The Model Builder

The Model Builder provides Patterns from a wide range of technologies, which you can use to quickly generate new models in your project both when you first create the project and over time. From the Model Patterns you can create basic models that you can develop further as components of your project. You click on the menu icon at the top of the left-hand panel and select a Perspective Set from the drop-down list, which then shows a list of Pattern groups and the Patterns they contain. If you click on a Pattern, a description displays in the right-hand panel of the window, showing a type diagram (where appropriate) and an explanation of what the Pattern is and what it does. This description is drawn from an RTF file paired with the Pattern's source XML file.

Access

Ribbon	Design > Package > Model Builder Start > Personal > Model Builder The Model Builder can be displayed as a main view or modal dialog. To display Model Builder Options, click on the drop-down arrow beside "Start > Personal > Model Builder": Start > Personal > Model Builder > Show Builder as Dialog Start > Personal > Model Builder > Show Builder Page in Main View Start > Personal > Model Builder > Show Builder Page on Startup
Context Menu	Right-click on Package \| Model Builder Right-click on any Main View tab area \| Show Model Builder
Keyboard Shortcuts	Ctrl+Shift+M
Other	Browser window caption bar : Browser window caption bar : > Model Builder

Generate a New Model

Field/Button	Action	See also
Perspective	When you open the Model Builder window, the Pattern groups and Patterns available for the current Perspective are listed. Initially, the current Perspective is the one shown in the <perspective name> icon at the top right of the application screen. If you click on the <perspective name> button or the button, a list of all the Perspective groups displays. As you mouse-over an option in the list, the Perspectives available in that group also display. When you click on a Perspective to select it, the panel is updated with the Pattern groups and Patterns provided by the selected Perspective. As you click on a Pattern in the list, a description is provided in the right-hand panel. Note that selecting a Perspective from the <perspective name> button list does not change the current 'global' Perspective shown in the <perspective name> icon. If you want to re-set the Model Builder Perspective to the global Perspective, simply click on the <perspective name> button and select 'Active'. It is possible to make available every Pattern Group and Pattern available in the model; click on the button and select the 'All' option. Conversely, you can restrict the list of Patterns shown by typing a text string in the Filter Bar underneath the button. Only Patterns that have that text string in their name are listed. This is also a useful tool for locating specific Patterns when you are not sure where they are held - select 'All' Perspectives and type the Pattern name in the Filter Bar field. The panel lists each Pattern that has the text string in its name If you are a Technology Developer you can create and import your own MDG Technology, and distribute one or more custom Model Patterns from that Technology through the Model Builder; the name of your Technology (or Technology categories) is added to the selection list under 'Specialized' for your users to access the Technology Patterns. To select a Model Pattern, simply click on it. If you want to select more than one Pattern, hold the Ctrl key down while you click on each Pattern.	Using the Profile Helpers Create MDG Technology File
Create Model	Click on this button to import a model structure derived from the Pattern(s) you have selected. The 'Importing Model Templates' dialog displays whilst the import is in progress, and any problems with the import are reported in the System Output window. The generated model structure displays under your selected Package in the Browser window.
Parent	Displays the name of the Parent package you have selected in the Browser window. If you need to change the package under which the model will be generated, click on the icon and browse for the correct Parent package on the 'Navigator' browser.
Combine with Parent	Select this option to import the contents of the Pattern into the selected Package. When creating a Pattern, Enterprise Architect will normally create a new Package to represent the Pattern, as a child of the selected Package. If you select this checkbox, no new Package is created and instead the contents of the Pattern are added to the selected Package (provided that the selected Package is not a root node).
Customize on import	A Pattern can contain several Packages; select this checkbox to indicate that you will import only some of these Packages from the Pattern into your model. After you click on the Create Model(s) button, the 'Select Packages' dialog displays on which you specify which of the Packages to import. If you select more than one Pattern, the 'Select Packages' dialog displays for each Pattern in turn. If you do not select the checkbox, all Packages in each Pattern will be imported into the model. The option is disabled if there are too few Packages to select from, or if it is not logical to import only some of the Packages.	Customize Model Content

Notes

The 'Select Package(s)' dialog does not display for some of the Simple Template and Basic Template Patterns, even if the 'Customize Pattern on import' option is selected

Learn more

Incorporate Model Builder Templates