WebEA, lets you view Enterprise Architect models in a browser without the need for the desktop client, Enterprise Architect.
Using WebEA, you can view EA models from all kinds of devices ranging from Mobile to Desktops from anywhere.
In this article, we will be looking at the following capabilities of WebEA in detail. I have also tried to answer the most common questions related to WebEA. :
Like how WebEA shows the up-to-date version of diagrams, we have created this article with the most recent version of WebEA (V1.50.1650) and Pro Cloud Server (V2.1.9).
You can configure WebEA to connect to all your projects and view all the objects in it.
In the screenshot, notice that I have configured the same model three times but with different set of configurations
This is just a sample of configurations that is possible through WebEA.
The maximum number of EA projects you can connect to depends on your Pro Cloud Server license.
The following types of Authentication are possible for each model configured in WebEA:
Access Code
If this mode is enabled for a model, all the users accessing that model would be prompted to enter their Access code.
EA Security
Once EA security is enabled in a model, users will be prompted for their credentials when they try to access that model.
Access Code and EA Security
Third possibility is that you enable both the options and users have to enter both the details when they try to access a model.
If in case the model offers OpenID authentication, your users can login using it. This feature is said to be added in V2.1.21.
Note that each model can be configured to use different type of authentication.
The model or project browser in WebEA shows all the contents from your model.
One thing that is different here is the sort order. While in EA you control the ordering of objects, the objects are shown in alphabetical order in WebEA.
You can navigate to different parts of a model and see the properties of views, packages, diagrams and elements.
At any point in time, you will only see the elements of the current selection i.e., if you click on a model, you will only see the views inside that element and if you click on a package, you will only see its sub-packages, diagrams, and elements inside it in the browser.
There are three other kinds of views available when the above shown Browser is switched off.
Icon View
This view is very similar to the Browser, just that the contents are shown as icons.
List View
In this view, you can see some additional details like Type, Author and Modified date. Also, you will be able to see a lot of objects in a single page.
Notes View
As the name suggests, in this view you will be able to see Notes of objects. This view will mostly suit when you are viewing elements and diagrams.
This is one of those features which majority of the EA users have been waiting for.
This new feature in WebEA lets you control the visibility or access of your users. The access control we are talking about here is not just about what an user can read or write, you would also be able to control what your users can see and cannot see.
This can be achieved if you know how to use 'Row Level Security' capability in Oracle 8+ and Microsoft SQL Server 2016+.
In WebEA, you will always be seeing the most up-to-date version of diagrams. Even the ongoing changes will immediately reflect here (They should be saved obviously!).
To see the properties of the objects on a diagram, you need to just click on them and the properties will show up in the Mini-Properties window.
If you want to go to the landing page of an object when you click on it, you need to configure WebEA accordingly.
Note that the properties will show up on click only when the Mini-Properties window is enabled. If it is not enabled, clicking on an object will take you to that object’s page.
The search menu lets you look at all the diagrams in a model in a single place. This is a good feature for Enterprise Architects.
See almost all the main and extended properties of views, packages, diagrams and elements using WebEA.
There are two types of views that are possible:
Wide View
In this view, you see all the properties in the page.
Split View
In this view, you see all the properties in the Mini-Properties window.
See the following main properties from WebEA.
Composite or locked objects can be identified by their corresponding symbols in an object’s page.
You will be able to edit Notes from the list of main properties.
Clicking on Hyperlinks in Notes will open those links in a new tab or window.
See the following extended properties using WebEA:
Out of all the extended properties, few can be added or edited from WebEA. We will cover that in detail in the upcoming sections.
You will be able to look at the contents of linked document from WebEA. You will be prompted for a password if linked document is encrypted.
If an element has a stored document or an image asset added via EA, you will be able to download it to your machine through WebEA.
See all the details of the connectors by selecting them from Relationships section. As you can see from the screenshot, every single detail is available for you.
Discussions feature lets you quickly chat with your peers on any EA element or package.
Discussions in WebEA reflects in Enterprise Architect as well. So, if you are making changes in Enterprise Architect based on discussions, you can quickly refer them without having to switch the app.
Start or reply to discussions about any object in WebEA.
While starting a discussion, you can set the status and priority to a discussion. For example, if you want immediate inputs for a discussion, you can set its priority to High and if a discussion’s purpose is fulfilled, you can set the status to closed.
A High priority discussion in Open state looks like this:
The list of all ongoing discussions can be seen from the search menu.
Reviews helps you and your peers to add discussions to a selected group of EA objects from a single Place.
To create a Review, create an element of type “Review”. An element will be created with a child diagram. Now go to Enterprise Architect and drag and drop the objects on to the diagram which needs review.
Now, anybody can join the review to add their comments or feedback. They can leave it once they are done.
Review summary gives you important details of review and the ongoing discussions.
You can get the following information:
“Objects in Review” section gives you’re the list of objects that are currently under review and the discussions that are going on.
The list of all ongoing reviews can be seen from the search menu as well.
See the Relationship matrices created from EA easily using WebEA.
Select a Profile you wish to see and
the relationship matrix will show up as you see in EA.
From the matrix, you can
By clicking on the share icon, you can get a link which you can share with your peers to easily access the relationship matrix online.
Search for the EA objects you want to find in two ways.
First way is possible if you know the GUID of the object you are searching for.
Second way would suit you if you are aware of the object’s name or some text in its Notes. This feature is simple and powerful. For example, you can easily search for a “diagram” “name” starting with “Business” modified in the “last 3 days”.
Watch List provides you details on the activities that are going on in the model. This is a really useful feature if you want to stay updated on what’s going on in the EA models you are associated with.
The best thing about Watch Lists is that it can be customized as per your preferences. Also, this can be customized in a different way for different models.
Choose to see details about any of the following:
WebEA not only lets you see objects created from EA but also lets you create a range of objects. Note that to create objects, WebEA needs to be configured accordingly and you will need appropriate access.
Add Views with the icon styles listed in the below screenshot.
Create Packages, Diagrams and Elements
Add packages and selected list of elements as show in the following screenshot.
On top of object creation, WebEA also lets you create a variety of element features.
The following features can be added to elements:
A few of these features namely Tests and Resources can also be edited from WebEA.
Email us at prolaborate@sparxsystems.com if you have any doubts w.r.t Pro Cloud Server or WebEA or Prolaborate and we will be happy to help you.