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The Traceability Window

Using the Traceability window you can quickly see how elements are connected and how they influence each other. You can:

  • Locate related elements in the Project Browser
  • View the properties of related elements
  • Open the diagrams in which related elements are used
  • Add related elements to the current diagram
  • View the source code for related elements
  • Change the display using the window toolbar options

When an element is selected, it immediately becomes the top point in the Traceability window. When a diagram is selected, all elements in the diagram are listed in the Traceability window, so you can use any of them as a starting point.

Access

Ribbon

Design > Impact > Traceability

Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl+Shift+4

Traceability window toolbar options

Option/Icon

Action

See also

Locate Element

Click on this icon to make the selected element the focus of the Traceability window and to show all relationships and elements with which the selected element forms a relationship chain.

Click on the diagram to list all elements in the diagram.

Related Element Properties

Click on this icon to display the element 'Properties' dialog for the currently-selected element in the Traceability window.

Find Element Usage

Click on this icon to display the 'Element Usage' dialog, listing all diagrams in which the currently-selected element is used.

(Shortcut keys: Ctrl+U)

 Show Element Use

(Relationship selector)

Click on the drop-down arrow and select the checkbox against each relationship type to include in the trace shown in the window:

  • Generalizations
  • Aggregations
  • Nesting
  • Realizations
  • Dependencies
  • Transitions

Other (unspecified) links such as:

  • Associations
  • Use Cases
  • Delegates
  • Assemblies
  • Deployments
  • Information Flows
  • Manifests
  • Classifiers - where an element is used as the classifier of another element
  • Embedded Element Re-uses - where a Port or Part is also represented in another part of the model
  • Transformations - where an element is created by running a Transformation from another element
  • Custom References that have been added between elements
  • Tagged Value References - showing elements that are the targets of Tagged Value references
  • Qualified Names - element names including the names of owning objects
 Set Up Cross References Inherited and Redefined Ports Model Transformation Generalization Transition Dependency Configure Diagram Display Aggregation Realization Classifiers and Instances Nesting

Help

Click on this icon to display this Help topic.

Traceability Window Context Menu Options

Right-click on an element or connector in the main panel. All options listed here act on elements only, except for the 'Properties' option which acts on connectors.

Option

Description

See also

Switch to Related Element

Make the selected element the focus of the Traceability window. The element displays at the top of the window.

View Related Element Properties

Display the 'Properties' dialog for the selected element.

You can also display the element's 'Properties' dialog by double-clicking on it.

Find in all Diagrams

Display the 'Element Usage' dialog, listing all diagrams in which the currently-selected element is used.

 Show Element Use

Place element(s) in diagram

This option is available if the selected element is not used in the diagram that is the current focus. Select the option to add the element and its child structure to the diagram.

You can also simply drag the element (with its structure) onto the diagram from the Traceability window.

View Source Code

Display the generated source code for the selected element, in the Source Code Editor.

 Editing Source Code

Properties

(For a connector) Display the 'Properties' dialog for the connector.

(Double-clicking on a connector expands and collapses any structure beneath it, rather than displaying the 'Properties' dialog.)

 Connector Properties

Notes

  • To make it easier and faster to find the elements you are interested in, restrict the relationship types shown to the smallest set of relevant types
  • As an alternative view, or to include the traceability information in documentation, you can develop a Traceability diagram using the Traceability window
  • The Traceability window does not currently recognize extended relationship types defined by Technologies such as BPMN or ArchiMate; relationships defined by a Profile or Technology are identified using their base UML type, so, for example, ArchiMate 'Realization' and 'UsedBy' relationships are each reported as UML 'Dependency' relationships

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