Version 4.0 with Dozens of Improvements

Dear users of Software Ideas Modeler, I'm glad I can announce that the new version 4.0 is finally here. It just happens that the fourth version is published symbolically on 4th October. The application is now available for free download. But from now it is free of charge only for non-commercial users (they can support the development voluntarily through donations as before). As the programming of this software requires a lot of my time, I was thinking about how to obtain funds for its further development. Enough raised funds will enable me to devote to the development not only in my free time (which is unfortunately few), but also switch to full time. On this basis, I decided to introduce a small fee for commercial users only (€69 / $89) .

What is new in this version?

The fourth version of Software Ideas Modeler brings more than 150 improvements. There are three new types of diagrams – Timing Diagram, Flowchart Diagram and Robustness Diagram. New element types were added to existing diagrams. The bounds of the diagram extend now in all directions not only right and down.

Import

The diagrams needn’t be drawing from scratch. You can import classes directly from .NET assemblies or database. As another source you can use XMI files which are partially supported in this version (support of this file format will be gradually improved).

Elements

Overview of elements provides Element Browser. It shows all elements in the summary list. You can easily show all diagrams where is present the element and open the chosen one.
Some parts of the diagram can be temporary hidden using filters. You can filter out the comments, relations or collaborations.

Output

There are significant improvements seen in generation of outputs. Software Ideas Modeler has improved generation of documentation and source code. Documentation can be saved as PDF or RTF. Source code generation is improved even more. Output can be saved into files (not only in textbox). New programming languages are supported – C++, Java, Ruby and VB6. Documentation is inserted to generated source code as comments. Diagrams can be easily copied as images (bitmaps or metafiles) into the clipboard or exported to the files using new dialog with several settings.

Projects

Project structure was improved – models can be nested and has defined namespaces. Types, which can be organized in sets, are manageable through Types Editor. There are seven predefined typesets (C++, C#, Java, Ruby, SQL DDL, UML and VB.NET).
Simple task management is now the part of this software. You can define simple “to-dos” or tasks with more details and assigned persons.

Improved User Interface

User interface of application have also seen many improvements. There are new better components (color combo, grid, treeview). Interesting feature is thumbnail tabs – diagram thumbnails are displayed in tabs. Control of application should be more intuitive thanks to lot of small improvements – eg. scrolling using the drag with pressed right mouse button (so can be scrolled diagrams and tab panel). Lots of new key shortcuts and context commands were added.

After thorough testing I think program is stable. But you (users) are the best testers, so you will certainly find the bugs, which I didn’t notice. Therefore cautious users can consider this version as beta.
I hope you will like this new version even more than the previous one.

