Limitations in copy and paste

[José Farinha]

There are several limitations in copy and pasting that significantly increase the editing effort. I’m mostly thinking of activity diagrams, but it also happens in sequence diagrams.
For instance, if we have an activity inside a class, we cannot copy and paste it into that same class, using the browser. We must paste it into a package and then move it to the desired class. The same for an action (or any other element) inside an activity. It needs to be pasted to a package.

If we do the same copy-paste on a diagram, the activity (or action) is pasted into the class (activity), but not the parameters (pins) it includes. That’s to say that only a semi-paste is done. The effort to re-introduce parameters and pins is not insignificant.

Shouldn’t copy-and-paste be “universal”, i.e., everything be copy-and-pasteable, as long as the paste’s destination is UML-conformant? That would make EA a much more productive tool.

I just wanted to check the opinion of the forum and if I’m skipping anything before I submit a bug/feature request.

Thanks for your attention
José

[Helmut Ortmann]

Hi Jose,

there is always something to optimize or make more consistent. So it's a good idea to file a feature request for an improved copy/paste. SPARX will decide on their own priorities.

Yes, it would be nice. I don't think that this feature will boost productivity a lot. In my point of view, it's a building block to a slightly better tool. I admit such appraisals are personal and will often change with experiences and the work at hand.

Best regards,

Helmut