Working with the Explorer

In this tutorial, you’ll organize Farquind’s applications into a structured package hierarchy, add new elements directly from the Explorer, and use drag-and-drop to rearrange your model.

Prerequisites: You’ve completed Your First Diagram and have the Farquind Digital Systems project open.

What you’ll build: A structured package tree with Farquind’s core applications organized by domain, plus additional elements added without touching the Canvas.

1. Create Sub-Packages for Organization

Large models need structure. Let’s organize Farquind’s applications by domain.

1. Right-click on the M1 Farquind Applications package in the Explorer
2. Select New Package…
3. Type Customer Systems over the suggested name
4. Click Create Package

Create two more packages the same way:

5. Manufacturing Systems
6. Corporate Systems

Your Explorer now shows three sub-packages under M1 Farquind Applications.

2. Move Elements Between Packages

The three elements you created in the previous tutorial are sitting directly in the root package. Let’s organize them.

1. In the Explorer, click on FQ Orders to select it
2. Drag it onto the Customer Systems package
3. Release — FQ Orders is now inside Customer Systems

Repeat for the other elements:

4. Drag FQ Owners into Customer Systems
5. Drag FQ Vessels into Manufacturing Systems

The Explorer tree now reflects the organizational structure. Your diagram still shows all three elements — moving an element in the Explorer changes where it lives in the model, not whether it appears on diagrams.

If an element owns other elements (attributes of an entity, say), they move with it — owned elements always live in their owner’s package.

3. Add Elements from the Explorer

You don’t have to use the Canvas to create elements. You can add them directly in the Explorer.

Everything you create from a menu — packages, elements, diagrams, catalogs, boards, metamodel types — is made the same way: a dialog asks for the name (and, where it matters, the element type), and nothing is created until you confirm. A few things follow from that:

• The name is filled in and selected, so typing replaces it. Press Enter to create.
• The dialog says which package it will create in, which matters when you use the File menu rather than a right-click.
• Cancel creates nothing at all.
• Renaming later is unchanged — F2, or right-click → Rename.

1. Right-click on the Manufacturing Systems package
2. Select New Element…
3. In the New Element dialog, search for or select Application Component from the ArchiMate types
4. The name fills in from the type — type FQ Manufacturing over it
5. Click Create Element

Add a few more Farquind applications this way. Since you’re making several in a row, tick Create another before clicking Create — the dialog stays open with Application Component still selected, so each one is just a name and a click:

6. FQ Finance in Corporate Systems
7. FQ People
8. FQ Insights

Untick Create another (or press Cancel) when you’re done.

4. Add Elements from the Palette to the Explorer

There’s a third way to create elements — dragging from the Palette directly into the Explorer tree.

1. In the Palette, find Application Component
2. Drag it onto the Customer Systems package in the Explorer
3. Name it FQ Financing

This creates the element in the model without placing it on any diagram. It’s useful when you’re building out your model structure before deciding which diagrams to create.

5. Rename and Delete

To rename any item in the Explorer:

1. Select it
2. Press F2 (or right-click > Rename)
3. Type the new name and press Enter

To delete an element:

1. Select it
2. Press Delete (or right-click > Delete)
3. Confirm the deletion

Deleting an element from the Explorer removes it from the model entirely — including from any diagrams where it appears. The diagram will update to reflect the removal.

The confirmation tells you how many elements will go, for example 12 elements will be deleted. when you delete a package. Tick Export a backup of the project first if you want a .farki copy before anything is removed. A large delete runs in the background: the row shows dimmed as Deleting… and a progress toast counts through it.

6. Find Retired Items

When a metamodel is upgraded, types your models still use but the new version dropped are kept as retired. They show a muted retired label in the Explorer.

If anything in the project is retired, the Explorer toolbar shows an archive icon, Show only retired (N). Click it to filter the tree down to retired items and the packages they sit in. It works on its own or together with search text. Click it again (Show everything) to return to the full tree.

Your Farquind project has nothing retired yet, so you won’t see the button — this is where to look when you do.

7. Review Your Model Structure

Your Explorer should now look something like this:

M1 Farquind Applications
├── Customer Systems
│   ├── FQ Orders
│   ├── FQ Owners
│   └── FQ Financing
├── Manufacturing Systems
│   ├── FQ Vessels
│   └── FQ Manufacturing
├── Corporate Systems
│   ├── FQ Finance
│   ├── FQ People
│   └── FQ Insights
└── Application Cooperation (diagram)

The model has structure, and the diagram still shows the three original elements with their relationships intact.

What You’ve Learned

• How to create sub-packages for organizing model elements
• How to drag elements between packages in the Explorer
• Three ways to create elements: from the Palette to the Canvas, from the context menu in the Explorer, and from the Palette to the Explorer
• How to rename with F2 and delete with Delete
• That moving elements in the Explorer doesn’t affect their appearance on diagrams
• Where to find retired items after a metamodel upgrade

Next Steps

• Editing Diagrams — Master the Canvas: selection, multi-select, edge routing, nested elements, and keyboard navigation
• Properties & Property Values — Edit the typed properties defined by the metamodel on your elements