Diagrams

A diagram is a graphical view of a model or a package. All models and packages have at least one diagram.

You can add additional diagrams to a model or package to split the display and focus on certain portions of the system. You can also use multiple diagrams to focus on different subject areas. They allow you to see the symbols of the same objects, displayed with different kinds of information.

For example, in a Publishing model, different diagrams could define the different activities involved in this industry: the printing diagram, the sales diagram, the accounting diagram, the book selection committee diagram.

Note that you cannot save a diagram individually, as it only represents a view of a model or package. When you save the model you also save all the diagram it contains in their present state of magnification.

• Creating a Diagram
  By default, any model or package opens with a default diagram. You can create as many diagrams as you want in a model or in a package.
• Diagram Properties
  You can modify an object's properties from its property sheet. To open a diagram property sheet, right-click its Browser entry and select Properties from the contextual menu, or right click the diagram background and select Diagram Properties from the contextual menu. The General tab contains the following properties:
• Opening and Viewing Diagrams
  You can open a diagram from the Browser or from the View menu.
• Finding an Object Symbol in the Diagram
  You can locate any object with a symbol in a diagram or among several diagrams using Find in Diagram (or, for an RQM, Find in Document View). Objects without graphical symbol such as domains cannot be found in the diagram.
• Specifying Diagrams as Related Diagrams
  Related Diagrams are diagrams that provide additional information about an object. You can use related diagrams to further define the behavior and implementation of objects and to view them from different angles and in terms of semantic relationships. You can associate any type of diagram open in the workspace with an object, including diagrams from other packages or models, by opening the property sheet of the object and clicking the Related Diagrams tab.
• Deleting a Diagram
  When you delete a diagram, you delete a view of a model or a package. This action does not affect the objects in the model or package.
• Printing Diagrams
  You can print the currently selected diagram at any time. You can print the whole diagram , a selection of pages, or a selection of objects.
• Converting a Diagram to a Package
  PowerDesigner lets you convert a diagram to a package. You can move all the objects in the diagram to the new package or specify only certain objects. Other objects will stay in their original package and be represented via shortcuts in the new package.
• Moving a Diagram to a Package
  In some cases, you may want to move a diagram and some or all of the objects it contains into another package or composite object, such as a process or activity.
• Moving Entities Between Packages in a CDM
  In a CDM, when moving entities containing data items from one package to another, the following rules apply: