Your First Diagram

In this tutorial, you’ll create a project using an ArchiMate starter, add application elements to a diagram, and connect them with relationships. By the end, you’ll have a simple application cooperation diagram for Farquind Yachts’ digital systems.

Prerequisites: You’ve completed the Quick Start and have Farkitect open in your browser.

What you’ll build: A diagram showing three of Farquind’s applications (FQ Orders, FQ Vessels, FQ Owners) and the relationships between them.

1. Create a Project from the Farketplace

1. Click File > New Project…
2. Select the From Asset tab
3. Search for ArchiMate and select the ArchiMate Starter asset
4. The project name and description are pre-filled — you can change the name to Farquind Digital Systems if you like
5. Click Create Project

The project opens with the ArchiMate 3.2 metamodel imported and ready to use. In the Explorer, you’ll see:

• M3 MOF Core — the system foundation (read-only)
• M2 Common — shared utility types like Note and Boundary (read-only)
• M2 ArchiMate 3.2 — the full ArchiMate metamodel with 61 element types (read-only)
• M1 packages — any sample content included in the starter

2. Create an M1 Model

Your modeling work lives in M1 models. Let’s create one:

1. Click File > New M1 Model…
2. In the New M1 Model dialog, type M1 Farquind Applications over the suggested name
3. Under Import M2 metamodels, tick ArchiMate 3.2 — imports give your model its element types
4. Click Create Model

This is where you’ll organize your Farquind application model elements. Because you imported ArchiMate, the Palette will offer its element types as soon as a diagram is open.

If you skip the imports: the model still gets created, but Farkitect gently reminds you — a dialog offers the metamodel list again, and an amber dot marks the model in the Explorer until an import is added. See How to create an M1 model.

3. Create a Diagram

1. Right-click on the M1 Farquind Applications package
2. Select New Diagram…
3. Type Application Cooperation over the suggested name
4. Click Create Diagram

The diagram opens on the Canvas — a blank surface ready for elements.

4. Add Elements from the Palette

The Palette (on the right side) shows all element types available from the ArchiMate metamodel, organized by layer. You’re going to add Application Component elements.

1. In the Palette, find the Application Layer section
2. Locate Application Component
3. Drag Application Component from the Palette onto the Canvas
4. A new element appears — it’s automatically selected and ready to rename
5. Type FQ Orders and press Enter

Repeat this to add two more Application Components:

6. Drag another Application Component onto the Canvas, name it FQ Vessels
7. Drag a third Application Component onto the Canvas, name it FQ Owners

Arrange the three elements so they’re spaced out across the Canvas — drag them by clicking and moving.

You now have three elements representing Farquind’s core digital systems:

• FQ Orders — the online configurator and order management system
• FQ Vessels — the fleet telemetry and remote diagnostics platform
• FQ Owners — the owner community app for support, voyages, and social features

5. Connect Elements with Relationships

Farquind’s systems communicate with each other. Let’s model that with ArchiMate Flow relationships.

1. In the Palette, find the Relationship Types section
2. Select Flow (click it once — it becomes the active tool, and the status bar prompts Flow: Click source node)
3. On the Canvas, click FQ Orders — a single click, no dragging — to mark it as the source
4. Click FQ Vessels — a Flow relationship appears connecting them, named FQ Orders flows to FQ Vessels, with the name highlighted
5. Type Order fulfilment data and press Enter

Every new relationship gets a name like this, built from its two elements and the relationship type’s verb, and it’s highlighted so you can type straight over it — just as when you add an element.

The Flow tool stays active, so you can connect and name the next pairs straight away:

6. Click FQ Vessels, then FQ Owners, type Vessel telemetry alerts, and press Enter
7. Click FQ Orders, then FQ Owners, type Delivery notifications, and press Enter

Press Escape to put the Flow tool away and return to the pointer. To rename a relationship later, click its edge, press F2, type the name, and press Enter (you can also edit the name in the Properties panel).

Tip — the quick linker. There’s a second way to create relationships: hover over any element and a small button with an up arrow appears at its top-right corner. Drag from that arrow onto another element, and Farkitect opens a menu of the relationship types that are valid between those two elements — pick one and the relationship is created. It’s the quickest way to connect elements when you’re not sure which relationship types the metamodel allows. Both methods are covered in How to connect elements with relationships.

6. Save Your Diagram

Diagrams in Farkitect require an explicit save. You’ll see an indicator in the diagram tab showing unsaved changes.

Press Ctrl+S (or Cmd+S on Mac) to save.

7. Verify in the Explorer

Look at the Explorer — your M1 Farquind Applications package now contains:

• The Application Cooperation diagram
• Three Application Component elements (FQ Orders, FQ Vessels, FQ Owners)
• Three Flow relationships connecting them

The Explorer always shows the complete model. A diagram is a view of the model — the same elements could appear on multiple diagrams. For more on this important distinction, see Diagrams vs Models.

What You’ve Learned

• How to create a project from a Farketplace starter asset
• How to create an M1 model with its metamodel imports, and diagrams inside it
• How to add elements from the Palette to the Canvas
• How to create relationships between elements — with the Palette relationship tool, or the quick-linker arrow
• How to save a diagram
• That the Explorer shows the model, and diagrams are views of it

Next Steps

• Working with the Explorer — Organize elements into packages and build out your model structure
• Editing Diagrams — Selection, multi-select, edge routing, nested elements, and keyboard navigation