65 C4 Model Palette - yEd Q&A
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C4 Model Palette

0 votes

The C4 model is a framework for representing software architecture, with a only a few symbols , in order to have an ubiquitous language amonst developers & architects & others. It woud be great to have thoses symbols ready in Yed, especially since most of them are already presents - only the "person" is missing. 

in Feature Requests by

1 Answer

0 votes

Create a SVG representation of the "person" symbol and import it into a user-defined palette section - see How can I use my own node symbols in yEd? for more information. Once you have done that, simply add "copies" of the required existing symbols to your section as well.

by [yWorks] (163k points)
I have seen this answer with many requests for yEd standard stencil sets.
While I absolutely love yEd, I can't understand why I should use an excellent tool with substandard stencils. When importing pictures the functionality is severely limited and doesn't always look as sharp as a "proper stencil" would. Diagrams look far better when natively developed stencils are used. It is also functionally better, as one can use node properties to make standard node changes.

If it is a matter of headcount I will volunteer to design shapes (someone will have to explain to me how to do so) so that the tool can have a selection of palettes of good quality.
by
Why would you think that importing an SVG document will result in a substandard pencil? All the style templates in yEd's "People" palette sections are SVG documents and I really do not think those are "substandard" in any way.

You are right with regards to custom properties, though. But to get custom properties, a new style has to be implemented in Java code. And we currently do not accept contributions to our code base.
by [yWorks] (163k points)
It could be my bad. Let me explain my experience so far.

I absolutely like the existing yEd stencils. I refer to them as "natively developed stencils/shapes". They look sharp, they have the connection points defined so the edges connect properly (not outside or somewhere inside the node), and they have a list of parameters that we can customise (like line width, line colour, etc.).

Some time ago I needed some symbols to add to a set of diagrams and I imported SVG pictures I downloaded from IconFinder. The edges were connecting in all crazy places, as no connection points were defined, and the end result was far from great. I also had to use the SVG images as they were - there was no option to change any parameters as most probably such were not defined.

I would like to add ArchiMate 3.1 and C4 stencil sets, and I would like them to look as neat as and have the functionality of the other stencil sets available in yEd. I don't know how to do it though without compromising quality.

I see that yEd live already has AWS and Cisco Network Topology stencils. Are they also available for yEd for desktop? If not, is it OK to export them from yEd live and import them to yEd for desktop (and how to do that)?
by

Re "... they have the connection points defined so the edges connect properly ...":

Actually, they do not. However, the SVG templates in yEd's palette all have "Clip on Outline" enabled. When you import an SVG document for use as a node style template, this property is not enabled by default. Unfortunately, it is not possible to change individual style properties for templates. If you need to do that for a template, you need to create a node from said template, change the property for the new node, and then use the "Add to Palette" action from the new node's context menu to create a new template. If you need to change a property for several templates, you can use the "Convert to Document" action from the palette section context menu, select all the nodes in the created editor tab, change all properties as required, and then use the "Adopt from Document" action from the palette section context menu to replace the previous templates with properly configured templates. (Please note that "Adopt from Document" is only available for user-defined palette sections.)


Re "... they have a list of parameters that we can customise ...":

As I already mentioned, this is the one thing that is not possible when importing vector graphics or images as style templates. Style-specific properties have to be coded into yEd's program logic. But then, the templates from yEd's "People" palette are SVG templates without specific properties (beyond the generic SVG style properties), too.


Re "... AWS and Cisco Network Topology stencils. Are they also available for yEd for desktop?"

There is a Github project that offers AWS palette files for yEd: JustDerb/yed-aws-palettes. There is also a Github project with Font Awesome palette files: gardar/yed-fa-palettes.

That said, there is no way to export built-in palette sections from yEd Live.

by [yWorks] (163k points)
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