In this page, you can find more details regarding ARCSeeker's usage with Enterprise Architect.

Step 1. Create the Storage for ARCSeeker

At first, you must create 'Storage' in your local drive or network drive to store Components.

From the Main menu, select File | New Storage. The following dialog is shown.

Specify a directory for the 'Base Directory'. ARCSeeker creates some files in the directory to manage Storage's information and then opens the new Storage. Now you are ready to use ARCSeeker.

Now an empty Storage is opened. There are no Components now.

Step 2. Make Components from an Enterprise Architect Model

To make Components from an Enterprise Architect Model, there are two ways. One is to make it from EA, and another is to make it from ARCSeeker. We recommend to use EA.

Making a Component using ARCSeeker

From the Main menu, select Tool | Enterprise Architect Connector | Register EA Package as Component. The following dialog is shown.

In this dialog, specify the target EAP file and then specify the target Package. You can create a Component from the Package.

Making a Component using Enterprise Architect

With the ARCSeeker Connector Add-in for Enterprise Architect, you can make a Component from the Enterprise Architect Project Browser.

Before making Components, you must set the Options from the Enterprise Architect Main menu, Add-ins | ARCSeeker Connector | Options. In the following dialog, specify your Storage which you made in step 1.

If you set the Options properly, you can select Add-ins | ARCSeeker Connector | Register this Package as new Component when you right-click the target Package in the Project Browser. Enterprise Architect automatically exports the target Package as XMI, and makes a new Component in the Storage.

When diagrams in the target Package use(link) element(s) which are not included in the target Package, the Add-in asks to make the dependent Component(s) at the same time. If you answer Yes, the Add-in will automatically make Components and then make relationships between these Components. When you import a Component to another EAP file later, the Add-in will automatically check these relationships and import the dependent Components at the same time. By this feature, you can create and manage UML model properly.

You can check this relationship by the Relationship diagram of ARCSeeker.

Step 3. Add various information to Components

After importing, your Storage has Components which are made from the Enterprise Architect model. Some properties of each Component will have values from the Enterprise Architect model, but you need to add more information to be able to find Components easier for later use.

You can add your own original Tags (like UML's Tagged Values). To add Tags, open a Component (double-click Component in the List View) and select the Tags & Keywords tab. You can add Groups, and then add Tags in Groups. Each Tag has a Name and a Value.

It is an option to add Groups and Tags to each Component separately, but it is better to add Groups and Tags to the Storage. When you add them to the Storage, all Components will have the same Groups and Tags. You do not need to set Tags to each Component. You can also define a default Tag value or selection list items for each Tag.

To add Tags to the Storage, double-click Storage in the List view, and then select the Tags & Keywords tab. You can add a Group, and then add Tags. Following screen shot is an example. If you wish to specify default items for selection using the drop-down list for future use of each Component, right-click the Tag and select Set List Items. When you enter a Value to a Storage's Tag, the Value of the Storage will be the default value of each Component's Tag.

After saving the changes, all Components will have the same Groups and Tags as Storage's Groups and Tags. You enter (or select, change) value to each Tag of each Component as necessary.

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