The Browser Window

The Browser window displays your model objects and features in a number of arrangements, reflecting the content and structure of your model. The Browser window is the primary mechanism for browsing and exploring your model and is the jumping off point for many of the most important features in Enterprise Architect. You can use it to navigate through the Enterprise Architect project space and:

Review the structure, content and organization of your model
Drill down to and into specific elements
Drag and drop elements and Packages within the model
Copy (duplicate) whole Packages
Import/export model information
Set up Version Control, locking, execution analysis and many other aspects of the model tied to a particular Package
Document models
Import code, xmi and csv files, database schema and other external data sources

The Browser window provides a range of context menus through which you can perform additional actions such as adding new Packages, creating diagrams, renaming items and deleting model elements.

The full model structure is represented in the 'Project' tab of the Browser window, which is the default display.

You can also select a View, Package, diagram or element at any level and focus the display on just the portion of the structure underneath that object, in these tabs:

Context (see the Browser - Context Help topic)
Diagram (see the Browser - Diagram Help topic)

The 'Resources' tab enables you to select and apply structures from a repository of project-standard and re-usable document generation templates, MDG Technologies, Relationship Matrix profiles, commonly-used model elements, stylesheets, UML Profiles and Patterns. See the Browser - Resources Help topic.

If it is inconvenient to have all Browser window tabs shown in the window, you can temporarily hide and re-display one or more of the tabs. See the Hide and Show Browser Tabs Help topic.

On the 'Project' and 'Context' tabs, you can also add 'Favorite' folders to present just your selection of Packages to work on. See the Refine Browser Content Help topic.

Access

Ribbon

Start > All Windows > Design > Explore > Browse

Explore > Portals > Windows > Explore > Project Browser

Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl+1

Alt+1 | Browser

Views

The 'Project' tab of the Browser window can be divided into Views, each of which contains diagrams, Packages and other elements. A default View hierarchy is described here, but you can create different Views to suit your requirements.

View	Description
Use Case View	The functional and early analysis View, containing Business Process and Use Case models.
Dynamic View	The dynamics of your system, containing State Charts, Activity and Interaction diagrams.
Logical View	The Class Model and Domain Model View.
Component View	A View for your system components. The high level view of what software is to be built (such as executables, DLLs and components).
Deployment View	The physical model; what hardware is to be deployed and what software is to run on it.
Custom View	A work area for other Views, such as formal requirements, recycle bin, interview notes and non-functional requirements.

Selective Collapse to the Parent Element or Package

When you are working on an expanded project in the 'Project' tab (or a large segment in the 'Context' tab) you might want to locate the parent element or Package of an item, and/or collapse the structure under that parent element or Package.

Step	Action	See also
1	Position the cursor on an item within the element or Package.
2	Press the left-arrow key on the keyboard to highlight the parent.
3	Press the same key again to collapse the structure under that parent element or Package. If you keep repeating this sequence, you locate and collapse the parent nodes further and further up the hierarchy to, ultimately, the root node.

Step

Action

Adding Elements from the Diagram Toolbox

When you have a structure in the Browser window, you can add elements to it by picking them up from the Diagram Toolbox and dropping them onto the parent element or Package. To do this, you:

Click on the element icon in the Diagram Toolbox, then click on the parent Package or element in the Browser window to select it, and click again to drop the element under the parent

You cannot add objects that must display in a diagram such as Note elements, Text elements, connectors or Boundaries.

If an element is of a type that cannot be added as a child of the object in the Browser window, an error message displays.

Changing Names

If you decide to change the name of a Package, diagram or element on the 'Project' tab, you can simply click on it and press F2. This makes the name editable, and you can quickly overtype it.

Mouse-click Actions

There are various methods of performing actions on the contents of the Browser window, through Toolbar options, context menu options and pressing keyboard keys. These are discussed in the topics and tables describing those actions. This table identifies the results of simply clicking the mouse buttons on an object, and the variation in results caused by pressing Ctrl as you click.

Mouse Action	Effect	See also
Single-click, Left button	If you: Single-click the mouse button on the expansion arrow to the left of an object, it expands or collapses the structure of that object Single click the mouse button on the object name, it highlights that object and makes it the focus or all relevant windows that are currently open (such as the Properties window and the Specification Manager); for a diagram, this means the diagram opens Note that diagrammatic elements, such as Notes and Text, become the focus in several property displays but not in the Specification Manager
Single-click, Right button	If you right-click on an object, the object becomes the focus of all relevant windows that are open, and the appropriate context menu displays for the object type.	Browser Window Context Menus
Double-click, Left button	If you: Double-click on an object, the object becomes the focus of all relevant windows that are currently open, and the appropriate context menu displays for the object type; if the object has child objects, the hierarchy is expanded to show them Press Ctrl and double-click on an object, the object becomes the focus of all relevant windows that are open, and the 'Properties' dialog displays for that object
Double-click, Right button	If you double-click the right mouse button on an object, the object becomes the focus of all relevant windows that are currently open, and the appropriate context menu displays for the object type