MagicDraw UserManual
MagicDraw UserManual
MagicDraw UserManual
18.1
No Magic, Inc.
2015
All material contained herein is considered proprietary information owned by No Magic, Inc. and is not to be
shared, copied, or reproduced by any means. All information copyright 1998-2015 by No Magic, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
CONTENTS 0
Contents 3
1 INTRODUCING MAGICDRAW 16
About MagicDraw and UML 16
MagicDraw Editions and Features 17
MagicDraw Editions 17
Other MagicDraw Features and Add-ons 18
MagicDraw Welcome Screen 24
MagicDraw News Reader 27
MagicDraw Documentation and Support 29
New and Noteworthy 29
Manuals and User Guides 29
Help 29
Notifications 29
Hints Associated to User’s Actions 36
Productivity Tips Displayed in Progress Window 37
Tutorials 37
Other Documentation 39
Support 39
2 GETTING STARTED 44
Licensing Information 44
Removing Unused Licenses 45
Unlocking MagicDraw 46
Activating the commercial license after purchase 46
Commercial license activation process 48
Commercial license types 50
Host ID 51
Identification 52
Registration 53
Deactivation 54
User Registration 55
Registration Workflow 56
Bug Report 59
Troubleshooting 60
MagicDraw Configuration Files Location 61
Importing Configuration from Earlier Version 62
Disabling Inbound Network Activity 63
Updating 63
Update Information window 64
3 USING MAGICDRAW 65
Customizing and Selecting Perspective 65
Customizing MagicDraw Perspectives 66
5 DIAGRAMMING 198
Working with Diagrams 198
Creating Diagrams 198
Opening Diagrams 201
Using Diagram Tabs 203
Specifying Diagram Properties 205
Specifying Diagram Style Properties 205
Diagram Name and its Context Name Synchronization 206
Diagram Frame 207
Drawing Diagram Shapes 209
Overviewing Other Diagrams 210
Table with Diagram Information 222
Changing the Diagram Type 223
Working with Symbols of Model Elements 224
Working with Paths and Relationships 227
Inserting a Shape on the Path 231
Creating Relations from the Model 232
Smart Manipulation 233
Smart Manipulators 233
Smart Manipulator Toolbar 235
Compartments 236
Creating Elements in Compartments on Shapes 237
Displaying and Suppressing Compartments on Shapes 238
Displaying or Hiding Elements in Compartments on Shapes 238
Smart Shape Sizing 239
Selection and Multiple Selections 240
Copying Text or Images to Diagrams 242
Nesting Image Shapes 243
Dragging, Copying, Cutting, and Pasting 244
Dragging Objects 244
Dragging Files 244
Dragging Images 246
Dragging Elements in the Specification Window 247
Dragging in Diagrams 249
Other Dragging Actions 252
7 TOOLS 435
Model Merge 435
Getting Started with Model Merge 436
Using Model Merge 439
Pattern Wizard 460
Creating Setters/Getters 465
Implementing or Overriding Operations 467
Model Transformation Wizard 469
Available Transformations 469
In this chapter, you will find the introductory information about MagicDraw:
• "About MagicDraw and UML" on page 16
• "MagicDraw Editions and Features" on page 17
• "MagicDraw Welcome Screen" on page 24
• "MagicDraw News Reader" on page 27
• "MagicDraw Documentation and Support" on page 29
Early methodologies, such as Booch notation, OMT, and others served the same purpose: to graphically
express the software’s architecture information. However, these methodologies accomplished this in slightly
different ways and with different levels of thoroughness. In 1994, Grady Booch, Jim Raumbaugh, and Ivar
Jacobson came together to unify their varied methods and experience. The UML (Unified Modeling Language)
was the fruit of their joint effort. UML was crafted with two objectives: To reflect the best practices of the
industry and to demystify the process of software system modeling.
In short, UML provides standardized pictures of your software applications and allows your development team
to quickly grasp the functionality contained within the application. UML is a language and a process with
neutral notation. This means that you can use it to design your entire OO system in any programming language
and any software development process.
The development of a model for an industrial-strength software system, prior to its construction or renovation,
is as essential as having a blueprint for a large building. Good models are vital for effective communication
among project teams.
In the early 1990s, the tools for OO software modeling emerged, followed by the development of the visual
modeling approach. Visual modeling means that you first design your system by drawing diagrams (blueprints)
and then employ tools to convert those diagrams into code. The value of such an approach is that the often
tedious framework coding is done automatically, freeing the programmer to focus on design issues. The
transition from the design to the implementation phase is smoother and more straightforward. Moreover, using
the features of reverse engineering and code generation, the developer can move back and forth between the
code and the design that is being expressed in the diagrams.
Today, visual modeling tools provide many features that replace some of the more tedious tasks for the
designer, programmer, and documentation writer. Some of the leading tools provide so-called round-trip code
engineering capabilities – the structure of reverse engineered code is changed in the modeling tool and is
generated back without the implementation of specific information (e.g. method bodies, comments) being lost.
MagicDraw is a visual UML modeling and CASE tool with teamwork support. Designed for Business Analysts,
Software Analysts, Programmers, QA Engineers, and Documentation Writers, this dynamic and versatile
development tool facilitates analysis and design of Object Oriented (OO) systems and databases. It provides
the industry's best code engineering mechanism (with full round-trip support for Java, C#, C++, WSDL, XML
Schema, and CORBA IDL programming languages), as well as database schema modeling, DDL generation
and reverse engineering facilities.
As of version 18.0, MagicDraw supports UML 2.5. For the detailed
information about supported changes of UML specification from version
2.4.1 to 2.5, see "Appendix II: UML 2.5 Support" on page 1160.
MagicDraw Editions
MagicDraw Personal Edition contains powerful UML diagramming capabilities, including full UML 2 support and
extensibility features, basic reporting functionality, and image export. Exported files are stored in XMI format.
As of the version 17.0.1 MagicDraw supports XMI 2.4 format.
All model elements can be accessed via the MagicDraw Open API.
In this edition, you will find everything you need to draw, edit, and publish your UML models.
Personal Edition is available only in a standalone version and is not designed for use with MagicDraw
Teamwork Server.
MagicDraw Standard Edition provides all of the Features of Personal Edition and adds WAE, content, and
Robustness diagrams. Standard Edition also adds model analysis and facilitation features, customizable and
extendable patterns, integrations with most popular IDEs, and a set of predefined model templates and UML
profiles.
Standard Edition supports UNISYS XMI and the latest Model Driven Architecture (MDA) tool offerings. UNISYS
XMI diagramming extensions allow the interchange of MagicDraw models with other UML modeling tools.
Since of the version 17.0.1 MagicDraw supports XMI 2.4 format.
Standard Edition is available in standalone, floating and mobile license versions and is fully compatible with
MagicDraw Teamwork Server.
Standard Edition is ideally suited for analysts and architects who need various model extensions and modeling
facilitations.
Professional Edition is built on the Standard Edition capabilities and is available in one of three programming
language specific versions-Java, C++ and C#. In addition to the Standard Edition features, Professional Edition
adds code generation and reverse engineering functionality. Depending on the language version selected, the
user will receive:
• Java version - Code engineering for Java, Java bytecode. Integration with Java IDEs.
• C++ version - Code engineering for C++.
• C# version - Code engineering for C#, CIL (MSIL).
Professional Edition is ideal for anyone who wants to generate code from an existing model or create a UML
model from an existing project.
The Architect Edition is specially packaged to provide the optimal price and technical features necessary for
architects that do not need the full capabilities of the Enterprise Edition. This edition combines the common
functionality of the Standard Edition together with some powerful options from the Enterprise Edition. These
include: advanced modeling facilitations and analysis, reverse engineering and code generation for DDL,
WSDL, CORBA IDL and XML. Architects have less need for IDE integrations as well as Java and C++ code
engineering, so these capabilities are not included.
MagicDraw Enterprise Edition represents the top of the line in the MagicDraw family of products, as well as the
ultimate solution for all your modeling needs. Enterprise Edition combines all of the functionality of the Personal
and Standard Editions, and all three versions of the Professional Edition, into a comprehensive state-of-the-art
UML programming solution. But the Enterprise Edition does not stop there, adding code engineering and
diagramming functionality in CORBA IDL, WSDL and XML schema. For working with DB structure, Enterprise
Edition not only provides code engineering and diagramming, but also provides structure retrieval via JDBC.
Enterprise Edition is a must when working with multiple development technologies and databases.
The MagicDraw family of award-winning products represents the most powerful and best value in the UML
modeling industry today.
MagicDraw Reader Edition is made for reading and previewing UML models created with MagicDraw and it is
free of charge. It is extremely useful when you want to share your ideas expressed in UML with partners,
colleagues, or clients, who do not have a copy of MagicDraw. Printing and image export capabilities are also
included.
Since MagicDraw version 14.0, Reader Edition has the ability to open and review Teamwork Server projects.
Reports Generation
You will find a complete description of the MagicDraw Report Wizard, related OpenAPI, and tutorial in
MagicDraw ReportWizard UserGuide.pdf.
Floating License
The Floating license agreement does not limit the number of clients you can install on different computers. It
only limits the number of applications that can run at the same time. To control loaded applications, a server is
required. The server can be installed on several computers, but simultaneously can be started only on the one
of them. The license key of the floating server provides information to the server about how many applications
may run simultaneously for the particular MagicDraw edition.
The Administrator’s Console is used to manage client connections and configure the server.
For more information about managing floating licenses, see
MagicDraw FloatingLicense UserGuide.pdf.
Teamwork Server
With MagicDraw Teamwork Server, you can assign as many developers as needed to work simultaneously on
the same project using multiple workstations. The resulting server project is saved on the server for sharing by
other MagicDraw applications. Users with administrator rights can create new users by giving them their own
login name and various permissions to work on projects. Depending on permissions, users can update,
commit, edit, create, and delete model elements, diagrams, and projects.
To enable Teamwork support, you should install and run MagicDraw Teamwork Server. Each MagicDraw
application acts as a client of Teamwork Server.
Teamwork Server functionality is available with MagicDraw Standard, Professional, Architect, and Enterprise
editions. MagicDraw Reader Edition is allowed to open and review server projects.
As of version 17.0 you can use the secure connection (SSL) while working with Teamwork Server.
• For more information about working in a collaborative
environment, see "Working with Server Projects" on page 1040.
• For MagicDraw Teamwork Server administration instructions,
refer to MagicDraw Teamwork UserGuide.pdf.
Code Engineering
MagicDraw code engineering provides a simple and intuitive graphical interface for merging code and UML
models, as well as preparing both code skeletons out of UML models and models from code.
The tool may generate code from models and create models out of code (reverse). Changes in the existing
code can be reflected in the model, and model changes may also be seen in your code. Independent changes
to a model and code can be merged without destroying data in the code or model.
MagicDraw code engineering supports Java, Java Bytecode, C++ (ANSI, CLI, Managed), C#, CIL, CIL
Disassembler, CORBA IDL, DDL (Cloudscape, DB2, Microsoft Access, Microsoft SQL server, MySQL, Oracle,
Pervasive, Pointbase, PostgreSQL, Standard SQL, Sybase), XML Schema, and WSDL.
For more information on working with code engineering, see
MagicDraw CodeEngineering UserGuide.pdf.
OpenAPI
This document describes the MagicDraw Open Java API and provides instructions on how to write your own
plug-ins, create actions in the menus and toolbars, change UML model elements, and create new patterns.
For more information on working with OpenAPI, see MagicDraw
OpenAPI UserGuide.pdf.
Integrations
MagicDraw Customization
MagicDraw Plugins
UPDM plugin
The UPDM plugin for MagicDraw UML/SysML modeling solution fully supports building integrated enterprise
architectures meeting DoDAF and MODAF requirements ensuring mission critical project success. The plugin
supports all DoDAF 1.5, DoDAF 2.0, and MODAF 1.2 viewpoints and views dependent on the selected user
environment. Each user environment provides architecture framework specific concepts, artifacts, new project
templates, samples, and architecture framework specific usability features. A user environment can be
changed any time by fully converting model to meet requirements of the selected architecture framework.
For more information about UPDM plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/updm-plugin.html
SysML plugin
The SysML plugin includes SysML profile, template, all SysML diagrams, SysML samples project, SysML
usability features, and System Engineer perspective. The System Engineer perspective (the specific mode of
the MagicDraw user interface for SysML modeling) includes SysML specific menus, toolbars, diagrams,
specification dialogs and user interface.
For more information about SysML plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/sysml-plugin.html
Cameo DataHub
Cameo DataHub™ is a tool that allows the user to import, export, synchronize, and make references between
Cameo Requirements+™, MagicDraw, SysML Plugin, DoDAF Plugin, Telelogic DOORS, Rational
RequisitePro, and CSV files.
For more information about Cameo DataHub plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/cameo-datahub.html
Cameo SOA+™ leverages the Unified Modeling Language® (UML®) along with the latest SOA modeling
standard, SoaML™, to provide both architects and developers an integrated solution for creating optimal SOA
architectures and implementations. Cameo SOA+™ brings together SOA at both the business and technology
levels to address the full spectrum of services. From Enterprise and Business Architectures to implementing,
using and composing services on your favorite enterprise service bus (ESB) or application server, this
integrated plug-in is versatile enough for both personal and team-based development. SoaML helps create and
use services based on new and existing capabilities using composite services.
For more information about Cameo SOA+ plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/cameo-soa.html
Cameo Data Modeler™ plugin for MagicDraw® provides support for Entity-Relationship modeling. It expands
previous Business Entity-Relationship diagram (a limited form of ER diagram) to full featured Entity-
Relationship diagram - including extended entity-relationship concepts - generalization support.
For more information about Cameo Data Modeler plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/cameo-data-modeler.html
Cameo Business Modeler™ plugin for MagicDraw provides support for BPMN 2.0 profile, diagrams, user
perspective, usability features for BPMN modeling, manual, samples, and import from BPMN 1.1 models that
were created with MagicDraw. All four BPMN 2.0 diagrams are supported.
For more information about Cameo Business Modeler plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/cameo-business-modeler-
plugin.html
Merge plugin
Model Merge enables copying changes between different project versions. This functionality is usually needed
when there are several branches that reflect different releases or versions of the product, e.g. when certain
fixes have to be copied from a release branch to the mainstream development.
For more information about Merge plugin, see http://
www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/merge-
plugin.html
ParaMagic plugin
ParaMagic plugin using the quantitative information and constraint relationships displayed in SysML diagrams,
model-builders can run simulations from the earliest stages of system design. In traditional domains of system
engineering like aerospace and transportation, users can explore system performance, estimate cost and
allocate resources. Developers leveraging MagicDraw's DoDAF and business modeling capabilities can add
parametric simulation using SysML submodels for defense planning, business process analysis and
computational finance.
For more information about ParaMagic plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/sysml-plugin/paramagic-plugin.html
Methodology Wizards Plugin automates modeling tasks and extends methodology support in MagicDraw. This
Wizard guides you through model creation process according to a set methodology.
For more information about Methodology Wizards plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/methodology-wizards.html
MARTE Profile
This specification of a UML® profile adds capabilities to UML for model-driven development of Real Time and
Embedded Systems (RTES). This extension, called the UML profile for MARTE (in short MARTE), provides
support for specification, design, and verification/validation stages. This new profile is intended to replace the
existing UML Profile for Schedulability, Performance and Time.
For more information about MARTE Profile,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/marte-profile.html
The CSV Import plugin is a MagicDraw plugin that will read values in a comma separated values (CSV) file and
create model elements, diagrams and relationships from that data. MagicDraw users will have the capability to
create MagicDraw models from their data stored in spreadsheets, relational databases and other repositories.
For more information about CSV Import plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/csv-import-plugin.html
SPEM
SPEM - Adopted standard for software engineering process description. Standard provides generic elements
those allow to describe any software development process. The purpose of SPEM is to support the definition of
software development processes specifically including those processes that involve or mandate the use of
UML. The SPEM plugin includes SPEM profile, template, all SPEM diagrams and properties customization.
For more information about SPEM plugin,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/spem-plugin.html
SoaML Profile
Service oriented architecture Modeling Language (SoaML) profile.The goals of SoaML are to support the
activities of service modeling and design and to fit into an overall model-driven development.
For more information about SoaML Profile, see http://www.nomagic.com/products/
magicdraw-no-cost-add-ons/other-no-cost-add-ons.html
MagicDraw has the capability to import UML models that conform to various XMI versions (including XMI 2.4)
from other tools. Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect (EA) is one of those tools. EA provides a XMI export
functionality which makes it possible to export UML2.4(XMI2.4). However, the XMI exported from EA contains
some XMI conflicts and EA-specific data that do not conform to UML standards. The main purposes of
Enterprise Architect Import Plugin are thus to solve XMI conflicts between EA and MagicDraw that cause
problems when loading the XMI to MagicDraw and also to transform some EA-specific data to the form of UML
elements with stereotypes.
From models that are created with Enterprise Architect, you can import the following items:
• UML models
• Profiles
• Stereotype usage information
• EA-specific data, such as constraints, requirement, scenarios, files, external requirements,
changes, and issues
• Diagram information, such as Class diagrams, Package diagrams, Object diagrams,
Component diagrams, Deployment diagrams, Use Case diagrams, Activity diagrams,
Sequence diagrams, Communication diagrams, State Machine diagrams, Composite Structure
diagrams, and Interaction Overview diagram.
For more information about importing an EA exported XMI,
see MagicDraw EnterpriseArchitectImportPlugin UserGuide.pdf.
Data Converters
For MagicDraw and data converter compatibilities, refer to http://www.nomagic.com/
support/compatibility.html.
Cameo Inter-Op
Cameo Inter-Op™ provides customers both import and export functionality between MagicDraw and IBM
Rational® Rhapsody or MagicDraw and System Architect. Cameo Inter-Op supports both semantics and
diagrams, ensuring data integrity is maintained between MagicDraw and these products.
For information about the tool,
see http://www.nomagic.com/products/cameo-inter-op.
MagicDraw RConverter
MagicDraw RConverter is the most comprehensive tool to convert Rational Rose formats to MagicDraw or
other open formats available in the market. MagicDraw RConverter also provides the capability to automatically
generate the vast majority of symbol properties, specifications, diagram layouts, user defined properties and
stereotype images.
MagicDraw RConverter provides a seamless way to convert a Rational Rose Model format (*.mdl) file to a
MagicDraw-supported format (*.xmi) file.
For information about the tool, see
http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/magicdraw-rconverter.html.
MagicDraw RSXConverter
MagicDraw RSXConverter is the most comprehensive tool to convert IBM® Rational® Software Architect
(RSA) and IBM® Rational® Software Modeler (RSM) formats to MagicDraw. MagicDraw RSXConverter also
provides the capability to automatically generate the vast majority of symbol properties, specifications, diagram
layouts, stereotype and stereotype images.
MagicDraw RSXConverter provides a seamless way to convert an RSA or RSM format (*.emx, *.epx, *.efx) file
to a MagicDraw-supported format (*.mdxml) file.
For more information about the tool, see
http://www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-addons/magicdraw-rsxconverter.html.
You can turn off showing the Welcome screen by default. To do so, just find the Show Welcome Screen option
under the General options group in the Environment Options dialog and change its value to false. The
Welcome screen will no longer appear on the MagicDraw window after all the projects are closed.
In case showing the Welcome screen by default is turned off, you can open it manually. To do so, you only need
to select Show Welcome Screen from the Help menu after all the projects are closed.
The first two items are visible at the left side of the Welcome screen. To explore the content of the rest items,
you have to open them first. How to do this, learn while reading the following procedures.
To open the What’s New, Resources, or Samples page on the Welcome screen
• Click What’s New, Resources, or Samples appropriately at the right side of the Welcome
screen (see the following figure).
• At the top of an active page, click a button with the appropriate page name (see the following
figure).
All the items of the Welcome screen are described in detail as follows.
• Click the item. The news will be displayed in the News Reader.
For more information, see "MagicDraw News Reader" on page 27.
• New and Noteworthy information of the latest product version at the official No Magic website.
• Product related news in the News Reader.
For more information, see "MagicDraw News Reader" on page 27.
Resources page
Samples page
The Samples page provides a quick access to sample projects that are provided by No Magic. Click a sample
project name to open it. The same projects can be found in <MagicDraw installation folder>\samples.
When some news is available, a small envelope icon will be displayed at the right of MagicDraw status bar.
Click on this icon to invoke the MagicDraw News Reader (see Figure 5 on page 29).
Select the news channel at the left side of the MagicDraw News Reader and then select one of the news in the
list. Bellow the title of the selected news, the description is presented. Unread messages are displayed in bold.
To refresh news, click the Refresh button at the left top corner of the MagicDraw News Reader window.
To mark all the selected items as read, click the Mark item as read button.
To change the checking period, change the Check for News property in the General section of the
Environment Options dialog. Property provides the following options:
• Once a day
• Once a week
• Once a month
• Do not check.
Help
The integrated help within MagicDraw is based on JavaHelp. MagicDraw help provides detailed descriptions of
all MagicDraw dialog boxes, commands, and shortcut menus. You will also find a How-to list, as well as main
descriptions and examples of all UML model elements.
Notifications
Notifications inform about various environment and project specific messages as well as messages received
from team members. In addition, it allows you to perform the associated actions with a simple click on the link in
the notification message. You may receive notification messages in the lower-right corner of MagicDraw
window and in various dialogs.
To open the Notification Window, which stores the history of all notifications, select Window > Notification
Window from the main menu.
See an example of the Notification Window and the notification message that appears in the lower-right corner
of MagicDraw window.
Notification messages
See an example of the notification message that appears in the lower-right corner of MagicDraw and the
notification message that is displayed in the dialog.
You can disable selected notification messages by clicking the Do not show me this message again check
box in the notification message. Note that this check box exists in some messages only.
For more information about the notification message display mode,
see "To change the notification messages display mode" on page 31.
When the notification message opens, after some time it closes automatically. To leave the notification
message opened, move the mouse cursor on the notification message and hold it there.
For more information, see "To change the notification messages display time"
on page 32.
1. From the Options menu, select Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. In the General options group, the Display category, change the Notifications Display Mode
option value to one of the following:
• Display custom notification sets. This is the default value, that is, the set of
notifications will be displayed, except the ones that were selected by the user not to
be displayed (using the Do not show me this message again check box).
• Display all notifications. All notifications about specific events happening in the
program will be displayed.
• Do not display. All notifications are hidden.
1. From the Options menu, select Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. In the Notifications options group, under the General category, type the time on how long the
notification message will be displayed.
As of MagicDraw version 17.0.3, the notification messages are displayed
not only in the lower-right corner of MagicDraw, but in the Notification
Window too. For more information about the Notification Window, see
"Notification Window" on page 32.
Related concepts
MagicDraw Documentation and Support
Related references
Notification Window
Notification Window
As of version 17.0.3, MagicDraw introduces the Notification Window, which is designed to store the history of all
environment and project specific messages and messages received from other team members.
In the Notification Window, only the message title is displayed. To read the rest of the message text, click
More... The message text is expanded.
By using the search toolbar, you can perform a search in the Notification Window. To open the search toolbar,
press CTRL+F.
For more information about the Notification Window environment, see the following sections:
• "Grouping messages in Notification Window" on page 33
• "Notification Window toolbar" on page 34
• "Notifications option group in the Environment Options window" page 35
Related references
Grouping messages in Notification Window
Notification messages
In the example above you can see that next to the Project tab title, there is a number written in brackets. The
number shows how many unread messages there are listed in the Project tab when the Environment tab is
active.
Related concepts
Notification Window
The Notification Window has the toolbar for configuring the messages display.
Related concepts
Notification Window
In the Environment Options dialog, you can configure the messages that are listed in the Notification Window.
1. From the Options menu, select Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. In the Environment Options dialog, click the Notifications option group. Now you can specify
the options for the notification messages.
Minimal Drop-down list Click to open the drop-down list in which you can
Severity select the minimal severity level of the messages that
Level will be displayed in the Notification Window. There are
the following options:
• Error. Only the error messages will be listed.
• Warning. The error and warning messages will be
listed.
• Information (default). The error, warning and
information messages will be listed.
Keep History Text box Specify the duration of keeping messages in the
for Days history list (in days).
Related concepts
Notification Window
Related references
Customizing Environment Options
Hints are displayed in the lower right-hand corner of the application window. Figure below shows an example of
a hint.
Hint is displayed for a 10 seconds or for a period while mouse is rolled on hint. Small icon will be displayed
in a status bar after hint will hide. Clicking on this icon, you can open hint again.
Change the Hints display mode property in the Environment Options dialog, General branch,
Display group.
The Hints display mode property specifies whether hints on MagicDraw functionality related to user actions
will be displayed. Custom hint set does not include hints, that are asked not to be shown by user. Select option
Display all hints again to reset custom hint set to show all hints. Selecting value Show all hints again will
delete the list of the hints that should not be displayed.
Select or clear the Show tips while running long tasks property in the Environment Options
dialog box, General branch, General group.
Tutorials
Quick Start tutorials for UML diagrams provide the step-by-step on-screen instructions on how to work with
UML diagrams and start modeling with MagicDraw. They also give the links to the associated information in the
other MagicDraw user’s documentation and to the worldwide tutorials sources as well.
Try the Quick Start tutorials for the new diagram, Class diagram, Use Case diagram, Activity diagram,
Sequence diagram, and others.
1. From the File menu, select New Project. The New Project dialog will open (Figure 15 on
page 38).
2. Select the Project from Template icon on the left-hand side of the New Project dialog.
3. Select Guide to UML Diagrams Project > Guide to UML Diagrams Project in the Select tem-
plate tree.
4. Click OK. The MagicDraw project with its tutorials will open (Figure 16 on page 39).
Other Documentation
• The readme.html file is located in the main MagicDraw installation directory. Readme
documents are also available for MagicDraw integrations.
• Viewlets. View online demos introducing MagicDraw and particular functionalities. You may find
online demos at http://www.nomagic.com/support/demos.html.
• Samples. In the MagicDraw installation directory (samples directory), you will find the samples
of MagicDraw projects.
Support
FAQ
Before calling or registering an issue, please have a look in our FAQ section. It is constantly updated and may
contain an answer to your question.
Forum
Discuss and get answers about No Magic products in No Magic Community Forum. With respect to the
growing interest in No Magic products, we have expanded the capabilities that had been provided by our
newsgroups and have moved the content to the online Forum.
Note: If you are interested in old discussions from the newsgroups, you can find them in the Forum as well as
in the newsgroups in a read-only mode.
• If you are a new user, ask questions and get started on learning about UML and MagicDraw by
the NEW USER section.
• Discuss issues related to technologies and processes in the STANDARDS/METHODOLOGIES
section.
• Share your professional experience in terms of using MagicDraw, including installation and
running, MagicDraw OpenAPI, scripting, integrations with other 3rd party tools, etc. in the
MAGICDRAW section.
• Find new product versions, updates, and major events in the ANNOUNCEMENT section.
• Post your suggestions for improvements and new features that you would like to see added to
the Forum in the OTHER section, the Suggestions subsection.
Premium support VIP customer* (marked as VIP) Response within business hours, with
24 hours response time.
End-of-life policy
Public service packs are primarily released for the newest version. As we understand that switching from one
version to another can take some time, in case of significant issues we provide service packs (or private
patches) for up to one year old versions when applicable.
We support and provide patches to older versions only when you own Software Assurance (SA) contracts http:/
/www.nomagic.com/support/sales-and-licensing/software-assurance-maintenance-contracts.html only on
your purchased products, so please be sure you are covered.
We always strongly recommend using the newest version as it contains all newest fixes, usability features, new
capabilities, and support for standards and technologies.
We highly recommend to submit report any problem, suggest improvements, or ask about new features directly
from MagicDraw. Report will create an issue in to our Online Customer Support System https://
support.nomagic.com.
These reports help us address issues in a more timely manner, as well as speeding up maintenance releases
that are free of known defects.
• Attach diagrams images - choose diagrams, whose images you would like to send
together with your issue report. Also specify the images format.
6. If you are registered user, track you issue at https://support.nomagic.com.
If you are already registered personal information will be filled into
the Report an Issue dialog.
If MagicDraw becomes unresponsive, a separately executable tool is provided for analyzing the status of the
process to aide in bug submission. In these situations, manually start the submitbug.exe file (located in the
<MagicDraw installation directory>\bin folder) and follow directions. After submitbug.exe is started, the Report
an Issue dialog opens. For more information about the Report an Issue dialog, see “To report an issue
directly from MagicDraw” on page 41.
If an error occurs, an error message will appear at the bottom of the MagicDraw window.
To view internal errors you have to open the Unhandled Errors dialog. There are three methods
for to open the Unhandled Errors dialog.
• Click the View and submit internal errors button in the Notification Window.
• From the Help main menu, choose the View and Submit internal errors command.
• Click the notification icon on the status bar.
Note: The View and Submit internal errors command is only active in the Help menu and the
red button at the bottom of the status bar only exists if the Submit errors dialog contains errors.
To submit an error
Licensing Information
Information about installed or needed licenses and the status is presented in the About screen with the ability
to remove unused licenses.
The following table describes the main information in the Licensing tab on the About screen.
Unlocking MagicDraw
Unlock MagicDraw with evaluation, demo, or commercial license key file.
To unlock MagicDraw
1. After downloading MagicDraw, you will get license key file to your mailbox.
2. Save this key file into the local file system before starting MagicDraw.
3. When starting MagicDraw for the first time, you will be asked to choose the license key file.
Click the Select Licenses Key Files button and select the file from the directory you have
saved the file.
4. System will automatically start MagicDraw and you will be able to use it.
After updating to version 16.9 or later, you will be requested to activate and receive the commercial licenses
dedicated for the particular machine.
Flexera Software FLEXnet licensing system, the industry leader helping to manage and secure flexible
software licensing, is used to manage No Magic products licenses.
All the updated information about the commercial license activation you may also find at http://
www.nomagic.com/support/activation.html.
Online activation
Choose online activation and enable commercial activated (without expiration) licenses automatically.
1. Click the Activate button in the License Manager dialog of the application.
Offline activation
Alternatively, you may select offline activation, get the Host ID, enter it in the license owner account and then
download the commercial activated license.
3. Click the Create New License Activation Record button and enter user details and Host ID of
the machine.
4. Download or send the key to your e-mail.
1. Click the Activate button in the License Manager dialog of the application.
3. Host ID is shown.
Related topics
Commercial license types
Host ID
Identification
Registration
Deactivation
Commercial not activated license is used only to determine the account on www.nomagic.com and allows
using the application for 7 days according to obtained licenses, before requesting the activation.
MagicDraw_16_9_Professional_C#_Standalone_ Not activated key.txt
Commercial activated license is the license without expiration, locked to the particular machine, and can be
deactivated.
MagicDraw_16_9_Professional_C#_Standalone_
Activated_key_for_<name>_<surname>.txt
After the purchase transaction has been completed, you will receive the commercial not activated license.
They are used ONLY to determine the account on www.nomagic.com from which activated keys should be
requested. Any other license, evaluation, demo, or commercial can be used for identification of the license
owner account during activation.
Commercial not activated license requires activation. It allows using the application for 7 days according to
obtained licenses, before requesting the activation. After the online or offline activation you will get the
commercial activated license.
After the online activation, commercial activated license will be applied automatically and you will be able to use
the application on the particular machine.
During the offline activation you will be required to enter a Host ID <link to Host ID section> in the license owner
account at www.nomagic.com. You can then download the commercial activated license and select it from the
application.
Related topics
Commercial license activation process
Host ID
Identification
Registration
Deactivation
Host ID
A Host ID is the value of a specific system attribute (MAC / Ethernet address) that uniquely identifies the host /
machine under which an application is running. A Host ID is used for the locked to particular machine license.
Only commercial activated licenses are locked to the particular machine.
For the Host ID determining instructions refer to “Determining a Host ID (for offline activation)” on page 49.
One of the ways for determining Ethernet address (Host ID) is using lmhostid utility. This way can be useful
when the list of Host IDs of multiple machines should be discovered, even before installing the applications
itself. If you are a system administrator, you can provide end users with commercial activated licenses without
requesting licenses from them.
The lmhostid is a command line utility, which prints the Host ID that is required. The Lmhostid utility is available
as an execule called lmutil. Download it for a particular OS from http://www.globes.com/support/
fnp_utilities_download.htm.
Run lmutil with lmhostid parameter from the command line. Lmhostid displays the default hostid for the current
platform.
For exact commands for specific OS refer to: License Administration Guide (Obtaining System Hostids).
If two or more Ethernet addresses are available on the particular machine,
the first one printed by the hostid command should be used.
Related topics
Commercial license activation process
Commercial license types
Identification
Registration
Deactivation
Identification
To determine a license owner, the user identification is requested during activation process.
Identification is requested only if you have not added any license key file, have not registered your installation,
or have not performed identification.
Ones identification is performed, it will not be requested the next time during activation.
In case you need to change identification records, just apply the new license key file.
The last applied license key file is used for the identification.
Related topics
Commercial license activation process
Commercial license types
Host ID
Registration
Deactivation
Registration
The user registration is required during activation process in order to obtain the commercial activated license.
Related topics
User Registration
Commercial license activation process
Commercial license types
Host ID
Identification
Deactivation
Deactivation
The deactivation is the process, which allows returning commercial activated licenses. You may remove and
return all activated (locked to the particular machine), not used commercial licenses by deactivating them.
1. Click the Deactivate button in the License Manager dialog of the application or uninstall the
application.
2. Commercial licenses will be deactivated automatically and returned online.
If the online licenses return is not available, licenses will be deactivated and offline deactivation -
licenses return message with License Deactivation ID - will be shown. To update the account
information manually, return the used license by entering the License Deactivation ID to the
license owner account at www.nomagic.com.
3. The application is deactivated and licenses are returned.
• The deactivated license still will be active for 7 days.
• The returned licenses can be activated on the same or another
machine.
• Online deactivation from the application side or the deactivation
with the License Deactivation ID is treated as the confirmed
deactivation case and does not decrees an available rehost limit.
You can deactivate licenses not only from application, but also from the License Activation Management screen
in the license owner account at www.nomagic.com.
The deactivation from the License Activation Management screen
should be used only if the deactivation from application side is not
available: installation has been lost or corrupted.
License Deactivation ID
License Deactivation ID is the value of a specific system attribute that uniquely identifies license deactivation/
return from the particular host/machine under which application was running. The License Deactivation ID is
used for the license offline deactivation.
1. Click the Deactivate button in the License Manager dialog of the application.
2. The license Deactivation ID will be shown if the online deactivation will not be available.
The license deactivation, about which confirmation is received in the license owner account at
www.nomagic.com is treated as confirmed deactivation case.
The deactivation confirmation can be received either online, during online deactivation, or offline, with the help
of the License Deactivation ID, which is shown during the offline deactivation.
The deactivation from the License Activation Management screen without the License Deactivation ID, is
treated as NOT confirmed deactivation and decreases the rehost limit. An exception is, if after such the
deactivation, automatic confirmation is received from the application side that the license has been also
deactivated on the application side.
Rehost limit
The rehost limit is the number of available, not confirmed, deactivations from the License Activation
Management screen. By default such number is 1 for the each obtained license per year. The confirmed
deactivation case from the application side will not decrease the rehost limit.
If the rehost limit is exceeded you can request extension from your dedicated account executive by filling the
reason of the request and clicking the Request Rehost Increase button.
You may moving of the activated (locked to the particular machine) licenses from one machine to another is
called rehosting.
To rehost a license
Related topics
Commercial license activation process
Commercial license types
Host ID
Identification
Registration
User Registration
User Registration allows you to access dedicated resources on the No Magic website such as dedicated online
support, answers database, new products evaluation, and beta products.
The Registration dialog will open the first time MagicDraw is started (see the following figure). You can
complete Product Registration at any time by selecting Register from the Help menu.
• No Magic, Inc. respects your privacy. We will only use your
personal information for communications and management of
your online account, and the products you register with your
account.
• Registration for the owners of commercial licenses is mandatory.
Registration Workflow
The registration process is straightforward. After a new key application, you will be requested to register your
installation. If you have successfully sent the online registration form, you will receive an e-mail with a link to
confirm your registration and the correctness of information furnished through online registration.
Adding a License
MagicDraw always checks the registration status at startup after license has been provided, an unlock key has
been added, or a Floating server has been selected.
Registering
If you are not a registered user, MagicDraw will open the Registration dialog at startup, prompting you to
register.
You do not have to complete the online User Registration to use
MagicDraw, however, it is recommended to do so to receive the
benefits available for a registered user. You can complete Product
Registration at any time by clicking Register on the Help menu.
• You can click the Confirm Later button to register at a later time
and close the Registration Confirmation dialog.
• A message reminding about Registration Confirmation will
appear at MagicDraw startup if you do not complete the
registration process.
• No Magic, Inc. respects your privacy. We will only use your
personal information for communications and management of
your online account, and the products you register with your
account.
Use your login name and password received upon confirming your registration to log in to the user dedicated
area at www.nomagic.com.
Your registration will enable us to provide you with the following professional services:
• Dedicated customer support for all problems, questions, and suggestions.
• Access to early releases and evaluations.
• New versions, patches, and updates.
After a period of 30 days has passed since the date of your registration or a new license from the same
licensed owner has been applied, you will be requested to confirm that you are the one using the software
installation at MagicDraw startup. A profiled Registration Confirmation dialog will open. Check the
correctness of data and click the Confirm button.
If you are registering as a new user, with different profile information, the Update Existing Profile question will
appear. You can either update your existing profile or identify yourself as a different user using the product
installation.
Bug Report
If you are a registered user, your personal information will be provided in the Report an Issue dialog. Submit
notifications of software errors dialog is available from Help menu > Report an Issue.
If the provided information does not correspond to the information you have provided during registration, once
you click the Send button to submit the bug, you will be asked to register or update your information. The
Registration dialog will open and profiled with your personal information from previous registration with
changes from the Report an Issue dialog or details from the Report an Issue dialog if you have not yet
registered.
For more information about bug reporting,
see “Reporting issues directly from MagicDraw” on page 41.
Troubleshooting
Issue Solution
Registration is requested on each The Registration Confirmation dialog will open each
startup time MagicDraw starts until you register the product
installation.
The registration process is straightforward and requires
minimum data for you to access dedicated online support,
answers database, new products evaluation, and beta
products.
Clicking the Confirm Later button will close the
Registration Confirmation dialog.
Registration confirmation is requested If you do not click the registration confirmation link,
at each startup installation will not be confirmed.
You may request a new confirmation email from the
registration confirmation message.
No email with a confirmation link is Your spam or virus filter may filter out the e-mail with a
received confirmation link. If that is the case, you can request a
new confirmation e-mail by clicking Help > Register on
the main menu.
The No connection to registration Check your internet connection and try to reconnect.
server message opens User Registration is not required to use MagicDraw.
You are getting “cannot connect to Check your internet connection and try to reconnect.
server” message on registration dialog User Registration is not required to use MagicDraw.
invocation from Help menu ->
Registration
The Registration dialog does not • You have already registered and the period of 30 days
opens at Startup since the date of your last registration has not been
used up.
• There are network limitations to check your registration
status.
User Registration is not required to use the MagicDraw.
1. From the Help menu, select About MagicDraw. The About screen opens.
2. Click the Environment tab.
3. Click the hyperlink next to Configuration files. The folder containing MagicDraw configuration
files opens.
You can also save configuration files in any of the following locations:
• <MagicDraw installation directory>
• Common Application Data location (on Windows OS)
• Other directory
-DLOCALCONFIG=true
to
-DLOCALCONFIG=false
-DWINCONFIG=false
It is important to add the -DWINCONFIG=false parameter on Window OS, otherwise
the configuration files will not be stored at MagicDraw installation directory.
-DLOCALCONFIG=true
to
-DLOCALCONFIG=false
The Common Application Data location is the following:
• On Windows NT4 - C:\WINNT\Profiles\All Users\Application Data
• On Windows 2000/XP - C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data
• On Windows Vista/7/8 - C:\ProgramData
Do either:
1. Go to the folder, where the configuration files are stored (for the exact location, see the prec-
ceding table.
2. Create a new file named magicdrawredirect.
3. In the file, type the absolute path to the folder, wherein MagicDraw configuration files will be
saved, e.g., C:/<directory name>.
Or:
4. Open the magicdraw.properties file, which is located in <MagicDraw installation directory>\bin.
5. Change the parameter value:
When working with two or more installations of the same MagicDraw version, you may need each of them to
have individual configuration files directory (by default, all the installations of the same MagicDraw version use
a single directory, for example, <...>\.magicdraw\18.0).
In such case, the initial installation of a certain MagicDraw version can keep on using the default configuration
files directory, that is, <...>\.magicdraw\<version number>, but you must define a custom one for each
subsequent installation. For this, edit the magicdraw.properties file of each relevant installation by adding the
local.config.dir.ext system property. This property requires a textual value to construct the custom directory
name. The value of the local.config.dir.ext system property is added as a suffix to the default folder name
“.magicdraw”.
1. Open the magicdraw.properties file, which can be found in <MagicDraw installation direc-
tory>\bin.
2. In the JAVA_ARGS line, add the following argument:
-JAVA_ARGS: - DDISABLEINBOUNDCON=true
After disabling the inbound network activity you will not be able to
• Open MagicDraw Help
• Submit an issue
Also be advised that double-clicking a project file (.mdzip) will open
the project in a new MagicDraw window.
Updating
An automatic updates feature is implemented in MagicDraw. Notification and update of all the service packs
can be done automatically.
1. On the Options menu, click Environment. The Environment Options dialog appears.
2. In the Update options list, change the Check for Updates option value to one of the following:
• Manually
• On startup
• Once a day
• Once a week
• Once a month
It is recommended to check for updates once a month.
Due to the growing number of MagicDraw features, many features may be configured for standard or expert
user. MagicDraw can satisfy the needs of different software development process roles. In order to better
satisfy user needs, MagicDraw configuration depends on Perspective.
Perspectives allow:
• The selection of a predefined MagicDraw configuration and features according to your
software development process role.
• Finding features faster, because there are less of them.
• To choosing a suitable MagicDraw experience mode with a single click.
• Customizing a set of predefined features and configuration based on user needs.
• Launch MagicDraw for the first time. The MagicDraw Startup dialog will appear with the
possibility to switch between perspectives. Select the desired perspective from the list and click
the OK button.
• From the Options menu, choose Perspectives and then click Perspectives. The Select
Perspective dialog opens. Select the desired perspective and click the Apply button.
• On the Perspectives toolbar, select the desired perspective from the available perspectives
list.
For more information about the Perspectives toolbar,
see “Validation Toolbar” on page 1143.
MagicDraw has seven customizable areas in different perspectives. They are as follows:
• Main menu
• Main toolbars
• Diagram toolbars
• Diagram modeling elements toolbar
• Smart manipulators
• Shortcut menu actions
• Create Diagram dialog
Each of these areas has a set of commands, which can be shown in standard/expert mode, or hidden.
1. In the Customize Perspectives dialog, select the perspective and click the Edit button near
the selected MagicDraw area. The appropriate Customize dialog opens.
2. Expand tree sections and select radio buttons beside items in the tree depending on your
choice for Standard and Expert, Expert only or Hidden modes.
3. Click OK to save changes, then OK in the Customize Perspectives dialog, and then Apply in
the Select Perspective dialog (if needed).
• From the toolbar shortcut menu, select/clear the Expert Menu Mode or Expert Toolbar Mode
check box.
• From the diagram buttons toolbar menu, select/clear Expert Mode check box.
You can also change the perspective while working with MagicDraw.
1. From the Options menu, choose Perspectives > Perspectives. The Select Perspective
dialog opens.
2. In the opened dialog, select a desired perspective and click Apply.
Rename Selected The Enter Perspective Name dialog opens. Change name of the
Perspective perspective and click OK. Renaming can also be performed using the
F2 shortcut key.
Import New The Open dialog appears. Select *.umd extension file and click Open to
Perspective import the perspective into the MagicDraw environment.
Export Selected The Save dialog opens. Type a name for the created perspective and
Perspective click Save to store it as *.umd extension file.
Full Featured List of possible perspectives, which will load the predefined MagicDraw
Quick Start configuration.
Software Architect
System Analyst
MagicDraw Area List of customizable toolbars and command sections.
Edit Click the Edit button to open the Customize Main Menu dialog in
which a commands mode could be changed by selecting radio buttons.
Description Displays short description about each selected area.
Reset to Defaults Resets changes back to the default configuration.
Nearly all MagicDraw commands can be accessed from multiple places within MagicDraw:
• Main menu
• Main toolbars
• Model Browser
• Diagram toolbars
• Shortcut menus (accessible by right-clicking)
• Shortcut keys
• Smart manipulators (accessible by selecting a symbol on the diagram pane)
The following table shows the accessibility of several commands in different ways
Function Accessibility
Main operations of • Edit menu.
editing (copy, cut, • Main toolbar buttons.
paste, delete)
• Shortcut keys.
• Shortcut menu commands.
Opening of the • By double-clicking the model element.
Specification • Specification command from the element shortcut menu on a
window
diagram or in the Model Browser.
• When adding one model element to another model element from the
Specification window or the Model Browser.
Defining symbols • Symbol shortcut menu > Symbol Properties.
properties (font, • Edit menu > Symbol > Symbol Properties.
color, etc.)
• Options menu > Project.
• Main toolbar buttons
Menus
The description of all menu commands you can find in "Menu System" on page 1128.
You can customize menu items by selecting and/or modifying perspectives. More information about
customizing perspectives, you can find in "Customizing and Selecting Perspective" on page 65.
Various plugins might bring additional menu items.
Toolbars
Toolbars help to speed up your work with MagicDraw, when performing commonly used tasks. There are main
toolbars and diagram toolbars in the MagicDraw window.
• Right-click the toolbars area and then select or clear the check boxes of the toolbars you want
to be displayed or hidden.
You can also save your own toolbars configuration and set it as a default one
(for more information see "Customizing toolbars" on page 73).
Main toolbars
• Collaboration
• External Tools
• Validation
• Create Diagram
For detailed information about the commands of the main toolbars,
see "Main Toolbars" on page 1141.
Diagram toolbars
Customizing toolbars
1. From the toolbars configuration shortcut menu, choose Customize. The Customize Toolbars
dialog opens.
2. Click Add > New Toolbar.
3. Type the name for a new toolbar.
4. Click OK.
1. From the toolbars configuration shortcut menu, choose Customize. The Customize Toolbars
dialog opens.
2. Click Add > Button.
3. Select the desired command.
4. Click OK.
Button Function
Add Adds a new button or a toolbar.
Edit The Edit Icon dialog opens. Click the “...” button to add an icon to the
selected toolbar button.
Remove Removes the selected button from the toolbar section.
Up Moves the selected button up the toolbar list.
Down Moves the selected button down the toolbar list.
Reset to Defaults Resets changes made to the toolbar back to the default settings.
Model Browser
MagicDraw Basics
The Model Browser provides a visual representation of the hierarchy of your model elements.
If there is no plus or minus sign next to an icon, it does not contain other model elements.
The Model Browser is a hierarchical navigation tool that allows you to manage your model data, including
packages, components, classes, all UML diagrams, extension mechanisms, and other data. The Model
Browser may be used as an alternative tool to the menus and toolbars that are in MagicDraw. It is easier to
work with project diagrams and data elements using the Model Browser. In the Model Browser, you can perform
the following operations:
• Create and specify model elements.
