Arkidor User Manual

Browser-based ArchiMate® modelling tool — Version 0.8.0-dev

1. Overview

Arkidor is a free browser-based ArchiMate® modelling tool supporting ArchiMate 3.2 and 4.0 — and it will stay free. No registration required. It runs entirely in your browser with no server or backend required. No data is saved to the server; all your models are stored locally in your browser. You can create, edit, and visualise enterprise architecture models using the full ArchiMate notation.

Key features

• Completely free — no per-seat licensing, no trial, no paywall
• No registration or sign-up required
• Private by design — no data leaves your browser
• Full ArchiMate 3.2 and 4.0 element and relationship palette
• Multiple diagram views with tabs
• Open and save ArchiMate Open Exchange Format XML files
• Undo/redo with 50+ step history
• Export diagrams to SVG and PNG
• Drag-and-drop element placement
• Find and replace across the model

2. Getting Started

When you open Arkidor, you see the welcome screen with options to create a new model or open an existing file.

Create a new model

1. Click New Model or press Ctrl+N.
2. An empty model with a Default View opens.
3. Start adding elements from the Palette panel.

Open an existing model

1. Click Open File… or press Ctrl+O.
2. Select an ArchiMate Open Exchange Format XML file from your computer.
3. The model loads and the Navigator tree populates with all elements, relationships, and views.

3. The Interface

After opening a model, the interface shows four main areas:

• Menu Bar (top) — File, Edit, View, and Help menus
• Navigator (left) — Tree view of your model's elements, relationships, and views
• Canvas (centre) — Diagram area where you view and edit ArchiMate views
• Properties Panel (right) — Edit attributes, appearance, and documentation for selected elements
• Palette (left, next to Navigator) — Element types you can drag onto the canvas

You can show or hide each panel from the View menu:

4. Working with Models

Saving your work

1. Press Ctrl+S or go to File → Save.
2. On first save, you'll be prompted to choose a file location.
3. Subsequent saves update the same file in place.
4. Use File → Save As… (Ctrl+Shift+S) to save a copy with a different name.

Exporting diagrams

1. Open the view you want to export.
2. Go to File → Export as SVG… or Export as PNG…
3. The file downloads with the view's name.

Undo and redo

• Ctrl+Z — Undo the last action
• Ctrl+Y — Redo
• Also available from Edit → Undo / Redo

5. The Canvas

The canvas is where you view and edit diagrams. Each open view appears as a tab at the top of the canvas area.

Navigation

• Zoom in/out — Ctrl+= / Ctrl+-, or scroll wheel with Ctrl held
• Pan — Hold middle mouse button and drag, or scroll wheel
• Fit to window — Ctrl+Shift+F
• Reset zoom — Ctrl+0

Adding elements

1. Select an element type from the Palette.
2. Click on the canvas to place it, or drag from the Palette directly onto the canvas.
3. The element appears and you can immediately type its name.

Connecting elements

1. Select the Magic Connector tool from the Palette, or hover over a source element to reveal its connection handle.
2. Drag from the source to the target element.
3. Choose the relationship type from the popup menu.

Editing element labels

• Double-click an element on the canvas to edit its name.
• Press Enter or click away to confirm.
• Press Escape to cancel.

Context menu

Right-click on the canvas or an element to access contextual actions such as:

• Delete element
• Rename
• Select connected elements
• Align and distribute
• Change appearance

6. The Palette

The Palette panel lists all ArchiMate element types organised by layer (Strategy, Business, Application, Technology, etc.) and all relationship types.

Using the Palette

• Drag and drop — Drag any element type from the Palette onto the canvas to create an instance.
• Click to activate — Click an element type to activate the placement tool, then click on the canvas to place it.
• Sticky mode — Double-click a palette item to place multiple elements of the same type. Press Escape to deactivate.
• Search — Type in the search box at the top to filter element types.

7. The Navigator

The Navigator shows the model's complete structure as a tree.

Navigating the model

• Expand/collapse — Click the arrow next to a folder to expand or collapse it.
• Open a view — Double-click a view to open it on the canvas.
• Select an element — Click an element to select it and show its properties.
• Drag to canvas — Drag an element from the Navigator onto the canvas to add it to the current view.

Organising elements

• Drag elements between folders to reorganise your model.
• Right-click a folder to create new sub-folders or elements.
• Press F2 to rename the selected item.

Search

Use Ctrl+F to open Find & Replace, which searches across all element and view names in the model.

8. The Properties Panel

When you select an element, relationship, or view, the Properties panel shows its editable attributes.

Available tabs

• Attributes — Name, type, and custom properties
• Appearance — Fill colour, border, font, size
• Documentation — Free-text documentation field
• User Properties — Custom key-value properties
• Analysis — Shows relationships and connections for the selected element

User Properties

The User Properties tab lets you add custom key-value pairs to any element, relationship, or view. These are preserved in the Open Exchange Format file.

1. Select an element and switch to the User Properties tab.
2. Click the + button to add a new property.
3. Enter a key (name) and value.
4. To remove a property, click the × button next to it.

Analysis Tab

The Analysis tab shows how the selected element is used across your model:

• Used in Views — Lists all views that contain the selected element. Double-click to open the view and select the element on the canvas.
• Model Relations — Lists all relationships connected to the selected element with their type, direction, and target. You can sort columns and filter by type, direction, or name.

9. Viewpoints

Viewpoints restrict which ArchiMate element types can be used in a view. They help you focus on a specific concern or stakeholder perspective.

Applying a viewpoint

1. Select a view (click its tab or select it in the Navigator).
2. In the Properties panel, find the Viewpoint dropdown.
3. Choose a viewpoint from the list.
4. The Palette updates to show only allowed element types — disallowed types appear greyed out.

