Element Properties

You can modify an object's properties from its property sheet. To open an element property sheet, double-click its diagram symbol or its Browser entry in the Elements folder. The following sections detail the property sheet tabs that contain the properties most commonly entered for elements.

The General tab of an XSD or DTD element property sheet displays the following properties (for XDR element properties, see the subsequent table):

Property

Description

Name

The name of the item which should be clear and meaningful, and should convey the item's purpose to non-technical users.

Code

The technical name of the item used for generating code or scripts, which may be abbreviated, and should not generally include spaces.

Comment

Descriptive label of the element.

Stereotype

Sub-classification used to extend the semantics of an object without changing its structure. It can be predefined or user-defined.

Reference

Name of a global element. The current element will have the same properties as the global element. The Reference property is only available for child elements. Use the list to select a global element in the current model, or the Browse tool to select a global element from any open model. If you select a global element from another model, a shortcut is created with the referencing element. When you define a reference, name and code properties are grayed. Name and code are those of the global element.

Once you have referenced an element, you can locate it in the diagram by right-clicking the referencing element symbol and selecting Find Referenced Element.

Group type

Specifies that the element has child elements, and how they are used (see Group Particles (XSM)). You can choose between:
  • all – All children may be present.

  • choice – Only one child must be present.

  • group – Reference to a predefined group (see Groups (XSM))

  • sequence – All children must be present in order.

Type

Element data type. Use the list to select a built-in data type. Use the Browse tool to select a simple or a complex type from any model opened in the current workspace. In the case of an XSD, selecting a data type will delete any group particle (and its child elements) or attribute previously defined in the element property sheet. Do not select a data type if you want to define attributes or child elements within the current element

Embedded type

[XSD only] Locally defined data type. It applies to the current element only. Automatically set to Complex if you define a derivation for the element data type.

Content

[XSD only] Content type of the element. If you select Complex, the element can have child elements. If you select Simple, the element cannot have child elements.

Derivation

[XSD only] Derivation method for the element data type. Used to extend or restrict the values of the element data type. When you define a derivation, the data type disappears. Click the Properties tool to select a base type in the derivation property sheet (see Derivations: Extensions, Restrictions, Lists and Unions (XSM)).

Detail Tab

The Detail tab contains the following properties:

Property

Description

Minimum

Minimum number of times the element can occur. To specify that the element is optional, set this attribute to zero.

Maximum

Maximum number of times the element can occur. For an unlimited number of times, select unbounded.

Substitution group

Name of a global element for which the current element can be substituted. It must have the same type or a derived type. Its value must be a qualified name.

Default

Default value of the element if its content is a simple type or text-only. Enter a default value only if there is no fixed value.

Fixed

Predetermined, unchangeable value of the element if its content is a simple type or text-only. Enter a fixed value only if there is no default value.

Block

Property to prevent another element with the same type of derivation from being used in place of the current element.

Final

Property to prevent derivation of the current element. Prohibited if the element is not a global element.

Form

Form of the element. Used to specify the target namespace of the element. If you select Qualified, a namespace prefix is required to qualify the element. If you select Unqualified, a namespace prefix is not required to qualify the element.

ID

ID of the element. Its value must be of type ID and unique within the model containing the element.

Abstract

Property defining if the element can appear in the instance document or not. If selected, the element cannot appear in the instance document.

Nillable

Property defining if the element is null or not.

Note: In the case of a model targeted with XDR, the Detail tab is only available for local elements.

Mapping Tab

This tab lets you map the element and its attributes to PDM or OOM objects.

You associate one or more PDM or OOM objects to the element using the Add Objects tool on the Element Sources sub-tab. You can associate PDM columns or OOM class attributes to the element attributes using following tools on the Attributes Mapping tab:

Tool

Description

Add Mapping - Selects the attributes in the current element that will be mapped to PDM columns or OOM class attributes. Once you have selected the attributes, you can use the list in the Mapped to column to select corresponding PDM columns or OOM class attributes.

Create from Sources - Copies PDM columns or OOM class attributes in the data source to the current element attributes.

Generate Mapping - Automatically generates a mapping between PDM columns or OOM class attributes and element attributes with the same name or code in the data source and the current model.

For more information on complex type mapping, see Chapter 12, Object Mappings in the Core Features Guide .

The following tabs are also available:

XDR-Specific Element Properties

In a model targeted with the XML-Data Reduced language, elements are defined by different attributes:

XDR element attribute

Description

Model

Specifies if an element can contain new local elements. Possible values are:
  • closed – [default]

  • open - if an "Any" element is attached to the element. See Any Elements (XSM)

Tab: N/A

Content

Specifies the content type. Possible values are:
  • mixed - a group particle and a data type are defined

  • eltOnly - a group particle is defined without a data type

  • textOnly - a data type is defined without a group particle

  • empty – neither group particle nor data type are defined

Tab: General

Field: Group type, Type

Order

Specifies how child elements are organized within a parent element. Possible values are:
  • seq - sequence group particle

  • one - choice group particle

  • many - all group particle

Tab: General

Field: Group type

dt:type

Specifies a data type.

Tab: General

Field: Type

dt:values

Specifies a list of possible element values.

Tab: Values

type

[local elements only] Specifies the name of a global element as reference for the local element

Tab: General

Field: Reference

minOccurs

[local elements only] To specify the minimum number of occurrences for a local element. Usually set to 0 or 1

Tab: Detail

Field: Minimum

maxOccurs

[local elements only] To specify the maximum number of occurrences for a local element. Usually set to 1 or * (unbounded)

Tab: General

Field: Maximum

Example of an XDR file: