// FAQ

What are the different versions of Umbrello?

The current stable version 1.5.8 is probably the last release for the KDE 3.x version series.
The next version (2.0, to be released 1Q2008) will be based on KDE 4.)

There are also versions available for download on this site for older KDE releases.

When submitting bug reports with Umbrello it is helpful if you have tested against a recent build from KDE SVN.

Umbrello 2.x will be based on the upcoming Qt4 and KDE4 technologies which are currently under development.

Can I compile Umbrello with KDE 3.2

Yes, if you checkout branches/KDE/3.5/kdesdk, you have to change a line in admin/acinclude.m4.in (about line 1000):

  if test -z "$1"; then
  # Current default Qt version: 3.3
  kde_qtver=3
- kde_qtsubver=3
+ kde_qtsubver=2

Can I submit a patch

We love patches. Patches should be against a current svn checkout.

Then run svn diff > mypatch.diff to get the patch. Put the resulting patch on a webserver somewhere and send the URL with an explanation to uml-devel.

Umbrello takes up too much memory

Switch to a code generator other than C++ or Java. Recent SVN versions also allow Undo to be switched off. Umbrello 1.3 handles memory much better than previous versions for large diagrams.

How can I install the development version in parallel to the production version?

You would need to install it to a separate path using
./configure --prefix=/home/me/kdedevelopment

then set to include this
export KDEDIRS=`kde-config --prefix`:/home/me/foo

Can I help translate Umbrello into my spoken language?

Certainly. As part of KDE you will have to work with the KDE i18n team for your language.

http://i18n.kde.org/

Umbrello contains some UML and programming specific terms. Take care to research the most understandable translations of these terms for your spoken language.

How do I write a code generator

First check that there isn't already one in the KDE SVN version of Umbrello.

Then read the instructions in codegenerator.h and use one of the other generators as a template. The C++ and Java code generators are a lot more advanced than the rest, it would be nice to have the others offer the same functionality as them.

I'm compiling from SVN, where is the ./configure script?

KDE uses an extra step, make -f Makefile.cvs, see install for how to compile and install.

Why the silly name?

The program's name is Umbrello UML Modeller. The shortened form is Umbrello. When translating it translate UML Modeller in the most sensible way or if it can not be easily translated it can be left out. Umbrello should generally be left as is when translating to latin alphabet languages.

Previously the programme was called UML Modeller or UML Object Modeller or just UML. This was considered too generic by packagers and others. After some consultation and a public vote Umbrello showed surprising popularity, so the name Umbrello UML Modeller is now used. Umbrello does not mean anything as far as we know.

I'm having compilation problems on Debian 3.0/Woody/Stable?

You need qlist.h which is in the package libqt3-compat-headers

In sequence diagrams how do I extend the object's lifeline?

Drag a message arrow downwards.

In previous versions you had to click and drag with the mouse at the bottom of the object's vertical line.

My package format is not supported and I can't install from source, what do I do?

Contact us and if there are enough requests, we may be able to find a way to help you.

Can I have SVN write access?

Umbrello is now part of KDE (in kdesdk). Anyone with a KDE SVN account can commit changes. Anything significant should be run past the mailing list first.

Can I have bugs.kde.org write access?

You firstly need write access to KDE's SVN. Then make sure your address in kde-common/accounts (kde-common is a SVN module) is the same as the one used by your bugs.kde.org account.

Some UML features that I need don't seem to be supported?

Let us know what features you require. The most requested features will be the first features introduced.

What file format does the program use?

Versions before 1.4 used a file format that was only very loosely based on XMI and was not compatible with other UML programmes. Version 1.4 can read the static structure elements from most other UML tools which use XMI 1.x. However, currently Umbrello cannot import XMI 2.0 or UML-DI (Diagram Interchange.)
If you have a specific problem with XMI interchange then please add a detailed description to the existing problem report.

Why don't I have any icons on the toolbar?

This occurs when you change the location of installing the program by using a prefix on configure and KDE is unaware of that location.

To help KDE find the program you have to edit the environmental variable KDEDIRS. You will need to consult your distribution documentation for the exact file to edit, but there's a chance it will be .bash_profile in your home directory if you are the only one to use the program. If more than one person will use the program you can edit the file profile in the etc directory.

Just add the following lines

KDEDIRS="$KDEDIRS:prefix use in configure
export KDEDIRS

Run kbuildsycoca the first time you do this.

If you compiled from source you may have installed Umbrello in /usr/local or /usr/local/kde in which case you can add that directory to $KDEDIRS or change --prefix so it installs in /usr or /opt/kde or whatever the norm for your distribution is.

I can't export diagrams as images, it complains about the mime type

Check your KDE install and upgrade or recompile kdelibs if possible.

Then delete /tmp/kde-storri/ksycoca file and restarting Umbrello fixed the problem.

What's the difference between $KDEDIR and $KDEDIRS

The following is taken from #kde-devel

• one is a list of paths, the other is the single KDE installation path where the binaries and libs are expected to be
• KDEDIRS is supposed to be used for configfile location resolution
• --prefix overrides $KDEDIR
• install it wherever, but make sure that KDEDIR still points to the original KDE install path, and add the prefix where you're installing the app to KDEDIRS

Does Umbrello run on Windows

UPDATE (Nov 2007): KDE contributors Ralf Habacker and Christian Ehrlicher are porting the KDE4 based Umbrello version to Windows in both the MinGW and VisualStudio environments.

Already working are :

• Local files can be loaded and saved
• Printing works mostly (the print dialog does not display the umbrello extensions, this is caused by a qt feature lack of the QPrintDialog)
• Diagrams can be drawn
• Classes and projects can be imported

Following things need more work:

• Fix leftover selection points when selecting/unselecting multiple graphic elements in views
• Fix remaining seg faults
• Fix code generation
• Fix exporting functions (picture, docbook and XHTML)
• Fix File and Edit menu accessing problems
• Extend QPrintDialog to display umbrello specific printing options
• Port the remaining qt3 code to qt4
• Fix or disable loading/saving compressed xmi files (kdelibs related problem)
• Fix loading/saving xmi using kio (kdelibs related problem)

Any help is much appreciated.

For now, you can install KDE-Cygwin but that's a lot to install and runs slowly.

My problem still isn't solved - help!

If it is a user related problem, send an e-mail to the uml-user mailing list. If it is a developer problem, try the uml-devel mailing list. Details of the mailing lists can be found on the contact page.

My user-mode-linux won't work

Try asking User Mode Linux.