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SmartViews

Written by Rutuja Murumkar

SmartViews is a toggleable view in the Repository that displays your architecture components in a visual format based on ArchiMate standards.

The Repository lets you switch between a tabular list of objects and SmartViews, a visual ArchiMate-based canvas.

Accessing SmartViews

To use SmartViews:

  1. Go to the Repository tab.

  2. Select an Object Definition.

  3. To change the view, select the option Canvas from the Show as drop-down in the top-right corner.
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When you switch to SmartViews, BlueDolphin loads a visual representation of the selected object definition.

You can pan and zoom across the canvas to explore the layout. Use the download option to save the current view as a PNG or JPG image.


You can also apply filters from the filter bar at the top. Any filters you apply in the table view automatically carry over to SmartViews, allowing you to refine the visual layout without reapplying them.

View element details in the Side Panel

The Side Panel shows details of the objects and relationships in a SmartView without leaving the canvas.

To edit fields in the Side Panel, you need object owner permissions. Refer to Manage Roles and Permissions for details.

Open the Side Panel

  1. Click an object or relationship on the canvas.

  2. Click the expand icon in the top-right corner. The panel header shows the selected element's name.

  3. To resize the panel, drag its edge.

  4. To hide the Side Panel, click the collapse icon.

View object and relationship details

  1. Click an object or relationship on the canvas.

  2. Open the Side Panel.

  3. In the Dashboard, review the following details:

    • Title

    • Object definition

    • Business unit

    • Conditional Color

    • Completeness

    • Last edited date and time

Dashboard values are read-only. To change a value, edit the questionnaire of the object or relationship. Refer to Questionnaires for steps and required permissions.

View details of the view

  1. Click an empty area of the canvas.

  2. Open the Side Panel.

  3. In the Side Panel, review the Owner, Status, and Sharing settings.

You can't change the view owner from the Side Panel. Refer to Perform Bulk and Individual Actions on Views for changing ownership from the Views List.

Visual analysis

Visual analysis is available in SmartViews and Navigation Views. It builds on Conditional Layout by applying several dimensions to the same objects at once. A dimension maps the values of one data field to a background color, an icon, or text. You can save your dimensions as a visual analysis profile and reuse it in other views.

Any user can create and manage their own profiles, including in read-only views. Admins can manage all profiles. Refer to Manage Roles and Permissions for details.

Create an analysis profile

  1. Click the Visual Analysis icon. The visual analysis settings open in the Side Panel.

  2. Click the dropdown menu at the top of the Side Panel.

  3. Click Create analysis profile.

  4. Enter a name for the profile.

Add a dimension

  1. In the Side Panel, click Add dimension.

  2. In Dimension, select the format: Color, Icon, or Text.

  3. In Type, select the data source: Object questionnaire, Relationship objects, or Relationship questionnaires.

  4. In Value, select the field the dimension takes its data from.

The dimension is added to the profile, and the objects on the canvas update to reflect the data.

NOTE: You can't edit a dimension. To change it, delete it by clicking the delete icon and add it again by clicking Add dimension.

Manage profiles

To turn visual analysis on or off, use one of these options:

  • Click the toggle in the top-right corner of the Visual analysis Side Panel.

  • When visual analysis is on, click the toggle at the bottom center of the canvas to turn it off.

To show or hide an individual dimension, click its individual toggle in the Side Panel.

To see the legend, use Highlights in the Side Panel.

To manage a profile, click the three-dot menu next to the profile dropdown and select one of these options:

  • Rename analysis profile: renames the profile.

  • Delete: removes the profile. Only the profile owner or an Admin can delete a profile.

  • Set as Default for this view: loads the profile, including whether it's on or off, whenever someone opens the view. Only the view owner can set a default.

Behaviors

  • Specific object definition precedence: when two dimensions of the same type apply to one object, the more specific one is used. For example, if one Background Color dimension targets All Object Definitions and another targets the Application object definition, Application objects get the Application dimension's color. All other objects get the All Object Definitions color.

  • Dimension limits: no hard limit applies to the number of dimensions. The practical maximum is three per object definition, one for each format.

  • Persistence: an active profile stays on throughout your session until you turn it off or switch profiles.

Limitations

Visual grouping is not yet available in SmartViews. Objects are shown exactly as they are defined, without the ability to select, cluster, or group them into a shape group. To visually group related objects, you should use the Architecture views.

Visual analysis doesn't support relationships: you can't color or label the lines between objects.

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