December 17, 2007

Trace Modeler -- Finally, An Easy And Productive Way To Work With UML Sequence Diagrams

Trace Modeler is constantly being improved so be sure to check back often and download the latest release!

Latest

Some fixes

Added a workaround for an annoying bug in JRE 1.6.0_10 that prevented Trace Modeler from starting

Fixed a regression bug : the effect of changing to/from (a)synchronous call was not immediately visible.

v1.4.0 - May 2008

Added support for EPS export

available in the 'Export settings' window

Better support for HUGE diagrams in preparation of the [censored]

(huge meaning hundreds of targets and calls)

loading of .trace files is now 4x faster

drawing is up to 10x faster (depending on zoom & diagram complexity)

Scaling factor for export now allows fractional numbers

see 'Export settings' window and 'Batch export' functionality

v1.3.0 - May 2008

Added support for PDF and SVG export

available in the 'Export settings' window

v1.2.5 - April 2008

Added 'Diagram frame' diagram style property

diagram frame can be hidden, include comments or exclude comments
the text of the diagram frame can be edited
see 'Diagram style' window, diagram context menu and diagram frame context menu

The diagram will scroll automatically to keep the cursor visible when editing text

on switch to text edit mode, when typing and on cursor movement

Changes in file format

DIAGRAM_FRAME added
DIAGRAM_FRAME_NAME added

v1.2.0 - March 2008

Added 'Messsage numbering' diagram style property

message numbering can be off, flat or hierarchical
available in the 'Diagram style' window

Added smart labels for messages and replies

on long message/reply arrows, labels are often out of view which hinders understanding
smart labels move to stay in view as much as possible, try it!
(note that targets have always had smart labels)

Added 'Standard zoom' preference setting

useful if you have a high resolution display and find the diagram too small at 100%
available in the 'Preferences' window

Preferences from most recent prior version are automatically imported on first use of new version

Native file chooser is used on all Windows platforms

there's also a flag to force the use of a native chooser on other platforms if you want

Change in file format

MESSAGE_NUMBERING added

v1.1.0 - February 2008

Added support for indirect messages

is generally useful if you don't want to show the middle man but will truly shine once the [censored] is released

Added a new shortcut for 'Reopen file' (F5)

will come in handy for tweaking the [censored]

Added a presentation mode : toggle with F6

no menubar, no toolbar and no scrollbars
great for giving presentations!

Changed the watermark when run with an evaluation license

Change in file format

added INDIRECT option to all message kinds (CALL, CONSTRUCT, etc.)

Fixes

mode indicator now disappears as well when scrollbars are hidden
SHIFT-CLICK on diagram during text edit no longer makes the edited label disappear
'split here' now only applies when current selection is an activation

v1.0.0 - December 2007

Added tooltips to the element toolbar on the right

Added a new target kind : Time

Export settings are saved between sessions

Moved the export settings to a separate 'Export settings' window

Added EULA to distribution and an acceptance dialog at startup

Added EULA tab to the 'About' window

Cosmetic corrections to the diagram style & preferences windows

Labels on arrows are shifted up a bit so underscores are clearer

Label on a found call is moved a bit further away from the end

Labels for self and non-self calls are now spaced more evenly

Finally got the .sh scripts right (thanks Bram!)

Added an edit mode indicator (lower right corner)

Manual was updated

Program settings can be specified through '.jre.ini' files

Changes in file format :

TIME added

v0.9.9 (final beta) - November 2007

Added a new cross-platform look & feel

Added toolbar with often used elements (elements can be dragged onto diagram!)

Added toolbar with often used operations (icons can be clicked)

Added scrollbars

They can be hidden through the 'Preferences' window

Added 'export to clipboard' feature, for quick transfer to other programs

Added few entries to the 'File' menu

'Open recent'
'Open URL..'
'Reopen file'

Added a signal message kind (always async, no return arrow)

Unbound connectors are now moved as well when you reorder targets

Bound connectors are now moved to the caller when a call is inlined

Bound and unbound connectors will move along when a call is split

Improved support for stereotypes

"<<" and ">>" are automatically replaced with guillemets
in an underlined label, a line containing a stereotype will not be underlined
(i.e. a stereotype on most kinds of targets is best placed on its own line)

Corrected the letter spacing when zoomed in or exporting at high dpi

You can now switch to text edit mode by pressing ENTER when an element is selected

Working with hidden arrows is now more intuitive

they're drawn faintly on-screen to make it easier to recognize and manipulate them
when exporting a diagram to a graphics file, they're invisible of course

Added executables for Windows platforms

Added commandline parameter to specify which diagram Trace Modeler should open

makes it possible to associate .trace files with the startup script or executable

Added scripts to facilitate batch export

Enlarged the selection area for targets and arrows

Added a splash screen

Replaced third party 'tip of the day' component with homegrown dialog

Changed the title of the main window (filename now comes first)

Removed the preference setting for changing the look&feel

Removed the preference setting for changing the scroll strategy

Changes in file format

added SIGNAL and SLOW_SIGNAL
FLOW_COLOR value, preferred format is now in hex (#rrggbbaa)

v0.9.8 (first beta) - September 2007

Added the manual (accessible through the Help menu or F1)

Added a faster way to add targets and calls (with SHIFT-LEFT-CLICK)

Improved the indicators that show where an element will be placed when released during drag&drop.

