4.1.2 Objects
Adding objects
To add an object in the Diagram Editor:
| 1) | Select
the desired object type from the object type toolbar or the Types
menu. |
 | If
you want to add several objects of the same type at the same time, hold down the
Ctrl key while selecting the object type from the toolbar. This will
enable sticky mode for object creation until a new type is selected or the right
mouse button is
pressed. |
| 2) | Move
the mouse cursor to the desired place in the drawing area and click the left
mouse
button. |
| 3) | An
empty property dialog opens allowing you to enter design information about the
selected object. Fill in the properties of the object and click
OK. |
There is also an alternative way to
create objects:
| 1) | Make
sure that no element is selected in the drawing
area. |
| 2) | Move the
mouse cursor to the place you want to create the
object. |
| 3) | Open
the pop-up menu by pressing the right mouse button and select Add
Object... from the
menu. |
| 4) | Select
the object type from the list that opens and then fill in the property dialog
and click OK. |
Adding existing objects
In many cases it is more practical to reuse design elements
that are already defined and stored in the repository, rather than creating new
elements. To add objects already defined elsewhere:
| 1) | Select
the desired object type from the object type toolbar or the Types
menu. |
| 2) | Move the
mouse cursor to the desired place in the drawing area and click the left mouse
button while holding down the shift
key. |
| 3) | A
Component Selection Tool opens, initially allowing you to pick objects that are
already defined in the current graph, but also allowing you to navigate to any
object in the open projects.
|
| | Objects
of the selected object type are shown with normal text, whereas other objects
are shown in italics. Please note that all objects listed with normal text are
not necessarily represented in the current diagram: they may be represented in a
matrix, a table, or in another diagram of the same graph (see Section 6.2.2). |
| 4) | Choose
the objects you need, and press OK (for more information about the
Component Selection Tool, see 3.3.2). |
| 5) | Move
the objects you added to a suitable place. |
It
is also possible to add existing objects by selecting Add Existing
Object... from the pop-up menu that opens when you press the right mouse
button over the drawing area with no elements selected.
| Please
note that only those objects can be reused whose type is legal in the target
diagram. For example in a Data Flow Diagram you can only fetch processes,
stores, externals, or notes. Thus, if you select an incompatible graph such as a
Class Diagram, there will be no objects available from there for reuse in the
Data Flow Diagram. |
Selecting objects
To select one object in the drawing area, move the mouse
cursor over it and click the left mouse button.
To select multiple objects, select the first object by
clicking it with the left mouse button, then hold Ctrl down while you
click each of the other objects. Alternatively, you can select all design
elements in an area by clicking and dragging with the left mouse button to
define the area you want to select. Elements wholly within the area will be
selected. Holding Ctrl down while selecting an area will toggle the
selection of elements within the area.
To select all elements in the drawing area (i.e. all
objects, relationships and roles), select Edit | Select All or use the
shortcut key Ctrl+A.
Editing objects
To edit the properties of an object:
| 1) | Double-click
the object in the drawing
area. |
| Or: |
| 1) | Select
an object and press Enter or select Edit |
Properties.... |
| Or: |
| 1) | Select
an
object. |
| 2) | Open
the pop-up menu of the object with the right mouse button and select
Properties... from that
menu. |
| You
can change the behavior of the right mouse button so that it selects an element
first, then opens the pop-up menu for it. See Section 3.1.3 Options
Tool. |
As a result a property dialog opens
showing information about the selected object. Changes to the property fields in
the dialog will update information related to the selected object in the
repository and in all related tools representing the particular
object
. See Section
3.3.1 for more information on property
dialogs.
Moving objects
You can also move the objects around in the diagram. To do
this:
| 1) | Select
the object to be moved with the left mouse button and keep the button pressed.
|
| 2) | Drag the
object to a new location. While you are dragging, selection handles will be
hidden and the cursor will change. |
You can
also move objects using the cursor keys. Each key press will move the object by
one grid increment or by one pixel at 100% zoom if Shift is held
down.
To move multiple selected objects, click and drag in one
of the selected objects.
Scaling object symbols and aligning them to the grid is
described at the end of Section
4.1.5.
Deleting objects
To remove an object:
| 1) | Select
it with the left mouse button and press the Delete key (or select Edit
| Delete or press the Delete button in the
toolbar). |
| Or: |
| 1) | Select
and open the pop-up menu for the
object. |
| 2) | Choose
Delete from the menu. |
As a result of
the operation the object disappears from the diagram. The roles of any
relationships it was involved in will also be deleted; if any relationship is
left with fewer than two roles as a result, the relationship and remaining roles
will also be deleted. If the object representation deleted was the last
representation of that object in this graph, the object may also be removed from
the conceptual graph. This depends on the current deletion policy, which you can
choose in the Options Tool (see Section
3.1.3).
Replacing objects
To open the Replace Tool for an object or set of objects in
the Diagram Editor:
| 1) | Select
the objects to be
replaced. |
| 2) | Select
Replace... from the pop-up menu or select Edit |
Replace.... |
| 3) | A
Replace Tool will open. |
For more information
about the Replace Tool, see Section
3.3.5.
