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Element Class

An Element is the main modeling unit, corresponding to (for example) a Class, Use Case, Node or Component. You create new elements by adding to the Package Elements collection. Once you have created an element, you can add it to the DiagramObject Class of a diagram to include it in the diagram.

Elements have a collection of connectors. Each entry in this collection indicates a relationship to another element.

There are also some extended collections for managing addition information about the element, including properties such as Tagged Values, Issues, Constraints and Requirements.

Associated table in repository

t_object

Element Attributes

Attribute

Remarks

See also

Abstract

String

Notes: Read/Write

Indicates if the element is Abstract (1) or Concrete (0).

ActionFlags

String

Notes: Read/Write

A structure to hold flags concerned with Action semantics.

Alias

String

Notes: Read/Write

An optional alias for this element.

AssociationClassConnectorID

Long

Notes: Read only

If the element is an AssociationClass, AssociationClassConnectorID contains the Connector ID of the respective Association connector.

Element Class

Attributes

Collection

Notes: Read only

A collection of attribute objects for the current element; use the AddNew and Delete functions to manage attributes.

Attribute Class Collection Class

AttributesEx

Collection

Notes: Read only

A collection of attribute objects belonging to the current element and its parent elements.

Attribute Class Collection Class

Author

String

Notes: Read/Write

The element author.

Repository Class

BaseClasses

Collection

Notes: Read only

A list of Base Classes for this element, presented as a collection for convenience.

Collection Class

ClassfierID

Long

Notes: Deprecated

See ClassifierID

ClassifierID

Long

Notes: Read/Write

The ElementID of a Classifier associated with this element; that is, the base type.

Only valid for instance type elements (such as Object or Sequence).

ClassifierName

String

Notes: Read/Write

Name of associated Classifier (if any).

ClassifierType

String

Notes: Read only

Type of associated Classifier.

Complexity

String

Notes: Read/Write

A complexity value indicating how complex the element is; used for metric reporting and estimation.

Valid values are: 1 for Easy, 2 for Medium, 3 for Difficult.

CompositeDiagram

Diagram

Notes: Read only

If the element is Composite, returns its associated diagram; otherwise returns null.

Diagram Class

Connectors

Collection

Notes: Read only

Returns a collection containing the connectors to other elements.

Connector Class Collection Class

Constraints

Collection

Notes: Read only

A collection of Constraint objects.

Constraint Class Collection Class

ConstraintsEx

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Constraint objects belonging to the current element and its parent elements.

Constraint Class Collection Class

Created

Date

Notes: Read/Write

The date the element was created.

CustomProperties

Collection

Notes: Read only

List of advanced properties for an element.

The collection of advanced properties differs depending on element type; for example, an Action and an Activity have different advanced properties.

Currently only editable from the user interface.

CustomProperties Collection

Diagrams

Collection

Notes: Read only

Returns a collection of sub-diagrams (child diagrams) attached to this element as seen in the tree view.

Diagram Class Collection Class

Difficulty

String

Notes: Read/Write

A difficulty level associated with this element for estimation/metrics; only useable for Requirement, Change and Issue element types, otherwise ignored.

Valid values are: Low, Medium, High.

Efforts

Collection

Notes: Read only

A collection of Effort objects.

Effort Class Collection Class

ElementGUID

String

Notes: Read only

A globally unique ID for this element; that is, unique across all model files.

ElementID

Long

Notes: Read only

The local ID of the element; valid for this file only.

Elements

Collection

Notes: Read only

Returns a collection of child elements (sub-elements) attached to this element as seen in the tree view.

Collection Class

EmbeddedElements

Collection

Notes: Read only

A list of elements that are embedded into this element, such as Ports, Parts, Pins and Parameter Sets.

EmbeddedElements Collection

EventFlags

String

Notes: Read/Write

A structure to hold a variety of flags to do with signals or events.

ExtensionPoints

String

Notes: Read/Write

Optional extension points for a Use Case as a comma-separated list.

Files

Collection

Notes: Read only

A collection of File objects.

File Class Collection Class

FQName

String

Notes: Read only

The fully-qualified name of the element, consisting of a dot-separated list of names including all parent elements and Packages up to the first namespace root that is encountered.

FQStereotype

String

Notes: Read only

The fully-qualified stereotype name in the format "Profile::Stereotype". One or more fully-qualified stereotype names can be assigned to StereotypeEx.

