[Enterprise Architect] #13. Project Browser and Focus Window

Table of Contents

Project Browser and Focus Window

In this post, we will learn about Project Browser and Focus Window, which are important components of Enterprise Architect (EA).

Project Browser and Focus Window : Browser

The Browser is an important tool used by EA to navigate and manage various elements of a project. It is generally located on the left side of the canvas and consists of four main tabs: Project, Context, Diagram, and Resources. We will cover Resources later when we have the opportunity, and will look into the Project, Context, and Diagram tabs.

This image shows the Project Browser and Focus Window tabs.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Project Tab

The Project Browser is a window that displays elements and packages within a model in a tree structure. It is designed to help you effectively review and manage the structure, content, and organization of your models. Key features include:

1. Review structure and content: You can easily view the structure and content of the model.

2. Drill down: You can view detailed information about a specific element.

3. Drag and Drop: Easily move elements and packages within your model.

4. Package Copy: You can clone the entire package.

5. Model information management: Includes import, export, version control, locking, and execution analysis.

6. Document Modeling: Documentation allows you to better understand your model.

7. External data integration: You can import code, XMI, CSV files, database schema, etc.

8. The Project Browser provides a variety of context menus to support tasks such as adding new packages, creating diagrams, renaming items, generating documents and other reports, and deleting model elements.

9. The item name can be edited directly by pressing F2.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Context Tab

The ‘Context’ tab in the Project Browser provides a simplified, focused view of model sections separated from the overall structure. This is very useful when reorganizing that section as it helps you focus on the area of the model you are working on and reduces the risk of dragging objects into the wrong area of the model. Key features include:

1. Specialized Focused View: Provides a simplified view of a specific model section isolated from the overall model. This increases your focus on the task and reduces the likelihood of errors.

2. Show selected object: Shows the selected object and its sub-objects in the ‘Global’ tab. The child objects of the child element are displayed, but the child packages are not.

3. Focus Shift: If the selected object is not the root node of the model, it includes the ability to move the focus to a higher level of the model.

4. Focus on parent: If the selected object has no children, it focuses on the parent.

5. Display properties and features of an object: When you click an object, Enterprise Architect navigates to that object and displays its properties and features in other open windows.

6. Change the object with focus: When you double-click an object with child objects, that object becomes the focus of the tab and appears at the top of the tab.

7. Access the context menu: Right-clicking on an object will display a context menu, similar to the ‘Global’ tab in the Project Browser.

8. Integration with Navigator Toolbar: The ‘Context’ tab works in conjunction with the Navigator toolbar and displays the entire hierarchical path of the highlighted object.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Diagram Tab

The Diagram tab is a simple list of all elements used in the currently open and focused diagram, including elements that are hidden or in packages that are not ancestors of the diagram. It also shows the relationships that arise or terminate in each element. Key features include:

1. Show Element List: Provides a brief list of all elements used in the currently open and focused diagram. This list also includes elements that are hidden or in packages that are not their parent in the diagram.

2. Relationship View: Shows the relationships that start or end with each element.

3. Support for diagram settings: Especially useful for setting the content of large diagrams.

4. Select and focus objects: When you select an object in the ‘Diagram’ tab, that object will be focused in the diagram itself and other windows and views.

5. Reveal details: Instantly expose many details about an object’s properties and location.

6. Show hierarchy: If an element in the diagram contains other elements, it shows its hierarchy.

7. Context Menu Options: Provides various context menu options for the selected element or connector. This includes the ‘Properties’ dialog, the docked Properties window, the Special Actions dialog, the ‘Use Element’ dialog, the Notes pane, the Quick Notes panel, and the linked document editor.

8. Filter Bar: There is a filter bar that can be used to refine the display to list specific elements. This can be shown and hidden by right-clicking on the ‘Diagram Item’ title and selecting the ‘Toggle Filter Bar’ option.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Menu Buttons

The Browser window is an interface that plays an important role in Enterprise Architect (EA) and contains buttons for quick access to various functions such as creating models, packages, and diagrams. Let’s take a look at the main features of the Browser window.

1. Change location button:

The Browser window has up/down arrow buttons to adjust the positions of elements. You can use this button to move elements on the browser up or down.
This function is useful for adjusting the hierarchical structure of elements within a project.

2. Hamburger Button:

The hamburger button provides several additional functions. These buttons allow you to create new elements or access menus that allow you to perform specific actions.

3. Documentation function:

The Documentation function is one of the particularly noteworthy features. In the browser, you can extract documents for all elements below a specific package.
This feature makes it easier to document specific parts of a project and improves the consistency and completeness of project documentation.

These features in the Browser window help EA users manage modeling projects more efficiently and perform necessary tasks quickly.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Focus Window

Focus Window provides Enterprise Architect (EA) with the ability to efficiently manage various tasks. This window has four main tabs: Model Views, Working Sets, Quick Find, and Revisit.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Model Views Tab

1. Model Views:

Users can use the Model Views tab to group desired diagrams for specific purposes.
You can create Search Folder, Favorites Folder, Slideshow View, etc. by right-clicking.
Search Folder: Collects searched diagrams in a folder in conjunction with the search function.
Favorites Folder: This is a folder where users can collect diagrams of interest by dragging and dropping them.
Slideshow: Provides a slideshow function that shows registered diagrams in order.

2. Recent:

The Recent function shows recently worked elements and is for quick access.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Working Sets Tab

1. Pre-register pages of special interest to users within the model and make them easily accessible.

2. You can efficiently manage frequently accessed or important model elements.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Quick Find Tab

1. Provides the ability to quickly find diagrams expressing elements containing specific keywords within the model.

2. Useful for quickly finding necessary information or elements in complex models.

Project Browser and Focus Window : Revisit Tab

1. Provides quick links to currently open diagrams, system windows, and recently opened and closed documents, windows, diagrams, and source files.

2. Improves work efficiency by enabling quick re-access to previously worked elements.

These features of Focus Window help EA users manage modeling projects more efficiently and quickly access necessary information.

Outro of Project Browser and Focus Window

In this post, we looked at the Project Browser and Focus Window, which are important tools for Enterprise Architect (EA). These features greatly assist EA users in efficiently managing various elements within the model and providing information tailored to the interests of stakeholders.

In the next post, we will learn about the Traceability window, Relation window, Navigation Cell, and Composition Diagram. These functions are important elements that help identify relationships, efficient navigation, and structural understanding during the modeling process. These features allow users to more easily manage complex modeling tasks and effectively understand various aspects of the model. Please show a lot of interest in the next post.

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] #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