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

While Sparx Systems recommend that users should always use the latest release of Enterprise Architect, we do acknowledge that in some situations this is hard to achieve. Therefore, in order for WebEA (and the Pro Cloud Server) to function correctly when users are using builds of Enterprise Architect earlier than 1350, the Pro Cloud Server includes a custom version of Enterprise Architect (referred to as the EA Worker) that will automate the generation of WebEA viewable diagrams and Linked Documents.

Each instance of an EA Worker is capable of connecting to a single model, and typically runs on the same server as the Pro Cloud Service.

How to run EA Worker

The 'EA Worker' application does not have a GUI of any kind, therefore it is started with two command line options:

  1. cloudupdate: - the frequency (measured in seconds) of how often the application should check for new or modified diagrams and Linked Documents.
  2. A connection string to the model, defined as a .EAP file.

An example command line is:

C:\> EA.exe /cloudupdate:30 "C:\EA\shortcuts\model1.eap"

Typically the easiest and most efficient method to run the EA Worker is with a Windows batch/command file.

Model shortcuts for EA Worker

Within Enterprise Architect it is possible to save model connections (no matter what type of DBMS is in use) as a .EAP file. These model shortcuts are not .EAP file databases, but plain text files that contain a connection string to a model.

An example .EAP shortcut to a model without security:

    EAConnectString:model1 --- ;Connect=Cloud=protocol:http,address:localhost,port:804;Data Source=model1;

However, when the model has security enabled the connection string requires a USER and PASSWORD parameters:

    EAConnectString:model1 --- ;Connect=Cloud=protocol:http,address:localhost,port:804,user:fred,pwd:pwdxxx;Data Source=model1;

EA Worker Configuration Steps

Step

Description

See also

1

Create a .EAP shortcut to the model.

The creation of a .EAP shortcut file can be achieved by either:

1) Manually creating a plain text file, renaming its extension to .EAP and entering the complete connection string as shown (making sure to replace all values enclosed in {}):

     EAConnectString:{modelname} --- ;Connect=Cloud=protocol:http,address:{servername},port:{port},user:{username},pwd:{password};Data Source={modelname};

     or

2) In Enterprise Architect, open a Cloud connection to the model in question and then choose 'Save As Shortcut...' from the Project list drop-down menu.

2

Create a batch/command file.

Create a plain text file, give it a meaningful name, and change its extension to .CMD. Then edit the file and enter this text, making sure to replace {seconds} with the number of seconds and {filepath} with the location of the fully qualified .EAP created in the previous step:

     "C:\Program Files (x86)\Sparx Systems\Cloud Services\Worker\EA.exe" /cloudupdate:{seconds} "{filepath}"

3

Run the batch/command file.

Double-click on the file created in the previous step.

Sparx System recommends that this batch/command file is added to Startup so that it is automatically run when the server starts.

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.

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