GenFile

String

Notes: Read/Write

The file associated with this element for code generation and synchronization purposes; can include macro expansion tags for local conversion to full path.

Genlinks

String

Notes: Read/Write

Links to other Classes discovered at code reversing time; Parents and Implements connectors only.

GenType

String

Notes: Read/Write

The code generation type; for example, Java, C++, C#, VBNet, Visual Basic, Delphi.

Header1

Variant

Notes: Read/Write

A user defined string for inclusion as header in the source files generated.

Header2

Variant

Notes: Read/Write

Same as for Header1, but used in the CPP source file.

IsActive

Boolean

Notes: Read/Write

Boolean value indicating whether the element is active or not.

1 = True, 0 = False.

IsComposite

Boolean

Notes: Read/Write

Indicates whether the element is composite or not.

1 = True, 0 = False.

IsLeaf

Boolean

Notes: Read/Write

Indicates whether or not the element is a leaf node (and therefore cannot be a parent for any other elements).

1 = True, 0 = False.

IsNew

Boolean

Notes: Read/Write

Boolean value indicating whether the element is new or not.

1 = True, 0 = False.

IsRoot

Boolean

Notes: Read/Write

Indicates whether or not the element is a root node (and therefore cannot be descended from another element).

1 = True, 0 = False.

IsSpec

Boolean

Notes: Read/Write; Note that this attribute is no longer used in UML 2.0 and later releases, and is provided only to support models maintained in releases of UML prior to 2.0.

Boolean value indicating whether the element is a specification or not.

1 = True, 0 = False.

Issues

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Issue objects.

Issue (Maintenance) Class Collection Class

Locked

Boolean

Notes: Read/Write

Indicates if the element has been locked against further change.

MetaType

String

Notes: Read only

The element's domain-specific meta type, as defined by an applied stereotype from an MDG Technology.

Methods

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Method objects for current element.

Method Class Collection Class

MethodsEx

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Method objects belonging to the current element and its parent elements.

Method Class Collection Class

Metrics

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Metric elements for current element.

Metric Class Collection Class

MiscData

String

Notes: Read only

This low-level property provides information about the contents of the PData x fields.

These database fields are not documented, and developers must gain understanding of these fields through their own endeavors to use this property.

MiscData is zero based, therefore:

  • MiscData(0) corresponds to PData1
  • MiscData(1) to PData2, and so on

Modified

Date

Notes: Read/Write

The date the element was last modified.

Multiplicity

String

Notes: Read/Write

Multiplicity value for this element.

Name

String

Notes: Read/Write

The element name; should be unique within the current Package.

Notes

String

Notes: Read/Write

Further descriptive text about the element.

ObjectType

ObjectType

Notes: Read only

Distinguishes objects referenced through a Dispatch interface.

ObjectType

PackageID

Long

Notes: Read/Write

A local ID for the Package containing this element.

ParentID

Long

Notes: Read/Write

If this element is a child of another, used to set or retrieve the ElementID of the other element; if not, returns 0.

Partitions

Collection

Notes: Read only

List of logical partitions into which an element can be divided.

Only valid for elements that support partitions, such as Activities and States.

Partitions Collection

Persistence

String

Notes: Read/Write

The persistence associated with this element; can be Persistent or Transient.

Phase

String

Notes: Read/Write

The phase this element is scheduled to be constructed in; any string value.

Priority

String

Notes: Read/Write

The priority of this element as compared to other project elements; only applies to Requirement, Change and Issue types, otherwise ignored.

Valid values are: Low, Medium and High.

Properties

Properties

Notes: Returns a list of specialized properties that apply to the element that might not be available using the automation model.

The properties are purposely undocumented because of their obscure nature and because they are subject to change as progressive enhancements are made to them.

Properties Class

PropertyType

Long

Notes: Read/Write

The ElementID of a Type associated with this element; only valid for Port and Part elements.

PropertyTypeName

String

Notes: Read

The name of a Type associated with this element; only valid for Port and Part elements.

Realizes

Collection

Notes: Read only

List of Interfaces realized by this element for convenience.

Collection Class

Requirements

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Requirement objects.

Requirement Class Collection Class

RequirementsEx

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Requirement objects belonging to the current element and its parent elements.

