Perspective Tags

What are Tag groups and Tags?

Tag groups and Tags are a super powerful feature that can be used to overlay a perspective that you want to discuss or draw attention to when presenting your designs. Tags are flexible, customisable, and can be used in lots of different, creative ways to show your diagrams through different lenses.

A few main use cases we see being used are to highlight:

• Technology choices
• Release versions of System / Apps / Components
• Deployment information (Used in conjunction with areas for C4 deployment diagrams)
• Scope of internal/external teams
• Risk
• Cost

Tag groups

A Tag group is a collection or category for your Tags. This is used to define the perspective you are showing and helps your audience know what each Tag refers to.

A Tags group has:

• An icon

  • Edit in Tag bar: Double click icon.
  • Edit in right-hand panel: Single click icon.

  

  Editing Tag group icon from Tags bar and right-hand panel

• An editable name

  • Edit in Tag bar: Double click name.
  • Edit in right-hand: Click the edit pencil.

  

  Editing Tags group name from Tag bar and right-hand panel

The Free plan allows 2 groups per landscape, while the Indie, Growth and Enterprise plans allow unlimited groups.

Tags

A Tag is used to highlight what you want to draw attention to within each Tag group.

A Tag has:

• An editable name

  • Edit in Tag bar: Double click icon.
  • Edit in right-hand panel: Single click icon.

  

  Editing Tag name from Tags bar and right-hand panel

• An editable colour

  • Edit in Tag bar: Hover on tag and click colour palette icon.
  • Edit in right-hand panel: Click edit pencil and then colour palette icon.

  

  Editing Tag colour from Tags bar and right-hand panel

You can attach these Tags to your model objects in either the diagram view or model view, and they are shown when the Tags bar is open and the category that Tag sits within is selected. More on editing and adding Tags below.

Creating Tag groups and Tags

Tag groups can be created in 2 places

1. The Tag bar: Click the "New group" button next to the existing Tag groups.
2. The right-hand panel: Select an object, open a Tag drop down, click the "New group" button at the top of the dropdown.

Creating a new Tag group from Tags bar and right-hand panel

Tags can be added inside each group from 2 places

1. The Tag bar: Click the "New Tag" button next to the existing Tags.
2. The right-hand panel: Select an object, open a Tag drop down, click the + plus button to the right of each Tag group name.

Creating a new Tag from Tags bar and right-hand panel

Deleting Tag groups and Tags

Tag groups can be deleted in 2 places

1. The Tag bar: Click the ⨉ cross button next to the existing Tag group name.
2. The right-hand panel: Select an object, open a Tag drop down, hover over the Tag group, click the 🗑 trash button at the right of the Tag group.

Deleting a Tag group from the Tags bar and right-hand panel

Tags can be deleted inside each group from 2 places

1. The Tag bar: hover over the Tag, click the 🗑 trash icon in the displayed action menu.
2. The right-hand panel: Select an object, open a Tag drop down, hover on a Tag click the + plus button to the right of each Tag group name.

Deleting Tags from the Tags bar and right-hand panel

Adding Tags to objects

To add a Tag or multiple Tags to an object:

1. Select the object.
2. Open the Tags dropdown in the right-hand panel.
3. Select the Tag(s) you want to apply.

Assigning Tags to an object from the right-hand panel

You can also multi select objects to apply Tags to many objects at the same time.

1. Shift select multiple objects
2. Open the Tags dropdown in the right-hand panel.
3. Select the Tag(s) you want to apply to all the selected objects

Removing Tags from objects

To remove a Tag or multiple Tags from an object:

1. Select the object.
2. Open the Tags dropdown in the right-hand panel.
3. Deselect the Tag(s) you want to remove.

Unassigning Tags on an object from the right-hand panel

You can also multi select objects to remove Tags to many objects at the same time.

1. Shift select multiple objects
2. Open the Tags dropdown in the right-hand panel.
3. Deselect the Tag(s) you want to remove from all the selected objects

How to see Tags in diagrams

You can view your Tags in your diagram or model view by opening the Tags bar located at the bottom left of the UI. Tags in diagram and model views are only visible when the Tags bar is open.

The Tags bar is your controller for:

• Showing Tags by opening the Tags bar
• Highlighting by hovering over each Tag in the Tags bar
• Pinning by clicking on each Tag in the Tags bar
• Hiding objects by Tags in your diagrams by hovering and selecting the 👁 eye icon.

Each object will display the colour of the Tag that has been applied in each group as a coloured bar. If an object has 2 or more Tags applied, it will add a bar for each Tag colour horizontally responsive. Switching between different Tag groups will display the different group Tags. Connections only use the colour of the first Tag applied unless hovering or pinning other Tags that are not shown, then it will show the hovered on Tag colour.

Pinning Tags

Pinning Tags is a quick way to compare Tags without needing to hover over them in the Tags bar. Pinned Tags apply the colour and dotted line of the pinned Tag to the objects with that Tag applied.

Changing to another Tag group will unpin the Tags currently pinned.

How to pin a Tag

1. Open the Tag bar.
2. Click the Tag(s) you want to pin.

A pinned Tag will have a 📍 pin icon next to it to show it's pinned

Pinning Tags from the Tags bar

How to unpin a Tag

1. Open the Tag bar.
2. Click the pinned Tag(s) you want to unpin.

An unpinned Tag will remove the 📍 pin icon next to it when clicked.

Hiding Tags (Hidden)

Hiding objects by Tags is a great way to show the difference when your model objects are being deprecated or exist in a future release, without removing them from the diagrams or model.

How to hide Tags

To hide objects by the Tags they have:

1. Open the Tag bar
2. Hover over the Tag you want to hide
3. Click the 👁 eye icon in the action menu
4. Your objects will grey out, remove text and connections will be hidden

Hidden Tags are added to the hidden section above the Tags bar.

Hiding Tags from the Tags bar

How to unhide hidden Tags

To unhide Tags:

1. Hover over the hidden Tag in the hidden section you want to show
2. Click the 👁 eye "show" button that overlays on the Tag

This will unhide your Tag and reshow everything with that Tag (unless another Tag is hidden that also applies)