Explanation the basic functions required from the Basic Menu of EA
In this post, I explained the basic functions required when modeling with SysML among the basic menus.
Enterprise Architect (EA) provides various ribbon menus at the top of the screen to allow users to easily access EA’s functions. Each ribbon focuses on a specific task, and commands within the ribbon are grouped into panels based on their function.
This post is based on the User Guide provided by EA, and I would like to additionally add my opinions on functions frequently used when modeling using SysML.
File ManageMent Menu
File Management Menu: In relation to project file management, we will explain some special menus that are particularly noteworthy. These menus provide functions beyond opening, saving, and printing project files, helping you manage modeling work more efficiently and systematically.
| Option | Action | Shortcut Key |
|---|---|---|
| Reload Project | Reload current project | Ctrl+Shift+F11 |
| Close project | Close current project | Ctrl+W |
| Save as Shortcut | Create a desktop shortcut for the current project | |
| Print to PDF | Save current diagram as PDF file | |
| Recent Models | Open by selecting from a list of recently opened projects | |
| Pinned Models | Open by selecting from a list of pinned projects | |
| Search | Open a dialog box by searching the name of an action or command | |
| Exit | Exit Enterprise Architect |
For reference, if you want to register a specific model in Pinned Models above, right-click on the model under Recent on the Start Page and click Pin Connection in the menu that appears.
Search Item
Item Search: You can quickly find the function you need through the two Quick Search functions provided by EA (Eclipse Architecture).
1. “Find Command…” function: This function is located at the far right of the menu tab sequence at the top of the screen. ‘Find Command…’ allows you to search for various functions within EA by name, allowing you to quickly access the desired function.
2. Button at the left end of the menu tab sequence: This button contains file management options, and there is a ‘Search’ button at the bottom of the dialog box that appears when you click it. This ‘Search’ button allows you to easily find a specific function or menu item.
This Quick Search feature helps you quickly find various functions and commands while using EA.
Other Basic Features
1. Edit Document Ribbon:
- Some ribbons are only activated when you perform certain tasks. For example, the ‘Edit Document’ ribbon is only active when viewing or editing a document. This context-based ribbon gives users faster, more intuitive access to the features they need.
2. Access menu via keyboard:
- Pressing Alt will display the letter code for each ribbon. Clicking this letter activates the corresponding ribbon, allowing you to quickly access the menu without a mouse.
3. Customize the Ribbon:
- Ribbon customization is a useful tool that allows Enterprise Architect (EA) users to customize their work environment. This feature allows users to hide panels containing specific options contained in the ribbon, or hide the entire ribbon. Here’s how to set up a custom ribbon:
- Open the ‘Workspace Layout’ dialog box: Follow the path ‘Start > All Windows > Workspace > Workspace Tools > My Ribbon Sets’ and open the ‘Workspace Layout’ dialog box.
- Select the ‘My Ribbon Sets’ tab: This tab allows users to create ribbon sets to customize the ribbon display.
- Create and Edit Ribbon Sets: Create a new ribbon set and define which ribbons and panels you want to show or hide in that ribbon set. You can also re-enable hidden ribbons and panels by editing this ribbon set.
- Default Ribbon Sets: The ‘My Ribbon Sets’ tab also provides options to define a default ribbon that will automatically display when EA is opened in a work session.
- Open the ‘Workspace Layout’ dialog box: Follow the path ‘Start > All Windows > Workspace > Workspace Tools > My Ribbon Sets’ and open the ‘Workspace Layout’ dialog box.
4. Hide the ribbon and ribbon text:
- When you right-click on the menu bar, the ‘Minimize the Ribbon’ and ‘Minimal Text Mode’ buttons appear. You can use these buttons to hide the ribbon and ribbon text, freeing up more work space.
Explanation of Explore panel
The Explore panel is one of the important features accessible from any ribbon in Enterprise Architect (EA). This panel contains two main menus, ‘Search’ and ‘Portals’, which help you perform various tasks more efficiently.