Requirement Class Collection Class

Resources

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Resource objects for current element.

Resource Class Collection Class

Risks

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Risk objects.

Risk Class Collection Class

RunState

String

Notes: Read/Write

The object's runstate list as a string.

The string consists of a set of statements in the form:

string = '@VAR;Variable=<string>;Value=<string>;Op=<string>;@ENDVAR;'

Where:

Op = ['=','>','<','>=','<=', '!=','<>']

For example:

A set of run states can be created by looping through a set of attributes and forming a concatenated string:

eRunState = eRunState + "@VAR;Variable="+ attrib.name + ";Value=" + attrib.value +";Op==;@ENDVAR;";

Scenarios

Collection

Notes: Read only

Collection of Scenario objects for current element.

Scenario Class Collection Class

StateTransitions

Collection

Notes: Read only

List of State Transitions that an element can support; applies in particular to Timing elements.

Collection Class Transitions Collection

Status

String

Notes: Read/Write

Sets or gets the status, such as Proposed or Approved.

Stereotype

String

Notes: Read/Write

The primary element stereotype; the first of the list of stereotypes you can access using the 'StereotypeEx' attribute.

When setting this attribute, LastError (for the GetLastError method) will be non-empty if an error occurs.

StereotypeEx

String

Notes: Read/Write

All the applied stereotypes of the element in a comma-separated list. Reading the value will provide the stereotype name only; assigning the value accepts either fully-qualified or simple names.

When setting this attribute, LastError (for the GetLastError method) will be non-empty if an error occurs.

StyleEx

String

Notes: Read/Write

Advanced style settings; reserved for the use of Sparx Systems.

Subtype

Long

Notes: Read/Write

A numeric subtype that qualifies the Type of the main element

  • For Event: 0 = Receiver, 1 = Sender
  • For Class: 1 = Parameterised, 2 = Instantiated, 3 = Both, 0 = Neither,
    17 = Association Class

If 17, because an Association Class has been created through the user interface, MiscData(3) contains the ID of the related Association; as MiscData is read-only, you cannot create an Association Class through the Automation Interface.

  • For Note: 1 = Note linked to connector, 2 = Constraint linked to connector
  • For StateNode: 100 = ActivityIntitial, 101 = ActivityFinal
  • For Activity: 0 = Activity, 8 = composite Activity (also set to 8 for other composite elements such as Use Cases)
  • For Synchronization: 0 = Horizontal, 1 = Vertical

Note that there are many more Types than indicated in these examples.

Element Class

Tablespace

String

Notes: Read/Write

Associated tablespace for a Table element.

Tag

String

Notes: Read/Write

Corresponds to the 'Keywords' field in the Enterprise Architect user interface.

General Settings

TaggedValues

Collection

Notes: Read only

Returns a collection of TaggedValue objects.

TaggedValue Class Collection Class

TaggedValuesEx

Collection

Notes: Read only

Returns a collection of TaggedValue objects belonging to the current element and the elements specialized or realized by the current element.

TaggedValue Class Collection Class

TemplateParameters

Collection

Notes: Read Only

A collection of TemplateParameter objects.

Parameterized Classes (Templates) TemplateParameter Class Collection Class

Tests

Collection

Notes: Read only

A collection of Test objects for the current element.

Test Class Collection Class

TreePos

Long

Notes: Read/Write

Sets or gets the tree position.

Type

String

Notes: Read/Write

The element type (such as Class, Component).

Note that Type is case sensitive inside Enterprise Architect and should be provided with an initial capital (proper case); valid types are:

  • Action
  • Activity
  • ActivityPartition
  • ActivityRegion
  • Actor
  • Artifact
  • Association
  • Boundary
  • Change
  • Class
  • Collaboration
  • Component
  • Constraint
  • Decision
  • DeploymentSpecification
  • DiagramFrame
  • EmbeddedElement
  • Entity
  • EntryPoint
  • Event
  • ExceptionHandler
  • ExitPoint
  • ExpansionNode
  • ExpansionRegion
  • Feature
  • GUIElement
  • InteractionFragment
  • InteractionOccurrence
  • InteractionState
  • Interface
  • InterruptibleActivityRegion
  • Issue
  • Node
  • Note
  • Object
  • Package
  • Parameter
  • Part
  • Port
  • ProvidedInterface
  • Report
  • RequiredInterface
  • Requirement
  • Screen
  • Sequence
  • State
  • StateNode
  • Synchronization
  • Text
  • TimeLine
  • UMLDiagram
  • UseCase

TypeInfoProperties

Notes: Read only

Returns an interface pointer of TypeInfoProperties.

