Settings/UML

[agdunn]

This post is about the Settings/UML Dialog, where you can change the look of your custom stereotypes.

I have been toying with this window for the last couple of minutes and I cant help but to make a post on how disappointed I am. I would love to be told that I am using this tool wrongly, but the help documentation is bleak.

With my current build (828) I cannot view the already existing artifacts styles, there is no preview, and there is no power over the border size or text size/style for each stereotype.

Why create a tool with such limited power over custom typing your artifacts?

Can someone help me to understand where the power is here? I really would like to use it for my project.

[Oliver F.]

With my current build (828) I cannot view the already existing artifacts styles, there is no preview, and there is no power over the border size or text size/style for each stereotype.

Why create a tool with such limited power over custom typing your artifacts?

You are not using the tool wrongly, just not completely.
The stereotypes you can edit in the settings menu are only text strings.
In fact if you assign one of those stereotypes to an element only the name is copied and if you change the stereotype name later on it is not reflected in the assigned elements.

If you would like to assign format information and graphical look you will have to take a look at defining your own stereotypes via UML profiles. This is not witchcraft, the online help is excellent and it should get you going quickly.

Oliver

[agdunn]

I guess I should first specify what I would like to do with the tool.

I am now just realizing how heavily typed this system is. I would like to be able to specify the shape/size/color/etc of each entity that I drag on by using the stereotype attribute of each entity.

From what I am understanding this is not something that can be done, however I dont know if UML profiles is the way I want to go. It seems much to cumbersome for the task at hand.

[«Midnight»]

Look up shape scripts. The page you use to start one is likely where you need to be.

[agdunn]

Is there any better guide to setting up UML profiles, I really would like to create a custom toolbox. The supplied xml examples have no special parameters so I dont know how to specify size/color/font/picture/etc.

[«Midnight»]

In the EA Help contents, navigate to Developing Profiles and to MDG Technologies SDK. You'll find both of these under the Extending Enterprise Architect section - they are the first and last sub-sections respectively.

While the EA approach is definitely not for the faint of heart, you can get a huge payoff if you really need what profiles - at least as EA sees them - have to offer.

David

PS: Once you've glanced at the help, take a look at the Sparx white papers - check the resources page of the Sparx site.

PPS: Having done all that, be prepared to search this forum, often! There's a wealth of information, including some interesting customizations, workarounds, and lessons learned.