Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.
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Element Discussions
Using the 'Element Discussions' tab of the dockable Discussions window, you can select an individual element and develop a discussion or review that is directly associated with that element. This makes it easy to locate, view and contribute to a discussion, or more than one discussion, on the selected element.
You can review and participate in discussions on different elements simply by clicking on each element in turn; the Discussions window immediately switches to the discussion of the new selected element.
As a discussion develops, the number of responses is shown next to the original Document, in brackets; therefore you can see when a discussion has a new reply without having to expand and work through the thread. You can also set a status of 'Awaiting Review' or 'Closed' on a discussion, indicated by an icon against the posting. This helps you to resolve and close off points raised in the discussion, so that they do not continue indefinitely. You can also delete the whole posting or specific replies, to balance retaining discussion history with removing irrelevant information.
A further facility of the Discussions window is the 'Model Chat' tab and text box, which you can use to follow and participate in quick conversations on a point of interest, not necessarily connected with the selected element. This facility is described separately, in the Model Chat Help topic.
Access
Select an element, then open the Discussions window using one of these methods:
Ribbon |
Start > Today > Discussion > Discuss > Element Discussions Construct > Project > Discussion > Discuss Element > Element Discussions Specification - Specify > Element > Discuss > Element Discussions |
Operations in Element Discussions
Operation |
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Create a discussion |
The window displays the message Create new Discussion. Double-click on this message and type your posting as continuous text (no carriage returns). The text automatically wraps at the border of the Discussions window. You can also paste copied text from the clipboard into the discussion item, by pressing . If you do need to break your text into paragraphs, press at the point at which to break the text. When you have finished typing, click off the text or press the .
You can also right-click on the window and select the 'Create New Discussion' menu option. All new discussions are added underneath existing discussion threads. |
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Add a response |
Double-click on the 'Post Reply' message and type your response as continuous text. When you have finished typing, click off the text or press the .
You can also right-click on a post and select the 'Post Reply' menu option. All new discussions are added underneath existing discussion threads. |
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Edit postings |
Once a discussion or reply has been posted (you have clicked off the message body or pressed the ) you cannot edit it. However, until you have posted the message you can move the cursor anywhere in the message body and add or delete text. As you type, the editor automatically checks the spelling and underlines possible spelling errors in red. You can backspace or move the cursor to the errors to correct them, as long as you do not post the message. |
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Copy Discussion Text |
If you want to re-use the text of a discussion item, you can copy the whole message to the clipboard by pressing , either before you save it or after you have posted it. You can then paste the text into a new discussion item or into another document in Enterprise Architect. |
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Set discussion status |
The icon against a new discussion indicates that the discussion has the status of 'Open'. To change the status, right-click on the discussion item and select either:
If the discussion already has one of these statuses, you can also select the 'Open' option to return the discussion to 'Open' status. The status settings are simply labels - they do not have an impact on posting replies, deleting replies or deleting the discussion. |
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Delete a discussion or reply |
Right-click on the original discussion or a reply, and select the 'Delete Selected' menu option. A prompt displays to confirm the deletion. Click on the . If you delete a discussion, all replies associated with that discussion will be deleted as well. If you delete a reply in a thread, the count of replies against the original posting is decremented. |
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Review Discussion History |
Either:
This displays a table of all existing discussion items on elements. You can:
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Customizing the Search View |
Notes
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