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Navigate your model

Last updated 2026-10-10

An OnyxJar model contains structured information about a subject and the relationships between its parts. The interface gives you different ways to look at that information, depending on whether you want an overall view, need to find a particular item, or want to maintain the model's structure and content.

Start with Overview

Use Overview to orient yourself. It provides a high-level view of the model's identity, structure and activity, helping you understand what you're looking at before you explore individual items.

Overview is a useful place to return to when you want to step back from the detail and consider the model as a whole.

Explore the graph

Model Explorer gives you a visual view of the model's objects and the relationships that connect them. The graph can make clusters, dependencies and paths between items easier to notice.

Use the Explorer when you want to:

  • find and inspect an object;
  • understand which other objects it connects to;
  • follow a relationship to see how parts of the model fit together; or
  • narrow the displayed graph using the available filters.

Select an item to inspect its details. Its attributes help explain what it represents, while its connections show how it relates to other parts of the model.

The graph is a view of the model, not the model itself. Its layout and current filters affect what you see on screen; they do not change the underlying meaning of the objects and relationships.

Understand what you're looking at

A few distinctions make the model easier to navigate:

  • Object types define the kinds of things the model can contain.
  • Objects are the individual things represented in the model.
  • Relationship types define the kinds of connections that can exist.
  • Relationships are the actual connections between individual objects.
  • Attributes record details about objects and, where supported, relationships.

For example, an object type might describe an application, while an object represents a particular application. A relationship type defines a kind of connection; a relationship records that connection between two specific objects.

If you want a fuller explanation of these concepts, see Welcome to OnyxJar. More detailed guidance on model structure belongs in the Model fundamentals section as it becomes available.

Use the editing views to maintain the model

When you need to change the model, use the relevant editing view for the information you want to maintain. The structure is defined by types and relationship types; the subject itself is represented by objects, their attributes and the relationships between them.

Make changes with a clear purpose. Add the objects that matter, record useful details, and create relationships where the connection is meaningful. A well-connected model is more useful than a large one whose contents and links are difficult to interpret.

A simple way to work

For a new model, a practical sequence is:

  1. Open Overview to orient yourself.
  2. Use Model Explorer to inspect a few objects and follow their relationships.
  3. Open the relevant editing view when you need to maintain the model.
  4. Return to the Explorer to understand how the changes fit into the wider picture.

If you haven't created a model yet, begin with Create your first model and Choose a starting point.

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