Beginning with Software Ideas Modeler

This tutorial will show you how to start with Software Ideas Modeler, how to create a new project, save it and open the existing ones. It describes the main user interface layout and its components.

The key activity in Software Ideas Modeler you would like to master is diagramming. This tutorial shows how to grasp basic concepts and how easy it is to create diagrams.

If you want to create models and diagrams, you need to handle the basic diagramming operation - selecting elements, renaming them, mastering the work with the clipboard to copy and paste the elements. It is also good to know how to delete the diagram elements properly.

Software Ideas Modeler is a diagramming software which supports plenty of diagram types and standards. However, what diagram should be used in the given scenario? What diagram would be most useful for the specific task?

The diagrams and models you created may be presented to the outside world in standard format files. You may print the diagrams, send projects via email or create the whole documentations.

A good layout makes a good diagram. Software Ideas Modeler provides a lot of tools that help you to create beautiful diagrams with a perfect layout.

Software Ideas Modeler offers plenty of styling options and settings. You may choose your colors and fonts, adjust the border width, the fill style, turn on shadows or gloss effects. An emulated handwriting style is also supported. It is possible to adjust the styles of individual elements. You may also extract these styles and reuse them.

Each element is defined by its properties - id, name, style, owner, repository, associated diagrams, tagged values, documentation. and other element-specific properties. You may edit all of them using the Properties dialog and a lot of them in the Properties sidebar.

Drag and drop is a very useful and intuitive technique. Software Ideas Modeler supports drag&drop actions wherever it is possible.

The models and diagrams are organized in projects. A project contains all elements, relationships, documentation, diagrams, other specific parts, and their associated data, fields and styling settings.