• Copy, cut, and paste model elements.
• Delete of model elements.
• Drag model elements to the Diagram pane and inside the Model Browser.
• Drag data in the Code engineering sets (you may create data in the Data branch, drag it to the
Code Engineering sets, and then the round trip object is created automatically).
• View the hierarchy of all model elements.
• Create a symbol for the selected model element in the current diagram.
• Manage diagrams.
• Manage extension mechanisms, such as constraints, stereotypes, and tagged values.
• Java reverse of a class from the classpath.
• Adjust the code engineering sets.
• Generate code for particular sets.
• Filter visible items by any model type (for example, class, package, operation, component,
state, and others - for both views and dates).
• Sort the visible items of the selected model element.
• Sort all model elements.
• Display search results.
• Display locked elements in the server project.
• The Lock View tab represents locked elements of the server project.
The Lock View tab is not displayed by default. It can appear if you
are working on a server project. For more information about locked
elements, see "Representation of locked elements" on page 1054.
2. Documentation / Zoom Control / Properties tabs.
• The Documentation tab shows documentation associated with the selected item.
• The Zoom tab is responsible for zooming the current diagram.
• The Properties tab shows the specification and symbol properties of the selected
element or diagram.
Related procedures
Using the Model Browser
Working with model elements in the Model Browser
The Model Browser is displayed when at least one project is open. By default, the Model Browser is placed at
the left side of the main window. It is possible to move the Model Browser to any place on the MagicDraw
window. Also, all tabs can be viewed separately and you can set up the Model Browser according to your needs
by hiding the desired tabs. See the following procedures for more information on how to manage the Model
Browser and items in it.
• From the Window menu, choose the Model Browser tab you want to close or open.
• From the Window menu, choose the Reset Windows Configuration command.
1. From the Options menu, select Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. Click the Browser option group.
3. In the Browser options pane, set the Sort Always value to true (the default value is true).
Related concepts
Model Browser
Containment tab
The Containment tab displays model data grouped in logical sets. Using the Containment tab, you can quickly
access each model element, change a model element specification, or create a new model element.
The Containment tab consists of the following two components (see the figure above):
• Containment tab toolbar
• Containment tree (see the following figure)
• Data model:
• The Relations branch
• The UML Standard Profile
• The Hyperlinks branch
• Code engineering sets
For more information about working with the Containment tree, see
"Working with model elements in the Containment tree" on page 81.
Data model
The Data model in the Containment tree is the top model element wherein the entire model structure is created.
The Data model represents the model element that is named Data. All model elements are stored in the Data
model. You can create the structure of your project by creating packages in the Data model. This helps to
distribute model elements into the logical groups. For more information about working with a model, see
"Model" on page 936. For more information about packages, see "Package" on page 958.
Along with model elements that are created by the user, the Data model may contain the following default
items:
• The Relations branch. This branch appears when at least one relationship is created in the
project. The Relations branch collects all relationships from the particular owner. For example,
if the Relations branch is in the Data model, that means, all relationships from the Data model
are listed in the Relations branch owned by the Data model. The Relations branch can exist in
other elements which may have inner elements and relations among these elements. For
example, in packages, classes, and others.
• The UML Standard Profile package. This is a profile which is included to every MagicDraw
project. It contains a list of stereotypes, data types, and other elements from the UML 2
metamodel. By default, the UML Standard Profile is hidden. To display the UML Standard
Profile, click the Show Auxiliary Resources button. There can be more standard profiles
(such as, SysML, UPDM, Java, and others). For more information about the standard profiles,
see "Working with Standard Profiles" on page 196.
We highly recommend not to modify our provided standard profiles
and libraries as it could cause problems on version updates, plugins,
core MagicDraw tool malfunctions, and model corruptions.
• The File View package. This package appears when at least one code engineering set is
created. The File View package contains components that are created on code reverse and
represents source files. For more information about working with code engineering sets in the
Containment tab, see "Code engineering sets" on page 80.
• The Hyperlinks branch. This branch appears when at least one hyperlink is added to the
particular element. The Hyperlinks branch contains the list of hyperlinks to the file, element/
symbol, or web page. For more information about defining hyperlinks, see "Defining
Hyperlinks" on page 340.
For more information about managing model elements in the Model Browser, see "Working with model
elements in the Model Browser" on page 91.
Code engineering sets can be considered a gateway between your source code and model data. Using these
sets, you can perform Java, C++, C#, IDL, CIL, CORBA IDL, EJB 2.0, and WSDL round-trip code engineering,
that is, code generation and reverse engineering.
• In the Containment tab toolbar, click the Options button, and then click to select the
Show Code Engineering Sets check box.
In Code engineering sets branch, you can create a new code engineering set, generate code, and perform
other actions.
For more information about the code engineering, see “MagicDraw
CodeEngineering UserGuide.pdf”.
The same actions you may perform using the shortcut menu of the Containment tree.
You can work with elements in the Containment tree using the commands available from the selected element’s
shortcut menu. The shortcut menu contains the following commands: .
Particular actions are available for the particular elements.
Command Function
Create Element Creates a new element inside the selected element.
NOTE: This command is available if the selected element can be editable.
TIP! For more information, see "Working with model elements in the Model
Browser" on page 91.
Create Diagram Creates a new diagram inside the selected element.
NOTE: This command is available if the selected element can be editable.
TIP! For more information, see "Diagramming" on page 198.
Create Relation > Creates a new relation to or from the selected element.
Outgoing / Incoming TIP! For more information, see "Working with Paths and Relationships" on
page 227.
Open in New Tree In the Model Browser, opens a new tab for the selected element.
Specification Opens the element Specification window wherein you can specify various
element properties.
TIP! For more information about the Specification window, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
Go To Opens or selects the item associated with the selected element. The item may
be diagram, model element, or hyperlink.
TIP! For more information, see:
• "Symbol Usage in Diagrams" on page 577.
• "To add a hyperlink from the Model Browser" on page 343.
• "Traceability properties in Go To submenu" on page 522.
Refactor Converts the selected element to the element indicated by a user.
TIP! For more information, see "Refactoring" on page 359.
Related Elements Opens a list of functionalities available for the selected element.
TIP! For more information, see "Relation Map" on page 545, and "Analyzing
Usages and Dependencies" on page 510.
Tools Opens a list with tools that are available for the selected element. Depends on
the selected element.
TIP! For more information, see "Tools" on page 435.
Stereotype Opens the drop down list, wherein you can apply an existing stereotype, or
create a new one.
TIP! For more information, see "Stereotype" on page 986.
Find Opens the Find dialog.
TIP! For more information, see "Find dialog" on page 132.
Related concepts
Model Browser
Inheritance tab
The Inheritance tab represents classifiers, packages, data types, and stereotypes hierarchy within your project.
Inheritance according to the UML Specification is shown using the generalization relationship.
If a model element has no generalization relationship, it will not
be represented in the Inheritance tab.
The same actions you may perform using the shortcut menu of the Inheritance tree.
You can work with elements in the Inheritance tree using the commands available from the selected element’s
shortcut menu. The shortcut menu contains the following commands:
Command Function
New Specific Classifier Creates a new element that is connected with the current element with the
generalization relationship.
Select in Containment Opens the Containment tab and selects the current element in the Containment
Tree tree.
Related concepts
Model Browser
Diagrams tab
The Diagrams tab in the Model Browser represents diagrams created in your project.
Just diagrams grouped by types that are used in your project are listed in the Diagrams tab in the Model
Browser, not all diagram types as it was in earlier versions.
The Diagrams tab consists of the following two components (see the figure above):
• Diagrams tab toolbar
• Diagrams tree
For more information about working with the Diagrams tree,
see "Working with model elements in the Diagrams tree" on page 85.
Group by Groups diagrams into packages by the first symbol of their name, when
Diagram Name the model contains more than 99 diagrams.
Favorites Opens the Favorites menu for choosing to do one of the following:
• Add a selected element to favorites (see "To quickly add an element to
favorites" on page 418).
• Open the dialog for managing favorites (see "Manage Favorites dialog"
on page 420).
• Navigate to a desired favorite in the Containment tree.
Quick Find Opens the Quick Find dialog.
For more information, see "Quick Find dialog" on page 137.
The same action you may perform using the shortcut menu of the Diagrams tree.
You can work with diagrams in the Diagrams tree using the commands available from the selected diagram’s
shortcut menu. The shortcut menu contains the following commands:
Command Function
Open Opens the selected diagram.
Print Opens the Print dialog. For more information, see "Printing" on page 264.
Group by Diagram Type Groups diagrams into the packages according to the diagram type.
Select in Containment Opens the Containment tab and selects the current element in the Containment
Tree tree.
Related concepts
Model Browser
The Model Extensions tab contains all Stereotypes that are predefined and created manually in the project.
In this tree, you can create, review, copy/paste, and delete extension mechanisms.
In the Model Extensions tab consists of the following two components (see the figure above):
• Model Extensions tab toolbar
• Model Extensions tree
For more information about working with the Model Extensions tree,
see "Working with model elements in the Model Extensions tree"
on page 84.
Favorites Opens the Favorites menu for choosing to do one of the following:
• Add a selected element to favorites (see "To quickly add an
element to favorites" on page 418).
• Open the dialog for managing favorites (see "Manage Favorites
dialog" on page 420).
• Navigate to a desired favorite in the Containment tree.
Quick Find Opens the Quick Find dialog.
For more information, see "Quick Find dialog" on page 137.
The same actions you may perform using the shortcut menu of the Model Extensions tree.
You can work with elements in the Model Extension tree using the commands available from the selected
element’s shortcut menu.
For more information about commands available from the shortcut
menu in the Model Browser, see "Working with model elements in
the Model Browser" on page 91.
Related concepts
Model Browser
The Search Results tab is used to display results of a search. This tab opens after the search has been
performed.
Rerun Search Reruns a search with the already specified search criteria.
Search results are updated according to changes done in the
model.
Save Search Results Saves as a smart package either the search options or the
search results.
For more information, see "To create a smart package from
the search results" on page 404.
Favorites Opens the Favorites menu for choosing to do one of the
following:
• Add a selected element to favorites (see "To quickly add an
element to favorites" on page 418).
• Open the dialog for managing favorites (see "Manage
Favorites dialog" on page 420).
• Navigate to a desired favorite in the Containment tree.
The same actions you may perform using the shortcut menu of the
Search Results tree. For more information about commands
available from the shortcut menu in the Model Browser, see "Working
with model elements in the Model Browser" on page 91.
The search results in the Search Results tree are displayed in the following two packages:
• Found in loaded diagrams - symbols that have been found in the diagram(s) are displayed in
this package.
• Found in model - elements that have been found in the model data are displayed in this
package.
Related concepts
Model Browser
Related procedures
Searching
Find TODO
Related references
Find dialog
The Lock View tab is used to display what was locked in the project (locked elements, project structure,
symbol styles) and by which users. Next to the locked element, you can see the name of the user who has
locked it. Using the Filter by user list in the Lock View tab toolbar, you can see the elements, locked by the
particular user.
The Locked Elements tab consists of the following two components (see the figure above):
• Lock View tab toolbar
• Lock View tree
For more information about working with the Lock View tree, see
"Working with model elements in the Lock View tree" on page 91.
Using the Filter by user list you can select to display only the elements locked by the particular user.
You can work with elements in the Lock View tree using the commands available from the selected element’s
shortcut menu. The shortcut menu contains the following commands:.
Command Function
Lock Locks or unlocks the particular element for edit.
Select in Containment Opens the Containment tab and selects the current element in the Containment
Tree tree.
Select in Inheritance Opens the Inheritance tab and selects the current element in the Inheritance
Tree tree.
For more information about commands available from the shortcut menu in the Model
Browser, see "Working with model elements in the Model Browser" on page 91.
Related concepts
Model Browser
Related procedures
Locking Model Elements and Diagrams
In the Model Browser you can do the various actions with model elements, such as, rename, cut, copy, delete,
and others. These actions are available from the particular model element shortcut menu. See the list of the
concrete actions in the following table.
Command Function
Rename Switches the element name into the edit mode. You can also press F2 for this.
Copy Copies the selected element.
Copy URL Copies a model element URL to a clipboard. For more information, see
"Copying/Opening Element URLs" on page 430.
Paste Pastes the copied element.
Command Function
Cut Cuts the selected element.
Delete Deletes the selected element.
To copy/cut and paste the selected model element between different projects
Related concepts
Model Browser
Related procedures
Copying Text or Images to Diagrams
Dragging, Copying, Cutting, and Pasting
Related references
Selection and Multiple Selections
Zoom tab
The Zoom tab enables you to preview any selected diagram. To select a diagram go to Model Browser >
Containment / Diagram tab. You can also use the Zoom tab for zooming in or out the active diagram.
• In the Zoom tab, drag the blue square to the desired part of the diagram. The desired diagram
part will be displayed on the diagram pane.
• In the Zoom tab, on the blue square, click the Fit in Window button or press the
CTRL+W shortcut keys.
1. From the Options menu, select Environment. The Environment Options window opens.
2. Select the Browser options group.
3. In the Browser category, select the Show Diagram Zoom Slider check box. The diagram
zoom slider is displayed in the Zoom tab (see the figure above).
Related concepts
Model Browser
Documentation tab
The Documentation tab shows the information associated with the selected model element in the Model
Browser or on a diagram pane.
• In the Documentation tab, click on the text area and type the text.
• In the Documentation tab, click the HTML check box. The HTML toolbar opens and you can
type the HTML text. For more information about using the HTML text, see "HTML Editor" on
page 423.
Related concepts
Model Browser
Properties tab
The Properties tab at the bottom of the Model Browser allows you to quickly access the basic information about
the selected element or diagram.
Related concepts
Model Browser
The Environment Options dialog contains various project-independent options grouped by different features
(e.g., diagrams, Model Browser, code engineering). Each option group is available in a different tab. Tabs are
displayed in the tab tree.
An option value can be simply changed by typing a new value, setting a value to true / false, or selecting a
value from the list.
Learn more about the Environment Options dialog in the following sections:
• "Using Environment Options dialog" on page page 97.
• "Common elements in Environment Options dialog" on page page 97.
For better understanding an option you can read its description that tells what is the effect of changing the
option value.
Figure 47 -- Fragment of Environment Options dialog. Quick filter and common buttons
Improving Performance
When you work with very large models or use a lot of diagrams at a time, the performance of MagicDraw may
become slow. To increase an efficiency of modeling, we suggest the following solutions:
• Increase memory allocation (java heap) size. See the section "Memory Allocation" on
page 100.
• Do not keep unused diagrams open. Perform the procedure "To open project without
loading diagrams" described bellow this list. Your projects will be opened over a shorter period
of time without opening a diagram as well as use less memory.
• Increase an active validation period. Perform the procedure "To increase an active
validation period" described bellow this list. Reduced active validations using takes less
memory.
• Split the project to read only modules. Keep read only modules not loaded. This may help
only if your project contains several parts with minimal dependencies between them. For more
information about working with partially loaded projects, see "MOF Support" on page 178. You
can also find the “Project Decomposition Description” sample in <MagicDraw installation
directory>\samples\product features\ project decomposition.
• Use Garbage Collector to free unused memory. See the procedure "To free unused
memory" on page 100.
1. On the Option menu, click Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. In the General option list, expand the Save / Load options group.
3. To the Diagrams Lode Mode option, assign the Do not load diagrams value.
4. Restart MagicDraw.
1. On the Option menu, click Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. In the General option list, expand the Active Validation options group.
3. Increase the Active Validation Period (seconds) value.
Be aware about limits of the Active Validation Period size, as a long
period may be an alternative of switching an active validation off.
4. Restart MagicDraw.
Related references
Background Tasks Manager
Memory Monitor
search process is running, the searching progress bar is displayed in the Background Task Manager. See an
example in the following figure.
To end a process
• Click the End process button to cancel the selected process. If the last or only one
existing process is canceled, Background Task Manager is turned off.
Related procedures
Searching
Memory Monitor
In order to monitor the memory used by MagicDraw while working with larger projects, you can turn the
Memory Monitor on.
Memory Monitor shows two values: currently used memory and a current java heap size. While working with
MagicDraw, the java heap size increases until it reaches a limit.
Typically, when working with a program, used memory grows up because actions are stored in the undo list,
opened diagrams are not unloaded.The Memory Monitor bar becomes red when used memory takes more than
85% of the total heap. Red bar shows that MagicDraw may run out of memory soon. Even if all heap size is
used, the Garbage Collector may recover enough memory to save a project, but this may take few minutes.
When the total heap size is exceeded, you can get an out of memory error message. You can increase the
heap size directly in this message. Changes will be applied after you restart MagicDraw. For more information,
see "Memory Allocation" on page 100.
• On the View menu, select Status Line > Show Memory Monitor. The Memory Monitor bar
appears in the right bottom corner of the MagicDraw window.
• Click the Garbage Collector several times and wait few seconds:
1. If the Memory Monitor bar is still red, save the project and restart MagicDraw and reload the
project.
2. If the Memory Monitor bar is red after reloading the project, the maximum heap size should
be increased.
When almost all heap memory is used, the Garbage Collector starts
to free unused memory after each action automatically. It slows down
the program as the most CPU power is used for the Garbage
Collector.
Memory Allocation
If the OutOfMemory error occurs when running the program, the cause is that you haven't got enough memory
available for the workings of the application. You can change the amount of allocated memory (java heap size
and/or the MaxPermSize) directly in the OutOfMemory dialog or see "Changing amount of allocated memory"
on page 102.
The “memory allocation for the product” concept means the same
as “java heap size”. That is you can increase the memory allocation
for the product by increasing java heap size.
Related concepts
Improving Performance
Related references
Recommended amount of allocated memory
Changing amount of allocated memory
Memory Monitor
The amount of allocated memory (or java maximum heap size) should be set to less than the available physical
RAM on the machine, that is the RAM minus the amount of memory taken by any other processes that will run
concurrently. Otherwise your JVM process will likely swap and that will slow down the application. If the heap
size is increased too much, you will get the “Could not create the Java virtual machine” error message and
MagicDraw will not start.
• The maximum theoretical heap limit for the 32-bit JVM is 4G. Due to various additional
constraints such as available swap, kernel address space usage, memory fragmentation, and
VM overhead, in practice the limit can be much lower. On most modern 32-bit Windows
systems the maximum heap size will range from 1.4G to 1.6G. On 32-bit Solaris kernels the
address space is limited to 2G. On 64-bit operating systems running the 32-bit VM, the max
heap size can be higher, approaching 4G on many Solaris systems. For more information, see
JAVA HotSpot VM FAQ.
• On 64-bit VMs, you have 64 bits of addressability to work with resulting in a maximum Java
heap size limited only by the amount of physical memory and swap space your system
provides. For more information, see JAVA HotSpot VM FAQ.
Related concepts
Memory Allocation
Related references
Changing amount of allocated memory
Memory Monitor
You can set the memory allocation for MagicDraw in one of the following ways:
• In the MagicDraw installation wizard
• In the Environment Options dialog
• In the magicdraw.properties file
The right amount of allocated memory (or java heap size) for MagicDraw, is automatically set according to the
physical memory (RAM) size of your computer during MagicDraw installation.
Related concepts
Memory Allocation
Related references
Recommended amount of allocated memory
Memory Monitor
• From the Options menu, choose Look and Feel and then choose the style you wish to apply.
The chosen style will not look exactly like the applications in those operating systems because every style of
graphical interface is implemented within a Swing library, but it will look quite similar.
Depending on the operating system you use, some choices might be unavailable for you. For example,
Windows9x/NT users may not switch to the Mac interface style.
Note that themes listed in Look and Feel Themes are valid only for the Metal style. You can choose any of the
following themes:
After choosing the Custom theme, the Properties dialog for setting your own options will be opened.
• From the Model Browser shortcut menu, select Floating and move the window to any desired
position.
If the Dockable check box is selected, the floating tab window will
appear in a fixed edge position after trying to move it outside the
MagicDraw window borders.
Concepts
For better understanding the further material, first of all read the following descriptions.
Project
A physical working unit that consists of model, model visualizations (diagrams, tables, matrices,
etc.), configuration data, and references to other elements residing in used projects.
Used project
(up to 18.0 – Module)
A project having one or more shared packages. Used projects are created for the purpose of
decomposing projects into parts in order to manage each part separately and/or reuse those
parts in other projects.
Used project is a role that one project plays in the composition of
another project. It is NOT a special kind of project. Each used
project can be opened and modified separately.
Creating Projects
MagicDraw Basics
• File View package contains components that are created during code engineering and
represent source files. Adding a resident element to a particular component causes that
element to be generated within the source file.
• UML Standard Profile contains stereotypes that are necessary for working with MagicDraw,
primitive data types and constraints (which are UML standard), and UML 2 metamodel
elements. The following data types are specified in MagicDraw: boolean, byte, char, date,
double, float, int, Integer, real long, short, void, and string.
You can also create your own packages for holding the model elements. By default, packages cannot be
deleted or renamed in a project (except for the File View package).
To start a new project, you must create a new workspace for it.
All open projects are held in separate workspaces. Different active projects may exchange data. Entities from
one project can be copied or moved to another.
• Select Close All Projects from the File menu. The Question message box appears.
• Use the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands from the Edit menu or the selected element’s
shortcut menu, or the appropriate shortcut keys: Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V.
6. The Round Trip Set dialog opens. Add the source files to enable code engineering to reverse
them into a newly created project.
4. Click the ... button to select the location to store a newly created project in your computer.
The newly created project will automatically load the UseCase Description Profile. Also Actor, High-Level Use
Case and System-Level Use Case packages will be created under the root package Data. Additional properties
will be displayed in the newly created use cases Specification window.
General tab
In the General tab, you can see the general information about a project.
Description tab
In this tab, you can add a project name, author, and comment about that project.
In this tab, you can see information about the project shared packages.
In this tab, you can see the projects and standard/system profiles that are used in the open project.
Related references
Locking project structure
Saving Projects
The native MagicDraw format is *.mdzip and *.mdxml.
You can also save a project as *.xml and *.xml.zip.
To save changes for later sessions, revised projects must be saved. While saving, you can edit the name of the
project and the file format.
1. From the File menu, select the Save Project or Save Project As command. Alternatively, you
can click the Save button on the main toolbar or press the shortcut keys CTRL+S. The Save
dialog opens.
2. Select the destination directory (where you wish to save the project) and type the chosen file
name.
The default project saving location is set according to your
operating system:
• Windows: My Documents/
• Linux: /home/<username>/
• OS X: Users/Documents/
• If the Create Backup File check box is selected in the Environment Options
dialog, MagicDraw always creates a backup file of the previously saved project. The
backup is held in a file with a name identical to that of the project. For a detailed
description of the Environment Options dialog, see "Customizing Environment
Options" on page 96.
• If you want to save maximum additional information to an xmi file (not required in
loading to MagicDraw load, but may be useful when using other tools), select the
Rich XMI check box in the Environment Options dialog.
Autosave
After you stop working with MagicDraw, an idle time passes and the current project is saved to a special file
called the AutoRecovery file.
If the application is terminated normally, the AutoRecovery file is removed. If the application crashes, the
AutoRecovery file is left. On startup, MagicDraw checks for an AutoRecovery file. If it exists, MagicDraw
suggests loading the project from this file.
To save an AutoRecovery file of the open project(s) when a system is not in use
Opening Projects
The native MagicDraw format is *.mdxml or *.mdzip.
If you are about to open a project that has been saved with 17.0 or earlier MagicDraw
version, it is highly recommended to read "Opening projects saved with MagicDraw 17.0
or earlier" on page 115 first.
• From the File menu, select Open Project. In the Open dialog, select the project and click
Open.
• On the main toolbar, click the Open Project button.
• Drag the project from the open window of your file system to MagicDraw. The project starts
immediately.
• Double-click a project file with the *.mdxml or *.mdzip extension. A new MagicDraw window
opens.
To start MagicDraw with the last project you worked on, select Options > Environment
and set Open Last Project on Startup to true.
XMI 2.4 / UML 2.4 is the main file format, used by MagicDraw for storing models. This format does not specify
how to store diagrams, so MagicDraw stores and opens diagram data in XMI extension sections. Thus if you
use MagicDraw to open an XMI file exported from another UML tool, only the model will be open, but not
diagrams or views.
Correspondingly, if you open a MagicDraw file in another UML tool, diagrams or views will not be open in that
tool (unless the tool understands MagicDraw specific file extensions).
You may open more than one project within the same MagicDraw window. A separate workspace will be
created for the each opened project.
To update older models, simply open them with MagicDraw 17.0.1 or later and then re-save them. Models will
be automatically converted to the latest format.
In case your model is stored in a project that uses other projects, you should open and re-save the used
projects first and only then do the same with the main project. Be advised that only having the used projects
successfully converted to the latest format, you may expect the smooth conversion of the project that uses
them.
If you convert only the project and leave the used projects saved in an old format, you will not be able to modify
the projects used in the read-write accessibility mode.
Figure 60 -- Fragment of Used Projects dialog showing options of non-converted project usage in converted project
The appropriate procedure should be applied in case your model is stored in a server project with composite
structure: the used projects should be migrated to Teamwork Server 17.0.1 or later first and only then should be
migrated the main project.
Read more in "Migrating server projects to MagicDraw Teamwork
Server 17.0.1 or later" on page 1050.
Enterprise Architect does not export 100% standard UML 2.1 XMI,
and this causes some data loss during the import.
• Model (without diagrams) from a IBM Rational Software Architect/Modeler 6.x file. Select File >
Eclipse UML2 (v1.x) Import for this.
• Model from IBM® Rational® Software Architect/Modeler 7.x files. You can use
MagicDraw RSXConverter or select File > Eclipse UML2 (v2.x) Import for this.
For more information about MagicDraw RSXConverter, see
"MagicDraw RSXConverter" on page 23.
• Model from a IBM® Rational Rose® Modeler file. You can use MagicDraw RConverter for this.
• Model files (without diagrams) from Together 2006 files. Select File > Eclipse UML2 (v1.x)
Import for this.
Exporting Projects
MagicDraw allows for exporting projects to the following file formats:
• UML XMI 2.4 File. You can export a project to file formats that are supported by MagicDraw.
• MagicDraw Native XML File. You can export a project to an .xml file format.
• EMF Ecore File. You can export either the whole project or selected packages to an .ecore file.
• MOF XMI File You can export a project to the MOF (both CMOF and EMOF) XMI file.
• Eclipse UML2 (v1.x, v2.x, v3.x, v4.x) XMI File. You can export a project to an Eclipse based
UML2 (v1.x / v2.x / v3.x / v4.x) compatible XMI file.
You can export a part of a project and share it with other users or projects. For
the description of the exporting procedure, see "MOF Support" on page 178.
You can also export your project as a template. For the description of the
exporting procedure, see "Exporting Projects as Eclipse UML2 (v1.x / v2.x /
v3.x / v4.x) XMI Files" on page 117.
To export a project
To export a project as an Eclipse UML2 (v1.x / v2.x / v3.x / v4.x) XMI file
1. Open a project you want to export as an Eclipse UML2 (v1.x / v2.x / v3.x / v4.x) XMI file.
2. On the File menu, click Export To and select one of the following command:
• Eclipse UML2 (v1.x) XMI File.
• Eclipse UML2 (v2.x) XMI File.
• Eclipse UML2 (v3.x) XMI File.
• Eclipse UML2 (v4.x) XMI File.
Figure 61 -- Example of a template structure and of a new project that is created from the template
In this section you can find information on how to prepare project template and then how to use it. There are the
following sections:
• Exporting Projects as Templates
• Creating Custom Project Templates
• Creating New Projects From Templates
You can save (or export) the created project as a template and then use the same project for creating other new
projects.
Related concepts
Creating and Using Project Templates
Related references
Creating Custom Project Templates
Creating New Projects From Templates
While creating a project template, you can also create a category wherein your template can be located. If you
need to have several project templates under the same category, in the .xml file, define the same category
name for these templates.
<!-- The default MagicDraw installation may have Full Featured, Quick Start,
Software Architect, System Analyst. For more information about MagicDraw
You can copy this example and change the tag values according to your data.
5. Save the file and start MagicDraw. Your created project template is displayed in the New
Project dialog in the category defined by you. Select your template and create a new project.
The easiest way to create a custom template is to copy and paste
the Guide to UML Diagrams Project folder with the different name
and edit its inner files. This folder comes with the default MagicDraw
installation and is located in <MagicDraw installation
directory>\templates.
Related concepts
Creating and Using Project Templates
Related procedures
Creating Projects
Customizing and Selecting Perspective
Exporting Projects as Templates
Creating New Projects From Templates
By default, the following templates are available in the New Project dialog: C#, C++, CIL, CORBA IDL, Guide
to UML Diagrams Project, Java, Metamodeling, RUP, Use Case modeling, WAE, and WSDL.
You can also create your own customized templates. For more information on how
to create templates, see the following sections: "Exporting Projects as Templates"
on page 119 and "Creating Custom Project Templates" on page 120.
A newly created project from a template will contain specific structure, model elements, and stereotypes that
were already created in the template. As of MagicDraw 17.0.3 when creating a new project from a template,
you can select to clone the custom used projects that exist in the template.
In the following table, see the New Project dialog description when under the Other category, the Project from
Template icon is selected.
You can also import the desired template into your project. Select File > Import
From > Another Project for this.
Related concepts
Creating and Using Project Templates
Related references
Exporting Projects as Templates
Creating Custom Project Templates
Attached files are bundled with the project and can be safely transfered to another computer together with this
project. Files are not missing after transferring the project, and project references to these files are not broken.
The contents of the attached file can be modified and the changes are instantly saved to the project. Different
versions of server project can refer to different versions of the same attached file.
1. In the file system, select the icon of a file you need to attach.
2. Drag it to the diagram pane.
The shape of a new Attached File element appears on the diagram pane. The diagram owner
becomes the owner of the newly attached file too.
1. In the file system, select the icon of a file you need to attach.
2. Drag it onto an element in the Containment tree. The shortcut menu opens.
3. Select Create Attached File.
A new Attached File element appears in the Containment tree. The element on which you
dragged the file icon becomes the owner of the newly attached file.
1. In the Containment tree, right-click a possible owner of the attached file. The shortcut menu
opens.
2. Select Create Element > Attached File. The Select File to Attach dialog opens.
3. Select the file to attach and then click Attach. A new Attached File element with its name in the
edit mode, appears in the Containment tree.
4. If you do not need to change the file name, press Enter. Otherwise, type a new name and only
then press Enter.
The Attached File element created in either way possess the properties, such as Attached At, Modified At,
Size, Author, and File. You can see these properties, their descriptions, and values in the Specification window
of the Attached File element. If you need to attach another file instead of it, you can do this with help of the File
property value editor.
1. In the Containment tree, select the attached file you need to replace.
2. Press Enter to open its Specification window.
3. In the Quick Filter box, type file.
4. Click the cell of the File property value. The button appears.
5. Click the button. The Select File to Attach dialog opens.
6. Select another file to attach and then click Attach.
7. Click Close in the Specification window.
The file is reattached, and the Modified At property value of the appropriate Attached File
element updates.
If you no longer need the attached file, you can simply remove it from the model as any other element. Just
select it in the Containment tree and press Delete. If you have its shape on the diagram, select the shape and
press Ctrl+D.
Attached files can opened directly from MagicDraw and reviewed or modified with appropriate programs, for
example, documents – with MS Word, worksheets – with MS Excel, HTML files – with any HTML editor.
Do either:
• In the Containment tree, double-click the attached file.
• In the Containment tree, right-click the attached file and select Open File.
• Double-click either the element that has an active hyperlink to this attached file, or the shape of
that element (see the following figure).
For more information, see "Adding a hyperlink to the
model element" on page 341.
The file opens with appropriate program in your operating system. You can review or modify it.
Figure 66 -- Element (left) and its shape (right) with active hyperlink to attached file
After closing the modified file, you can choose whether to save it in MagicDraw or not. Saving the latest version
of the file in MagicDraw updates the Modified At property value of the appropriate Attached File element.
Attached image files can be inserted into HTML texts and displayed on diagrams.
1. In the Containment tree, right-click the attached image file and select Copy Image URL from
the shortcut menu.
2. On a diagram pane, draw a text box with the HTML mode on.
3. Open the Advanced HTML Editor dialog from the text box shape.
5. Click the Picture source box and press Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on OS X). The attached image file URL
is inserted in the text box.
6. Click OK twice to close both the Picture Properties and Advanced HTML Editor dialogs.
The inserted image appears on the diagram. Now if you transfer the project to another computer,
the diagram continues displaying the image.
1. In the Containment tree, right-click the attached file and select Save File As from the shortcut
menu. The Save dialog opens.
2. Select the location in the local file system to save file and click the Save button.
• Set general code generation or code reversing options as well as code formatting styles for
selected programming languages.
The Project Options dialog includes option groups, each designated for one of the above mentioned features
and containing lists of corresponding options. Groups are represented using the tree structure.
An option value can be simply changed by typing a new value, setting a value to true / false, or selecting a
value from the list.
Learn more about the Project Options dialog in the following sections:
• "Using Project Options dialog" on page 130.
• "Common elements in Project Options dialog" on page 131.
For better understanding an option you can read its description that tells what is the effect of changing the
option value.
Make sure that the Show Description mode is turned on in the Environment
Options dialog. To turn the Show Description mode on or off, click the Show
Description button on the following toolbar in the Project Options dialog.
Figure 68 -- Fragment of Project Options dialog. Quick filter box and common buttons
Searching
The MagicDraw search mechanism is designed for search within model elements, element properties. You can
also perform a quick search, that is a search without defining any advanced options, as well as you can replace
any text quickly.
If there is a large number of search results to display (more than 1000), the following message appears.
Click Yes to continue searching, or click No to stop searching and correct the query.
A search is performed as a background task. That is while searching, you may read the model, browse through
it. After you make changes in the model, the search is stopped, and incomplete search results will be displayed
in a Search Results tab in the Model Browser. You need to restart the search to get the full list of results.
For more information about the background tasks,
see "Background Tasks Manager" on page 98.
NEW! A special case of search in the model is finding the elements created or modified after the last project
save. For this, you don’t need to specify search options. Just click Edit on the main menu an then select Find
Modified. See the list of modifications displayed in the Search Results tab.
Find dialog
The Find dialog is designed to enter data and define options to search for elements according to their property
values. In this dialog you can
• Type a phrase to search for
• Choose an element type you are searching for
• Select properties and their values for the search
• Specify the search scope
• Define other search criteria
• Right-click the active diagram and select Find in Diagram from its shortcut menu.
• Press CTR+SHIFT+D.
Figure 69 -- Find dialog with collapsed (on the right) and extended (on the left) Options area
Search results are displayed in the Search Results tab on the Model Browser. You can select to display the
results of every subsequent search in a new Search Results tab on the Model Browser.
For more information about the Search Results tab,
see "Search Results tab" on page 87.
See the description of the Find dialog components in the following table.
Scope Click ... and select a package wherein the content search
Text box with
will be performed.
You can specify the search scope even before opening the
Find dialog. For this do one of the following:
• Right-click a package in the Model Browser and select
Find from its shortcut menu.
• Select a package in the Model Browser and press
CTRL+F.
Properties Click ... and select properties and specify their values for
Text box with
the search. The property list in the opened dialog contains
only the properties of one or more element types that are
selected in the Type box.
Select at least one element type to make the button
available.
Keep in mind that property list contains primitive value
properties (for example, string, boolean, integer) and a
non-primitive value property named Applied Stereotype.
Options area
Clear Previous Check box Select to remove all previous search results from the
Results Search Results tab on the Model Browser.
Search in active Check box Select to search the symbols in the active diagram only.
diagram only The check box is not available, if all diagrams are closed or
if the active diagram is empty.
Note that the check box is automatically selected, if the
Find dialog is opened by using the Find in Diagram
command on the diagram shortcut menu.
How to...
This section gives some remarks that can be useful to gain some knowledge in performing a specific search.
Solution
1. Select class as element type to search for.
2. Expand the Options area if it is not yet expanded.
3. Select the Is Abstract property to search in and set its value to true.
How to find all elements with specific stereotype applied and having special phrase in their
documentation?
Solution
1. Select actor as element type to search for and select to include its subtypes.
2. Expand the Options area if it is not yet expanded.
3. Select the Applied Stereotype property to search in and select some custom stereotype, for
example, «BusinessActor» as its value.
4. Select the Documentation property to search in and type a phrase, for example, “Corporation
Manager” to search for.
Related concepts
Searching
Filtering
Related references
Search Results tab
Quick Find dialog
Find and Replace dialog
Do either:
• On the toolbar of the Containment, Diagrams, Inheritance, or Model Extensions tab, click
.
• On the main menu, click Edit > Quick Find.
• Press CTRL+ALT+F.
• On the main toolbar, click the arrow nearby the button and then select Quick Find.
Search results are displayed in the drop-down list, which opens when you start typing a search phrase. Click
the element you need in this list or correct the search query to perform a new search. The element will be
selected in the Containment tree on the Model Browser as well as on the active diagram, if the element has
symbols on the active diagram.
Elements of the Quick Find dialog are described in the following table.
Search in Favorites
Select one or more favorite packages as the search
scope. Be sure you have at least one package
marked as favorite! For more information, see
"Favorites" on page 417.
Related concepts
Searching
Related procedures
Find dialog
Find TODO
Find and Replace dialog
Related references
Containment tab
Inheritance tab
Diagrams tab
Model Extensions tab
Find TODO
Performs a quick search for all To Do values.
You can specify To Do values in the element Specification window, the To Do property cell. You can use the To
Do property cell for adding the notes about work you need to do. Then you can quickly find the elements that
have the To Do properties defined.
Results of the To Do search are displayed in the Search Results tab on the Model Browser.
For more information about the Search Results tab,
see "Search Results tab" on page 87.
Related concepts
Searching
Related references
Search Results tab
Find dialog
Quick Find dialog
Find and Replace dialog
• On the main toolbar, click the arrow nearby the button and then select Find > Find and
Replace button.
Figure 73 -- Find and Replace dialog with collapsed (on the right) and extended (on the left) Options area
See the description of the Find and Replace dialog components in the following table.
You may see the error when trying to replace a value with a not valid
one.
• For example, if the value type is boolean, you may replace values
from true to false or from false to true, but if you will try to replace the
value true or false to other, for example, to Motor, an error message
will be displayed.
• You will not be allowed to change the Integer value to String when it
is a part of the value. For example, if you have the 120 value when
trying to replace 20 with AB, an error message will be displayed.
Related concepts
Filtering
Searching
Related dialogs
Find dialog
Quick Find dialog
Find and Replace dialog
Filtering
The MagicDraw filtering mechanism allows for filtering within the types of the model elements in particular lists.
For example, you can filter the types of the model elements that are displayed in the Model Browser, or you can
select the types of the model elements when searching.
You can perform filtering in the following two cases, see the following procedures:
• To filter the types of the model elements that are displayed in the Containment tab
• To filter the types of the model elements when searching
To filter the types of the model elements that are displayed in the Containment tab
1. In the Model Browser, open the Containment tab (if it was closed or if another tab was open).
For more information about the Containment tab,
see "Containment tab" on page 78.
1. From the Edit main menu, select the Find command. The Find dialog opens. For more
information, see "Find dialog" on page 132.
2. Next to the Type box, click the ... button. The Select Element/Symbol Type dialog opens.
3. Click to select the check box of the model element type, which you want to search for.
4. Click OK. The Search Results tab in the Model Browser opens with the search results in it. For
more information about the Search Results tab, see "Search Results tab" on page 87.
In the filtering dialog you can select the check box next to the model element type, which you want to be filtered
- displayed or searched for.
The same dialog opens when filtering items in the Containment tab and when searching for elements:
• The Items Filter dialog opens when filtering items in the Containment tab (see the following
figure). The purpose of the Items Filter dialog is to give possibility to hide elements which you
do not want to see in the Containment tab. For more information, see "To filter the types of the
model elements that are displayed in the Containment tab" on page 143.
• The Select Element / Symbol Type dialog opens when searching for items. The purpose of
the Select Element / Symbol Type dialog is to select the type of element for this search will be
performed. For more information, see "To filter the types of the model elements when
searching" on page 145.
See the buttons of the filtering dialog described in the following table.
Button Description
List Click the List button to list the types of the elements in one list, which is listed
alphabetically. There are the following two groups in the list: Element and
Symbol.
Inheritance Click the Inheritance button to group the types of the elements according to the
inheritance to each other. For example, types of elements are grouped to the
following inheritances: Named Element, Relations, and others. The Symbol
group is listed also.
Structural Click the Inheritance button to group the types of the elements according to the
following groups: DSL Customization, MagicDraw Profile, UML2 Metamodel,
Symbol.
Select All Click the Select All button to select all types of elements in the list - all elements
will be displayed when filtering will be performed or then search will be
performed.
Clear All Click the Clear All button to clear all types of elements in the list - no elements
will be displayed when filtering will be performed or then search will be
performed.
Related concepts
Searching
Project Partitioning
Shared Packages
In life, all large things are built from smaller parts. The same statement applies for large projects.
For large models having several weakly dependent parts, it is advisable to split them into several separate
project files (or project resources in a collaborative environment), so called, used projects.
A model can be decomposed to separate projects. A used project is a part that can be separated from the main
project and can be used for a specific purpose.
The decision to use a project as read-only or read-write depends on the maturity of this project and the
organization ownership or responsibility rules for the projects using other projects.
If the library in the used project is complete (changes to it are not expected / likely / possible) it should be used
in read-only mode.
If a project is developed by a separate team and this team is responsible for this project and the project is
reused in another project, it is recommended to use this project as read-only. This prevents inadvertent
changes in the project by another team.
In case a project is actively developed and evolves together with the projects that are using it, this project can
be used in read-write accessibility mode. In this case you must be careful and remember that your changes to
the used project will be reflected in other projects. Usage of Teamwork Server might be advisable in this case.
And, of course, there can be mixed usage situations - when a project is used as read-only in some projects and
as read-write in others.
Related procedures
Decomposing Model
Composing Model
Managing Used Projects
Automated Module Usages
Maintaining Decomposed Model Integrity
Decomposing Model
Model decomposition has a package level granularity. Smaller elements cannot be split into separate projects.
Basically, each project package could be partitioned into a separate project, however this is excessive.
The decision on how to split a model into parts should be made carefully. You should isolate model parts which
form some cohesive, logically complete piece of a structure (for example, a subsystem, code library, or profile)
and have light interdependencies.
When there are many one-way dependencies to some model part (for example, parts A, B, C depend on a part
D, but part D does not depend on any of the parts A, B, C), this part is a good candidate for a placement into a
separate project.
When one big project is used to store all the modeling information (for example, use case models, high level
architectural models of the project, detailed implementation level class, sequence, state, and other information),
it may be useful to partition the models according to the modeling domains (that is, use cases in one used
project, architectural models in another, implementation level models in yet another). This allows unloading
unnecessary used projects while working on one part or another (saving a computer and improving the
performance), but still retain the relationships between domains and load used projects on demand.
Avoid decomposing a model into parts which have circular dependencies. That is,
A B or A B C A situations.
Usually programmers are very adept at splitting large code bases into libraries. The very same criteria should
be applied for splitting the large models into separate projects.
Used projects are often exploited for storing profiles, however a used project is not a profile, and it is important
not to mix them. Any model part can be stored in a separate project.
Related procedures
MOF Support
Sharing project data
Indexing
Using the Export Packages to New Project dialog, you can partition the model and save the content of a
selected package as a separate project. Once exported, the package and its containing elements are read-only,
and the project name is displayed in brackets next to the package name in the Model Browser.
2. In the All data list, select the package you want to save as a separate project and click Add.
The package is added to the Selected packages list.
3. If needed, type a description of the exported packages in the Used Project Description box.
This description is displayed in the documentation of the package.
4. Click OK.
Before exporting selected packages to a separate project, MagicDraw will check for dependencies between the
model and the exported part of the model. If any error occur, you have to resolve them, otherwise recovered
elements may appear in the new project. The dependency resolution process is the same as for resolution of
dependencies between shared and not shared parts of the project.
When dependencies are resolved, MagicDraw will ask to specify the new project location and name.
Alternatively, if you have several small, related projects, you can join them together into a larger, partitioned
project to work with all the information in one place. This is achieved by using the Use Project button on the
Used Projects dialog (to open the dialog, select Options > Project Usages).
Only packages can be exported to new projects. To export an
element or diagram, you must move it to a package and only then
export that package.
Not all contents of the used project are visible in the main project. The used project has a shared part and not
shared part. Only contents of the shared part are visible in the main project. The concept “shared” is similar to
the public/private attributes of a class in programming languages (for example, Java).
2. Click OK.
When the project is used in another project, all shared packages of the used project appear in that project.
Moreover, each shared package can have a different location in the Containment tree. Any available package
in a project can be used as a container for the shared package of a used project.
Additionally, each shared package can provide a “Preferred Path” that can be used as a hint where to mount a
package when it is used in other project. No “Preferred Path” means that the package will be mounted directly
under the root package Data. Profiles are typically mounted directly under the root package Data, however this
can be changed.
Shared package “util” from the used project can be mounted on the
“com::company” path in the main project in order to form the
“com::company::util” path. The Preferred Path of the Shared Package
can be used in this case to serve as a hint for the suggested location
where to mount the package.
Used projects form a recursive data structure — the main project uses one or more other projects; these
projects in turn can use other projects; those other projects can use another set of projects, and so on. All
model pieces from these projects are gathered and connected into the integral model, which is shown in the
Model Browser when the main project is opened.
Indexing
Indexing can be considered as an intermediate form of work, between working with a fully loaded used project
and working with not loaded used project.
When a used project is unloaded/not loaded in the project, only necessary elements are shown in the place of
the used project. However, there is a possibility to have more elements from the unloaded used project than is
visible by default. Especially there is one case, where this functionality is very useful.
Consider the large software library in a project. Let’s say, only the various classes are used in the main project
- some library classes are set as types of properties in the model classes, some model classes inherit from the
library classes, etc. In this case, structural information of the library classes (their properties and methods) is
not important. If proxies of all classes could be retained when the used project is unloaded, this library could be
used in the main project in the unloaded state (saving a considerable amount of computer resources). The
indexing feature allows achieving this functionality.
1. Open the used project separately from the project that uses it.
2. From the Options menu, select Project. The Project Options dialog opens.
3. Select the Indexing property group.
4. Select the Common Indexing option. This enables indexing of the used project and
determines what information will be indexed.
5. When common indexing is chosen, classifiers and their inheritance relationships will be
indexed. If you want more elements to be indexed, select the Custom Indexing option and
fine-tune what element types (properties, methods, etc) should be indexed. The more elements
you select, the more elements will be accessible in the project using them as proxies. However,
your gains in performance from the used project unloading will also diminish. Hence, a balance
is needed when customizing the index. It is usually better to use the common indexing variant.
Click OK.
6. In the project using the indexed project, go to the options of this used indexed project (from the
main menu, select Options > Project Usages) and select the Use Index check box.
Such setup causes all the classes of the used project to be visible as proxies when this used project is not
loaded (it is also advisable to change the loading mode of this used project to Manual load).
These proxies can be used as normal model elements in the project using them, without ever loading the used
project. They can be set as types of properties of the classes in the main project, they can be set as an
association ends, classes may be derived from them, etc. If you ever need more information from that used
project, you can load it at any time to access the full data.
