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. Using the Administration tab, configuration administrators specify settings to ensure that the appearance of all items complies with your company's corporate design.

Authorized users can open the Administration tab.

Prerequisites

  • You have selected the appropriate perspective in the Perspective Wizard so that all relevant folders are displayed on the Administration tab.

  • You have selected the Configuration & Administration working environment in the Perspective Wizard.

  • You have the privileges required for the different tasks. The specific privileges required are listed in each procedure description.

Procedure

Click ARIS > Show Administration Administration.

The Administration tab is displayed.

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

Language used for text display in ARIS.

Text from various components, such as the interface, database content, method terms, and scripts, can be displayed simultaneously in different languages.

Interface language

Defines the language in which the user interface is displayed, regardless of the method and database language. The interface language corresponds to the language in which menus, menu items, window titles, dialog titles and contents, and the online help are displayed. You can select all languages that were activated during installation.

You select the interface language under ARIS > Options > General. To change it, you must restart the program. If you have purchased an additional language, run a language update. To do this, administrators run the installation program (Modify program) and select the additional languages to be installed.

Configuration language

Languages available on the Administration tab > Configuration > Conventions used to specify the names and descriptions of all items of the configuration for this tenant, such as font formats, templates, and filters.

Configuration administrators create the configuration languages of a tenant.

Database language

Language generally available in ARIS. These languages are provided automatically when a new database is created. You manage database languages on the Administration tab.

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.

You can define an default language to display database content if attribute values are not specified in the database language that is currently used.

Default database language

Database language that is used to display database content if attribute values are not specified in the database language that is currently used. When you create a database, English (United States) is selected automatically. On the Administration tab, you can change the default language.

Attribute language

Database language used to specify attribute values.

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.

You can define an default language to display database content if attribute values are not specified in the database language that is currently used.

Method language

The method language is the language in which all ARIS Method names are displayed, regardless of the interface and database language. For example, if you have selected English (United States), method names, such as the names of attribute types, model types, connection types, and object types, etc., are displayed in English. In contrast, the attribute values you have specified are displayed in the selected database language.

Script language

Language used in ARIS to display text strings of a script. For example, this is text used in a dialog that is generated by a report script.

In contrast to the script language, the language used to display database content, for example, in a report output file, is related to the selected database language.

System language

Language provided by the operating system.

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, created 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 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.