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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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Portals

The Portals provide a high level, logical grouping of Enterprise Architect's tools and facilities, to form an entry point into specific features that you might need to apply. They provide access to common tools, custom searches, window layouts and Perspectives. For example, if you want to run searches for particular information in the model, or access the windows that are appropriate to a particular set of actions, you can select a Portal to identify and provide access to those facilities. This makes it easier to set up a work environment within the system, and carry out your tasks in a smooth sequence.

Access

Ribbon

Explore > Portals > <select Portal>

Start > Desktop > Design > Portals : <Portal> button | <Portal>

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shift+Alt+P

Other

Start Page : Open a Portal | <select Portal>

Navigator Toolbar : : All portals.

The Portals window

The Portals window displays on either the left- or right-hand side of the Enterprise Architect work area. It contains the currently-selected Portal and, under the title bar, a Portal selection button for changing the selected Portal.

Once the Portals window is displayed, it remains visible until you specifically select to hide it, or to auto-hide it as a tab on the side of the display, using the Portals window context menu options (see the Portals Window Context Menu table later in this topic).

Portals

The system currently provides eleven Portals, each consisting of a collapsible hierarchy of option groups and options. If a Portal is too long to display the entire contents at once, a scroll button displays at the top and/or bottom of the Portal. Click on these buttons to scroll the Portal contents up or down (or use the scroll wheel on your mouse, or the keyboard arrow keys).

Portals scrollbars.

Portal

Description

See also

Recent Places

Provides links to the  diagrams, files, documents and system windows that you recently had in use, and the diagrams that you have open currently.

Recent Places Portal

Recent Activity

Provides links to run searches that locate recent activities of various types across the model.  The searches are grouped to identify:

  • Recently changed elements, documents, diagrams and discussions
  • Recent formal reviews
  • Recent informal Discussions
  • Recently active Tasks
  • Results of recently-run tests
  • Recently reported and investigated Changes
  • Recently reported and investigated Defects
  • Recently reported and investigated Issues
Recent Activity Portal

Working Sets

Provides links to the system-provided working sets that you might use to lay out the Enterprise Architect work area, but even more so to any working sets that you have created yourself. The system options include:

  • Managing working sets and
  • Windows open when Model was last closed (which includes the Diagram View)
Working Sets Portal

Model Views

The Model Views Portal helps you to capture information on the objects in your model from different aspects that you define yourself, helping you to encapsulate your model under the areas you are interested in. You can define a number of types of view based on searches or objects that you have placed into a collection, or you can collate diagrams into a slide show. You can also import views from, or export views to, other models.

Model Views Portal

Workspaces

Provides links to the system-provided workspaces that you might use to lay out the Enterprise Architect work area, and to any workspaces that you have created yourself. The categories provided are:

  • Customised ('My Workspaces')
  • Core
  • Design
  • Software
  • Simulation
  • Construction
  • BABOK
Workspaces Portal

Perspectives

Provides a wide range of model Patterns from which you can generate model structures for particular areas of work. The Patterns are organized into groups within Perspectives, and presented for selection through the 'Model Patterns' tab of the Model Wizard, and through the 'New Diagram' dialog. The Portal also includes a category for Perspectives that you have created yourself, which provide the Patterns from MDG Technologies you have specified in the Perspective.

Perspectives Portal

Windows

Provides links to the Enterprise Architect windows that you might use. The windows are grouped under the areas of:

  • Exploring the model
  • Properties
  • Diagrams
  • Specialized Tools
  • Trace
  • Collaborate
  • Test
  • Task
  • Maintenance
  • Templates
Windows Portal

Extend

Lists the MDG Technologies currently active in your model - such as ArcGIS or NEIM - and for each one provides links to the facilities for working with those technologies within Enterprise Architect.

Extend Portal

Execute

Provides a wide range of options that help you to:

  • Perform Execution Analysis on your model - building and running the Analyzer scripts
  • Record, Profile, Debug and Simulate the execution of your modeled application
  • Access various windows that display specific aspects of debugging and simulating an application
  • Create and edit code for your application
Execute Portal

Guidebook

Provides links to the library of Enterprise Architect User Guides in PDF format. The Portal initially displays with ten categories of document, each of which can be expanded to a list of the PDF documents in that category.

Guidebook Portal

Learning

Provides links to either the web version of the Enterprise Architect User Guide, or the locally-installed Help if you have downloaded that. The Portal also provides links to a number of useful web pages on the Sparx Systems website, such as the Resources, Tutorials, Webinars and Video Demos pages.

Learning Portal

Portals Window Context Menu

Right-click on the Portals Window title bar to display the context menu. You can select the options in this table:

Portal

Description

See also

Dock Left

Docks the Portals window on the left hand side of the work area.

Dock Right

Docks the Portals window on the right hand side of the work area.

Auto Hide

Condenses the Portals window to a tab on the edge of the work area. Mouse-over the tab to re-open the Portals window, move the cursor off the window to return it to a tab.

Hide

Hides - and effectively closes - the Portals window. To re-open the window, select the appropriate option under the 'Explore > Portals' ribbon icon or the appropriate icon on the Start page.

Auto Collapse Groups

Automatically collapses the currently-selected group of options when you expand another group.

<list of portals>

If you right-click anywhere in the Portals window other than the window title, the list of Portals displays. Click on a Portal name to change to that portal in the window.