element linking over different diagrams

[robbierzzz]

I have made a few activity diagrams in EA. However I would like to make links between elements of diagram 1 with elements in diagram 2. Besides that I would like create a link at the start and end point of the activity diagram towards another diagram.

Is this possible with EA?

[«Midnight»]

There seems to be no obvious way to do this quickly. Here's a workaround.

From the Project Browser, drag the activity that appears on Diagram 2 onto Diagram 1. This does not create a new element, only another representation of the existing element on diagram 1. Create the required link.

Now highlight the target activity (the one you just copied onto diagram 1) delete the newly-copied element from diagram 1 only. By default EA just deletes the representation from that diagram, not the element itself from the model. Note that you should just press the delete key, not control-delete. The control-delete combination tells EA to delete the element itself from the model; it would be removed everywhere. By default EA will pop up a confirmation dialog; you should not change this default unless you are really sure of your modeling techniques.

Once you've done the above you should have two diagrams that look the same as before; one activity will be on each diagram. Bring up the Properties dialog for either activity and click the Links tab. You should see your new connector.

Note that if you drag either activity onto the 'other' diagram, or both activities onto a new diagram, EA will show the link between them.

[KP]

David («Midnight») has answered the first part of your question. For the second part:

Besides that I would like create a link at the start and end point of the activity diagram towards another diagram.

Is this possible with EA?

Yes. Drag a diagram from the Project Browser onto another diagram and a dialog will appear that allows you to drop the diagram as a Hyperlink. [Note that if you are dropping a behavioural diagram (e.g. state, activity, sequence) onto an activity diagram, you can create an activity element instead of a hyperlink by setting the option: Tools > Options > Behavior > Use Automatic SubActivities] [Note also that you can change the appearance of hyperlinks by right-click > Appearance > Select Alternate Image, or by applying a stereotype which applies a shape script]