Custom viewpoints

You can create your own viewpoints to match your organisation's needs:

1. Go to Edit → Viewpoints…
2. Click New to create a custom viewpoint.
3. Give it a name and select which element types to allow.
4. Click Save.

Custom viewpoints appear alongside the predefined ArchiMate viewpoints in the viewpoint dropdown.

10. Specializations

Specializations let you create subtypes of ArchiMate elements with custom icons and colours. For example, you might create a "Microservice" specialization of the Application Component type.

Managing specializations

1. Go to Edit → Specializations…
2. Click New to create a specialization.
3. Choose the base ArchiMate concept type (e.g., Application Component).
4. Enter a name for the specialization.
5. Optionally set a custom colour and icon.
6. Click Save.

Using specializations

Once defined, specializations appear in the Properties panel when you select an element of the matching base type. Choose the specialization from the Specialization dropdown.

11. Model Validation

The validation panel checks your model for compliance issues — invalid relationships, orphaned elements, incorrect nesting, and more.

Running validation

1. Open the Validation panel from View → Validation.
2. Click the ▶ Validate button.
3. Issues appear grouped by severity: errors, warnings, and informational messages.
4. Click an issue to select the affected element on the canvas.

Issue types

• Invalid relationships — A relationship that is not permitted between the source and target element types per the ArchiMate specification.
• Orphaned elements — Elements that exist in the model but are not used in any view.
• Invalid nesting — Elements nested inside containers where the nesting relationship is not valid.
• Duplicate IDs — Multiple elements sharing the same identifier (typically caused by file corruption).

12. Multi-Language Support

Arkidor supports models with element names and documentation in multiple languages. Each element can have a primary name and alternate language variants.

Setting the working language

1. Click the language badge in the top-right of the menu bar (e.g., EN ▾).
2. Select a language from the quick-switch dropdown.
3. The canvas and Navigator update to display names in the selected language.

Managing languages

1. Click the language badge and select Manage Languages…
2. Add new languages, remove unused ones, or reorder your preference.
3. The first language in the list is your primary working language.

Adding translations

1. Select an element in the Navigator or canvas.
2. In the Properties panel, alternate language fields appear below the name field.
3. Enter the translated name for each language.

13. Model Report Export

Generate a comprehensive HTML report of your entire model, including views rendered as SVG diagrams, element catalogues, and relationship inventories.

Generating a report

1. Go to Edit → Model Report… (requires a model to be open).
2. Select which sections to include:
   • Cover page with model statistics
   • Table of contents
   • Model summary
   • Element and relationship inventories per view
   • Full element and relationship catalogues
   • Viewpoint appendix
3. Click Export. The report downloads as an HTML file.

13a. ArchiMate Version Migration

Arkidor supports both ArchiMate 3.2 and ArchiMate 4.0 models. You can migrate a model between versions.

Upgrading from 3.2 to 4.0

1. Click the version badge in the menu bar (e.g., v3.2).
2. The Migration dialog opens showing what will change:
   • Layer-based organisation becomes domain-based
   • Some element types are reorganised or renamed
   • Preset specializations are added for backward compatibility
3. Review the type mappings and colour changes.
4. Click Upgrade to apply the migration.

Downgrading from 4.0 to 3.2

1. Click the version badge (v4.0) in the menu bar.
2. Review the downgrade summary — some v4-specific types will be mapped back to their v3 equivalents.
3. Click Downgrade to apply.

13b. Connection Routing & Appearance

Connections between elements on the canvas use orthogonal (right-angle) routing by default. You can adjust their appearance and manually add bendpoints.

Adjusting connection appearance

1. Select a connection on the canvas.
2. In the Properties panel, switch to the Appearance tab.
3. Adjust line colour, line width, and opacity.

Adding bendpoints

• Click on a connection segment to select it.
• Drag the blue handle that appears mid-segment to create a bendpoint.
• Drag an existing bendpoint to reposition it.
• Right-click a bendpoint and select Remove Bendpoint to delete it.

14. Getting Help

Arkidor provides several ways to access help while you work.

Contextual help (F1)

Press F1 at any time to open the user manual in a new browser tab. The manual opens at the section relevant to what you're currently working on:

• F1 with the Palette focused → opens the Palette section
• F1 with the Navigator focused → opens the Navigator section
• F1 with the Properties Panel focused → opens the Properties section
• F1 with the Canvas focused → opens the Canvas section
• F1 with no specific panel → opens the manual at the top

Help icon buttons

Each panel has a small ? button in its header. Click it to open the manual at the section for that panel.

Help menu

The Help menu provides:

• User Manual — Opens this manual (same as F1)
• Keyboard Shortcuts — Opens the shortcuts reference section
• Send Feedback… — Opens the feedback form to report issues or suggest improvements
• About Arkidor — Shows version and copyright information

15. Keyboard Shortcuts

16. Tips & Troubleshooting

Tips

• Hold Ctrl or Alt while dropping an element from the Navigator to suppress automatic connection creation.
• Use the Outline minimap (View → Outline) to navigate large diagrams quickly.
• Enable Snap to Grid or Snap to Guides from the View menu for precise element placement.
• Drag an element from the Navigator onto the canvas to reuse an existing element in the current view (rather than creating a new one).
• Double-click a palette item to enable sticky mode — place multiple elements of the same type without re-selecting. Press Escape to deactivate.
• Use Edit → CSV Import/Export to bulk import or export elements and relationships as spreadsheet data.
• Auto-save runs automatically every 5 seconds when you have unsaved changes. If the browser crashes, you'll be offered to restore your work on next launch.
• Press F1 while working in any panel to jump directly to the relevant section in this manual.

Troubleshooting

Arkidor User Manual — Version 0.8.0-dev — Updated July 2026
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