Added commandline batch export for build scripts and easy synchronization

Added bound comment connectors

these always stay connected to their activation regardless of the change to the diagram
they move intelligently when elements are added/removed/moved etc. or the diagram style changes.

Expanded the layout algorithm to include comments and unbound connectors

the algorithm will move them to an appropriate new spot on almost all kinds of changes to a diagram

Added logic to always ensure a correct lifecycle (construction/destruction)

Added logic to always ensure consistent destruction kind and destructor

Added new zoom modes (zoom to width, zoom to height and zoom to fit)

New look for diagram style window

Added new diagram style property : control flow color

New look for preferences window

Added "Connector size" to "Preferences" window

Renamed scroll types in preferences to Regular and Goofy

Changed the way a custom default diagram can be set

Removed gradient background outside of diagram

Menubar is now at top of the screen on MacOSX

Changes to text edit mode :

it now also supports undo/redo (ctrl-z, ctrl-y)
ENTER confirms edit and leaves text edit mode
ESC cancels edit and leaves text edit mode
CTRL-ENTER or SHIFT-ENTER add a new line to the text
TABs are replaced with SPACEs

Changes to diagram edit mode :

SHIFT-LEFT-CLICK will now add a new target or call (depending on where you clicked)

Changes in file format

First line must be "TRACE_MODELER_FILE_FORMAT 1"
FLOW_COLOR added
ENCODING added
TIMESTAMP added
FONT_MESSAGES changed to FONT_REGULAR
SHOW_EMPTY_RETURN change to SHOW_EMPTY_RETURNS
READ_LEFT_TO_RIGHT changed to LAYOUT_LEFT_TO_RIGHT
ICON_SIZE changed to TARGET_ICON_SIZE
CALL_LABEL_ALIGNMENT changed to CALL_ALIGNMENT
RETURN_LABEL_ALIGNMENT changed to RETURN_ALIGNMENT
BOUND_LINK added

v0.9.7

Added tip of the day

Expanded the about box

Added support for hyperlinks to open pages in browser

Changed mouse scroll type in preferences

Comment connectors can now be moved with the keyboard as well

Fixed some layout issues

Added licensing features

v0.9.6.2

Added check for compatible JRE at start-up

v0.9.6

Added non-instantaneous calls (i.e. slanted arrows)

Added example 'from site agilemodeling.trace'

v0.9.5

Added new export formats (jpg and bmp)

Export formats are now user-configurable

png, jpg, bmp formats
quality setting for jpg
resolution : 72dpi, 150 dpi, 300 dpi
with/without anti-aliasing
color/grayscale

added info about memory requirements on export dialog

TraceModeler icon added to main window

removed icons from preferences, diagram properties and history windows

v0.9.4

Export dialog now gives sensible suggestion based on trace filename

Reset view will try to center diagram horizontally and/or vertically

Added user-defined 'default diagram' capability to preferences

Added a welcome diagram to startup, can be disabled in preferences

Added tab traversal

Added a lot of keyboard controls

v0.9.3

Window position and dimension are preserved between executions

Added light gradient background outside of diagram

v0.9.2

Added destruction of target

possible values : after destructor, after last call and at end of trace)

Added some menu items to the view menu

Added more examples

Changed the visualization of the drop spot when dragging an activation

v0.9.1

Added the capability of text labels to span multiple lines

i.e. comment, call, return, target, combined fragment, operand
the meaning of esc and enter has changed when in text edit mode compared to prior versions

File format was changed

Improved error reporting when reading .trace files

Added more examples

v0.9.0

Internationalization support added

reading direction property
diagram elements respect reading direction property
all ui elements respect platform component orientation
UTF-8 encoding used for trace files
font properties can now be selected by user

Certain kinds of elements can now have their own font setting

Preferences are now persistent

v0.8.9

Dragging an activation now hints at possible drop locations

Added preferences

Added rightdrag for scroll

Added more diagram properties

Added target bar functionality

smart labels
name of target is always visible, even when scrolled out of view

0.8.5

let's call this the base version