Model management

1. Create a new model

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

To create a model, follow these steps from the explorer toolbar:

  1. Open the Project Editor.

  2. Click the New model action in the explorer toolbar.

  3. Complete the model name.

  4. Choose the model type.

  5. Click the Create button.

Create New Model

Upon creation, the new model appears in the Project Explorer.

New Model result

2. Upload a model

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

Only models exported in the specific JSON format recognized by SysON can be re-uploaded by using the upload action. Ensure that your models are exported using the Download Model action to enable successful re-uploading to SysON.

To upload a model from a file previously exported, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Project Editor.

  2. Open the Project Explorer view.

  3. Click the Upload button at the top of the Project Explorer in the toolbar.

  4. It opens the Upload Model modal.

  5. Select a model from your file system.

    Upload model

  6. The uploaded model is automatically created and opened.

3. Rename a model

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

You can update the model name from the Project Explorer:

  1. Click the Element Options Menu next to the model in the Project Explorer.

  2. Select the Rename option.

  3. Update the name in the editable field.

  4. Click Rename.

4. Delete a model

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

Deleting a model and its content is a significant action, and it’s important to note that the entire model, along with its contents, is permanently removed. This includes all associated semantic elements, representations, and any other data within the model. Exercise caution when performing this operation, as it can’t be reversed.

The deletion affects everyone.

To delete a model, follow these steps:

  1. Select the model in the Project Explorer.

  2. Open the Element Options Menu next to the model.

  3. Click Delete.

Delete model

A confirmation dialog appears when the model is deleted via the Model Explorer. This behavior can be disabled by checking the "Disable this confirmation dialog" checkbox in the dialog.

Semantic Deletion

This preference is stored in the local storage of the browser. You can reset it by deleting the SysON data in cache of your browser.

5. Download a model

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

You can download a model from the Project Explorer:

  1. Click the Element Options Menu next to the model in the Project Explorer.

  2. Select the Download option.

Download model

The model is downloaded in JSON format. The JSON format used by SysON is specific to the tool.

6. Create a new element

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

The process to create a new element in a model involves the following steps:

  1. Open the Element Options Menu next to the parent element.

  2. Click New object.

  3. Select the desired type of object to create.

  4. Click Create.

Create New Element

Upon completion, the newly created element is automatically selected in the Project Explorer.

7. Read an element

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

  1. To navigate through the details of a semantic element, use the Project Explorer to navigate through the model and locate the needed element.

  2. Select the element in the Project Explorer.

  3. On the right sidebar, access the Details view. This view presents all the available properties for the selected element, providing a comprehensive overview of its characteristics.

Read element

8. Rename an element

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

It’s possible to rename an element either from the Project Explorer, the Details view or a representation.

8.1. From the Project Explorer

You can update the element name from the Project Explorer:

  1. Click the Element Options Menu next to the element in the Project Explorer.

  2. Select the Rename option.

  3. Update the name in the editable field.

  4. Click Rename.

Rename element from project explorer

Alternatively, cancel the operation by pressing the ESC key.

8.2. From the Details view

You can update the element properties from the Details view:

  1. Select the property in the Details view.

  2. Update the value in the editable field.

  3. Validate the changes by pressing the RETURN key or clicking anywhere.

Rename element from Details

8.3. From a representation

You can update the element name from a representation (diagram…​):

  1. Select the element in the representation.

  2. Select the Edit tool in the Contextual Toolbar.

  3. Validate the changes by pressing the RETURN key or clicking anywhere.

Rename element from representation

Alternatively, cancel the operation by pressing the ESC key.

Instead of using the tool in the toolbar, you can press F2 key or start typing the new value directly to efficiently update the element name.

9. Update an element

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

It’s possible to update element properties either from the Details view or a representation.

9.1. From the Details view

You can update the element properties from the Details view:

  1. Select the property in the Details view.

  2. Update the value in the editable field.

  3. Validate the changes by pressing the RETURN key or clicking anywhere.

9.2. From a representation

You can update the element name from a representation (diagram…​):

  1. Select the element in the representation.

  2. Select the Edit tool in the Contextual Toolbar.

  3. Validate the changes by pressing the RETURN key or clicking anywhere.

Instead of using the tool in the toolbar, you can press F2 key or start typing the new value directly to efficiently update the element name.

A powerful syntax exists for editing element properties directly through the direct edit tool; refer to Direct Edit Tool and Shortcuts for details.

10. Delete an element

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

This operation is irreversible, once done there is no mean to get the element back. The element and its children - semantic element and representations - are deleted.

The deletion affects everyone.

To delete an element, follow these steps:

10.1. From the Project Explorer

  1. Open the Element Options Menu next to the element.

  2. Click Delete.

Delete element from explorer

10.2. From a representation

  1. Select the element in the representation.

  2. Click the Delete tool in the Contextual Toolbar or press the DEL key on your keyboard.

Delete element from representation
Use the DEL key cautiously, as it’s a direct shortcut for the delete operation.

A confirmation dialog appears when an element is deleted via the Delete from model tool in the palette or via the Element Options Menu. This behavior can be disabled by checking the "Disable this confirmation dialog" checkbox in the dialog.

Semantic Deletion

This preference is stored in the local storage of the browser. You can reset it by deleting the SysON data in cache of your browser.

11. Direct edit tool and shortcuts

Before you Start

🔓 The open source SysON project includes this feature.

🔥 This feature is currently considered experimental. Try it out and give feedback by reporting bugs and suggesting new features. It’s not recommended for production use.

👥 This feature is available to all users.

The SysON supports a subset of the SysML v2 textual syntax, which allows you to update several elements simultaneously. This makes it more efficient to edit models.

In general, you can edit the label of a shape in a diagram, and the diagram editor tries to interpret your input and update the corresponding element properties.

If an element has a complex name such as someElementName[x]:someTypeName:>someElement, when editing, you must retain all the written parts; otherwise, you risk unsetting some values.

Here are some shortcuts for efficiently editing SysON models:

  • Typing someName updates the name of the selected element.

  • Typing :SomeTypeName, sets the type of the selected element to SomeTypeName. If SomeTypeName doesn’t exist, it’s created as an appropriate type element (for example Item Definition, Part Definition, …​) within the same parent container as the selected element.

  • Typing [x] on an element or a relationship sets its cardinality to x.

  • Typing [1..x] on an element or a relationship sets its cardinality to 1..x.

  • Typing [x..*] on an element or a relationship sets its cardinality to x..*.

  • Typing someElement:>otherElement on a element sets someElement as a subsetting of the otherElement if both element are of the same type. Otherwise, it creates a specialization relationship between someElement and otherElement.

  • Typing someElement:>>otherElement on an element sets someElement as a redefinition of otherElement.

These shortcuts offer a convenient way to update model elements efficiently.