An example could be a project holding standard Java classes (rt.jar was reversed into it). This project is large,
having all the details of standard Java classes. Many of these details are unused in the main project; frequently
only class information is used in the project for modeling tasks.
Composing Model
You can compose your model by using parts of models stored in other projects.
When a project is used in another project, shared elements of the used project become visible and accessible
in the Containment tree of the project that uses them as if they were a part of the project.
After your project starts using another project, the elements of the used project are still stored separately:
• Used project elements — in the used project file.
• Project elements — in the project file.
The accessibility mode of the used project can be specified in the Used Projects dialog. By default, projects
are used in the read-only mode.
1. From the Options menu, select Project Usages. The Used Projects dialog opens.
2. In the tree on the left side of the open dialog, select the used project and click the Read-only or
Read-write option in the Accessibility area.
3. Click OK.
If you need to change the contents of a project used in the read-only mode, you can open it separately from the
project that uses it. For this, click the Open Project button on the same dialog.
Related procedures
Analyzing Package Dependencies
Resolving unconfirmed module usages
Related references
Use Project wizard
Maintaining Decomposed Model Integrity
Related concepts
Project Partitioning
The Use Project wizard helps to start using one or more other projects in an open project. The wizard guides
you through the following steps:
1. Step #1. Selecting a project
2. Step #2. Specifying project usage options
Select a project either from the file system or from the predefined location.
Figure 76 -- Use Project wizard. Selecting to use project from predefined location
Specify the selected project usage options, such as the accessibility mode, load mode, and mounting locations
of shared packages.
For more information, see "Managing Used Projects" on page 155.
Related procedures
Using other projects in a project
Analyzing Package Dependencies
Resolving unconfirmed module usages
Related references
Managing Used Projects
If you no longer need to have the set of elements in a separate project, you can import these elements into the
main project.
1. In the Model Browser, select the package of this used project and open the shortcut menu.
2. Select Project Usages > Import.
All the elements of this used project are copied into the main project, and links to this used project are removed
from the main project. The unlinked project and its elements continue to exist in the file system or server after
the import.
• If a used project you want to import uses other projects, after the
import these projects become directly used in the main project.
• The Standard/System Profiles cannot be imported according to our
tool policy.
Another way of composing your model, is to import a model from another project.
1. In the main menu, select File > Import From > Another Project.
2. Select a project you want to import.
3. Click Import. All elements from another project will be imported.
If a model that you are importing also uses projects, these projects will
be reused directly in you project after the model import.
Button Description
Use Project Click to select projects for usage in the open project and specifying the
usage options. The Use Project wizard opens. For more information, see
"Use Project wizard" on page 153.
Remove > Remove with Click to remove a selected used project from the project.
References After removal, all the elements of that used project disappear from the
Containment tree, and all the references to these elements are cleared
from other model places.
Button Description
Remove > Remove, keep Click to remove a selected used project, but keep the model references
References across it in the model. There are two cases when you may need this kind
of used project removal.
Case #1: You may need to replace a used project with an equivalent
project carrying the same elements (but perhaps with slightly different
content!) and retaining all the references.
In this case, removing the initially used project, but keeping references
creates an automated project usage that temporarily carries the model-
level references. This automated usage is invalid, since it is unconfirmed.
You can confirm it by replacing the initially used project with another
project (see "Resolving unconfirmed module usages" on page 165).
Case #2: You may need to refactor projects that are created with
MagicDraw earlier than 17.0.3 and prune the surplus project usages.
These versions of MagicDraw have only one type of project usages, i.e.,
user-defined usages. Because of this, a project usually had direct user-
defined usages to indirectly used projects besides the indirect usages
through directly used projects. So both “project → directly used project →
indirectly used project” and “project → indirectly used project” usage
paths were present. In this case it may be advantageous to remove the
surplus usage “project → indirectly used project” by clicking the Remove,
keep References button.
Import Click to import the contents of a selected used project to the main project.
The Import button is available if the selected used project:
• is not a MagicDraw native project
• is locked (valid for server projects only)
• is not locked by another user (valid for server projects only)
The same used project can be imported only once. After the import, all the
elements of the used project are copied to the main project. The inner
structure of the used project is included into the project as a package. The
imported project is not deleted from the file system.
Standard and system profiles cannot be imported.
Reload Click to reload the selected used project in the main project.
This button is available only when the selected used project is loaded.
Reload Index Click to reload indexed elements of the selected used project.
This button is available when the selected used project is not loaded in
the project.
Load Click to load the selected used project.
This button is available when the selected used project is not loaded.
Unload Click to unload the selected used project from the main project leaving
only used elements loaded. It is recommended to unload rarely used
projects in order to reduce a memory usage while working with large
projects.
This button is available when a selected used project is loaded.
Open Project Click to open the selected used project for editing.
Options Click to open the Project Options dialog to manage styles and element
display settings of the selected used project. It allows for changing
element styles in the used project even without opening it.
Button Description
Lock / Unlock Click to locks the selected used project in order to modify its settings in
the project or import it to the project.
Lock the selected used project, if you need to modify:
• Version that is used in the main project, as well as a baseline (a trunk or
branch)
• Accessibility mode (read-only or read-write)
• Load mode (always load, autoload, autoload with prompt, or manual
load)
• Mount location of shared packages
• Element styles
Unlock the used project after you have finished editing its settings.
This button is available when you are working with server projects. For
more information about locking and unlocking, see "Locking model
elements and diagrams for editing" on page 1056 and "Unlocking model
elements and diagrams after editing" on page 1066.
Related procedures
Indexing
Setting Project Options
Automated Module Usages
Related references
Use Project wizard
The best way to access the latest changes in a used project is to reload it. All modifications made in the used
project becomes visible after it is reloaded in the open project. Alternatively, used projects are reloaded
automatically when the open project is reloaded, or the project is updated on the server.
To increase modeling efficiency when working with very large projects, MagicDraw allows you to work with
partially loaded modules1. This may help to decrease the memory consumption.
For MagicDraw, “large” is tens of thousands of classes and other
complex elements. If counting all small elements, such as properties,
methods, method parameters, several hundreds of thousands of
elements is considered a large project. Also diagrams are large
elements. 1000 or more complex diagrams should be considered
large.
You can unload a particular module at any moment, when working with a large partitioned project.
• On the selected module shortcut menu, click Modules > Unload Module.
Not loaded (or unloaded) module can be loaded in a project any time. For more information about managing
modules, see "Managing Used Projects" on page 155.
• From the unloaded module shortcut menu, select Modules and then Load Module.
When the module is not loaded or unloaded, there can be some model elements left from the module. These
elements are not editable, and are characterized by a small M letter in the upper left corner of their icon (see the
following figure).
These are the so-called “proxy” elements of the original elements from the module. Instead of the original
model elements, the proxy is a lightweight surrogate that carries only the name and kind of the model element
information. These proxies are left in the place of the original module elements, and are dedicated to maintain
model integrity (so that there are no dangling ends of relationships, types of properties do not disappear, and so
on.) while the module is not accessible or not loaded.
1. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section mentions the old keyword, which will be replaced in
the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
• Autoload. A module is not loaded when the project using it is loaded. However, MagicDraw
monitors user activities in the project and tries to guess when the user might want to use the
model piece from the unloaded module. For example, if the user does the search, finds usages/
dependencies, reports, metrics, transformations, or code engineering actions with a scope that
touches the unloaded module, MagicDraw will load the module.
• Autoload with prompt. This mode differs from the Autoload mode in this way: MagicDraw
asks the user before loading the module.
• Manual load. A module is not loaded when the project using it is loaded. It can be loaded,
using the aforementioned Load Module command.
1. From the Options menu, select Modules. The Modules dialog opens.
2. In the modules tree, select a module.
3. In the Module Load Mode area, select the appropriate loading mode.
Occasionally used modules should be set in the Autoload mode (or Autoload with prompt if you like to have
more control on the loading behavior).
Very rarely used modules, can be set in the Manual load mode. Another frequent case where modules can be
set into Manual load mode is when modules represent some software library, which is not expected to change.
Related references
Maintaining Decomposed Model Integrity
In the earlier versions of MagicDraw, there was just one type of module2 usages. Let us call them user-defined
usages, since they are explicitly created by the user and carry additional parameters, such as whether the
module is used in the read-only or read / write mode, what are the module loading options, what module
version is required, and so on.
When modifying projects with complex composition, always keep in mind the following condition:
Whenever there are model level references from elements in resource A, which can be either a module or the
main project, to elements in resource B, there is a module usage A → B.
In earlier versions, you could see this rule in action when working with modules in the read / write mode.
Whenever you had modified the contents of one module in such way that it started to refer to another module
and then attempted to save it, MagicDraw would add an additional usage and inform you with the messages:
“Module B was directly attached to A” or “Mounts were updated …” in even earlier versions.
However in some cases this system behavior caused undesirable consequences (see "Easier refactoring of
composite modules" on page 162 and "Controlling dependency creation between modules" on page 163).
MagicDraw version 17.0.3 introduces a new type of module usages. Let us call them automated module
usages. They are fully managed by MagicDraw, i.e., created, removed, and rearranged as necessary without
user intervention. They are not shown in the Modules dialog, since only user-defined usages are shown there.
The user does not have to worry about them. He / she should only care about the module usages that he / she
has created explicitly himself / herself.
2. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section (including subsections) mentions the old keyword,
which will be replaced in the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
Related concepts
Project Partitioning
Related procedures
Easier refactoring of composite modules
Controlling dependency creation between modules
Resolving unconfirmed module usages
Related references
Managing Used Projects
One of the problems caused by the old approach that is described in "Automated Module Usages" on
page 161 was in refactoring composite modules (modules composed of submodules). Whenever a composite
module was re-arranged by removing and / or re-importing submodules, all the projects / modules using this
module more often than not became affected.
Another related problem was “freezing” the used module versions. Let’s say, the project
“RadioSet” uses the 100th version of the module “ElectricComponents”, which in turn
uses 150th version of the submodule “Resistances”.
Old problematic behavior
Whenever the project “RadioSet” referenced the submodule “Resistances”, the direct
usage would be created to the 150th version of it. So if the user wanted to migrate the
project “RadioSet” to use the 200th version of module “ElectricComponents” which used
the 300th version of the submodule “Resistances”, a version conflict would occur, since
the direct usage would be still pinned to the 150th version.
New behavior
This is not a problem as of MagicDraw version 17.0.3, since automated usages does not
carry information about version and does not preclude the version update through the
user-defined usage paths.
NOTE: If you already have projects with complex composition (having modules/
submodules) that are prepared in any earlier version, you may want to refactor your
module structure to reap the benefits of this feature.
Related concepts
Automated Module Usages
In earlier versions of MagicDraw, you could accidentally create unneeded or incorrect (from the user
standpoint) dependencies between modules in the read / write mode. The careless editing often caused cyclic
module dependencies or inadvertent expansion of the scope of the other projects, when the same module was
used in several projects.
With the introduction of automated module usages this problem is now addressed.
Every automatically created usage needs to be backed by some existing user-defined module usage. And if it is
not so, the automated module usage needs to be explicitly confirmed by the user. While the usage is
unconfirmed, it cannot cause undesired effects in other projects.
Automated module usage A → B is called unconfirmed when there is no user-defined usage path from A to B
(neither direct user-defined usage A → B nor user-defined usage path of arbitrary length A → … → X → B).
Note that user-defined usages are always confirmed.
During the ordinary course of the matters, automated usages are not visible to the user. When the user
modifies the main project’s model and adds dependencies to modules / submodules, these usages are good.
They are backed by the fact that the module / submodule is attached to the project in some way; hence the
user-defined usage path refers from the main project to the module / submodule.
But there are situations when automated module usages are not backed and thus unconfirmed.
An unconfirmed automated module usage is considered to be invalid (not yet valid). It is just one of project
composition errors, similar to recovered element errors, conflicting user-defined usage parameters, or cyclic
dependencies.
Unconfirmed automated module usages are caught by special automatic validation rules and are displayed in
validation results as warnings or errors depending on the project composition and prompting the user to remedy
the situation: either confirm or reject the usage.
Unconfirmed usages can occur in several cases. They are described as follows.
Case #1: Editing a project that uses modules in read / write mode
Whenever a model part that belongs to a module with read / write permissions, is edited, an additional model-
level reference can be created to some other parts of the project: either back to the project itself (cycle) or to
some module.
These model-level usages may or may not be valid from the user point of view. Since the creation of usages is
very easy, sometimes users create the undesired usages inadvertently. On the other hand, usage can be
entirely benign. MagicDraw cannot decide whether the usage is good or bad. For example, creating references
from the module “Implementation” to the module “Requirements” is valid, while creating references of the
opposite direction may be invalid (since requirements usually are standalone, and implementation refers to
them).
Reorganization or removal of submodules may affect the projects or other modules that are using the module.
This happens only in case when new refactored module does not carry all the contents that the old module had.
Let’s say, we have a module “ElectricComponents” with 3 submodules: “Capacitors”,
“Inductances”, and “Resistances”. We also have a project “RadioSet”, which uses the
module “ElectricComponents”. So far so good. Now let’s use one model element from
each submodule in the project “RadioSet”. As a result, the three automated usages
“RadioSet” → “Capacitors”, “RadioSet” → “Inductances”, “RadioSet” → “Resistances” will
be created.
Related concepts
Automated Module Usages
Related procedures
Resolving unconfirmed module usages
A proxy is a lightweight surrogate that carries only the name and kind of the model element information. These
proxies appear in the place of the original module3 elements, and are dedicated to maintain model integrity (so
that there are no dangling ends of relationships, types of properties do not disappear, and so on.) while the
module is not accessible (for example, you do not have permissions) or is not loaded.
When you do not have granted “Read model” permission for a module, this module will not be loaded in a
project where it is being used. To maintain the model integrity and keep model references that point to elements
3. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section (including subsections) mentions the old keyword,
which will be replaced in the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
of “not accessible” module, proxies are being displayed instead of referenced not accessible elements. That
means that you will be able to see only the following information of these elements:
• Metaclasses of the element
• Names of the element
• Owners of the element
Recovered element is really an indication of the dangling reference. Appearance of these elements indicates
that there are elements in the project (for example, elements in the main project or its used modules) that refer
to the element in the module that was previously there but currently cannot be found. It may be that the element
was unsafely deleted/ removed/somehow made unavailable in the module. In such case MagicDraw continue
maintaining model integrity of unresolved reference by recovering missing elements - so called “Recovered
element” appear in a place of the missing element where the original element existed in the past.
Related procedures
Working with partially loaded projects
Resolving unconfirmed module usages
Eliminating recovered elements from model
How to avoid triggering element recovery?
For the overview of automated module usages and situations when they can become unconfirmed, see
"Controlling dependency creation between modules" on page 161.
Unconfirmed module usages are caught by special automatic validation rules and displayed as a warning or
error validation result. The severity depends on the exact model composition situation, but the solution methods
are the same in both cases.
Since problematic module usages are not model elements, they cannot be visible in
the Containment tree. So when the model contains unconfirmed usages, the root
package Data is highlighted as incorrect (regardless of which usage is actually
problematic).
When there is an error level unconfirmed usage of some module, then all the
elements of the module, that are referenced form other model places are shown as
Recovered Elements. These recovered elements are in turn flagged as errors.
Hence single unconfirmed usage can cause a lot of error validation results: one for
the unconfirmed usage itself (rule abbreviation - NCAMU) and one for each
recovered element (rule abbreviation - REF). In this situation the unconfirmed usage
result should be examined first, because solving it may automatically solve all other
results.
There are two ways for resolving an unconfirmed module usage. The usage can be either confirmed or
rejected.
Confirming usages
If the module usage A → B is good and necessary according to the user policy, it can be confirmed, i.e., the
user-defined usage is to be created instead of the current unconfirmed automated module usage.
In this case you can better control the usage creation process. So if you need, for
example, to use not only a required module, but some other one that brings the
required module as a part of it, be advised to confirm the usage manually.
For example, let’s say there are three unconfirmed usages from the project
“RadioSet” to modules “Capacitors”, “Inductances”, and “Resistances”. Instead of
confirming each usage, you can create just one user-defined usage “RadioSet” →
“ElectricComponents”, since the module “ElectricComponents” brings in “Capacitors”,
“Inductances”, and “Resistances” as submodules.
However this is the case, when you must be sure that the user-defined usage will be
created in the right place.
1. Click Options > Modules on the main menu. The Modules dialog opens.
2. Select a module that is the usage target resource.
3. Click the Use Module button. The Use Module wizard opens.
4. Follow the steps of the usual procedure (select a required module and finish or continue to the
second wizard step to provide more configuration options for module usage and then finish).
Rejecting usages
If the usage A → B is not good according to the user policy, it must be rejected and removed.
In more complex cases you may want to address each usage individually. Use MagicDraw dependency
analysis means to examine what dependencies are there and review them on a case-by-case basis (see
"Analyzing Usages and Dependencies" on page 510, "Analyzing Package Dependencies" on page 605,
"Displaying Related Elements" on page 509, "Dependency Matrix" on page 765, and so forth).
Related concepts
Controlling dependency creation between modules
Related procedures
Analyzing Usages and Dependencies
Analyzing Package Dependencies
Related references
Using other projects in a project
Use Project wizard
Project Usage Map
Recovered element icons and symbols differ from regular element icons and symbols. The top-left corner of a
recovered element icon as well as the same corner of its symbol is decorated with “R”. A ToolTip, which
appears on the screen while pointing to a recovered element icon or symbol, uncovers the possible reasons of
element recovery.
As recovered elements are captured by MagicDraw composition inspection, they are also decorated as
composition inspection violations (see a small cross sign at the bottom-left corner of a recovered element icon
in the preceding figure).
For more about marking active validation violations, see
• "Marking invalid elements in the Model Browser" on page 634
• "Highlighting invalid elements on the diagram" on page 635
In the Active Validation Results panel, recovered elements are grouped under the Composition Integrity
package. The text in the Message column explains the reason of each element recovery (this is the same
information as is shown in the Tooltip that was described earlier in this section).
The abbreviation of recovered
element violation is REF.
Recovered elements indicate that there are unresolved references in your project.
An unresolved reference means that your project contains an element that continues referring to some module
element, which became inaccessible, because, for example, the element is no longer shared, the element was
removed or moved to a non-shared location, and so on.
To maintain your model integrity and project composition, when element is inaccessible, MagicDraw recovers
the inaccessible elements. This allows for maintaining in your project references that are indicated as
unresolved.
It is highly recommended to eliminate recovered elements from your model. This can be done in one of the
following ways:
• By eliminating the reasons of the element recovery. This is the case when recovered
elements still exist. Find the reason of the element recovery and eliminate it, for example, share
the package that contains the recovered element, move back the element from a non-shared
location to the shared one, and so on.
• By restoring recovered elements. This is the case when recovered elements no longer exist,
but can be restored from the bits of information MagicDraw still has. The restored element will
have only ID, name, and type.
For more information, refer to "Restoring recovered elements" on
page 169.
Do either:
• In the Model Browser, right-click the recovered element and from its shortcut menu select
Validation > Recovered Element > Restore Element.
• In the Active Validation Results panel, right-click the recovered element and from its shortcut
menu select Restore Element.
MagicDraw will restore the missing element from the bits of information it still has, that is, ID,
name, and type of the element.
If you do not see the Restore Element command on the recovered
element’s shortcut menu, please check the accessibility mode of the
module wherein the recovered element is stored. It might be that the
module is being used in the read-only mode. Change the mode to
read-write in this case.
You can manage the unresolved references either in the Model Browser or in the Active Validation Results
panel wherein they are grouped by recovered elements they refer to.
Figure 82 -- Representation of unresolved references grouped by recovered elements in Active Validation Results panel
These are the ways of managing unresolved references by using specific commands:
• Replacing recovered element with another element (described on page 170)
• Removing unresolved reference (described on page 171)
• Removing recovered element’s symbol (described on page 171)
This is the case, when the user decides to refer another regular element instead of the recovered one in the
model.
1. Do either:
• In the Model Browser, right-click an element that refers to the recovered element
and from its shortcut menu select Validation > Usage of Recovered Element >
Use Another Element.
• In the Active Validation Results panel, right-click an element that refers to the
recovered element and whose abbreviation is URE and from its shortcut menu
select Use Another Element.
2. In the element Selection dialog, select an element you want to use instead of the recovered
element.
3. Click OK. The reference is now pointing to the selected element. And it is no longer unresolved.
You can use the command for more than one element at a time.
Alternatively you can replace all references from a particular recovered element to another one using one
operation.
1. Do either:
• In the Model Browser, right-click the recovered element and from its shortcut menu
select Validation > Usage of Recovered Element > Change Usages To.
• In the Active Validation Results panel, right-click the recovered element and from
its shortcut menu select Change Usages To.
2. In the element Selection dialog, select an element you want to use instead of the recovered
element.
3. Click OK. All the references are now pointing to another element. And they are no longer
decorated as unresolved.
This is the case, when a reference to some recovered element is no longer needed and can be removed.
Do either:
• In the Model Browser, right-click an element that refers to the recovered element and from its
shortcut menu select Validation > Usage of Recovered Element > Clean Usage of
Recovered Element.
• In the Active Validation Results panel, right-click an element that refers to the recovered
element and whose abbreviation is URE and from its shortcut menu select Clean Usage of
Recovered Element.
The reference to the particular recovered element is removed.
You can use the command for more than one element at a time.
You can remove all unresolved references (including all used modules) of a recovered element in one
operation.
Do either:
• In the Model Browser, right-click the recovered element and from its shortcut menu select
Validation > Usage of Recovered Element > Clean Usage of Recovered Element.
• In the Active Validation Results panel, right-click the recovered element and from its shortcut
menu select Clean Usage of Recovered Element.
All unresolved references to the particular recovered element are removed. As the unresolved
references are cleared, the recovered element is removed as well.
Unresolved references will not be removed from the referring elements,
if they are stored in a read-only module, are locked by another user, or
still not locked.
This is the case, when a recovered element is depicted on diagrams of your project.
Do either:
• On a diagram pane, select the symbol, then on its smart manipulator toolbar click
and then
select Symbol of Recovered Element > Remove Symbol as is shown in the following figure.
• On the diagram pane, select the symbol and press DELETE.
• In the Active Validation Results panel, right-click the symbol and select Remove Symbol
from its shortcut menu.
The symbol of the recovered element is removed from the diagram.
The same diagram can have many symbols of the recovered element. To
remove all of them, repeat the same procedure for each symbol.
You can use the Remove Symbol command for more than one symbol at a time.
If the diagram with recovered element symbols is non-editable, belong to the read-
only module, is locked by another user, or still not locked, the command will not be
applied.
To learn how to avoid triggering element recovery in your project, read the following recommendations:
1. Avoid unexpected modifications of shared elements (for example, removing a shared element
or moving the element to a non-shared location, etc.).
2. Configure MagicDraw so that it prompts your confirmation to proceed a potentially dangerous
action (for example, attempting to stop sharing a package, removing the content of a shared
package, or moving elements from one module to another, when both modules are used in the
read-write mode as is shown in the following figure).
3. Select the relevant level of model integrity and project composition inspection.
4. Manage unresolved references as soon as possible, since they might produce another
unresolved references. Remember that the less recovered elements your model has, the more
valid it is.
To define a set of actions for MagicDraw supervision to prevent recovered elements creation
Violations of your project integrity will be displayed in the Validation Results panel.
• For more information on how to run the model validation, see "Validating" on
page 615.
• For more information about the Validation Results panel, see "Validation
Results Panel" on page 617.
The Project Integrity Correctness suite includes the rules for detecting the following project integrity violations:
• Cyclic dependencies among modules
• Mount location inconsistencies in used modules
• Required version inconsistencies in used modules
You can resolve the conflict either in the Modules4 dialog (see "Managing Used Projects" on page 155) or by
using the project usage map (see "Project Usage Map" on page 1105).
This is the case, when packages of the module have different mount locations defined in separate projects.
For example, the module “Licensing_” has mounted a package of the module “Libraries”
under the package “Infra”, while the project “Project Infrastructure Main” has mounted
the same package “Libraries” under the root package Data. The package “Libraries”
belongs to the module “Libraries_”.
As it is shown in the following figure, the mount location conflict occurs because the
project “Project Infrastructure Main” is using “Licensing_” and “Libraries_” modules at
the same time.
4. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section mentions the old keyword, which will be replaced in
the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
You can solve the conflict in the Modules dialog by unifying the Mounted On value in both projects (see
"Managing Used Projects" on page 155).
This is the case, when a project uses (both directly and indirectly) several different versions of the same module
at the same time.
For example, the module “Licensing_” is using the 7th version of the module “Libraries_”
and the project “Infrastructure Main” is using the 5th version of the module “Libraries_”.
If the project “Infrastructure Main” additionally used the module “Licensing_”, a module
version conflict would occur (see the following figure).
Since the project used the 5th version of the module directly and the 7th version of the
module via the module “Licencing_”, two different versions of the module would be
required at the same time.
You can solve the conflict in the Modules dialog by unifying the required versions in both projects (see
"Managing Used Projects" on page 155).
Related references
Validation
Validation Results Panel
Project Usage Map
Managing Used Projects
MOF Support
MagicDraw is able to export / import the UML model into / from the MOF (both CMOF and EMOF) XMI file.
MOF 2.0 and 2.4 (MOF 2.4.1 to be more specific) are supported.
For more information about the MOF domain model, see Meta Object Facility (MOF) Core Specification at http:/
/www.omg.org/spec/MOF/2.0/PDF/ and http://www.omg.org/spec/MOF/2.4.1/PDF/.
1. From the main menu, select File > Export To > MOF XMI File > MOF Whole Model. The
Select Target File dialog opens (see the following figure).
2. Type a file name and select a location for the exported model.
3. On the right side of the dialog under MOF Kind, select a MOF kind. The file type of the
exported model changes according to your selection.
4. Click to select or to clear the Validate check box. For more information about validating refer to
"Exported elements validation" on page 180.
5. Click the Export button when you are finished.
Figure 90 -- Select Target File dialog. Exporting project to CMOF 2.4 file
1. From the main menu, select File > Export To > MOF XMI File > MOF Selection.
2. In the Select Packages to Export dialog, select packages you want to export and click Add to
move them to the Selected list. Click OK when you are done.
3. Perform the procedure "To export a project to a MOF file" starting from the step #2.
MagicDraw provides two validation suites (one for CMOF and one for EMOF) for validating a model that is
being exported to a MOF file. These suites contain batches of rules to check exported elements. Warnings
about not exported elements (for example, diagrams, behavioral elements, or other) are displayed after the
validation process is completed.
The validation process does not preclude the model from being exported. Unsuitable elements are simply
skipped.
You can choose whether to run the validation or not before exporting the model (see the procedure "To export
a project to a MOF file" on page 179).
1. From the main menu, select File > Import From > MOF XMI File.
2. In the opened dialog, select the EMOF or CMOF file you want to import and click Open. The file
is imported as a separate project.
Ecore Support
The Ecore model is a model type supported by Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF). This model type can be
colloquially called the EMF model (even though EMF supports many types of models, e.g., the UML model).
The Ecore model can be used for various purposes. Several of them are as follows:
• Metamodeling purposes, where its expressive power is roughly similar to EMOF (and even
slightly higher than EMOF).
• Simple class modeling purposes, where the Ecore model is used as a subset of UML.
Ecore models, prepared with MagicDraw, can be exported as Ecore models for the further processing
(generating model repositories, code or XML parsing and storing, etc.) with other EMF tools.
1. From the main menu, select File > New Project. The New Project dialog opens.
2. In the Other domain, select Project from Template.
3. Type a project name.
4. Specify the project location.
5. Under Select Template, expand Metamodeling and then select Ecore Template.
For more information about creating a project from a template refer to the procedure "To create a new project
from a template" on page 122.
1. From the main menu, select File > Use Module5. The Use Module wizard opens.
2. Under Select module file, click From predefined location. The Project modules paths list
appears.
3. Select <install root>\profiles\. The content of the <install root>\profiles folder is listed bellow.
4. Select Ecore_Profile.xml in the list.
5. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section mentions the old keyword, which will be replaced in
the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
If your Ecore model references some standard Ecore elements (such as standard data types (for example,
EShort) or standard metaclasses (for example, EStructuralFeature), you need to use the standard Ecore library
in your project.
1. From the main menu, select File > Use Module.The Use Module wizard opens.
2. Under Select module file, click From predefined location. The Project modules paths list
appears.
3. Select <install root>\modelLibraries. The content of the <install root>\modelLibraries folder is
listed bellow.
4. Select Ecore.mdzip in the list.
5. Click Next, if you want to change module settings.
6. Click Finish.
Ecore modeling
Learn about Ecore modeling in the following subsections:
• "Diagrams and elements in Ecore models" on page 184.
• "Element properties in Ecore models" on page 185.
• "Annotation modeling" on page 188.
There are no specific diagrams for editing Ecore models in MagicDraw. You can use the same Class diagrams
as you use for your UML models. Since Ecore is almost a subset of UML (with a few additions), familiar UML
elements are used for the modeling. You can also develop Ecore models without using the Ecore profile at all. If
your Ecore model uses only UML-specific information, you can develop it using plain UML and export it to
Ecore without any problem.
Ecore is even more similar to EMOF. You can export the same model to both Ecore and EMOF.
Class, DataType, Enumeration, Package, Operation, Parameter have a direct one-to-one correspondence
between UML and Ecore.
Ecore has two flavors of structural features, EAttribute and EReference, while UML has just one - Property.
Fortunately a differentiation between an attribute and a reference is unambiguous and automatically resolved:
the property, whose type is a data type is treated as EAttribute; the property, whose type is a class is treated as
EReference. Hence the user does not need to worry about this - he/she can simply use properties.
There are no standalone Association and Generalization model elements in Ecore, but there is analogous
information in Ecore: two EReferences, pointing to each other by their opposite property is equivalent to the
association; the EClass::eSuperTypes property is equivalent to a generalization. Hence it is possible and
meaningful to draw associations and generalizations in your model for exporting this information to Ecore.
Ecore generics (templates) are also supported. You can use the UML template support to model Ecore
generics. While the modeling is not trivial (and not one-to-one due to weak semantics of Ecore's
EGenericType), it is possible to model all cases of template types, even ones with complexly nested type
bounds like, for example, SortedList<T extends Comparable<? super T>>.
Your models can also contain any other UML elements, which are not present in Ecore. These elements are
simply skipped during the export to Ecore. A warning is given about these elements (see "Exported data type
mappings" on page 194).
There are few Ecore-specific properties, which are brought in when the Ecore profile is used. These properties
are used to capture Ecore specific information, not existing in UML. MOF-specific properties are also relevant
for Ecore. These special properties are as follows:
• The Ecore package has the additional properties: nsPrefix (Namespace Prefix) and nsURI
(corresponds to the URI property specified in the UML v2.4.1).
• The Ecore classifier (class, data type, enumeration) has the additional properties:
instanceClassName (Instance Class Name) and instanceTypeName (Instance Type Name).
• Ecore attributes and references (modeled as the UML property) have the additional properties:
volatile (Volatile), transient (Transient), unsettable (Unsettable), and resolveProxies (Resolve
Proxies, used for references only).
Annotation modeling
Ecore annotations are modeled as UML comments. For simple annotations no additional actions are
necessary.
However Ecore annotations have more powerful semantic than UML comments - they can have an internal
substructure. In particular they can have an additional key-value map. For this additional information, there is a
special «EcoreAnnotation» stereotype, that can be applied on an annotating comment. After applying the
stereotype, the key-value map can be entered in a separate node of the annotating comment Specification
window. Key-value pairs are stored as internal subcomment elements of the annotation.
1. In the Ecore annotation’s Specification window, select the Annotation Details property group.
2. Click the Create button. The key-value pair’s Specification window opens.
4. Click the Back button when you are done. You will see the key-value pair created.
1. From the main menu, select File > Export To > EMF Ecore File > Ecore Whole Model. The
Select Target File dialog opens (see the following figure).
2. Type a file name and select a location for the exported model.
3. Click to select or to clear the Validate check box. For more information about validating refer to
"Ecore elements validation" on page 195.
Figure 101 -- Select Target File dialog. Exporting project to Ecore file
1. From the main menu, select File > Export To > EMF Ecore File > Ecore Selection.
2. In the Select Packages to Export dialog, select packages you want to export and click OK
when you are done.
3. Perform the procedure "To export a project to an Ecore file" starting from the step #2.
It is important to notice that any modules6 used by MagicDraw project are not exported together with the project
on its export to an Ecore file. Only references to modules are exported. Therefore the output of the project
export is an Ecore file (model) containing the direct content of the MagicDraw project and referencing to other
Ecore files (modules) that are used in the MagicDraw project. For referencing to modules, i.e., other Ecore files,
Ecore references are used.
Each module used by the project must be exported to an Ecore file individually. For this you have to open each
module as a project and then export it to an Ecore file (see "Exporting projects to Ecore files" on page 192).
It is strongly recommended to read the following paragraph before your very first attempt to export a
MagicDraw project that uses modules. Getting familiar with this information may help you to escape a serious
problem that arises because of the nature of Ecore references.
Ecore references, crossing a resource boundary (when the element in one file references the element in
another file), are qualified-name-based, but not id-based as in case of CMOF, EMOF, or UML. Hence when
exporting a project with references to elements in other projects (modules), the export tool must know the full
path of elements in the module's Ecore file. This information cannot be determined from UML model without
additional information. For this the following approach is adopted:
1. Save the module after the export. After a project is exported to an Ecore file, the qualified
names (paths) of the shared elements are recorded in special stereotypes
(«EcoreExportServiceInformation») / tags (ecoreExportPath) of the project’s shared packages.
The side effect is that the project is modified during the export. To preserve this information for
later usage, you need to save the project after the export.
2. Export modules before exporting the main project. When a project that references to
elements in one or more modules is exported to an Ecore file, the export tool needs to know
these elements’ paths, saved on the appropriate module export to Ecore. If this information is
missing (e.g., in case the project is being exported before modules are exported), the export
tool tries to guess the correct path of each element in the module and gives warnings about this.
That is why modules should be exported to Ecore before exporting the main project that uses
these modules.
Standard UML data types are exported as standard Ecore data types. The following table shows which Ecore
data type corresponds to which UML data type.
Standard data types from the MagicDraw profile are exported as Ecore types. The following table shows which
Ecore data type corresponds which UML data type.
6. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section mentions the old keyword, which will be replaced in
the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
References to Ecore model elements (standard datatypes like EInt, metaclasses like EStructuralFeature),
defined in the standard Ecore library are exported as standardized Ecore references to Ecore metamodel
elements (the resource identifier part of the Href is http://www.eclipse.org/emf/2002/Ecore).
The validation process does not preclude the model from being exported. Unsuitable elements are simply
skipped.
You can run the Ecore validation on a model (project or module) export to Ecore. All UML elements that are not
suitable for the Ecore, will be highlighted.
You can also run this validation suite at any time while you are developing an Ecore model.
1. From the main menu, select Analyze > Validation > Validate. The Validation dialog opens.
1. In the Eclipse environment, open the *.ecore file and save it as *.emof.
2. Use the procedure "To import a project from a MOF file" on page 180.
This indirect way looses some Ecore-specific
model details that are not existent in EMOF.
We highly recommend not to modify our provided standard profiles and libraries as it could cause problems on
version updates, plugins, core malfunctions, and model corruptions.
Users will be warned on any intentional or unintentional attempt to modify profiles in the following ways:
• Open a profile as a project.
• Use in the read-write mode.
• Import into a project.
• Merge projects.
• Any other cases.
Standard profiles are usually upgraded to support the latest versions of the specification of standards they
represent (for example, SysML 1.2 or UML 2.4) in the every MagicDraw release cycle. The MagicDraw
application, the plugins code, and the behavior are modified accordingly to reflect these changes.
There is a very high probability that the latest version of MagicDraw or plugins cannot work with earlier or later
profile versions and may cause an unpredictable behavior or even model distortions. For example, SysML
plugin 16.5 requires to use SysML Profile 16.5, as it could malfunction when using SysML Profile 16.0 or 16.6.
To protect the user from such cases, every MagicDraw project knows which profiles or plugins versions were
used to create it and are required to load data correctly.
Every standard profile has the version number. Normally it is the same as the MagicDraw (or a plugin) version
number.
MagicDraw requires to use the corresponding version of the profile with the corresponding software version.
You will get a warning, if your used plugins or profiles are obsolete or you miss some plugins or profiles.
Resource Manager with selected missing resources will be launched automatically, so you will be able to install
missing plugins/profiles in few clicks.
If new versions of plugins are not purchased or you simply do not want to install it, but need to take a look at the
project content, warnings may be ignored and the project may be loaded. In this case, proxy elements for
missing profile elements will be created to retain missing references. Missing custom diagrams will be loaded
as regular UML diagrams or will be restricted for a review. Do not save such project! Use it for the preview only.
Old projects will be loaded/converted without any warnings, if you have newest versions of corresponding
plugins and profiles as MagicDraw is always backward compatible.
Information about an updating UML Standard Profile due to the migration to UML 2 is presented in the
Teamwork Server readme file. You can find this file in <MagicDraw Teamwork Server installation directory>.
This chapter offers an overview of working with diagrams and symbols. In general, the topics discussed apply
to all supported diagram types.
When working with diagrams it is helpful to keep in mind the following concepts:
• A shape refers to a notation of a model element, such as a package, class, state, use case,
object, etc.
• A path refers to the notation for the various kinds of relationships such as associations,
aggregations, dependency, message, and links.
• Both paths and shapes are defined as symbols.
Creating Diagrams
To create a diagram
Click the Create Diagram button. The Create Diagram dialog opens.
The Create Diagram dialog is designed to minimize the time needed to create any diagram type.
The following table describes the components of the Create Diagram dialog.
Opening Diagrams
You can choose to open diagrams either in the same tab or in a new tab – just like in the most popular Internet
browsers.
• Ability to compare separate views of the system side-by-side. For example, business and IT
architectures can be displayed in two tabs side-by-side and analyzed by drilling down in their
hierarchies. Navigation deeper in the structures will not open new tabs, which allows the
smooth analysis of the modeled system.
• Smooth work with multiple screens. Browsing in a tab of the second screen never opens
diagrams in the first screen, which means you stay in the same screen. New tabs open in the
same screen, to the right of the active one.
To open a diagram
• To load all diagrams that have been created in the project, from the Diagrams menu,
select Load All Diagrams.
• In the General pane of the Environment Options dialog box, you can select a
method for loading diagrams while opening a project. Three options are available:
• Load all Diagrams – loads all diagrams that exist in the project.
• Load Only Open Diagrams – loads only diagrams that were not
closed in earlier usages of the project.
• Do not Load Diagrams – all diagrams are not loaded and closed after
opening a project.
To navigate backward and forward between diagrams in the same diagram tab
2. Select New Horizontal Group or New Vertical Group to split diagram pane and have more
than one diagram opened at the same time.
To split diagrams, more than one diagram should be open.
To close a diagram
• On the diagram tab, next to the diagram name, click the Close button.
• Right-click the empty area on the diagram pane, and then from the shortcut menu, select
Close Tab.
• Press Ctrl+F4.
If you want to see your diagrams in full screen and work exclusively from the diagram, use the Show Tabs in
Full Screen) functionality. In a full screen mode, all necessary modeling commands are visible with an option to
hide, and the Browser is in an auto hide mode. You can also manage the interface components to be displayed
or hidden.
Do either:
• Double-click the diagram tab.
• From the diagram shortcut menu, select the Show Tabs in Full Screen command.
• From the View menu, select the Show Tabs in Full Screen command.
• Press the F11 key.
You can change the Show Tabs in Full Screen shortcut key in the
Environment Options dialog, Keyboard pane. For more
information, see "Assigning Shortcut Keys" on page 104.
You can turn off the diagram full screen mode in the same way as turning it on.
The Model Browser is in an auto hide mode when the diagram full screen mode is turned on. Model Browser
tabs are located in the left side of the program window. To display the browser, move the mouse cursor over the
desired browser window tab (for example, on the Containment tab) and the tab opens. For more information
about working with windows in the auto hide mode, see "Model Browser" on page 75.
The main toolbar is hidden when the diagram full screen mode is turned on. To display the main toolbar, set the
Hide Toolbars in the Full Screen Mode property to false in the Environment Options dialog, General pane,
Display group.
The diagram toolbar is displayed when the diagram full screen mode is turned on. Right-click the diagram
toolbar to manage it.
Clear the Synchronize the diagram name with it’s context name check box in the
Environment Options dialog box, General branch, and Editing group.
If the second diagram will be created in the branch,
diagram names will not be synchronized.
Diagram Frame
All UML diagrams have the content area that is restricted by the diagram frame as it is stated in UML
specification. The diagram frame is primarily used in cases where the diagrammed element has graphical
border elements (like ports for classes and components, entry/exit points on statemachines).
By default the diagram frame is displayed on the new diagram pane. The frame is a rectangle in all diagrams,
but state machine and activity. State machine and activity diagram frames have rounded corners.
Do either:
• NEW! Right-click the diagram and on the shortcut menu, click to clear the Show Diagram
Frame check box.
• Open the Diagram Properties dialog and set the Show Diagram Frame property to false.
Do either:
1. From the Options menu, choose Project. The Project Options dialog opens.
2. In the options tree, expand Symbol styles and then click Diagram. The Diagram options are
displayed on the Diagram pane.
3. In the Diagram Frame options subgroup, change the desired options.
Or:
1. Open the Diagram Properties dialog (the ways for opening the dialog are described in Section
"Specifying Diagram Style Properties" on page 205).
2. Change the properties in the Diagram Frame property group.
You can see the selected option description in the description area of the Project
Options dialog. For more information about the Project Options dialog, see
"Using Project Options dialog" on page page 130.
1. Open the Diagram Properties dialog (the ways for opening the dialog are described in Section
"Specifying Diagram Style Properties" on page 205).
2. Change the Show Stereotypes property value to Text.
When a new diagram is created, the diagram stereotype icon is displayed on the diagram frame header by
default, though you can change it to the context stereotype icon.
To display the context stereotype icon instead of the diagram stereotype icon on the diagram frame
1. Open the Diagram Properties dialog (the ways for opening the dialog are described in Section
"Specifying Diagram Style Properties" on page 205).
2. In the Diagram Frame property group, change the Use Stereotype property value to Context.
The context stereotype icon will be displayed instead of the diagram stereotype icon in the
diagram frame header.
The Use Stereotype property takes effect only in case the Show Stereotypes
property value is Text and Icon or Icon.
There is a possibility to show the abbreviation of a diagram type instead of the full diagram type in the diagram
frame header.
1. Open the Diagram Properties dialog (the ways for opening the dialog are described in Section
"Specifying Diagram Style Properties" on page 205).
2. In the Diagram Frame property group, select the Show Abbreviated Type check box.
You can change the representation of the diagram shape by changing the diagram stereotype display mode.
1. Right-click the shape and from the shortcut menu select Symbol Properties.
2. In the Symbol Properties dialog select a new value for the Show Stereotypes property (see
the following picture).
You can also select showing or hiding diagram constraints or tagged values on the diagram shape.
To show diagram stereotype constraints and tagged values on the diagram shape
1. Right-click the diagram shape and from the shortcut menu select Symbol Properties.
2. In the Symbol Properties dialog select the Show Constraints and Show Tagged Values
check boxes.
To display the context stereotype icon instead of the diagram stereotype icon on the diagram shape
1. Right-click the diagram shape and from the shortcut menu select Symbol Properties.
2. In the Symbol Properties dialog, change the Use Stereotype property value to Context. The
context stereotype icon will be displayed instead of the diagram stereotype icon on the diagram
shape.
The Use Stereotype property takes effect only in case the Show Stereotypes
property value is Text and Icon or Icon.
There is a possibility to show the abbreviation of a diagram type instead of the full diagram type on the diagram
shape.
• From the diagram shape shortcut menu, open the Symbol Properties dialog box and select
the Show Abbreviated Type check box.
The abbreviated diagram types are listed at the end of Section "Diagram Frame" on page 207.
You can also learn about overviewing diagrams while analyzing the Diagram
overview sample.
To open the sample, do any of the following:
• On the Welcome screen, select Samples and then in the Product
Features section click Diagram overview.
• Go to <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\product features and
open the diagram overview.mdzip file.
As of version 17.0 you can overview other diagrams, including dependency matrices, tables, and relation maps,
on a diagram pane. For this the diagram overview shape can be used.
Read and learn how to use the diagram overview shape in the following sections:
• "Creating a diagram overview shape" on page 210.
• "Modifying the content of a diagram overview shape" on page 214.
• "Diagram overview shape environment" on page 217.
• "How to..." on page 221.
You can use one of the following ways to create a diagram overview shape:
• Drag the diagram shape from the Model Browser and change it into the diagram
overview shape afterwards. This way created diagram overview shape shows the full content
of the corresponding diagram (see Figure 108 on page 214) and is updated automatically
according to all changes made in this diagram. For detailed description of the procedure see
section "To create a diagram overview shape by using a drag-and-drop operation" on
page 211.
• Use the Diagram Overview button that is located in the diagram pallet. This way
created diagram overview shape shows the full content of the corresponding diagram (see
Figure 108 on page 214) and is updated automatically according to all changes made in this
diagram. For detailed description of the procedure see section "To create a diagram overview
shape by using the diagram pallet" on page 212.
• Paste a copied part of the diagram’s content using a special command from the main
menu. This way created diagram overview shape shows any copied part of the corresponding
diagram’s content (see Figure 109 on page 214) and is updated automatically according only to
the changes made in this copied part. Note that this way cannot be used for dependency
matrixes, tables, and relation maps, as it is not allowed to copy and paste different parts of
them. For detailed description of the procedure see section "To create a diagram overview
shape by pasting any part of diagram’s content" on page 213.
1. Open a diagram wherein you want to create the diagram overview shape.
2. In the Model Browser select a diagram you want to overview.
3. Drag the diagram shape to the opened diagram pane. The diagram shape will be drawn on the
diagram pane (see the example in the picture below).
If you cannot drag the diagram shape to the opened diagram pane
within a teamwork project, make sure you have the right to edit
model of this project and then try to lock for edit this diagram.
For more information about locking elements,
see "Locking model elements and diagrams for editing" on page 1056.
4. Make the diagram shape show the full content of the corresponding diagram using any of the
following GUI features:
• Right-click the diagram shape and from the shortcut menu select Symbol
Properties. In the opened dialog, set the Show Diagram Overview Content
property value to true.
• Click the diagram shape and on the smart manipulator toolbar select
the button.
The diagram shape will be changed to the diagram overview shape that shows the full content of
the corresponding diagram (see Figure 108 on page 214).
The content of this way created diagram overview shape will be updated automatically
according to all changes made in the corresponding diagram.
1. Open a diagram wherein you want to create the diagram overview shape.
2. On the diagram pallet click the Diagram Overview button that is located within the
Common buttons group.
The created diagram overview shape will show the full content of the corresponding diagram
(see Figure 108 on page 214)
.
The content of this way created diagram overview shape will be updated automatically
according to all changes made in the corresponding diagram.
This way cannot be used for dependency matrixes, tables, and relation maps,
as it is not allowed to copy and paste different parts of them.
