How are languages and fonts used in ARIS?

This chapter explains the interrelation between languages, font formats, and templates.

ARIS Architect is the configuration tool for ARIS Download Client and ARIS Connect. Using the Administration tab, configuration administrators specify settings to ensure that the appearance of all items complies with your company's corporate design.

The term language is used in different contexts in ARIS, such as ARIS configuration languages or database languages. The subdivision is necessary because not all languages of the world are available for every context.

The overview pages explain the use of and the interrelation between languages and fonts, templates, attributes, graphics, and PDF output files. You can find the definition of each term in the glossary:

ARIS languages

Interface language

Configuration language

Database language

Default database language

Attribute language

Method language

Script language

System language

Fonts used in ARIS Configuration

Fonts define how text attribute values are displayed, such as names or descriptions in models, tables, output files, print outs and PDF outputs. These fonts are related to languages used in ARIS. The fonts used are taken from different sources, such as the operating system (OS), the JRE used and the system database of the tenant.

Which font is used depends on various factors, such as the language, the program, or whether an action is carried out locally or from ARIS Server. If an action is carried out locally, the installed fonts of the operating system or the locally installed JRE are used. Fonts used by ARIS Server are stored in the system database of each tenant and in the operating system of the machine ARIS Server is installed on or in the current JRE. If text appears differently or if text is unreadable in different languages, make sure to provide all required fonts.

In contrast to the font formats and languages used in the ARIS Configuration, which refer to templates and are used throughout the tenant, fonts and languages used in ARIS databases define only the way in which text is displayed in a database. This database-specific way of displaying content is overwritten by the templates used. Templates created (Create templates, Use templates) centrally for a tenant are available in every database.

All fonts available on your operating system can be applied to the selected font format. In this example, the Standard font format uses the Arial font.

Assign font # s_admin_font1.gif

Templates

Using the Template Wizard in ARIS Architect, administrators can create (Create templates, Use templates) templates to enhance your models with individual graphic designs. Use a template to specify the graphic properties of object symbols and connections. For symbols, you can change the size, color and shading as well as the line color, weight, and style. For connections, you can change the color, style, arrow heads and line weight. You can also specify which attribute is displayed where on a connection or symbol and in which font format.

You can assign templates to any model or to any model type. ARIS uses the settings of the assigned template to display the models. To assign templates to models, users need the Write access privilege for the group containing the models. When templates are assigned, the text is displayed using the font defined in the font format that is used in the template. Template settings overrule database-related settings, such as individual font formats.

Assign font to template # s_admin_template.gif

Fonts and languages used in ARIS databases

For each database, administrators can create font formats and create additional database languages. Language-dependent attribute values are displayed in the editable white fields using the database language you selected when logging in. This language is automatically displayed in Attribute Editing regardless of the method and interface language. Text related to database items is managed using the Attributes tab or the Attributes window. You can specify attributes in multiple database languages at the same time. If you right-click a column title and select Select language, you can add more database languages. You can switch between these languages by logging in again in another language. The default language is the database language in which database content is displayed if attribute values are not specified in the database language used. Using this, for example, you prevent names from being displayed as (Untitled) if they have not been specified in the relevant database language. When you create a database, English (United States) is selected automatically.

If templates are assigned, the font defined in the font format of the template is used instead. Fonts used in model graphics are determined by attribute occurrences. Attribute definitions can contain individual formats, for example, for the whole text, or different formats for different sub-strings.

See also

What are languages in ARIS? # ARIS Architect

What are font formats?

What are templates?

How do languages and attributes interrelate?

How do fonts used on the Attributes tab and in the Attributes dialog interrelate?

How do languages, fonts, scripts, and Diagram fact sheet interrelate?

How do languages, fonts, and templates interoperate?

How do fonts affect graphics and PDF output files?