diff --git a/examples/org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow/src/org/eclipse/glsp/example/workflow/WorkflowGLSPModule.java b/examples/org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow/src/org/eclipse/glsp/example/workflow/WorkflowGLSPModule.java
index 3bcbbbc3..23ea451f 100644
--- a/examples/org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow/src/org/eclipse/glsp/example/workflow/WorkflowGLSPModule.java
+++ b/examples/org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow/src/org/eclipse/glsp/example/workflow/WorkflowGLSPModule.java
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@
 import org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow.labeledit.WorkflowLabelEditValidator;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow.layout.WorkflowLayoutEngine;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow.marker.WorkflowModelValidator;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow.model.WorkflowModelFactory;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow.model.WorkflowNavigationTargetResolver;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow.provider.NextNodeNavigationTargetProvider;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow.provider.NodeDocumentationNavigationTargetProvider;
@@ -47,7 +46,9 @@
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.contextactions.ContextActionsProvider;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.contextactions.RequestContextActionsHandler;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.contextmenu.ContextMenuItemProvider;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.ModelFactory;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.GModelFactory;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.JsonFileGModelLoader;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.ModelSourceLoader;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.directediting.ContextEditValidator;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.directediting.LabelEditValidator;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.modelsourcewatcher.FileWatcher;
@@ -69,6 +70,26 @@ protected Class<? extends GLSPServer> bindGLSPServer() {
       return WorkflowGLSPServer.class;
    }
 
+   @Override
+   protected Class<? extends ModelSourceLoader> bindSourceModelLoader() {
+      return JsonFileGModelLoader.class;
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   protected Class<? extends GModelFactory> bindGModelFactory() {
+      return GModelFactory.NullImpl.class;
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   protected Class<? extends ModelSourceWatcher> bindModelSourceWatcher() {
+      return FileWatcher.class;
+   }
+
+   @Override
+   protected Class<? extends GraphExtension> bindGraphExtension() {
+      return WFGraphExtension.class;
+   }
+
    @Override
    protected void configureContextActionsProviders(final MultiBinding<ContextActionsProvider> binding) {
       super.configureContextActionsProviders(binding);
@@ -116,11 +137,6 @@ protected void configureActionHandlers(final MultiBinding<ActionHandler> binding
       binding.add(LogActionHandler.class);
    }
 
-   @Override
-   protected Class<? extends GraphExtension> bindGraphExtension() {
-      return WFGraphExtension.class;
-   }
-
    @Override
    public Class<? extends PopupModelFactory> bindPopupModelFactory() {
       return WorkflowPopupFactory.class;
@@ -156,13 +172,4 @@ protected Class<? extends NavigationTargetResolver> bindNavigationTargetResolver
       return WorkflowNavigationTargetResolver.class;
    }
 
