Enterprise Architect

Versioning

There are (at least) two approaches in creating different versions of the model.

Baseline

Baseline is a process that is internal to Enterprise Architect and does not require any external tools, like version control. Creating baseline snapshots and comparing them is performed manually through the Manage Baselines dialog. To open this dialog, right-click on the package and select Package Control -> Manage Baselines, or simply select the package and press Ctrl+Alt+B on the keyboard.

Baselines are stored in the central database and are available to all the users.

Version Control

Using version control requires setting up an external tool for managing the versions of files. Enterprise Architect exports the package XMI files and synchronizes the content in the model with the content in the files.

I found the process to be a bit painful for most users because packages are locked when checked-out and most users forget to check them back in. I also lost whole packages while trying to use different version control tools.

Enterprise Architect supports several versioning control tools. To use Mercurial (Hg), read this article.

Tips & Tricks

Any element can be made Composite by right-clicking the element, selecting Advanced -> Composite. This will add a sign on top of the element to mark it as Composite and will also go to the diagram below the element when double-clicked.