To accommodate increasingly large-scale software development, the next-generation design tool Next Design has been updated. We have improved the loading performance for large projects, ensuring that you can start your design work more smoothly even when dealing with a high volume of design information.

Table of Contents

• New Features and Improvements
  • Faster startup times for large-scale projects
  • Enhancements to extension content
• Constraints
• Fixed Issues and Limitations
• Notes on the V5.1 update
• Update Method

New Features and Improvements

Faster startup times for large-scale projects

We have improved how model files are loaded to shorten the waiting time from opening a project to starting work, even in large-scale projects.

Faster project opening

• Previously, projects were opened only after all model files had been loaded. In V5.1, only the information for the initially required model files is loaded and displayed first, while the remaining model files are loaded in the background.
• Even while loading in the background, operations such as displaying, editing, undoing, and redoing models remain available.
• Design work can now be started with minimal waiting time, even for large-scale projects.

Features available during background loading

• Editing metamodels and profiles becomes available once all model files targeted for automatic loading have finished loading.
• Trace views can be displayed immediately after the initial display, without waiting for background loading to finish.
• Functions that reference models across the entire project—such as search/replace, diff comparison, error checks, and exports—are executed after the necessary model files have finished loading.
• Model file exports and integrations process by loading all target model files on the spot.

Faster project opening from NDCLI and Extension SDK runtimes

• Project opening processes have also been accelerated when launched from the NDCLI or Extension SDK runtimes.
• Batch processing and verification can now be initiated with shorter wait times.

Improved model file loading experience

• Model files configured for manual loading are now displayed in the model navigator and traces as soon as the project is opened.
• Even for model files that have not yet been loaded, you can still check their model names, hierarchies, and traces.
• References in the editor are also displayed by model name rather than as "(Not Loaded)".
• Icons in the model navigator display a marker, and hovering the mouse over them shows a tooltip indicating that they are unloaded.
• Model files configured for manual loading are now automatically loaded as soon as you select or display the model.

Integrating PartialLoad.Enhanced extension features into the core application

• The features of PartialLoad.Enhanced, previously provided as an extension, have now been integrated directly into the core Next Design application.
• The features of PartialLoad.Enhanced can now be used without installation.
• In both the traceability view and trace matrix view, you can now select and load from related model files.
• Models whose sequence diagrams are set to lifeline types can now also be loaded using the load unloaded models operation in the editor.
• You can now use the load unloaded models operation from the context menu in the editor view and traceability view.
• Starting from V5.1, the PartialLoad.Enhanced extension content can no longer be installed.
• Even if PartialLoad.Enhanced is already installed, it will not be loaded when launching V5.1.
• Installed instances of PartialLoad.Enhanced will not be deleted.
• When launching versions of Next Design prior to V5.0, it will remain enabled as before.

Addition and Modification of APIs Supporting Background Loading

• To support faster project opening and background loading of model files, we have added APIs such as those for retrieving the load status of model files.
• Behavior seen from scripts and extensions running within Next Design core will partially change due to changes in manually loaded model files.
• For details, please check What's New in Next Design V5.1 in the Extension Manual.

Enhancements to extension content

We have made improvements to extended content, such as adding support for faster project opening in EnhancedErrorChecker and improving link-related features in MarkdownEditor.

Support for Faster Project Opening in EnhancedErrorChecker

• Added support for faster project opening and background loading of model files.
• Automatic error checking when opening a project now begins once background loading of the model files is complete.
• If background loading is interrupted by an error or if there are model files that failed to load, an output window will now display a message stating that those models are not included in the check results.
• EnhancedErrorChecker V1.2.0 is exclusively for Next Design V5.1 and later. Please use V1.1.x for Next Design V5.0 and earlier.

Improvements to MarkdownEditor Link Features

• Links converted to plain text during document output are now displayed in the output tab of the information pane. Target links include relative path links, empty links, links starting with '?', and links with modelname, modelpath, modelid, and action schemas that cannot be found at the time of output.
• When a project is saved, clicking a Windows relative path file link in the markdown preview can now open it using the project file location as the base. Both '/' and '\' can be used as relative path separators.
• For image relative paths, you can now use '\' separators in addition to '/'.
• Clicking empty links or links starting with '?' in the markdown preview will now notify you if the link destination cannot be found. During document output, relative path links, empty links, and links starting with '?' are output as plain text. Relative path links, empty links, and links starting with '?' in area tags are not supported.

Other Improvements

• Updated bundled libraries in NDMerge, UmlSysml, NDGit, MarkdownEditor, NDInterop, and others.

Constraints

There are some important considerations for users who have configured model files for manual loading when using this version. Please check the links in the sections below for details. Users of the Professional Edition or those who do not use manual load settings will not be affected.

N1066113: When an unloaded model file configured for manual loading is modified externally, the external changes may not be reflected even if it is loaded afterward.

If a model file configured for manual load is in an unloaded state and is modified externally (e.g., configuration management is updated in another tool), loading the model file afterward will not reflect the externally added or deleted models. In this case, no message is displayed to confirm project reloading, so you may not notice the external changes. If you edit the project in Next Design without noticing and save it, the changes made externally may be overwritten and lost.

N1066120: If you change and save a field name in a profile after reloading a project, the model values in the manually loaded model file will be lost.

If you reload the project after loading a model file configured for manual load, the model file is displayed as loaded in the project navigator, but its contents are not loaded. If you rename a profile field and save the project in this state, the values of the fields whose names were changed will be lost and revert to their initial values for the models in that model file. No error or confirmation messages are displayed, and saving completes successfully. Therefore, you will not notice that the values have been lost until you view those models later.

N1066130: After reloading a project, manually loaded model files that were already loaded remain displayed as loaded but are excluded from searches and diff comparisons.

If you reload the project after loading a model file configured for manual load, the model file appears as loaded in the project navigator, but appears unloaded (light-colored) in the model navigator, and its contents are not loaded. In this state, the following issues occur:

• The models in that model file are excluded from search and replace. No message indicating the presence of unloaded model files is displayed either.
• In diff comparison, unchanged models are displayed as if they have differences.
• Even if the model file is loaded afterward, the extension model file load event (onAfterModelUnitLoad) does not occur.
If you rename a profile field and save the project in this state, the values of the fields whose names were changed will be lost for the models in that model file.

Fixed Issues and Limitations

This version includes fixes for issues and constraints, allowing you to use the application with more stable quality. Please check the following page for details on the fixed issues and constraints.

• Resolved Issues and Limitations (Next Design V5.1)

Notes on the V5.1 update

This section explains important points regarding the update from V5.0 to V5.1. Action may also be required if you continue developing extensions for V5.0 without updating to V5.1. Please check the details below.

a) For those updating to V5.1

There are updates to extension contents and changes in the behavior of some APIs. Please check the following page for details.

• Important notes when updating from Next Design V5.0 to V5.1

b) For those continuing to use V5.0

If you continue using V5.0 without updating to V5.1 and continue developing extensions for V5.0, you may need to change your extension development project settings. Please check the following page for details.

• Important notes on developing extensions for Next Design V5.0

Please note that updates can be applied at a time of your choosing.

Update Method

From the Next Design menu, select [Help] > [Check for Updates].

If you are performing a new installation, please download the installer from the following link. When accessing, please enter your DENSO CREATE account starting with "A" and its password, which has been provided to registered users.

• Download

That is all.