-   @Override
-   protected Class<? extends ModelFactory> bindModelFactory() {
-      return WorkflowModelFactory.class;
-   }
-
-   @Override
-   protected Class<? extends ModelSourceWatcher> bindModelSourceWatcher() {
-      return FileWatcher.class;
-   }
 }
diff --git a/examples/org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow/src/org/eclipse/glsp/example/workflow/model/WorkflowModelFactory.java b/examples/org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow/src/org/eclipse/glsp/example/workflow/model/WorkflowModelFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 209694fd..00000000
--- a/examples/org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow/src/org/eclipse/glsp/example/workflow/model/WorkflowModelFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,47 +0,0 @@
-/********************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2020 EclipseSource and others.
- *
- * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
- * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
- * https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
- *
- * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
- * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
- * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
- * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
- * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
- *
- * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
- ********************************************************************************/
-package org.eclipse.glsp.example.workflow.model;
-
-import org.eclipse.glsp.graph.GModelRoot;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.actions.ActionDispatcher;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.JsonFileModelFactory;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.RequestModelAction;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.model.GModelState;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.utils.ServerMessageUtil;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.utils.ServerStatusUtil;
-
-import com.google.inject.Inject;
-
-public class WorkflowModelFactory extends JsonFileModelFactory {
-
-   @Inject
-   private ActionDispatcher actionDispatcher;
-
-   @Override
-   public GModelRoot loadModel(final RequestModelAction action, final GModelState modelState) {
-      String clientId = modelState.getClientId();
-      actionDispatcher.dispatch(clientId, ServerStatusUtil.info("Model loading in progress!"));
-      actionDispatcher.dispatch(clientId, ServerMessageUtil.info("Model loading in progress!"));
-
-      GModelRoot modelRoot = super.loadModel(action, modelState);
-
-      actionDispatcher.dispatch(clientId, ServerStatusUtil.clear());
-      actionDispatcher.dispatch(clientId, ServerMessageUtil.clear());
-
-      return modelRoot;
-   }
-
-}
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/di/GLSPModule.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/di/GLSPModule.java
index 3f9688f2..82c6c586 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/di/GLSPModule.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/di/GLSPModule.java
@@ -25,7 +25,8 @@
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.commandpalette.CommandPaletteActionProvider;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.contextactions.ContextActionsProviderRegistry;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.contextmenu.ContextMenuItemProvider;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.ModelFactory;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.GModelFactory;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model.ModelSourceLoader;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.directediting.ContextEditValidatorRegistry;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.directediting.LabelEditValidator;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.modelsourcewatcher.ModelSourceWatcher;
@@ -52,8 +53,10 @@ public abstract class GLSPModule extends AbstractModule {
    protected void configure() {
       // Configure default bindings
       bind(GLSPServer.class).to(bindGLSPServer()).in(Singleton.class);
+      bind(ModelSourceLoader.class).to(bindSourceModelLoader());
+      bind(GModelFactory.class).to(bindGModelFactory());
+      bind(ModelSourceWatcher.class).to(bindModelSourceWatcher()).in(Singleton.class);
       bind(PopupModelFactory.class).to(bindPopupModelFactory());
-      bind(ModelFactory.class).to(bindModelFactory());
       bind(ILayoutEngine.class).to(bindLayoutEngine());
       bind(ModelValidator.class).to(bindModelValidator());
       bind(ActionDispatcher.class).to(bindActionDispatcher()).in(Singleton.class);
@@ -64,7 +67,6 @@ protected void configure() {
       bind(CommandPaletteActionProvider.class).to(bindCommandPaletteActionProvider());
       bind(ContextMenuItemProvider.class).to(bindContextMenuItemProvider());
       bind(NavigationTargetResolver.class).to(bindNavigationTargetResolver());
-      bind(ModelSourceWatcher.class).to(bindModelSourceWatcher()).in(Singleton.class);
       bind(ClientSessionManager.class).toInstance(getClientSessionManager());
       // Configure set suppliers
       bind(ActionRegistry.class).to(bindActionRegistry()).in(Singleton.class);
@@ -88,7 +90,9 @@ protected void configure() {
 
    protected abstract Class<? extends GraphGsonConfiguratorFactory> bindGraphGsonConfiguratorFactory();
 
-   protected abstract Class<? extends ModelFactory> bindModelFactory();
+   protected abstract Class<? extends ModelSourceLoader> bindSourceModelLoader();
+
+   protected abstract Class<? extends GModelFactory> bindGModelFactory();
 