1. Open a diagram for that you want to create the diagram overview shape.
2. Select the element shapes that you want to appear in the diagram overview shape and then
copy them.
3. Open the diagram wherein you want to create the diagram overview shape.
4. On the Edit menu, click Paste as Diagram Overview.
Figure 108 -- An example of diagram and its diagram overview shape showing the full content of the diagram
Figure 109 -- An example of diagram and its diagram overview shape showing only the part of the diagram content
Once the diagram overview shape is created, you can modify its content: add more element shapes or remove
no more needed ones by using the Compartment Edit dialog.
To open the Compartment Edit dialog for modifying the content of a diagram overview shape
• Click the diagram overview shape and on the shape area click the “...” Compartments smart
manipulator. Then on the menu, click Edit Compartments.
If the diagram overview shape is created by using instructions given either in the first or the second procedure
in section "Creating a diagram overview shape" on page 210, then you will see that all element shapes are
listed in the Hidden list within the Compartment Edit dialog.
Figure 110 -- An example of the Compartment Edit dialog in case of showing the full content of the diagram in the
diagram overview shape
If the diagram overview shape s created by using instructions given in the third procedure in section "Creating
a diagram overview shape" on page 210, then you will see that only the element shapes which are displayed in
the diagram overview shape are listed in the Selected list (even in case of copying all shapes).
Figure 111 -- An example of the Compartment Edit dialog in case of showing only the part of the diagram content in the
diagram overview shape
1. Open the Compartment Edit dialog using one of the ways described in the procedure above.
2. Use the >, >>, <, and << buttons to manage item moving between the lists. Remember the
rules of showing and not showing shapes included in each list.
3. Click OK when you are finished.
This section describes GUI features that can be used for handling the diagram overview shape:
• "Shortcut menu" on page 218.
• "Symbol Properties dialog" on page 219.
• "Smart manipulator toolbar" on page 220.
• "Shape area buttons" on page 221.
Shortcut menu
This section introduces diagram overview shape-specific commands, but not all commands from the diagram
overview shape shortcut menu.
Command Description
Edit Compartments Opens the Compartment Edit dialog.
TIP! You can also open this dialog by clicking the ...
Compartments smart manipulator and then Edit
Compartments. The ... Compartments smart
manipulator is on the frame of a diagram overview
shape area (to see the smart manipulator, click the
diagram overview shape).
Refresh Updates the content of the diagram overview shape
according to changes in the model.
NOTE: This button is available in the shortcut menu
only if a dependency matrix, table, or relation map is
displayed in the diagram overview shape.
TIP! You can also update the content of the diagram
This section introduces diagram overview shape-specific properties, but not all properties in the Symbol
Properties dialog of a diagram overview shape.
Figure 113 -- Diagram overview shape-specific properties in the Symbol Properties dialog
Property Description
Fit Content to Shape Area Select to adjust the zoom ratio of the diagram content so that it fits the
size of the diagram overview shape area.
Unselect to fix the current zoom ratio of the diagram content. It will
persist in any size change.
NOTE: Any value setting for this property can take effect on the
diagram overview shape in case the Autosize property value is false.
If you need to reset the diagram content ratio to 1:1, set the Autosize
property value to true.
Show Diagram Header Select to show the diagram header in the diagram overview shape.
Show Diagram Name Select to show the diagram icon and name in the diagram header of
the diagram overview shape, in case the diagram header is displayed,
i.e., the Show Diagram Header property value is true.
Show Diagram Overview Content Select to change the diagram shape into the diagram overview shape
that shows the content or a part of the content of a corresponding
diagram.
Unselect to change the diagram overview shape into the diagram
shape.
For more information about using this command refer to step #4 of the
procedure "To create a diagram overview shape by using a drag-and-
drop operation" on page 211.
Property Description
Show More Sign in Diagram Select to display the more sign at the bottom of the diagram overview
Overview Content shape area, when only a part of the diagram content is displayed the
diagram overview shape (see the following figure).
Figure 114 -- An example of the more sign on diagram overview shape area
In the smart manipulator of the diagram (overview) shape there are two buttons that need to be described.
Figure 115 -- Buttons for showing (on the left) and hiding (on the right) the diagram overview content in the smart
manipulator toolbar
Button Description
Changes the diagram shape to the diagram overview shape that shows in its
content the selected-to-overview shapes of the corresponding diagram.
For more information about using this command refer to step #4 of the procedure
"To create a diagram overview shape by using a drag-and-drop operation" on
page 211.
Button Description
Changes the diagram overview shape to the diagram shape.
There are different sets of buttons on the diagram overview shape area showing a diagram and the one
showing a dependency matrix, table, or relation map.
Figure 116 -- Diagram overview shape area buttons in case of overviewing diagram (on the left) and dependency matrix
(on the right)
Button Description
Opens the Compartments menu. For more information, see "Smart
Manipulators" on page 235.
Suppresses the diagram overview content.
Updates the content of the diagram overview shape according to changes in the
model.
NOTE: This button is available on the diagram overview shape area only if a
dependency matrix, table, or relation map is displayed in the diagram overview
shape.
Resets the diagram overview shape’s content ratio to 1:1.
How to...
This section gives some remarks that can be useful when struggling to arrange sizes of your diagram overview
shapes. The solutions we offer are as follows:
• "How to make a couple of diagram overview shapes to be of the same size?" on page 222.
• "How to set desired shape sizes in the a diagram overview shape?" on page 222.
Let’s say you have two diagram overview shapes. You want their zoom ratio to be 1:1 and shape areas to be of
the same height (or width) at the same time.
Solution
1. For both diagram overview shapes set the Fit Content to the Shape Area property value to
false.
2. For both diagram overview shapes set the Autosize property value to false.
3. Make both diagram overview shapes of preferred size.
4. Make both diagram overview shapes of the same height (or width) by dragging corners of the
shape areas.
Solution
1. Set the Fit Content to the Shape Area property value to true for this diagram overview shape.
2. Set the desired shape content size by dragging corners of the shape area.
3. Set the Fit Content to the Shape Area property value to false for this diagram overview shape.
In case the diagram overview shape shows the full content of the corresponding diagram, all new shapes
added to the diagram pane in the diagram overview shape will be of the previously set size.
If you want to reset the shape sizes to ratio zoom 1:1, do any of the following:
• Set for the diagram overview shape the Autosize property value to true.
• Make the diagram overview shape of the preferred size.
2. The table with the predefined information will be displayed on the diagram.
1. From the diagram info table shortcut menu, select Customize, or from the Options menu,
select Project. The Project Options dialog box opens.
2. Open the Diagram Info pane.
3. In the Source pane, select the type of information you want to include in the table: Standard
Mode or Custom Mode.
4. Standard Mode contains the following fields that will be shown in the table: Author, Creation
date, Modification date, and all other tag definitions that can be assigned to the diagram.
In the Custom Mode field, you can create your own table or any other object in HTML.
5. Preview the selected table or other created object in the Preview pane.
You can also convert multiple the same type diagrams – select them in the Browser and choose command
Refactor > Change Type To.
1. Click the element button on the diagram pallet, or press the appropriate shortcut key for the
element you wish to draw (the button remains pressed).
2. Click the desired location on the diagram pane. The new symbol is created on the diagram
pane at the point you click.
For a detailed description of MagicDraw user
interface, see "Understanding MagicDraw User
Interface (UI)" on page 70.
To turn the sticky mode off, click the Sticky button or press Z.
To open the name autocompletion list when typing the element name
1. On the diagram pane, click the element shape and then click the element name area. The auto
completion list with names of already created elements appears.
2. Type the beginning of the searched element name and the list is reduced according to the
letters you typed. For example, if you are searching for Profile class, type the Pro letters and all
classes, which begins with Pro will be shown in the list.
3. To narrow the search scope, you can customize scope filter options. For this, click
below the autocompletion list. Be sure the Apply Filter check box is selected! For more
information about the commands for the search scope filter customization, see "Searching for
Elements in Element Selection Dialog" on page 355.
These shapes will contain identical data.
• If you want to create the new element with the same name as the already
existing element name, on the diagram pane type the name and press
Enter. Note that two elements with the same names could not be created
in the same owner, that is, owners of these elements should be different.
• If you attempt to enter an existing name in the corresponding
Specification window, an error message alerts you to the existence of the
current name of the symbol. You may not specify a name for a new symbol
if another symbol of the same name and kind is already present in the
package.
• Click the shape and then click the Make Preferred Size smart manipulator. Note that the
smart manipulator is always displayed on any of the visible borders. Just select the shape, and
the manipulator appears at the right of the shape’s horizontal border or at the bottom of the
vertical shape’s border.
1. Right-click the symbol on the diagram, and then click Symbol Properties.
2. Click the Text Vertical Position value cell to open the list of available positions, and click the
Top, Center or Bottom position.
1. Click the appropriate path button on the diagram toolbar for the relationship you wish to draw.
For a detailed description of the diagram toolbars, see "Toolbars" on
page 72.
3. Drag the path to the second (target) shape of the path and drop it there.
When drawing a new path MagicDraw automatically chooses the
optimal route for the path (that is, path avoids other shapes).
• To remove the selected path from the diagram, press Delete. After the deletion, the relationship
will no longer be referenced by the deleted path (symbol), but still can be referenced by other
appropriated symbols.
• To remove the selected relationship from the model, press Ctrl+D.
For more information about path layout, see "Layout" on page 256.
• Right-click the path and click Symbol Properties. Then in the Symbol Properties dialog, click
to select the Rounded Corners property.
Line jumps represent an intersection of lines. If you have a large diagram with lots of intersecting paths, line
jumps make the diagram easier to understand.
By default line jumps are not displayed.You can configure a diagram to display line jumps in the following way:
1. From the diagram shortcut menu, choose Diagram Properties. The Diagram Properties
dialog box appears.
2. Change the Add Line Jumps To property.
Changing the Add Line Jumps To property for a particular diagram from within the diagram Properties dialog
box, will change line jumps for the current diagram only.
For more information about how to change line jumps for the whole project,
see "Style Engine" on page 324.
In the State and Activity diagrams you can split a path into two paths, by drawing a symbol on it. This is valid for
Transition/Control Flow/Object Flow relationships and allowed to connect with these path elements.
1. Select the symbol you want to insert or click the diagram toolbar button to create a new one.
2. Drag it on the path. The path is highlighted in blue.
3. Drop the symbol. A Message dialog box appears asking if you want to insert the symbol on the
path.
Possible solutions:
• Before <path type>. Symbol is inserted before the path. It means a new path is created, then
the dropped element symbol is drawn and then the existing path is drawn. For example:
Password read transition is drawn from Read Name state to Verification state. If you want to
insert the Read password state before the Password read transition, drop the Read password
state on the transition and in the open dialog, click the Before Transition button.
• After <path type>. Symbol is inserted before path. It means, the existing path is created, then
the dropped element symbol is drawn, and then a new path is drawn. For example: Name read
transition is drawn from Read Name state to Verification state. If you want to insert the Read
password state after the Name read transition, drop the Read password state on the transition
and in the open dialog, click the After Transition button.
Select the Remember my choice check box and the next time an element will be inserted before or after the
path, depending on your selection made this time.
1. From an element shortcut menu in the browser, select Create Relation and then select the
desired link from the group of Outgoing or Incoming relations. The Create New <relation
name> To (From) dialog box opens.
2. In the model element tree, select an element to (from) which you want to create a relation. Click
OK. The link will appear in the Browser. Type the name or leave it unnamed.
-or-
Smart Manipulation
Smart Manipulation
Smart manipulation is a feature designed to make modeling with MagicDraw diagrams easier. Use Smart
manipulation to display or suppress compartments, create elements, set an auto-size option, reset a label
position on a path, and draw relationships with most commonly used elements. MagicDraw offers varying smart
mechanisms depending on the shapes involved.
Smart Manipulators
Small buttons are displayed within the symbol on the diagram pane.
Create Property, Creates, for example, the property, the operation, or other
Create Operation, particular element into the compartment.
others Note that the Create <element name> smart manipulator
exists only next to the compartment that is represented as a box
on a shape. For example, Tagged Values do not have
compartment and thus do not have Create <element name>
smart manipulator.
If shapes have only one compartment, the smart manipulator is
displayed at the right-top of the shape, instead of the Create
Element smart manipulator, for example, on the Signal shape.
In the smart manipulator toolbar, buttons are divided into standard and extra modes. You can toggle between
these two modes by clicking the Expand button - the arrow symbol - located at the bottom of every smart
manipulator toolbar. The program remembers your mode choice and displays it for all elements.
Use the smart manipulator toolbar to quickly perform simple actions and create new elements.
1. Select a symbol on the diagram pane. The smart manipulator toolbar appears. In the toolbar,
select the relationship that you want to draw. The drawing of the selected relationship is initiated
and the mouse cursor displays the new element which will be created.
Create a class symbol. In the class smart manipulator toolbar, select the Directed
Association relationship for drawing. The drawing of this Directed Association
relationship is initiated and the mouse cursor displays a class icon. Click the left
mouse button. The element displayed on the mouse cursor is created together
with the relationship.
2. Use the smart manipulator toolbar to select which element you want to draw at the other end of
relationship. In the toolbar, select the relationship and then click the right mouse button. The list
of elements available for creating appears. Select the element from the list and it will be
created.
• To create a path breakpoint use the following keyboard
combination: Ctrl key + Mouse click.
• To cancel the drawing of an element, press Esc.
1. Select the element from the diagram pane, which is drawn on an incorrect ownership (which is
highlighted in red). The smart manipulator toolbar appears.
2. Click the red button, which is at the top of the smart manipulator toolbar. The menu with the
possible problem solving solutions appears.
1. From the Options menu, select Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. In the Diagram options group, Smart Manipulators category, click to clear the Show Smart
Manipulators check box and click OK.
Compartments
The compartment is area on the shape or next to the shape that is dedicated for the specific type of information.
• Compartments that are displayed next to the element name on the shape. For example, a
shape has a compartment stereotypes, constraints, and others.
• Stereotypes (or stereotypes compartment) are displayed above
the element name.
• Constraints (or constraints compartment) are displayed under the
element name.
• By default, tagged values are displayed under the element name
or you can select to display tagged values in the compartment
box,
• Element Properties are displayed in the compartment box.
• Compartments that are displayed next to the element name, next to the shape. For example,
an Actor has a compartment for element properties, a compartment for stereotypes, behaviors,
and others.
• Compartments on paths that are displayed next to the path label. For example, a compartment
for element properties, a compartment for stereotypes, and others.
In addition, in the Compartment Edit dialog, under the Element Properties tab, you can display or hide the
element specification properties, such as, Name, Is Active, Owner, To Do, and others.
• On the diagram, right-click the shape and from the shortcut menu, select Edit Compartments.
• On the diagram, on the Note shape, click the Edit Element Properties smart manipulator.
For more information, see "Note" on page 944.
• Creating a shape on the diagram by using smart manipulator while drawing a path. The size of
the new shape is the same as the size of the source shape. Note that this is valid if the source
shape is not large, for example, if it is not more than 3 times larger than the new shape.
• Inserting a new shape into the flow in the activity or state diagram. The size of the newly
inserted shape is the same as the size of the source shape.
• Press ALT and click the shape. All shapes of the same type are selected.
• Do the following:
1. Click the shape on the diagram pane.
2. Hold down SHIFT and click another shape. Repeat until you select the desired
number of shapes.
• Drag the cursor diagonally across the area you wish to select. All shapes in the selected area
will be selected.
To select a group of shapes drag the cursor diagonally across the area you wish to select. This is a simple and
fast way to select a group of shapes on the diagram.
After the selection process represented in the Figure 1, the following shapes are selected, as shown in Figure
2.
Figure 129 -- Rectangular selection result with partial selection coverage mode
Figure 130 -- Rectangular selection result with complete coverage selection mode
To quickly change the group selection mode from Partial coverage to Complete coverage mode or conversely
• Press the Ctrl key and then drag the cursor diagonally across the area you want to select.
To change the group selection mode for the whole project, do either
• In the main diagram toolbar press the Complete coverage mode for group selection button.
-or-
• Do the following:
1. From the Options main menu, select Environment. The Environment Options
dialog box appears.
2. In the Diagram branch, Symbols Manipulation group, change the property of the
Group selection mode option.
5. Select Image, Plain Text, or HTML Text accordingly to your what you want to paste on the
diagram.
Dragged images will be nested by the following elements: Package, Model, Subsystem, Instance, Node, Part,
Combined Fragment, Composite State (State diagram), Interruptible Activity Region, Structured Activity Node,
Expansion Region, and Conditional Node (Activity diagram).
Figure 133 -- Samples of Images Nested to the Products Package and Server Component
Dragging Objects
You can move a shape to another location on the diagram pane by dragging and dropping.
• Select the symbols and drag them to the desired area on the diagram pane.
• Hold down the CTRL key while dragging the selected shape to the area where you wish to
make a copy.
To drag and drop items from the Model Browser to the diagram pane
1. In the Model Browser, select the created model element you wish to draw.
2. Drag the selected model element to the desired location on the diagram pane and drop it there.
• You can select several model elements and draw them on the diagram pane.
• If the selected model elements are not compatible with the open diagram, you
will not be allowed to draw those model elements.
Dragging Files
The drag-and-drop capability allows you to drag any files from your file system to any element in the Model
Browser or to a symbol on a diagram. A hyperlink is automatically created for the element or symbol to which
the file is dragged. Double-click the element or symbol to open the dropped file.
1. Select a file.
2. Drag the selected file onto the element in the Model Browser or onto a symbol on a diagram. A
hyperlink to the file is created.
Figure 135 -- Dragging file onto the symbol and creating hyperlink
Dragging Images
You can drag an image file from your file system to an element in the Model Browser or a symbol on a diagram
pane. The dragged images are set as the Image property value of the element.
2. Drag this file to the element in the Model Browser or the symbol on the diagram.
Figure 136 -- Representation of image dragged to class shape and as Image value in Specification window
Let’s describe the element dragging to the Specification window in the following example:
1. Open the sample project class.diagram.mdzip. This sample can be found in <MagicDraw
installation directory>\sample\diagrams.
2. Open a diagram domain.User.
3. Open the Specification window of the class Customer. In the Operations group, select the
getProfile operation.
4. In the Model Browser, select the CustomerProfile class and drag it to the Type property value
cell in the opened Class - Customer Specification window. The CustomerProfile class is
assigned as the value of the getProfile operation type.
You can drag any elements from the Specification window to a diagram or to the browser. Let’s describe this
case in the following example:
1. Open the sample project class.diagram.mdzip. This sample can be found in <MagicDraw
installation directory>\sample\diagrams.
2. Select the class Customer and open its Specification window.
3. In the Operations group, select the getProfile operation. The operation properties opens.
4. In the Type property value cell, select the CustomProfile and drag it to the one of the following:
• An empty place on a diagram. In this case, the class symbol is created on the
diagram (depicted in the Figure 138 on page 249).
• A particular shape on a diagram. In this case, a new attribute is created.
• A particular element in the Model Browser. In this case, a new model element is
created.
Dragging in Diagrams
• The path for the relationship will be created along with the shapes at the end of the path.
• The path will be created between the shapes (if shapes at the end of the path already were
represented on the diagram).
You can add a hyperlink to an element on a note and a text box symbols by simply dragging and dropping
model element on a note or text box symbol in diagram.
For more information, see "To add a hyperlink to an element on a note symbol"
on page 946, and "To add a hyperlink to an element on a text box" on
page 1035.
• Drag an Interaction to an Interaction Use. The Interaction will be set as Refers To element.
• Dragging a Signal to a Message converts the Message into a Send Signal Message and
assigns the Signal to the Message.
You can drag an Event element to a Transition element in a State Machine diagram. A Trigger with this Event is
created for the Transition element.
Figure 139 -- Example of shortcut menu displayed when dragging to Activity diagram
1. Select a stereotype.
2. Drag it to a model element or symbol on a diagram pane to apply the stereotype.
To paste one or more copied model elements by creating new model elements
To copy the whole diagram and paste it to Microsoft Office or other application
To copy the selected model elements and paste them to Microsoft Office or other application
3. Open the desired application and paste the copied model elements.
You can copy or cut and paste the text only when using the shortcut
keys Ctrl+C or Ctrl+X and Ctrl+V. When you use the buttons or
commands, the whole element is copied/cut and pasted.
Zooming
Zooming allows you to select a particular part of a diagram, zoom into it, and make changes while working with
a finer level of detail. You can also gain an overview of a diagram by zooming out from it.
• From the View menu or from the diagram shortcut menu, select Fit in Window (shortcut keys
CTRL+W.)
• In the Browser Zoom tab, click Fit in Window .
• From the View menu or from the diagram shortcut menu, select Zoom In (shortcut keys
CTRL+NumPad PLUS SIGN (+) or scroll.)
• From the View menu or from the diagram shortcut menu, select Zoom Out (shortcut keys
CTRL+NumPad MINUS SIGN (-) or scroll.)
• From the View menu or from the diagram shortcut menu, select Zoom 1:1 (shortcut keys
CTRL+NumPad SLASH MARK (/).)
Select the shapes and then from either the View menu or the diagram shortcut menu, select
Zoom to Selection (shortcut keys CTRL+NumPad ASTERICS MARK (*).)
1. From the Options menu, select Environment. The Environment Options dialog box opens.
2. Open the Diagram pane and change the Zoom Step Size property. The maximum number is
1.0 (you can zoom a diagram twice.)
You can also zoom in or out of the diagram using the zoom panel in the
Browser window. For the detailed description, see "Zoom tab" on
page 93.
Do either:
• From the main menu, select View > Grid > Show Grid.
• NEW! Right-click the diagram and from the shortcut menu, select Show Grid.
• Open the Diagram Properties dialog and set the Show Grid property to true.
From either the View menu or from the diagram shortcut menu, select Grid and then select/clear
the Snap Paths to Grid check box.
From either the View menu or from the diagram shortcut menu, select Grid and then select/clear
the Snap Shapes to Grid check box.
1. From either the View menu or from the diagram shortcut menu, select Grid and then select
Grid Size.
2. The Grid Size dialog box opens.
3. Enter a grid size between 2 and 30 (default is 10).
4. Click OK.
1. From the Options menu, select Environment. The Environment Options dialog box opens.
2. From the Grid Style drop-down list, select one of the following styles:
• Dense
• Sparse (default)
Layout
The diagram layout engine is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
It is easy to manage simple or complex diagrams using the automated layout features that optimize diagram
layout for viewing.
MagicDraw automatically layouts symbols on diagrams when displaying related elements, creating diagrams by
using wizards, when creating related diagrams.
You can layout diagrams quickly by using the Quick Diagram layout. The quick layout is a recommended type
of layout, and it is specific for each diagram.
The layout mechanism is built on various layout tools. All layout tools could be separated into 2 different
groups: general layout tools and specific diagram layout tools. These are the general layout tools:
• Orthogonal Layout
• Hierarchic Layout
• Organic Layout
• Tree Layout
• Circular Layout
• Oblique Path Router
• Rectilinear Path Router
These layout tools are provided by yFiles layout tool component. You can arrange each diagram (except
Sequence diagram) by using any of the 5 general layout tools.
• Right-click the diagram, on the shortcut menu, point to Layout, and then select one of the
layout tools.
You can also layout the selected symbols. Just select symbols or
part of the diagram and then use one of the layout tools.
Default label positions leaves after moving a path, shape, or related element if it is semantically logical
decision. See an example below, there association multiplicities leaves at their default positions after class is
moved.
After moving a path, shape or related element default label positions leaves if it is semantically logical decision.
For nicer representation of labels in diagram in the following cases labels positions are reseted to their default
position automatically:
3. Symbol properties edit. When symbol properties edit causes label text box addition or removal
from diagram pane labels positions are reset.
4. Path, path end or port properties edit. When path, path end or port data edit causes label text
box addition or removal from diagram pane labels positions are recalculated. See an example
when qualifier is added in Figure 142 on page 258.
5. Path, shape or related element movement. See an example, when related element is moved
Figure 143 on page 258.
Figure 142 -- Label position is reset to its default position after qualifier is added
Figure 143 -- Label position is reset to its default position after Order class movement
While moving text box from default position, dotted line shows deviation from default position. This helps to see
the current labels owner (see the following figure).
Figure 144 -- Dotted line, which shows deviation from the default position
If label is not at its default labels position, label right bottom corner is marked after label owner (path or shape)
selection on diagram pane (see the following figure).
Figure 145 -- Marking the label when it is not at its default position
Magnet works in the opposite way. It moves the selected group of symbols to override an empty space on a
diagram.
Now you do not need to select separate symbols on a diagram to move them to another location. Just click the
Pusher or Magnet button on the diagram palette and move the whole group of symbols toward the direction
you need.
1. On the diagram pallet, click the Pusher button to push or the Magnet button to lift the
diagram fragment.
2. On the diagram pane, click the place whereon you need to make or remove an empty place and
hold the right mouse button pressed.
3. Move the mouse in the desired direction, and the whole group of symbols will move toward this
direction. The manipulation bar represented as a bold black line is displayed while moving the
group of symbols.
4. Release the right mouse button after movement is finished.
Related references
Layout
Saving as Image
You can save as image an active diagram, selected symbols, or selected diagrams.
Diagrams and symbols that were created in the model can be saved as an image in the following formats:
• Enhanced Metafile Format (*.emf) (supports language specific symbols)
• Encapsulated PostScript (*.eps)
• Joint Photographic Experts Group (*.jpg, *.jpeg)
• Portable Network Graphics (*.png)
• Scalable Vector Graphics (*.svg)
• Tagged Image File Format (*.tif, *.tiff)
• Windows Metafile Format (*.wmf)
The following table describe dialog elements and buttons that are used in this dialog.
Properties Dialog
In the Properties dialog, you can change image size, resolution (DPI), and specify other image properties that
are specific to the selected image format.
1. From the File menu, select the Save As Image command. The Save As Image dialog opens.
2. Select the file format in the Image Format drop down list.
3. Click the Options button near the Image Format drop down list. The Properties dialog opens.
You can also define image saving options in the Environment Options window.
For more information, see "Customizing Environment Options" on page 96.
Printing
With MagicDraw you are able:
• To print an active diagram
• To print a any diagram(s)
• To print all opened diagrams
• To print selected symbols of active diagram
You can specify the printing options or preview the pages by using the following dialogs:
• Print Dialog
• Print Options Dialog
• Print Preview Window
1. From the File main menu, select Print. The Print dialog opens.
2. Under Print what, select Selected diagram(s). The Select Diagram dialog opens.
3. Select diagram(s) that you want to print. For more information about working with the Select
Diagram dialog, see "Selecting an Element" on page 352.
4. Click OK.
5. Click Print.
The Print button is unavailable if there are no selected diagrams.
1. Open a diagram.
2. On the diagram, select a symbol or symbols that you want to print.
3. Do one of the following:
• On one of the selected symbols, make right-mouse click. In shortcut menu, select
Print Selected.
The Print Selected command in the diagram shortcut menu exists
only if on the diagram pane there is selected more than one symbol.
• From the File menu, select Print. On the Print dialog, under Print what, select
Selected symbols of active diagram, and then click the Print button.
The Print button is unavailable if there are no selected symbols
in the active diagram.
Related references
Print Dialog
Page Setup Dialog
Header/Footer Dialog
Print Options Dialog
Print Preview Window
Print Dialog
• Press CTRL+P.
The following table describes elements and buttons that are used in the dialog.
Related concepts
Printing
Related references
Page Setup Dialog
Header/Footer Dialog
Print Options Dialog
Print Preview Window
• Open the Print dialog, and then click the Page Setup button.
• Open the Print Options dialog, and then click the Page Setup button.
Related concepts
Printing
Related references
Print Dialog
Print Options Dialog
Header/Footer Dialog
In the Header/Footer dialog you can customize the header and footer for the pages.
• Open the Print dialog, and then click the Header/Footer button.
• Open the Print Options dialog, and then click the Header/Footer button.
The following table describes elements and buttons that are used in the dialog.
Related concepts
Printing
Related references
Print Dialog
Print Options Dialog
The Print Options dialog has the same components as the Print dialog,
except the Print what group. For more information about the Print dialog,
see "Print Dialog" on page 265.
Related concepts
Printing
Related references
Print Dialog
Page Setup Dialog
Header/Footer Dialog
Print Preview Window
The following table describes dialog elements and buttons that are used in the dialog.
Related concepts
Printing
Related references
Print Dialog
Page Setup Dialog
Header/Footer Dialog
Print Options Dialog
Specification Window
Specification Windows
MagicDraw shortcut menus, toolbars, and browser help ease the task of editing model elements.
MagicDraw also allows the editing of model elements and symbol
properties directly in the Properties tab, which is located at the
bottom of the Model Browser. For more information, see “Properties
tab” on page 95.
The Specification window is used to define UML model elements such as class, package, activity, and others.
Specification window is a non-modal window in which you may edit model element properties and work with a
model simultaneously. For more information on how to edit property values, see "Editing Property Values" on
page 298.
Related references
Functions of Specification Window
Specification Window Toolbar
Property Group Toolbar
Quick Filter
Specification Window Property Groups
Buttons Available in Specification Window
Function How to
Add/modify model Choose the desired property group and specify its properties in the
element properties properties specification pane.
and inner elements.
Open referenced
elements Click or
specifications and
work with them in the
same window.
Navigate between
specifications that
were opened Click or
Function How to
Manage relations •View all relationships in which the element participates.
•Modify the name of the relationship.
•View/change the direction of the relationship.
•Modify the target element.
incoming relationships.
Add/edit the element Add or edit a documentation of the element. Documentation also can be
documentation written in HTML.
More information about working with HTML text, see in “HTML Editor”
on page 423.
Manage element Open, edit, add, or remove hyperlinks from the selected model element
hyperlinks to a file, address, other element/symbol, or requirements.
More information about working with hyperlinks, see “Defining
Hyperlinks” on page 340.
Manage element tags More information about working with tags you may find in "Editing
and their values tagged value" on page 993.
Manage element More information about working with constraints you may find in
constraints "Working with Constraints" on page 867.
Track the element’s Find out in which diagrams the symbol is used.
symbol usage in
diagrams and open
these diagrams.
Select the model
element in the
Containment tree Click or
Track elements More information about the traceability you may find in Section
traceability “Traceability” on page 515.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Select in Selects the selected element in the Containment tree of the Model
Containment Browser.
Tree
Specification If selected, the referenced Specification windows are opened in the
opening mode same window.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Related concepts
Specification Window
Quick Filter
The quick filter field is displayed only then more than ten properties
are displayed in the property list. For more information, see "Property
Group Toolbar" on page 278.
Using the Quick filter box you may quickly find the required property in the property list. This is especially handy
when the properties list is rather long. Properties can be filtered by the text entered in this box.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Related concepts
Specification Window
Type or view the model element name. If you enter the name of an existing model element, an error message
opens.
For some model elements (attribute, operation, and so forth), the default name Untitled1 is set. You can change
this name to a preferred name.
When one of these check boxes is selected, the model element is correspondingly set as an active or abstract
model element.
Applied Stereotype
Click the “...” button to open the list of all available applied stereotypes, select the check box for the chosen
stereotype and click Apply.
Visibility
To define an element access level, use the drop down list to set its visibility. There are four levels of access:
• Public. The element can be accessed by any outside object.
• Package. The element can be accessed by any classifier declared in the same package (or a
nested subpackage, to any level).
• Private. The element can be accessed only from inside the current class.
• Protected. The element can be accessed from inside the current class and classes derived
from that class.
ToDo
Type or view information about an element. The To Do property is used for keeping special information,
exclusive cases, or additional records.
Image
Click the ... button to assign the image to the element. Assigned image can be displayed on the shape or
instead of the shape.
For more information, about changing the image display mode,
see “Displaying icon or image” on page 319.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Use the Documentation/Hyperlinks property group to add comments to the selected element and to assign
hyperlinks. The hyperlink can direct the user to a model element, address, or file.
To write documentation in HTML format, simply select the HTML check box to display a menu with the available
text formatting options.
For more information about the HTML editor toolbar,
see "HTML editor toolbar" on page 428.
Adding Hyperlinks
In the Hyperlinks group, manage the hyperlinks you want to add to the model element
Active If selected, the hyperlink is activated and will work when double-
clicking the model element.
Hyperlink Display information about the hyperlink: a diagram or element name,
file path, or URL name.
Open Opens the previously assigned hyperlink.
Edit The Insert Hyperlink dialog opens. Edit the selected hyperlink.
Add The Insert Hyperlink dialog opens. Select the hyperlink you want to
add to the model element.
Remove Remove the selected hyperlink from the model element.
Related concepts
Specification Window
The Usage in Diagrams property group lists the diagrams in which is drawn the symbol of the current element.
For more information about searching for symbol usage in diagrams from the Usage
In Diagrams property group, see "Symbol Usage in Diagrams" on page 577.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Related concepts
Specification Window
The Attributes property group contains the model element attributes list and buttons for editing the attributes
list.
Name Attribute name.
Type Attribute type. It can be a primitive type or another class.
Default Value Attribute default value.
Classifier Class name that contains the current attribute.
Up Move item to upper position in the list.
Down Move item to lower position in the list.
Create Add a new attribute to the class. The attribute Specification window
opens.
TIP! You may also add a new attribute from the classifier by pressing
Insert.
Clone Enabled when the element is selected in the list. A new element will be
created. The new element derives all properties from the cloned
element. The name will be changed to “<element_name><number>”.
Redefine Enabled when the element is selected in the list. A new element
redefining an existing one will be created.
For more information about searching for symbol usage in diagrams from the Usage
In Diagrams branch, see “To search for diagrams in which symbol is used from the
element Specification window” on page 578.
Related concepts
Specification Window
The Operations property group contains the model element operations list and buttons for managing this list.
Name Operation name.
Return type Operation return type.
Classifier The name of the classifier containing the current operation.
Up Move item to upper position in the list.
Down Move item to lower position in the list.
Create Add a new operation to the model element. The Operation
Specification window opens.
TIP! You may also add a new operation from the classifier by pressing
Insert.
Clone Enabled when the element is selected in the list. A new element will be
created. The new element derives all properties from cloned element.
The name will be changed to “<element_name><number>”.
Redefine Enabled when the element is selected in the list. A new element
redefining an existing one will be created.
Delete Remove the selected operation from the model element.
TIP! You may also delete an operation from the classifier by pressing
Delete.
Click this button to open the operation Specification window.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Related concepts
Specification Window
The Relations property group contains the list of relationships in which the appropriate model element
participates.
Create Outgoing Create a new outgoing relationship by choosing the relationship type
from the appeared list.
Related concepts
Specification Window
The Connectors property group contains the list of connectors. Click the property group, to see the Context
column, which allows you to distinguish connectors easily.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Group by Stereotype
Displays types of tag definitions in the list.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Create Opens the menu with the available to create constraints. Click to
create the duration, interaction, time, simple or custom constraint.
Apply The Select Elements dialog opens. Select an existing constraint
from the model or create a new one and apply it to the element.
Unapply Removes the selected constraint from the list.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Related concepts
Specification Window
The Traceability property group in element’s Specification window is one of the places, wherein the element’s
traceability properties, showing its realizing and/ or more specific elements, are represented.
For more information about traceability feature, see "Traceability" on page 515.
Related concepts
Specification Window
Button Function
Close Save changes and exit the dialog.
Back Return to the previous dialog.
Forward Proceed to the next dialog.
Help Display MagicDraw Help.
Related concepts
Specification Window
1. From the Options main menu, select Project. The Project Options dialog opens.
2. Expand Default model properties. Select the exact element and in the right pane side,
change the property value.
After creating a new element it will have new property values. Values for previously created elements will not be
changed.
To reset element properties to the default value, click the Reset to Defaults button. To reset property values for
all elements select the Default model properties branch and click the Reset to Defaults button.
(Exception: interface attribute default visibility will always be #public, no matter what your settings.)
1. From the Diagrams main menu, select the Customize command. The Customize Diagrams
dialog opens.
2. Select the diagram type you want to customize.
3. Click the Edit button. The Customize Diagram Wizard opens.
4. In the fourth Specify toolbar buttons step, click the Add button. The menu appears.
5. In the appeared menu, select the New Button command. The Edit Button dialog opens.
6. In the General tab, click to expand the Model Element Type drop down list and select the
element, which default properties you want to customize.
7. In the Edit Button dialog, open the Element Properties tab.
8. Select the Specify own values radio button. Now change the default property values of the
chosen element.
Create a new element from the customized diagram toolbar and the element default properties will be the same
as you had defined.
For more information about Customize Diagram Wizard, see MagicDraw
UMLProfiling&DSL UserGuide.pdf, which is located in <MagicDraw
installation directory>/manual.
If you want to share the default properties with other users for their new project, change the property values in
the Project Options dialog and then create a project template, which other users may use:
1. From the File main menu select the Export > Template... command and save the project as a
template. A template will be created in <MagicDraw installation directory>\templates.
2. To import the created template to a new project from the File main menu, select the New
Project command. The New Project dialog opens. Select the Project from Template icon
from the Other domain and in the Select template tree, select your template. The project
options are imported to the project together with the template.
Figure 170 -- Selecting Edit Owner command on property’s shortcut menu in Specification window
The way of entering a property value depends on the selected property type.
Property values in gray are not editable. They are derived from other elements
used in your model.
In case of editing a value that consists of several words, the value cell may seem too short. In order to avoid
this inconvenience you can edit the property value in a dialog specially designated for typing long values.
Figure 171 -- Editing value that consists of several words in Specification window
There are some textual properties, whose values can keep text formatting settings. You can use the HTML
editor in such cases. To use the HTML editor, select the HTML check box in the dialog opened for editing this
special kind of textual property value.
Some properties can have more than one textual value, for example, the Body property of an opaque
expression, the Pre Condition and Post Condition properties of a use case, and other. You can use a special
editor to edit multiline textual values.
Using the editor for multiline textual values, you can perform the following actions:
• Create a new value.
• Remove a selected value.
• Edit each value in the HTML editor separately.
• Reorder values.
• Strip long values (available only in the Specification window).
To strip long values, make sure that the Strip Multiline Text mode is
turned on in the Specification window. For more information about
buttons on the Specification window toolbar, see "Specification Window
Toolbar" on page 277.
Under the Mac OS platform the MAC shortcut key should be used
instead of the ALT key.
Selecting values
Selectable value type property values are selected from lists. There can be two types of lists:
• Non-editable - for properties whose value ranges are restricted by UML (for example, Visibility,
Message Sort, Event Type, and other).
• Editable - for properties whose value ranges are not restricted by UML and can be defined by
the user (for example, Type Modifier, Multiplicity, and other).
You can remove the property value only if the property can have
an empty value.
This is the case of assigning a value to a property in one of the following ways:
• Selecting a value either from a predefined value (autocompletion) list or from the whole model
via the element Selection dialog.
• Creating a new element and selecting it as property value.
Figure 177 -- Selecting single property value from predefined (autocompletion) list in Specification window
For information about the type and mode of searching for an element, see
"To create a new element in the element Selection dialog" on page 356.
Figure 178 -- Selecting single property value via element Selection dialog
In this case you can assign more than one value to a property via the element Selection dialog.
Examples of properties that may have multiple values: Classifier, Method, and other.
Figure 179 -- Selecting multiple property values in the element Selection dialog
There are some properties whose values can be their inner elements. Specifying such property value requires
to create a new element. The element, which has the property with the inner element assigned as its value,
becomes the owner of this inner element.
Examples of properties whose values are their inner elements: Owned Comment, Owned Attribute, and
other.
The element is removed from both the property value list and the
model.
Examples of properties whose values are value specifications: Default Value, Value, and other.
Some elements can be related to each other as the owner and the owned one, for example, a transition can be
an owner of a trigger, and the trigger can be owned by the transition.
MagicDraw allows the handy editing of owned element property values via owner’s properties. Owned element
properties are available as appropriately named property groups, for example, the Entry, Do Activity, and Exit
property groups in the state’s Specification window (see the following figure).
When editing owned element properties, keep in mind that you create
a new element in your model.
Property set in a property group may vary before and after owned element specification. For example, let’s say,
we have an activity assigned as behavior type in the Entry property group. As a result to this certain additional
properties for creating a new activity in your model appear in the Entry property group: Name and Owned
Diagram (see the following figure).
Keep in mind that the owner’s specification contains only ownership-relevant
properties of an owned element.
To view and edit all other properties of the owned element, open its
Specification window.
1. In the property group, wherein you want to create the owned element, click any editable
property value cell.
2. Specify additional properties corresponding to the created element.
1. Click the <owned element type> property value cell in the desired to remove owned element
property group.
2. In the opened drop-down list, select <UNSPECIFIED>.
Formatting Symbols
Definition Description
Symbol The term "symbol" means a visual representation of some model
elements in the diagram. Symbols are subdivided into shapes and paths
(lines in the model, for displaying various relationships).
Symbol Every symbol may have its own style: color, font, size, and so forth.
properties Symbol properties may be defined for the concrete symbol, for all
symbol of one element, or according to the diagram type. For more
information about symbol properties definition, see "Formatting
Symbols" on page 317, about style engine, see "Style Engine" on
page 324.
Every symbol in MagicDraw can have its own style: color, font, size, and so forth. You may define the symbol
properties in the following ways:
• In the Symbol Properties dialog. See the "Symbol Properties dialog" on page 317..
• In the Symbol tab on the Properties panel at the bottom of the Model Browser.
• In the Project Options dialog. Using this dialog you can change all available symbol
properties, create your own style for the project, apply different symbol properties for different
diagrams, define stereotype properties that may be bound to the symbol, and more.
For more information about creating, editing, cloning,
importing/exporting, or removing symbol styles, see
"Style Engine" on page 324.
• On the diagram toolbar. Using this toolbar you can change the color, font, path style of a
symbol, and paste the symbol properties.
For more information about diagram toolbar, see
"Diagram toolbars" on page 73.
modal window - you can edit the symbol properties and see the changes on the diagram instantly. In addition,
while the dialog is active you can still work with diagrams or other dialogs.
In the following table, you will find the described common functions that Symbol Properties dialog provides.
Get acquainted with the following definitions in order to understand this functionality better.
Definition Description
Stereotype Every element can be extended by applying a stereotype. For more
information about stereotype, see "Stereotype" on page 986. For more
information about applying stereotype properties, see "Stereotype
properties" on page 330.
Icon Icon of stereotype.
Icon is a small image displayed in the top-right corner of shape.
To assign icon to stereotype in the Stereotype Specification window,
define the Icon property. For more information on how to assign Icon for
stereotype, see "To create a stereotype with an image" on page 987.
Text Stereotype name, displayed on the symbol.
Image Image which can be assigned to element and displayed as icon or
instead of element shape. To assign image to element in the element
Specification window, assign the Image property. For more information
on how to assign icon for element, see "Image" on page 282.
• On the diagram, click the element shape, and then, click the Compartments button. From
the menu, select Stereotypes and then select the icon visibility mode.
Select one of the six property modes for Show Stereotypes. The property modes are described in the table
below:
* - When the Shape Image and Text or Shape Image property is selected, to display
the icon of a stereotype instead of the element symbol, all symbol compartments
should be suppressed. If the symbol contains port or pins, these ports or pins are
displayed around that symbol (see the following figure).
Shape Image and Text and Shape Image properties are not added to the Path
element properties list.
If element has assigned both - image and stereotype icon - then image of element will
be displayed on the shape.
Figure 187 -- Example of the image of the type displayed on the Part
You can use rake icon for faster navigation in the model. The rake icon on the symbol indicates that the
appropriate element is decomposed and has an inner structure. Double-click the element to open the internal
diagram. The rake icon isn’t shown by default.
1. On the diagram pane, select symbol(s) which properties you want to copy.
2. To copy symbol properties do one of the following:
• From the Edit menu, select the Copy command.
• Press CTRL+C.
• Click the Copy button on the diagram toolbar.
3. On the diagram pane, select the symbol(s) on which you want to paste symbol properties.
4. To paste symbol properties on the selected symbols do one of the following:
• From the Edit menu, select the Paste Style command.
• Press CTRL+SHIFT+V.
• Click the Paste Style button on the diagram toolbar.
You can copy and paste symbol properties of a more than one symbol at the same time.
Symbol properties will be pasted according the element type. For example, on a class
symbol the copied symbol properties will be pasted, on a package symbol the copies
symbol properties will be pasted and so on.
Related references
Formatting Symbols
Style Engine
Style Engine
The Style engine is a part of MagicDraw, that defines diagrams, shapes, paths, and stereotype properties.
There may be few symbol styles defined, but all symbols are created according to the style that is selected as
default. There is a possibility to apply different presentation styles for diagram/shape/path/stereotype
depending on the diagram type.
Shape and Path trees have the inner structure to help you find the model element, the representation of which
must be changed. The right side of the dialog contains possible choices and instruments to manage them.
1. On the main menu, click Options > Project. The Project Options dialog opens.
2. In the tree on the dialog’s left side, select Symbol styles.
1. Select the default style in the Styles list box and click the Clone button.
2. Type a name for the new style in the Enter Style Name dialog.
3. Change options of the new style.
1. Select a style you want to rename and click the Rename button.
2. Type a new name for the style in the Enter Style Name dialog.
• Click the Apply button in the Project Options dialog, Symbol Styles pane.
You can also apply the desired options to the selected diagram model elements.
Click the Apply button in the specific elements pane.
• Click the Import button. The Open dialog opens. Select the style you wish to import (*.stl).
To save the created style (export) for a later usage or for other users
• Click the Export button. The Save dialog opens. Select the directory where you wish to export
a style.
Every style has its own presentation of Diagram, Shape, Path, and Stereotype that you can modify using the
Project Options dialog in the Symbol styles option group. You can set your own options for every model
element to the current style.
Path, Shape, and Stereotype branches have the inner structure that helps you find the model element, the
representation of which must be changed. The section on the right side of the dialog contains possible choices
and instruments to manage them.
To change properties for multiple symbols, using Ctrl or Shift key select few elements in the Project Options
dialog, Symbol styles option group.
Figure 191 -- The Project Options dialog, multiple element symbols style is selected
1. In the Project Options dialog, the Symbol Styles option group, expand an option group,
select the specific element (shape, path, diagram, or stereotype) and right click the mouse
button. The list of diagrams in which the element symbol may be created, opens.
2. Select the diagram type. The Diagram is added as an additional branch to the section.
3. Set the style properties for the element in the right pane of the Project Options dialog. The
properties will be applied only in the specified type of diagram.
• The element can be extended by diagram in the Project Options dialog, specific elements
pane, by clicking the Extend by Diagram button. The Extend by Diagram dialog opens. Click
the Add Diagram button and select a diagram from the list.
• Select the extended diagram and right click on the mouse, then select Remove.
• In the Project Options dialog, the extended diagram style properties pane, click the Remove
button.
Properties Inheritance
All element properties have the “inherited” check box. This check box indicates the property is derived from the
base element properties or is it specific.
The Inherited column check box value in the elements properties pane specifies if the current property is
synchronized with its parent property. When the Inherited value is “true”, the element property is changed after
changing the parent property.
If the property has no correspondent property in the upper (parent) level, the Inherited column check box will
be cleared and disabled.
If the property is modified for the specific element and the value differs from the upper level current property
value, the Inherited column check box is cleared automatically.
When expanding any of these branches, the style for a concrete element (diagram) can be created.
