: Lower: All text appears in lower case lettering, including the initial letter of each word on the label. Preserve: All text appears as it was entered in the label. Upper: All text appears in upper case lettering. | |
This pull-right menu contains three additional commands: Show Grid Lines: The grid lines appear in the Diagram View. Show Parent Objects as Transparent: When a parent object such as a pool or lane is placed on a diagram, the grid lines appear in the object, i.e. the object is transparent. Snap Objects to Grid: When an element is placed in the Diagram View, it automatically snaps to the nearest grid. When an element is moved, it also snaps to the nearest grid line. | |
Layout |
Select Curved, Elbowed, or Straight for all connections. The default selection is curved. |
Connections |
Select this command to display or hide the connections for all or individual objects in the diagram. The connections available on the pull-right menu depends on the type of diagram (either Business Process or Conceptual). |
Update Impact Analysis |
Instead of generating a new Impact Analysis diagram each time you add links or usages, you can refresh or update your existing diagram to show new connections. |
For more information, see Edit Diagrams.
Format
The table below describes the functions available when you click the Format command.
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Gives you access to all the align and size commands. These commands are also available on the Align Toolbar. | |
Group: Groups two or more selected elements into a single entity that can be moved around a diagram in a block. The Group command is available if two or more elements are selected. Once the items are grouped a bounding box appears around the grouped items. Ungroup: Removes the selected grouping. This command is available only if the element selected is in a group. | |
Order |
This command gives your access to two functions: Bring to Front and Send to Back. |
Tools
The table below describes the functions available when you click the Tools command.
Menu Item | Icon | Description |
---|---|---|
You can create new diagrams from existing model objects. | ||
Create Link... |
Opens the Create Link wizard. | |
Create Usage... |
Opens the Create Usage wizard. | |
Generate New Diagram: Creates a diagram that shows a graphical representation of created links or usages. You can also update this diagram. | ||
Show Diagram |
When a diagram is closed (i.e., not displayed in the Diagram View), you can select the Show Diagram in model view command to open the highlighted diagram. | |
Grid Editor... |
The Grid Editor is an spreadsheet-like display format that is an alternative to the Model View tree view. This is valuable for large objects or business-related objects, such as business rules. The Grid Editor can be printed or exported as a report. | |
Reports |
Impact Analysis: Opens an impact analysis property view of the selected object. Web Report: You can generate an HTML report on all diagrams in the opened workspace. |
Window
The table below describes the functions available when you click the Window command:
Menu Item | Description |
---|---|
Reset Perspective |
Reset the current perspective to the default settings. |
Show View |
The commands available are: Error Logging: Opens the Error Logging View. Help: Opens online help. Model: Opens the Model View Overview: Opens the Overview Window. Palette: Opens the Palette view in the Diagram View. Search Results: Opens the Search Results view to the right of the Diagram View area. |
Preferences... |
Opens the Preferences Editor dialog where you can change default settings. |
Help
The table below describes the functions available when you click the Help command:
Menu Item | Icon | Description |
---|---|---|
Help Contents |
Displays the main online help file. | |
Evaluation Guide |
Opens a tutorial which guides you through the initial creation of business process and conceptual models. | |
Check for Updates |
Opens the ER/Studio BA web site where you can download application updates. | |
Buy Now |
Opens the Embaracdero Technologies Product web site where you can purchase IDERA’s software. | |
Contact Support |
Opens the IDERA Contact Support web site. | |
Discussion Forums |
Opens the IDERA Discussion Forums web site where you can log on and participate in forums with other users. | |
Opens the IDERA License Manager dialog. | ||
Opens the About ER/Studio Business Architect dialog displaying the version and build identification for the current install. |
About ER/Studio Business Architect
The About dialog displays the version number, build identification number for your application, as well as a list of third-party software used in the product. Through this About dialog, you also have access to Feature Details, Plug-in Details, and Configuration Details.
Click Feature Details and a dialog opens displaying how ER/Studio BA is built internally. This is for informational purposes only.
Click Plug-in Details and a dialog opens displaying the following information on all the plug-ins in use:
- Provider
- Plug-in Name
- Version
- Plug-in ID
When you click Configuration Details a dialog opens displaying the following information:
- Platform Details
- System Properties
- Features
- Plug-in Registry
- User Preferences
- Current Install Configuration
- Configured Sites
- Configured Features
- Configured Plug-ins
You can copy and save this configuration information to a clipboard. Also, you can view the Eclipse error log in a separate window.