Toolbars

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By using the application toolbars you can navigate the most commonly used functionality in ER/Studio Business Architect. You can also move and dock toolbars to further optimize your workspace. ER/Studio Business Architect has the following toolbars:

Toolbar Description

Business Process Objects Toolbar

Contains the notation elements used when creating business process models.

Conceptual Objects Toolbar

Contains the five notation elements used when creating conceptual models.

Reference Objects Toolbar

Contains the icons representing the four reference objects used in ER/Studio Business Architect.

External Data Objects Toolbar

Contains the available data object icons that represent different types of data.

Drawing Shapes Toolbar

Contains drawing shapes, text labels, lines and annotation elements.

Repository Toolbar

Commands used to interface with the ER/Studio Enterprise Repository, such as logging in and logging out of the Repository, and checking in and checking out workspaces and objects.

Formatting Toolbars

Commands used to format elements in the Diagram View.

Layout and Alignment Toolbar

Commands used to align and layout elements in the Diagram View.

Standard Toolbar

Contains the standard application tools such as saving, printing, and undo-redo.

Business Process Objects Toolbar

You can use the commands on this toolbar for placing business process elements in a diagram. These commands are also available on the Palette which is available when you create a new diagram or open an existing diagram.

You have the ability to show and hide this toolbar using the View main menu. By default, the Business Process Toolbar appears in the application once you have created a diagram. Do the following to hide this toolbar:

Note: Not all objects appear on the toolbar. A drop-down arrow appears to the right of the element icon, indicating that additional selections are available.
  1. On the main menu, click View > Toolbars.
  2. From the pull-right menu, select Business Process Objects. The toolbar is now hidden.

The table below lists each command, its representative icon, and a brief description of each command.

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Command Icon Description

Start Event

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Starts a process flow. In terms of Sequence Flow, the Start Event starts the flow of the Process, so it won’t have any incoming Sequence Flows. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to the Start Event trigger that indicates how the Process starts: Message, Timer, Rule, Link, or Multiple.

Intermediate Event

ICON INTERMEDIATE EVENT.PNG

This event happens during the course of a process event. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to the Intermediate Event trigger that indicates how the Process proceeds: Cancel, Compensation, Error, Link, Message, Rule, or Timer.

End Event

ICON END EVENT.PNG

This event ends a process flow. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to the End Event trigger that indicates how the Process ends: Cancel, Compensation, Error, Link, Message, or Terminate.

Task

ICON TASK.PNG

This is an activity that is performed within a business process. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional tasks: Loop Task, Parallel Multiple Instance Loop Task, and Sequential Multiple Instance Loop Task.

Embedded Sub-process

ICON EMBEDDED SUBPROCESS.PNG

An Embedded (or nested) Sub-process is an activity that contains other activities (a Process). The Process within the Process depends on the parent Process for instigation and has visibility to the parent’s global data. No mapping of data is required. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional Embedded Sub-processes: Embedded Sub-Process (Collapsed), Loop, Parallel Multiple Instance, Sequential Multiple Instance, Ad Hoc, Compensation, Transaction, and Event.

Reusable Sub-process

ICON INDEPENDENT SUBPROCESS.PNG

A Reusable (or independent) Sub-process is an activity within a Process that calls to another Process that exists within a business process definition diagram. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional Reusable Sub-processes: Loop, Parallel Multiple Instance, Sequential Multiple Instance, and Transaction.

Call Activity

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A Call Activity is an activity within a Process that calls to a global Process or Task. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional activities: Call Task, Call Sub-Process, and Call Process.

Gateway

ICON GATEWAY.PNG

This symbol displays decisions, merges, forks and joins in the process flow. They control how Sequence Flows interact as they converge and diverge within a process. You can set the Gateway Control Types of a gateway and change the logic specified by it. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional gateways: Complex, Data-Based, Event-Based, Inclusive, and Parallel.

Choreography

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Allows you to indicate tasks that include multiple participants in order to complete that task. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional Choreographies: Call Choreography, Sub Choreography, and Call Sub Choreography.

Initiating/Non-Initiating Message

ICON INITIATING MESSAGE.png

Used in Choreography, Messages are communications between two Participants transmitted through a Message Flow. The first contact in a conversation is the Initiating Message while replies are considered Non-Initiating Messages.

Conversation

ICON CONVERSATION.png

Conversations can be thought of as an informal description of a Collaboration diagram in that it provides an overview of which entities interact on which tasks. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional Conversations: Call Conversation, Sub Conversation, Call Sub Conversation, and Conversation Link.

Sequence Flow

ICON SEQUENCE FLOW.PNG

A Sequence Flow shows the sequence of processes in an organization. You can use the sequence flow lines to connect events, tasks, activities, and gateways in pools or lanes. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional Sequence Flows: Conditional, Default, and Exception.

Message Flow

ICON MESSAGE FLOW.PNG

Shows the order of processes between organizations (i.e. between pools).

Association

ICON ASSOCIATION.PNG

An Association is used to associate information and artifacts with events and activities. Click the drop-down to gain access to additional Associations: Association from Target, Association to Target, and Association to/from Target.

Pool (Horizontal)

ICON POOL HORIZONTAL.PNG

This pool is drawn as a rectangular region placed horizontally and a lane is a subpartition within a pool and extends the entire length of the pool. A pool represents an organization, function, application, class, or an entity.   When you place a process in a pool or lane you specify who is doing what. If you place an event in a pool or lane you specify where that event occurs. When you place a gateway in a pool or lane you specify where a decision is made or who makes it.

