What's New In Process Modeler 4.0

Version 4.0

• Brand new user interface with interchangeable “themes”.
• Interactive “Synthis Maps” publishing template – featuring similar interactivity to Google / Yahoo Maps.
• New scalar vector graphics (SVG) images that scale and render perfectly at all zoom levels.
• Improved image saving technology, giving you a larger diagramming canvas to work with and better quality images.
• Multiple levels of undo / redo.
• Support for multiple layers within a diagram – great for managing swimlanes, standardized templates, background images, etc.
• The ability to hide, lock, merge, and delete the contents of one or more diagram layers.
• Automatic PDF creation from the main toolbar or the “File” menu.
• An embedded database to house all of your process model data – no more messing around with .prj files!
• An embedded web server to dynamically serve up all of your published documents and reports!
• A more intelligent Explorer tree that automatically lists elements based on the process maps they are associated with.
• New stencils and element types.
• A new “Change Element Type” right-click option (ie: to convert from a ‘document’ element to a ‘controlled document’ element).
• The ability to convert any pasted shape or image into a reusable element / content object.
• One-click support for setting rich-text options for all on-diagram text areas, including element names.
• The ability to edit element names by clicking on the text underneath the element icon on the diagram.
• Control over the width at which individual element names wrap on to additional lines.
• Zoom-in / zoom-out in the published HTML “Synthis Maps”.
• The ability to maximize the height and width of any published “Synthis Map” to fill the entire browser window.
• More flexible drag-and-drop assignment of object properties on the diagram (Ownership, Requirements, Linked Resources, etc.).
• New line type (solid, dashed, etc.), line thickness, and arrow head types for links / element connectors.
• Enhanced diagram printing capabilities from within the published “Synthis Maps”.
• Automatic updating of all dynamic documents and reports (Synthis Maps, Process Narrative, etc.).
• Copying and pasting of images from any external source onto any Synthis diagram.
• The same element can now appear multiple times on the same diagram.
• Control over the order in which the details of your published documentation and reports are sequenced.
• Automatic importing / upgrading of existing version 3.7 process model .prj files.
• A new, web-based “Check for Updates” utility to make it easy to keep your Process Modeler software up-to-date.

Still To Come

• A hosted service where Process Modeler users can upload their process models and share HTML views of their published models (Synthis Maps, Process Narrative, etc.) with non-Process Modeler users.
• New tree views in the Explorer panel and multiple options for sorting the contents of the Explorer tree.
• The Synthis Repository connector to enable check-in / check-out and automatic revisioning of your process models.
• Web-friendly connectors that will make it easier to connect to third-party systems, publish to your blog, etc.
• Comprehensive tutorials and new example process models available on www.synthis.com.
• Additional stencils, starting with a stencil containing all of the standard Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) shapes.
• New publishing templates, including the ability to automatically publish to Microsoft Excel files.
• Customized views for specific compliance and process improvement programs (GRC, SOX, ISO, BPM, Lean, Six Sigma, etc.).
• A new “start wizard” containing links to help documentation, tutorials, and example process models.
• Support for managing an unlimited number of nested / hierarchical diagrams in the Explorer tree.
• Visual cues within the new “Layers” panel to indicate when layers are visible / hidden, locked / unlocked, etc.
• One-click cloning of individual elements, groups of selected elements, or an entire diagram and all associated elements.

On The Radar

• A built-in spell-checking utility.
• Self-healing links / connectors to make it easier to insert new shapes or remove shapes from an existing process map.
• Automatic importing / conversion and more intelligent copy / paste capabilities from third-party products like Microsoft Visio.
• Support for new file formats, such as XML Process Definition Language (XPDL), Business Process Execution Language (BPEL).
• Additional rich-text capabilities for editable text areas (bullets and numbering, embedded tables, embedded images, etc.).

Related Posts

1. Modeler Environment
2. Process Modeler FAQs
3. Working with Layers
4. Print Sequencing
5. Process Mapping Basics