Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.

Notes

Notes are the principle facility for describing an element, diagram, feature or connector in Enterprise Architect. They feature prominently in the documentation that you can generate on your model. You generally record, view and edit Notes on a modeling object using the object's Properties dialog, in the Notes or Description field. You can also create, read and update Notes on an object though the Notes window, whether you select that object from a diagram or from the Project Browser. Text you type into the Notes window is saved automatically.

The Properties dialog for a Notes element is very similar to the Notes window; the main difference is that - as the dialog is specific to the element - you click on the OK button to save the text and close the dialog.

In either the Properties dialog or Notes window, you can format the Notes text using the Notes toolbar at the top of the Notes field or the window. Any changes you make to the Notes in one display are reflected in the other. On the Testing, Maintenance and Project Management windows, any descriptive, history, input or results text for the selected item is also displayed as read-only text in the Notes window.

For ease of use, you can dock the Notes window or float it on the workspace, and resize it to better present the volume of text it contains. You can also edit and manipulate the text using context menu or keyboard commands.

Access    Project Browser or diagram | Click on element | View | Notes   (Ctrl+Shift+1)

Notes Context Menu options

Option

Action

See also

Create | Glossary Definition

Click on this option to create a Project Glossary definition, with the Glossary term taken from the selected Notes text.

To create the Glossary entry:

1.If suitable Notes text is available, highlight the text to use as the Glossary definition and press Ctrl+C to copy it.
2.Highlight the text to use as the Glossary term, right-click on it and select the menu option; the Glossary Detail dialog displays, with the selected text in the Term field.
3.If you have copied some definition text, paste it into the Meaning field;  otherwise type a suitable definition of the term in this field.
4.In the Type field, select the appropriate term type.
5.Click on the Apply button to save the new Glossary definition.

 

The term displays in the Notes text as a roll-over hyperlink which, when you move the cursor over it, displays the Glossary definition of the term.

Once you have created a Glossary definition, here or elsewhere in the model, you can add the Glossary term anywhere in the text of the Notes window (or Notes field of a dialog) where, again, it becomes a rollover hyperlink to the definition. Either:

·Simply type the term in the text, or
·If you are not certain of the term or have multiple definitions:
1.Move the cursor to the point in the text at which to insert the term.
2.Press Ctrl+Space; the Glossary Term Selection window displays.
3.Double-click on the term to insert it in the text.

 

Project Glossary

 

 

 

 

Glossary Detail

Create | New Element from Selection

Click on this option to create a new element in the model, the name of which is taken from the selected Notes text.
 

1.Click on the option.
2.The New Element dialog displays, with the Name field pre-filled with the selected text.
3.Set the element type and other options as necessary, then click on the Create button. (You can also select an option on the dialog to add the element to the diagram.)
4.The system creates the element, adds it to the model (and diagram) and creates a hyperlink to it from the selected Notes text.

 

 

 

 

Add Elements Directly To Packages

Create | Element on Diagram

Click on this option to create a new element in the model, and explicitly in the diagram also, with its name taken from the selected Notes text. This option does not make the selected text a hyperlink to the element.
 

1.Click on the option.
2.The Toolbox Shortcut menu displays for the diagram type. If necessary, click on the Other option and select from a different set of element types.
3.Click on the required element type and then click on the diagram. A new element is created at the cursor position, with the selected text as the element name.

 

 

 

 
 

Toolbox Shortcut Menu

Create | Link to existing element

Click on this option to create a hyperlink from the selected Notes text to an existing element in the model.

1.Click on the option.
2.The Select Classifier dialog displays. Locate and select the required element, and click on the OK button.
3.The selected Notes text becomes a hyperlink to the element. The target element name and Notes text remain unchanged and do not necessarily mirror each other.

 

 

 

 
Select <Item> Dialog

Search for <'selected'>

Click on this option to display a subset of the functions of the common Code Editor menu Search option.

 

Code Editor Context Menu

Undo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Select All

 

 

 

These six options provide simple functions for editing the Notes text.

 

Keyboard Options For Notes

Option

Function Key

Description

Insert Date and Time

F5

Inserts the current date and time at the cursor position, in the format:

 

DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM:SS AM (or PM)

 

For example:

 

12/06/2014 3:39:50 PM

 

 

Spell check Notes text

F7

Performs a simple spell check on the Notes text.

 

Undo changes

Ctrl+Z

Reverses the last change made to the Notes text.

 

Redo changes

Ctrl+Y or
Ctrl+Shift+Z

Re-applies the last reversed change to the Notes text.

 

Copy

Ctrl+C

 

Copies a highlighted Notes text string to the Enterprise Architect buffer.

Paste

Ctrl+V

Pastes a copied or cut text string from the Enterprise Architect buffer into the Notes text.

 

Cut

Ctrl+X

Removes a highlighted Notes text string and places it in the Enterprise Architect buffer.

 

 

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