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

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Diagram View

If you have created diagrams in the Browser window, you can select to open them and then add elements and connectors to them within the Diagram View. This is the main workspace for developing the structure of your model components, dragging new objects onto the diagram from the Diagram Toolbox and existing objects from the Browser window. You can also add elements and connectors using the Quick Linker and other context menus within the Diagram View, and move, format and edit them.

Most work on elements and connectors is carried out in the Diagram View, so understanding how it works and how to manipulate elements is essential. You can use the EAExample project supplied with the system, or your own 'sandpit' models, to explore the capabilities and behavior of the Diagram View.

Access

Browser Window

  • Double-click on the diagram name or
  • Select the diagram node and press the Enter key

Diagram sections

Section

Description

See also

Caption Bar

Across the top of a diagram is the diagram caption bar, which includes:

  • A horizontal 'chevron' icon to display or hide the Diagram Toolbox docked on the left of the Diagram View, from which point you can drag it and dock it elsewhere; if you then hide the toolbox and show it again, it is placed back on the left of the Diagram View
    Whichever diagram you have displayed, the Toolbox pages are appropriate to that diagram type
  • Icon and text label for the diagram type
  • Diagram name
  • A second 'chevron' icon that toggles display of the inline specification panel for the diagram (see the later table entry on this view).
  • A drop-down arrow that lists the currently-open diagrams and views; click on:
         -  A diagram or view name to switch to that diagram or view
         -  Options to redisplay the hidden Start Page and (if defined) the Model Default
            diagram, Model Default Kanban chart, User Default diagram or User Default
            Kanban chart
  • The window 'close cross'; click on this to close the displayed diagram
 Diagram Toolbox The Start Page

The Diagram Toolbar

This is the fixed Toolbar that displays at the top of every diagram if the 'Show Diagram Toolbar' option is selected on the 'Window Behavior' page of the Preferences window. It provides a wide range of options to help you lay out, format, view and filter the contents of diagram.

 Window Behavior

Diagram View

The larger area underneath the Caption bar is the work area within which you can create and view the diagram structures. The borders of the printable diagram page are represented by pale broken lines; structures created beyond these borders will print on separate pages.

The Diagram View area is also where the diagram and object context menus operate, and where the representation of the model structure can be changed to a Specification Manager view, Relation Matrix View, Construct View (Resource Management), Gantt chart or Diagram List format.

 The Project Gantt View Diagram List Specification Manager - Overview Open Relationship Matrix

Inline Specification Panel

This panel presents a textual specification of each element in the diagram, the elements being listed initially in alphabetical order. This helps you to visualize and read, at the same time, the section of the model represented by the diagram, giving a comprehensive view of the model. It is also useful when you are creating Package structures using templates (with the Model Wizard); you can quickly update your elements without having to open another docked window. As you click on an element in either the diagram or panel, it is also selected in the other.

The panel does not display separately from the diagram; you toggle it on or off for each diagram individually.

You can double-click on the element name or notes in the panel and edit the text directly. You can also right-click on an element and select from these context menu options:

  • Properties - to display the 'Properties' dialog for the element
  • Edit Selection - to immediately put the element name in edit mode, to change it
  • Edit Notes - to immediately put the element notes in edit mode, to change them
  • Find in Project Browser - to locate and highlight the selected element in the Browser window
  • Properties Window - to display the Properties window for the element
  • Extended Properties - also displays the Properties window; view the 'Tags' tab and/or the <<stereotype>> segment of the 'Element' tab
  • Apply Sort - to change the order in which the elements are listed, to the sequence of elements either left to right across the diagram, or top to bottom down the diagram
  • Reload View - to refresh the display in the Inline Specification View

Notes

  • Diagrams can contain hyperlinks to other diagrams, which are opened when you click on the links
  • It is possible to open several diagrams at once, but within the Diagram View you can only view one at a time
  • You can view and work on several diagrams at once by making each tab containing a diagram into a floating window, using the tab context menu; the docked Toolbar remains on the left of the Diagram View frame
  • You can also work on elements using the Diagram List
  • Additional information on the diagram, or a selected element within the diagram, is displayed in the system Status bar

Learn more

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