    protected Class<? extends PopupModelFactory> bindPopupModelFactory() {
       return PopupModelFactory.NullImpl.class;
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ComputedBoundsActionHandler.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ComputedBoundsActionHandler.java
index d6f2ec53..a950bb53 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ComputedBoundsActionHandler.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ComputedBoundsActionHandler.java
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ public List<Action> executeAction(final ComputedBoundsAction action, final GMode
          GModelRoot model = modelState.getRoot();
          if (model != null && model.getRevision() == action.getRevision()) {
             LayoutUtil.applyBounds(model, action, modelState);
-            return submissionHandler.submitModel(true, modelState, false);
+            return submissionHandler.submitModelDirectly(modelState);
          }
       }
       return none();
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/GModelFactory.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/GModelFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..f0af7dfc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/GModelFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2019-2020 EclipseSource and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ******************************************************************************/
+package org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model;
+
+import org.eclipse.glsp.graph.GModelIndex;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.graph.GModelRoot;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.actions.ActionHandler;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.model.GModelState;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.operations.OperationHandler;
+
+/**
+ * A graph model factory produces a graph model from the model state; typically its contained source model.
+ * <p>
+ * The responsibility of a {@link GModelFactory} implementation is to define how a {@link GModelState} is to be
+ * translated into a {@link GModelRoot} that is sent to the client for rendering. Before a {@link GModelFactory}
+ * is invoked, the {@link ModelSourceLoader} has already been executed for loading the source model into the
+ * {@link GModelState}. The {@link GModelFactory} then produces the {@link GModelRoot} from the source model in the
+ * {@link GModelState}. Implementations of {@link GModelFactory} are usually specific to the type of source model, as
+ * they need to understand the source model in order to translate it into a graph model.
+ * </p>
+ * <p>
+ * The graph model factory is invoked after initial load of the source model and after each operation that is applied
+ * to the source model by an {@link OperationHandler} in order to update the graph model before sending it to the client
+ * for rendering.
+ * </p>
+ * <p>
+ * If an index is needed for mapping between the graph model and the source model, as is typically the case for
+ * {@link ActionHandler action handlers} and {@link OperationHandler operation handlers}, it is the responsibility of
+ * the graph model factory to create such an index while producing the graph model from the source model. The index
+ * shall be put into the model state too. Typically the {@link GModelIndex} is extended for a particular model source
+ * type as well.
+ * </p>
+ *
+ * @see ModelSourceLoader
+ * @see GModelIndex
+ */
+public interface GModelFactory {
+   /**
+    * Create a {@link GModelRoot} from the specified <code>modelState</code> and puts it into the
+    * <code>modelState</code>. Optionally, this step also produces and sets a {@link GModelIndex} in the model state
+    * that allows mapping from graph model elements to source model elements and vice versa.
+    *
+    * @param modelState The model state into which the created graph model and index shall be put.
+    */
+   void createGModel(GModelState modelState);
+
+   /**
+    * Graph model factory to be used if the graph model is already available from the model source.
+    */
+   final class NullImpl implements GModelFactory {
+      @Override
+      public void createGModel(final GModelState modelState) {
+         // noop
+      }
+   }
+}
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/JsonFileModelFactory.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/JsonFileGModelLoader.java
similarity index 67%
rename from plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/JsonFileModelFactory.java
rename to plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/JsonFileGModelLoader.java
index fbc5129e..7ef8793a 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/JsonFileModelFactory.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/JsonFileGModelLoader.java
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 import java.util.Optional;
 
 import org.eclipse.glsp.graph.GGraph;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.graph.GModelRoot;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.jsonrpc.GraphGsonConfiguratorFactory;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.model.GModelState;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.protocol.GLSPServerException;
@@ -34,29 +33,23 @@
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 
 /**
- * A base class which can be used for all model factories that load an SModel
- * from a json file.
- *
+ * A source model loader that reads the graph model directly from a JSON file.
  */
-public class JsonFileModelFactory implements ModelFactory {
+public class JsonFileGModelLoader implements ModelSourceLoader {
 
    @Inject
    private GraphGsonConfiguratorFactory gsonConfigurationFactory;
 
-   private GModelRoot modelRoot;
-
    @Override
-   public GModelRoot loadModel(final RequestModelAction action, final GModelState modelState) {
+   public void loadSourceModel(final RequestModelAction action, final GModelState modelState) {
       final Optional<File> file = ClientOptions.getSourceUriAsFile(action.getOptions());
-      if (file.isPresent() && file.get().exists()) {
-         try (Reader reader = new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(file.get()), StandardCharsets.UTF_8)) {
-            Gson gson = gsonConfigurationFactory.configureGson().create();
-            modelRoot = gson.fromJson(reader, GGraph.class);
-         } catch (IOException e) {
-            throw new GLSPServerException("Could not load model from file: " + file.get().toURI().toString(), e);
-         }
+      try (Reader reader = new InputStreamReader(new FileInputStream(file.get()), StandardCharsets.UTF_8)) {
+         Gson gson = gsonConfigurationFactory.configureGson().create();
+         modelState.setRoot(gson.fromJson(reader, GGraph.class));
+         modelState.getRoot().setRevision(-1);
+      } catch (IOException e) {
+         throw new GLSPServerException("Could not load model from file: " + file.get().toURI().toString(), e);
       }
-      return modelRoot;
    }
 
