Topics

1

Bugs and Issues / Matrix Profiles not Exported

« on: May 14, 2020, 11:10:19 pm »

It looks like a bug to me, but I am but a novice, so maybe I am doing something wrong.
My old model shows 7 Matrix profiles in the Resources window.
I export reference data and make sure to check off Matrix Profiles.
This is what I get:

Code: [Select]

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<RefData version="1.0" exporter="EA.25">
</RefData>(For this posting a ran an export with only Matrix Profiles checked.)

Why is the export empty? How can I transfer the Matrix Profiles from my old (EAPX) to my new (in PCS) model?
I use Sparx EA 15.0

 - Hakan Lidstrom

2

PCS General Board / Does Office Integration work with PCS?

« on: May 14, 2020, 04:59:00 am »

Specifically, is it possible to point PowerPoint to a model stored in Pro Cloud Server (PCS)? If so how do I specify the PCS connection?

I have done it with PowerPoint and EAPX file model and I see ODBC driver picklists, but I can't figure out how to point to PCS.

Thanks,
Hakan Lidstrom

3

General Board / Can a WebEA user run a report?

« on: May 07, 2020, 11:18:25 pm »

A modeler creates a Report Specification with Sparx EA. The element is visible for a WebEA user, but can the report be invoked by them?
And if report specifications can't do it, is there another way to allow a WebEA user to run a report?
It would be useful for a reviewer to have fresh data and not have to rely on a report that was generated several days a ago.

I can't find anything about WebEA and reporting and I suspect what the answer will be. But I want to ask anyhow.
Thanks!
- Hakan Lidstrom

4

PCS General Board / Single sign on - WebEA vs. Sparx EA

« on: May 07, 2020, 01:30:19 am »

My repository sits in PCS. User Security is enabled. I use Windows Authentication and import users from Active Directory.

When I open my repository from Sparx EA it opens without prompting me for user credentials.
When I open my repository from WebEA I am prompted and I have to give my Windows credentials before the mnodel opens.

I am lazy (and so are my coworkers). Is there a WebEA configuration option that bypasses the Windows credentials prompt while still keeping unauthorized users out? (That is, behaving the saame as Sparx EA.)

(And by Sparx EA I mean the Sparx Enterprise Architect, Windows client tool, of course.)

Thanks!
 - Hakan Lidstrom

5

PCS General Board / Is a WebEA model the same as a Sparx EA project?

« on: May 06, 2020, 10:29:08 pm »

In WebEA configuration one defines properties for a set of "models". It seems to me (with my limited experience) that a WebEA "model" maps one-to-one to what in Sparx EA is called a "repository" or "project". Am I correct?

This is a bit confusing given that Sparx EA also uses the term "model". But in Sparx EA a "model" is a root node in the project browser and there can be more than one in a given project/repository. I want to apply consistent terminology across the Sparx environment and if I am correct that WebEA model = Sparx EA project then I will just remove the word model from the labels on the WebEA login buttons.

Thanks!
- Hakan Lidstrom

6

PCS General Board / Can an ArchiMate object be created in WebEA?

« on: May 06, 2020, 10:11:23 pm »

A user with the proper permissions can create objects (elements) through WebEA, but there is a limited set of element types to chose from.
My organization is using ArchiMate to model its Enterprise Architecture.
Would it be possible to configure the Sparx environment to show ArchiMate types in the WebEA "Add Object" dialog?

(The WebEA Add Object feature will be of limited use if objects can't be assigned their proper type at once. I need to know what to write in our evolving modeling guide.)
Thanks!

- Hakan Lidstrom

7

PCS General Board / How delete object in WebEA?

« on: May 06, 2020, 12:57:21 am »

I am new to PCS and WebEA, but I have learned how to create, read and update an object. What about delete? Is it not possible through WebEA?

I have searched User Forum and User Guide in vain and my desperate clicking in WebEa has lead nowhere. How do I do it?

Thanks,
Hakan Lidstrom

8

General Board / Is it a good idea to store the UUID from another tool in the Keyword attribute?

« on: April 07, 2020, 05:45:05 am »

I know it works, technically, but is it a good idea?

I need to refresh a reference copy of model elements created in a different tool and I intend to do so with a script. The script will need the external UUID to match what’s in the import file with what is already in the Sparx model. I don’t feel ready to start changing the metamodel and add an External UUID attribute, so I thought – We aren’t using the Keywords attribute for anything. Maybe that's a decent place to store the external UUID? Then it occurred to me that I really don’t know what the Keywords attribute is intended for and how to use it. I was unable to find guidance in the help files, so now I turn to the Forum. Will storing UUID in the Keywords attribute for some elements come back to bite me down the road, because I won’t be able to use some Sparx feature I’m not even aware of yet?

Thanks,
Håkan Lidström

9

Bugs and Issues / bug in EAScriptLib.VBScript-XML, function XMLReadXMLFromFile

« on: February 20, 2020, 02:26:27 am »

I am pretty sure I found a bug in EAScriptLib.VBScript-XML, function XMLReadXMLFromFile.
What I don’t know is if it has been fixed in a later build than the one I am using.

The bug is on line 70 of EAScriptLib.VBScript-XML, i.e., the last line of function XMLReadXMLFromFile.
 “XMLReadXMLFromFile = xmlDOM”, should be “Set XMLReadXMLFromFile = xmlDOM”

I am using Sparx EA 15.0.1512.

