Archi version 5.4 is now available to download.
New features, improvements and fixes are listed in the Version History.
Here’s a summary of some of the new features in Archi 5.4.
Improvements, optimisations and fixes
This version focuses on improvements associated with the underlying Eclipse framework and includes many internal fixes and optimisations.
Archi is built on the Eclipse framework which has a 3-monthly release cycle. With each new Archi build we try to use the latest version of Eclipse in order to fix underlying bugs and regressions in the framework. Unfortunately, some versions of Eclipse contain other problems and can’t be used. It’s taken until Eclipse 4.32 (June 2024 release) to get to a version that should hopefully be stable. We are now ready to target Eclipse 4.32 in Archi 5.4. This build should fix a number of issues, especially on Mac and Linux.
New option on Mac to scale fonts to compensate for DPI differenced between platforms
There’s a new option on Mac under Settings, Appearance, Fonts – “Scale fonts for diagram objects and connections on Mac”. When this is selected, fonts used in diagram (View) objects and connections are adjusted to match the native DPI (dots per inch) on Mac. This ensures fonts appear to be the same size when sharing a model between Mac, Windows and Linux.
For example, you might work on an Archi model on Windows and set the font height for an object to 10. However, when opening the model on Mac the font will appear too small because Mac uses 72 DPI while Windows uses 96 DPI. Conversely, you might set the font height on Mac but it appears too big on Windows. This setting adjusts for this difference so that font heights appear the same on all platforms.
Note – Selecting this option automatically switches the default font from “Lucida Grande 12” to “Lucida Grande 9” and vice-verca to compensate for the new scaling. After changing this option, you may want to manually set a different default font by clicking the “Edit…” button.
Add support for Palette entry key bindings
You can now assign your own key bindings (shortcuts or “hot keys”) to Palette entries. These can be set in the “Keys” tab in Archi’s Preferences:
The key bindings will appear in each Palette entry’s tooltip:
There’s a new context, “In Archi Diagrams”, that you can assign to a key binding in the “When” field so that the key binding is only active when a diagram has the focus. This allows you to use key combinations that would otherwise be used when, for example, editing text.
Some other new key binding settings have also been added including “Select in Model Tree” and the order of View objects (send to back and bring forward). As with the Palette entries, you can set these in the “Keys” tab in Archi’s Preferences.
Optimisations to the Models Tree and Search Filters
The Models Tree should be a bit more responsive when switching between Views and when using the Search Filter. The Search Filter now correctly remembers the last expanded/collapsed state when closing the Search bar.
More…
There are several other improvements and bug fixes in Archi 5.4 which contribute to its stability and usability. See the full Version History.
Thanks to our Archi Supporters!
And once again, we’d like to thank everyone for their support on Patreon and from other donations. Without this support Archi 5.4 would not have been possible. If you’d like to support Archi please join us at Patreon.