 }
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelFactory.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 40862ed2..00000000
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-/*******************************************************************************
- * Copyright (c) 2019 EclipseSource and others.
- *
- * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
- * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
- * https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
- *
- * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
- * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
- * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
- * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
- * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
- *
- * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
- ******************************************************************************/
-package org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model;
-
-import org.eclipse.glsp.graph.GModelRoot;
-import org.eclipse.glsp.server.model.GModelState;
-
-public interface ModelFactory {
-
-   GModelRoot loadModel(RequestModelAction action, GModelState modelState);
-
-   final class NullImpl implements ModelFactory {
-
-      @Override
-      public GModelRoot loadModel(final RequestModelAction action, final GModelState modelState) {
-         return null;
-      }
-
-   }
-
-}
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelSourceLoader.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelSourceLoader.java
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..94243452
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelSourceLoader.java
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/********************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2020 EclipseSource and others.
+ *
+ * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
+ * terms of the Eclipse Public License v. 2.0 which is available at
+ * https://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-2.0.
+ *
+ * This Source Code may also be made available under the following Secondary
+ * Licenses when the conditions for such availability set forth in the Eclipse
+ * Public License v. 2.0 are satisfied: GNU General Public License, version 2
+ * with the GNU Classpath Exception which is available at
+ * https://www.gnu.org/software/classpath/license.html.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: EPL-2.0 OR GPL-2.0 WITH Classpath-exception-2.0
+ ********************************************************************************/
+package org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model;
+
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.model.GModelState;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.utils.ClientOptions;
+
+/**
+ * A source model loader loads models into the model state.
+ * <p>
+ * A <i>source model</i> is an arbitrary model from which the graph model of the diagram is to be created.
+ * Implementations of source model loaders are specific to the type of source model or persistence format that is used
+ * for a type of source model. A source model loader obtains the information on which source model shall loaded from a
+ * {@link RequestModelAction}; typically its client options. Once the source model is loaded, a model loader is expected
+ * to put the loaded source model into the model state for further processing, such as transforming the loaded model
+ * into a graph model (see {@link GModelFactory}).
+ * </p>
+ *
+ * @see ClientOptions
+ * @see GModelFactory
+ */
+public interface ModelSourceLoader {
+   /**
+    * Loads a source model into the <code>modelState</code>.
+    *
+    * @param action     Action sent by the client to specifying the information needed to load the source model.
+    * @param modelState The model state into which the source model shall be put.
+    */
+   void loadSourceModel(RequestModelAction action, GModelState modelState);
+}
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelSubmissionHandler.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelSubmissionHandler.java
index 54326140..9ac61d33 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelSubmissionHandler.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/ModelSubmissionHandler.java
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 package org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.core.model;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
-import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.eclipse.glsp.graph.GModelRoot;
@@ -42,74 +41,60 @@ public class ModelSubmissionHandler {
    @Inject
    protected DiagramConfigurationRegistry diagramConfigurationRegistry;
 
+   @Inject
+   protected GModelFactory modelFactory;
+
    private final Object modelLock = new Object();
-   private final int revision = 0;
 
    /**
+    * Returns a list of actions to update the client-side model, based on the specified <code>modelState</code>.
     * <p>
-    * Compute and return a list of actions to update the client-side model, based on the specified modelState.
-    * These actions are not processed by this {@link ModelSubmissionHandler}, but should be either manually
-    * dispatched to the {@link ActionDispatcher}, or simply returned as the result of an
+    * These actions are not processed by this {@link ModelSubmissionHandler}, but should be either manually dispatched
+    * to the {@link ActionDispatcher}, or simply returned as the result of an
     * {@link ActionHandler#execute(Action, GModelState)} method.
     * </p>
-    * <p>
-    * Equivalent to <code>doSubmitModel(update, modelState, true)</code>.
-    * </p>
     *
-    * @param update
-    *                      <code>true</code> if this is an update to an existing model; <code>false</code>
-    *                      if this is a new model (e.g. after loading a model)
-    * @param modelState
-    *                      The {@link GModelState}
-    * @return
-    *         A list of Actions to be processed in order to submit the model
+    * @param modelState The model state to submit.
+    * @return A list of actions to be processed in order to submit the model.
     */
-   public List<Action> submitModel(final boolean update, final GModelState modelState) {
-      return submitModel(update, modelState, true);
+   public List<Action> submitModel(final GModelState modelState) {
+      modelFactory.createGModel(modelState);
+      modelState.getRoot().setRevision(modelState.getRoot().getRevision() + 1);
+      DiagramConfiguration diagramConfiguration = diagramConfigurationRegistry.get(modelState);
+      if (diagramConfiguration.getLayoutKind() == ServerLayoutKind.AUTOMATIC) {
+         layoutEngine.layout(modelState);
+      }
+      if (diagramConfiguration.needsClientLayout()) {
+         synchronized (modelLock) {
+            return Arrays.asList(new RequestBoundsAction(modelState.getRoot()),
+               new SetDirtyStateAction(modelState.isDirty()));
+         }
+      }
+      return submitModelDirectly(modelState);
    }
 
