Ignoring invalid ArchiMate 2 element

[michielper]

I am trying to export an Archimate model into the Archimate exchange format in Sparx EA version 13. (context->extensions->Archimate2->Generate Model Exchange file.
But the result is missing many elements and the export log contains many lines like
  * Ignoring invalid ArchiMate 2 element : <name of element>
I have tried to change the stereotype of these elements but I have not yet found a reliable way to have these ignored elements included in the export.

Has anyone suggestions?   

[Glassboy]

Log a support request.

[Geert Bellekens]

Check the stereotypes of the elements that it complains about.
Are those really ArchiMate2 stereotypes? Maybe they are Archimate version 1 stereotypes?

Geert

[KP]

I have tried to change the stereotype of these elements but I have not yet found a reliable way to have these ignored elements included in the export.

Has anyone suggestions?

How are you changing the stereotype? Try removing the old stereotype from the element then drop the new stereotype from the correct toolbox onto the element on the diagram.

[michielper]

I have tried to change the stereotype of these elements but I have not yet found a reliable way to have these ignored elements included in the export.

Has anyone suggestions?

How are you changing the stereotype? Try removing the old stereotype from the element then drop the new stereotype from the correct toolbox onto the element on the diagram.

Actually, the situation is even worse (and weird!). When I create a new Archimate element in Sparx 13, the "Generate Model Exchange File" process refuses the new element because it apparently is an Archimate 3 element while the Exchange file process supports ONLY version 2, very strange indeed. And it is completely unnecessary to differentiate between two versions of the standard that are very similar.

[Glassboy]

Actually, the situation is even worse (and weird!). When I create a new Archimate element in Sparx 13, the "Generate Model Exchange File" process refuses the new element because it apparently is an Archimate 3 element while the Exchange file process supports ONLY version 2, very strange indeed. And it is completely unnecessary to differentiate between two versions of the standard that are very similar.

I'm using 13.0.1310.  I created a Package with an ArchiMate 1 diagram in it.  It contained only ArchiMate 1 stereotyped elements.  I did the same with ArchiMate 2 and ArchiMate 3 and they only contained their respective versions.

Are you sure you're using the right toolboxes when creating your diagrams?

[Rich Anderson]

I've had similar problems and I found that EA was getting confused between multiple versions of the Archimate MDG.  Try this:  just move the other Archimate MDGs  from the MDG file under program files and have only Archimate 2 (I'm assuming that is the one you want).   Restart EA and sure that your EA has only Archimate2 MDG selected as a technology.   Then try it again.  It's worth a shot.  In general, I model with Archimate 3 only and found that if I had Archimate 2 available, it would sometimes create an element as the wrong MDG type.  Removing the other technologies fixed that, but your results may vary. 

[Paolo F Cantoni]

I've had similar problems and I found that EA was getting confused between multiple versions of the Archimate MDG.  Try this:  just move the other Archimate MDGs  from the MDG file under program files and have only Archimate 2 (I'm assuming that is the one you want).   Restart EA and sure that your EA has only Archimate2 MDG selected as a technology.   Then try it again.  It's worth a shot.  In general, I model with Archimate 3 only and found that if I had Archimate 2 available, it would sometimes create an element as the wrong MDG type.  Removing the other technologies fixed that, but your results may vary.

Hi Rich,

I suspect that reason EA gets confused is that NOW (v14+), even though you disable a Technology it's still loaded (to potentially support technologies in the re[posiotry but no longer used - as I understand it).

It's possible that some pointers are getting incorrectly located and point to the wrong technology.

It should be possible to have TWO checkboxes, [enable[ and [load].  If you don't load, you can't enable (and you may not be able to open the repository until you load the technology externally).

My AU$0.05
PAolo

[Rich Anderson]

Yes, that may be it.   Just to be sure, I just move the Architmate and Archimate2 MDG files out of the EA/MDGTechnologies folder to somewhere else so they cannot be selected or included.  That may be overkill, but when I did that, the problems stopped. 

[qwerty]

I'm usually just moving ALL MDGs to another folder since NOBODY should see them and enable them in the playtime between breakfast and lunch. That's what happens usually. And people start using elements they never should have used. I don't get it why an EA installation start with all those MDGs available. And even the possibility given by EA to turn on ALL MDGs is the greatest madness of all. I mean, who wants to have BPMN 1.0, 2.0 along with all Archimate versions, ArcGis and heaven knows enabled?

q.

[michielper]

I've had similar problems and I found that EA was getting confused between multiple versions of the Archimate MDG.  Try this:  just move the other Archimate MDGs  from the MDG file under program files and have only Archimate 2 (I'm assuming that is the one you want).   Restart EA and sure that your EA has only Archimate2 MDG selected as a technology.   Then try it again.  It's worth a shot.  In general, I model with Archimate 3 only and found that if I had Archimate 2 available, it would sometimes create an element as the wrong MDG type.  Removing the other technologies fixed that, but your results may vary.

Actually I use Archimate 3 but my models historically still contain some Archimate 2 elements. So I want elements of all versions of Archimate to be exported. For some strange and annoying reason, the export process only exports the Archimate 2 elements. Very user unfriendly and very unnecessary since the differences between the two versions are minimal.

Regarding the switching off of some MDG's, that seems like a good idea but I cannot do this by moving files because I work on a shared SQL Server repository. I suppose there is no way to do this then?

And finally, is the Archimate Exchange process executed by a script that I can perhaps edit? Any idea?

[Modesto Vega]

It sounds to me that you are trying to export an model with ArchiMate 3 elements to ArchiMate 2 and you could be having a backward compatibility problem.

I am not too familiar with the Generate Model Exchange extension but your original post clearly states

(context->extensions->Archimate2->Generate Model Exchange file.

and your last post states

Actually I use Archimate 3 but my models historically still contain some Archimate 2 elements

Have you consider that your Archimate 3 elements are not backward compatible? Have you considered upgrading all elements to Archimate 3 stereotypes and exporting an Archimate 3 exchange file? Alternatively, you could downgrade all elements to Archimate 2.

I would not recommend mixing Archimate 2 and 3 elements, it is likely to give you a headache.

[qwerty]

I would not recommend mixing Archimate 2 and 3 elements, it is likely to give you a headache.

What I said...

q.

[Glassboy]

I would not recommend mixing Archimate 2 and 3 elements, it is likely to give you a headache.

More importantly there is the possibility that what you are modelling is no longer semantically correct.

[michielper]

Thanks for all the help and suggestions so far. I have the practical situation that it is hard to avoid having some old Archimate 2 elements in my Archimate 3 models.

But currently there is another pressing issue:  Archimate Flow relationships do not export at all via Model Export facility. Neiter flows between application components neither flows between application functions! They just do not show up in the model exchange file (Archimate 3 nor Archimate 2). This seems a bug.....