Messages

1

General Board / Re: Creating connectors on locked elements (new bug or feature?)

« on: March 04, 2026, 08:36:52 am »

Yes

2

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Eliminating an inherited connection metamodel when specializing an MDG

« on: February 11, 2026, 08:20:56 am »

I think the only option is to override each allowed relationship.

3

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: JavaScript to convert an element to an ArchiMate data object

« on: February 09, 2026, 05:00:03 pm »

1. element.Stereotype = "ArchiMate3::DataObject";

Attempts to assign a stereotype with the name "ArchiMate3::DataObject" to the object. If it is not already defined it will attempt to define it as a global stereotype. It's less bad if you don't include a profile. As an example, if you specified ArchiMate_DataObject it may assign ArchiMate2::ArchiMate_DataObject or ArchiMate3::ArchiMate_DataObject. Think of it as "I don't care where the stereotype comes from, as long as it has this name".

2. element.StereotypeEx = "ArchiMate3::DataObject";

Attempts to assign the stereotype "DataObject" from the profile "ArchiMate3" to the object. As Geert said, this won't be found because no such stereotype exists in that profile. If you replace it with "ArchiMate3::ArchiMate_DataObject" It will still fail if the element is not a Class.

3. element.MetaType = "ArchiMate3::DataObject";

Does literally nothing.

4. Repository.AdviseElementChange(element.ElementID);

Effectively updates any places in the UI that have that object.

4

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Model Add-in (non-blocking) errors

« on: February 06, 2026, 08:34:52 am »

The .Value is apparently needed here

Info is an EventProperties, all of the members are instances of EventProperty. So, yes if you don't add the .Value you are passing a dispatch object back into a function that expects an integer.

I did try both proposals and they both give the same error while providing a correct result.

I would trace the value and type of the elementId and its type and double check that you have reloaded that add-in after making a change.

Code: [Select]

elementId = Info.Get("ElementID").Value;
Repository.WriteOutput("System", typeof elementId + " - " + elementId, 0);
newElement = Repository.GetElementByID(elementId);

To ensure the add-in is reloaded, turn it off in the add-ins window and back on or reload the model.

5

General Board / Re: MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Enterprise Architect has been released

« on: January 20, 2026, 11:44:10 am »

• Tool-Specific Features: In tools such as Sparx Enterprise Architect, a “Composite Diagram” is a child diagram nested beneath a parent element.  For example, if you double-click a Class and it opens a sub-diagram, that sub-diagram is called a “composite diagram,” regardless of whether it is a state machine, activity, or structure diagram.

Even the fact that Gemini is using the phrase "Sparx Enterprise Architect" is enough to say that it's pulling from sources that shouldn't be trusted. It's equivalent to "International Business Rhapsody". It may not be hallucinating, but drawing from unreliable sources is just as bad.

Unless this is a hallucination, then a UML Composite Structure Diagram is an EA Composite Diagram; but not vice-versa!

Another problem is that EA sometimes conflates Composition with Nesting (I’ve spoken about the difference many times in the past).  You’ll see Gemini did not make that conflation.  What EA calls a Composite diagram is, in fact, a Nested diagram.

I disagree with both the Gemini interpretation of what a Composite diagram is as well as your assertion that it is actually a Nested Diagram.

The UML Composite Structure Diagram is a particular type of diagram that shows the internal structure of a particular namespace. EA generalizes that to include Composite behavior and allows new types of Composite diagrams to be defined in a profile. Neither requires actually being nested within in the Namespace it is documenting. EA defaults to that behavior but allows the diagram to be in another namespace, while UML doesn't have anything to say on it.

And yes, Gemini did conflate the two terms and you used that conflation to argue your point.

6

General Board / Re: Entities skipped during sync due to max updated time filter – possible delay or

« on: January 15, 2026, 01:56:40 pm »

What is the exact code you're using?

7

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: MenuLocation of EA_GetMenuItems - custom locations possible?

« on: January 15, 2026, 01:50:52 pm »

Pretty sure that that should read "Sparx Systems may add further values". ie. Make sure your code handles unknown values.