1. In the Project Options dialog, change the element style properties and click the Apply button.
The Select Diagrams dialog opens. The list of diagrams created in the project is displayed.
2. Select the diagrams to which the element properties will be applied and click OK. The Select
Properties to Apply dialog opens.
3. Select the properties to be applied to the element symbol by moving them from the All list to the
Selected list. Click OK.
If a new style was set, it will be applied for all newly created elements after drawing
them on the diagram pane. You can always set the default symbols style to the
element by clicking the Apply Default Symbol Style button in the main toolbar.
Stereotype properties
The Stereotype properties can be applied only if the stereotype properties style is created in the Project
Options dialog.
The Stereotype properties are derived from their base class. The Stereotype base class is defined in the label
of the right pane of the Project Options dialog.
The same element can have several stereotypes assigned. In this case, the style of the first stereotype will be
applied to the element symbol. If the stereotype is removed from the element, the next (first) stereotype
properties are applied. If the last stereotype is removed from the element, the base class (shape or path)
properties are applied to the element symbol.
All stereotypes that have defined symbol properties are included in the Stereotypes branch. The default style
is created for these stereotypes.
1. In the Project Options dialog, the Symbol styles option group, right-click the Stereotypes
branch. The Select Stereotypes dialog opens.
2. Select the stereotypes you want to add and click the OK button.
The stereotypes are included into the Stereotypes branch. Set the stereotype style properties
in the right pane of the Project Options dialog.
1. In the Project Options dialog, the Symbol styles option group, select the Stereotypes
branch. The list of stereotypes opens.
2. Clear the check box near the stereotype and click Apply. The stereotype is removed from the
branch.
To apply the stereotype properties to a previously created symbol with assigned stereotype
1. When the stereotype style properties in the right pane of the Project Options dialog are
changed, click the Apply button. The Select Diagrams dialog opens.
2. Select the diagrams to which the stereotype properties will be applied and click OK.
3. In the Select Properties to Apply dialog, select which properties will be applied to the
stereotype. Click OK.
You can apply stereotype properties to a symbol after changing the style properties
and in the Project Options dialog, click OK. The style will be applied when selecting
symbol on the diagram pane and clicking the Apply Default Symbol Style button
on the main toolbar.
As of MagicDraw version 17.0.3, a module7 in which the symbol style is defined is displayed next to the symbol
style in the Project Options and Symbol Properties dialogs. The new functionality also allows for copying a
symbol style from a module to the current project symbol style.
This new functionality solves the following problem: if you had defined symbol style in the project, after a
module usage you couldn’t know the source (module) of the symbol style. The symbol style from your project
7. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section mentions the old keyword, which will be replaced in
the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
was changed and you couldn’t change it back. Now this problem is solved - you can see the concrete module
from which the symbol style is used and copy the symbol style from modules.
Figure 198 -- Example of symbol styles from modules that are displayed in the Project Options dialog
Figure 199 -- Example of symbol styles from modules that are displayed in the Symbol Properties dialog
In the example, you can see that in the project there are two Subsystem symbol styles - one style from the
BPMN Profile.mdzip module and the other from the UML_Standard_Profile.mdzip module. The Subsystem
symbol style from the BPMN Profile.mdzip module is used in the current project.
The symbol style from module is not editable. This is so, because the module by itself is read-only. By copying
the symbol style from the module to the project you can create a new symbol style and then edit it.
Note that there are no rules for the symbol style usage from modules - symbols styles
are used according to modules loading order.
To copy a symbol style to the project style by using the Project Options dialog
1. In the Project Options dialog, under the Symbol styles > Default > Stereotypes options
group, select a symbol style that you want to copy. For example, select the Subsystem
[BPMN_Profile.mdzip] (see Figure 200 on page 334).
2. Click the Copy to Project Style button. The new Subsystem symbol style is created in the
project. This symbol style is now used in the project and this is the editable symbol style (see
To copy a symbol style from a module to the project by using the Symbol Properties dialog
1. In the Symbol Properties dialog, click the Apply Style button and from the drop-down list,
select a style from a module that you want to copy.
2. Click the Make Default button.
3. Edit the symbol style.
4. Click OK to close the dialog.
5. Open again the Symbol Properties dialog. In the expanded Apply Style drop-down list, you
can see the newly created symbol style. This is the copy of the selected style from the module.
Figure 202 -- Example of copied symbol style that is listed in Symbol Properties dialog
Related concepts
Style Engine
Stereotype properties
Related references
Project Partitioning
Symbol Styles option group
Formatting Symbols
• The list of properties in menus that opens after clicking the Compartments smart
manipulators and also after clicking the Create Element smart manipulator
• The list of symbol properties in the symbol shortcut menu
You can customize lists of properties and commands by using the Customize Properties dialog.
The following table describes the columns in the Customize Properties dialog.
See the following examples of customizing list of properties in the element Specification window, in the
Compartments and Create Element menus, and in the symbol shortcut menu.
Figure 205 -- Example of customizing list of properties in Compartments and Create Element menus
Figure 206 -- Example of customizing list of symbol properties in symbol shortcut menu
Related concepts
Specification Window
Symbol Properties dialog
Properties tab
Smart Manipulation
Defining Hyperlinks
You can add a hyperlink from any model element to the following target:
• File
• Address
• Element/Symbol (including diagram)
For more information about adding a hyperlink,
see "Adding a hyperlink to the model element" on page 341.
After a hyperlink is added to an element, you will see the Hyperlinks/Go To icon on the element symbol in the
Model Browser. On the diagram pane, on the element symbol, you will see the icon too and this icon will
represent the subject to which the hyperlink is added. For example, - this icon means, that the hyperlink is
added to the file.
Double click the element with the hyperlink and the hyperlink target will open:
• If the hyperlink was added to the folder/file - the folder/file will open.
• If the hyperlink was added to the web page - the web page will open.
• If the hyperlink was added to the element (for example, to the class) - the element (class)
Specification window will open.
• If the hyperlink was added to the diagram - the diagram will open in the same diagram tab.
• If the hyperlink was added to any kind of address - the specific launcher will be started.
You can manage hyperlinks, using the same way how the hyperlink was added.
For more information, see "Adding a hyperlink to the model element"
on page 341.
1. Select the element and click the smart manipulator for Hyperlink.
• If there are no hyperlinks yet defined, only the menu item to add a hyperlink will be
in the hyperlink menu.
3. Click Add/Edit Hyperlink(s) item. The hyperlinks creation editing dialog opens.
4. Click Add and define the hyperlink to any model element, file, or address in the Edit Hyperlink
dialog. If you want this hyperlink to be active, select the Active check box.
5. Click OK.
1. Open the model element Specification window and select the Documentation/Hyperlinks
property group.
2. Click the Add button. The Edit Hyperlink dialog opens.
3. Define the hyperlink to any model element, file, or address. If you want this hyperlink to be
inactive, click to clear the Active check box.
4. Click OK.
Now hyperlinks can be created and edited straight from the element shortcut menu:
• Invoke element shortcut menu from the Model Browser.
• Choose Go To and Hyperlinks. See the following figure.
To add a hyperlink on a note, text box, or separator text using the Edit Hyperlink dialog
1. Select the text where you want to add a hyperlink and click Insert Hyperlink .
2. The Edit Hyperlink dialog opens. Select the hyperlink you want to insert, either to an address,
another model element, or a file:
• To link to an existing model element, click the Element/Symbol tab. Click the
Select Element/Symbol … button and select the model element or symbol you
want to link to in the element Selection dialog.
More information about this dialog find in the Section
"Selecting an Element" on page 352.
• To link to an existing address, click the Address tab, and in the Type the address
text box, type the protocol or the Web page you want to link to. You can click the …
button and browse to the desired address.
Set the path of the HTML viewer in the Environment Options dialog
(for a description, see “Customizing Environment Options” on
page 96.)
• To link to an existing file, click the File tab and enter the path to the file you want to
link to. Or, click the Type the file name … button and, in the Open dialog, select the
file you want to link to.
• The selected file opens in the HTML browser.
• Set the path of the HTML viewer in the Environment Options dialog.
• You can only link to an existing file. New files are not created for you.
Using the HTML editor toolbar, you can change the font, color, size, and the alignment of the selected text.
After the hyperlink to the element on the note or the text box is added,
the text format changes to HTML.
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
HTML Editor
The procedures bellow are valid when the element has no hyperlinks
created yet.
• On the diagram pane, select the element symbol, and then click the smart manipulator
button. In the opened menu, select the Add Hyperlink command.
For more information, about the smart manipulators, see "Smart
Manipulation" on page 233.
The name of the owner is displayed in the model element name compartment in parentheses.
To display/hide the package/system boundary/subsystem name (the owner of an actor) on a model element
• From the symbol shortcut menu, select Symbol Properties. The Symbol Properties dialog
opens. In the Show Owner drop down list, select one of the owner display mode: Do Not
Display, Below Element Name, In Same Line With Name, Above Element Name. For more
information about the owner display mode, see "Owner display mode" on page 347.
• From the Options menu, select Project. The Project Options dialog opens. Select the
desired model element and in the Show Owner drop down list, choose one of the owner
display mode. If you want to apply changes for previously created model elements, click Apply.
• On the diagram, right-click the shape and from the shortcut menu, select the Symbol
Properties command.
• In the Symbol Properties dialog, change the Show Owner property.
Select one of the four property modes for Show Owner. The property modes are described in the following
table.
Model Library
A package with the «modelLibrary» stereotype applied.
MagicDraw includes an option to show the owner hierarchy starting from the model library as the root.
This option is called Qualified name display style. To change its value:
1. From the Options menu select the Project command. The Project Option dialog opens.
2. Select the General Project Options branch. In the right side pane, you can modify the option
property.
The Qualified name display style property is added to the Project Options dialog, General Project Options
branch.
If the Model Library Relative property value is selected (default value for a new project), then the full qualified
name hierarchy is displayed on the shape, starting from the model library as a root. The model library itself is
not displayed. The Qualified name display style property allows for having the relative path for library items
used in the project.
Now relationships will not get lost in Containment tree while changing the element ownership. Relationships will
also be moved together with the client or supplier (or both) so that all the related elements can be grouped
together in one place. This will also prevent unexpected dependencies on model partitioning.
For example, if you move two Classes which are connected to the Association relationship to another Package
in the Containment tree, a question dialog will open, asking if you want to move the relationship as well
1. Copy a list.
2. Select the possible owner in the Containment tree.
3. From the shortcut menu select Paste or press Ctrl+V.
4. From the Select Type dialog choose the element type.
The named elements are created in the model.
There are two ways to create the elements from the clipboard on the diagram pane:
• Using Select Type dialog.
• Using diagram pallet.
To create the elements from the clipboard on the diagram pane using Select Type dialog
To create the elements from the clipboard on the diagram pane using diagram pallet
1. Copy a list.
3. Press Ctrl+V.
The named elements are displayed in the diagram pane and are created in the model.
Selecting an Element
The element Selection dialog is used for selecting elements from available contents and adding them to a
certain destination scope. The title of the dialog varies depending on the way it is invoked. Depending on the
content, the element Selection dialog is used for selecting an element, diagram, or owner.
The element Selection dialog opens then assigning a property value - the concrete element or elements. For
example, the element Selection dialog opens then assigning the a base classifier in the Class Specification
window.
In the element Selection dialog, you can perform the following actions:
• Select one or more elements to assign them as property values. For more information about
selecting elements, see "Element Selection Views" on page 353 and "Elements Multiple
Selection" on page 354.
• Search for an element. For more information about searching for elements, see "Searching for
Elements in Element Selection Dialog" on page 355.
• Create new elements.
• Clone a selected element.
Related procedures
Searching for Elements in Element Selection Dialog
Creating New Elements
Cloning Selected Element
Related references
Element Selection Views
Elements Multiple Selection
Related concepts
Selecting an Element
Related procedures
Searching for Elements in Element Selection Dialog
Creating New Elements
Cloning Selected Element
Related references
Elements Multiple Selection
• Click the Single Selection button. The first element that is in the Selected
element list is selected in the Tree view.
When more than one element is selected in the tree or in the list in the
multiple selection mode, the selection will be reduced to one element
(the first one based on alphabetical order), when switching to the
single selection mode.
Related concepts
Selecting an Element
Related procedures
Searching for Elements in Element Selection Dialog
Creating New Elements
Cloning Selected Element
Related references
Element Selection Views
To optimize the search, you can customize search options. For this, click NEW! on the Search By Name
box. The following table describes the commands for the search customization.
Command Description
• To search for matching phrase in any part of element name, click the
Match Text Anywhere command to add the check mark.
• To explicitly search from the beginning of element name, click the
command to remove the check mark.
• To search for matching phrase typed in camel case, click the
Use Camel Case command to add the check mark.
• To search for matching phrase typed in regular case, click the
command to remove the check mark.
To narrow the search scope, you can customize scope filter options. For this, click NEW! below the Tree
or List view. Be sure the NEW! Apply Filter check box is selected! The following table describes the
commands for the search scope filter customization.
Command Description
To reduce the search results list by hiding uncommon elements, click
Hide Uncommon Elements
the command to add the check mark. Elements, such as Interface,
Association Class, Class, and Component, remain in the list.
To reduce the search results list by excluding elements from the
Exclude Used Projects
standard/system profiles and used projects, click the command to add
the check mark.
Select one or more favorite packages as the search scope. Be sure you
Search in Favorites
have at least one package marked as favorite! For more information,
see "Favorites" on page 417.
To make the element Selection dialog remember the specified search
Remember Selected
scope filter options for the next time it opens, click the command to add
Options
the check mark.
The same scope filter settings appear in autocompletion lists and the
Quick Find dialog as well.
1. Click the Tree tab and turn the element creation mode on.
2. In the model tree, select the owner for a new element and do one of the following:
• Click the Create button.
• Right-click the selected element or empty space near the model tree to open the
shortcut menu. In the shortcut menu, Create.
3. The list of elements available to create appears. Select the element you want to create.
The list of elements available to create elements is generated
automatically according to the particular situation.
4. The Specification window of a new element opens. Specify desired element properties and click
Close. The new element is included in the model tree.
Related concepts
Selecting an Element
Related procedures
Searching for Elements in Element Selection Dialog
Related references
Element Selection Views
Elements Multiple Selection
1. Click the Tree tab and turn on the element creation mode. See the procedure "To turn on the
element creation mode in the element Selection dialog" on page 356.
2. In the model tree, select the element which you want to clone and do one of the following:
• Click the Clone button.
• Right-click the selected element or empty space near the model tree to open the
shortcut menu. In the shortcut menu, click Clone.
3. The Specification window of a new element opens with all properties derived from the cloned
element. By default, the number is added to the element name.
4. Change or define desired properties and click Close when you are done. The new element is
included to the model tree.
Related concepts
Selecting an Element
Related procedures
Searching for Elements in Element Selection Dialog
Creating New Elements
Related references
Element Selection Views
Elements Multiple Selection
• On a part creation, the Select Type dialog appears. The same is valid when creating ports.
• If a part does not have a specified type, then on a nested port creation, a new type for the part
will be created. A type for the new port will be created too.
• If a part is without name, type the name on the part shape on the diagram and the type will be
created automatically. The typed name will be the name of the part type (note, that part will be
without name).
Figure 213 -- Example of typing name on part when Type Selection Mode is turned on
• On the Composite Structure, NEW! Class, NEW! Component, or NEW! Package diagram
pallet, click the Type Selection Mode button .
Refactoring
Refactoring allows you to modify model elements including all related data. Within refactoring, you can convert
element types, replace elements, decompose diagrams, and perform other actions.
All the refactoring commands have been moved under the Refactor command in the shortcut menu of the
particular element. Now the refactoring covers the following commands:
• Convert To. For more information, see "Converting Elements" on page 360.
• Replace With. For more information, see "Replacing Elements" on page 363.
• Reverse Direction. For more information, see "Reversing a Relationship Direction" on
page 365.
• Extract. For more information, see "Extracting" on page 369.
• Split Control Flow for the selected Control Flow edge.
• Split Object Flow for the selected Object Flow edge.
• Join Connector for the selected split Control Flow or Object Flow edge.
• Swap. For more information, see "Swapping" on page 367
• Redefinition. For more information, see "NEW! Redefinition" on page 369 .
To perform refactoring
Related procedures
Converting Elements
Replacing Elements
Reversing a Relationship Direction
Component Diagram
Converting Elements
Original element
The original element is the element that will be converted. In other words, it is the conversion
source.
Conversion target
The conversion target is the element type, to which the original element is going to be converted.
Converted element
The converted element is the element that type has been changed during the conversion.
Related elements
The related elements are elements having relations to the original element. Related elements
can be the following:
• If the original element is a relationship, elements connected by this relationship are
considered as related element to relationship.
• If the original element is not a relationship, relationships going from or to the original
element are the related elements (such as an association, dependency,
generalization, and others).
• Other related elements associated to the original element. They are properties of
the original element, such as inner elements, types, and others.
Compatible properties
The compatible properties are original element specification that are compatible with the
conversion target. The term “properties” includes related elements, inner elements, and all other
elements listed in the element Specification window.
Compatible means that the converted element can have or own the particular property or
properties of the original element.
Incompatible properties
Incompatible properties are original element specification that are incompatible with the
conversion target. Incompatible means that the converted element can NOT have or can NOT
own the particular property(-ies) of the original element.
For more information, see "Incompatible properties and related elements"
on page 362.
Element conversion allows converting one element type to another. To be more specific, the element
conversion functionality allows the UML model element conversion from one metaclass to another. For
example, a class element can be converted to a use case, component, interface, or other. All compatible
properties and all compatible related elements are moved from the source element to the converted element
during the conversion.
To convert elements
As of the MagicDraw version 17.0.2, the following commands have been moved under
the Refactor command in the shortcut menu of the particular element:
• Convert To > Output Pin for the selected Object Node or Input Pin.
• Convert To > Input Pin for the selected Object Node or Output Pin. For more
information, see
• Convert To > Object Node for the selected Input Pin or Output Pin. For more
information, see "To convert a pin to an object node" on page 965.
• Convert To > Attribute(s) for the selected Association that has defined roles, that is,
roles have names. For more information, see "To show association ends as attributes
on linked class shapes" on page 844.
• Convert To > Association(s) for the selected Attribute. NOTE: The Association(s)
command is available only if the attribute(s) type is specified.
• If the Refactor command is unavailable, make sure you have
permissions to edit the selected element or related element(s).
• Use Undo to restore the original element and its data.
Related concepts
Refactoring
After the conversion, a converted element owns the same compatible specification properties and are
connected with the same related elements as the original element was connected. The incompatible properties
of the original element are lost, that is, are deleted from the project.
Incompatible means that the converted element can NOT own particular properties or can NOT be associated
with particular related elements of the original element.
For example, let’s convert the component to the package. See an example in the following figure.
Figure 216 -- Example of conversion when original and converted elements has incompatible property (Port)
As you see, the component has the assigned port. According to UML guidelines, a package cannot own ports.
So, in this case, ports are incompatible elements with the packages. After the conversion, the package, that is,
a converted element, has no the assigned port. The port is deleted from the project.
To prevent from losing model data, you always get a message with a warning that incompatible properties will
be lost after the element conversion.
Related concepts
Refactoring
Related procedures
Converting Elements
If the property visibility is private, protected or package, then after the conversion visibility of the created port
will be set to public.
Related concepts
Refactoring
Related procedures
Converting Elements
Replacing Elements
This functionality is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
Original element
The original element is the element that is going to be replaced. In other words, the replacement
source.
Replacement target
The replacement target is the element with which the original element is going to be replaced.
Replaced element
The replaced element is the element to which the original element has been changed during the
replacement.
Element properties
The element properties are so called the element specification properties (specified in the
element Specification window) and the element symbol properties (defined in the element
Symbol Properties dialog).
Inner elements
Inner elements are the elements stored inside the element (that is, owned by that element), for
example, the class as inner package element.
You can replace one model element with another of the same type (metaclass) element. The model element
replacement is useful when during the modeling process you notice that one model element needs to be
replaced with another. All relations and references of the original element are transferred to the newly replaced
element.
After the replacement, an original element will be replaced with a replacement target:
• The replacement target will be displayed in all diagrams instead of the original element.
• All references to the original element will be replaced by references to the replacement target.
• The replacement target after the replacement will have all the relationships of the replacement
target and the original element.
Please note that on a diagram relationships to and from the
replacement target element does not display automatically after the
replacement.
To display all the relationships of the replacement target on the
diagram pane, you can use the Display path function. For more
information, see "To display paths among shapes that already exist
in the model" on page 510.
• The original element will be deleted from the project.
• The original element properties and inner elements will be deleted from the project.
Figure 217 -- Model before element replacement (at the top) and model after element replacement (at the bottom)
The preceding figure illustrates the replacement of the User class instead of the Customer class.After the
replacement the User class has been removed and the Customer class has been created instead of it.
1. Select a symbol on the diagram pane or an element in the Model Browser and open its shortcut
menu.
2. Click Refactor > Replace With. The warning message appears:
• Click Yes to continue the element replacement. The properties and inner elements
of the original element will be lost.
• Click No to cancel the element replacement. The selected element will not be
replaced.
3. If you decided to continue the replacement, the element Selection dialog opens.
4. In the element Selection dialog, select the element with which you want to replace the original
element. For more information about the element Selection dialog, see “Selecting an Element”
on page 352.
5. Click OK. The original element is replaced with the target element.
Use Undo to restore the original element and its data.
Related concepts
Refactoring
The direction of the particular relationship can be reversed. You can reverse the direction of the transition,
control flow, object flow, and other relationships.
1. Select the relationship in the Model Browser or the relationship’s path on the diagram pane.
2. From the element’s shortcut menu, select Refactor, and then select Reverse Direction. The
direction of the relationship changes.
The direction of the information flow will not be changed on the
direction reverse action. Additionally, in some cases when the
information flow is not valid anymore, the information flow will be
removed from the project after the direction reverse action.
For more information about the information flow, see "Information
Flow" on page 901.
Related concepts
Refactoring
Swapping
Swapping allows counter-change symbols with each other on the diagram.
To swap elements
• On the diagram, select the two shapes that you want to swap, right-click, and from the shortcut
menu, select Refactor > Swap.
• Swapping does not work when symbols have different parents.
• If you cannot swap within a teamwork project, make sure you have the right to edit
the model of this project and then try to lock for edit this diagram.
In the following example, you can see the cases when you can swap the elements and the cases when you
cannot swap the elements.
Figure 220 -- Example of swapping. The green lines are drawn between the elements that you can swap, and the red
lines are drawn between the elements that you cannot swap.
Rules Example
You can swap You can swap the following elements:
the elements that • “Select the reading item to remove” with “Confirm deletion”
are in the same
• “Request removal confirmation” with “Check if there are loaned copies of
branch reading item”
• “Check if there are loaned copies of reading item” with “Notify librarian and
do not allow removal”
• “Check if there are loaned copies of reading item” with “Check if reading
item is reserved”
You cannot You cannot swap the following elements:
swap the • “Select the reading item to remove” with Request removal confirmation,
elements that because one element is in the “Librarian” partition and the other is in the
have different “System” partition.
parents • “Confirm deletion” with “Check if there are loaned copies of reading item”
because one element is in the “Librarian” partition and the other is in the
“System” partition.
You cannot You cannot swap the following elements:
swap the • “Notify librarian and do not allow removal” with “Check if reading item is
elements that reserved”.
are in different
branches
Related concepts
Refactoring
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
State Machine Diagram
NEW! Redefinition
Any inherited part can now be quickly redefined directly in the composite structure diagrams. A new part
redefining the original one will be created and graphically replaced in the diagram with all ports and connectors
remaining in their places.
1. Select a part and from the shortcut menu, choose Refactor > Redefine To.
2. Select one of the following:
• New Type, if you want to create a new type
• One of the existing types
Extracting
Extracting feature is available in Architect
and Enterprise editions.
The extraction functionality allows moving a selected part of a diagram to a newly created diagram. A
referencing element will be created in place of the extracted element(s) in the source diagram.
In order to make the diagrams more readable and usable, you can extract a specific part of a diagram to
another diagram. By using the extraction, you can reuse that part of the diagram to simplify a complicated
system.
Definitions
Source diagram
The source diagram is the diagram from which the elements are to be extracted.
Target diagram
The target diagram is the newly created diagram resulting from the extraction. The selected
elements are moved from the source diagram to the target diagram.
Extracting
Extracting means moving selected elements from one location to another. In other words, the
selected elements are deleted from the source diagram and moved to the newly recreated target
diagram.
Referencing element
A referencing element is created as the result of the extraction. The referencing element is
created in the source diagram and represents the elements moved to the target diagram during
the extraction.
The referencing element contains a reference to the target diagram. Therefore, double-clicking
the referencing element on the diagram pane or in the Model Browser will open the target
diagram.
Intersected relationship
An intersected relationship is the relationship selected in the source diagram. The intersection
appears when the selection intersects the relationship - one end element of the relationship is
selected, but not both.
To extract a selected part from a diagram, on the diagram select a part that you want to extract, and then on the
shortcut menu, click Refactor > Extract. An extract wizard specific to the particular type of diagram then
opens.
Related diagrams
Sequence Diagram
State Machine Diagram
Activity Diagram
Composite Structure Diagram
As you can see in the example, during the extraction, the selected part of the sequence diagram is moved to
the newly created UserSession sequence diagram. The interaction use element that references the
UserSession interaction is created in the source sequence diagram.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Rules of extracting in Sequence diagram
Outgoing intersected messages are not selected for the extraction. The exception to this rule is the reply
message. You can see an example in the following figure.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extracting in Sequence Diagram
Extract Sequence Wizard
Sequence Diagram
The Extract Sequence Wizard is used to extract a selected part of a sequence diagram to a separate diagram.
Using this wizard, you can:
• Create and specify the new element wherein the extracted part will be moved.
• Select the intersected incoming messages for which the formal gates will be created, and that
will be created in the new target diagram.
In this step, you need to specify a diagram into which the extracted part will be moved and an owner wherein
this new diagram will be created. You can also define the type of the newly created element that will own the
diagram. The interaction element and the sequence diagram type are selected by default. The name of the
sequence diagram will be the same as the specified name of the interaction element.
After you have specified the new element name, the element type, an owner, and the type of the new diagram,
do one of the following:
• Click Next, if you want to select intersected messages that you want to create in the new target
diagram. The next wizard step opens.
• Click Finish. The selected part of a sequence diagram is extracted to a new diagram. The
second wizard step is skipped, and the messages that by default are selected in this step, will
be checked.
The incoming intersected messages selected in the source diagram are listed in this step. Select the messages
that will be extracted to the new target diagram. The formal gates will be created for the selected messages.
You can see an example of intersected connectors in Figure 221 on page 371.
• The Select messages list is empty unless there are intersected
incoming messages that are selected in the source sequence
diagram.
• If there are intersected outgoing replay messages when they are
listed in the Extract Sequence Wizard, the second step. For more
information, see "Rules of extracting in Sequence diagram" on
page 372.
• For more information about intersected messages, see concepts in
"Extracting" on page 369.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extracting in Sequence Diagram
Rules of extracting in Sequence diagram
Sequence Diagram
As you can see in the example, during extraction, the selected part of the activity diagram is moved to the newly
created Review Items activity diagram. In the source activity diagram, a Review Items call behavior action is
created in place of the selected elements.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extraction rules in Activity diagram
Extract Activity Wizard
Activity Diagram
Extracting rules are the rules that should be followed in order to proceed with the correct extraction. For
example, there can be invalid selections in a source diagram. Or there are unsupported elements that cannot
be extracted - that is, cannot be moved from the source diagram to the new target diagram. Without knowing
the rules you will not be able to proceed with extraction (you will have to change your selected elements and/or
reselect elements according to the rules) or you may lose some data. Here are the extraction rules:
• Rule 1. Only one incoming and/or outgoing control flow is allowed for a valid diagram
extraction.
• Rule 2. The selected elements should exist in the same owner, action, or activity partition.
• Rule 3. Any intersected exception handlers will not be extracted to a new diagram.
Rule 1. Only one incoming and/or outgoing control flow is allowed for a valid diagram extraction
If the selected part of an activity diagram has two or more intersected incoming or outgoing control flows, the
extraction is not valid.
Let’s analyze an example of the extraction when two incoming control flows are selected in the activity diagram
as depicted in the following figure.
After you start the extraction, you are warned that only one incoming control flow and only one outgoing control
flow is allowed. Click the OK button to close the message and then change the selected elements in the activity
diagram.
Rule 2. The selected elements should exist in the same owner, action, or activity partition
• Selected elements are in different activity partitions. See an example in the following figure.
If an attempt is made to extract using an invalid selection, a warning will be displayed. A valid selection of
elements will need to be made in order to proceed with the extraction.
Let’s analyze an example of the extraction when the intersected exception handler is selected in the source
activity diagram.
1. In the source activity diagram, select an exception handler along with an action (see the
following figure).
3. Click Yes to continue with the extraction. See the samples of the extraction result in the
following figures. After the extraction the referencing element is created in the source activity
diagram in place of the selected exception handler and the Confirm Return action. The path of
the exception handler is not represented in the new target diagram because in this case the
exception handler does not have the two symbols between which it could be drawn.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extract Activity Wizard
Activity Diagram
The Extract Activity Wizard is used to extract a selected part of an activity diagram to a separate diagram.
Using this wizard, you can:
• Create and specify the target diagram that will be created as the result of the extraction. The
selected part will be extracted to the newly created diagram.
• Select the parameters that will be created in a new diagram. The parameters are listed for each
intersected object flow from the source diagram.
• Specify a referencing element that is created in the source activity diagram and represents the
elements moved to the target diagram during the extraction.
This section describes components of the Extract Activity Wizard, such as text boxes and buttons. The
Extract Activity Wizard consists of three steps:
1. Specification of a new element
2. Creation of parameters
3. Creation of a reference element
In this step, you need to specify a diagram into which the extracted part will be moved and a package wherein
this new diagram will be created. You can also define the type of a newly created diagram here. The activity
diagram type is selected by default.
The new diagram will be created along with a new activity - the diagram will be created as an inner activity
element. I
After you have specified the new diagram name, an owner of the diagram, and the type of the new diagram, do
one of the following:
• Click Next, if you want to specify parameters and to define a referencing element. The next
wizard step opens.
• Click Finish. The selected part of an activity diagram is extracted to a new diagram that is
specified in this step. Instead of the extracted part, the Call Behavior Action is created in the
activity diagram referencing to the newly created diagram. The second and the third wizard
steps are skipped - that is the default options are taken.
The parameter(s) that will be created for the intersected object flow is listed in this step. Along with the
parameter(s) in the newly created target diagram, the activity parameter node will be created. The activity
parameter node has the pin created as an inner element, as well as the assigned parameter (see the following
figures).
A referencing element is created in the source sequence diagram instead of the extracted part. Double-click the
referencing element to navigate to the extracted part.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extracting in Activity Diagram
Activity Diagram
As you can see in the example, during the extraction, the selected part of the state machine diagram is moved
to the newly created Login state machine diagram. In the source state machine diagram, a Login submachine
state is created in the place of the selected elements.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extract State Machine Wizard
State Machine Diagram
The Extract State Machine Wizard is used to extract a selected part of a state machine diagram to a separate
diagram. Using this wizard, you can:
• Create and specify the target diagram that will be created as the result of the extraction. The
selected part will be extracted to the newly created diagram.
• Select the entry and exit points that will be created in a new diagram. The entry and exit points
are listed for each intersected transition from the source diagram.
• Specify a referencing element that is created in the source state machine diagram and
represents the elements moved to the target diagram during the extraction.
In this step, you can specify a diagram into which the extracted part will be moved. The new diagram will be
created along with a new state machine - the diagram will be created as an inner state machine element. You
can also define the type of the element, the name, and the owner. Note, that the diagram name will be the same
as the element name. The state machine type is selected by default
After you have specified the new element name, an owner of the element, and the type of the new diagram, do
one of the following:
• Click Next, if you want to specify entry/exit points, and to define a referencing element. The
next wizard step opens.
• Click Finish. The selected part of a state machine diagram is extracted to a new diagram that
is specified in this step. Instead of the extracted part, the submachine state is created
referencing to the newly created diagram. The second and the third wizard steps are skipped -
that is the default options are taken.
The entry and exit points that will be created for the intersected transitions are listed in this step.
As you can see in the example, in the Access Control source diagram, the intersected transitions are selected
for the extraction. After the extraction, in the target diagram, the entry and exit points are created for each
intersected transition.
In the Extract State Machine Wizard, the Create entry/exit point
step is empty unless there are intersected transitions selected in the
source state machine diagram.
A referencing element is created in the source state machine diagram instead of the extracted part. Double-
click the referencing element to navigate to the extracted part.
After you have typed the submachine name, do one of the following:
• Click Back to return to the second step.
• Click Finish. The selected part of the state machine diagram is extracted to the new state
machine diagram.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extracting in State Machine diagram
State Machine Diagram
The extraction functionality allows extracting a selected part of a composite structure diagram to a newly
created diagram. After extraction, a property is created in the source diagram in place of the extracted part(s).
That is, the property is a referencing element that references the newly created activity diagram.
As you can see in the example, during extraction, the selected part of the composite structure diagram is
moved to the newly created Loaning composite structure diagram. In the source composite structure diagram,
a loaning property is created in a place of the selected elements.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extract Structure Wizard
Composite Structure Diagram
The Extract Structure Wizard is used to extract a selected part of a composite structure diagram to a separate
diagram. Using this wizard, you can:
• Create and specify the target diagram that will be created as the result of the extraction. The
selected part will be extracted to the newly created diagram.
• Select the ports that will be created in a new diagram. The ports are listed for each intersected
connector from the source diagram.
• Specify a referencing element (that is, a property) that is created in the source composite
structure diagram and represents the elements moved to the target diagram during the
extraction.
This section describes components of the Extract Structure Wizard, such as text boxes and buttons. The
Extract Structure Wizard consists of three steps:
1. Specification of a new element.
2. Creation of ports.
3. Creation of a property.
In this step, you need to specify a diagram into which the extracted part will be moved and an owner wherein
this new diagram will be created. You can also define the type of the newly created classifier element that will
own the diagram. The class element and the composite structure diagram type are selected by default. The
name of the composite structure diagram will be the same as the specified name of the classifier element
Figure 236 -- Extract Structure Wizard. Specify a new element and a diagram
After you have specified the new element name, the element type, an owner of the diagram, and the type of the
new diagram, do one of the following:
• Click Next, if you want to specify ports and to define a referencing element. The next wizard
step opens.
• Click Finish. The selected part of a composite structure diagram is extracted to a new diagram
that is specified in this step. Instead of the extracted part, the selected element type is created
in the composite structure diagram referencing to the newly created diagram. The second and
the third wizard steps are skipped, that is, the default options are taken.
In this step, there are listed the port(s) that will be created for the:
• intersected connector(s). For more information about intersected connectors, see concepts in
"Extracting" on page 369.
• incoming connector(s)
• outgoing connector(s)
You can see an example of intersected connectors in Figure 235 on page 390.
The Create ports list is empty unless there are intersected, incoming
and/or outgoing connector(s) selected in the source composite
structure diagram.
A property is created as the result of the extraction. The property is created under the classifier that was
specified in the first wizard step. The symbol of the property is created in the source composite structure
diagram and represents the elements moved to the target diagram during the extraction.
Related concepts
Extracting
Related references
Extracting in Composite Structure diagram
Composite Structure Diagram
The Generic Numbering Mechanism feature description is organized in two sections. Section "Working with
Generic Numbering Mechanism" on page 396 describes how to number elements, apply numbering formats,
and modify numbers. Section "Element Numbering dialog" on page 400 explains GUI elements, used while
numbering elements.
Before stating to describe the generic numbering mechanism, get acquainted with used concepts that are
presented in the following section.
Concepts
Numbering customization
A customization class which specifies element types that will be numbered, numbering format
that will be used to number elements, and the property to which the created number will be
assigned. The numbering format should be defined prior to numbering elements. Usually the
system administrator creates the numbering customization.
Numbering property
Indicates an element property wherein the element number will be stored and defines a
numbering scheme that will be used for the element numbering.
Numbering scheme
A set of rules describing what numbering formats will be applied on the concrete elements.
Numbering scheme is defined while creating the numbering customization.
Prefix
An affix which is placed before the element number.
Separator
A symbol which is used to separate of the different level numbers. Separator is defined in the
numbering scheme.
For information on how to create the numbering formats (schemes),
see “Creating numbering customizations” in MagicDraw
UMLProfiling&DSL UserGuide.pdf.
Automatic numbering
With an automatic numbering feature, you can number the elements of the selected type upon the element
creation or modification. You can specify the number display location after the elements are numbered.
1. From the main menu, select Options > Project. The Project Options dialog opens.
2. Select the General project options tab.
3. In the Numbering properties group, set the Use Element Auto-numbering property value to
true.
4. Click OK.
2. Select one of the following Element Numbering Display Mode property value:
Related references
Element Numbering dialog
Related procedures
Manual numbering
Manual numbering
1. On the selected element’s shortcut menu, click Element Numbering. The Element
Numbering dialog opens.
2. In the element list on the right side of the dialog, select an element you want to number.
3. Click Create.
1. Open the selected element’s shortcut menu and click Element Numbering. The Element
Numbering dialog opens.
1. Open the selected element’s shortcut menu and click Element Numbering. The Element
Numbering dialog opens.
2. Select the element from which you want to remove the number and click the Remove button.
3. You can select either to remove the number only from the selected element or to remove
numbers from all elements owned by the selected elements. Do one of the following:
• Click the Remove button. Only the selected element’s number is removed.
• Click the Remove All button. Numbers are removed from the selected element and
all elements owned by the selected element.
4. Click OK when you are done.
1. Open the selected element’s shortcut menu and click Element Numbering. The Element
Numbering dialog opens.
2. Select the element which number you want to increase.
3. Click the Increase button. The element number is increased by one.
4. Click OK when you are done.
1. Open the selected element’s shortcut menu and select Element Numbering. The Element
Numbering dialog opens.
2. Select the element which number you want to decrease.
3. Click the Decrease button. The element number is decreased by one.
The Decrease button is available, when the selected element’s
number is not the first in the list.
1. On the selected element’s shortcut menu, click Element Numbering. The Element
Numbering dialog opens.
2. You can select either to renumber only elements listed in the element list or to renumber
elements listed in the element list including their owning elements. Do one of the following:
• Click the Renumber button. All the elements in the elements list are renumbered
successively.
• Click the Renumber All button. All the elements and elements owned by the
selected element are renumbered successively.
3. Click OK when you are done.
1. On the element owner’s shortcut menu, select Element Numbering. The Element Numbering
dialog opens.
2. In the Prefix column, click the appropriate cell (according to the used numbering property and
numbering scheme).
3. Type the prefix. It can be any symbol.
4. Click OK.
The following example illustrates how numbers with prefixes and without prefixes are depicted on the element
shape.
1. Open the element owner’s shortcut menu and click Element Numbering. The Element
Numbering dialog opens.
2. In the Separator column, click the appropriate cell (according to the used numbering property
and numbering scheme).
3. Type the separator symbol.
A new separator will override the earlier predefined separator.
4. Click OK.
The following example illustrates the number separator changing from “.” to “/”.
1. On the selected element’s shortcut menu, click Element Numbering. The Element
Numbering dialog opens.
2. In the appropriate Numbered property row, click the Numbering Scheme cell to open the list
of the defined numbering schemes.
3. Select the desired numbering scheme in that list.
4. Click OK.
When you change the numbering scheme for the selected element,
the new numbering scheme is applied to all elements owned by the
selected element.
The following example illustrates how numbers are depicted on the element shape after changing the
numbering scheme from numerical to literal.
Related references
Element Numbering dialog
Related concepts
Numbering customization
Numbering property
Numbering scheme
Prefix
Separator
Your model is represented in the Model browser on the left side of the dialog. If the element of the type that is
selected in the Element Type list is selected in the Model browser, owned elements are listed on the right side
of the dialog.
In the Element Type list you can select which type of elements you want to number. The selected element type
numbered property, separator, prefix, and numbering scheme are displayed in the numbering properties list.
You can have several numbering schemes defined for one type of elements.
All defined numbering schemes for the selected element type are displayed
in the numbered properties list.
The Element Numbering dialog buttons are described in the following table:
Button Description
Edit Click to change the numbering symbol for the selected element. The button is
available, when the selected element has a number and the element is editable.
Create / Remove The Create button is available, if a selected element in the element list is not
numbered. Click the Create button to number the selected element. A unique
successive number will be created for the selected element.
The Remove button is available, if a selected element in the element list is
numbered and editable. This button has two options:
Click Remove to delete the selected element’s number.
Click Remove All. Numbers are removed from the selected element and all
elements owned by the selected element
Increase Click to increase an element number.
The button is available, if the selected element is numbered and editable.
The element’s place in the list changes after increasing the number.
Decrease Click to decrease an element number.
The button is available, if the element is editable, is numbered, and that number
is not the first one.
The element’s place in the list changes after decreasing the number.
Renumber This button has two options:
Click Renumber to update the element numbers. The numbering is updated for
all elements in the list.
Click Renumber All to update all element numbers recursively. The numbering
is updated for all elements in the element list, including their owning elements.
Related procedures
Automatic numbering
Manual numbering
Related concepts
Numbering customization
Numbering property
Numbering scheme
Prefix
Separator
Smart Packages
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
• Automatically - the element meets the set of criteria defined by the user.
The membership in the smart package is not the UML ownership: one element can belong to several smart
packages.
Concepts
For better understanding the further material, learn the following concepts.
Static contents
A collection of manually included elements.
Dynamic contents
A collection of elements that is automatically calculated according to the set of criteria specified
by the user.
1. In the Containment tree, right-click the element. The shortcut menu opens.
The element should be a namespace, for example, a package, a
class, or a requirement.
1. Open the Find dialog, define search options, and perform the search. The search results are
displayed in the Search Results tab on the Model Browser.
For more information about defining search options and analyzing the
search results, appropriately refer to "Find dialog" on page 132 and
"Search Results tab" on page 87.
2. On the toolbar of the Search Results tab, click and then select one of the following
commands:
• Save Query as Smart Package to create a new smart package with dynamic
contents. The search options will be saved as the Query property value.
• Save Results as Smart Package to create a new smart package with static
contents. The search results will be saved as values of the Additional Elements
property.
Do either:
• In the Containment tree, select an element and drag it to the smart package.
See the element included into the contents of the smart package. The element becomes a
value of the Additional Elements property as well.
You can include more than one element at once.
• To include adjacent elements, select a single element, and then
hold down the Shift key while you click other elements that you
want to select.
• To include nonadjacent elements, select a single element, and
then hold down the Ctrl key while you click other elements that you
want to select.
• Open the Specification window of the smart package and click the cell of the Additional
Elements property value. Then click and in the open dialog, select the element or more.
Click OK when you are done.
See the element included into the contents of the smart package.
Do either:
• In the Containment tree, under the smart package, right-click the element and from the shortcut
menu, select Delete from Contents.
You can exclude more than one element at once.
• To exclude adjacent elements, select a single element, and then
hold down the Shift key while you click other elements that you
want to select.
• To exclude nonadjacent elements, select a single element, and
then hold down the Ctrl key while you click other elements that you
want to select.
• Open the Specification window of the smart package and click the cell of the Excluded
Elements property value. Then click and in the open dialog, select the element or more.
Click OK when you are done.
• Open the Specification window of the smart package and click the cell of the Additional
Elements property value. Then click and in the open dialog, unselect the element or more.
Click OK when you are done.
This is valid only for manually added elements.
See the element removed from the contents of the smart package, though it is not removed
from the model. You can still see the element displayed under the owner of the element in the
Containment tree.
If you no longer need the contents of a smart package to be dynamic, you can simply freeze it. The dynamic
contents will be converted to the static list of elements and joined up with the list of manually added elements
(values of the Additional Elements property), skipping both duplicates and elements defined as excluded
(values of the Excluded Elements property).
• In the Containment tree, right-click the smart package with dynamic contents and from the
shortcut menu select Freeze Contents.
See that there are no changes visible in the Containment tree. Open the Specification window
of the smart package to see that the values of both the Query property and the Excluded
Elements property have passed into empty, and the value of the Additional Elements
You can create a copy of the smart package, with the static contents, that is, a snapshot.
1. In the Containment tree, right-click the smart package with dynamic contents and from the
shortcut menu select Snapshot Contents. The element Selection dialog opens.
2. In the dialog, select an owner of the new smart package and click OK.
See the new smart package created under the selected owner in the Containment tree with the
name Snapshot of <smart package name>, for example, Snapshot of My Bookmarks. The
contents of the snapshot equals the contents of the smart package, but the list of elements is
static.
Property Description
Query Stores a set of criteria for automatic inclusion of elements into the contents
of the smart package.
For more information, see "To include elements into a smart package
automatically" on page 406.
Additional Elements Stores the list of the elements manually included into the contents of the
smart package.
For more information, see "To include an element into a smart package
manually" on page 406.
Excluded Elements Stores the list of the elements excluded from the contents of the smart
package.
For more information, see "To remove an element from a smart package"
on page 407.
Let’s say we have a lot of use cases owned by different system boundaries in the project.
And we need to have all these use cases, except several particular ones, in a single package. Also, we need
that all newly created use cases were automatically included into this package.
This is the case, when the smart packages feature is very useful. We will create a smart package with dynamic
contents to gather all the use cases in the model and then demonstrate how it manages further changes in the
model. Finally we will create a snapshot of the smart package to have a a static list of use cases as a milestone
of the model development.
2. Define criteria for gathering the contents of the smart package. Specify search options to find all
use case type elements from the root package Data.
4. Exclude use cases Change password and Change system settings from the contents. See the
contents of the smart package shortened.
5. Open the Specification window of the smart package and see the excluded use cases in the cell
of the Excluded Elements property value.
6. Drag use cases Change password and Change system settings to the smart package. See
them in the contents of the smart package again.
7. Open the Specification window of the smart package again and see these manually included
use cases in the cell of the Additional Elements property value. Elements that have been
excluded from the contents, appear in it after being manually added.
8. Create a new use case named Filter by author under the system boundary Item Browser. See
the new use case appeared in the smart package All Use Cases.
9. Create a snapshot of the smart package All Use Cases to have a static list of use cases as a
milestone of the model development.
10. Expand the contents of the snapshot and see that it equals the contents of the smart package
All Use Cases.
Now let’s study another case where the smart package feature is very helpful. Let’s say we need to have all
unsatisfied requirements in a separate package. Also, we need that requirements automatically disappear from
this package after becoming satisfied.
We will create a smart package with dynamic contents to gather all the unsatisfied requirements in the model
and a dependency matrix for performing the requirements coverage analysis. Then we will demonstrate how
both the smart package and the dependency matrix reflect the transition of a requirement to satisfied.
SysML::Requirements::Requirement::allInstances()->select(r|not
r.supplierDependency->exists(d|d.oclIsKindOf(SysML::Satisfy)))
5. On the dependency matrix, create a Satisfy relationship between the block BrakePedal and the
requirement Braking.
The requirement becomes satisfied and thus disappears from the contents of the smart
package Unsatisfied Requirements and from the dependency matrix as well.
Case Study #3: Configuration management of the complex system - creating dynamic configuration
catalogs
The efficient configuration management process is a challenge in the evolution of any industrial scale product
family. Smart packages are a real-life out of the box solution supporting the configuration management
approach.
