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Software Ideas Modeler

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:22 am
by SYSTEM
Software Ideas Modeler is a UML diagramming tool.

UML diagrams are used in professional software development. The diagrams allow developers to see the big picture without all the distracting details in source code or before a single line of code has been written.

Fpelletier added SIM to the database about an year ago but didn't create a thread in the forums. Now, one day after the release of SIM 5.00, I decided to finally create a thread for it.

In spring 2011, I was looking for a portable UML tool with GNU/Linux support. I only found BOUML and SIM, and BOUML is discontinued. SIM requires .NET 3.5, but it's not a problem for me. :)

Besides fulfilling my basic requirements, SIM is also able to create some non-UML diagrams including UI mockups. In addition, it's quite lightweight: some tools (especially well know ones like astah*) require a couple hundred megabytes of disk space, while SIM only takes about eight (v5) or five (v4) megabytes.

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Feel free to vote: http://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=1817

Re: Software Ideas Modeler

Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 8:23 am
by webfork
As the system seems to be gaining some traction in areas beyond just development, would be nice to have a UML tool here on the site. Good add.

Re: Software Ideas Modeler

Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 5:12 am
by SYSTEM
I haven't had time to track updates for some time, and I missed Ascend4nt's comment about Software Ideas Modeler 6. :(

Anyway, SIM is now at version 6.12. I have updated the entry. Here is the release announcement of SIM 6: http://www.softwareideas.net/a/124/Sixt ... mming-Tool

Re: Software Ideas Modeler

Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 5:39 am
by joby_toss
I can't take it anymore! :)
I've seen this private entry so many times!
I voted!

Edit: not stealth (AppData\Local\IsolatedStorage\...\AssemFiles).

Re: Software Ideas Modeler

Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 5:47 am
by SYSTEM
joby_toss wrote: I can't take it anymore! :)
I've seen this private entry so many times!
I voted!
:lol:
joby_toss wrote:Edit: not stealth.
Alright, thanks for testing.

Re: Software Ideas Modeler 10.42

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 10:33 am
by smaragdus
The latest version- 10.42 features a hideous ribbon interface and a big orange "Buy" button:

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The professional version is offered as one hour free trial which can be extended:

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The standard version is still free for personal, non-commercial use:

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Previous versions of Software Ideas Modeler can also be downloaded.

Re: Software Ideas Modeler

Posted: Wed May 02, 2018 5:51 pm
by webfork
So there's a prompt that shows up when you try to close the program and thereafter when you start it that Smaragdus pointed to.

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I thought this was a showstopper and that there was no more to be seen, but as it turns out you can get past it. Select "Change Edition" and then at the next screen select "choose standard:

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Finally you have to make doubly clear that this is non-commerical use:

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It's a little annoying that there's no way to hide the premium features so you get a lot of menus with a lot of grayed out options:

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--

Despite all these issues, the program is portable and still has a ton of good features. As a result I updated the entry (https://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php?id=1817) and voted for it. Ultimately there is no good freeware Visio alternative apart from LibreOffice Draw, and even that's a stretch. Further, there are a lot of other functions including a Venn Diagram and swimlane tool that are much easier to use than Visio.

Other notes:

* Most of the tools only export to images, not SVG or similar file types that might be functional elsewhere.
* Their tweak on the ribbon view is a little confusing. I recommend clicking one of the items and then click the small up arrow in the lower-right corner of the ribbon to get it to dock normally.

Re: Software Ideas Modeler

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 11:59 am
by FileHandler
Another way to switch editions to the free standard version is via the Help menu:
1) Right-click the Ribbon > Classic Menu
2) Main menu: Help > Change Editions - and proceed as outlined in the posts above

Also worth mentioning: When adding a new diagram, pick "Mixed Diagram" from the category "Other". The sidebar/toolbar will then list ALL available shapes and connectors sorted by category (right-click for more options per category). You can freely mix connectors and shapes from different categories.

Btw, the ugly orange BUY button is visible only on the Start page. Disable it via Options (General Tab) > Show Start Page

Re: Software Ideas Modeler

Posted: Sat May 05, 2018 2:20 pm
by webfork
FileHandler wrote: Thu May 03, 2018 11:59 am Another way to switch editions to the free standard version is via the Help menu...
Yes! I have updated the entry with better extract instructions. And thanks for the note about the new diagram trick. That's a big help.