Archimate elements not visually correct

[michielper]

I have a situation where an ArchiMate_BusinessProcess is shown as a yellow rounded rectangle but without the small arrow in the top right corner! Another element in the same diagram does also have ArchiMate_BusinessProcess as stereotype but does, correctly, show the small arrow.
How can this be, what determines the visual appearance of an element?

[Glassboy]

I have a situation where an ArchiMate_BusinessProcess is shown as a yellow rounded rectangle but without the small arrow in the top right corner! Another element in the same diagram does also have ArchiMate_BusinessProcess as stereotype but does, correctly, show the small arrow.
How can this be, what determines the visual appearance of an element?

Have you accidentally changed the stereotype?

[Sunshine]

I have a situation where an ArchiMate_BusinessProcess is shown as a yellow rounded rectangle but without the small arrow in the top right corner! Another element in the same diagram does also have ArchiMate_BusinessProcess as stereotype but does, correctly, show the small arrow.
How can this be, what determines the visual appearance of an element?

Try double checking you don't have more than one stereotype selected

[Paolo F Cantoni]

I have a situation where an ArchiMate_BusinessProcess is shown as a yellow rounded rectangle but without the small arrow in the top right corner! Another element in the same diagram does also have ArchiMate_BusinessProcess as stereotype but does, correctly, show the small arrow.
How can this be, what determines the visual appearance of an element?

Try double checking you don't have more than one stereotype selected

WOT'E SAID!
Also check that the stereotypes are correctly defined in t_xref (will also show the point Sunshine made).  We had some very old objects whose stereotypes (Fully qualified name) wasn't quite correct and so the correct shapescript wouldn't get triggered.

Paolo

[Glassboy]

Also check that the stereotypes are correctly defined in t_xref (will also show the point Sunshine made).  We had some very old objects whose stereotypes (Fully qualified name) wasn't quite correct and so the correct shapescript wouldn't get triggered.

I somehow ended up with objects that had the same stereotype for all three version of ArchiMate selected.  That was fun :-)

[Sunshine]

Also check that the stereotypes are correctly defined in t_xref (will also show the point Sunshine made).  We had some very old objects whose stereotypes (Fully qualified name) wasn't quite correct and so the correct shapescript wouldn't get triggered.

I somehow ended up with objects that had the same stereotype for all three version of ArchiMate selected.  That was fun :-)

#MeToo
Ended up writing that script to set stereotypes I've posted before to fix it.

[michielper]

Thanks for all the reply's, but is there a way to fix this without replacing the element(s) concerned? How do I attach the right shape-script to an element?

[Geert Bellekens]

Thanks for all the reply's, but is there a way to fix this without replacing the element(s) concerned? How do I attach the right shape-script to an element?

Michiel,

The shapescript is linked to the (fully qualified) stereotype
So if you make sure your object has the correct stereotype from the correct MDG, and it has only one stereotype, then you should be fine.
Never ever type in a stereotype, instead always select it using the [...] button.

Also, make sure you only enable the MDG's you actually use. That reduces the risk of using the wrong stereotype.

Geert

[michielper]

Thanks for all the reply's, but is there a way to fix this without replacing the element(s) concerned? How do I attach the right shape-script to an element?

Michiel,

The shapescript is linked to the (fully qualified) stereotype
So if you make sure your object has the correct stereotype from the correct MDG, and it has only one stereotype, then you should be fine.
Never ever type in a stereotype, instead always select it using the [...] button.

Also, make sure you only enable the MDG's you actually use. That reduces the risk of using the wrong stereotype.

Geert

Thanks for the help... this seems to go some way of a solution. I can indeed select a Profile such as Archimate, Archimate2 or Archimate3, but strangely enough, they do not show all element types! The element type that I need, BusinessProcess, is not in the list!!

[Geert Bellekens]

Thanks for the help... But so far it doesn't work. The correct shape script is apparently not called. Instead, it is getting worse... Now I have a rectangle with explicit <<stereotype>> and scope:: in text. Deselecting "show namespace" does not help. Is there a way to force a shape script upon an element?

No, shapescripts are always loaded through the stereotypes.

You may want to check if you don't have any "rogue" stereotypes hanging around in Configure | Reference Data | UML Types and make sure you have the correct MDG enabled.

What do you see when you select the [...] next to the stereotypes field?
It should only have one stereotype checked and it should show the correct version of archimate in the Profile dropdown.

Geert

[michielper]

Thanks for the help... But so far it doesn't work. The correct shape script is apparently not called. Instead, it is getting worse... Now I have a rectangle with explicit <<stereotype>> and scope:: in text. Deselecting "show namespace" does not help. Is there a way to force a shape script upon an element?

No, shapescripts are always loaded through the stereotypes.

You may want to check if you don't have any "rogue" stereotypes hanging around in Configure | Reference Data | UML Types and make sure you have the correct MDG enabled.

What do you see when you select the [...] next to the stereotypes field?
It should only have one stereotype checked and it should show the correct version of archimate in the Profile dropdown.

Geert

When I create a new Archimate 3 BusinessProcess, two stereotypes are checked!
Archimate_BusinessProcess  and  Archimate3::Archimate_BusinessProcess

[Geert Bellekens]

When I create a new Archimate 3 BusinessProcess, two stereotypes are checked!
Archimate_BusinessProcess  and  Archimate3::Archimate_BusinessProcess

From which profile?
It sounds like you have the rogue stereotype problem.
Go into the stereotypes list and delete all stereotypes you find there that resemble one of these two.

Geert

[michielper]

When I create a new Archimate 3 BusinessProcess, two stereotypes are checked!
Archimate_BusinessProcess  and  Archimate3::Archimate_BusinessProcess

From which profile?
It sounds like you have the rogue stereotype problem.
Go into the stereotypes list and delete all stereotypes you find there that resemble one of these two.

Geert

Thanks for the help!
Where do I find the Profile I am using and the stereotype list? But your suggestion sounds dangerous.... I am sharing this model with a lot of other people an I am afraid an action like this might turn out disastrous....

I exported a very small package containing two elements. One original good looking element and one I messed with, changing its stereotype so it looks not correct. My idea is that in the XML I would be able to see what the problem with the second element is and I should be able to correct the XML code.... A logical idea, isntit? However, from the XML code I cannot see any clue as to why the first element should call the right shapescript and the second should not.... Very strange indeed! Is there some hidden information somewhere???

[Geert Bellekens]

The "select stereotype" dialog has a "profile" dropdown that shows the profile used by the stereotype.
When you select the correct Archimate profile you will see all archimate stereotypes.

You could also look in the t_xref table for it.

If you find a stereotype called Archimate_<something> in the stereotypes list in EA then you should delete it as it causes problems for you and every other user of this model. The stereotypes list should only contain "loose" stereotypes that are not defined in a profile of an MDG.

Geert

[michielper]

The "select stereotype" dialog has a "profile" dropdown that shows the profile used by the stereotype.
When you select the correct Archimate profile you will see all archimate stereotypes.

You could also look in the t_xref table for it.

If you find a stereotype called Archimate_<something> in the stereotypes list in EA then you should delete it as it causes problems for you and every other user of this model. The stereotypes list should only contain "loose" stereotypes that are not defined in a profile of an MDG.

Geert

Allright, so where do I find the dialog that lets me delete stereotypes? And what is the scope of such an action, can I try it in a test-model first?