Now let’s study the case that illustrates the efficient management of the complex system configurations with the
help of smart packages. Let’s say we have a library (static package) of system components, which we need to
see in several different views of the model, that is, catalogs, according to their characteristics. Using the
catalogs will not extend the scope of the model, since they do not require the duplication of the elements.
We will create two dynamic system configuration catalogs, that is, smart packages with dynamic contents to
gather the servers from the library TI Hardware according to the configuration version defined in a tag value of
their specification.
3. Define criteria for gathering the contents of the smart package Servers in TI12 Catalog. Specify
search options to find in the package TI Hardware, all block type elements with tag value
Used In=TI12.
4. Define criteria for gathering the contents of the smart package Servers in TI14 Catalog. Specify
search options to find in the package TI Hardware, all block type elements with tag value
Used In=TI14.
The block SUN FIRE T1000 appears in both TI12 Catalog and
TI14 Catalog, since it has both tag values Used In=TI12 and
Used In=TI14.
6. Also, you can add a block to a smart package manually. Just drag the block to the smart
package.
Favorites
You can mark as favorite any element, including diagrams, types, packages, and so forth that you regularly use
in your model and need to access quickly.
1. Select the element in the Model Browser and click on the toolbar of the open tab.
To learn the ways of opening the dialog, see the procedure "To open
the Manage Favorites dialog" on page 421.
2. In the Manage Favorites dialog, select the element and click the button, which is
between two lists of the dialog. The element appears in the list of favorites.
For more information about the dialog, refer to "Manage Favorites
dialog" on page 420.
3. Click OK to confirm the addition and close the dialog.
Once the element is added to favorites, the following changes occur in your project:
• The element becomes marked as favorite in all the trees and lists of the model.
• You can easily navigate to the element in the Model Browser. The element name is added to
the Go To Favorites command group on the Favorites menu that opens in the Model Browser.
• You can easily specify the element (in case it is a diagram or a package) as the search scope.
The element name is added to the Search in Favorites command group on the Favorites
menu that opens either in the element Selection dialog or in the autocompletion list.
To learn the ways of opening the dialog, the procedure "To open the
Manage Favorites dialog" on page 421.
2. In the list of favorites (on the right side of the dialog), click the element you need to remove and
Once the element is removed from favorites, it is no longer appropriately marked. Commands for navigation to
the element and for searching in it are no longer on the Favorites menu.
The following procedure describes how to change the order of favorite elements on the Favorites menu. To
change the order of favorites on the Favorites menu, you need to make appropriate order changes in the list of
favorites on the Manage Favorites dialog.
To learn the ways of opening the dialog, see the procedure "To open
the Manage Favorites dialog" on page 421.
2. In the list of favorites (on the right side of the dialog), click an element, whose order on the
Favorites menu you need to change and then do either:
• If you need to move the element up, click the Up button. Click again, if you need to
move the element up by one more position and so on.
• If you need to move the element down, click the Down button. Click again, if you
need to move the element down by one more position and so on.
3. Click OK to confirm the reorder and close the dialog.
Figure 244 -- Changing order of favorites: moving diagram “MagicLibrary System” down
• In the Model Browser, click the button, which is on the toolbar of the open tab, and then
select Manage Favorites.
The Manage Favorites dialog is a modification of the element Selection dialog. The dialog displays
• All elements (in tree or list view on the left side of the dialog)
• Favorite elements (in the list on the right side of the dialog)
• Buttons for adding and removing from favorites
• Search modes and scope filters area
• Buttons for reordering favorites
The order of favorites in the list of the Manage Favorites dialog meets the order of favorites on the Favorites
menu. Thus if you need to change the order of favorites on this menu, make appropriate order changes in the
list of favorites on the Manage Favorites dialog. Buttons below the list will help you to change the order of
favorites. See their descriptions in the following table.
Button Description
Up Click to move a selected element up. The element will accordingly change its position on the
Favorites menu.
For more information, see "To change the order of favorites" on page 420.
Down Click to move a selected element down. The element will accordingly change its position on
the Favorites menu.
For more information, see "To change the order of favorites" on page 420.
HTML Editor
Using the HTML editor you can easily edit an HTML text. It also allows you to preserve the text format when
copying formatted text.
• Select a shape and click Switch To HTML Text that appears on the lower-left corner of the
shape.
• From the note / text box shortcut menu, select HTML Text.
• Draw the note or text box, using the Note(HTML text) or Text Box(HTML text) buttons on the
diagram pallet.
Click the text area on the selected shape or start typing letters to open the HTML editor toolbar. For more
information about the toolbar buttons, see "HTML editor toolbar" on page 428.
You can write HTML text in various dialogs. To start doing this, you have to turn on the HTML mode first.
Figure 247 -- HTML editor toolbar in Documentation/Hyperlinks tab of element Specification window
Figure 249 -- HTML editor toolbar in Tags tab of element Specification window when editing tag value
You can also use the HTML editor toolbar, when editing a tagged value directly on the element’s shape.
1. Click the tagged value on the element’s shape as it is shown in the following picture.
2. Click the tagged value once again. The HTML mode will be turned on and the HTML editor
toolbar will open for editing this tagged value.
Button Description
Advanced Edit text with advanced HTML editor. The Advanced HTML Editor
HTML Editor dialog opens.
Font Select font style of the text. The Font Properties dialog opens.
properties
• Click the Advanced HTML Editor button on the HTML editor toolbar.
For the information how to turn on the HTML editor, see the procedure
"To turn on the HTML mode in a dialog" on page 423.
In the Advanced HTML Editor dialog you can change the text style, insert symbols, images, and tables, as
well as perform other actions using appropriate buttons.
2. In the Picture Properties dialog, specify the image location. Do one of the following:
• Type the path to the image location.
• Click Browse and browse to the image you want to insert.
If you are working with a server project, make sure that the path to
the image location is accessible from any computer that has Internet
connection. Otherwise the image will not be displayed, when the
project is opened on another computer.
• NEW! If you want to insert an image, which is an attached file, simply paste its URL
to the Picture Source box by pressing Ctrl+V (Cmd+V on OS X).
For more information, refer to "Inserting into HTML text" on
page 128.
• Select Copy URL from the element shortcut menu in the Containment tree to copy the URL to
a model element.
• Select the element symbol in a diagram and click Edit > Copy URL on the main menu to copy
the URL to element symbol.
You can open any elements through their URLs by clicking the Open Element from URL command and the
element will be highlighted in the Containment tree or in the diagram. Custom URL "mdel://" is registered into
windows registry. Activating the URL in other applications will allow you to start MagicDraw, open the project (if
possible), and select any elements. You can paste URLs from the clipboard to any MagicDraw diagram.
Hyperlinks also can hold URLs of any model elements.
Parameters Synchronization
The parameters synchronization keeps your model valid and synchronized with your changes. How the
synchronization works? After you have created a new element or edited a property the associated elements
and properties are updated according to your changes.
The following table lists the pairs of elements that are synchronized.
The following table lists the synchronized element properties and conditions on which these properties are
synchronized.
In addition, you can solve the broken parameters synchronization by using the Synchronization dialog.
In this section, you will find the brief information on how to open the Synchronization dialog and on each
button that can be useful while working in the dialog.
• On the diagram pane, select the invalid shape, on the smart manipulator toolbar, click the
button, and then click the Synchronize Manually command.
• In the Validation Results window, click the Solve button and then click the Synchronize
Manually command. For more information on how to open the Validation Results window, see
"Validation Results Panel" on page 617.
The following table describes the buttons in the source and target areas of the Synchronization dialog.
Button Description
Source elements area:
Up Click to shift the selected source element up a row. In
this way you can change the order of the source
elements.
Down Click to shift the selected source element down a
row. In this way you can change the order of the
source elements.
Remove Click to remove the selected source element from
the project.
Click to open the Specification window of the
Edit
selected source element.
Button Description
Target elements area:
Up Click to shift the selected target element up a row. In
this way you can change the order of the target
elements.
Down Click to shift the selected target element down a row.
In this way you can change the order of the target
elements.
Remove Click to remove the selected target element from the
project.
Click to open the Specification window of the
Edit
selected target element.
Button Description
Synchronize Click the button to synchronize all the not synchronized elements. Then
All from the menu select the straightforward or NEW! backward
synchronization. For example, when synchronizing Parameters (Activity)
and Pins (Call Behavior Action) you can select to synchronize one of the
following:
• Pins (Call Behavior Action) by Parameters (Activity)
• Parameters (Activity) by Pins (Call Behavior Action).
Synchronize Click to synchronize the selected parameter. Note that the button is
Selected disabled if no parameters are selected in the list.
After you click the Synchronize Selected button, the following menu
appears:
Create -> - Click to create the target element with the same properties as
the source element.
<-Create - Click to create the source element with be create with the
same properties as the target element.
Update -> - Click to update the not synchronized properties of the target
element according to the properties of the source element.
<-Update - Click to update the not synchronized properties of the source
element according to the properties of the target element.
Note that the Update command exists only if there are properties to
update.
MagicDraw provides the following tools and wizards to help you quickly and easily perform design tasks.
• "Model Merge" - allows for porting changes between different project versions.
• "Pattern Wizard" - creates various GOF, Java, Junit, CORBA IDL, XML Schema, and other
design patterns.
• "Creating Setters/Getters" - creates getting and setting operations for attributes defined in the
class.
• "Implementing or Overriding Operations" - creates defined operations down the Inheritance
tree.
• "Model Transformation Wizard" - enables running one of the predefined transformations to
convert the given model part into another model according to the rules of that transformation.
Transformations are usually used for converting models between different modeling domains,
for example, UML and SQL.
• "Automatic Instantiation Wizard" - allows for creating instances of various entities with just a
few clicks. It is especially useful when working with complex models or assembling large
systems from parts.
• "Resource Manager" - allows for managing resources (Profiles, Plugins, Templates, Language
resources, Case studies/examples, Custom diagrams, and others).
• "Spelling Checker" - checks spelling as you type. Select what you want to be spell checked:
either the whole project or some specific parts.
Model Merge
Model Merge
Model Merge allows for copying changes between different project versions. This functionality is usually
needed when there are several branches that reflect different releases or versions of the product, for example,
when certain fixes have to be copied from a release branch to the mainstream development.
You can merge different versions of both local and server projects.
Projects that use other projects, can be compared and merged in one single operation. You do not need to
merge each used project and finally the main project one-by-one.
Concepts
For better understanding the further material, first of all learn the following concepts.
Source
A project version from which changes are copied.
Target
A project version into which changes are copied.
Ancestor
A common parent project version of both source and target.
Contributor
General description for a project version that participates in the merge as a source or a target.
There are two types of model merge: 3-way merge and 2-way merge. Choose the way of merge according to a
particular case. In order to find out which way best suites your case, learn about each one in the following
sections.
3-way merge
Conceptually the 3-way merge is a reconciliation of two difference sets, if we assume that a difference set
contains changes between a contributor and the ancestor. For example, a difference set v1-v2 represents
changes between project v2 and ancestor v1 as well as v1-v3 does for project v3 and the same ancestor.
Use the 3-way merge, if you need to compare and merge changes from two projects into one and also consider
the ancestor of both projects. For example, you may need to merge two branches of the same server project
that have been simultaneously developed by two different users in a collaborative environment, as is shown in
the following figure. As you can see, branch b.1 has been created from project version i. Then both versions
have been developed in parallel: i+1, ..., n-1, n and b.1, ..., b.n. The merge operation copies changes that have
been made in the branch version to the trunk version.
2-way merge
The 2-way mere is a specific case of the 3-way merge. Use this type of merge for joining together two
separately developed local projects that have no ancestor. The target project will be taken as an ancestor.
Change is a difference, found between the ancestor and a participant. Changes can be as follows:
• addition
• deletion
• modification
• movement
• order
Every change can be accepted or rejected and have dependent changes. Changes can conflict with each other
or be equivalent as well.
Merging begins with building a composite change tree, which consists of model, diagramming, and non-model
changes.
Change types
Read the following definitions to get familiar with different change types.
Addition change
If an element has been added to a contributor, an addition change occurs.
Deletion change
If an element has been removed from a contributor, a deletion change occurs.
Modification change
If an element property in a contributor has been modified, a modification change occurs.
If the Is Abstract property value of a class in the ancestor had
the default value which is false and the same property value in a
contributor has been changed to true, a modification change
occurs.
There are three types of modification changes:
• Addition modification change that occurs when a value is added to a property.
• Deletion modification change that occurs when a value is removed from a
property.
• Replacement modification change that occurs when one value is replaced with
another. This type of modification change occurs only for properties that have
multiplicity less or equal to 1.
Movement change
If an element owner has been changed in a contributor, a movement change occurs.
Let’s say package A contains some class in the ancestor and
package B contains the same class in a contributor. This means
that the class has been moved from package A to package B in the
contributor. This case is recognized as a movement change.
Another case of the movement change is when an attribute or an
operation that has been owned by class A in the ancestor,
becomes the attribute or an operation of class B in a contributor.
Order change
If elements order in a contributor has been changed an order change occurs. Order changes can
occur on elements such as attributes, operations, and other ordered elements. Even if a single
element in a collection has changed its place, the order change is applied to the entire collection.
Since an element can have several ordered collections, several order changes can occur on the
single element.
Let’s say class A has attributes a, b, and c in the ancestor. The
attribute c has been moved up and placed above attribute a in a
contributor. This means that the order of attribute collection in class
A has changed in the contributor. This is a case of the order
change.
Change states
Every change, whether it is addition, modification, deletion, movement, or order change, can be either accepted
or rejected. It is change state.
All accepted changes will be incorporated into the target. Alternatively, they can be rejected and will not be
applied to into the target.
Dependent changes
In some cases, other changes have to be accepted or rejected before accepting or rejecting a selected change.
In other words, a selected change sometimes depends on other changes and it is called a dependent change.
For better understanding the concept of the dependent change, study the following examples.
Let’s say a class attribute type has been changed to a type that had been
created by another change. In the consequence, the attribute type change
depends on the change that has created the type. This means that type
creation change must to be accepted before accepting type modification
change.
Let’s suppose there is an attribute type change in a contributor. The old type
has been deleted and a new type has been added to the contributor. In this
case, three changes occur:
• deletion change (for the old type)
• addition change (for the new type)
• and modification change (for the property type)
These are also ownership changes, but they are accepted together with
deletion and addition changes.
The modification change depends on the addition change and the deletion
change depends on the modification change.Thus only accepting the
deletion change means accepting the addition change, the modification
change and the deletion change itself.
Conflicting changes
Conflict is an incompatibility of two changes, i.e. these changes cannot be accepted together. Conflicts can
occur only in the 3-way merge.
Conflict can be as follows:
• Each contributor has changed a class name or any other element
property value.
• One contributor has added an operation to a class and the other
contributor deleted the class.
• One contributor has moved a class into one package while the
other contributor moved it to another package.
Equivalent changes
Equivalent change is a pair of identical changes that are detected in both source and target, when performing
the 3-way merge.
Let’s say package A contains some class in the ancestor and both
contributors contain the same class in package B. This means that
the class has been moved from package A to package B in both
source and target. This is a case of the equivalent change.
Another case of equivalent changes is when the same element A
becomes renamed to B in both contributors.
Read the following information and get informed about customizing the model merge. This is the optional phase
of the model merge procedure. You may not need to perform it.
Order changes can be skipped while merging. For this you need to specify names of properties wherein order
changes should not be detected.
1. From the Options menu select Environment. The Environment Options dialog will be
opened.
2. Find the Do Not Detect Order Changes for option under the Merge category in the General
options group.
3. In the option value cell, specify names of properties wherein order changes should not be
detected while merging.
Property names must be written in camel case, for example,
ownedAttribute, ownedElement, and so on.
For the information about editing this kind of option values, see
"Editing long textual values" on page 300.
Now let’s go through either way of starting the merge procedure step-by-step.
4. In the same dialog, click the Advanced button to see more merge options. Otherwise go to
step #7.
5. In the Optimize for drop-down list, select
• Speed if you need to merge the projects faster. Keep in mind that this will require
more memory.
• Memory if your need to decrease memory usage while merging the projects, since
your computer does not have enough memory. Keep in mind that this will slow down
the merge procedure.
You can also specify the Optimize for option in the Environment
Options dialog. Find the option under the Merge category in the
General options group.
6. In the Used projects to include list, select the used projects of the target you want to merge
with appropriate used projects of the selected source. To select a used project, click to select
the checkbox next to the used project name (see the following figure).
The list includes only the projects that
• Are used by the target in the read-write accessibility mode.
• Have the same composition in both contributors.
• Do not have private parts.
7. Click the Merge button. The project merge will be started. If changes are found, the Merge
window will open. Proceed to Analyzing and managing merge results.
6. Click the Advanced button to see more merge options. Otherwise go to step #9.
7. In the Optimize for drop-down list, select
• Speed if you need to merge the projects faster. Keep in mind that this will require
more memory.
• Memory if your need to decrease memory usage while merging the projects, since
your computer does not have enough memory. Keep in mind that this will slow down
the merge procedure.
You can also specify the Optimize for option in the Environment
Options dialog. Find the option under the Merge category in the
General options group.
8. In the Used projects to include list, select the used projects of the target you want to merge
with appropriate used projects of the selected source. To select a used project, click to select
the checkbox next to the used project name (see the following figure).
The list is available only for server projects and includes only the
projects that
• Are used by the target in the read-write accessibility mode.
• Have the same composition in both contributors.
• Do not have private parts.
9. Click the Merge button. The project merge will be started. If changes are found, the Merge
window will open. Proceed to Analyzing and managing merge results.
Figure 257 -- Merge Projects dialog with automatically selected target and list of target usages
If you do not need to perform the analysis and management of the merge results, proceed to Finishing merge.
You can see how many differences have been detected between the ancestor and the source as well as
between the ancestor and the target on the Summary and legend panel that is located at the top right of the
Merge window. The panel also helps to understand the decorations and highlighting of elements in both the
Merged Result tree and the Specification panel.
Elements with all change types except equivalent changes can be displayed in the Merged Result tree that is
located at the top left of the Merge window.
As a change occurs on a single element, the element icon indicates the state of the change which can be either
accepted or rejected.
Elements with resolved conflicting changes are decorated as it is showed in the following table. Owners of
these elements are also decorated.
(yellow diamond on
the lower-left corner
of element icon) The element had a conflicting modification change
which was resolved by the user.
To see what properties have been modified, click the element and see changes in the Specification panel.
For more information about using the Specification panel, see
"Inspecting element property changes in the Specification panel"
on page 449.
Elements with movement changes are highlighted in the same blue background that is used to highlight
modification changes, since movement changes are some kind of modification changes. Icon of an element
with movement changes is represented with arrow symbol on the left.
The following figure illustrates a movement change, when element X has been moved from package A to
package B. The movement change had been accepted and element X became owned by package B.
You can navigate from the element’s original location to the new one (and vice versa) using the commands on
the element shortcut menu.
Elements with order changes are highlighted in the same blue background that is used to highlight modification
changes, since order changes are some kind of modification changes.
After accepting the change, all the elements in the collection are reordered so that it would be the same as in
one of the contributors.
You can turn off the order changes detection. For more about it, see "Turning on
showing merged diagram annotations" on page 439.
Elements whose owned elements (in any nesting level) have changes are highlighted using red diagonals.
Modified elements with changed owned elements are highlighted in blue with red diagonals.
Figure 268 -- Element with owned elements added and modification change
You can see all the details of an element property changes in the Specification panel that is located at the
bottom of the Merge window. All what needs to be done is selecting the appropriate element in the Merged
Result tree.
As you can see in the following figure, the first column of the panel contains a list of element property names
and other columns display their value changes that have been detected in both contributors and the ancestor.
Do either:
• In the Properties column, right-click the name of a property, which references other elements.
Then on its shortcut menu, point to Select in Merged Result Tree and choose an element to
which you want to navigate.
• In the Source, Ancestor, or Target column, right-click the value of a property, which
references other elements. Then on its shortcut menu choose an element to which you want to
navigate.
Figure 270 -- Using property name shortcut menu to navigate from Specification panel to Merged Result tree.
Figure 271 -- Using property value shortcut menu to navigate from Specification panel to Merged Result tree
You can see exact changes between textual values of element properties, such as element documentation,
comments, pre and post conditions of a use case. Differences of compared texts can be displayed in a single
dialog, where inserted and deleted parts of the text are appropriately highlighted.
The Change details panel displays a tree structure reflecting the changes that occurred either on the element
selected in the Merged Result tree or on the property selected in the Specification panel. If several elements
or properties are selected, then all changes that have been detected in these elements or properties
accordingly will be displayed in the Change details panel. The panel is located above the Specification panel
on the Merge window.
The panel contains a tree structure that has two top-level branches:
• Source changes
• Target changes
In this panel, you can see equivalent changes. In order to see them, expand the Equivalent Changes branch
under an element with equivalent changes. A change, which is marked with is equivalent to a change in
another contributor.
You can customize the content of the Merged Result tree as well as navigate through changes in both the
Merged Results tree and the Specification panel using the toolbar that is located at the top of the Merge
window.
Figure 275 -- Toolbar items for displaying and navigating through changes
The toolbar buttons for customizing the Merged Results tree and navigating through changes are described in
the following tables.
ALT+UP
ARROW
Go To Next Change Click to select the next change.
ALT + DOWN
ARROW
Go To Last Change Click to select the last change.
The button is not available, if the last change is
already selected.
ALT+END
Go To Next Conflict Click to select the next conflict.
The button is not available, if there are no
conflicts.
ALT+PAGE For more information about navigation through
DOWN conflicting changes, see "Quickly navigating
through conflicting changes" on page 454.
Filter Click to open the Items Filter dialog. Clear the
checkbox next to an element that you need to
hide in the Merged Result tree.
Show Auxiliary Click to show or hide in the Merged Result tree
Resources the profiles and used projects with the
«auxiliaryResources» stereotype applied (for
example, UML Standard Profile).
You can also filter the elements displayed in the Merged Results tree by change type. Use the Display drop-
down list to specify a change type. Be advised that filtering elements by a particular change type displays both
elements with the particular changes and elements with particular owned element changes.
Figure 276 -- Choosing change type for displaying changes in Merged Results tree
You can quickly navigate through the automatically accepted conflicting changes in the Merged Result tree.
Use the panel on the right of the Merged Result tree that displays yellow buttons representing conflicting
changes. Click a button to select the automatically accepted conflicting change.
Accept and reject changes using the toolbar that is located above the Merged Result tree or using the shortcut
menu.
Before starting to accept and reject changes, specify from what contributor changes will be accepted and
rejected. Use the Accepting/Rejecting Scope drop-down list for this.
Accept the selected change Click to accept the selected element change.
Reject
Reject the selected change, Click to reject all changes from both
its property changes, and all contributors starting from the selected
subelement changes element. For example, if Data, which is the top
level model element is selected, then all
changes for the whole project will be rejected.
Reject the selected change Click to reject the selected element change
its property change together with the element property changes.
Reject the selected change Click to reject the selected element change.
The following table lists the commands of the shortcut menu that can be opened, when an element is selected
in the Merged Result tree and the Change details panel.
Command Description
Accepts the selected change.
Accept
If the change has equivalent changes, they are accepted too.
Rejects the selected change.
Reject
If the change has equivalent changes, they are rejected too.
Accepts the selected change and its property changes.
Accept With Properties
Rejects the selecting change, its property changes.
Reject With Properties
Accepts the selected change, its property changes, and all owned
Accept Recursively
element changes.
Rejects the selected change, its property changes, and all owned
Reject Recursively
element changes.
Marks the change as resolved by the user, but not by the system. The
Mark as Resolved
conflicting change becomes marked as resolved by the user too.
Command Description
This command differs depending on the location of the selected change.
Select in Merged Result
Tree / Select in
Specification panel
A modified diagram can have two or three diagram difference viewers that are represented as separate tabs in
the Merge window next to the Merged Result tree (see the following figure).
All the diagram difference viewers are used to display the following changes:
• One or more symbols were moved or resized on the diagram.
• A new symbol was added to the diagram.
• A symbol was deleted from the diagram.
As you can see in the following figure, all these changes are highlighted in blue diagonals.
Be advised that symbols with property value changes that actually have
no effect on their appearance are highlighted in a diagram difference
viewer as well. For example, changing the Show Stereotypes property
value in the Symbol Properties dialog of a class makes the class
symbol highlighted as changed in a diagram difference viewer.
You can manage the content of a diagram difference viewer using the toolbar that is located below the diagram
difference viewer.
Mark Source Click to turn on or off the highlighting of the diagram changes
Changes that have been made in the source.
This button is available in both ancestor’s and target’s diagram
difference viewers.
Mark Target Click to turn on or off the highlighting of the diagram changes
Changes that have been made in the target.
This button is available in both ancestor’s and source’s diagram
difference viewers.
Print Diagram Click the button to print a diagram. The diagram will be printed
with highlighted areas on it, if the highlighting of the diagram
changes is turned on.
Zooming Use the buttons to control the diagram size.
Return to Merged Click to open the Merged Result tree with the appropriate
Result diagram selected within.
Figure 281 -- Marking both source and target changes in ancestor’s diagram difference viewer
Finishing merge
1. On the Merge window, click the Finish Merging button. The question dialog box prompting to
confirm changes that have been made to the target will open (see the following figure).
2. Do either:
• Click Yes. All accepted changes will be copied to the target.
After the merge results are copied to the project, do not
forget to save or to commit the project to the server.
• Click No. No changes will be copied to the target. The project remains unchanged.
You can also click Cancel to close the dialog box and continue the merge procedure, that is go back to
Analyzing and managing merge results.
Before finishing the merge procedure, you can turn on showing merged diagram annotations. Click the
Annotate Merged Diagram button on the toolbar that is located at the top of the Merge window for this.
Pattern Wizard
In MagicDraw, you can find various GOF, Java, Junit, CORBA IDL, and XML Schema design patterns.
This functionality is available in Standard, Professional,
and Enterprise editions only.
You can also create new patterns and edit existing ones using Java code or JPython scripts. For a detailed
description, see MagicDraw OpenAPI UserGuide.pdf.
• Select Tools from the class shortcut menu and then select the Apply Pattern subcommand.
The Pattern Wizard has three main collections of customizable options, which are represented by the
hierarchy tree on the left side of the dialog box:
Creating Setters/Getters
This functionality is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions only.
Setters and getters are common operations that contain almost every class. With the help of MagicDraw, set
and get operations for class attributes can be generated automatically.
• From the shortcut menu of the selected class, select Tools, and then select Create Setters/
Getters. The Select Attributes/Association Ends dialog box opens.
Box Function
All Contains names of all attributes defined within the selected class.
Selected Contains the selected attributes.
> Moves the selected attribute from the All list to the Selected list. Setter for that
attribute will be generated.
< Moves selected attribute from the Selected list to the All list.
>> Moves all attributes from the All list to the Selected list. Setters for all attributes will be
generated.
<< Moves all attributes from the Selected to the All list.
Prefix to Type a prefix of an attribute (-, ….) you want to remove while generating setters or
Remove getters.
Create Setters Generates setters for the selected attributes.
Create Getters Generates getters for the selected attributes.
Prefix for Select a prefix for the generated setter (operation). Possible choices: set or Set.
Setter
Prefix for Select a prefix for the generated getter (operation). Possible choices: get;is, Get;Is;
Getter get, or Get.
NOTE: “Get” is used for every getter, “is” is used if the type of an attribute is set as
Boolean.
OK Generates setters and/or getters for attributes that are in the Selected Items list.
Cancel Exits the dialog box without any changes.
Box Function
Help Displays the MagicDraw Help.
The names of created operations (setters) are combined according to the following format:
public void set + <attribute name> (<attribute type> <attribute name>)
If you have an attribute called x of type int, then the generated setter will look this way:
public void setx (int x)
The names of created operations (getters) are combined according to the following format:
public <attribute type> get + <attribute name> ( )
If you have an attribute called x of type int, then the generated setter will look this way:
public int getx ();
When you inherit classes from the base class that has abstract functions, you have to redefine them in the
inherited classes. The implement/override operations tool will help you generate operations that are defined as
abstract in the base class.
From the shortcut menu of the selected class, select Tools. Then, select Implement/Override Operations.
The Select Operations to Implement/Override dialog box opens.
Box Function
All Contains names of all operations defined within the selected class.
Selected Contains the selected operations.
> Moves the selected operation from the All list to the Selected list.
< Moves selected operation from the Selected list to the All list.
>> Moves all operations from the All list to the Selected list.
<< Moves all operations from the Selected to the All list.
OK Generates operations that are in the Selected list.
Cancel Exits the dialog box without any changes.
Help Displays the MagicDraw Help.
Transformation engine itself is available in MagicDraw editions from Standard and up.
However, only MagicDraw Architect and Enterprise editions bring any particular
transformations. So for MagicDraw Standard and Professional edition users,
transformations are not available.
Plugins can bring additional transformations regardless of MagicDraw edition. For
example, users, who have the Cameo Data Modeler plugin, can use the transformation
engine to run ER to SQL(Generic/ Oracle) transformations, even if they do not have the
MagicDraw Architect/Enterprise editions.
The Model Transformation Wizard enables running one of the predefined transformations. When using this
wizard to run a chosen transformation, you have to perform the following steps:
1. Choose a transformation type.
2. Specify both the transformation source model (or a part of it) and destination package.
3. Select a type map.
4. Set custom transformation properties.
Each transformation converts the chosen model part into another model according to the rules of this
transformation. Transformations are usually used for converting models between different modeling domains,
e.g., UML and SQL.
All transformations follow a similar approach. They take a part of a model as the transformation source and
copy it to the destination model, establishing traces between the transformation source and target elements.
Then each transformation performs the specific model reorganizations, which are necessary for each
transformation type according to the transformation options specified by the user in the transformation wizard.
Transformation can also be performed in-place, i.e., the source model is not copied to the destination model,
but transformation works directly on it instead.
Transformations also perform the so-called type remapping. During the transformation between the different
modeling domains, such as UML and SQL, it is necessary to go through the data types used in the source
model and change the types from the source domain into the equivalent types in the target domain, for
example, changing String type usages in the UML model into the varchar type usages in the SQL model.
Available Transformations
Transformations are usually used for converting models between different modeling domains. Transformations
are named by the types of their source models and their destination models. These are the available
transformations:
• Any to Any. This transformation copies all your model or part of it to another package without
making any changes. You can also remap types in the destination model by applying some type
mapping rules.
• Profile Migration. Helper transformation for migrating models using one profile to models
using another profile (usually - between different versions of the same profile - old and new).
UML to SQL(Generic/Oracle), SQL to UML, UML to XML Schema, XML Schema
to UML transformations are available with the separately-installed Cameo Data
Modeler plugin (which comes free of charge with MagicDraw Architect and
Enterprise Editions and is separately purchseable for MagicDraw Standard and
Professional editions).
Do either:
• From the Tools menu, choose Model Transformations.
• Right-click one or more packages and select Tools > Transform.
In the first step of the Model Transformation Wizard, a list of the available transformation types is displayed.
The following operations are available in the Select transformation type window:
Button Function
Next > Proceed to the next step (in this case, Select source/destination).
Cancel Cancel the wizard.
Help Display the MagicDraw Help.
In the second step of the wizard, the Transformation Source tree displays all project data, i.e. the packages
and their inner elements, that can be selected as a transformation source. Transformation will take the selected
elements as input data.
Select the Place transformation model in package option button to specify the package into which the source
will be transformed. Click the ... button to display the Destination Package dialog. Select an existing package
from the Packages tree or create a new one.
Select the Transform in place option button, if you want the source model to be edited.
If you choose the in-place transformation, the model part selected as the transformation
source, will be edited directly, and you will not retain your original model. So, please, be
careful with this option.
If you choose the destination package, the source model will be copied to it and the
transformation will be performed on this copy. Hence you will retain your source model
and get a resulting model and traces will be established between elements in these
model parts.
Button Function
< Back Return to the previous dialog box.
Next > Proceed to the next step (in this case, Select type mappings).
Finish Finish the transformation configuration. All other options will be set by default.
The Model Transformations Wizard exits and transformation results appear in
the project.
Cancel Cancel the wizard.
Help Display the MagicDraw Help.
The third step in the wizard allows for selecting a type map that will be applied during the transformation.
Usually transformation has and brings in some predefined type map, but if you want, you can specify another
type map.
A type map can be regarded as a collection of rules of the form “Replace the usage of type X in the used project
with the usage of type Y”.
A type map is a model object, i.e. a package with a collection of dependencies (for the details about modeling
type maps, see section “Transformation Type Mapping” on page 475), hence all model manipulation operations
can be performed on it. In particular, it can be refactored into a used project and mounted into any project,
which needs it. It can be a simple package in your project as well, if you need a custom, one-off type map. A
predefined type map can be taken from the MagicDraw module and edited.
To see a list of the type maps available in your model, click the down arrow in the Transformation type map
combo box. These type maps specify the mapping rules that will be applied to the model during the
transformation.
When you select a particular map, its contents are displayed in a table below. Each row in the table is a rule to
remap one particular type to another. The From type and To type columns in the table show the source and
target types.
The Run type mapping in reverse order check box creates the opposite type mapping. Type maps can be
bidirectional, e.g., the same type map is reused both in the UML to XML schema and XML schema to UML
transformations. This checkbox governs the direction in which the type map should be used.
The following operations are available in the Select type mapping window:
Button Function
< Back Return to the previous dialog box.
Next > Proceed to the next step (in this case, Specify transformation details).
NOTE: This button is disabled during the Any to Any transformations.
Finish Finish the configuration of the transformation. The Model Transformations
Wizard exits and the transformation results appear in the project.
The Transformation Details table displays the various properties of a specific transformation, selected in the
first step of the Model Transformation Wizard. Each transformation type has its own set of options, which
govern functionality of that transformation.
To change the transformation properties to the default values, click Reset to Defaults.
The following operations are available in the Specify transformation details window:
Button Function
< Back Return to the previous dialog box.
Finish Finish the transformation configuration. The Model Transformations Wizard
exits and the transformation results appear in the project.
A type map can be regarded as a collection of rules of the form “Replace the usage of type X with the usage of
type Y”. A type map is created by modeling means and is a model object, hence all model manipulation
operations can be performed on it. In particular - it can be refactored into a module and mounted into any
project, that needs it. It can be a simple package in your project as well, if you need a custom, one-off type map.
Predefined type map can be taken from the MagicDraw module and edited.
A type map is a stereotyped package, holding a collection of stereotyped dependencies. Stereotypes for
building type maps are stored in the Model Transformation Profile.
In the example above, after the transformation, all int types will be transformed to char.
Each of the thus created dependencies represents one type remapping rule. The package represents the
complete type map.
Type mapping rule behavior can be further customized by setting various tags on the rules (see "Controlling
Type Mapping Rule Behavior" on page 477).
Transitive type mapping (of the form type1->type2->type3) is not supported.
Controlling direction
By default, the same type map can be applied in two directions: forward and backward. The backward direction
can be set by selecting the Run type mapping in reverse order check box in the third step of the Model
Transformation Wizard. This is useful, when there are two related opposite transformations for some domain;
for example, the same type map is used for both UML to XML schema and XML schema to UML
transformations.
If you want to limit the directions, in which type map can be used, you can set the defaultDirection tag for your
type map package. Possible values are forward, reverse, and both (default).
The direction can also be limited on a per-rule basis. This is controlled by setting the direction tag on the type
map dependency. Then the mapping rule is excluded from the rule set when the type map is run in a different
direction than specified for this rule.
There can be multiple mapping rules for the same source type. For example, String -> varchar and String ->
nvarchar. In this case, one of the rules must be marked as default by setting the default tag value on it to true.
The type map having several rules for the same type
and without any one set as default cannot be used.
During the initial transformation, only the default rules for each source type come into play. E.g., if the user has
a property with the String type, this will be transformed to property having the varchar type set.
However, during the transformation update, all rules come into play. If the destination type is one of the
acceptable types according to the map, it is not changed. Otherwise it is replaced with the default mapping.
Regarding the example above, let’s say that after the initial transformation, the user changes the type of the
property in the destination model from varchar to nvarchar (as a post-transformation refinement process). If the
user now runs a transformation update, this change will not be overwritten, since nvarchar is an acceptable
type as there is a String -> nvarchar mapping in the type map as well. If on the other hand the user sets the type
of this property to number, this would be reset the during transformation update, and the type will be forced
back to varchar, as there is no String -> number mapping.
You can also control mapping behavior for the type inheritance. By default, derived subtypes are also mapped
by the rule governing the parent type (unless, of course, they have their own rules for mapping). If the
blockInheritedSourceTypes tagged value is set, derived types are not affected by this rule. Let’s review the
following example:
Here T1, T2, and T5 are types in the source domain, while T2 and T4 are types in the destination domain.
Given these two mappings (T1 -> T2 and T3 -> T4), the following statement is true: T1, and all types derived
from it (such as T5), are mapped to the T2 type, except T3 and any of the types derived from it. These types are
mapped to T4.
In this case, T3, along with the types derived from it, are still mapped to T4. T1 is still mapped to T2. However,
unlike the previous example, T5 and all the types inherited from T1 are NOT mapped to T2.
You can also control the mapping behavior of the type inheritance in the destination model. This is only effective
on the transformation updates, the second (and successive) reapplications of the transformation. By default,
derived subtypes in the destination model are not overwritten, since they are considered suitable substitutes of
their parent. Let’s review the following example:
Here T1 is a type in the source domain, while T2 and T4 are types in the destination domain. Given this
mapping (T1 -> T2), on the first application of the transformation, type T1 residing in the source model will be
mapped to type T2 in the destination model.
Now let us look at a case, where the user refines the destination model by changing the type on the destination
model attribute from T2 to T4. This situation is quite common, for example, the user refines an attribute type
from string to basic URI in the XML schema, or from Integer to nonNegativeInteger, and so forth. The essence
is that the mapping for inherited types of T2 is performed as if there was a mapping T1 -> T2 (default), T1 -> T4,
T1 -> <any_other_type_inherited_from_T2>.
Now consider what happens, when we apply the blockInheritedDestinationTypes tagged value:
In this case, type T4 has no special treatment. If the user applies the transformation, T1 is mapped to T2.
Afterwards the user refines the destination model, changing the attribute type from T2 to T4. If the user now
updates the transformation, the attribute type is overwritten: T4 is reset back to T2.
When the user loads the type map in the reverse direction, the roles of the blockInheritedSourceTypes and
blockInheritedDestinationTypes are transposed (unless of course the direction tag mandates that this
mapping is not used in the reverse direction).
The special type AnySourceType is a template that matches any type in the source model (see mapping rules
for type inheritance). By using this type, together with the inheritance mapping rules, the user can specify that
any other types not defined by the mapping should be interpreted by this mapping.
The special type AnyDestinationType is a template that matches any type in the destination model (see
mapping rules for type inheritance).
According to this rule, any types in the source model for which there are no other mapping rules should be
stripped in the destination model.
Type modifiers
Type mapping rules can also affect type modifiers during the type replacement. Type modifier is a small string,
which modifies type usage in the typed element. They are used, for example, for specifying arrays during the
modeling (e.g., property type = char and type modifier = [30] gives property:char[30]). Type modifiers are
extensively used in SQL models for specifying number field widths and varchar field lengths. For example,
phone:varchar”(100)”, where varchar is a type of phone property and “(100)” is a type modifier.
Each type mapping rule can carry a triple <modifier, regexp, replacementregexp> for setting type modifiers
during the type replacement. These are specified in the tags on the mapping rule <forwardTypeModifier,
forwardTypeModifierRegexp, forwardTypeModifierRegexpReplace> triple for controlling modifiers during
the forward application of type map and correspondingly the <reverseTypeModifier,
Any of the components of the triple can be missing, i.e., not specified.
If no tags are specified, then type modifiers are not changed during the type remapping operation (whatever
modifier was in the source model, it will be copied into the target model).
If just the modifier is specified for the mapping rule, then modifiers are set during the application of this type
rule. This can be used for setting the fixed type modifiers. For example, mapping boolean in the UML model to
number(1) in the SQL models (in this case the modifier=”(1)” is used in the type map).
If all three are specified, a modifier, regexp, and regexp replacement, modifier remapping is performed as
follows: during the transformation, the existing type modifier is matched against the given regexp. If it does not
match, the type modifier is overwritten with the value, specified in the modifier field of the rule. If it does match
regexp, the replacement is run on the match result and produces a type modifier to be set as a result. This
allows quite complex rules to be written and executed, however this mandates good knowledge of regexp.
Let’s review the following live example: in the char -> varchar type mapping rule for the UML to SQL
transformation, the following triple can be used: modifier="(255)", modifierRegexp="^[\(\[]([0-9]*)[\)\]]$", and
modifierRegexpReplace="($1)". This causes the char[20] type usages (type=char, modifier=”[20]”) in the
source be changed to varchar(20); char (without modifier) would be remapped to varchar(255).
If regexp replacement is not specified, it is treated as if “$0” was specified: the type modifier is copied from the
source, if it does match the regexp.
Trace information can be used for navigating between the model layers. This is done with the traceability
features of MagicDraw. To navigate in the forward direction, i.e., from the transformation source model element
to the destination model element, right-click that element and choose Go To > Traceability > Model
Transformations > Transformed To > <element>. To navigate in the backward direction, i.e., from the
transformation destination model element to the source model element, right-click that element and choose Go
To > Traceability > Model Transformations > Transformed From > <element>.
Traceability information is also visible in the element’s Specification window, the Traceability tab; in the
Properties panel, Traceability tab; it can also be depicted in the Relation Map diagram or in the custom
dependency matrix.
Traces can be used for running the transformation update. The transformation update reapplies the
transformation with the same source and target for the purpose of carrying additional changes from the source
(which occurred after transformation was made) into the destination.
During the transformation update, presence of unmapped model elements in the source model indicates that
these are newly added elements. Usual rules and the same behavior for the transformation are used for these
elements as if this were the first application of the transformation.
During the transformation update, if model elements already contain mapping, and the source and destination
does not match, the question arises - which properties to use. This is fundamental problem for all updating
operations. The general solution is to have some kind of merge between the source and target. But merge is
clumsy and expensive. MagicDraw implements a simplistic approach meaning that during the transformation
update a user can choose, wherever he/she wants the source model element properties to win (destination
model element properties are overwritten) or wherever he/she wants the destination model properties to win
(destination model properties are not changed).
• Right-click the destination package and select Tools > Update Transformed Model.
The Change destination properties according to source option causes overwriting of element properties in
the destination model with properties from the source model (only for the elements connected with mapping
dependencies).
The Leave destination properties intact option leaves the destination model properties unchanged but
different from the source model, in other words retains changes made to the destination model while it ignores
changes made to the source model.
In Oracle DDL transformation updates, only changing of destination properties according to the source is
available. It means, all changes are overwritten when updating a transformed Oracle DDL model, and the
Model Refresh Options dialog does not appear in this case.
If new elements are added to the source, once the update occurs, copies of the
new elements will be created in the destination model. If an element is deleted
from the source, it will not be removed from the destination after the update.
To create mapping rules you need to create Dependency relationship between elements you want to transform.
Mapping rules can be created (dependency relationship can be created) between the following elements:
1. Stereotypes
2. Tags
3. Types
This type of transformation is used to replace Stereotype. To create Stereotype transformation mapping rule:
1. Create Dependency relationship between Stereotypes which you want to transform.
2. Apply ReplaceStereotype stereotype to Dependency.
3. Perform transformation.
Tag values of old stereotype are preserved when tag name and type of tag value is the same. For tag values
with different names create mapping rule for tag transformation.
This type of transformation is used to replace Tag (when tag names differs). For example, source stereotype
has author Tag and target stereotype has name Tag.
This type of transformation is used to replace type. For example, to replace type of Attribute.
Do either:
• From the Tools menu, choose Model Transformations.
• Right-click one or more packages and select Tools > Transform.
This sample describes step-by-step instructions how to create profile migration mapping rules and perform
transformation. In this sample we will change one stereotype to other.
1. Create Book stereotype with Class metaclass.
2. Create your model, for example, create Source package with Source Class diagram. Draw
Sample Class and apply Book stereotype.
To change Book stereotype to other, for example to Magazine stereotype, you have to create
profile migration transformation mapping rules. Follow next steps for creating mapping.
3. Create stereotype Magazine with Class metaclass.
4. From the Magazine stereotype to Book stereotype draw Dependency relationship.
5. To the Dependency relationship apply ReplaceStereotype stereotype (see Figure 1).
Profile Migration transformation mapping rule is created. Now you can start transformation.
6. To start transformation select Model Transformations from the Tools menu. The Model
Transformation Wizard will open.
7. Select the Profile Migration transformation and click Next.
8. Select the Source package in the Select source/destination step (Figure 3). Click Next.
9. The From and To fields display the mappings of the selected transformation profile in the
Check mappings step (Figure 4). Click Finish.
After this transformation stereotype of Sample Class will be changed to Magazine stereotype.
For more information about Model Transformation Wizard,
see "Working with Model Transformation Wizard" on page 470.
Figure 294 -- The Model Transformation Wizard, the Select transformation type step
Figure 295 -- The Model Transformation Wizard, the Select source/destination step
Figure 296 -- The Model Transformation Wizard, the Check mappings step
For properties having the multiplicity more than 1, you can create as many instances of the same type as you
need, since parallel parts can be added while creating instances. Previously, this feature had been supported
by the SysML plugin only.
The Automatic Instantiation wizard analyzes the structure of the selected element and collects all available
information about that element from the model (attributes, properties, and so on). All this information is
presented in the first step of the wizard.
The Automatic Instantiation wizard evaluates collected information and provides a suggestion of all possible
instances to be created.
If you are satisfied with default values provided in the Automatic Instantiation wizard, you can finish the wizard
in the first step without making any changes. The instances will be created with the default values and in your
working package. But if you want to change default values, create several different configurations, see the
Working with Automatic Instantiation Wizard and the Case study: sections on how to do that.
Related references
Working with Automatic Instantiation Wizard
In this step, you can see all available instance specification values (parts) of your selected element. Here you
can select which parts or properties to instantiate, create or select values for parts and properties, as well as
add or remove parallel parts.
Parts are displayed if the multiplicity is greater than 1. The number of parts displayed depends on the
multiplicity.
If the multiplicity is a particular value, for example 2, then you will see 2 parts displayed in then Automatic
Instantiation wizard. Also in this case, you will not be able to add parallel parts or remove existing.
If the multiplicity is defined as an interval (for example, 0..*, 1..10, 1..* ) or *, only one part will be created by
default. If you need more parts, you can create them by pressing Insert or selecting Add parallel part form the
selected property’s shortcut menu. If the multiplicity is 1, parts will not be created.
The parts and properties are displayed with the suggested types and values. In this step of the wizard, you can
change them.
You can change type for the part only in that case, if there is an available sub element for that part in your
model (see the Case study:).
2. In Instantiated properties, click Value specification cell and then click the ... button. The
Select Instance Specification dialog opens.
3. In the opened dialog, select the instance specification you want to add for the selected part.
4. Click the OK button.
3. In the opened shortcut menu, point Value Specification and then select on of the available
value types.
4. In the Value property specification cell, type the desired value (see the following figure).
• Select a property for which you want to add a parallel part and do one of the following:
• From the shortcut menu, select Add parallel part.
