This will launch a wizard that walks you through the generic setup of your application.   It appears it is generated as a Java application complete with screens, drop down list boxes, database access, etc.  As you can imagine this will be a very simple and generic application, but it can provide a significant boost in your application development.  I haven't done much exploring in there since I don't know Java and can't determine what it does and doesn't do for me.  The documentation is also very sparse on this and it doesn't appear there are any customization options.  This is the first iteration of this tool and you can expect to see some very nice things added into this in future versions.  I'm not really sure how much I can disclose about plans for this, so I'll leave it at that except to say the improvements that I know of are going to be an outstanding addition to this tool.

A data modeling tool would not be complete if it did not generate reports for you.

The Physical Model item will generate an rtf document listing the contents of your data model.  The Intranet Dictionary will generate a series of HTML files containing all of the information.  These files are already prelinked and can simply be published to a web directory for everyone to get access.  The reporting can be accomplished at any level and is context sensitive.  This allows you to generate reports at a logical, physical, and submodel level.  I'm certain you will see significant improvements to the reporting feature as well.

One additional add on that will come packaged with ER/Studio is a viewer.  This is another unique item to ER/Studio.  This is a distributable viewer that allows anyone to access and view all aspects of a data model.  You can then leverage all of the work that has been put into the model in terms of comments, documentation, etc.  The Viewer is something that I haven't worked with yet, and so will keep this short.   I'll add in more information once I've had a chance to evaluate the capabilities of the viewer.  This is another thing you can expect big things from.

In the few pages I taken here, I have just glossed the surface of what ER/Studio has to offer.  There are a lot of other features that have not been covered at this time.   Hopefully, I'll find the time to come back through and fill some of them in as I get more comfortable with this excellent tool.

Over the last few years, I have watched ERWin and PowerDesigner wander along adding a feature here and a feature there while systematically eliminated bugs within their products.  At first, ER/Studio was far behind what these two leaders offered.   But, it's the old complacency with marketshare.  With the help of users and a development team that really listens to what people are asking for, ER/Studio has come out of left field to reach functional parity with these two leaders and has surpassed each of them in many areas.  I have been using S-Designor (now named PowerDesigner) for about 4 years and during that time I have not seen very many additional capabilities added to the tool.  ER/Studio has undergone multiple transformations in that time.  I'm definitely looking forward to the next release as it should get even better than it is right now.

This tool is definitely first rate and deserves a very strong consideration in your environment.  The ability to generate multiple physical models from a single logical model as well as all of the drag and drop editing capabilities put ER/Studio well ahead of its competitors in terms of useability.

If you are not using or currently evaluating data modeling tools, ER/Studio should be a very strong consideration to add to your environment.  If you currently have a data modeling tool, ER/Studio rates another look with possible consideration in switching.   (Yes, it can open ERWin files.)  Embarcadero is strongly committed to ER/Studio and very strongly committed to producing the best tools in the marketplace.   They have a proven track record of reacting very quickly and implementing every logical suggestion the users have.  This is put on display simply by comparing ER/Studio with any of its competitors and noting all of the ease of use features and even the layout of the entire interface.  It is a very strong possibility that ER/Studio will become the best data modeling tool on the market during the next year.

ER/Studio 3.0 is produced by Embarcadero Technologies.

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