A model in Archi is organised into a basic folder structure representing the three ArchiMate "layers" and the elements' relationships. A new model comprises the following top level folders:
Business | Contains the elements in the "Business" layer and any user-created sub-folders |
Application | Contains the elements in the "Application" layer and any user-created sub-folders |
Technology | Contains the elements in the "Technology" layer and any user-created sub-folders |
Motivation | Contains the elements in the "Motivation" extension and any user-created sub-folders |
Implementation & Migration | Contains the elements in the "Implementation & Migration" extension and any user-created sub-folders |
Connectors | Contains the Junction type elements and any user-created sub-folders |
Relations | Contains the relationships between elements as they are created in Views (diagrams) and any user-created sub-folders |
Views | Contains links to Views (diagrams) |
Elements can be created and deleted directly in the Model Tree (see Adding Elements Directly to the Model Tree) or are automatically added to the appropriate type folder as objects are drawn onto the canvas of a View (see Adding New Elements to the View from the Palette). All elements in a folder are automatically sorted alphabetically.
User sub-folders can be created under the main top-level folders. This allows you to organise the elements in any way you wish. To add a new sub-folder to the Model Tree, select a top-level folder (or a user-created sub-folder), and right-click. A "New" menu item allows you to add a new sub-folder to the tree.
Note that a sub-folder can only contain elements of the same type as the topmost parent folder. For example, only "Business" type elements can be created in the "Business" folder and any of its sub-folders.
You can also drag and drop elements and sub-folders within the same folder branch, but not across folders of different types.
To rename a sub-folder in the Model Tree choose "Rename" from the main Edit menu or from the right-click context menu.