TypeInfoProperties Class

Version

String

Notes: Read/Write

The version of the element.

Visibility

String

Notes: Read/Write

The Scope of this element within the current Package.

Valid values are: Public, Private, Protected or Package.

Element Methods

Method

Remarks

See also

ApplyGroupLock(string aGroupName)

Boolean

Notes: Applies a group lock to the element object, for the specified group, on behalf of the current user.

Returns True if the operation is successful; returns False if the operation is unsuccessful. Use 'GetLastError()' to retrieve error information.

Parameters:

  • aGroupName: String - the name of the user group for which to set the group lock

ApplyUserLock()

Boolean

Notes: Applies a user lock to the element object for the current user.

Returns True if the operation is successful; returns False if the operation is unsuccessful. Use 'GetLastError()' to retrieve error information.

Clone ()

LDISPATCH

Notes: Inserts a copy of the selected element under the same parent as the selected element.

Returns the newly-created element.

CreateAssociationClass(long ConnectorID)

Boolean

Notes: Makes this element an AssociationClass of the Association with the provided Connector ID; the return value indicates whether the function succeeded in converting the element to an AssociationClass.

AssociationClasses are created only where:

  • The current element is valid
  • The current element is a Class
  • The current element is not already an AssociationClass
  • The specified connector exists
  • The specified connector is an Association
  • The specified connector is not already in an AssociationClass pair
  • The current element is not at either end of the specified connector

Parameters:

  • ConnectorID: Long - the Connector ID of an Association connector
Element Class

DeleteLinkedDocument()

Boolean

Notes: Removes the Linked Document for the element. This method does not display a confirmatory prompt.

Returns True if a document was deleted.

Replace or Delete Linked Documents

GetBusinessRules()

String

Notes: Read Only.

Returns all the Business Rules for the element.

Model Business Rules

GetChart

LDISPATCH

Notes: For chart elements returns an interface to the chart

GetDecisionTable()

String

Notes: Provides read-only access to a Decision Table XML string.

Returns the XML data for the Decision Table as a string.

Decision Table Editor

GetElementGrid()

String

Notes: Returns an object of type ElementGrid (a Custom Table Artifact element).

GetLastError()

String

Notes: Returns a string value describing the most recent error that occurred in relation to this object.

GetLinkedDocument()

String

Notes: Returns a string value containing the element's Linked Document contents, in Rich Text Format.

If the element contains no Linked Document, an empty string is returned.

Edit Linked Documents

GetRelationSet(EnumRelationSetType Type)

String

Notes: Returns a string containing a comma-separated list of ElementIDs of directly- and indirectly-related elements based on the given type.

Recurses using the same relation type on all elements it finds, retrieving all dependencies and sub-dependencies of the current element; for example, Object1 depends on Object2, which depends on Object3, therefore this method returns Object2 and Object3.

To obtain only the direct relationships of the element, use the Connector collection instead.

EnumRelationSetType Connector Package

GetStereotypeList()

String

Notes: Returns a comma-separated list of stereotypes allied to this element.

GetTXAlias (string Code, long Flag)

String

Notes: Returns the Alias of the element for a given language.

Parameters

  • Code: String - Two-letter language code (found on the 'Translations' page of the 'Manage Model Options' dialog)
  • Flag: Long
         -  0 = Get the currently-stored translated Alias
         -  1 = Get the currently-stored translated Alias, and auto translate if the original Alias has changed
         -  2 = Always fetch the translated Alias from online
Translate Page

GetTXName (string Code, long Flag)

String

Notes: Returns the name of the element for a given language.

Parameters

  • Code: String - Two-letter language code (found on the 'Translations' page of the 'Manage Model Options' dialog)
  • Flag: Long
         -  0 = Get the currently-stored translated name
         -  1 = Get the currently-stored translated name, and auto translate if the original name has changed
         -  2 = Always fetch the translated name from online
Translate Page

GetTXNote (string Code, long Flag)

String

Returns the Notes of the element for a given language.

