New specialization plugin

Started by Hervé, June 30, 2017, 21:18:01 PM

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Hervé

Dear all,

I'm pleased to announce the availability of the version 0.0.1 (proof of concept) version of my specialization plugin on GitHub : https://github.com/archi-contribs/specialization-plugin

It is far from having the final functionalities but this version demonstrates the capacity of a plugin to change the icons. At the moment, one may change the icon of business actors and elements of technology layer elements only, using a "icon" property which indicates the name of the icon. The elements icons are then changed in the tree on the left handside of Archi and in every views where the elements are included.

Please note that after changing an element's icon, it may be necessary to update the opened views either by moving one of their element or by closing and reopening them.

You will find more information and installation instructions on GitHub.

On the short term roadmap:

  • provide automated installation
  • add the ability to change the icon of all the elements
  • add more icons, especially those of IML (http://cognitsolutions.co.uk/publications/iml)
  • replace (or extend) the "icon" property system by more complex rules

As usual, if you've got comments or requirements, please do not hesitate to drop me a line  :D

Best regards
Hervé


ps: once the plugin installed, there is an option on the preference page to automatically update it from GitHub  ;D

Hervé

Dear all,

I'm pleased to announce the version 0.0.3 alpha of my specialization plugin. It is avilable on github : https://github.com/archi-contribs/specialization-plugin

The installation procedure is simple: download the jar file and copy it to Archi's plugins folder.

This plugin allows to change the icon of any element (only technology, application and business layers on this alpha version). Is supports PNG, JPG, GIF (static images only) and BMP. The image should be located in any subfolder of the plugins/com.archimatetool.editor_4.0.3.201707201522/img folder.

To change an element's icon, simply create a property clled icon and with value, the path of the image under the img folder.

For instance, to show up the plugins/com.archimatetool.editor_4.0.3.201707201522/img/logistic/factory.png image, one would write <b>logistic/factory.png</b>

Here is a sample of what can be acheived so far ... Please note that this is just an alpha release, so please be tolerent to few display bugs.

Best regards
Hervé

Hervé

#2
Dear all,

I've been working hard and I'm please to announce that my specialization plugin is now ready to be promoted to beta release (version 0.1). You may download it from GitHub : https://github.com/archi-contribs/specialization-plugin

The updates done from previous version:

  • bug fixes
  • Activate the plugin's automatic update mechanism (you won't be required anymore to manually download the JAR file from GitHub when a new version is released)
  • all the Archi's elements can now have a new icon
  • two options have been added on the preference page

    • enable icons replacement in views
    • enable icons replacement in model tree

On my TODO list:

  • Provide a file exporer on the preference page to access the images (and hiding Archi's ones of course) and enable copy/paste operations.
  • encode the images in the model metadata that they can be saved in the archimate file

As usual, please do not hesitate to drop me a line should you discover a bug or request a new functionality.

Best regards
Hervé

jmariani

Hi!

I'm sorry, but I'm not getting clear where to download the plugin and images.
Where's that "plugins" folder?

Thank you in advance.

Hervé

#4
Hi,

The plugin is a JAR file that can be downloaded from GitHub:

Then, the JAR file needs to be copied to the "plugins" folder of Archi. This folder is located next to the Archi binary file so it really depends where you installed Archi.

At last, you may start Archi (or restart if it was already running).

The images should be located in the "com.archimatetool.editor_4.0.xxxxx" subfolder of the "plugins" folder.

Hope this helps

Best regards
Hervé

Marbi

Hi.
I have a little problem installing your plugins. After moving them to the plugin directory and after running the Archi  I have no any sign  that they have been installed. I do not have such a issue with the Collaboration plugin. I put it in the plugin directory, restart the Archi and just  use it.    What is the  difference beetweeen Collaboration plugin and the ones you provide? Do they need any additional java or Windows configuration?
Best regards,
Marek

Hervé

Hi Marek,

My plugins do no require any other Java or Windows configuration.

There are several ways to check if the plugin is correctly started by Archi. Please use the one you prefer:

  • Go to Edit / Preferences. You have one entry per installed plugin.
  • Go to Help/ Help Contents. You have one entry per installed plugin.
  • Go to Help / About Archi / Installation details. You have one entry per installed plugin.

If the plugin does not show up, you may check if an error message is shown on the Java console by running "Archi.exe -consolelog".

Regarding your other question about the difference between Collaboration plugin and the ones I provide. Basically, I provide the following plugins (all available through the archicontribs GitHub page https://github.com/archi-contribs):

  • Database plugin: this plugin allows to store models in a central database. The difference with the collaboration plugin is that it uses a GitHub server while my plugin uses a database (SQL or Neo4J) than can be requested or updated using any SQL tool like an ETL.
  • Form plugin: this plugin allows to create forms to show and update components properties. It also contains a module to export those properties to an Excel spreadsheet.
  • Script plugin: this plugin allows to automate few tasks when Archi is started like loading a specific model (from an Archimate file or from a database) and generate an HTML report from this model.
  • Specialization plugin: this plugin allows to change the Archi elements icons (the ones at the upper left corner) in order to specialize them.
  • Service Now plugin: this plugin allows to import elements and relationships form the Service Now CMDB web services.

Hope this helps.

Best regards
Hervé

Marbi

Hi.
Thanks for a prompt reply.
Please find enclosed some screenshots.
I'm almost sure there must be a configuration issue.
Rgds,
Marek


Hervé

Hi Marek,

Your files do not have the right size. Should be:
     - org.archicontribs.database_v2.0.7b.jar        15.7 MB
     - org.archicontribs.form_v1.6.1.jar                11.8 MB

Did you follow the procedure I've given to download them ?
1. click on the JAR file
2. click on the download button

Best regards
Hervé

ps: you do not need the vpp file :)

Marbi

Hi.
My fault. I didn't follow your download instructions. It seems that everything is working.
Thanks a lot.
Marek

jmariani

Hi, Herve.

On a Mac, Archi is an "app" file,  with folders inside. Do you mean the plugins folder inside it?
If so, what happens whit a new version of Archi? Should I copy the jar file every time I upgrade?

Regards.

Hervé

Hi,

My apologies, I do not have a Mac, so I don't know about app files ...

Best regards
Hervé

Hervé


Jean-Baptiste Sarrodie

Hi,

Quote from: jmariani on September 27, 2017, 15:50:31 PM
On a Mac, Archi is an "app" file,  with folders inside. Do you mean the plugins folder inside it?
If so, what happens whit a new version of Archi? Should I copy the jar file every time I upgrade?

Yes, you're right. That's the folder inside the App so you'll have to install then again in the new version of the app.

Regards,

JB
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jmariani

Quote from: Jean-Baptiste Sarrodie on September 30, 2017, 14:26:10 PM
Hi,

Yes, you're right. That's the folder inside the App so you'll have to install then again in the new version of the app.

Regards,

JB

Thank you!. Maybe in a future version will you consider moving the plugin outside the "app"? Thank you!