Folders
The modeler start page organizes stored diagrams and forms in folders, from 2.3.0. Earlier versions showed one flat list of everything.
Every model lives in exactly one folder. The top level of the start page — Home — therefore holds folders only, and models appear once you open one.
Existing models
Updating an installation to 2.3.0 creates a folder named General and puts every diagram and form into it, so nothing has to be sorted by hand. See Database Schema.
General is an ordinary folder from then on: rename it, move it or delete it as you see fit. Nothing recreates it, so an installation whose folders have all been deleted shows an empty Home, and a model can be created again once there is a folder to put it in.
Browsing
The list shows the folders of the level you are on first, then its models. Selecting a folder opens it, and the breadcrumb above the list walks back out again. The folder you are in is the last entry of the breadcrumb and is not a link; the ones before it are.
Working with Folders
New folder creates a folder in the level you are on: inside the folder that is open, or at the top level when you are on Home. A name has to be unique among the folders beside it — two folders with one name in one place would be indistinguishable.
Each folder row offers, when it is hovered or focused:
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Rename | Changes the name. The folder keeps its identity, so everything in it stays reachable |
| Move | Moves the folder, with everything below it, into another folder or to the top level |
| Delete | Removes the folder and everything below it |
A folder cannot be moved into itself or into one of its own subfolders, and the destination list leaves those out.
Deleting cannot be undone
Deleting a folder deletes the folders, diagrams and forms below it for good — there is no trash to restore them from. The confirmation names how many folders and how many models will go with it; read that count before confirming. Processes already deployed to the engine are not affected: deleting a model in the modeler does not undeploy anything.
Working with Models
Each diagram and form row offers Move, which files it in another folder, and Copy, which puts a copy in the folder you choose.
A copy is a new model, so what identifies it has to be its own: a diagram copy needs a process key of its own, because the engine resolves a process by its key, and a form copy needs its own form id, because a form is referenced by it. The dialog asks for whichever applies and offers the original with -copy appended as a starting point.
Moving a model keeps its identity: its id and its key stay as they are, so links to it and deployments made from it continue to work. Only where it is filed changes.
Creating and Importing
New models and imported files are stored in the folder you have open, which is why Import local file, Create BPMN, Create DMN and Create Form are offered only inside a folder and not on Home. Dropping a file on the page follows the same rule and is refused at the top level.
When an imported file matches a model that already exists, the modeler asks what to do with it. Choosing Replace overwrites the content of the existing model in the folder it already lives in — it does not move it to the folder you are importing into, and the dialog names that folder so it is clear before choosing. Choosing Rename stores a new model, which lands in the folder you have open.
Searching
The search field looks through every folder, not just the one you are in, so a model can be found without knowing where it was filed. A search starts at three characters, and while one is active the folder rows are hidden and a line under the breadcrumb says the results come from everywhere. Clearing the field returns to browsing.
Searching matches the name and the key of a model, not the name of the file it came from. A file imported as invoice.v2.bpmn is found by the process key inside it, not by invoice.v2. Folders themselves are not searched.