Customizing the Generation of Files for an Object

In PowerDesigner, you can define a generated file on a selected metaclass (or stereotype or criterion), in this case a file is generated for each instance of the metaclass existing in your model. The generated files mechanism is defined in "Templates and Generated Files (Profile)" in the Extending your Models with Profiles chapter of the Customizing and Extending PowerDesigner manual.

You can modify the default generation of files using artifacts. Artifacts are used to generate files only for selected instances of a metaclass in order to:

• Using Artifacts in a Model
  To be able to use an artifact in a model, you have to declare it in a resource file attached to your model. To declare an artifact you have to create a template called "DefaultTemplate" under an artifact stereotype or criterion bearing the name of the corresponding file type to generate.
• Defining an Artifact
  Artifacts can replace the standard generation of files; by default, an artifact generates the same code as the generated file but only for selected instances of a metaclass.
• Managing Artifacts
  Artifacts appear in the Artifact category of the Browser. You can perform the following actions to customize an artifact:
• Generated Files Tab
  In the Generation dialog box, the Generated Files tab displays a checkbox tree with generated files (with a dimmed icon) and artifacts. You can select or deselect the files you want to generate.