Menus

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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

File

Create, open, save, and close the current workspace, its models, projects, and diagrams. You can also export/import from this menu.

Edit

You can access functionality for undo, redo, cutting, copying, pasting, deleting, and selecting all. You can also access the Find and Search functionality.

View

Gives you access to the toolbars, and zoom levels in a view.

Repository

Gives you access to Repository operations such as log in and out, and check in and out workspaces and objects.

Diagram

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.

Format

You can use these commands in a diagram to group objects, align objects, or reorder the layers of objects.

Tools

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.

Window

Reset perspectives, Show Views, or Preferences.

Help

You can open ER/Studio Business Architect online documentation, view the licensing information, open the Evaluation Guide, contact support, and open the About dialog.

File

The table below describes the functions available when you click the File command:

Menu Item Icon Description

New - Workspace

ICON WORKSPACE.png

Opens the New Workspace dialog where you can create a new workspace, new project, new model, and new diagram.

New - Project

ICON PROJECT.PNG

Opens the New Project diagram. You can enter a description of the new project and select where to create the project.

New - Model

ICON MODEL.png

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.

Open Workspace

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

ICON SAVE.PNG

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

ICON VISIO.png

Diagrams created in Microsoft Visio can be imported.

Import - Workspace

ICON WORKSPACE.png

You can import a compressed workspace.

Export - Workspace

ICON WORKSPACE.png

You can export a workspace and store it as a compressed file.

Export - Diagram

ICON DIAGRAM.PNG

You can export diagrams and save them in the following file formats: jpg, rtf, and pdf.

Export - Grid Editor

ICON GRID EDITOR.png

You can export the Grid Editor in the four formats: csv, html, pdf, and rtf

Export

ICON ERSTUDIO.png

You can export Conceptual Models and diagrams to ER/Studio.   If you right-click on a Conceptual Model node (ICON CONCEPTUAL MODEL.PNG), the command is Export>Model to ERStudio Data Architect. All elements are included in the export dialog.   If you right-click on a Conceptual Model diagram node (ICON CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAM.PNG), the command is Export Diagram to ER/Studio Data Architect. Only the elements on the selected diagram are available for export.

Print

ICON PRINTER.PNG

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

ICON GENERAL UNDO.PNG

Standard undo functionality.

Redo

ICON GENERAL REDO.PNG

Standard redo functionality.

Cut

ICON GENERAL CUT.PNG

Moves a selected object to the clipboard and removes it from the diagram display.

Copy

ICON GENERAL COPY.PNG

Copies selected items to the clipboard.

Paste

ICON GENERAL PASTE.PNG

Pastes the data from the clipboard into a diagram.

Delete

ICON TASK DELETE.PNG

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.

Find in Diagram

ICON FIND.PNG

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.

Search

ICON SEARCH1.PNG

Opens a dialog for an advanced search of the metamodel. The results of the search appear in a separate Search Results View dialog.

Properties

ICON PROPERTIES.PNG

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.

Zoom Level

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

Case Shift

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.

Grid

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

Align Objects

Gives you access to all the align and size commands. These commands are also available on the Align Toolbar.

Grouping

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

Create Diagram from Selected Elements...

You can create new diagrams from existing model objects.

Create Link...

ICON LINK ON MENU.png

Opens the Create Link wizard.

Create Usage...

ICON USAGE LINK.PNG

Opens the Create Usage wizard.

Impact Analysis Diagram

ICON IMPACT ANALYSIS DIAGRAM.PNG

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...

ICON GRID EDITOR.png

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

ICON WEB REPORT.PNG

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

ICON HELP.png

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

ICON CONTACT SUPPORT.png

Opens the IDERA Contact Support web site.

Discussion Forums

ICON DISCUSSION FORUMS.PNG

Opens the IDERA Discussion Forums web site where you can log on and participate in forums with other users.

IDERA License Manager

ICON LICENSE MANAGER.PNG

Opens the IDERA License Manager dialog.

About ER/Studio Business Architect

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.