The Palette

The palette contains the drawing tools, and elements and relationships that can be added to a View. It is an area that is attached to a View.

The Palette in a View

To create new elements and relationships in a View select the required object tool on the palette and either click or drag it onto the canvas area. Once the figure has been added to the canvas you can resize and re-position it by the usual drag actions.

You can configure how the Palette displays items by right-clicking on the Palette and choosing "Settings..."

Palette Settings


tipCan't see the palette? Don't panic!
If you can't see the palette in a View it may be closed. If this is the case, open it by clicking the "Show Palette" triangle button at the top-right of the View window.


Specialized Concepts in the Palette

If you have created Specialized Concepts these will be present in the Palette to enable you to quickly add specialized concepts to a View like any other concept. This can be enabled or disabled in Preferences

Specialized Concepts in the Palette


The Detached Palette

By default, each View has its own attached Palette. It is also possible to have a single, detachable Palette that you can drag and dock to any position in the application window. To do this, click on the "Palette" button on the main toolbar:

Palette

The "Palette" button on the main toolbar

Clicking this button detaches the Palette from the View and creates a Palette window. You can drag and dock this window to anywhere in the application space.

Closing the Palette window re-attaches it to any open Views.


The Quick Add Popup

You can also add elements to an ArchiMate View using the Quick Add popup. To open it, Alt-click where you want the element to appear, or use the default shortcut Shift+A. If an object is selected and the cursor is on that element the new element will be added as a child of that element.

Quick Add

The Quick Add Popup

Type in the filter box to search for an element (the wildcards "*" and "?" are permitted), then press Enter or double-click to add it at the cursor's location.

Note: The popup requires a target location, so it will only open when the cursor is over an active ArchiMate View. You can disable the double-click shortcut in Diagram Preferences if preferred and the shortcut key combination can be set in Keys Preferences.