New Features Summary

+ New diagram types:
+ UML Timing Diagram
+ Flowchart Diagram
+ Robustness Diagram
+ Import of classes from .NET assemblies
+ Import of database model
+ Element Browser
+ TO-DOs panel
+ Task Management
+ Easy hiding of comments, relations and collaborations (menu Diagram->Filter)
+ PDF documentation generation
+ Setting dialog for documenation generation
+ Setting for documentation title, subtitle, author, company
+ Source code generation:
+ Added setting dialog
+ Choice of element set for source code generation: whole diagram/selected elements
+ Added support for static, abstract and virtual modifiers
+ Added support for namespaces
+ Added support for imported namespaces
+ Added support for documentation in comments
+ New supported programming languages: C++, Java, VB6, PHP, Ruby
+ Partial support for XMI import
+ Option for automatic diagram creation from XMI
+ Diagrams can be imported from another project
+ Improved work with types
+ Type sets
+ Editor of types and type sets
+ Added new diagram elements:
+ Accept Time Event Action
+ Interruptible Activity Region
+ Flow Final
+ Action
+ Deep History
+ Shadow History
+ Terminate Node
+ Constraint
+ Refine (Dependency)
+ Access (Dependency)
+ Combo Box (UI diagram)
+ Grid (UI diagram)
+ List Box (UI diagram)
+ Progress Bar (UI diagram)
+ Scrollbar (UI diagram)
+ Added regions for concurrent states (new button in the context bar of state)
+ Added documentation for attributes and operations
+ Added support for static attributes and methods
+ Support for namespaces (can be defined for models and diagrams)
+ Improved editing of sequence diagrams
+ Stereotype editor
+ Default names and IDs settings
+ Tabs with diagram thumbnails
+ Resizable tab bar
+ Scrollable tab bar (using right mouse button and moving)
+ Showing thumbnails in tab bar when dragging element over it
+ Diagrams can be moved between models
+ New view of project tree: Diagram Types
+ Added icons for items in All Entities view of project tree
+ Added new context menu items for attributes and operations (Rename, Change type, Visibility, Move up, Move down, Remove)
+ Elements initial state, final state and entry point are resizable
+ Improved selection rendering for more selected elements
+ End of required interface need not be associated
+ Automatic locking (when end point is moved into the center of element) and unlocking (when end point is moved to the border of element) of end points of relation
+ Added automatic inflation of diagram bounds on the left and top edge of diagram
+ Improved generation of default names (program checks whether the new name actually exists)
+ Open diagrams are highlighted in Model Overview
+ Context menu added into the Model Overview allows open or close window with diagram and delete diagram from model
+ The width of lifeline can be changed
+ Classifier can be assigned to lifeline
+ Relation is automatically connected with defined entities after moving from the project tree
+ View of the diagram can be moved by dragging with pressed right mouse button
+ Added undo support for the command 'Create New Diagram'
+ Diagram element can be copied from one diagram to the other using drag and drop
+ Classifier can be setted to lifeline or object element using drag and drop
+ Added menu item (View/Start Page) to show the Start Page
+ Type can be removed from an attribute also in the Properties dialog
+ The order of attributes and operations can be changed using buttons (Move Up, Move Down) in the Properties dialog
+ Added dialog for the image export
+ New options for image export:
+ Background colors of exported image
+ Size of exported image
+ Option for export only active layer
+ Option for export all layers including hidden ones
+ Improved color combo - faster displaying, nicer UI, localizable
+ Improved precision of rendering
+ Improved rendering of borders and lines - zoom is applied to them
+ Improved selecting of elements (most apparent for fragment and interaction operand in sequence diagram)
+ New context bar buttons:
+ Add Attribute (for ERD entity)
+ ERD diagram can be converted to UML Class diagram
+ Displaying of tagged values in diagram (command Show Tagged Values in Element menu)
+ Field editing (name, attribute, etc.) can be cancelled using ESC key
+ Group and ungroup commands added into the context menu
+ New faster and nicer project tree control
+ Project tree supports multiple selection (using CTRL, SHIFT)
+ Selection in project tree is applied to elements in diagram and vice versa
+ Added button for showing advanced information
+ Added buttons for auto layouts in the Layout bar
+ Added icons for auto layouts
+ Added new style set Simple Bold
+ Name of the current project is displayed in the window title bar
+ Added menu item Closed Project into the menu File
+ Window position, size and layout are saved when closing and restored when starting
+ New menu Element/Add allows to add attributes and operations (also with shortcut keys)
+ Lots of added shortcut keys for menu items
+ Added shortcut key (F2) for renaming elements in the project tree
+ New shortcuts for diagram window:
+ Zoom in (+), zoom out (-)
+ Inflate element (CTRL++), deflate element (CTRL+-)
+ Attributes and operations support immediate editing (after adding)
+ Support for custom element images (Element/Presentation/Custom)
+ Smaller steps of wheel zooming in for zoom larger than 100%
+ Mouse cursor position is taken into account during wheel zooming to adjust view position
+ Project properties dialog replaced with MDI child window, which is automatically displayed after creating project
+ New model properties dialog
+ Element groups are displayed in the project tree
+ Project tree can be filtered by element type (entities, relations, comments, groups)
+ Displaying points of selected paths (relations)
+ New dialog window for unhandled errors
+ Option for turn on silent mode for unhandled errors
+ New setting: Display relations always on top
+ New setting: Auto scrolling
+ New context menu item for relation: Add Point
+ Relations can be reversed
+ Support for nested models
+ Showing icon for elements with assigned diagrams
+ Showing icon for elements with multiple usage
+ Dynamic loading of language menu
+ Added search box in standard bar
+ Copy diagram to clipboard as metafile
+ Inserting relations using drag & drop (auto/dialog)
+ Full screen mode
+ Element can be deleted also with associated relations (CTRL+DEL)
+ New style option: Text alignment
+ Added support for default value of operation parameter
+ Added name of model in title of model overview window
+ Thumbnails of diagrams in Model Overview window can be zoomed
+ Added Diagram Overview window for diagram types
+ Asynchronous rendering of diagram thumbnails in Model Overview window
+ Elements are slightly shifted right down after pasting
+ Improved auto size
+ After pressing ENTER next attribute/operation is edited or if it is the last, new one is created
+ Attribute/operation can be deleted by deleting its definition in inline editing field
+ Auto size is applied to element when double-clicking to right bottom sizing grip

Fixed Bugs

* Added missing undo support for some commands
* Initial state is replaced with intial node in Activity diagram and Interaction overview diagram (to conform to the UML specification)
* Final state is replaced with activity final node in activity diagram (to conform to the UML specification)
* Fixed adding trailing nul symbols at the end of the project file
* Fixed pasting phantom items from clipboards, when nested items are copied
* Fixed updating of zoom information when switching between windows with diagrams
* Fixed PDF rendering
* Fixed changed date information for diagram
* Fixed rendering of Signal Receipt element
* Fixed active buttons on context bar when it is hidden
* Fixed overflow of element text
* Stability fixes

Downloads

Download Software Ideas Modeler 4.00 (ZIP package)
Download Software Ideas Modeler 4.00 (Setup)