Guide

Eidos User Guide

Welcome to Eidos! This guide will help you get started building ontologies, collaborating with others, and making the most of the platform.

Getting Started

What is an Ontology?

An ontology is a structured way to organize knowledge about a domain. It consists of:

  • Concepts - The things in your domain (e.g., "Dog", "Animal", "Pet")
  • Relationships - How concepts relate to each other (e.g., "Dog is-a Animal")
  • Properties - Attributes that describe concepts
Example: If you're building an ontology for a pet store, you might have concepts like "Dog", "Cat", "Food", and "Toy", with relationships like "Dog needs-a Food" or "Cat is-a Pet".

Your First Login

  1. Sign in using your preferred method (Google, GitHub, Microsoft, or Entra ID)
  2. You'll see your dashboard with any existing ontologies
  3. Click "Create New Ontology" to get started

Creating an Ontology

Step-by-Step

  1. Click the Create New Ontology button
  2. Enter a descriptive name for your ontology
  3. Optionally add a description to explain its purpose
  4. Click Create
Tip: Use clear, descriptive names like "E-commerce Product Catalog" instead of generic names like "My Ontology".

Ontology Settings

You can configure your ontology by clicking the Settings tab:

  • Name & Description - Update basic information
  • Visibility - Make it private, public, or shared with specific users
  • Permissions - Control who can view or edit

Working with Concepts

Adding Concepts

There are several ways to add concepts:

Method 1: Add Concept Button

  1. Click Add Concept
  2. Enter the concept name (e.g., "Dog")
  3. Add an optional description
  4. Choose a color for visual identification
  5. Click Save

Method 2: Quick Add (Ctrl+Enter)

  1. Enter a concept name in the input field
  2. Press Ctrl + Enter
  3. The concept is added immediately
  4. Continue typing and pressing Ctrl + Enter to add multiple concepts quickly

Method 3: From Graph View

  1. In Graph view, Ctrl + Click on an existing concept
  2. This creates a new related concept
  3. Enter the name and relationship type

Editing Concepts

  • Click on a concept in List or Graph view
  • Modify the name, description, or color
  • Click Save Changes

Deleting Concepts

  1. Select the concept
  2. Click the Delete button
  3. Confirm the deletion
Warning: Deleting a concept also removes all its relationships. This action can be undone with Ctrl + Z.

Relationships

Creating Relationships

  1. Click Add Relationship
  2. Select the Source concept (e.g., "Dog")
  3. Choose a Relationship Type (e.g., "is-a", "part-of", "has-a")
  4. Select the Target concept (e.g., "Animal")
  5. Optionally add a description
  6. Click Save

Common Relationship Types

is-a

Indicates a subtype relationship

Example: Dog is-a Animal

part-of

Indicates composition

Example: Wheel part-of Car

has-a

Indicates possession or attribute

Example: Person has-a Name

related-to

Generic relationship

Example: Book related-to Author

Tip: You can create custom relationship types! Just type your own relationship name instead of selecting from the dropdown.

Different Views

Eidos offers multiple ways to visualize and work with your ontology:

Graph View

Visual network representation of concepts and relationships.

  • Drag nodes to rearrange the layout
  • Click nodes to see details
  • Zoom with mouse wheel
  • Pan by dragging empty space
  • Ctrl+Click to quick-add related concepts

List View

Tabular view of all concepts with their properties.

  • View all concepts at once
  • Quick editing and deletion
  • Search and filter capabilities

Hierarchy View

Tree structure showing parent-child relationships.

  • Focuses on "is-a" and "subclass-of" relationships
  • Expand/collapse branches
  • Clear visualization of taxonomies

TTL View

Raw Turtle (TTL) format representation.

  • See the OWL/RDF representation
  • Copy for use in other tools
  • Validate semantic web compliance

Collaboration

Real-Time Presence

See who's currently viewing or editing your ontology:

  • User avatars appear in the top-right corner
  • Colored dots show which tab each user is viewing
  • Click the eye icon on a user's avatar to jump to their view
  • Hover over avatars to see user names

Sharing Your Ontology

  1. Open the ontology you want to share
  2. Go to the Collaborators tab
  3. Click Add Collaborator
  4. Enter the collaborator's email address
  5. Choose their permission level:
    • View Only - Can see but not edit
    • Edit - Can make changes
    • Full Access - Can edit and manage collaborators
  6. Click Send Invitation

Managing Collaborators

In the Collaborators tab, you can:

  • See who has access to your ontology
  • Change permission levels
  • Remove collaborators
  • View access history and activity

Importing

Importing from TTL/OWL Files

  1. Click the Import button
  2. Choose your TTL, RDF, or OWL file
  3. Review the preview of concepts and relationships
  4. Select import mode:
    • Replace - Replaces entire ontology
    • Merge - Adds to existing concepts
  5. Click Import to complete
Note: Large imports may take a few moments. You'll see a progress indicator during the process.

Supported Formats

  • Turtle (.ttl)
  • RDF/XML (.rdf, .owl)
  • N-Triples (.nt)

Exporting

Export Formats

Export your ontology in various formats:

Turtle (TTL)

  • Standard OWL/RDF format
  • Compatible with Protégé and other ontology editors
  • Human-readable

JSON-LD

  • Linked Data format
  • Easy to use in web applications
  • Compatible with semantic web tools

RDF/XML

  • Classic RDF format
  • Widely supported
  • Good for interchange with older tools

How to Export

  1. Click the Export button
  2. Select your desired format
  3. Click Download
  4. The file will be saved to your downloads folder

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Ctrl + Enter Quick add concept
Ctrl + Z Undo last action
Ctrl + Y Redo action
Ctrl + Click (Graph view) Quick-add related concept
? Show keyboard shortcuts
Mac Users: Use ⌘ Cmd instead of Ctrl

Tips & Tricks

Best Practices

  • Start broad, then narrow - Create general concepts first, then add specific ones
  • Use consistent naming - Stick to a naming convention (PascalCase, camelCase, etc.)
  • Add descriptions - Future you will thank you for documenting concepts
  • Use color coding - Assign colors to concept categories for visual clarity
  • Save templates - Use the Templates feature for commonly used concept patterns

Performance Tips

  • Large ontologies - Use List view for bulk editing
  • Complex graphs - Zoom in on specific areas instead of viewing everything
  • Frequent changes - Use Ctrl+Enter for rapid concept creation

Collaboration Tips

  • Communicate - Use the Notes tab to leave messages for collaborators
  • Follow users - Click the eye icon on avatars to see what others are working on
  • Review history - Check the History tab to see what changed

Troubleshooting

  • Check your internet connection
  • Make sure you have edit permissions
  • Try refreshing the page
  • Check if someone else is editing the same concept

  • Make sure real-time features are enabled in settings
  • Check that other users are actually online
  • Try refreshing the page
  • Check your firewall settings (SignalR requires websocket support)

  • Ensure your file is in a supported format (TTL, RDF, OWL)
  • Check that the file is valid RDF/OWL syntax
  • Try importing a smaller file to test
  • Check error messages for specific issues

Need More Help?

Can't find what you're looking for? Here are more resources:

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