Element Panel

Element Type

Click on the drop-down arrow to display a range of options for filtering the type of element created when you select to add a new element using the Specification Manager Add New button (not the drop-down arrow):

• <Any> - when selected, and when you click on the Add New button, the 'New Element' dialog displays from which you select the type of element to create
• Other - displays the full list of work sets from which you select a specific element to add to the list in the <element types> section of the drop-down
• <element types> - a list of element types that you have selected to create, using the 'Other' option; click on one of these, and every time you click on the Add New button an element of that type is created, until you specifically select a different type
• Clear Recent Items - clears the <element types> list; a prompt displays to confirm the operation, as it can be a lengthy job to reconstruct the list of selected element types
  Note that if you have a specific element type selected, that type is not cleared from the list; selecting the <Any> option allows you to clear the final element type from the list
• Use Last Created Type - sets the type of element created to the type of the last-created element
• Limit Display to Selected Type - filters the Specification Manager display to only show elements of the selected type

Insert

Click on the drop-down arrow to display a short menu of options for adding elements:

• Add Default - add a new element of the default element type, which is the currently-selected type of those set using the 'Element Type > Other' option
  Alternatively, if no element type is selected, the 'New Element' dialog displays; use this to create an element, the type of which becomes the default type
• Add Child - add a new element as a child of the currently selected element; if a default element type has been specified, an element of that type is created, otherwise the 'New Element' dialog is displayed, prompting you to choose a type
• Repeat Previous - repeat the previous element insertion action, creating a new element of the same type, as a sibling to the previously inserted element
• Show Toolbox - open and display the Diagram Toolbox showing the Common, Artifact and other 'pinned' pages, or switch focus to the currently opened Toolbox; you can drag element icons from the Toobox to create elements in the Specification Manager, switching to other Toolbox pages if necessary
• Add Other - display the 'New Element' dialog, prompting you to choose an element type and create an element of that type
• Add Multiple Elements - display the 'Create Multiple Elements' dialog, through which you can add several elements to the Specification Manager in one operation

Documentation

Clicking on the drop-down arrow displays a list of commands for generating documentation and reports based on the current Package, in a range of different formats. Also available is a facility for spell-checking the notes of elements belonging to the current Package.

• Generate Documentation (RTF/PDF/DOCX) - displays the 'Generate Document' dialog, where you can specify a range of parameters and options that control generation of a report document; you can select document templates that control which elements are included in the report, choose from a range of cover pages and style sheets, and specify the file output path and file format
• Publish as HTML - displays the 'Publish as HTML' dialog, from which you can create a report on the current Package for display as a web page; the dialog allows you to specify a range of parameters and options to control the report generation, such as style templates, diagram themes, image formats and the output file path name
• Publish as Joomla! Article - opens the 'Publish as Joomla! Article' dialog; use this dialog to specify connection details for the Joomla! database, the content template and diagram theme to use, as well as which element information to include, then initiate the generation
• CSV Import/Export - opens the 'CSV Import/Export' dialog from which you can import and export element data from Enterprise Architect, using CSV files for exchange with spreadsheet tools; the 'CSV Import/Export' dialog allows you to define file specifications that control which element properties are exported and imported, as well as specifying the actual file to use for the export or import
• QA Reports and Metrics - open the QA Reports window, which provides a number of pages, each of which provides facilities for reporting on a particular aspect of the elements in the current Package, namely Testing, Maintenance, Dependency Details, Implementation Details and Use Case Metrics; each page provides a particular set of parameters and options to control that type of report generation
• Spell Check Current Package - display the 'Spell Check' dialog, which is used to run the spell checker to review the notes of all elements within the current Package

Edit Notes

Click on this button to begin editing the element's Notes. If the Notes are hidden, or displayed in Preview mode, the Notes window will be used for editing, otherwise the Notes field or column within the Specification Manager will be used. With the element selected, the Space bar can be used as a keyboard shortcut to begin editing.

Edit Selection

Click on this button to begin editing the current element's name. With the element selected, the Enter key can be used as a keyboard shortcut to begin editing.

Apply Auto Naming

Display the dialog 'Apply Auto Naming to Elements'. If you have set up auto-naming conventions for the names and/or Aliases of specific types of elements, you can apply those naming conventions to all of the elements of those types in the currently selected Package, in one operation. The dialog groups by type those elements that have defined auto-naming conventions, and shows the effects of applying the conventions to the element names and/or Aliases. You can update the names of all the elements in the Package, or select only certain elements to update. The facility for configuring auto-naming conventions can be accessed via this dialog.

Move Up

Click on this button to move the selected element up in the Specification Manager list. The element's position is also reflected in the Browser window.

Move Down

Click on this button to move the selected element down one place in the Specification Manager list. The element's position is also reflected in the Browser window.