Messages

1

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

« on: January 15, 2026, 02:15:52 am »

I am curious about this statement in EA documentation on https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/17.1/add-ins___scripting/eaadd-insea_getmenuitems.html:
"[MenuLocation] Description: A string representing the part of the user interface that brought up the context menu. This can be TreeView, MainMenu, Diagram or Other. You can add further values for MenuLocation at any time." (emphasis added)

Is it really possible to define our own additional values for MenuLocation parameter? How?

2

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

« on: November 07, 2025, 08:16:50 pm »

What that means is that the parameter is passed by reference [...]
Use TabName.val and DiagramID.val.

The information about passing simple/primitive value parameter as 'boxed' (Javascript [object]) is worth to be included on the doc page, as it is unexpected here.
A know that *.val style of passing simple value parameter is used in scripting EA API as a 'workaround' for some model-addin methods, having [out] kind of parameters (i.e. parameter value being _returned_ from a method). But EA_OnTabChanged is not the case, so boxing a [in] string parameter is misleading and should be described explicitly (if left as-is for backward compatibility reason).

3

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Retrieve the EA version and build number during report generation

« on: October 30, 2025, 01:19:26 am »

- `Repository.LibraryVersion`- returns the full version string including the build number (e.g., `17.1.1629` means version 17.1, build 1629).

In my EA 17.1.1713, Repository.LibraryVersion returns only a build number (1713). And this is what the documentation says, as well.

BTW A "17.1.1629" example is impossible - build number always starts with major+minor version number.

4

General Board / Re: How to highlight a class attribute?

« on: October 22, 2025, 01:13:05 am »

Maybe not a delightful idea, but available out of the box in EA:
Place a small Artifact element (some other element types may be suitable as well) on the diagram, near the Class, name it "See new attributes" and add Trace relationships (as few as necessary) to the Class, each with "Link to Element Feature" set to particular 'new' attribute.
'New' attributes will be marked visually by Traces, but only on diagrams where the artifact element will be placed as well.

5

Bugs and Issues / Re: Diagram's translations - misssed?

« on: October 08, 2025, 09:52:12 pm »

If the original question means that there is no translation field in the diagrams' Properties window, I think the diagrams are currently not supported by the translation feature.
You should send a feature request to support diagrams.

That is what I meant. I will send a feature request.

The only way to "translate" a diagram currently is to make a copy of it, and put the "other" language in the alias, and then set the diagram to "use alias"

That is another aspect of "translating diagrams" (i.e. translated names of elements being presented on a diagram). I don't expect this to be seen in foreseeable future. But at least translations for diagram Name and Notes alone would be nice to have.

6

Bugs and Issues / Diagram's translations - misssed?

« on: October 07, 2025, 10:53:05 pm »

Model elements (including packages) have fields for translation (localization) of Name, Alias or Note (see tabs in Properties and Notes window). But I can not see any translation fields for a diagram (EA 1713). Have I overlooked something, or is this really missed (rendering the model translation feature incomplete)?

7

General Board / Re: MDG - Override Attribute Initializers - set value for inherited attribute

« on: October 02, 2025, 02:49:03 am »

Just an update, redefinition can be done closer to the UML specification in a very inelegant way.

I'm not sure, what you mean by "inelegant way" here... is it how EA itself handles that case?

What I would like to see are things like being able to

• assign default values to inherited attributes (as per the original post)

You are able. UML-compliant "redefinition" is a way to do it. :-)

• select what attributes are inherited or not

AFAIK UML standard decides on that:
"The set of members that are inherited is called the inheritedMembers. Unless specified differently for a particular kind of
Classifier, the inheritedMembers are members that do not have private visibility"

8

General Board / Re: MDG - Override Attribute Initializers - set value for inherited attribute

« on: October 01, 2025, 10:24:17 pm »

Can't you simply redefine the same attribute on SomeServer, but with another initial value?

Not very elegant, right ?  That's what Inheritance is for, to avoid doing things like this manually.  The extended class shows Inherited properties, it is just setting default value so a property that has Enum as type.

