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Introduction to Models

Claire De Bie
Updated

As an OrbusInfinity user, the data you work with is organized into Models and Workspaces. While you may not be able to create new Models or change their permissions, understanding how these elements structure your data will help you work more efficiently, find what you need, and collaborate effectively with your team.

Models

What is a Model?

A Model can be compared to a library within OrbusInfinity. It is set up by your administrator(s) and contains a set of Objects, their Relationships, and graphical representations (diagrams and visualizations). It represents a scope, a state, or time period in the organization (for example, "Baseline Architecture", "Target Architecture", or "EMEA Baseline").

Why is this useful?

Models help keep information organized and separate where needed, so you always know the context of what you are looking at, across all enterprise data or within a space you belong to or are responsible for. You can then intentionally action merges or reuse depending on what is relevant to meet your objectives.

  • Clarity: organize enterprise data in a structure that corresponds to ways of working without disruption or additional effort to bring information in. 
  • Focus: enable end-users to concentrate on the specific area relevant to their work while providing the capability to look at enterprise data across different Models.
  • Cater for specificities: it supports the need for different levels of granularity and data collection specificities. Through configuration, you can easily expand the data structure of one or many Models to serve particular purposes. 

Use Models

Models are accessible from the MSC section under the Main Menu.

Models - user access.png
Figure 1. View available Model(s) from the Main Panel in the MSC section

You will see one or many Model(s), based on your user's content permission. 

You can select one or more Models to use their content in Content views, Views, and with data management features. 

  • Select a Model Activated Model icon.png to show its content in the data displayed through the web application.
  • Unselect a Model  Toggle off Model icon.png to hide its content from the web application.
  • Use Select All, Unselect All, and Hide Unselected options from the Additional menu item for models.png more options menu.

You can switch between Models you have access to, to view or work with different sets of data.

Models structure the repository to enable contextual exploration of data. They act as filters across your repository data. We often refer to the content of the Model as Model Items or Model Content.

The MSC section may be hidden when a View is created or used. The scope of data used in the View is defined through the creation wizard and in Datasets configured on the Filter tab of the View.

It is important to remember that:

  • When no Model is selected, no data is shown: the data you see and work with always belongs to one Model. If Model Items are reused in other Models, you will see their reused instance(s) when their Models are selected.
  • Models act as filters: check which Models are active before creating or consuming Objects, Relationships, Views, Diagrams, or Drawings.
  • If you can’t find something, try switching Models or ask your administrator if you need access to a different area.

Learn more about Workspaces at Introduction to Workspaces.

 

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