    /**
+    * Returns a list of actions to directly update the client-side model without any server- or client-side layouting.
     * <p>
-    * Compute and return a list of actions to update the client-side model, based on the specified modelState.
-    * These actions are not processed by this {@link ModelSubmissionHandler}, but should be either manually
-    * dispatched to the {@link ActionDispatcher}, or simply returned as the result of an
+    * Typically {@link ActionHandler action handlers} don't invoke this method but use {@link #submitModel(GModelState)}
+    * instead, as this is only used to eventually submit the model on the client directly after all layouting is already
+    * performed before. The only foreseen caller of this method is {@link ComputedBoundsActionHandler}.
+    * </p>
+    * <p>
+    * These actions are not processed by this {@link ModelSubmissionHandler}, but should be either manually dispatched
+    * to the {@link ActionDispatcher}, or simply returned as the result of an
     * {@link ActionHandler#execute(Action, GModelState)} method.
     * </p>
     *
-    * @param update
-    *                      <code>true</code> if this is an update to an existing model; <code>false</code>
-    *                      if this is a new model (e.g. after loading a model)
-    * @param modelState
-    *                      The {@link GModelState}
-    * @param layout
-    *                      Whether layout should be processed. This should be <code>true</code> for most actions;
-    *                      <code>false</code> for actions that already react to client-layout changes
-    *                      (i.e. {@link ComputedBoundsAction} ).
-    * @return
-    *         A list of Actions to be processed in order to submit the model.
+    * @param modelState The model state to submit.
+    * @return A list of actions to be processed in order to submit the model.
     */
-   public List<Action> submitModel(final boolean update, final GModelState modelState, final boolean layout) {
-      GModelRoot newRoot = modelState.getRoot();
-      DiagramConfiguration diagramConfiguration = diagramConfigurationRegistry.get(modelState);
-      if (diagramConfiguration.getLayoutKind() == ServerLayoutKind.AUTOMATIC) {
-         layoutEngine.layout(modelState);
-      }
-
-      boolean needsClientLayout = layout && diagramConfiguration.needsClientLayout();
-
+   public List<Action> submitModelDirectly(final GModelState modelState) {
+      GModelRoot gModel = modelState.getRoot();
+      Action action = gModel.getRevision() == 0 ? new SetModelAction(gModel) : new UpdateModelAction(gModel);
       synchronized (modelLock) {
-         if (newRoot.getRevision() == revision) {
-            if (update) {
-               Action updateModel = needsClientLayout ? new RequestBoundsAction(modelState.getRoot())
-                  : new UpdateModelAction(newRoot, true);
-               return Arrays.asList(updateModel, new SetDirtyStateAction(modelState.isDirty()));
-            }
-            Action setModel = needsClientLayout ? new RequestBoundsAction(modelState.getRoot())
-               : new SetModelAction(newRoot);
-            return Arrays.asList(setModel);
-         }
+         return Arrays.asList(action, new SetDirtyStateAction(modelState.isDirty()));
       }
-      return Collections.emptyList();
    }
 
    public synchronized Object getModelLock() { return modelLock; }
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/RequestModelActionHandler.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/RequestModelActionHandler.java
index f746ab8f..8a773a33 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/RequestModelActionHandler.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/RequestModelActionHandler.java
@@ -17,21 +17,26 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
-import org.eclipse.glsp.graph.GModelRoot;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.actions.Action;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.actions.ActionDispatcher;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.actions.BasicActionHandler;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.features.modelsourcewatcher.ModelSourceWatcher;
 import org.eclipse.glsp.server.model.GModelState;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.utils.ServerMessageUtil;
+import org.eclipse.glsp.server.utils.ServerStatusUtil;
 
 import com.google.inject.Inject;
 
 public class RequestModelActionHandler extends BasicActionHandler<RequestModelAction> {
 
