ORM Reverse Engineering
David Borgendale
able to use the reverse and forward engineering features with ORM models (I
am an old InfoModeler user). The User's Guide states on page 195 that this
can be accomplished by:
1 Choose File>New>Database>ORM Source Model to start a new model.
2 Choose Database>Reverse Engineer ....
There is NO Database or Reverse Engineer menu items when I open an ORM
Diagram. (There does not seem to be an ORM Source Model submenu under
File>New>Database.)
Has anyone succeeded in doing what I am trying to do? Is there some special
setup option that I am missing here?
David Borgendale
Director of IT Infrastructure
Unexplored, Inc.
Scot A. Becker
Are you sure you are using Visio Enterprise 2000? If so, where there any
errors when you created a new ORM source?
The database menu should be there. However, you want to select
"Import/Export". Then, choose VisioModeler IMD...
HTH,
Scot.
"David Borgendale" <dborg...@inntopia.com> wrote in message
news:ua3#uZVEAHA.264@cppssbbsa04...
David Borgendale
tried out network discovery and reverse engineering of some VB classes into
UML and both of these features worked. The database menu is just not there.
I do not want to Import/Export because I am trying to reverse engineer a new
MSSQL 7.0 database design that I have been asked to look at. This DB has
about 70 tables with an average of 10 columns per table so I certainly would
like to get around a totally manual modeling approach. Reverse engineering
to an IDEF1X ERD works quite well. InfoModeler had an option of converting
such a logical DB model to ORM. This was most useful but seems to be a
feature abandoned somewhere on the way to Visio 2000.
"Scot A. Becker" <sc...@inconcept.com> wrote in message
news:#aLHiofEAHA.254@cppssbbsa05...
Scot A. Becker
Ahh... I misunderstood you in that I thought you had an IMD and wanted to
import that into VE.
VE doesn't (currently, anyway) support going from a physical model (SQL
Server Schema) into a conceptual model (ORM).
If you have VisioModeler, you could always reverse engineer to an ORM model,
clean it up, generate the IMD, and then import that IMD into a new ORM
Source file in VE2K.
The lack of the database menu is still puzzling, and suggests that something
did not get installed right. You aren't getting any error messages when you
create the new ORM source?
Are your Automation Events enabled (Tools|Options... Advanced tab, "Enable
Automation Events")?
HTH,
Scot.
"David Borgendale" <dborg...@inntopia.com> wrote in message
news:eA2r9SkEAHA.195@cppssbbsa05...
David Borgendale
I agree that there must be some installation problem. What I did was to
upgrade a Visio 2000 Professional installation with a Visio 2000 Enterprise
upgrade. I tried a complete uninstall/reinstall where I deleted all Visio
related directories and reg keys, but still no luck.
Automation events ARE enabled. It just seems that the extended features
related to ORM models are not there.
Re no support for going from physical model (schema) to an ORM model. If
this is not supported, then why does the manual have detailed instructions
for doing this exact kind of reverse engineering. (Unfortunately, the
manual is at work and I am at home right now. If I had it I could give you
the page reference for the instructions.)
"Scot A. Becker" <sc...@inconcept.com> wrote in message
news:OmNKB$rEAHA.247@cppssbbsa05...
Scot A. Becker
> I agree that there must be some installation problem. What I did was to
> upgrade a Visio 2000 Professional installation with a Visio 2000
Enterprise
> upgrade. I tried a complete uninstall/reinstall where I deleted all Visio
> related directories and reg keys, but still no luck.
I'm stumped. I guess I would try to unistall/reinstall again, or call
support. Did you install any older Visio product after VE2K (i.e.
VisioModeler)? Seems to me that I had some problems doing this and that I
had to install VM before VE.
> Automation events ARE enabled. It just seems that the extended features
> related to ORM models are not there.
Odd. If you create a database model or ER Source model (the other, non-ORM
automated stencils) do you get the "database" menu?
> Re no support for going from physical model (schema) to an ORM model. If
> this is not supported, then why does the manual have detailed instructions
> for doing this exact kind of reverse engineering. (Unfortunately, the
> manual is at work and I am at home right now. If I had it I could give
you
> the page reference for the instructions.)
Arg! I hate it when I'm wrong. ;)
I had either assumed it wasn't there or was mis-informed. When I actually
tried it <eg>, it worked. Sorry about the mis-information.
Scot.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scot A. Becker
Principal Consultant, InConcept, Inc.
http://www.inconcept.com
Editor, The Journal of Conceptual Modeling
http://www.inconcept.com/JCM