Download and Install Astah

You can download Astah Professional and Astah UML from Download page.
When you download it, you will be required to enter your name and email address.
After submitting your information, the download will start.
If you are a student, fill the form to get a free student license.

About Java

Installers for Windows and Mac OS have required JRE included.
Linux users need to set up required Java by yourself by following the instructions.

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Start Astah

You can launch Astah by:

  • Choosing [Astah] from the Start menu or
  • Double-clicking Astah’s app icon or .asta file

When launching Astah, it automatically looks for new updates through HTTP access and shows a dialogue if a newer version is available.
If you wish not to check for updates, change the option from [Tools] – [System Properties] – [Other].
Astah System Properties

A free 20-day trial is included at the first installment. When you launch Astah for the first time, a 20-day free trial will start automatically.

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Set License

If a first trial period passed and a license is not set yet a license dialog appears when you launch Astah.
You can always open this dialogue from [Help] – [License] menu.

Astah License Dialogue

If you have a floating license, click [Set Floating License]. For further steps, please read the floating license guide.
If you have a non-floating license, click [Set License key] and specify your license file (.xml).
If you don’t have a license yet, please purchase a license.

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Creating a new project file

You can create a new project file by going to [File] – [New] or clicking the icon.

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Open a pre-installed template file

The useful template files are pre-installed in Astah Installation folder\template\project.
Astah Built-in Templates

To open one of these template files, go to [File] – [New from Template] and select a file.

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Create a custom template

You can also create a custom template file and make it as a default to open from [File] – [New].

  1. Create a custom template file
  2. Save this .asta file in User_Home\.astah\professional (or uml)\template\project
    ※You have to create the “template” and “project” folders by yourself
  3. Go to [Tools] – [System Properties] – [Project] and select [User Template], then all the .asta files will appear in the drop-down list. Choose the one you’d like to use and click [Apply] – [OK].
    Custom Template

  4. Now every time you create a new file, your custom template file opens to start with.
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Create a diagram

You can create a new diagram from the [Diagram] menu.

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Open Diagram Thumbnails

Since version 9.0, you can see diagram thumbnails.
Diagram Thumbnails

In order to see thumbnails of all the diagrams within a project, select [Open Diagram Thumbnails] from the root package’s context menu. This menu is available on any packages that have diagrams.

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Auto-save .asta files

You can autosave files by turning the auto-save mode on.

You can specify how frequently you want to auto-save from [Tools] – [System Properties] – [File].