8

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Validating MDG Technology Stereotypes and Tagged Value Types from Database

« on: December 31, 2025, 09:52:05 am »

Coming at your problem from a different angle. The functionality (b in particular) you're describing seems to be redundant.

If I define a tagged value type in the UML Types dialog. Any tagged value (new or old) with that name automatically gets the type specified in the dialog. Nothing needs to be added to the notes of the tag itself to make that happen. Even the new tagged value dialog recognises that match and disables the value field.

There are factors that complicate that simple answer. Adding a AppliesTo or BaseStereotype to the definition limits where the definition can be applied and tagged values where the notes specify their own type won't get overridden.

The tagged values coming from an MDG technology stereotype work in the same way. Any attributes defined on the stereotype become properties as soon as the stereotype is applied (or element is created.) They show in the main Properties window instead of the Tags part of the same dialog and the type of control they display is specified within the MDG Technology file. (See With Predefined Tag Types for the recommended way to set that in your technology and With Predefined Tag Types (Legacy Profiles) for the legacy method.)

All that is to say, your automation appears to be trying to duplicate functionality built-in to EA. If you're not seeing that functionality then that's the problem I would be trying to solve.

9

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Problems with Model Add-In Event EA_OnTabChanged parameters

« on: November 05, 2025, 08:29:14 am »

What that means is that the parameter is passed by reference (Although there's no good reason for it to do that originally, now the reason is to not break existing add-ins)

Javascript passes objects by reference and primitives by value, so the code has wrapped the value in an object.

Use TabName.val and DiagramID.val.

10

Suggestions and Requests / Re: Notes per table row or cell in wireframes + linking table fields to data model

« on: October 17, 2025, 08:42:41 am »

A wireframe is a tool to mock-up a UI. (See ) Attempting to use it as a functional UI is fundamentally missing the point.

A [url=https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/17.1/model_publishing/define_a_model_view_chart.html]model view]) Attempting to use it as a functional UI is fundamentally missing the point.

A model view is a way to show a model element per row in a table on a table.

The Package Browser is an editable list, but it's limited to displaying a particular package.

11

Bugs and Issues / Re: fysical data modelling not backward compatible

« on: October 14, 2025, 11:55:30 am »

What stereotype does the old table have? I'm guessing it's coming from an incompatible profile. Some older versions of EA were less rigorous about which stereotype was defined. That paired with more permissive checks in other places were also causing issues.

12

Bugs and Issues / Re: BPMN quicklink broken if another MDG defines a stereotyped relation

« on: September 15, 2025, 08:43:29 am »

The problem is that the BPMN technology still uses the CSV to define the quicklinker.

To aid in migration, the model based definition overrides the CSV when it's defined.

The UML relationships don't do the same thing because the stereotypes are explicitly overriding the UML based relationships.

13

Bugs and Issues / Re: shortcut files with extension .qea don't get registered in the Recent files

« on: September 02, 2025, 08:16:23 am »

- Save the connection as a shortcut with .qea  extension

Pretty sure that that's the issue. The save as shortcut should only allow .eap.

14

General Board / Re: Can no longer post SQL Statements to this forum

« on: August 12, 2025, 02:23:30 pm »

I have never seen the configuration for Cloudflare, or the source for this forum. I don't want to do either.

If I assume this software is nearly perfect, but in some obscure function there is a single user input that isn't properly escaped. That's where a black box protection from Cloudflare is useful. It's not about anything being known to be broken it's about the problems that we don't know about.

I'm not sure if disabling this feature will really decrease the security.

You can argue that it's being excessive, I wouldn't necessarily disagree. The only way removing it wouldn't decrease security is if you are 100% sure that the forum and entire website is 100% bug free. I'm not convinced anyone can be 100% sure about anything or any software can be 100% bug free. By that measure, it is providing at least some security.

If you are not comfortable to disable this feature in Cloudfare, you should really not be comfortable to be using this forum software and update/change is ASAP.

I wouldn't be comfortable to change any setting in Cloudflare. That has nothing to do with this software.

15

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: EAUML::table vs Table metaclass ?

« on: August 04, 2025, 08:43:02 am »

There is no Table metaclass.