Start a Discussion 

Collaborate on Enterprise Architect models using the Discussion feature in Prolaborate. 

Prerequisite 

User must have access to EA Repository in Prolaborate. 

To reply to the discussion, the user should have the Collaborate access permission for the repository. 

Initiate a Discussion 

In this section, the following workflows and capabilities will be explained: 

Discuss on EA Artifacts 

Discuss on Reviews 

Discuss on Dashboards and Widgets 

Discuss on Diagrams 

Discuss on EA Artifacts 

Create discussions on EA artifacts such as packages, diagrams and elements from Prolaborate. To start a discussion, select the required artifact and click Discuss. 

1-Discuss on EA Artifacts 

Discuss on Reviews 

Create discussions on reviews that include artifacts such as diagrams, elements, etc which are subject to review. 

2-Discuss on Reviews 

Discuss on Dashboards and Widgets 

Create discussions on dashboards and widgets. Click Discuss button or hover on the widget and click the Discuss icon to start the discussions. 

3- Discuss on Dashboards and Widgets 

Discuss on Diagrams 

To create a discussion on a diagram, hover over a diagram to view the Discuss icon. Click on it ot open the discussion tab. 

4- Discuss on Diagrams 

Create a discussion 

To initiate a discussion on a package, element, or diagram, click Discuss button on the overview page upon selecting the artifact. 

5- Create discussion 

Add discussion text and Click Post to start a discussion. 

6- Post discussion 

In a discussion, author can tag a user, refer to EA resources, set priority, etc and those options are covered in detail in the below sections. 

Tag Users 

To tag Users, type @ as a prefix followed by the username in the comment field box.  

7- Tag Users 

Tag Resources 

To tag resources, type # as a prefix followed by the resource name in the comment field box. 

8- Tag Resources 

Formatting Text 

Change font styles & formats such as bold, italics, bullet list, numbered list, and font colour for the text to format the discussion text as required.  

9- Formatting Text 

Insert EA Diagram or Image 

Insert an image or multiple images into the discussions by clicking on the Image icon. 

10-Insert Image 

Set Priority 

Set priorities for discussions such as Low, Medium, and High as required. 

11-Set Priority 

Set Status 

Users can close a discussion that is fulfilled. To close the discussion, click on the vertical ellipsis icon and click on Edit.  

12-Edit Status 

Then choose Close on the status dropdown.  

13-Close Status 

The status will be marked as closed as shown below. 

14- Status Changed 

Insert Hyperlinks to Resources 

To add hyperlinks to a discussion, click the Link icon and then paste the link URL, and then click on the Right icon.  

By default, a new tab will be opened when the link is clicked. If you want to stay on the same tab when you click on the link, toggle the Open in a new tab option. 

15- Insert Hyperlink 

16-Hyperlink 

Edit Hyperlink 

To edit the hyperlink, click on the vertical ellipsis icon and click on Edit. Now place the cursor on the link to reveal the Edit icon. Click the Edit icon to edit the link. 

17-Edit Hyperlink 

Unlink Hyperlink 

To unlink hyperlink, click on the vertical ellipsis icon and click on Edit. Now place the cursor on the link to reveal the Unlink icon. Click the Unlink icon to remove the hyperlink. 

18-Unlink Hyperlink 

Reply to a Discussion 

The stakeholders can give their feedback or comment by replying to a discussion that the user had created. To reply to the discussion, click on the Add a reply text box and enter text as required. 

19-Reply Discussion 

Edit Discussions 

To edit a discussion, first select it, then click the vertical ellipsis icon, and then click Edit. 

20-Edit Discussion 

Delete a Discussion or Reply 

To delete a discussion, click the vertical ellipsis icon and click Delete. 

21-Delete Discussion 

Share Discussions 

Users who want to share a discussion can do so by copying the URL of the discussion. The shared discussions can only be viewed if the user has the login credentials, and the user must have collaborate access permission to further collaborate on the discussion (i.e., reply to the discussion).To share a discussion, click on the vertical ellipsis icon and click on Share. 

22-Share Discussion 

Get a short URL to share with your peers as shown in the image below. 

23- Discussion URL 

Discussion Count Indicators 

This feature allows you to quickly determine which artifacts are being discussed and takes you those discussions with a single click. The option is disabled by default. Enable Discussion Overlays option in the Repository Settings page to show discussion count indicators. Once enabled, the discussion count will be shown next to the Discuss icon in the repository browser, diagram and also on the Discuss button. 

24-Discussion Counts 

Filter Discussions 

Filter discussion based on status, priority, and artifacts. The artifacts based filter is available when discussing on diagrams. 

25-Filter Discussion 

In-app and Email Notifications 

Always be informed about the ongoing disucssions through in-app and email notifications. Just read the notifications and act quickly if required. 

26-In App Notifications 

If Mailer Configuration is enabled, users will receive notifications via email with the link. Just click the click to open the discussion shared in it. 

Incase if you are overwhelmed by too many notifications, Prolaborate allows you to control what type of notifications you want to receive through Notification Settings. 

Notify Users on the Discussion Panel  

When starting a discussion, the discussion panel will list all of the reviews for which the artifact has been marked for review. 

While initiating a discussion, select the review from the list that needs to be notified to the user, or select "No review" if the review does not need to be notified to the user. 

27-Review list 

28-Review selected 

Export a Discussion as a PDF 

Discussion threads can be exported as a PDF document in Prolaborate. To export a discussion, click the vertical ellipsis icon and select Download PDF. 

29-Download PDF 

Change Discussion Identifier 

By default, PROL is the prefix of a discussion's unique identifier, but it can be changed as required. 

30-Discussion Identifier 

To change the prefix, click the Menu > Repository Settings > Discussion Identifier Prefix and change the prefix as required. 

31-Discussion Prefix