After this step, if you do not wish to change the default package or specify diagram creation settings, click the
Finish button.
In this step, you can select the existing package or create a new one by clicking the Create button, or copy the
selected package with all its content by clicking the Clone button.
After this step, if you do not wish to display your created instance specifications, click the Finish button.
In this step, you can choose wether you want to show your created instance specifications in a new diagram or
not. If you do not want to create a new diagram, you can simply skip this step.
If you choose to create a new diagram, select the Create a new diagram check box. If you want to show links
among the created instance specifications, select the Create link between instances check box as well.
After that, specify the diagram name. By default the diagram name is Instance of the <element name>.
From the Select diagram type list, you can select one of the diagram types.
The final step is to select, create new, or clone an owner for your new diagram.
After clicking the Finish button, a new diagram with instance specifications is displayed.
Case study:
Let’s say we have three classes named Administrator, Librarian, and Personnel. These classes are connected
in the following way:
The multiplicity in the association end near the Librarian is 4. In this case, the Automatic Instantiation wizard
suggests four parts. In the following figure, these values are displayed as [1], [2], [3], and [4]. Each of them
have a set of properties inherited from the type of the parts. In this case, we cannot add more parts because the
multiplicity points to the particular number of available parts.
The type of the part can be changed, if there is a sub element in the model. In this case, class Librarian has a
sub class Personnel, so the type of part [1] can be changed to Personnel as you can see in the following figure.
The next step is to select a new package, wherein our created instance specifications will be stored. For that
purpose, we move to the second step of the wizard and create a new package Instances of the Administrator.
The final step is to create a new diagram, wherein our created instances will be displayed. After selecting the
diagram type (in this case, we will select to create a class diagram) and owner, let’s click the Finish button. See
the result in the following figure.
Related references
Instance Specification
Link
Value Specification
Resource Manager
MagicDraw Resource Manager functionality allows you to manage local resources (installed with MagicDraw,
downloaded) and resources available on the web.
With Resource Manager you can manage different types of resources, such as, Profiles, Plugins, Templates,
Language resources, Case studies/examples, Custom diagrams, and others.
• From the Help menu, select Resource/Plugin Manager. The Resource/Plugin Manager
window appears.
Name Column in the Different types of resources are listed in separate nodes.
table There are the following resources types: model libraries,
plugins (commercial), plugins (no-cost), profiles, samples,
templates.
In front of each resource is a check box. Select this check
box to manage the resource.
Status Column in the The resource status can be one of the following:
table • Evaluation expires <expiration date>
• Not installed (downloaded)
• Not installed (available)
• Will be installed after restart
• Active
• Will be removed after restart
• Not downloaded
• Removed (if resource does not exist on the web).
Text colors Explanatory text The row lists the meanings of the text colors:
• - installed
• - resource or version available
• - changes will be applied after application restart
Download/Install Button Click to download or install the selected resources.
NOTE: The Download/Install button is unavailable if no
resources are selected.
Remove Button Click to remove the selected resource or plugin.
Button is active if at least one resource is selected with
state “not installed” or “installed”.
Import Button Click to import the locally saved resource/plugin. The
Open dialog opens.
Manage Licenses Button Click the button to apply the license for the selected
resource or plugin. The License Manager window opens.
For more information about licensing, see "Licensing
Information" on page 44.
Details Button Click to expand or collapse the Resource/Plugin
Manager window.
When the Resource/Plugin Manager window is expanded,
the following additional fields are displayed:
• Name, Resource home page, Provider, and Description.
• The Required table (with Name, Required, Status
columns). The table represents the requirements for the
newer resource/plugin version.
NOTE: The Required table is displayed when the resource
is installed and a newer version is available on the web.
Spelling Checker
Spelling Checker enables you to:
• Check spelling as you type. A shortcut menu provides spelling options. Right click the word
underlined in red to enter the shortcut menu. Spelling options will be displayed. Words can also
be entered into a customized dictionary using Add to Dictionary (see "Spell checking as you
type" on page 498).
• Check the spelling of a whole project or of a selected part. You can list all the spelling errors
found in a project and correct them easily (see "Spell checking for the whole project or the
selected scope" on page 500).
• Set Spelling Checker options. You can set spelling checker options, such as skipping numbers,
upper case words in the Environment Options dialog box (Spell Check option) (see "Setting
the spell checking options" on page 504).
• Add a spell checking dictionaries. All "Open Office" supportive spelling languages can be
added additionally to the existing ones (see "Spell checking dictionaries" on page 506).
Right-click on underlined word to invoke the shortcut menu in the following MagicDraw window locations:
1. Diagram pane (see Figure 302 on page 498).
2. Containment tree (see Figure 303 on page 499).
3. Dialog boxes (see Figure 304 on page 500).
Figure 302 -- Shortcut menu of the spelling error on the diagram pane
Figure 303 -- Shortcut menu of the spelling error in the Containment tree
Figure 304 -- Shortcut menu of the spelling error in the dialog box
button in the main toolbar. The Check Spelling dialog box opens.
2. Click the Check button. The Validation Results dialog box opens.
Figure 307 -- The Check Spelling dialog box, the Check Spelling For option
The Validation Results window provides with all spelling errors. You can choose either to correct particular
error or to ignore it.
For more information about correcting the spell checking error,
see "Solving the spell checking errors" on page 502.
Spelling error in the Validation Results window has description of construct as follows:
For more information about validation functionality, see “Validation” on page 613. Here the Validation Results
window is described in more details.
In the shortcut menu of element with error, select the Correct command to invoke the Spell Checker dialog
box.
In the Spell Checker dialog box the Element property shows the name of the element. The Property shows
the name of the element's property that has spelling error in its value. In the Value property all wrongly spelled
words are underlined.
Press the Next button to go to the next spelling error found during validation. To close spelling dialog and save
changes press OK. To close dialog without saving changes press Cancel.
Figure 309 -- Solving the spell checking errors in the Validation Results window
Figure 313 -- The Environment Options dialog box, the Spelling branch
Defining customization class tag "checkSpelling" value can do it. "checkSpelling" tag can be found in properties
tag group. By creating value for this tag you can choose String properties to check spelling for. By default there
are no properties marked as checkable.
For more information about DSL,
see MagicDraw UMLProfiling&DSL
UserGuide.pdf.
• "Sequence Diagram from Java Source Wizard" on page 666 - creates a sequence
diagram of Java method implementation.
• Right-click the shape and from the shortcut menu, select Related Elements >
Display Related Elements.
• From the Edit menu, select Symbol > Related Elements > Display Related
Elements.
3. On the right side of the dialog, choose relationship types that you need to use when searching
for the related elements by selecting the check box in front of each desired relationship type.
4. On the left side of the dialog, choose the search scope and specify other options for displaying
the related elements. The options are described in the following table.
• From the shape shortcut menu, select Related Elements > Display Paths.
• Select a symbol and from the Edit menu, select Symbol > Related Elements > Display
Paths.
The Used By and Depends On features allows you to track and view element dependencies in UML models,
explore how model elements are used by other elements, and understand the relationships between used and
dependent elements.
It is also useful for analyzing associations between elements or searching for diagrams where these elements
are represented.
Understanding Used By
If you want to find all the elements that reference the current element, use the Used By functionality.
If element1 references element2, this means that element1 uses element2.
Conversely, element2 is also used by element1. In the Attribute
Specification dialog, add class2 in the Type box. This means that class2
is used by that attribute.
Containing other elements is not considered usage. For example, when a package contains an inner element
class, this does not mean that the package uses the class. The class is categorized as only a container of the
package.
Understanding Depends On
If you want to find all elements that current element depends on, use the Depends On functionality.
If element1 contains a reference to element2, this means that
element1 depends on element2.
The Usages/Dependencies Search Options dialog covers the spectrum of usages and
dependent element functionality. This means that if you clear or select any check boxes in the
Usages/Dependencies Search Options dialog, the next time you search for dependencies,
the values for these check boxes remain the same.
Element Description
Load autoloadable used If the model has unloaded used projects, select this check box to load all
projects elements to be included in performing the usages/dependencies search.
NOTE: This element is available if the Used By command was selected.
Search recursively If selected, usages/dependencies of inner elements (beneath the level
of the current element) are listed in the search result list.
If unselected (default value), the usages/dependencies table lists these
elements that are using the current element.
For example, let’s say, element1 contains element2. When you search
non-recursively, only elements that use element1 are listed. When you
search recursively, elements using element1 are listed, while the other
branch lists these elements that use element2.
Ignore derived properties If selected, derived properties of the element are not included when
searching for elements usages/dependencies.
A derived property is the one that is automatically calculated from the
other properties.
NOTE: It is strongly recommended to keep this option selected.
Otherwise all derived properties will be included into the usages/
dependencies searching scope, and this may cause a severe
performance downgrade when searching for usages/dependencies.
Element Description
Ignore inter-relations If unselected, only usages/dependencies outside the current element
(above the level of current element and in the same level) are listed.
You may use this option when you export the package as new project.
You may analyze the dependencies of a package inner element to its
outer elements (note that you cannot export a package that contains
inner elements with dependencies to the outer elements according to
this package).
For example, let’s create package p1 and package p2. Connect these
packages using the dependency relationship. In the Model Browser,
drag this dependency to p1. In the Usages/Dependencies Search
Options dialog, select the Ignore inter-relations check box. Search for
the p1 dependency. The dependency to the dependency relationship will
not be found because this element is a child of p1.
Level of details Select predefined types (Classifiers, Packages) from the combo box or
click the ... button, which opens Select Element/Symbol Type dialog
and allows the selection of custom types. Only elements of these types
will be displayed in the search results. For example, Package selected
as “level of details”. Class B depends on Class A (owned in package
p2), because it uses A as type of one operation parameter.
In this case package p2 will be displayed as a result, class A will be
added under p2 node.
Treat relationships as search If selected, search results provide a complete list of used or dependent
result relationships together with other results.
Treat model elements at the If selected, relationships are skipped and only usages/dependent
end of relationships as elements between the model elements connected with these
search results relationships are displayed.
Show results in the new tab If selected, a new Element Usages/Dependencies window is displayed
for every new search.
Show this dialog before If selected, the Usages/Dependencies Search Options dialog will
searching open before searching for element usages or dependencies next time.
If unselected, the dialog will not open before searching for element
usages or dependencies next time.
TIP! You can open the Usages/Dependencies Search Options dialog
by clicking the Usages/Dependencies Search Options button on the
toolbar in the Element Usages/Dependencies window.
4. Depending on which command you selected on the shortcut menu, either the Element Usages
or Dependencies window opens.
The Elements Using/Dependencies window lists the results of the usages/dependencies. In the
Elements Using/Dependencies window you can analyze results, search for an element location
(in a diagram, for example, or in a browser), and filter results.
Because the Usages/Dependent Elements Results window is not synchronized with the model,
any changes made to the model elements will not show in the results window until you click
Refresh.
Element Description
Expand Expands records listed in groups. Click the plus sign next to the group
name to display the contents.
Collapse Collapses records listed in groups.
Select in Containment Tree In the usages/dependencies table, select the record. Click the Select in
Containment Tree button. The Element is selected in the Browser, and
the Containment tree, and the symbol of this element is selected in the
diagram pane.
Click the Select in Containment Tree button to open any closed and
previously loaded diagrams. You can also select the element in the
Containment Tree by double clicking it.
NOTE: The Select in Containment Tree button is not available for
multiple element selections.
Move to Search Results In the usages/dependencies table, select the record. Click the Move to
Search Results button. In the usages/dependencies table results are
moved to the Browser, Search Results tree. In the Search Results tree,
you will see all the results in one list and organized in two groups: From
diagram and From model.
Open all diagrams that Diagrams, which are referenced in the usages/dependencies table, are
contain current Usages/ opened. In the open diagrams, the view is focused on used/dependent
Dependencies elements.
NOTE: The Open all diagrams that contain current Usages/
Dependencies button is inactive when there are no elements that are
used in diagrams.
Show/hide the Full Path The full path is displayed next to the element name.
Names NOTE: For a symbol this button is not valid.
Refresh The usages/dependencies table should be refreshed after:
• Elements or symbols are deleted.
• New dependencies/usages are created for the particular model
element.
Show Usages/Dependencies The Find Usages/Dependent Elements Options dialog opens.
Search Options
Element Description
Filter Filter boxes in the Elements used by and depends on windows are
placed above the column, which will be filtered.
In the used by window, you can filter by element type or usage type. In
the depends on window, you can filter according to element type and
dependency type. When you expand the Filter box, you will see items
listed in the usages/dependencies columns.
NOTE: In the Element Type Filter box within the used by window,
combo box, additional Show All but Symbols filtering options is added.
Traceability
Traceability
You can also read about the traceability feature and analyze the examples in the
Traceability sample.
To open the sample, do any of the following:
• On the Welcome screen, select Samples > Product Features > Traceability.
• Go to the folder <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\product features
and open the Traceability.mdzip file.
All the examples, given in this section, are based on the data from this sample.
As of version 16.8, MagicDraw supports the traceability feature that allows you to track, visualize, navigate, and
analyze the elements involved in the traceability relations.
The traceability relations are used to relate the elements representing the same concept in different UML
models at different levels of abstraction or from different viewpoints. Different levels of abstraction may contain,
include, or even correspond to different stages of system development process (starting from requirements
analysis and finishing with implementation). The higher level of abstraction (e.g., requirements analysis),
contains models with specifying elements, and the lower level of abstraction (e.g., implementation) includes
models with realizing ones.
The traceability relations help to determine how your requirements or the other model artifacts are satisfied. As
they may change, you can use traceability relations to monitor the impact of these changes.
Multiple types of custom and extended UML relationships (e.g., realization, abstraction), tags (e.g., Alternative
Flow of Events Diagrams), and properties (e.g., Owned Behavior) are used to represent traceability relations
between the specifying and realizing elements for showing traceability from requirements analysis to
implementation and deployment models.
You can visualize the traceability relations of your project in order to analyze them using the MagicDraw
features, such as Relation Map (for the analysis of traces among multiple levels of abstraction) and
Dependency Matrix (for the analysis of traces between any two levels of abstraction).
You may track and navigate the elements, that are directly or indirectly related to a specific element through the
traceability properties that will be represented in a special property group of the element’s Specification window
and Properties panel, or on the element’s shortcut menu under the Go To menu. The traceability properties
can also be visualized on a diagram using the standard MagicDraw mechanism for displaying property values
in notes.
Traceability Report
A Traceability Report is particularly useful when there is a need to visualize and verify that requirement
analysis, design, and implementation model elements are all covered in higher or lower levels of abstraction,
for example, all use cases should be covered with design classes realizing them.
For more detailed information about the MagicDraw traceability solution, read the following subsections:
1. "Creating Traceability Relations" on page 516.
2. "Traceability Relations Representation" on page 517.
3. "Navigating between Different Levels of Abstraction" on page 523.
4. "Analyzing Traceability Relations" on page 524.
5. "Predefined Traceability Rules" on page 526.
The traceability relations can be represented by the following types of element dependencies:
• UML relationships (such as abstraction, realization, derivation)
• UML properties (such as Owned Behavior)
• UML tags (such as Alternative Flow of Events Diagrams)
The traceability relations can be specifying, realizing, or other. This depends on which direction a relation is
analyzed and which element is considered as a basis.
• A relationship between a specific element and an element that is the realization of this specific
element, from the point of view of the specific element, is considered to be realizing
traceability (for forward traceability).
• A relationship between a specific element and an element that is the specification of this
specific element, from the point of view of the specific element, is considered to be specifying
traceability (for backward traceability).
Figure 316 -- Horizontal and vertical traceability representation through the realizing, specifying, and other traceability
relations
A single traceability property shows an element or a set of elements that are related to a particular element
through the relationships which are specified by some traceability rule. The predefined traceability rules are
stored in the Traceability customization profile used by the MagicDraw Profile.
The properties for the traceability relations are grouped into the realization, specification, and other groups,
owning both direct (single level) and indirect (multiple levels) traceability relations. The indirect traceability
relations are represented by the so-called All properties, for example, All Specifying Elements, All Realizing
Elements, and All Specific Classifiers.
The relations for traceability creation, visualization and navigation is also possible without using traceability
properties. However, the customizable model driven traceability properties, which represent the traceability
relations in a single place, can greatly help in traceability information visualization and access.
You can customize the predefined traceability properties according to your
needs or create your own traceability properties and specify your own rules.
You can also customize the grouping of the traceability properties according
to your needs.
For more information, please, refer to the sections “Extending metamodel
with derived properties” and “Creating your own property groups and
subgroups” from the chapter “DSL Customization engine” in “UML Profiling
and DSL UserGuide.pdf”.
• For a list of the predefined traceability rules, see "Predefined Traceability Rules"
on page 526.
• For more information about traceability feature, see "Traceability" on page 515.
The Traceability property group in element’s Specification window is one of the places, wherein the element’s
traceability properties, showing its realizing and/ or more specific elements, are represented.
1. Select an element and open the element’s Specification window by using one of the ways given
in section "Specification Window" on page 273.
2. Click the Traceability property group. Now you can view element’s traceability properties.
The following picture gives an example of the traceability relations between the elements from different
abstraction levels of the same project.
As you see, the “Create User” use case from the “Requirements” package is covered by two design classes,
and these classes are accordingly specified by this particular use case.
Therefore, the traceability properties such as Realizing Class and Realizing Element represent both design
classes as realizing elements of this use case (see Figure 319 on page 520). Accordingly the traceability
properties such as Specifying Use Case of each design class represent the “Create User” use case as a more
specific element (see Figure 320 on page 520).
Note that the same related element can be represented through different traceability properties.
The Traceability tab in the element’s Properties panel (at the bottom of the Browser window) is one of the
places, wherein the element’s traceability properties, showing its realizing and/ or more specific elements, are
represented.
1. Select the element in the Containment tree or its shape on the diagram.
2. In the Model Browser, click on the Properties panel > Traceability tab. Now you can view
element’s traceability properties.
The traceability properties can be visualized on a diagram using the standard MagicDraw mechanism
displaying the property values in notes.
1. Create a note for the element, whose traceability properties you want to visualize.
2. From the note’s shortcut menu, select Edit Compartment > Element Properties.
3. In the list on the left-hand side, click the traceability property of you choice (e.g., Realizing
Class or Specifying Use Case) and then click the > button.
4. Click OK. Now you can view the element’s traceability with other elements.
The submenu of the Go To menu on the element’s shortcut menu allows you to easily find and navigate to the
related elements through the traceability relations.
To select an element from the higher/lower level of abstraction in the Containment tree
1. Select the element in the Containment tree or its shape on the diagram.
2. From the element’s shortcut menu, select Go To > Traceability > Specification/ Realization/
Other, choose a property, and then select an element. The element will be selected in the
Containment tree.
If there are more than 10 values, the scroll bar is shown
and the text box for typing the keyword is available.
The Traceability Report feature supports the coverage analysis and publishes elements that are related to the
selected elements through the traceability relations. You can generate a report either for the whole project or for
a selected part of the project. This feature is the output of the coverage analysis.
Coverage analysis provides the visibility of each element’s related artifacts, indicated as realizing (lower level of
abstraction) and/ or specifying (higher level of abstraction) ones.
The main objective of the Traceability Report is to visualize and verify that Analysis, Design, and
Implementation model elements are all covered.
For more information about traceability properties representation, see "Traceability Relations Representation"
on page 517.
•Element’s Specification window Open the element’s Specification window and select the Traceability
property group, and then right-click on the property. Choose Open
Specification and select an element (if there is more than one related
element) as it is depicted in Figure 324 on page 524. The
Specification window of this element will be opened.
•Element’s Properties panel Open the element’s Properties panel and select the Traceability tab,
and then right-click on the property. Choose Open Specification and
select an element (if there is more than one related element) as it is
depicted in Figure 324 on page 524. The Specification window of this
element will be opened.
•Go To submenu on element’s From the element’s shortcut menu, select Go To > Traceability >
shortcut menu Specification/ Realization/Other. Choose a property and then select
an element. The element will be selected in the Containment tree.
The Relation Map feature allows you to rapidly review and analyze multilevel relationships among elements
starting from the requirements to implementation all the way through different levels of abstraction (analysis,
design, and so on).
For more information about the Relation Map feature,
see "Relation Map" on page 545.
You can perform the impact and/or gap analysis in your project using the Dependency Matrix feature, which is a
powerful way for representing traceability relations between multiple elements from different packages, levels
of abstraction, views, or other relations that cannot be represented on diagrams, for example, relations through
UML tags.
You can create your own dependency matrices or even custom dependency matrix types for visualization of
various traceability relations.You only need to define a relevant traceability property as dependency criteria for
this.
For a list of the predefined traceability rules,
see "Predefined Traceability Rules" on page 526.
The following figure depicts an example of traceability relations between several model elements.
The following steps will show you how to create a dependency matrix for the Realizing Class predefined
property.
Figure 326 -- Defining criteria for visualization of traceability relationships that can be represented by Realizing Class
predefined property
The following figure depicts the created dependency matrix showing the traceability relationships between use
cases and them realizing design classes (the highlighted intersections mark the traceability relations depicted
in Figure 325 on page 525).
The main objective of the predefined traceability rules is to allow the use of the traceability engine instantly (out-
of-the-box) for a typical project. The predefined rules allow for analyzing and verifying links between elements
residing in Analysis, Design, and Implementation layers of your models. Elements in these layers are extended
with a set of properties, pointing to elements from the higher abstraction layer (backward traceability) and the
lower abstraction layer (forward traceability). Overall, there are three groups of predefined traceability
properties, which will be detailed in subsequent sections:
• "Forward Traceability - Realization" on page 527
• "Backward Traceability – Specification" on page 530
The forward traceability ensures that all specified artifacts are covered by elements from the lower abstraction
level.
Realizing The property shows the Use Case Relationships: Use Case
Use Case realizing use cases of the Abstraction
current use case in the
lower level of abstraction
thus demonstrating how
the use case is
implemented. For
example, the
Requirements Use Case
realizes the Business Use
Case.
Example:
The backward traceability ensures that nothing but the intended functionality is covered.
Property
name Description Applied for Reference Value elements type
through...
Manifested In The property shows which Artifact Relationships: Component
Artifacts components are manifested in Manifestation
an artifact.
Example:
Specifying The property shows the use Class Relationships: Use Case
Use Case cases (from the Requirements Abstraction
model) representing the class
specification.
Example:
Specifying The property shows the use Use Case Relationships: Use Case
Use Case cases that specify the given use Abstraction
case in the higher level of
abstraction. For example, the
Business Use Case specifies the
Requirements Use Case.
Example:
This group contains properties enabling traceability between elements of the same abstraction level.
Participates The property shows either the Classifier Property chain Activity
in Activity activities wherein the classifier is
used as an object type, or the
activities that are owned by the
classifier.
Participates The property shows either the Classifier Property chain Interaction
in Interaction interactions wherein the classifier
is used as an object type, or the
interactions that are owned by the
classifier.
Example:
Derived Properties
While working with your models, sometimes in the same diagram or table, you need to see information that is
not directly related to the element. You can display that information in the following ways:
• In the note connected to an element
• In the table, as a new column
To display the information indirectly related to an element, you need to create derived properties. This is a
property whose values are calculated.
3. Click OK.
If you want to create a derived property with the result other than an element,
you need to change the derived property type manually.
1. On the Containment tab toolbar of the Containment tab on the Model Browser, click the Filter
button. The Items Filter dialog opens.
2. In the open dialog, click to select the Derived Properties Suite check box and then click OK.
3. In the Containment tree, expand the Derived Properties package and find the customization
that contains the derived property you want to modify.
4. Expand the customization and select the property which type you want to change.
5. Open the selected property’s Specification window.
6. Change the property type from Element to the desired one (for example, String).
7. Save and reopen the project when you are finished.
• In the selected element’s Specification window, in the General or Traceability property group,
click a derived property value cell, and then click the Edit button .
You can edit the value of the derived property when the operation type is sim-
ple navigation and you had specified only one criterion.
For more information about simple navigation operations, refer to "Using Sim-
ple Navigation Operations to Specify Criteria" on page 555.
• On the note’s shortcut menu, click Edit Compartment > Element Properties. The
Compartment Edit dialog opens.
3. In the All list, move properties you want to display on a note shape to the Selected list by doing
one of the following:
• Select one or more properties and click the > or >> button.
• Double-click to select properties one by one.
4. Click OK. Selected derived properties are displayed in the note.
1. In the toolbar of an active table, click Show Columns and then click the Select Columns
command.
2. In the opened Select Columns dialog, select properties you want to display.
3. Click OK when you are done.
Case study:
Let’s say, we have LibraryItem class with operations and we need to display only those operations that have a
«setter» stereotype applied.
Let’s create the Setters derived property for the class LibraryItem. Open the LibraryItem Specification window
and in the Traceability property group click the Create button. In the Expression dialog, select the Meta
Chain tab. Then specify the derived property name, expression for the meta chain as it is shown in the
following figure.
In the following figure, you can see that our created Setters derived property is placed under this subgroup
Other in the class Specification window. The Setters derived property has a number of operations as its
values.
Next, we need to display values of the Setters derived property for the LibraryItem class in the diagram.
A derived property is applicable to an element type, not the specific element. In this
particular example, our created derived properties are applicable to all classes, not only
to LibraryItem.
We can use a Note element wherein we can display only those operations of the LibraryItem class that have
the «setter» stereotype applied. Let’s draw a Note and connect it to the LibrartItem class. Then click the Edit
Compartment as is shown in the following figure. In the Compartment Edit dialog, select the Element
Properties tab. From the properties list, select to display the Setters property. After clicking the OK button, all
operations with the «setter» stereotype applied are displayed in the Note (see the following figure).
Now, let’s create a generic table wherein we can also display operations with the «setter» stereotype for the
LibraryItem class, as well as for other classes. For that purpose, we select Class as an Element Type and add
existing classes to the table. Then we select which information to display as new columns. Previously created
Setters derived property is also available to add as a new column through the Show Columns menu (see the
following figure).
Figure 331 -- Operations with «setter» stereotype are displayed in new column
Now, let’s create a new derived property directly in the generic table. This property will show which operations
have «getter» stereotype applied. We can do that using the same Expression and doing the same actions as
described previously. In the following figure is the example of the Getters derived property expression.
When the expression is specified, the newly created derived property is displayed as a new column (see the
following figure).
Figure 333 -- Operations with «getter» stereotype are displayed in new column
Related references
Generic Table
Specification Window
Related concepts
Note
Relation Map
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect, and
Enterprise editions.
The model structure in the diagram can be over-viewed in two different layouts: tree or radial.
1. In the Containment tree, select an element, for which you need to create the relation map. This
element is the context of the relation map.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the main menu, select Diagrams > Create Diagram. Type “rel” and press
Enter.
• On the main toolbars, click the Create Diagram button. Type “rel” and press Enter.
• Press Ctrl+N. Type “rel” and press Enter.
• On the Analyze menu, click Create Relation Map.
• Right-click the element and from the shortcut menu select Create Diagram >
Analysis Diagrams > Relation Map.
• Right-click the element and from the shortcut menu select Related Elements >
Create Relation Map.
The newly created relation map opens on the right side of the application window.
• Right-click the diagram pane and from shortcut menu, select Specification, or click on
the Options toolbar and then select Specification. Change the property values in the
Specification window of the relation map.
• Specify the most popular property values by using the relation map environment capabilities,
such as toolbars and the Criteria area.
Depth Spin box Type or select the level of the relation map
branches that will be automatically expanded.
Context is the element, from which a relation map is drawn and the analysis is started. You can set any element
as the context.
• Drag the selected element from the Model Browser to the relation map.
• In the Criteria area, click the ... button next to the Context box and then select the element in
the open dialog.
For more information about the element Selection
dialog, see "Selecting an Element" on page 352.
• If the Make Element as Context on Selection option is turned on, click any node to make it
the new context of the of the structure. To turn this option on, click on the toolbars and
select Make Element as Context on Selection.
The element names can be cut if they are too long, which makes the relation map difficult to read.
• Turn the Show Single Node Per Element mode on, if you need to see only one node of the
element representing all occurrence of the element in the whole graph.
The legend on the diagram pane will help you identify relation criteria by colors. Double-click the legend to open
the Relation Criterion dialog and change the selected colors or even the selected relation criteria.
To expand/suppress branches
• Click on an empty place in the Relation Map and drag it. The whole structure will be moved.
• Click a Node and drag it. The selected Node will be moved.
• Element removing and hiding will be initiated and work in same way as for other diagrams.
Press Delete, to hide an element. Press Ctrl+D, to delete and element from the model.
To restore the layout of the manually suppressed/expanded branches, moved, removed and hidden symbols
1. Run validation against model. On the Analyze menu, click Validation > Validation.
2. In the Validation dialog, select Validation Suite and click Validate.
3. Invalid elements will be marked on the Relation Map.
1. Select an element.
2. Click or press Insert (Cmd + I for Mac users).
A structured expression can also be the body of the executable opaque behavior, metric definition or validation
rule, when the StructuredExpression language is selected for specifying that body.
The criteria can be as simple as a UML relationship or as complex as an OCL 2.0 expression.
To specify the criteria, you can use one of the following operation types:
• Simple navigation
• Metachain navigation (indirect relations through chains of properties)
• Find
• Union
• Exclude
• Filter
• Various scripts
Also, you can use custom operation types. Moreover, a criterion can be an expression, which combines several
operations by passing the results of one operation call to another operation.
If multiple criteria (operations) are specified, the result will be calculated according to all these criteria
(operations).
Concepts
For better understanding the further material, first of all read the following description.
Contextual element
The element, from which begins the calculation of the result, according to the specified criteria.
In a dependency matrix, the context is row or column element. In a relation map, this is every
node of the structure. A smart package is the context itself, and the context of a derived property
is the target of the customization element that owns this derived property.
Do either:
• In the Criteria area of a dependency matrix, click the ... button next to the Dependency
Criteria box. The Dependency Criteria dialog opens.
Learn more about dependency matrices in "Dependency Matrix"
on page 765.
• In the Filters area of a relation map, click the ... button next to the Relation Criterion box. The
Relation Criterion dialog opens.
Learn more about relation maps in "Relation Map" on page 545.
• Open the Specification window of a smart package, under the Content category on the right,
click the cell of the Query property value, and then click . The Query dialog opens.
Learn more about smart packages in "Smart Packages"
on page 403.
• Open the Specification window of a selected element, click Traceability on the left, and then
click Create on the right. The Expression dialog opens.
Learn more about derived properties in "Derived Properties"
on page 538.
• On the toolbar of a generic table, click the Show Columns button, and then select New
Derived Property. The Expression dialog opens.
Learn more about generic tables in "Generic Table" on page 786.
• Open the Specification window of an opaque behavior, click the cell of the Body and
Language property value, and then click . When the Body and Language dialog opens,
select StructuredExpression from the Language drop-down list.
Learn more about executable opaque behaviors in "Creating
executable opaque behaviors" page 953.
The layout of the dialog is the same in all the described cases. On the left side of the dialog, you can select an
operation type that best suits for specifying the needed criterion. Selecting an operation type opens the criteria
specification panel on the right side of the dialog.
The dialog has two modes: Standard and Expert. The Expert mode offers more options for specifying criteria
and allows for creating combinations of several operations.
• Click Expert at the bottom of the dialog. The dialog is switched to the Expert mode. Click
Standard to get back to the Standard mode.
Also, be advised that before starting to specify criteria it is useful to read the tips and warnings, which appear
Figure 341 -- Tips and warnings helping to specify find options in Relation Criterion dialog
2. Select a relationship, property, or tag and specify other options described in the following table.
The Expert mode allows for changing the Contextual element of a simple navigation criterion as well as
creating a new operation, where the result of the simple navigation operation is used as an argument.
1. On the left side of the dialog, expand the simple navigation criterion and select the Context
parameter.
2. On the Context specification panel, click the Reset button.
2. On the criteria specification panel, click the Use as button and select the appropriate
command.
4. Click the Insert button to create a new step of the metachain. A new row is added to the list,
which is described in the following table.
5. Repeat the previous step to create as many steps of the metachain as you need for specifying
the criteria.
To remove a step from the metachain, click the Remove button
below the Insert button.
Column Description
Metaclass or Either a metaclass or a stereotype of a metachain step.
Stereotype The first step, when created, already has a metaclass or a stereotype selected by
default. This value is the context element type.
The default metaclass or stereotype of the first step can be changed.
The second step and all further steps are more specific: the values suggested for
selection are limited according to the values selected in the first step, since you will not
be able to add a new step until the current step is not specified.
Property A property of the selected metachain or stereotype.
The Expert mode allows for changing the Contextual element of a metachain navigation operation as well as
creating a new operation, where the result of the metachain navigation operation is used as an argument.
1. On the left side of the dialog, expand the metachain navigation criterion and select the Context
parameter.
2. On the criteria specification panel, click the Use as button and select the appropriate
command.
The Expert mode allows for changing the options of a find operation (including the Contextual element) as well
as creating a new operation, where the result of the find operation is used as an argument.
2. On the criteria specification panel, click the Use as button and select the appropriate
command.
2. Click the appropriate icon on the right side of the dialog to select a new operation type (see the
descriptions in following table).
If the Standard mode is on, switch to the Expert mode to make
more operation types available.
Operations group
Expert Click to create a new simple navigation operation.
This icon is available only when specifying members of a union or exclude
operation, input collection for a filter operation, scope and type parameters
for the find operation.
For more information, refer to "Using Simple Navigation Operations to
Specify Criteria" on page 555.
Expert Click to create a new filter operation and then specify both the input
collection that you need to filter and the filter criteria.
For more information, refer to the description of the Filter built-in operation.
Expert Click to specify a new type test operation as a condition for selected filter
operation. In other cases, the icon is not available.
The operation tests, whether the type of the element matches the given
type or stereotype. If the types matches, it returns true, and if they not –
false. You can also use this operation to check, if the element is an
instance of the given classifier.
Expert Click to create a new exclude operation and then specify both From and
Excluded members for it.
Expert Click to add a new operation from the model. You can select either one of
the built-in operations, which are stored in standard/system profiles of your
project, or a custom operation.
For more information, refer to "Calling operations from the model" on
page 566.
Expert Click to create a new script operation, which language can be one of the
following:
• BeanShell
• Groovy
• Jython
• JRuby
• JavaScript
• OCL 2.0
It can also be a reference to a java class (Binary).
For more information, refer to "Creating script operations" on page 571.
Values group
Expert Click to select an element from the model.
Other group
Expert Click to add an operation executing a specified expression.
Execute operation takes the supplied expression fragment and grafts it into
the current expression tree for executing. Expression fragment is an XML
string that can be dynamically fetched from any source, such as another
tag.
The unique value of this operation is that the specified expression can be
calculated dynamically instead of being fixed. As a result, the calculation to
be executed can depend on the Contextual element.
Expert Click to add an expression retrieving the contextual variable specified by
name. Most common case is accessing the THIS variable, which stores
the current Contextual element.
This is usually the starting point – argument for other operations – such as
Simple Navigation or Metachain Navigation.
In a structured expression, you can call an operation defined in the model. An operation from the model can be
either built-in or custom. The built-in operations, such as Union, Find, or Filter, are stored as executable opaque
behaviors in the Built-In Operations package, which is owned by UML Standard Profile::MagicDraw Profile.
Figure 342 -- Built-in operation types. Selecting to create new Exclude operation
Built-in operations
Result = false
You can also create custom operations. As well as the built-in ones, they can be defined in the model as
executable opaque behaviors. Parameters of the operation can be declared as parameters of the opaque
behavior.
1. Create a package.
Adding a script operation directly into a structured expression is the same as defining an operation in the model
and then calling it from the structured expression.
For more information, see "Calling operations from the model" on
page 566.
6. Type in the Body box. Use the syntax of the selected language.
7. In the Listeners Configuration box, type a reference to the java class, which specifies when
the result of the script operation must be recalculated.
The listeners configuration is not necessary, but using it can
improve the performance.
For the instructions on how to create your own listener using
MagicDraw API, please refer to “Diagram Events” in MagicDraw
OpenAPI UserGuide.pdf.
8. Click the ... button next to the Results Filter By Type box and select one or more element
types to filter the result of the script operation.
The script operation is created. Now you can create a new one, where the result of the
previously created operation is used as an argument.
Specifying parameters
The number of parameters a script operation can have depends on the script operation language:
• An OCL expression can have a single parameter, which by default specifies the Contextual
element. Though the parameter cannot be removed, you can easily reset the Contextual
element, if necessary.
• A binary expression inherits parameters from the Java class to which the expression body
references. You cannot create additional parameters.
• Other script operations, such as JavaScript or Groovy, can have as many parameters as you
need (see the following figure).
Figure 343 -- Means for managing parameters of JavaScript operation: 1 - creating; 2 - removing
Writing scripts
The following instructions applies to BeanShell, Groovy, JRuby,
JavaScript, and Jython scripts only.
How to access the arguments and other values from the script body?
To access an argument from the script body, you should refer to the corresponding parameter name.
• Values passed to the structured expression, inside of which the script operation is defined.
• Arguments passed to a nested operation as parameters, if the script operation is defined inside
of that nested operation (see Figure 346 on page 575).
• Globally defined values:
• project (current project)
• application
The script can have multiple statements. In this case the result of the entire script is the result of the last
statement.
Figure 347 -- Using UML metamodel Open API to navigate between UML elements
More complex model access operations are available in ModelHelper and StereotypesHelper.
To simplify the script, move complex sub calculations out of the script. Use other operations of the structured
expression to specify these sub calculations and then pass the results to the script through parameters.
Let’s say we need a script operation, which counts the number of nested
packages. You can use MagicDraw Open API to navigate through the
model and find all the nested packages, but it would be complicated.
To simplify the script:
1. Use the Find operation to list these nested packages.
2. Use the script operation for nothing else than counting the number of
the list items. Pass the result of the Find operation to this script through
the PackageList parameter as the following figure shows.
Symbol
A visual representation of some model element in diagrams. Symbols are further subdivided into
shapes and paths (these are lines used in the model for representing various relationships).
The symbol usage in diagrams functionality allows the user to see the usage of a symbol throughout the
diagrams of a project. You may search for symbol usage in diagrams from the element Specification window
and from element shortcut menu.
To search for diagrams in which symbol is used from the element Specification window
1. Open the element’s Specification window and click Usage in Diagrams on the left. The table
shows all diagrams in which the symbol is represented.
2. Select the diagram you want to open.
3. Click the Open button. The diagram is opened and the symbols of the element are selected. If
the diagram includes more than one of the same element symbol, all symbols of the same
element are selected in the diagram.
To open the diagram specification dialog, click the button near the diagram in the list.
For more information about working with the element’s Specification window,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
To search for diagrams in which symbol is used from the element’s shortcut menu
1. Select the element in the Model Browser or select the symbol on a diagram.
2. From the element’s shortcut menu, select Go To > Usage in Diagrams.
3. Select a diagram whereon you want to see the selected element symbol. The diagram is
opened and symbols of the element are selected on it.
Figure 351 -- Searching for symbol usage in diagrams from element’s shortcut menu
To search for diagrams in which symbol is used from the main menu
1. Select the element in the Model Browser or select the symbol on a diagram.
2. From the Analyze menu, select Go To > Usage in Diagrams.
3. Select a diagram whereon you want to see the selected element symbol. The diagram is
opened and symbols of the element are selected on it.
Figure 352 -- Searching for symbol usage in diagrams from main menu.
• All symbols of the same element are selected in the opened diagram.
• If more than one symbol exists in the same diagram, then the diagram
is zoomed out, to fit the view in screen.
Projects Comparison
Visual Model Differencing
The use of projects comparison functionality allows you to compare two local projects or two versions of the
same server project, as well as two diagrams. Model elements are compared by the element ID.
Related references
Comparing Projects
Diagrams Comparison
Text comparison
Comparing Projects
First of all you have to select the projects you want to compare. Differences of the compared projects will be
displayed as two model trees. Differences are marked using colors and highlighting.
When comparing two projects the following data changes will be reflected:
• New model elements.
• Deleted model elements.
• Model elements with modified data.
• Model elements that changed location.
• Inner elements changes.
1. Open a project you want to compare and from the Analyze menu, select Compare Projects.
3. From the Active Project box, select a project you want to compare with another project. The
list contains names of all open projects in MagicDraw.
4. From the Compare With box, select a project with which you want to compare the first project.
The following options are available:
• open project names are listed, except the project, which is selected in the Active
Project box.
• Local Project. Click the ... button and select a project version you want to compare
the current project with.
• Server Project. Click the ... button and from the Open Server Project dialog,
select a project and its version you want to compare with.
• <current project>Disk version. By selecting this option you will be able to compare
currently changed project version with the unchanged project version on the disc
without current changes.
By default the first opened project should be selected. If there are no more projects
open, Local Project is selected as the value.
All differences of the compared projects are displayed in the Difference Viewer dialog.
In the Difference Viewer dialog, two compared projects are displayed. The number of differences is displayed
at the bottom of the dialog. The number of differences number includes inserted, deleted, and modified
elements. The number does not include elements with changes to inner elements. Differences number is
displayed in following order:
• Elements that changed location (parent has changed). Element is marked as a modified
element. Empty nodes are displayed in the opposite tree where the element does not exist. On
the moved element and on its former position, a button is displayed. Pressing the button on the
former position, selects the place where the element has moved to. Pressing the button on the
moved element position, selects the former element place. Also, you can perform these
operations using the shortcut menu commands Go to former position or Go to moved
element.
• Elements that have inner elements that changed. The element is marked in both trees and is
highlighted in light grey dashes. An element with modified element data and changed inner
elements is marked as modified and as element with changed inner elements. Element is
marked as modified when:
• Element specification properties have changed. Element specification properties
include all properties, which are not displayed in the Browser as separate elements.
Model element specification properties are treated as changed only if the element
property can be changed from the element specification. If an element specification
has changed because of changes made to other elements, the element should not
be treated as changed. Example: typed values in the tagged values specification,
attribute links in an object and instance specification, etc.
• Element parent has changed.
• Path is drawn from/to element.
Button Function
Both trees are expanded.
Expand All
Both trees are collapsed.
Collapse All
Select the difference listed prior to the current one.
Go to Previous
Difference
Select the difference listed next from the current one.
Go to Next
Difference
The Filter dialog opens. Show/hide the elements you want to analyze.
Filter
Relations are displayed in the elements specifications. A relation added to the
element means that the element is marked as modified.
Include Relation
Ends
Display: All - Shows all elements of the projects.
All Differences - Shows only differences made between the projects.
Deleted Elements - Shows only elements that were deleted from the projects.
Inserted Elements - Shows only elements that were inserted in the projects.
Modified Elements - Shows only elements that were modified.
Button Function
The Find dialog opens. Search for elements within the corresponding project.
The first column of the Property window contains the same properties as the Quick Properties tab in the
Browser. The second column title is the left-hand project name (with path) for local projects, and teamwork
project name and version number for teamwork projects. The third column title is the right-hand project name
(with path) for local projects, and teamwork project name and version number for teamwork projects. Modified
properties are marked with the same color as in the model element tree.
Related concepts
Projects Comparison
Related references
Find dialog
Diagrams Comparison
To compare diagrams
1. In the Difference Viewer dialog, select the diagram you want to compare and click the
Compare Diagrams button.
2. The Diagrams Difference Viewer dialog opens, which displays both diagrams with changes
made in them.
Button Function
If pressed, zooming affects both diagrams: zooming one diagram
causes zooming of the other diagram.
Synchronize
Zooming
Button Function
If pressed, scrolling one diagram causes scrolling of the other
diagram.
Synchronize
Scrolling
If pressed, places where diagram has changed are marked on both
diagrams.
Mark Changes
Prints the corresponding diagram together with marked changes.
Print Diagram
Zooms the corresponding diagram(s) to the original size.
Zoom 1:1
Zooms the corresponding diagram(s) to the size that fits the
window.
Fit in Window
Zooms the corresponding diagram(s) in.
Zoom In
Zooms the corresponding diagram(s) out.
Zoom Out
Select the percentage for zooming the corresponding diagram(s).
Related concepts
Projects Comparison
Text comparison
As of version 17.0.3, MagicDraw can display exact changes of textual values when comparing models. You can
now compare long texts in element properties, for example, element documentation, comments, pre and post
conditions of a use case and so forth. You can see the differences of compared texts in a single dialog, where
inserted and deleted parts of the text are appropriately highlighted.
See an example, there the text differences are displayed for the Documentation property. The deleted text is
highlighted with red color and the inserted text with green.
• In the Difference Viewer dialog, click the Compare property values button. The
Compare property dialog opens.
Related concepts
Projects Comparison
Metrics
This feature is available in Architect
and Enterprise editions only.
Metric is an item of information about some specific aspect of the model. The collection of various metrics can
be used to evaluate the current state of your model. Calculated at regular intervals they can help tracking the
evolution of the model development.
Concepts
For better understanding the further material, first of all get acquainted with the following concepts.
Metric suite
A collection of parameter and metric definitions used to calculate metrics that evaluate specific
aspects of your model.
Parameter definition
A variable that is used for calculating metrics. It can be an element type (including both
relationship and DSL element types), particular element, data type, or data type value.
Metric definition
A formula for calculating metrics according to the parameter values.
Actually, metric suite is a class with the «MetricSuite» stereotype applied. Both parameter and metric definitions
are attributes of the metric suite.
One metric is the result of single calculation of a metric definition. The metrics of all the metric definitions of the
metric suite together with relevant parameters are stored in a single instance of the metric suite (as slot values).
To analyse and manage the instances of the metric suite with MagicDraw, use the metric table.
These conventions determine the main steps of creating a metric suite. They are as follows:
1. Adding a new metric suite to your model
2. Specifying the target for the metric suite
3. Defining parameters (including the context parameter definition)
4. Building metric definitions
There are several approaches of adding a new metric suite to your model:
• Creating more specific element for the BaseMetricSuite
• Starting from scratch
The BaseMetricSuite is a predefined metric suite stored in the DSL Customization standard/system profile.
You are free to choose either approach. Though, if you are a beginner, take the advice to choose the first one.
It jump-starts the creation of a new metric suite: the more specific metric suite inherits the BaseMetricSuite
attributes that are necessary for calculating metrics (for example, the context parameter definition and the
metric definition for date tracking), and you don’t have to specify them on your own.
4. Click the BaseMetricSuite in the search results list. The BaseMetricSuite is selected in the
Containment tree.
5. Drag the BaseMetricSuite to the diagram pane. A shape of it appears on the diagram.
6. On the diagram pallet, click , type diagram name, and then click a free space on
the diagram pane. A new metric suite is created, and a shape of it appears on the diagram.
7. Draw a generalization relationship between the BaseMetricSuite and the newly created metric
suite.
The newly created metric suite becomes more specific element of the BaseMetricSuite, which
means that it inherits all the parameter and metric definitions of the BaseMetricSuite.
3. On the diagram pallet, click , type diagram name, and then click a free space on
the diagram pane.
Any metric suite must have a target. The target specifies model elements, for which metrics of the particular
metric suite can be calculated. The target value can be any type of elements or even a particular element of
your model.
Figure 360 -- Applying metric suite, whose target is package type, on package “HSUVModel”
1. Double-click the shape of the newly created metric suite to open its Specification window.
2. Click the cell of the Target property value and then click the Edit button. The element
Selection dialog opens.
