Include specific diagram types

[Heather Wallace]

We produce a number of different documents from the same architecture. A particular element may have one type of diagram that is only needed for a higher level architecture document, and another that is an elaboration not relevant until the document showing the next level of design. Currently I have to manually switch off each diagram of the wrong type in the preview window, and have to manually set the diagram order under each element in Enterprise Architect. If authors add additional diagrams after the template is set up they may be included in error.

It would be much more usable and less error-prone if the inline element profile specification could include a choice of diagram types (including stereotypes), rather than a simple “diagrams” attribute. (It will be our problem to make sure the architects always use the correct diagram type!).

Is this on the roadmap?

A simpler solution might be to allow a global exclusion of a diagram type/stereotype from the template. We will be using custom diagram types specific to the level of the architecture, so this would also enable us to achieve our required outputs.

[eadocX Support]

Good suggestion.
It’s not currently on the roadmap, just because nobody has asked for it – until now!
The trick will be to implement it in such a way that all existing documents continue to work the same – not too hard – but also that we don’t clutter-up the UI with yet more options which most users won’t want.
Hence I like the idea of a global exclude/include rule, which could be kept away from the main UI.
So if we were to introduce a simple document-level setting, which either
– included ONLY documents of a specified type+stereotype, or
– excluded all documents of a type+stereotype, would this be sufficient ? It would fit under Options & Settings, Diagram?
I’d make it so that you could put multiple types & stereotypes in either.

[Heather Wallace]

That sounds like it would work well for us. I suspect we would use the exclude more often than the include. I’ve not used element reports before, but am intending to incorporate them next time round rather than pasting together multiple documents into one deliverable. The excluded documents may need to be different for the embedded element reports. Would the global setting for the main document be overriden in the included element reports (which would each have their own global setting)?

Heather

[eadocX Support]

I’m imagining that the exclude/include rule would apply per document, whether the diagram is being printed as part of the regular, package-base section, or as part of an ELement Report, or any other reason.
I’d just get the generator to do a quick check before it prints the diagram, just to minimise the scope of the change.

[Author]

Posts