    @Inject
-   protected ModelFactory modelFactory;
+   protected ModelSourceLoader sourceModelLoader;
 
    @Inject
-   private ModelSourceWatcher modelSourceWatcher;
+   protected ActionDispatcher actionDispatcher;
+
+   @Inject
+   protected ModelSourceWatcher modelSourceWatcher;
 
    @Inject
    protected ModelSubmissionHandler modelSubmissionHandler;
@@ -39,10 +44,24 @@ public class RequestModelActionHandler extends BasicActionHandler<RequestModelAc
    @Override
    public List<Action> executeAction(final RequestModelAction action, final GModelState modelState) {
       modelState.setClientOptions(action.getOptions());
-      GModelRoot model = modelFactory.loadModel(action, modelState);
-      modelState.setRoot(model);
+
+      notifyStartLoading(modelState);
+      sourceModelLoader.loadSourceModel(action, modelState);
+      notifyFinishedLoading(modelState);
+
       modelSourceWatcher.startWatching(modelState);
-      return modelSubmissionHandler.submitModel(false, modelState);
+
+      return modelSubmissionHandler.submitModel(modelState);
+   }
+
+   protected void notifyStartLoading(final GModelState modelState) {
+      actionDispatcher.dispatch(modelState.getClientId(), ServerStatusUtil.info("Model loading in progress!"));
+      actionDispatcher.dispatch(modelState.getClientId(), ServerMessageUtil.info("Model loading in progress!"));
+   }
+
+   protected void notifyFinishedLoading(final GModelState modelState) {
+      actionDispatcher.dispatch(modelState.getClientId(), ServerStatusUtil.clear());
+      actionDispatcher.dispatch(modelState.getClientId(), ServerMessageUtil.clear());
    }
 
 }
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/UpdateModelAction.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/UpdateModelAction.java
index 822ac218..28f7df12 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/UpdateModelAction.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/core/model/UpdateModelAction.java
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ public UpdateModelAction() {
       super(ID);
    }
 
+   public UpdateModelAction(final GModelRoot newRoot) {
+      this(newRoot, true);
+   }
+
    public UpdateModelAction(final GModelRoot newRoot, final boolean animate) {
       this();
       this.newRoot = newRoot;
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/undoredo/UndoRedoActionHandler.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/undoredo/UndoRedoActionHandler.java
index f37a7a55..b247979d 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/undoredo/UndoRedoActionHandler.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/features/undoredo/UndoRedoActionHandler.java
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ public class UndoRedoActionHandler implements ActionHandler {
    public List<Action> execute(final Action action, final GModelState modelState) {
       if (action instanceof UndoAction && modelState.canUndo()) {
          modelState.undo();
-         return modelSubmissionHandler.submitModel(true, modelState);
+         return modelSubmissionHandler.submitModel(modelState);
       } else if (action instanceof RedoAction && modelState.canRedo()) {
          modelState.redo();
-         return modelSubmissionHandler.submitModel(true, modelState);
+         return modelSubmissionHandler.submitModel(modelState);
       }
       LOG.warn("Cannot undo or redo");
       return none();
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/model/ModelStateProvider.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/model/ModelStateProvider.java
index 5d62b420..1d279693 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/model/ModelStateProvider.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/model/ModelStateProvider.java
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@
 
 public interface ModelStateProvider {
    /**
-    * Returns the model state for a given clientId. Note that each sprotty diagram
-    * is counted as an individual client.
+    * Returns the model state for a given clientId. Note that each diagram is counted as an individual client.
     *
     * @param clientId clientId/widgetId
     * @return the corresponding model state
diff --git a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/operations/OperationActionHandler.java b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/operations/OperationActionHandler.java
index 11ae551f..6c2669de 100644
--- a/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/operations/OperationActionHandler.java
+++ b/plugins/org.eclipse.glsp.server/src/org/eclipse/glsp/server/operations/OperationActionHandler.java
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ protected List<Action> executeHandler(final Operation operation, final Operation
       GModelRecordingCommand command = new GModelRecordingCommand(modelState.getRoot(), handler.getLabel(),
          () -> handler.execute(operation, modelState));
       modelState.execute(command);
-      return modelSubmissionHandler.submitModel(true, modelState);
+      return modelSubmissionHandler.submitModel(modelState);
    }
 
    public static Optional<? extends OperationHandler> getOperationHandler(final Operation operation,