How do I create aggregate (nested) states?

[jkring]

Hello All,

Scenario 1:
When one creates a new State by placing it directly on top of an existing state, it becomes owned by (contained within) the existing state.  If one drags this new state outside of the existing state, an Aggregation link becomes visible.  This link can also be seen from the Associations tab of the State's property dialog.  You can delete the association, if you wish.  You can also, reestablish the link by dragging the newly create state into the existing state. However, you can't establish an Aggregation link using the  link tool (selecting Aggregation from the toolbox and dragging from one state to the other).

Scenario 2:
This is where I run into my problem.  If I create a new state by placing it directly onto the diagram (not placing it inside an existing state) there is no way to subsequently drag and drop it inside another state so that it becomes nested.  If I try to drag and drop it into an existing state, it simply disappears behind the existing state.

What makes the state in Senario 1 behave differently from the state in Senario 2  

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this,

-Jim

[Tjerk]

Hi Jim,

In scenario 2 it seems that the z-order of the elements is not right for your action. When you've created the new element, change the z-order (bring to front), then drag it on top of the existing element.

I've not tried the above, but I know the z-order is imported for EA to automatically create aggregations.

Greetz,
Tjerk

[jkring]

Thanks.  That worked!  Another question is why can't I explicitly link the two states using an Aggregation link?  EA complains that this is not a UML compliant relationship.