Designed from the ground up, the xBML™ W5 provides a simple, intuitive, yet powerful interface for creating and managing digestible xBML™ solutions.

Simple, intuitive interface

• xBML™ Toolbox
  
• xBML™ Explorer (Hierarchical file management)
  
• Tabular interface
  
• Split-screen viewing
  
• Dockable/floatable/pin-able windows
  
• Dockable/floatable/pin-able toolbars
  
• Drag and Drop interface

Familiar Features

• Undo / Redo
  
• Cut / Copy / Copy As Image / Paste
  
• Zoom In, out, or to rectangle
  
• Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click to select/deselect multiple
  
• Arrangement
  • Bring forward
    
  • Bring to front
    
  • Send backward
    
  • Send to back
  
  
• Alignment
  • Align left, top, right, bottom
  
  
• Microsoft common command keyboard shortcuts
  • See commands in application
  
  
• Spell checking
  
• Find and/or replace
  • Limit the scope of the search to the currently active model or all open models, in addition to limiting by object or relationship.
  
  
• Modify object format
  • Color, line width, margin, shadow direction, shadow shape, text alignment, text color, font, and orientation

Usability Enhancements

The number one goal of the xBML™ Modeling Suite is to provide a powerful application built for the business user. For this reason, we have added many features to increase the usability of the product, from real, intuitive sub-modeling to help organize complicated models, to smart links intended to speed the creation of relationships without loss of power.

Intuitive Sub-Modeling

• Organizes complex hierarchical models.
  
• Single-click creation.
  
• Automatically propagates changes across the necessary models to ensure data integrity.
  • Addition of new items
    
  • Removal of old items
    
  • Style changes
  
  
• Choose to have the size of objects consistent across all sub and parent models, or choose to be able to represent their size differently.
  
• Jump between models with a single click.
  True Auto-Numbering
  
• Automatically updates with every layout.
  
• Seed the numbering for a custom number scheme.
  
• Multiple numbering formats
  • Numeric
    
  • Alpha
    
  • Alpha-numeric
    
  • Roman numeral

Auto-Layout

• Multiple layout formats depending on model type
  • Hierarchical
    
  • Waterfall
    
  • Network
  
  
• Customize the spacing used during the layout for powerful results.

User Options

• Change options for the entire application including Auto Save and Software Update options
  
• Change options for the objects and relationships on a model by model basis

Power Builder with Relationship Builder

• Quickly create multiple objects without the need for a mouse.
  
• Quickly create relationships between objects by choosing the relationship origin.
  
• Ability to have the new object inherit the style of the origin.
  
• Ability to layout the model after object additions.
  
• Ideal for real-time, scribing environment to keep up with work sessions.

Always Visible Properties Window

• Always-on access to object properties, notes and data.
  
• Quickly and easily change a single property about selected items.
  
• Change common properties across different object types.

Print Publishing

• Three publishing content choices
  • All models in all open files
    
  • All models in currently active file
    
  • Select models to publish across all open files
  
  
• Override page settings or leave them as is to allow multiple orientations, paper sizes, margins, etc. in a single print job.
  
• Override print preferences to have a consistent header/footer, or leave as is to allow multiple configurations.
  
• Sequential page numbering across publish.
  
• Automatic print job collation.
  
• Print multiple copies of the same publish.
  
• Customize the sequence the models will be printed for a powerful presentation.

Single-Click Commands

• Expand/Collapse
  
• Sub-model linking
  
• Multiple object selection
  • All
    
  • Objects
    
  • Links
    
  • Object Types
    
  • Dimension Types
  
  
• Conform to size for a consistent presentation
  
• Copy style for quick formatting
  
• Quick-formatting

Intelligent Auto Save

• Automatically saves your changes at a specified interval.
  
• Ability to turn on and off.
  
• Ability to turn on ‘Smart Interval’, which automatically adjusts the interval based upon the size of the file to increase application performance.

Auto Versioning

• Automatically saves a copy of your file to a version folder after every save.
  
• Reliable data security.

Smart Grouping

• Automatically groups objects after a move or resize.
  
• Ability to turn on and off.
  
