id	summary	reporter	owner	description	type	status	priority	milestone	component	version	resolution	keywords	cc
4045	Better support for naming of dragged component instances	Francesco Casella	Adeel Asghar	"When dragging and dropping a component instance in a model diagram using OMEdit, the instance is named by default with the name of the class with lowercase initial, followed by 1 (or 2, 3, etc. if there are many instances).

In most non-trivial models, this default choice is not really good, because by definition such names are too generic. As a consequence, interpreting the results later on in the simulation results browser becomes difficult, because it is not clear which phyisical object or phenomenon do modelName1, modelName2 and so on actually represent. This is not really a modelling style that the tool should promote. On the contrary, we should encourage the modeller to think carefully about the name that is given to each model. In OO modelling, proper namining is very important if the model has to be understandable later on by 3-rd parties, or even by the same author who created it.

Furthermore, changing the instance name is a bit tricky, as one has to right-click on the dragged component, select ""Attributes"" (is the component name an attribute?) and finally change the name of the instance to something more appropriate.

My suggestion would be that as the component is released on the diagram, a dialog window pops up asking for the component name. We can keep the current modelNameNN as a default proposed name, that one can simply accept by hitting Return or clicking on the OK button. But I would write a text on the dialog along these lines ""Please choose a meaningful name for this component, to improve the readability of simulation results"".

I know, this might sound a bit pedantic, but I think tools should also have some didactical value, helping new users doing things right from the start."	enhancement	closed	critical		OMEdit		fixed