I started using InfoModeler in 1995 and I'm glad to find this site and see that ORM is alive and well. I'm still using VisioModeler 3.1 and until yesterday I had been running it in XP mode on Windows 7. After following the instructions in a forum post here I can now run VisioModeler without problems on Windows 7. I have also been reading about NORMA as an upgrade path. Can VisioModeler .imo model files be imported into NORMA? I found a 2008 post in these forums that shows one option using Visio for Enterprise Architects (which I don't have) but it also suggested a future NORMA update may import .imo files directly. Has that happened?
NORMA does not have a method for importing .imo files directly.
You can convert .imo files by following Terry's method as described in this post.
Ken
Thanks Ken. I was afraid that might be the case. That is the post I found in my earlier search. I don't have Visio for Enterprise Architects so I was hoping that in the six years since that post NORMA may have gained the .imo import Terry said they hoped to add.
- Rick
Hi Rick,
The .imo files have an undocumented binary file format. I do not have documentation on the file format, the import code from VEA, or information on how to write a VisualModeler add-in, so there is very little I can do to remedy this situation.
The Orthogonal Toolbox add-in is also posted at http://ormsolutions.com/OrthogonalSoftware.
-Matt
Thanks Matt. I downloaded the Orthogonal Toolbox just in case I can find a copy of VEA. I have one 25-page .imo model that I'd hate to have to recreate from scratch in NORMA. I don't have any versions of Visual Studio right now. It looks like the only version that includes VEA and would allow me to run NORMA is Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite or Team Architect. I'll see if I can buy a copy and make the move to NORMA.