Arranging Symbols Using the Symbol Menu

The Symbol menu allows you to do many different things with your diagram symbols.

Menu Item	Function
Format [Ctrl+T]	Opens the Symbol Format window, which allows you to control many aspects of the appearances of the selected symbols. For detailed information, see Symbol Format Properties.
Get Format	Copies the format of the selected symbol, making it available for applying to other symbols. Only available if a single symbol is selected.
Apply Format	Applies the format copied with Get Format to the selected symbols.
Shadow [Ctrl+W]	Applies the standard shadow effect to the selected symbols. See also Symbol Format Properties.
Adjust to Text [Ctrl+J]	Expands (or shrinks) the width of the selected objects to fit the length of their names.
Normal Size	Applies the default size (specified in the Format Display Preferences) to the selected objects.
Fit to Page	Opens the Fit to Page dialog, which lists the number of pages currently used and the display scale, and allows you to specify the number of pages to use and to center the symbols on the pages.
Auto-Layout	Automatically rearranges the symbols in the diagram See Auto-layout.
Align	Each of the submenu options aligns the selected symbols in a different manner. For a list of options, see Aligning selected symbols.
Disposition	Automatically arranges all (or selected) symbols in the diagram. There are various forms of disposition: Horizontal [Ctrl+H] – straightens selected link objects and makes them horizontal where possible. Vertical [Ctrl+L] - straightens selected link objects and makes them vertical where possible. Flip Horizontal – reverses the horizontal disposition of the selected symbol Flip Vertical - reverses the vertical disposition of the selected symbol Arrange Symbols – distributes the selected symbols evenly. Arrange Connectors – straightens the selected link symbols and centers their endpoints in the objects that they connect. Arrange Attach Points - centers the endpoints of the selected link symbols in the objects that they connect. Arrange Attached Text – returns text objects associated with the selected link symbols to its default position.
Order	Promotes or demotes the selected symbols in terms of layers within the diagram. This can be useful when you have overlapping symbols and want to have one appear above the other. The following options are available: Bring to Front Send to Back Bring Forward Send Backward By default, when you insert a free symbol (for example, a note) on a design object symbol (for example, a table), the free symbol is always inserted at the back, as free symbols are usually used as backgrounds. Priority is given to the front-most symbols. When symbols overlap, it may not be possible to select the symbol in the background, even if its handles are visible.
Group Symbols	Groups selected symbols, allowing them to be selected, moved and resized as a single block.
Ungroup Symbols	Separates selected objects that were previously grouped together.
Hide Symbols	Hides (makes invisible) the selected symbols. You may want to do this to make a large model more readable, or to focus on only a particular part of a model.
Show Symbols	Opens the Show Symbols dialog box, in which you can select or deselect all the symbols in the diagram to show or hide them.
Protect Symbols	Protects the selected symbols, making them impossible to select and edit.
Unprotect Symbols	Unprotects the selected symbols, making them available to select and edit.