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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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How to configure automatic viewable components

To view diagrams and linked documents in WebEA, they must first be saved in an appropriate format. There are two ways to achieve this:

1) In Enterprise Architect, open the model which will be accessed via WebEA and enable these 'Data Cache' options:

  • Auto create Diagram Image and Image Map (each time a Diagram is saved)
  • Auto create HTML Page (each time a Linked Document is saved)

Refer to the WebEA Installation and Configuration topic for details.

And/Or...

2) Enable the Pro Cloud Server's 'EA Worker' for the model connection. The EA Worker is a custom version of Enterprise Architect which runs on the server and automatically generates WebEA viewable diagrams and linked documents when necessary.

Typically it is recommended to enable the 'Data Cache' options for all models which will be accessed via WebEA. Optionally you could also choose to run the EA Worker application. This Help topic covers the EA Worker in more detail.

Benefits of the EA Worker

The Data Cache options for saving diagrams and linked documents in WebEA format were introduced in Enterprise Architect 13.5 (Build 1350). If users will be updating your model using an earlier build of Enterprise Architect, then the diagrams and linked documents will not be saved/updated for viewing in WebEA. In this case you can (and should) run the EA Worker on your server to ensure that all updates are reflected in WebEA.

Enterprise Architect's option for saving diagram images ('Auto create Diagram Image and Image Map') saves the diagram image only when that diagram is modified directly within Enterprise Architect. However, in the case of the EA Worker, if you modify a diagram indirectly (e.g. you rename an element that appears on multiple diagrams), then the Worker will update/save the image for all the relevant diagrams. For this reason you might choose to enable the EA Worker, even when you know users will be modifying the model using a recent (post 13.5) version of Enterprise Architect.

Performance Considerations

A separate instance of the EA Worker application (EAWorker.exe) will be running on your server for each model that has the EA Worker enabled. For the best performance on your server, the EA Worker should only be enabled where it is necessary.

If you have multiple large/high traffic models that require the EA Worker then it might be necessary to host models in a separate Pro Cloud Server instance on a different server (reducing the number of EA Worker processes running on each).

How to run EA Worker

The EA Worker can be enabled either via the Configure Worker screen in Pro Cloud Server's Configuration Client or the WebConfig - Edit Model Connection page in WebConfig. Once the EA Worker has been enabled, the Worker process (EAWorker.exe) will be started the next time the Pro Cloud Server service is started (or restarted).

In early versions of PCS (prior to v4.1) the only way to run the EA Worker was with a Windows Batch/command line, using either a manually entered connection string or a connection string saved as a .EAP file. See the Manual EA Worker Configuration topic for details.

Using MDG Technologies with the EA Worker

If you make use of MDG Technologies in your model then the EA Worker might need access to them so that the generated diagrams appear as expected (e.g. making use of shape scripts).

There are two options for enabling an MDG Technology for the EA Worker:

1) Using Enterprise Architect, import the MDG Technology into the model. See the Import MDG Technologies to Modell Help topic for details.

2) Copy the MDG Technology file into the 'MDGTechnologies' folder within the PCS installation. E.g. "C:\Program Files (x86)\Sparx Systems\Pro Cloud Server\Service\Worker\MDGTechnologies". In this case the MDG Technlology will be enabled for all models which are using the EA Worker on this machine/server.

After either of these changes the 'Sparx Systems Professional Cloud' service should be restarted for the change to take effect.

Lifecycle of EA Worker

The EA Worker application is designed to connect to the specified model automatically when it starts; if there is a problem with the connection the application ends. If the connection string is valid and the EA Worker connects to the model it will run continually until the server is restarted or until the process is manually terminated.

EA Worker Troubleshooting

The EA Worker application runs as a background task, without any user interface. If you have issues with the EA Worker (e.g. diagram images are not being generated), then you can troubleshoot this by referring to the EA Worker logs as described below.

Steps

Details

See also

1

If you have not already, enable logging for the EA Worker. E.g. Set the Logging Level to 'System'.

 Configure Worker

2

On the server, check the Windows Task Manager ('Details' tab) and confirm that the EAWorker.exe process is running.

3

End the EAWorker.exe task/s. In some cases there could be multiple EAWorker.exe tasks running for a single model connection.

4

Restart the "Sparx Systems Professional Cloud" service.

5

Referring to the Task Manager, you should see that one or more EAWorker.exe tasks is started. There should be one for each Model Connection which has the EA Worker enabled.

6

Restarting the Service will have created a new log file on the server. The Worker log files can be found within the Pro Cloud Server's installation directory.

E.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Sparx Systems\Pro Cloud Server\Service\Worker\Logs

Find the log file that corresponds with the model having issues.

E.g. EAWorker-myModel-1.log

Open the log and check for errors. The error message itself might provide enough details to identify and resolve the issue. The error might also correspond to one of the error messages covered in the 'Pro Cloud Server Troubleshooting' Help topic.

 PCS Troubleshooting
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