Data Object

ICON DATA OBJECT.PNG

Data objects provide information about how documents, data, and other objects are used and updated in a Process. They represent data so are defined by a combination of entities or classes.

Pool (Vertical)

ICON POOL VERTICAL.PNG

This pool is drawn as a rectangular region placed vertically and a lane is a subpartition within a pool and extends the entire length of the pool. A pool represents an organization, function, application, class, or an entity.   When you place a process in a pool or lane you specify who is doing what. If you place an event in a pool or lane you specify where that event occurs. When you place a gateway in a pool or lane, you specify where a decision is made or who makes it.

Lane

ICON LANE.PNG

A lane is a subpartition within a Pool and extends the entire length of the pool, either vertically or horizontally. Lanes are used to organize and categorize activities.

Nested Lane

ICON NESTED LANE.PNG

Lanes can be nested within lanes.

Group

ICON GROUP.PNG

Use the Group symbol to visually organize activities.

Annotation

ICON ANNOTATION.PNG

Textual annotation allows you to provide additional facts and details about an element.

Off-Page Connector

ICON OFF PAGE CONNECTOR.PNG

This is a graphical object that you can use to indicate to the reader of the diagram to move to the next page.

Conceptual Objects Toolbar

The table below describes the available shapes. Not all objects appear on the toolbar. A drop-down arrow appears to the right of the element icon, indicating that additional selections are available.

TB CONCEPTUAL DATA.PNG

Element Toolbar Icon Description

Subject Area

ICON SUBJECT AREA.JPG

A subject area can be a model object or a grouping mechanism containing business entities. Examples of a subject area are a Customer Relationship Management system, or a Point of Sale system.

Business Entity

ICON BUSINESS ENTITY.PNG

Elements of a business or organization containing other business entities or elements. Examples of an entity would a customer or a product.

Business Attribute

ICON BUSINESS ATTRIBUTE.PNG

A business attribute is the property of a business entity. Examples of attributes would be a customer address or an employee identification number.

Interaction

ICON SEQUENCE FLOW.PNG

This is the relationship between two elements representing an action, process, or transaction.

Relationship

ICON ASSOCIATION.PNG

Displays relationships between two objects representing a loose coupling. The relationships are between two like object types. Click the drop-down arrow to gain access to additional relationships types: many-to-many, many-to-one, and one-to-many.

Group

ICON GROUP.PNG

Use the Group symbol to visually organize activities.

External Data Objects Toolbar

The table below describes the objects available on this toolbar.

TB EXTERNAL DATA OBJECTS.PNG

Element Toolbar Icon Description

Entity

ICON ENTITY.PNG

Distinguishable objects that can be represented in a database

Table

ICON TABLE.PNG

A set of data in a database.

Data Store

ICON DATA STORE.PNG

A data store is a repository for data.

Data Feed

ICON DATA FEED.PNG

A shell for data containment.

Report

ICON REPORT.PNG

This is a text file.

Flat File

ICON FLAT FILE.PNG

A flat file is a file containing records, one record per line. Fields may have a fixed width with padding, or delimited by white space or tabs or commas (CSV) or other characters. There are no structural relationships.

Drawing Shapes Toolbar

Drawing Shapes are used to provide additional information about the Process. There are nine drawing shapes, a text label, a line, and an annotation. The table below displays the available shapes.

TB DRAWING SHAPES.PNG

Element Toolbar Icon Description

Rectangle

ICON BOX.PNG

Rectangle is drawn as a box with 90 degree angles. Can be resized.

Rounded Rectangle

ICON ROUNDED BOX.PNG

Rectangle drawn with rounded corners.

Circle

ICON CIRCLE.PNG

Drawn as 360 degree circle. Can be resized to an oval.

Triangle

ICON TRIANGLE.PNG

Drawn as a standard isosceles triangle.

Diamond

ICON DIAMOND.PNG

Standard diamond shape.

Pentagon

ICON PENTAGON.PNG

Standard five-sided pentagon.

Hexagon

ICON HEXAGON.PNG

Standard six-sided hexagon.

Octagon

ICON OCTAGON.PNG

Standard eight-sided octagon.

Cylinder

ICON CYLINDER.PNG

Standard cylinder.

Text Label

ICON TEXT LABEL.PNG

A text label is a non-BPMN object that is pure text, without a tail or bracket. You can add borders to the label, and change the color and width of those borders.

Line

ICON LINE.PNG

A line can be used between two drawing shape objects. The line is automatically elbowed.

Annotation

ICON ANNOTATION.PNG

Textual annotation allows you to provide additional facts and details about a shape.

Repository Toolbar

You can use the commands on the Repository toolbar to log in and out of the Repository, and check in and out workspaces, diagrams, and objects. The table below lists each command and its representative icon, and provides a brief description of each command.

ICON Repo Toolbar.gif

Note: The commands on the Repository toolbar will be unavailable until you log in to the Repository.
Element Toolbar Icon Description

Log In

ICON Repo LogIn.gif

Logs you into the Repository specified in Window > Preferences > Repository. 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

ICON Repo LogOut.gif

Logs you out of the Repository. When you are not using Repository commands you should log out.

Add Workspace

  ICON Repo AddWorkspace.gif

Copies the local open workspace to the Repository and changes the permissions of the open workspace to read-only.

Get Workspace

ICON Repo GetWorkspace.gif

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

ICON Repo GetLatestVersion.gif

Updates the local copy of the workspace with the copy that is in the Repository.

Check Out Workspace

ICON Repo CheckOutWorkspace.gif

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