Chapter 5 Using the PowerDesigner Interface

Adding an item from a selection list

Selection lists allow you to select items from a list in order to associate them with another object.

Most selection lists display objects contained in the current model or in individual packages contained in that model.

Other selection lists such as the following allow you to display both objects contained in the current model or its packages and objects contained in other models or other packages of these models:

• Select Diagrams. From this dialog box you can select the diagram to which you want to apply pre-defined display preferences.
• Add Shortcuts. From this dialog box you can select objects to include them as shortcut in your model or package.
• Add Objects. From this dialog box you can select objects to which you want to attach extended dependencies.

Object selection

The following tools are available in selection lists:

Tool	Description
-	Model list - Lets you specify a model as the basis for the list.
-	Package list - Lets you specify a package as the basis for the list.
-	Owner List - [PDMs only] Lets you specify a user as the basis for the list. The list will contain only objects owned by the specified user or by no user. If you select User <NONE>, then all the objects are displayed.
	Include Sub-Packages - Includes objects contained in sub-packages (Include Sub-Packages) in the list. As this tool allows you to display all objects, regardless of their package, some objects in the list may have the same name and be difficult to identify. In this situation, you can use the Customize Columns and Filter tool, to display the Object Location column to identify where the objects are defined.
	Include Composite-Objects - Includes composite objects, such as sub-process, sub-activity, sub state, in the list
	Include External Shortcuts - Includes shortcuts to objects in other models in the list. The model containing the original objects must be open for external shortcuts to be available for selection. When generating, external shortcuts are generated as ordinary objects.
	Select All - Selects all check boxes in the current object type tab. To selects all check boxes in all object type tabs you can click the arrow and select All Lists or you can press the ctrl key and click the Select All tool.
	Deselect All - Deselects all check boxes in the current object type tab. To clear all check boxes in all object type tabs you can click the arrow and select All Lists or you can press the ctrl key and click the Deselect All tool.
	Use Graphical Selection - Uses the graphical selection.
	Move Selected Items to Top - Moves all selected objects to the top of the list.
	Move Selected Items to Bottom - Moves all selected objects to the bottom of the list.
	Customize Columns and Filter - Allows the definition of filter expression on the columns of the selection list. For more information about the Customize Columns and Filter dialog box, see Filtering a list.
	Enable/Disable Filter - Enables or disables the filter. The currently available filter is displayed in the Filter box underneath the object list.
	Use Filter for Selection - Selects objects based on the filter parameters.
Ctrl + selection tool	Applies the action of the selection tool to all object types in the different tabs.

Saving object selections

In some selection lists, you can save sets of object selections in your model, so that you can reuse them easily. Note that in case of a database reverse engineering by ODBC, object selections are saved into separated files, as you can reverse a database without having any model open in the Project.

To save a selection, enter a name in the Selection list at the bottom of the Selection tab then click the Save tool beside the list. The selection is saved as part of the model file. For a database reverse engineering by ODBC, you have to select a folder before being able to save the object selection into a separated file.

For more information about database reverse engineering by ODBC, see the "Reverse Engineering a database into a PDM" chapter in the PDM User's Guide .

Confirming object selections

In a selection list, the display of your object selection may be modified whenever you perform one of the following actions:

• Change the folder selection using the Model or Package list
• Deselect the Include Sub-Packages/Sub-Objects tool
• Deselect the Include Shortcuts tool
• Apply a filter using the Enable Filter tool
• Change the database or owner in the ODBC Reverse Engineering dialog box

In this case, some objects that have already been selected will no longer be displayed, and a dialog box opens offering you the following options:

• Select only the objects displayed - Other objects that are no longer displayed are deselected.
• Keep the hidden objects in the selection – All the previously selected objects are retained, including those that are no longer shown. This allows you to take into account object selections you have made in several packages for example.
• Cancel - The commit of the selection list is canceled and the selection page now displays all objects and sub-objects in the model to let you modify your selection if necessary.

When you confirm your selection by clicking OK, the confirmation dialog box will not be displayed again, while you continue to edit your selection, even if you again modify your parameters.

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