How to create an M1 model

An M1 model is where your modelling work lives — a root-level package holding your elements, relationships, diagrams, catalogs and boards. Its imports decide which M2 metamodels’ element types it can use: without at least one import, the Palette is empty and elements have no types.

Create the model

1. File > New M1 Model… (or right-click empty space in the Explorer and choose New M1 Model…)
2. Type a name over the suggestion
3. In Import M2 metamodels, tick the metamodel(s) your model will use — for example ArchiMate 3.2, or a metamodel you imported from a .farki file
4. Click Create Model

The model appears at the root of the Explorer, selected and ready. If you ticked a metamodel, you can open a diagram and start dragging element types from the Palette straight away.

If you skip the imports

Skipping the imports step is allowed — but the model can’t do much until an M2 metamodel is imported, so Farkitect points this out rather than leaving you to discover it:

• A dialog appears right after creation (and once per session if you later select anything inside an import-less model) offering the same metamodel checklist — tick what you need and click Add imports, or Not now to carry on.
• An amber dot marks import-less models in the Explorer. Click it any time to open the same dialog.
• The Palette’s empty state and the model’s Properties panel both say what’s missing, with a Set up imports link in the Palette.

All of these cues disappear the moment the model has an import. Imports can always be managed later — see How to declare package imports.

No metamodels in the project yet?

The imports list is only as long as the project’s M2 metamodels. To add one:

• Import one from a .farki file — File > Import Package… (see How to import a .farki package), or start the project from a Farketplace starter that includes one
• Create one from scratch with File > New M2 Metamodel… (see Creating Your First Metamodel)

Models vs packages

New M1 Model… creates a root-level model. New Package… (available with a package selected) creates a sub-package inside an existing model for organising its contents — sub-packages inherit the model’s imports, so they rarely need their own.