10

General Board / Best approach for importing erwin entities to ArchiMate Data Objects?

« on: February 18, 2020, 05:13:31 am »

I am turning to the collective wisdom of the Forum.

My organization has decided on enterprise architecture modeling with TOGAF – ArchiMate – Sparx EA.
My organization already has an established practice of data modeling with IDEFX1 in erwin.

The EA model needs to show how logical data relates to the rest of the EA. Therefore we have a need to import logical data models and show the erwin entities as ArchiMate Data Objects in the EA Model.
What is the best approach to this Extract – Transform – Load (ETL) task?

I am considering the Data Miner feature. It seems to be designed for a need like mine.
I have gotten as far as setting up a data miner model, pointing it to an XMI file generated by erwin and running the default ProcessData script. It lists the XMI file in Session.output. So far so good.

Next step would be to actually do something with the data. I was thinking if I can create packages and classes, same as the built in XMI import does, then I should be well on the way.

Does anyone have a better suggestion than Data Miner for converting erwin entities to ArchiMate Data Objects in Sparx EA?

Thank you,
Håkan Lidström

11

General Board / Words in matrix overlays?

« on: December 13, 2019, 12:20:38 am »

I know how to make an overlay with the UML Type editor, e.g. defining R, A, C, I for a RACI matrix. But is it possible to have a set of words instead of a set of characters? (E.g., Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed.)

I can enter a comma-separated list of words when I define an overlay, but then every character of every word in the list will be accepted when I apply it in the matrix. Am I doing it wrong, or is it just not possible?
I am using Sparx EA 14.
Thanks!
- Håkan

12

Bugs and Issues / EAPX file too corrupted to open - and how we got it back

« on: November 26, 2019, 11:33:49 pm »

A weird error occurred yesterday and since I couldn’t find anything about it, I want to write down what happened and how it was fixed.

In essence, if an EAPX file is so corrupted Sparx EA can’t open it, try open it with MS Access.


I had been happily modeling for a few hours in our shared EAPX file on a network drive. Let’s call the file our_model.eapx.  Then a coworker also tried to open it.
She got this error message. (Text copied from the dialog box.)

---------------------------
Enterprise Architect
---------------------------
An Error has occurred: Unrecognized database format 'K:\SparxModels\our_model.eapx'.

To enable Jet 4, go to Start | Preferences | Use JET 4.0, restart EA.
---------------------------
[ OK ]
---------------------------


Strange! Jet 4 was the default at install and she had knowingly not changed that.

I was still able to work in the model.

To be sure my coworker launched Sparx EA without opening a model and checked that Jet 4 was still enabled. It was.
She tried to open the model file again, same error.
I asked another coworker to open the model and he got the same error.

I ran a project integrity check and it reported no errors.

I saved my edits and closed Sparx EA, then tried to open again.
Now I too got the error!

Now what? Internet searches return nothing useful. Panic! What to do?

What the heck? It’s an access database. What happens if I open it with MS Access? (Nothing much to lose.)

MS Access shows a message that the file is corrupted and offers to repair it. I take the offer. MS Access churns for a minute or two and opens the file. I immediately close MS Access and tries Sparx EA.
Lo and behold. It works! And as far as I can see, all my recent edits are there.

(The MS Access dialog box did not support copy-paste the way a well written Windows application should and it was rather long so I do not show it here.)

I hope this will be helpful to someone else at some time.
 - Håkan

13

General Board / Print diagram in Specification Manager view

« on: November 22, 2019, 06:15:16 am »

I have a diagram open. I select Print using any of the ways available to do so.
The diagram graphics are printed. Fine!

Now I right-click on the diagram canvas and pick Open diagram in Specification Manager, and I print again.
The diagram graphics are still printed. Not fine!
I want the Specification Manager text that I see on screen!

It must be possible, but I have searched in vain in the user guide and the Forum.

How do I do it?
Why isn't this a trivial task?

Thanks, Håkan

14

Automation Interface, Add-Ins and Tools / Running element script, what did I right-click on?

« on: November 02, 2019, 04:58:35 am »

I can't be the first to ask this, but I guess I'm using the wrong search strings.

So I wrote an element script. Works fine when I select an element in the project browser.
However, the script is also available when I right-click on an element shape on a diagram and that has unintended consequences.
Selecting a shape is not the same as selecting the corresponding element in the browser, so how do I test for what I right-clicked on? If I new I could take action and write the code to select the element behind the shape.
I am on Sparx EA 14.

15

Bugs and Issues / Can connection to eapx file be refreshed after network disruption?

« on: October 30, 2019, 03:52:31 am »

I was working with my Sparx EA V.14 client on an EAPX file stored on a shared drive when the network connection went down temporarily.
After the network was restored, I selected one of the diagrams I had open already.
Now I get the message below and it just comes back again and again when I click OK.
Is there a way to make the Sparx EA client refresh its connection to the EAPX file?

---------------------------
Enterprise Architect
---------------------------
DAO.Database [3078]

The Microsoft Jet database engine cannot find the input table or query 't_package'.  Make sure it exists and that its name is spelled correctly.
---------------------------
[ OK ]
---------------------------

Thanks,
Håkan Lidström