Parameters

  • Code: String - Two-letter language code (found on the 'Translations' page of the 'Manage Model Options' dialog)
  • Flag: Long
        -  0 = Get the currently-stored translated Notes
        -  1 = Get the currently-stored translated Notes, and auto translate if the original Notes have changed
        -  2 = Always fetch the translated Notes from online
Translate Page

HasStereotype(string Stereotype)

Boolean

Notes: Returns true if the current element has the specified stereotype applied to it. Accepts either qualified or unqualified stereotype names; for example, 'block' or 'SysML1.3::block'.

Parameters:

  • Stereotype: String - the name of the stereotype to search for

IsAssociationClass

Boolean

Notes: Returns whether or not the current element is an AssociationClass.

LoadLinkedDocument(string Filename)

Boolean

Notes: Loads the document from the specified file into the element's Linked Document.

Parameters:

  • FileName: String - the name of the file from which to load the document; both RTF and DOCX input formats are supported
Create Linked Document on an Element

Refresh()

Void

Notes: Refreshes the element features in the Browser window.

Usually called after adding or deleting attributes or methods, when the user interface is required to be updated as well.

ReleaseUserLock()

Boolean

Notes: Releases a user lock or group lock on the element object.

Returns True if the operation is successful; returns False if the operation is unsuccessful. Use GetLastError() to retrieve error information.

SaveLinkedDocument(string Filename)

Boolean

Notes: Saves the Linked Document for this element to the specified file. Returns False if the element does not have a Linked document or fails to save the file.

Parameters:

  • FileName: String - the name of the file to save to disk
    The output format will be determined by the file's extension - currently rtf, docx and pdf are supported; if an invalid extension is used, it will write the file in RTF format regardless of the extension
Edit Linked Documents

SetAppearance(long Scope, long Item, long Value)

Void

Notes: Sets the visual appearance of the element.

Parameters:

  • Scope: Long - Scope of appearance set to modify
    1 - Base (Default appearance across entire model)
    To set appearance for the element (diagram object) in a selected diagram only, see Setting The Style in the DiagramObject Class topic
  • Item: Long - Appearance feature to modify
    0 - Background color
    1 - Font Color
    2 - Border Color
    3 - Border Width
  • Value: Long - Value to set appearance to
DiagramObject Class

SetCompositeDiagram()

Boolean

Notes: Sets the composite diagram of the element.

Parameters:

  • GUID: String - the GUID of the composite diagram; a blank GUID will remove the link to the composite diagram
Composite Elements

SetCreated(Date NewVal)

Void

Notes: Deprecated

This method is no longer supported.

SetModified(Date NewVal)

Void

Notes: Deprecated

This method is no longer supported.

SetTXAlias (string Code, string Translation)

String

Notes - Set the translated Alias of the element for a given language.

  • Code: String - Two-letter language code (found on the 'Translations' page of the 'Manage Model Options' dialog)
  • Translation: String - The translated Alias
Translate Page

SetTXName (string Code, string Translation)

String

Notes - Set the translated name of the element for a given language.

  • Code: String - Two-letter language code (found on the 'Translations' page of the 'Manage Model Options' dialog)
  • Translation: String - The translated name
Translate Page

SetTXNote (string Code, string Translation)

String

Notes - Set the translated Notes of the element for a given language.

  • Code: String - Two-letter language code (found on the 'Translations' page of the 'Manage Model Options' dialog)
  • Translation: String - The translated Notes
Translate Page

SynchConstraints(string Profile, string Stereotype)

Boolean

Notes: Synchronizes the constraints of a UML Profile item for this element, only if the specified stereotype has been applied.

Parameters:

  • Profile: String - Name of the profile that contains the stereotype
  • Stereotype: String - Name of the profile stereotype for which the default constraints are to be synchronized

SynchTaggedValues(string Profile, string Stereotype)

Boolean

Notes: Synchronizes the Tagged Values of a UML Profile item for this element, only if the specified stereotype has been applied.

Parameters:

  • Profile: String - Name of the profile that contains the stereotype
  • Stereotype: String - Name of the profile stereotype for which the default tags are to be synchronized

UnlinkFromAssociation

Boolean

Notes: Performs the opposite of CreateAssociationClass().

Element Class

Update()

Boolean

Notes: Updates the current element object after modification or appending a new item.

If False is returned, check the 'GetLastError()' function for more information.