• Ensures data integrity by providing a way to create many relationships with a single link.

Smart Links

• Automatically formats to right-angles based upon start and end point positions.
  
• Automatically snaps to the edge of objects, ensuring correct presentation.
  
• Ability to turn on and off.
  

Data definition and capture flexibility

The xBML™ Modeling Suite contains the unique ability to define, manage, associate, and capture virtually any information needed by your business, all in a simple, familiar, and easy to use interface. When creating this solution, xBML™ Innovations sought to provide the following functionality:

• Define data without tying the application to any particular definition.
  
• Allow the user to dynamically define data they wanted to capture.
  
• Have re-usable data definitions.

Hence, xBML™ Innovations incorporated a concept dubbed ‘Profiling’. A profile can be defined as ‘a set of data portraying the significant features of some thing’. In the xBML™ Modeling Suite, a profile is a reusable set of strongly-typed attributes, and their appropriate (or valid) values, that collectively describe the significant features of YOUR business, be it an Activity, Information, Organization, Role, Location, Time Frame, or the relationship between them.

What makes profiling unique, is that the data model for the application expands or contracts with the needs of your project and your business.

Dynamically Define YOUR Data Structure

The xBML™ Modeling Suite’s Profiling functionality allows you to dynamically define the data you wish to capture in a single, easily managed repository.

Simply create a Profile Definition model using the same features and functionality as the rest of the xBML™ models, and define your data the way you want to see it.

Assign Data on an As-Needed or Blanket Basis

Once your Profile has been defined, you can start associating this definition easily through as-needed or blanket assignment. This process assigns the data values you are about to capture with the object(s) in question, and allows you to later extract this information with xBML™’s Transformation functionality into virtually any format.

AS NEEDED ASSIGNMENT

As-needed assignments are as simple as dragging and dropping your definition from the xBML™ Explorer window onto the object where you want to capture data.

BLANKET ASSIGNMENT

With the blanket Profile assignment dialog, a single profile can be associated to all current and future objects of given types.

This simple, one-step process allows you to quickly and easily make your definition available to any object in your xBML™ file repository.

Create Valid Values to Promote Consistent Data Entry

Not only is it important to capture the information you will need to make important business decisions, but it is also important to make sure that the information you capture is consistent and correct. The xBML™ Modeling Suite’s Profiling functionality allows you to define valid values for the information you wish to capture, and automatically provides a drop-down list with the values you provided when it comes time to enter that data.

In addition, the valid values you entered are managed across the information contained in your xBML™ repository. Therefore, if you modify one of your valid values, this change is automatically reflected throughout the models contained in the repository in question. Just another way that the xBML™ Modeling Suite makes your life easier.

Populating YOUR Data Structure with Values

Once your profile has been associated with objects within the xBML™ Modeling Suite, values can then be populated into the profile very easily via the properties window:

The property window’s Data tab(s) automatically create drop-downs for you in areas where you have defined valid values. In areas where no valid values have been defined, a value can simply be typed into the value column

Content Transformation (Reporting)

One of the most powerful components of the xBML™ Modeling Suite is the ability to transform your work into other formats. Whether your goal is to create an affinity matrix to help identify gaps, a Microsoft Project 2003 template, or a Complex Commercial Off-The-Shelf selection criteria matrix, your xBML™ models remain the central, core information repository that can be reused in many different facets.

Custom Transformations

• Performs a single transformation of your data into virtually any format.
  
• Performed with XSL stylesheets.
  
• Customizable.

Software Update Wizard

The software update wizard automatically checks xBML™ Innovations for updates for your software at specified intervals. In addition, the update wizard can be run manually by selecting the ‘Tools -> Check for Updates’ command. This feature allows you to keep your software up to date with the click of a button.

Compressed Repository Option

Sharing information about your business to other participants in your business is a critical part of any organization. As xBML™ is based on an open data format (Xml), the repository can get quite large, quite fast. To combat the size of this data format, the xBML™ Modeling Suite comes with the ability to save the repository as a ‘Compressed xBML File’. With this option, your xBML™ repository files can shrink up to 90% of the original size, making them ideal for distributing information either through email or over the web, or to simply save disk space.