Forward Engineering Models

You can generate a physical database schema from a physical model using the Forward Engineering process.

This topic walks you through the steps to forward engineer an ArangoDB model. For detailed description of forward engineering options, refer to the Forward Engineering Options topic.

To forward engineer a model:

  1. Open your ArangoDB model.

    Ensure that you are in the Physical mode.

  2. Click Actions > Schema.
    The Forward Engineer Schema Generation Wizard appears.

  3. Click Option Selection.
    The Option Selection tab displays the default option set. Clear the Drop check boxes and select other syntax check boxes as required.

  4. Click Next.
    The Collection Filter tab appears. It displays a list of collections available in your model.

  5. Select the collections that you want to forward engineer.

  6. Click Preview to view the schema script.

    Use the following options:

    • Auto Error Check: Select this option to enable auto error check by the forward engineering wizard.

    • Error Check (): Use this option to run an error check. Based on the results, you can correct the generated script.

    • Text Options (): Use this option to configure the preview text editor's look and feel, such as window, font, syntax color settings. For more information, refer to the Forward Engineering Wizard - Preview Editor topic.

    • Save (): Use this option to save the generated script in the JSON or BSON format.

  7. Click Generate.
  8. The ArangoDB Connection screen appears.


  9. Enter user name, password, and appropriate connection parameters to connect the required database. Then, click Connect.
  10. The objects move to a database entered on the ArangoDB Connection page irrespective of the databases entered on the object editor pages. If you want to move objects to databases as entered on object editors page then do not enter any database on the ArangoDB Connection page.

    The forward engineering process starts. The script generates your physical database schema. You can access your database and verify the newly generated schema.

The forward engineering process creates database objects in the database entered on the ArangoDB Connection page. For example, in the following image, the forward engineering process creates 13 collections in the ERWINSALES database. ArangoDB represents edge collections using whereas document collections are represented using .

This process creates six graphs in ERWINSALES database.

You can view graph properties by clicking the required graph. For example, the following Edit Graph page displays the properties of the social graph.