As Geert said "simply redefine the same attribute", I guess, he had in his mind an UML-compliant redefinition ({redefines ...}) of inherited property (and not simple copy of the property in specialized class). See UML 2.5.1 "9.2.3.3 Redefinition". So as an 'UML way', I wouldn't consider this 'not elegant way'.
BTW "Redefinition" is applied in many places in UML specification/metamodel itself, as well. And specifically, for re-setting default value of an inherited property in specialized meta-class.

9

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Enterprise Architect and AI

« on: September 17, 2025, 10:28:33 pm »

Using my free MCP server add-in, we can connect Enterprise Architect and AI.

There is requirement stated on https://www.sparxsystems.jp/en/MCP/ : "Currently tested only for qea/qeax files".
Does it mean, that a) other repository types were (only) not tested, but the software 'should' work for them, OR b) it probably will fail for other repositories (e.g. some SQL queries utilized, which may be syntactically invalid on other RDBMSs)?

10

General Board / Re: ChatGPT enabled models?

« on: September 17, 2025, 09:51:25 pm »

*A few main caveats:
[...]- The LLM configuration is a model level config meaning a) [...] and b) if you share this model with others they will also be able to make queries to your LLM API.

Guessing from configuration GUI, it is possible to restrict LLM usage to particular security group. However, there is still risk of over-usage of available LLM tokens (cost!) by unaware/careless users.
So IMHO there should be ability: 1) to limit LLM usage by any single user (tokens limit?), and/or 2) to configure separate individual LLM API key by any EA user.

11

Bugs and Issues / 'Search for' in Summary window - where is search site list specified

« on: September 17, 2025, 09:24:23 pm »

Hi,

In Summary window, from context menu "Search for ..." option, you can invoke searching for a word (or phrase) in numerous places - in Files, in Model, but also in some pre-defined online sites: EA User Guide, Google, MSDN, Wikipedia, etc.
Where is defined set of these searchable sites?
(There is no info on this in EA user guide  https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/17.1/the_application_desktop/summary_wind.htm)
Particularly, I have "Koders" site listed, which seems to not work any more (404; despite the domain main page - www.koders.com - being redirected to synopses.com ...). I want to remove the site from the list and add others, e.g my company's internal search site.

12

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Re: Setting bookmarks value and enabling them on diagram automatically

« on: September 16, 2025, 02:23:32 am »

From EA docs https://sparxsystems.com/enterprise_architect_user_guide/17.1/add-ins___scripting/diagram2.html :
StyleEx [...] Advanced style settings, reserved for the use of Sparx Systems.

So be warned. It (format?) can change without notice.

13

Bugs and Issues / Re: Hidden popups on multiple screens (solution?)

« on: September 16, 2025, 01:56:04 am »

Found in EA 17.1 history https://sparxsystems.com/products/ea/17.1/history.html for build 1710:
"Dialogs that open at saved locations will display correctly when monitor configurations have been changed".

14

Bugs and Issues / Re: Hidden popups on multiple screens (solution?)

« on: September 16, 2025, 01:17:31 am »

If you mean 'standard' EA's dialog windows (and not those of scripting Session.Prompt), and you sometimes change multi-screens layout (e.g. moving from office to home configuration), it may be, that the window is open in previous (saved) position and it may happens to be out of current 'windows extended desktop' visible area (non rectangular). Sparx had improved EA behaviour in such situations in latest 17.1 version (I can't recall exact build number).

[...] I wonder if something could be done in EA via some shortcut to force a popup to be made visible or movable with the mouse.

Try to use Windows Alt-<space> shortcut to display system menu of current active window, and than click Move option, than use any arrow key (and only after that you can use a mouse, as well), to place the window on visible area of the desktop.

15

General Board / Re: Dependencies between packages

« on: September 16, 2025, 12:52:31 am »

That's what the #Branch# macro does for you. It will be replaced by EA by the package ID of the selected package, and all packages in that branch in a comma separated list.

But EA documentation, you mentioned in later post, says: "[...] gets the ID of each child Package of the parent Package selected by the user". If I read it correctly, it means, child packages (recursively) only, without the selected parent package itself... I didn't check whether the documentation is right or wrong, though. (Or I am wrong with interpretation of it.)