Arch Master Support

• What is Arch Master?
• How do I open a model?
• Which files does it open?
• How do I move around a view?
• How do I switch between views?
• Where do I see documentation and relationships?
• How do I browse the whole model?
• How do I find an element?
• Are there keyboard shortcuts?
• Export and print
• Why do the colours differ from Archi?
• Some shapes are dashed. Why?
• What is not shown yet?
• Can I edit a model?
• Where are my files stored?
• Settings, themes and language
• Why did the app ask me for a rating?
• System requirements
• Contact and feedback

What is Arch Master?

A viewer for enterprise architecture models in the ArchiMate® modelling language, published by The Open Group. It opens the models you keep in Archi or export from other modelling tools and draws every view the way the specification draws it, so you can walk through a model in a meeting, on the go or at your desk. The app is written natively for Apple platforms: there is no web view inside it, and it needs no account and no internet connection.

How do I open a model?

On iPhone and iPad, launch Arch Master and choose the file in the document browser — in Recents, iCloud Drive or On My iPhone (or iPad) → Arch Master — or tap the file in the Files app. On Mac, double-click the file in Finder, or choose File → Open. The model opens on its first view.

Which files does it open?

• Archi models (.archimate) — the plain XML file, and the zip archive Archi writes when a model contains images.
• Open Group Exchange files (.xml) — the ArchiMate Model Exchange File Format that many modelling tools export.

ArchiMate 3.1 and 3.2 models, with every element and relationship, junctions, specializations (Archi profiles), documentation and properties. The format is recognised from the content, not the extension. In Exchange files with names in several languages, names follow the interface language.

How do I move around a view?

Drag anywhere to pan, and pinch to zoom; on Mac, scroll to move and hold ⌘ while scrolling to zoom. The zoom controls in the bottom-right corner have − and +, a fit button, and preset zoom levels behind the percentage. The minimap in the corner shows the whole view — drag inside it to move. The “…” menu has Fit to View, Zoom to Selection and switches for the grid and the minimap.

Click or tap a shape to select it: its connections light up in the accent colour. Double-click or double-tap a shape to zoom to it.

How do I switch between views?

The view switcher at the top of the canvas lists every view by folder. On iPad and Mac, the Views tab of the sidebar lists them too, with their viewpoints. Double-click or double-tap a view reference to open the view it points to. The back and forward arrows beside the view switcher walk through the views you opened (⌘[ and ⌘] with a keyboard).

Where do I see documentation and relationships?

In Properties, the inspector. On iPad and Mac it is the panel on the right, shown and hidden with the right-hand panel button in the toolbar; on iPhone, the same button opens it as a sheet. For a selected element it shows:

• its type, layer, specialization and identifier;
• its documentation and properties;
• every incoming and outgoing relationship — tap one to go to the element at its other end;
• every view it appears on — tap one to open that view with the element selected.

A relationship shows its ends, access type, influence strength and direction. Groups, notes and view references have their own pages, and with nothing selected Properties describes the view and the model.

How do I browse the whole model?

Open the Model Browser with the left-hand panel button in the toolbar: on iPad and Mac it is the sidebar, on iPhone a sheet. Views lists every view by folder. Model is a tree by layer — Strategy, Business, Application, Technology, Physical, Motivation, Implementation & Migration and Other — then by element type, with relationships grouped by type. The field at the top filters both by name.

How do I find an element?

Find Element (⌘F) finds shapes on the current view by name or ID and steps through them in reading order. The Command Palette (⌘K) searches the whole model — every view, element and relationship by name, ID, property or documentation — and jumps to the result, opening the first view that shows it when it is not on the current one. It also runs any command. On iPhone and iPad both are in the “…” menu.

Are there keyboard shortcuts?

Yes, on Mac and on iPad with a keyboard: ⌘K command palette, ⌘F find, ⌘[ and ⌘] back and forward, ⌘+ and ⌘− zoom, ⌘0 actual size, ⌘9 fit to view, ⌘3 zoom to selection, ⇧⌘E export as PNG and ⌘P print. The full list is on the Keyboard page in Settings.

How do I export or print a view?

On iPhone and iPad, open Export in the “…” menu; on Mac, use the Export button in the toolbar or File → Export. You can export the current view as PNG or as a vector PDF with selectable text, or every view as one PDF with a page per view. Print is next to them (⌘P). Exports and printouts always use the light paper look, without the selection, whichever theme you use on screen.

Why do the colours differ from Archi?

Shapes are filled with the layer colours of the app's theme — yellow business, blue application, green technology — tuned to its warm palette. The standard Archi colours always follow the theme, while colours someone chose on purpose, such as a red line or a highlighted box, are kept. To ignore the file's colours entirely, turn off Use colours from the file in Settings → Canvas.

Some shapes are drawn with a dashed outline. Why?

The file refers to an element that is not in it, or to an element type the app does not know. Rather than refuse the file, Arch Master opens the rest of the model and draws what is missing as a dashed placeholder. A file that is not an ArchiMate model at all gets a plain explanation instead of a generic error.

What is not shown yet?

Images embedded in Archi archives, and Archi's sketch and canvas views, whose shapes are shown as plain notes. The rest of such a model opens as usual.

Can I edit a model?

No. Arch Master is a viewer: it opens and presents models and never changes the file. Edit the model in Archi or the modelling tool you use, save it, and open it again in Arch Master.

Where are my files stored?

Wherever you keep them. Arch Master uses the system file browser — Files on iPhone and iPad, Finder on Mac — including iCloud Drive and any other provider you have connected. On iPhone and iPad, the app's own folder is under Browse → On My iPhone (or iPad) → Arch Master.

Where is Settings, and what is in it?

On iPhone and iPad, in the “…” toolbar menu; on Mac, choose Arch Master → Settings or press ⌘,. It has four pages:

• General — appearance and interface language
• Canvas — dots, lines or a plain background, the minimap, colours from the file, shadows under shapes
• Keyboard — every shortcut
• About — version, build and a link to the ArchiMate specification

How do I change the theme?

In Settings → General → Appearance. Terracotta, the default, uses the colours of the app icon; Light is the bright paper look; Dark is espresso with cream lines. The change applies at once.

Can I change the language?

Yes. The app is available in English, German, French, Ukrainian, Spanish, Japanese and Portuguese, with ArchiMate terms in the established words of each language. By default it follows your device language, falling back to English. To choose another, use Settings → General in the app, or system settings: Settings → Apps → Arch Master → Language on iPhone and iPad, System Settings → General → Language & Region → Applications on Mac. Both places change the same setting. The app's own screens switch at once; the file browser, menus and system dialogs follow the next time you open the app. Names and documentation from the model are always shown as written.

Does it need an internet connection?

No. The app works entirely offline, makes no network requests and collects no data. See the Privacy Policy.

Why did the app ask me for a rating?

Once you have used Arch Master for a while, it may show Apple's rating request right after something worked — an export, a print, or a jump to another view of an element — at most once per version, and never right after something failed. Apple decides whether the request actually appears. To turn such requests off for all apps, go to Settings → App Store → In-App Ratings & Reviews on iPhone and iPad, or App Store → Settings on Mac.

System requirements

iPhone with iOS 18 or later, iPad with iPadOS 18 or later, or a Mac with macOS 15 or later.