1. Search menu: The Search menu is an important tool for efficient element navigation in Enterprise Architect (EA). This menu allows you to easily search and navigate various elements within a project by launching a ‘Find in Project’ tab in the task pane.
| Function | Description | Shortcut Key |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Search for specific elements within the model project and display them in “Find in Project” | Ctrl+Alt+A |
| File Search | Search for source files with specific characteristics and display them in “Find in Project” | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+F |
| Recent Diagrams | Search for recently modified (active) diagrams and display them in “Find in Project” | Default setting: 3 days old |
| Recent Elements | Find and display recently modified (active) elements in “Find in Project” | Default setting: 3 days ago |
| Recent Tasks | Search for active tasks (in progress) and display them in “Find in Project” | – |
| Diagram | Search for diagrams with a specific name or type and display them in “Find in Project” | – |
| Package | Search for packages with a specific name or type and display them in “Find in Project” | – |
| Find Diagram | Use the ‘Selection Classifier’ dialog box to find and select a specific diagram | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+D |
| Find Packages | Use the ‘Find Packages’ dialog to find and select a specific package | Ctrl+Shift+Alt+P |
2. Portals menu: The Portals menu is an important feature designed to improve the user experience of Enterprise Architect (EA) and provide quick and convenient access to various functions. Depending on your personal preferences, a Portals tab will appear on the right or left side of your screen, giving you easy access to many of EA’s features. Highlights of the Portals menu include:
| Portal/Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Workspaces | Provides links to system-provided workspaces that you can use to organize your Enterprise Architect workspace. You can also access workspaces you create yourself. |
| Recent Places | Provides links to recently viewed diagrams, documents, and files. |
| Perspectives | – Provides a range of model patterns that allow you to create model patterns for specific work areas. – These patterns are grouped within Perspectives and can be selected through the Start Page ‘Create from Pattern’ tab (Model Wizard). |
| Windows | Provides links to Enterprise Architect windows and displays that you use to develop models and create and manage objects within them. |
| Extend | Lists the MDG Technologies enabled in the current model and provides links to features related to each MDG technology. |
| Execute | – Provides a variety of options to help you perform Execution Analysis on models and build and run Analyzer scripts. – You can open and set up the Record & Analyze, Profiler, Debugger and/or Testpoints dialogs to monitor model application execution. – You can set up and run application execution simulations, access various windows that display specific aspects of the application being debugged, and even set up and edit debug progress and application execution recordings. – Code generation and editing from models are also supported. |
| Guidebook | – Provides links to the Enterprise Architect user guide library, available in PDF format. – The portal initially displays 10 document categories, and the list of PDF documents in each category can be expanded. |
| Learning | – Provides links to the web version or locally installed help of the Enterprise Architect User Guide. – It also provides links to useful web pages, such as the Resources, Tutorials, Webinars, and Video Demos pages on the Sparx Systems website. |
| Show Toolbar | – Shows a list of floating toolbars, which can also be docked to the toolbar ribbon above the work area. – The currently active toolbar is visible, click on the undisplayed toolbar name to show the hidden toolbar, or click on the visible toolbar name to hide the already displayed toolbar. |
Outro
In this post, we looked at the main menus in Enterprise Architect (EA)’s File Management and Explore Panel. We learned how to manage project files through File Management and how to quickly and efficiently access various functions using Explore Panel.
In the next post, we will go into more detail about the menus on EA’s Start ribbon. The Start ribbon provides the basic functions needed to start using EA and is an important starting point for effective modeling work. In the next post, I will briefly introduce these features and explain how they can be used. Please look forward to!
If you are interested in other articles about the basic usage of Enterprise Architect, please refer to the links below!
[Enterprise Architect] #15. Export Documents and HTML of EA
[Enterprise Architect] #14. Trace and Navigation, Relation, composition
[Enterprise Architect] #13. Project Browser and Focus Window
[Enterprise Architect] #12. Useful functions creating diagrams with EA
[Enterprise Architect] #11. Diagram Filters and Layers of EA
[Enterprise Architect] #10. Diagram views of EA
[Enterprise Architect] #9. EA diagram practice
[Enterprise Architect] #8. EA basic usage
[Enterprise Architect] #7. EA Modeling Component
[Enterprise Architect] #6. Publish Ribbon of EA
[Enterprise Architect] #5. Layout Ribbon of EA
[Enterprise Architect] #4. Design Ribbon of EA