3. In the tree or list on the left side of the dialog, select an element and add it to the Selected
elements list.
You can select more than one element.
For more information about the manipulations in the
element Selection dialog, see "Elements Multiple
Selection" on page 354.
The target is specified.
If you need to calculate metrics for the whole model, select the root
package Data as the target of your metric suite.
If you need to track the parameter values, you should specify the parameter definition as the attribute of the
metric suite. Then each value of the parameter becomes a slot of an instance created while running the metric
suite.
If your metric suite specifies the BaseMetricSuite, it has already got a few parameters (these are the inherited
ones, such as scope and coveringScope). If it does not or the inherited parameters are not appropriate, you
should define your own ones.
Instead of defining the parameters from scratch, you can copy ones from
the BaseMetricSuite and then modify them according to your needs.
One of the parameter definitions must be declared as the context of the metric suite. If the metric suite has the
context declared, then any element, for which you select to calculate appropriate metrics, becomes the value of
the context parameter definition of this metric suite and is used for calculating the metrics. Otherwise,
calculating metrics for the selected element makes no sense (unless the context is declared in the body of the
metric definition).
Make sure the type of the parameter you are going to declare as the
context, corresponds the type of the target.
1. On the shape of the metric suite, double-click the parameter you need to define as the context
of this metric suite. The Specification window of the parameter opens.
2. Click to select the check box in the cell of the Set As Context property value.
The property value becomes true, and the parameter is declared as the context of the metric
suite.
If your metric suite specifies the BaseMetricSuite, it has already got the
context parameter definition, that is, scope.
Metric definition is an attribute of the metric suite, with the «MetricDefinition» stereotype applied.
7. Click the cell of the Default Value property value. and buttons appear on the cell.
9. Click the cell of the Default Value property value again and then click . The Default Value
dialog opens.
10. From the Language drop-down list, select a language.
One metric definition can refer to another metric definition of either the same metric suite of a more general one
(in case there is a generalization relationship between these metric suites).
How to...
If your metric suite isn’t a more specific element of the BaseMetricSuite, you must build a metric definition for
the date and time tracking on your own.
Now you can track the date and time of each instance of your metric suite.
Figure 362 -- Date and time values calculated according to formula defined in “date and time” metric definition
If you need to use values of some parameter for specifying calculations in the metric definition, you can easily
access them with help of the functionality provided by the StructuredExpression language.
Let’s say, you need to use value of the scope parameter inherited from the BaseMetricSuite to calculate your
metrics. For this, perform the following steps:
1. Add a new metric definition to your metric suite.
2. Select the StructuredExpression language for specifying the calculations.
3. In the structured expression, create a script operation with single parameter named scopes.
4. Select an InstanceNavigation built-in operation as the scopes parameter value. Specify
parameter values of that operation:
• Select Contextual Variable as the Instance parameter value (1).
5. In the script operation, refer to the scopes parameter simply by its name as the following
Groovy script sample illustrates:
getElementsRecursively(scopes)
findAll {el -> isRequirement(el)}
size()
An alternative way for accessing parameters is calling the getValue() method from MagicDraw Open API on the
valueContext globally defined value as the following Groovy script sample illustrates:
def scopes = valueContext.getValue(“scope”)
How to build a metric definition that takes the result of another metric definition?
Let’s say, we need to calculate the percentage of requirements that are covered by blocks. For this, we must
have the following values:
• Overall requirements count
• Requirements covered by blocks count
Let’s say, these values are the results of two already existing metric definitions: requirementsCount and
requirementsCoveredByBlocksCount appropriately.
Now we need another metric definition, which takes the results of the above mentioned metric definitions and
calculates the percentage. To access these values and make sure they are already calculated, we must call the
getOneValue() method from MagicDraw Open API on the valueContext globally defined value for both metric
definitions as the following Groovy script sample illustrates:
int all = valueContext.getOneValue(“requirementsCount”);
int covered = valueContext.getOneValue(“requirementsCoveredByBlocksCount”);
com.nomagic.magicdraw.modelmetrics.ScriptHelper.calcPercentage(all, covered)
Calculating Metrics
This section describes:
• "Creating a metric table" on page 598
• "Calculating metrics in the metric table" on page 601
While other types of tables can be created in several ways, there is only one proper way to create a metric
table. It is described in the following procedure.
1. In the Containment tree, right-click the element, for which you need to calculate metrics of
particular metric suite.
The element or at least the type of it must be a target value of
that metric suite.
For more information, see "Specifying the target for the metric
suite" on page 592.
2. From the shortcut menu of the element, select Tools > Metrics > New Metric Table. The
Create Metric Table dialog opens.
3. In the list of available metric suites, deselect unneeded metric suites by clicking nearby check
boxes. Leave selected only the check box that is nearby the metric suite you need.
Carefully read descriptions of each metric suite. This helps to
make a decision, which one of them best suites your needs.
Make sure you can see the description area (highlighted in the
If you cannot see the particular metric suite in this list, check the
target value of that metric suite. It might be that the selected
element is not a target of this metric suite.
For more information, see "Specifying the target for the metric
suite" on page 592.
4. Click OK.
The table of the particular metric suite is created for the selected element. It is already filled with
data, that is, metrics calculated at the table creation time. These metrics are actually stored in
the package owned by the element for which they have been calculated. The name of the
package is <element> Metrics, for example, HSUVModel Metrics.
If one or more metrics are not calculated, make sure the metric suite is
specified correctly. Here are some suggestions:
• Check the metric definition – the formula could be specified incorrectly.
• Check the parameter definition – the metric definition probably cannot
access parameter values.
This way of creating metric tables saves much time in comparison with common ways of table (and even
diagram!) creation. By using one of the common ways for a metric table creation you start with an empty table,
which requires further efforts to fill it, that is, specify the metric suite, create an empty row, define parameters,
and only then calculate the metrics.
Once you have created the metric table, which represents the metrics calculated at the table creation time, you
can make further calculations and thus track the evolution of your model development.
If the table you need to append with new metrics is closed, you can easily open it.
1. In the Containment tree, right-click the element that’s metric table you need to append.
2. On the shortcut menu of the element, click Tools > Metrics and then select the metric table you
need to append.
The selected metric table opens. Now you are ready calculate new metrics.
1. In the metric table, select the row, below that you need to add a row with newly calculated
metrics.
2. Do either:
• On the Edit toolbar, click and then select Calculate New
Metric from the open menu.
• Right-click the selected row and then click Calculate New Metric on the
shortcut menu.
The new metrics are calculated and represented in the table below the selected row.
To recalculate metrics
1. In the metric table, select the row, which metrics you need to recalculate.
2. Do either:
• On the Edit toolbar, click and then select Recalculate
from the open menu.
• Right-click the selected row and then click Recalculate on the shortcut menu.
The new metrics are calculated and represented in the table instead of the selected row.
1. In the metric table, select the row, below that you need to add a row for representation of newly
calculated metrics.
2. Do either:
• On the Edit toolbar, click and then select Add New Metric
with Different Parameters from the open menu.
• Right-click the selected row and then click Add New Metric with Different
Parameters on the shortcut menu.
A new row with copied parameters is added to the metric table.
If the new row is empty, it might be that you haven’t
selected any row. You may continue the procedure.
3. Change parameter values.
4. Select the newly created row and do either:
Table toolbars
If the instance table toolbar buttons are not available in a server project,
try to lock the table for edit (make sure you have the right to edit model
of this project).
• Strip Multiline Text – to strip the text that covers more than five
rows. Three dots will be added at the end of the stripped text.
Suppress/Expand Criteria Area toolbar:
N/A Click to hide the Criteria area.
Other buttons:
Alt+Left Arrow Click to navigate to the previously opened diagram, table,
dependency matrix, or relation map.
Criteria area
The Criteria area appears below the metric table toolbars. If it is not displayed, click the button on the
Suppress/Expand Criteria Area toolbar.
If the metric table is created following the procedure described in "Creating a metric table" on page 598, the
Metric Suite box in the Criteria area has one or more default values. Otherwise, you have to specify the metric
suite criteria in order to start working with the metric table. The other criteria are not necessary.
To analyze package dependencies of the whole project or between the selected package/model and shared
packages
The question dialog appears asking for your confirmation to start dependency checking between
the exported package/model and the rest of the project (including shared packages that belong
to the project and used projects).
2. If you want to discover cyclic dependencies, select the Check for cyclic dependencies
among used projects check box and click Yes to start dependency analysis. If the Check for
cyclic dependencies among used projects check box is selected, only dependencies which
have Error and Warning severity levels are displayed.
If there is a chain of dependencies such that:
A → M(1), M(1) → M(2), M(2) → M(3), ..., M(X) → M(A), where:
• A is an element from the used project M(A)
• M(1..X) are other used projects
• A → M(x) is element A dependency on used project M(x)
• M(y) → M(x) is a dependency of at least one element in used
project M(y) on used project M(x),
then this chain is called a cyclic dependency and every atomic
dependency in this chain is considered as part of cyclic
dependency.
3. Dependencies between the selected package/model and shared packages will be analyzed
and shown in the opened Package Dependency panel.
For more information about the Package Dependency panel,
see "Package Dependencies panel" on page 607.
Figure 367 -- Package Dependencies panel, opened when exporting (highlighted in green GUI elements) or sharing
package (highlighted in pink GUI elements)
The Package Dependencies panel has a table which shows the list of dependencies and buttons for
managing data displayed in this table.
Button Description
Expand All Tree Branches Expands all nodes in the package dependencies tree.
Collapse All Tree Branches Collapses all nodes in the package dependencies tree.
Show/hide the Full Path Displays the element full path next to the element name.
Names
Button Description
Solve The button is enabled, when a dependency whose status is Error is
selected in the table and a solution for the problem can be found. Clicking
the button opens the dialog for choosing the solution for a specific
dependency problem.
This button is only visible when exporting or sharing a package.
Select in Containment Tree Shows the selected element in the Browser. The button is enabled, when
a dependency is selected in the table.
Refresh Performs dependency analysis and refreshes the dependency table with
the new analysis results.
Change Shares Opens the Shared Packages dialog for reselecting the packages to be
shared.
This button is visible only when sharing a package.
Change Exports Opens the Export Package to New Project dialog for reselecting the
packages to be exported.
This button is visible only when exporting a package.
OK Closes the Package Dependencies panel.
This button is available when the dependency checker is opened
independently by selecting Analyze > Dependency Checker from the
main menu or Tools > Dependency Checker from the package/model
shortcut menu.
Share Closes the Package Dependencies panel and makes the package
shared.
The button is available, when the Check Dependencies on Package
Export/Sharing environment option is set to Allow dependencies (to
open the Environment Options dialog, select Options >
Environment).This button is visible only when sharing a package.
Export Closes the Package Dependencies panel and opens the Save as/
Commit Settings dialog for saving/committing the package as separate
project.
The button is available, when the Check Dependencies on Package
Export/Sharing environment option is set to Allow dependencies (to
open the Environment Options dialog, select Options > Environment).
This button is visible only when exporting a package.
Cancel Cancels package sharing or exporting.
This button is visible only when exporting or sharing a package.
Help Opens MagicDraw Help.
Column Description
Status Shows severity of the element dependency problem. The status can be
Error, Warning, or Info.
Dependencies that have Error status:
• used project dependencies on the project
Dependencies that have Warning status:
• cyclic used project dependencies on other used projects
Dependencies that have Info status:
• project element dependencies on elements from shared packages
(shared packages can belong both to the project and come from an
external project)
Element Type Displays element type.
Dependency Type Displays dependency type.
Depends On Displays the model element, on which the package/model element is
dependent.
Project Displays the name of the used project file that owns the model element,
on which the package/model element depends.
Part of Cycling Dependency indicates that the element is a part of the cycling dependency.
A package can be exported to an independent module8 only if it does not depend on external elements (except
other modules). Cyclical dependencies between several modules are not allowed.
If a module element has a relationship with an external element and this relationship is contained in the module
package, an error message appears when exporting the module.
8. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section (including subsections) mentions the old keyword,
which will be replaced in the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
In this situation, MagicDraw can suggest moving the relationship into the parent package of this external
element. For example, package1 is a parent of class B, so the relationship can be moved from the module into
package1:
Some movements can be achieved by clicking Solve in the Package Dependencies dialog. For a detailed
description of this dialog, see "The module package can now be exported into an independent module." on
page 612.
You can also drag-and-drop the relationship from one package to another in the Browser tree.
The module depends on an external element, but can be exported (with warning)
Though the module element has a relationship with an external element, this relationship is contained in an
external package:
In this case, the dependency on an external element is displayed in the Browser tree:
Figure 373 -- “Legal” module dependency on an external element in the data model browser
The package can be exported as a module because the relationship is contained in an external package.
If the module element has a relationship with an external element is irrelevant in the context of UML (for
instance, the external model uses the module, but not vice versa) and this relationship is contained in an
external model, the package can be exported into an independent module:
Figure 374 -- Example of a relationship when the module does not depend on an external element
Dependencies by reference
The module depends on external elements when the model elements from the module packages have
references to external elements.
Diagram dependencies
If the diagram is contained in a module package and depends on external elements, this package cannot be
exported to a module.
Figure 376 -- Example of the relationship when a diagram depends on an external element
For more information about the package dependencies on external elements, see "The module depends on
external elements" on page 609.
In this case, if the diagram is not important to the module, it can be moved from the module package into any
external package by dragging and dropping it within the Browser tree:
Figure 377 -- Diagram is moved from the module package to the package1 package.
MagicDraw Teamwork Server is an ideal solution for a collaborative work on the same project. For more
information about using MagicDraw in the collaborative environment, see "Working with Server Projects" on
page 1040.
Unresolved dependencies
When a model part is exported to a separate module9, if there are dependencies from the module back to the
project, you are asked to resolve them (dependencies in the opposite direction - elements in project depending
on elements in module - are OK).
9. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section mentions the old keyword, which will be replaced in
the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
The same situation occurs when you edit the module inside the project (when the module is mounted read-write
on the project) and introduce dependencies from the module back to the project. In this case, you will be asked
to resolve these dependencies on module save.
However, it might be inconvenient to resolve these dependencies at that moment (perhaps you have finished
work for today and you will resolve dependencies tomorrow, and now you just want to save the project and
leave; perhaps the particular dependency resolution is not a trivial task, which will take some time).
MagicDraw allows you to continue without resolving these dependencies. The elements, which were
referenced, but are missing in the module will be shown as recovered elements (see "Maintaining
Decomposed Model Integrity" on page 164).
This is one more improvement - in previous versions MagicDraw was strict in checking dependencies and did
not allow dangling references. Now more flexibility is allowed.
This behavior is controlled by the Check Dependencies on Package Export/Sharing environment option
(from the Options menu, select Environment, General section). There are three choices:
• Do not allow dependencies setting restores previous, strict checking.
• Allow dependencies is the default setting, described above.
• Do not check setting is an even more lax setting; it does not prompt the user to resolve
dependencies at all. If you are not careful, this can lead to the proliferation of missing proxy
elements, hence proceed with care.
Validation
Validation
Introduction
MagicDraw has the functionality to check the created models. It consists of:
• A set of validation rules. Each validation rule captures some imperative conditions, which must
be checked against the model. Validation rules are specified as invariant constraints in the
model.
• One or more validation suites (modeled as packages). A validation suite is a simple concept of
grouping the validation rules into meaningful groups, so that the collection of rules can be
applied.
To run the validation, select some suites and validation scope - either the entire model or some part of it. When
the validation is run, each rule from the suite is evaluated for each suitable element in the validation scope.
Each element that violates the rule (constraint evaluates to false) is reported in the results table.
Since rules and suites are model elements, they can be manipulated using the standard MagicDraw modeling
means - they can be copied, moved, and edited in the model; they can be refactored into modules10, to
10. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section (including subsections) mentions the old keyword,
which will be replaced in the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
facilitate reuse in other projects, placed in the Teamwork Server for exchange, etc. And of course this approach
allows editing predefined rules and defining new, custom rules for models and profiles.
Constraint Types
Each validation rule, modeled as a constraint has a target classifier property. This property determines on what
type of element this rule applies. Thus the usual level - metalevel separation appears. Constraints that are
defined on some particular classifiers are evaluated on the instances of these particular classifiers when
validating. Inheritance is taken into account - instances of the subclasses of the class are also validated.
It is advisable not to mix the constraints from different metalevels into one suite (constraints on classifiers
versus constraints on stereotypes and metaclasses).
UML Standard Profile brings two predefined suites with it. These two suites are present in all models:
• UML completeness constraints;
• UML correctness constraints.
Completeness suite has a collection of rules, which check if a model is complete, that there are no gaps, and
the essential information fields in the elements have been filled in (e.g. checks that all the properties have type
specified etc.).
Correctness suite has a collection of rules, which check common mistakes while modeling in UML2 (NOTE:
this collection is not exhaustive).
Additionally, there are validation suites for each of these modeling domains - XML schemas, DDL, Java, C++
plus DoDAF and SysML, if any. These validation suites are defined in the corresponding profiles of these
modeling domains, hence they are included automatically when you start modeling in that domain.
If you create a new XML schema diagram, XML schema profile will be automatically
included in your model and this profile brings in XML schema validation suite with it.
So, from that moment, XML schema validation suite is available in the project.
Validating
To run the validation, you have to select a group of rules to be validated (validation suite) and indicate which
part of the model to check (validation scope - either the entire model or some part of it).
2. In the Validation Suite box, select the UML correctness constraints. All available validation
suites are listed here.
The list of available validation suites depends on the opened project - the validation suites and
validation rules are stored in the model as normal model elements. By default, a project has two
suites - UML completeness constraints and UML correctness constraints - defined in the
Standard profile.
If a project uses other profiles/modules - such as Java/XML schema/DDL profile, these profiles
bring in their own predefined suites. You can also create your own validation rules and group
them into a suite and this suite will be available in this box.
3. In the Validate For box, choose the validation target:
• To run validation on the entire model, choose the Whole Project.
• To run validation on the special packages and/or elements, choose the Validation
Selection, then click the ... button and select the scope for validation. The Select
Elements dialog appears.
4. Select Elements dialog In the Select Elements dialog, select packages and/or elements for
validation. Click OK.
5. Select the Minimal Severity level. Debug is the lowest possible severity level, all validation
rules will be run.
Validation is always recursive, hence if you select a package for
validation, you do not need to select its inner elements (no need
of the Add Recursively button). In the case depicted above, all
model elements in the Classifiers Demo and Meta Demo
packages will be validated. Adding Data package is equivalent
to validating the entire model.
6. If you want to run validation on the read-only modules and the elements that exist in those
modules, clear the Exclude elements from read-only modules check box (by default it is
selected).
7. Click Validate. Validation results are displayed in the Validation Results panel.
The Validation Results panel opens automatically after the validation has ended.
Collapse All Click to collapse recursively all the elements in the list.
Navigate to validated object Click the button to select the element in the Model Browser.
(ALT+B) Click the arrow near the button to open the list of navigation
commands that are available for a selected element.
Solve Click to open the list of available commands to solve a
selected element violation.
Run validation with new Click to run validation with new settings. The Validation
settings dialog opens.
The following table describes the columns of the validation results list.
• Click the header of a column by which you want to sort the list data. A small arrow appears on
the column header. This arrow shows, how data are sorted: ascending or descending.
You can also filter the list by any value of every column.
1. Point to the header of a column whose value you want to select for filtering the list data.
2. Click the button at the right of the header and select a value from the drop-down list.
We will validate SysML model - SysML.mdzip for correctness and completeness. The model is located in
MagicDraw installation directory/samples. This model requires that SysML plugin would be installed. This can
be done from Help menu Resource / Plugin Manager.
1. Open model. From the Analyze menu, select Validation command, and then Validation. The
Validation dialog opens.
2. Select SysML Validation Constraints suite and click Validate. The Validations Results view
opens.
3. Narrow the validation scope. Click the Run validation with a new
settings button, the Validation dialog opens. Change the scope to validation selection
and select SI Value Types package, click Validate. The Validations Results view is refreshed
with new options.
4. Double click the violating element kg in the results view or click Select in
5. Fix the problem and click the Refresh button to rerun the validation suite with the same
options and refresh validation results. Refreshed results do not include element kg.
6. Select other violating element N in the results view and click Open all
Diagrams Containing the Selected Elements button to open all the diagrams,
containing the selected model elements.
When the validation result view is opened and diagrams are shown on the screen, elements and links of the
diagram, which have at least one result in the validation result view, are highlighted:
If the element violates multiple rules, the color of the most severe rule is used.
Highlighting is shown until the rule is violated or the Validations Results view is not closed.
NEW! The results of the failing validation rules are marked in tables.
• In the generic tables, the entire row is marked.
• In the instance tables, either cell, or entire row is marked. A cell is marked in case of a faulty
slot value. The entire row is marked in case of a faulty instance.
• By clicking the Select Rule in Containment Tree button, you may select rule in the model.
• You may move the selected results of the validation to the search result window by clicking the
• The Open all Diagrams Containing the Selected Elements button opens all the
diagrams, containing the selected model element.
• The Show / hide the Full Path names button shows element location in the model path.
Validation Rules
The validation rules are modeled as UML2 constraints. This approach allows treating the validation rules as
simple model elements. They can be handled using usual modeling mechanisms. They can be copied, moved
around in the model, refactored into a separate module, stored in the teamwork server for easy information
exchange, etc.
Since constraints can have different semantic meanings in UML2, a special type of the constraint – invariant
constraint is used for modeling validation rules.
To distinguish these constraints from the other types of constraints, «invariant» stereotype should be applied to
them.
Additionally, validation rules require other pieces of information – severity level (for sorting/filtering),
abbreviation string (a short string, for easy recognition) and error message (complete description of error
explanation). This information is displayed in the validation result view.
For storing this information, a special stereotype «validationRule», derived from the «invariant», is used. If you
want to run this constraint as validation rule, use the former stereotype. If you have created the constraint just
for documentation purposes and do not intend to run it, the latter constraint is sufficient.
Validation rules can be placed anywhere in the model (where UML2 constraint can be placed), however, usually
they are stored in the classifier, which is constrained – classes, datatypes, etc. (for classifier level constraints),
stereotypes (for meta-classifier level constraints). This convention breaks down for the constraints, placed on
metaclasses (since these classes are stored in read only profile). In this case, place constraints wherever you
like (e.g. group them into a package).
Case study:
Let’s say we have 2 stereotypes - «product» and «part». We want to place a validation rule, that products must
have at least one part in them.
1. Open the product stereotype specification, select Constraints section, and click Create.
2. The name of the constraint and the expression can be specified right away, but since we want
to specify more information, we need to open the specification of a newly created constraint
(press the button on the right of the constraint).
3. In the specification panel of the constraint, specify the constraint name. Then ensure that the
Constrained Element field points to the necessary classifier (product stereotype in our case). If
we have created the constraint as described here, this field will be filled automatically. If we
have created the constraint through the right-click, Create Element, Constraint route (e.g.
constraint for metaclasses), we will need to specify the constrained element manually. For
constraints on metaclasses select the appropriate element from the UML Standard
Profile::UML2 Metamodel. In UML2 the constrained element field is multivalued, but only single
value is supported for validation rules.
4. Now apply the «validationRule» stereotype on this constraint. Additional fields will open on the
pane (Abbreviation, Error Message and Severity). If these fields do not open automatically, click
Customize and then Reset to Defaults in the open customization dialog (you can also access
these fields in the Tags section of the specification).
5. Fill in the values for those fields.
• FATAL. Used for the errors, which lead to model corruption or are not valid from the UML
metamodel structure viewpoint. There should be few or no validation rules of this level since
MagicDraw automatically precludes such situations. This level is mostly reserved for future use.
Abbreviation is a simple (and preferably short) string, for quickly distinguishing the validation rules among other
rules and sorting. Acronyms and short forms, used in the domain of this validation rule can be used here (e.g.
NPE for hypothetical NullPointerException check).
Now that we have all the peripheral information about the validation rule, let’s specify the actual validation rule
expression. Validating expression is stored as the Specification property value. UML2 expression has two
properties – Language and Body.
MagicDraw supports the following languages for expressions, that can be evaluated:
• OCL2.0 is used for validation rules, specified in OCL language (version 2.0 of the spec - 06-05-
01 specification document from OMG).
• Binary is used for more advanced expressions, which are not easily expressed in OCL.These
expressions are written in Java, compiled, specified in the MagicDraw classpath. Then these
expressions can be specified as validation rule expressions.
• Scripts, such as JavaScript, Jython, JRuby, Groovy, and BeanShell.
Other languages, such as OCL1.5 or English, are not evaluatable. They can be used for documentation
purposes.
OCL constraints
Continuing our example, in the constraint Specification dialog, click the button near the Specification field and
open the Edit Specification dialog. Select OCL2.0 language. Observe that MagicDraw has automatically
generated the header of the expression from the constraint information, and we only need to specify the body
of expression. The expression header is generated according to the following rules:
Since our constraint is stereotyped with «validationRule» stereotype (derived from invariant stereotype), inv is
shown in the header. Only invariant stereotype is used for the validation rules and are executed (plus derive
expressions, when referenced from invariants – see "Advanced Topics" on page 629), other types of
constraints can be used for documentation purposes.
MagicDraw checks the syntax of expression as you type. However this syntax check is not enough to catch all
the errors. When the validation rule is run, additional checks are performed (semantic checks – such as checks
for the existence of appropriate properties, type checks, multiplicity checks, etc.) to ensure that the expression
can be evaluated correctly (internally, MagicDraw generates Java code from the expressions and then
compiles it for execution).
Binary constraints
For more information about Binary Constraints, see MagicDraw OpenAPI UserGuide.pdf.
Validation Suites
You can create your own validation suites or use one of the predefined ones as: UML completeness constraints
and UML correctness constraints.
The validation suite defines the set of validation rules, which will be applied when validating. The purpose of the
validation suites is to group constraints without duplicating them.
We need to check the Oracle model for correctness, but not all constraints in Generic DDL constraints suite are
suitable for our Oracle model. We will create a new suite with a narrow constraint collection.
1. From the Analyze menu, choose Validation command, and then Validation Options. The
Validation Options dialog opens.
2. Click the Create New Validation Suite button and name it Oracle specific constraints.
3. Define the validation rules in the Validation Rules pane.
Figure 388 -- Parts of Generic DDL constraints suite are included into Oracle specific constraints suite.
The validation suite is stored in a model as a package, to which «ValidationSuite» stereotype is applied. The
Validation Suites pane lists all such packages of the entire model as suites. So, the alternative method to
create the validation suite is to apply «ValidationSuite» stereotype for a package.
When the user includes / excludes the constraint, the appropriate element import link is created/deleted in the
model.
Figure 389 -- Element import relation showing in model that Oracle specific constraints suite includes other constraints.
Also, there can be constraints that are stored directly in the suite package - they are also considered as
contained in this suite, and because they are physical in package those constraints cannot be excluded from
the suite through Validation Options dialog. Typically, validation rules should be stored in a constrained
element, but in cases when the constrained element is read-only, for example it is stored in a read-only profile,
adding constraints to it requires profile editing and a separate constraints grouping is easier.
Constraint Tree
The constraint tree is shown in the right Validation Options pane. This tree shows all the constraints with
«invariant» or «validationRule» stereotype applied, presented in the model, together with the appropriate
grouping elements. Each item has a check box, indicating inclusion or exclusion of the constraint in the
selected validation suite.
The constraint tree contains packages and other model elements. If it contains constraints, they are arranged
according to their containment in a model. Additionally, this tree contains other validation suites. The user can
include / exclude rules and these rules must suit the selected validation suite by selecting / unselecting these
check boxes in the tree.
We have created an abstract system model, and modeled its implementation with Java-specific classes. To
check the model's completeness, correctness, and conformity to Java language, we need to use three
validation suites. We will combine all these suites to one in order to simplify the model checking process.
1. From the Analyze menu, choose Validation command, and then Validation Options. The
Validation Options dialog appears.
2. Create a new suite, name it General, and select it.
3. Include the existing validation suites: Java constraints, UML completeness constraints and
UML correctness constraints in the suite by selecting the check box in front of the packages in
the Validation Rules panel.
Figure 390 -- UML correctness, UML completeness, and Java validation suites included in the General validation suite
Figure 391 -- Package import is signifying in the model that one General suite includes the other as a subset.
To share constraints
Let’s say we have created a validation suite with constraints and need to share it for other group members for
their models validation. Validation rules/suites sharing is available through standard MagicDraw module
mechanism. Package with constraints might be exported as module and used by any other project.
Another way of sharing constrains is copying them between projects. Since validation rules are simple model
elements, any mechanism can be used on them.
1. From the model select Java constraints package to which «ValidationSuite» stereotype is
applied.
2. From the package context menu select Modules and select Export module.
3. Save the exported package as Java constraints.mdzip.
Only constraints that are stored physically in the Java constraints package are exported together with the
package.
Now the exported package can be used by other users and projects.
1. From the File menu, select Use Module. The Use Module dialog appears.
2. Select path to Java constraints.mdzip and select it to use.
3. Specify module import options.
4. Module is added into a project and the constraints can be used for validation.
The validation suite can be defined in the module, which is mounted as read-only in the project. Read-only and
Autoload module will not be loaded into the project, but will be visible through validations dialog if
«ValidationSuite» stereotype was applied to the exported package.
In this way the model and the profile will be smaller. And the validation suite is still visible through validation
dialog. Java constraint validation suite module is mounted onto the project as Read-only and Autoload. In this
way constraints are not added into project by default, until the validation suite is used.
Figure 392 -- Unloaded module with Java constrains validation suite is avaialable through Validation dialog.
Advanced Topics
Some of the validation rules, specified in OCL, do not refer to the current element (self). Such rules are often
encountered when using allInstances() method to refer to all instances of a particular classifier. Such validation
rules are called global validation rules in MagicDraw terminology. Evaluating these rules for each model
element is pointless, hence they are evaluated only once per entire validation run. When reporting violations,
such rules have a string <model> in the column of violating model elements. This means that it is not the
concrete element that violates the rule, but the entire model itself.
Such a rule is not very useful indeed. The following is another example:
context SomeSingletonClass inv:
SomeSingletonClass::allInstances()->size() <= 1
This rule checks that there is at most one instance of the SomeSingletonClass in the model. The following is a
more complex example:
Here, ReseachProject class has a following validation rule (budget must be balanced – sum of expenses of all
projects must be less than sum of all sponsor contributions):
context ResearchProject inv balanced_budget:
ResearchProject::allInstances().budget->sum() <=
Sponsor::allInstances().contribution->sum()
Sponsor class has a following rule (anticorruption rule - each sponsor cannot contribute more than 40% of the
funds):
context Sponsor inv anticorruption_law:
contribution < Sponsor::allInstances().contribution->sum() * 0.4
We see that budget balancing rule is a global rule – it is not the concrete instance of ResearchProject that
violates the rule, but the entirety of instances in the model. Hence the string <model> in the column of that
offending elements.
However, note that anticorruption rule is not a global rule - it refers to contribution field, which is really a
shorthand for self.contribution, hence this rule refers to self variable and therefore, is not global and is
evaluated for each instance of the Sponsor class separately.
MagicDraw has no means to determine if the binary validation rules are global, hence all binary rules are
treated as local.
When specifying error messages, more than a simple error string can be entered. Error messages can have
template areas, which hold expressions, that will be evaluated and expanded when displaying validation
results. Refer to the ResearchProject/Sponsor example above. The validation result shows:
Where does the number 500 come from? It is not directly specified in the error message string (since it is
different for different models) but a calculated value of the expression, embedded in an error string. This error
string in this case is:
Budget not balanced - overbudget by {
ResearchProject::allInstances().budget->sum() -
Sponsor::allInstances().contribution->sum()}$
Expressions are embedded in the error messages by using curly brackets - {}. Everything between them is
treated as an expression and evaluated for each validation result. Expressions are treated as OCL2.0
expression by default, however you can also use binary expressions. In this case use {bin: <binary
expression>} syntax.
Only inv constraints can be evaluated in MagicDraw. However, there are more constraint types defined in the
OCL2.0 specification. There are also def, init, derive, pre, post, body constraints. These constraints are not
evaluated, but can be modeled for documentation purposes. Here is how to model them:
• def – create a usual constraint, but apply «definition» stereotype, instead of «invariant» or
«validationRule».
• init – place an opaque expression in the defaultValue field of the property.
To place an opaque expression in the default value of the property, click the button with a small black arrow
pointed to the right or right click on the default value field in the specification of the property and from the
shortcut menu select Value Specification > Opaque Expression.
• derive when the expression is placed in the default value of the property (the same as for init
expressions) but the property is marked as derived in the specification.
• pre, post, body when constraints are placed in the appropriate fields of operation
(precondition, postcondition and body condition respectively).
Note that derive expressions can be evaluated indirectly, when the validation rule (inv constraint) is
referencing the property and the validation rule is evaluated.
Not all OCL2.0 features are supported in the current release of MagicDraw.
There may be some other features that are not working properly. These issues can be reported to https://
support.nomagic.com. MagicDraw uses external library – Dresden OCL Toolkit for constraint evaluation.
If the default severity level choice, provided by MagicDraw is not enough for you, new severity levels can be
added. This can be done by editing the SeverityKind enumeration in the UML Standard Profile::Validation
Profile package. Each enumeration literal in this enumeration corresponds to available severity levels. Severity
levels in this enumeration should be sorted in ascending order.
If you need to specify a new icon for your custom severity level:
1. Create stereotype, derived from the imaged stereotype, with the EnumerationLiteral as base
class.
2. Set the necessary icon on this stereotype.
3. Apply this stereotype on your custom severity level enumeration literal.
4. Additionally, specify the highlightColor tagged value on the literal. This field (of the String type)
determines how the offending elements will be highlighted in the diagrams. The string format is
the same as for the specifying colors in HTML pages (as described in http://www.w3.org/TR/
html4/types.html#h-6.5). Simple string constraints (such as highlightColor=”red”) or numeric
values (such as highlightColor=”#FF0000”) can be used here.
Performance Issues
When validation rules, written in OCL are evaluated, MagicDraw generates Java source for them and invokes
Java compiler to compile them into an executable form. Hence, on the first run of validation there is usually a
delay of 20-30 seconds (depending on the computer performance) while Java compiler is loading. Subsequent
runs will be faster that the first one.
Also, this process consumes some amount of RAM. If the validation process is run heavily on medium-large
projects, increasing the default Java VM size is advisable. By default, VM size is set to 400MB in MagicDraw;
increasing this to 600 (or 800 if the computer has sufficient RAM) might improve the performance.
Active Validation
Active Validation
Active Validation instantly checks the accuracy, completeness, and correctness of a model, displays invalid
elements in the model, and suggests solutions.
The following modeling cases are validated with the Active Validation:
• Numbering validation
From the invalid element or symbol shortcut menu, you can analyze incorrect elements and solve problems.
You can also use the Active Validation Results window.
Model is validated with predefined validation suites. You can modify these suites and create your own through
the Validation Options dialog.
Active Validation is an extendable mechanism. Custom validation suites and constraints can be created using
binary or OCL constraint.
An invalid model element is marked in the Model Browser with a small symbol. The owner of this element is
marked with a small grey symbol.
The shape is colored according to the severity of the error on the diagram.
Failure indicator
If an invalid elements occur, the failure indicator is displayed at the bottom-right corner of MagicDraw.
Click the indicator and the Active Validation Results window opens.
See the parts of the failure indicator represented in the following figure.
In the Active Validation Results window you can navigate to invalid elements or symbols, correct the invalid
model, or ignore the validation.
More information about Parameters Synchronization can be found here "Parameters Synchronization" on
page 431.
When synchronization is not possible or corrupted, the active validation will notify by highlighting the elements
in the Model Browser and symbols on the diagram.
Shape Ownership
The term “symbol” means a visual representation of some model elements in the diagram. Symbols are further
subdivided into shapes and paths (lines in the model, for displaying various relationships).
When drawing UML diagrams, the element ownership is not easily visible. One diagram can contain symbols
for elements from several different packages. Element rearrangements in the model may lead to situations
where the element ownership in the model does not match the symbol ownership as displayed in the diagram.
Such situations are not easy to detect from diagram view.
MagicDraw version 15.0 has a built-in validation code to detect this mismatch. This feature is enabled by
default and run unnoticed without requiring any additional input from the user.
When the symbol ownership on the diagram pane does not match the actual element ownership in the model,
the symbol is highlighted with red. So, you will easily see it on the diagram and will be able to correct the
problem (problem correction hints are also suggested).
When the mismatch is resolved, the highlighted symbol will return to normal.
The symbol ownership validation feature uses the same mechanism for problem highlighting as the generic
validation feature available in MagicDraw Enterprise edition. If you run some validation suites against the
model, the element can be highlighted due to any of the validations failures:
• either validation rule(s) from that suite,
• or this automatic symbol ownership checking rule(s).
In this section you will find out the reasons why an element is highlighted in red and how to solve symbol
ownership problems quickly.
Select the highlighted element on the diagram pane. The smart manipulator toolbar opens. Notice the red
button on the top of smart manipulator toolbar.
To see the reason why a shape is highlighted, move the mouse pointer over the red button in the smart
manipulator toolbar. You will see a tool tip that explains why the element is highlighted. For example: “Shape
ownership in the diagram does not correspond to the element ownership in the model”.
You may either solve the problem yourself or choose one of the suggested solutions. To select an available
solution, click the red button in the smart manipulator toolbar. A menu with the following commands will open
(note that some items might not be included depending on the situation in the model):
• Remove this Shape. Symbol is deleted from the diagram pane.
• Move Element Here. Element is moved to the new owner in the model, so that the element
ownership in the model corresponds to the present shape ownership in the diagram.
When a symbol is deleted, the element is not
deleted from the project.
• De-nest this Shape. Shape (not element!) will be extracted from the current owner and placed
directly on the diagram. This solution is applicable only for some cases (e.g. De-nest, this
Shape command is not available for shape, placed in the incorrect state machine, activity,
interaction diagrams).
Related Topics
• "Customizing Environment Options" on page 96.
• "Smart Manipulation" on page 233.
Active validation instantly check the most important correctness rules of UML model. The following validation
rules are checked: Ports compatibility, Pin types compatibility, Slot and Tags multiplicity correctness and others.
Automated solutions are suggested for solving the model errors.
A model is validated automatically without any additional input. Additional constraints can be added or
properties can be customized from Analyze (main menu) > Validation.
11.Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section (including subsections)
mentions the old keyword, which will be replaced in the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
Figure 402 -- The Use Case is highlighted with red dashed border, because it has documentation with spelling error
The Use Case is highlighted with white X in red quadrant in the Containment tree, because it has
documentation has a spelling error
Figure 403 -- The "Register return" Use Case is highlighted with red dashed border, because the "Return violationn"
Extension Point has a spelling error
Figure 404 -- The “Register return” Use Case is highlighted with white X in grey quadrant in the Containment tree,
because the “Return violationn” Extension Point has a spelling error
Model Visualizer
This functionality is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions only.
MagicDraw contains tools that help to create elements from existing data and analyze the relationships
between elements created in the UML model. It is also possible to analyze the inheritance and dependency
relationships between classes.
All model visualizing and analyzing tools are presented in MagicDraw as Wizards with several steps that should
be followed in order to accomplish the desired operation.
The Class Diagram Wizard helps you create a new class diagram when all classes and their relationships are
already created and specified. You can select which classes, packages, and relationships will be included in a
new class diagram and the details of the class representation to be configured (attributes, operations,
accessibility). The Class Diagram Wizard frees you from creating the class diagram manually. The Class
Diagram Wizard guides you through several steps and collects information along the way. It will automatically
create a new class diagram and all the necessary elements.
1. From the Analyze menu, select Model Visualizer. The Model Visualizer dialog opens.
2. From the wizards list, select the Class Diagram Wizard.
3. Click Start. The Class Diagram Wizard opens.
Type the name of the new diagram in the Type Class Diagram name text box or leave the default name.
Select the package that will contain the created diagram. The hierarchy of UML model packages is displayed in
the Select package for diagram list window. Select the package from the data tree that will be the parent for
the newly created diagram or create a new package by clicking the New button.
When you select the Specify name and package option, the following functions are available:
• Create – create a new package.
• Realization – relationship between model elements where one of the elements implements the
interface defined by the other model element.
• Association – semantic relationship between classes.
• Dependency – usage relationship between UML model elements.
The Package Dependency Diagram Wizard creates the Package diagram containing packages (created
within a project) and shows the relationships between them. The diagram may reflect all packages in the
project, or just selected ones. The Package Dependency Diagram Wizard collects all information needed for
both analyzing dependencies and generating a new diagram.
For information about the Package diagram, see "Package Diagram" on page 714.
If a package owns one or more elements used by or dependent on other package elements, the Package
Dependency Diagram Wizard analyzes dependencies and creates «virtual» relations between the dependent
packages (see the following example).
The Virtual dependencies package containing dependency links is created after finishing the wizard. If there
are more than one dependency between elements in the packages selected to analyze, then the number of
dependencies are assigned to the tagged value number {n=...} on the virtual dependency.
In this step, you can specify the diagram name and select or create the diagram owner.
In the Type Package Diagram name text box, type the name for the diagram.
In the Select owner for diagram box, select the package wherein the created diagram will be stored. You can
also create a new owner by clicking the Create Owner button. If you want to clone the package, select that
package and click the Clone button.
Figure 410 -- Package Dependency Diagram Wizard. Specifying diagram name and owning package
In this step, select the packages that dependencies will be analyzed in the Package diagram.
In this step, you can specify the diagram symbol properties. All available diagram elements are displayed in the
Specify symbol properties for diagram elements list. Select each element and specify its symbol properties.
For more information about specifying symbol properties, see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
Click Finish, when you are done. The Package diagram and the Virtual dependencies package are created. In
the Step #2 selected packages and their dependencies are displayed on the created Package diagram.
In the Package diagram, the virtual dependencies (that is, dependency links) are created. All the virtual
dependencies are stored in the Virtual dependencies package which you can find in the model browser.
You can use the Show Dependency Details command to see what are dependencies of a particular package
(that is, on what packages depends the particular package). Dependency results are displayed in the
dependency details panel (see the following example).
1. In the Model Browser or on the diagram pane, right-click the dependency which details you
want to display.
2. On the shortcut menu of the selected dependency, click Related Elements > Show
Dependency Details. The dependency details panel opens where in the dependency details
are displayed.
The Package Overview Diagram Wizard allows the creation of a diagram for every package from the selected
scope (reversed packages). The created diagram displays the content of the packages – inner packages with
inner elements connected with available relations.
• Select the Package Overview Diagram Wizard from the Diagrams menu, Diagram Wizards
submenu.
• Open the package shortcut menu, select Tools and then Package Overview Diagram
Wizard.
• From the Analyze menu, select the Model Visualizer command. The Model Visualizer dialog
opens. In the wizards list, select the Package Overview Diagram Wizard. Click the Start
button.
Type a name for the newly created diagram in the Type Class Diagram name text box.
The Add diagrams into their own package option button - adds diagrams in the same package they are
created.
The Add all diagrams into selected package - while creating new package overview diagrams, adds
diagrams in the selected package. Select the package that will contain the created diagram. The hierarchy of
UML model packages is displayed in the Select package for diagram list window. Select the package that will
be the parent for the newly created diagram from the Data tree or create a new package by clicking the New
button.
Select the packages, which will be represented in the new diagram. For every selection, a package diagram will
be created.
If the selected package is read-only and the package for the diagrams is not specified, a warning will be
displayed when the Next button is pressed.
If you want to see the classifiers structure in the created class diagram, then select the create dependencies
between Classifiers check box in the Analysis options group.
If create dependencies between Packages check box is selected, then only the package content class diagram
will be created. Analyzes are performed of all inner elements, recursively by all criteria.
The Show inner packages in the package shape check box - displays one level of inner packages in every
package shape, connected with dependencies.
The Assign hyperlinks to created diagrams check box - adds an active hyperlink to every package,
referenced to the inner diagram of this package.
The Hierarchy Diagram Wizard collects the largest hierarchies and allows every of them to be displayed as
separate diagrams or all in one diagram.
• From the Diagrams main menu, select the Diagram Wizards command and then Hierarchy
Diagram Wizard.
• From the Analyze menu, select the Model Visualizer command. The Model Visualizer dialog
opens. From the wizards list, select the Hierarchy Diagram Wizard.
• From the model element shortcut menu, select Tools and then Hierarchy Diagram Wizard.
Type a name for the new diagram in the Type diagram name field.
Select the package that will contain the created diagram. The hierarchy of UML model packages is displayed in
the Select package for diagram list window. Select the package that will be the parent for the newly created
diagram from the Data tree or create a new package by clicking the Create button.
The Add all hierarchies into one diagram check box creates only one diagram for all selected hierarchies.
This option is enabled only if the selected hierarchies can be added into one diagram (the same diagram type).
All available hierarchies are listed in the Parent Element column. In the Children Count column, the number
of model elements is presented.
The Show outside parent check box shows hierarchies, when derived packages are in the scope, but
specializations is from outside the scope.
The Show outside children check box counts outside derived elements from the displayed hierarchies.
Otherwise the hierarchy will not be fully displayed and the diagram may be not valid.
The Realization Diagram Wizard shows a table of the largest element groups that realize some interface.
• From the Diagrams main menu, select the Diagram Wizards command and then Realization
Diagram Wizard.
• From the Analyze menu, select the Model Visualizer command. The Model Visualizer dialog
opens. From the wizards list, select the Realization Diagram Wizard.
• From the model element shortcut menu, select Tools and then Realization Diagram Wizard.
Type a name for the new diagram in the Type diagram name field.
Select the package that will contain the created diagram. The hierarchy of UML model packages is displayed in
the Select package for diagram list window. Select the package that will be the parent for the newly created
diagram from the Data tree or create a new package by clicking the Create button.
Select packages from the All list and add them to the Selected list to search for hierarchy elements.
The Add all implementations into one diagram check box creates only one diagram for all selected
realizations. This option is enabled only if the selected realizations can be added into one diagram (the same
diagram type).
All available implementations are listed in the Specialization Element column. In the Implementations Count
column, the number of model elements is presented.
The Show outside specializations check box show realizations, when derived interfaces are in the scope, but
specializations is from outside the scope.
The Show outside implementations check box count outside derived elements from displayed realizations.
Otherwise realization will not be fully displayed and the diagram cannot be valid.
Activity Decomposition Hierarchy Wizard allows converting activity into class and SysML Block Definition
Diagram. This gives the capability to represent, analyze, and document activity hierarchies in the structure
diagrams.
Recursive structure analysis will be stopped after reaching the same behavior, which has
already been analyzed. This requirement prevents an endless cycle.
• In such a case, the composition will be created in a previously analyzed activity in
the diagram. The new behavior symbol will not be created.
• There will be as many compositions from one activity into another as different
CallBehaviorActions call this activity.
• From the Diagrams main menu, select the Diagram Wizards command and then Activity
Decomposition Hierarchy Wizard.
• From the Analyze menu, select the Model Visualizer command. The Model Visualizer dialog
opens. From the wizards list, select the Activity Decomposition Hierarchy Wizard.
Figure 426 -- Activity Decomposition Hierarchy Wizard. Specify name and package step
In the Specify name and package step, type the diagram name, select the diagram type the activity will be
converted and select or create a package that will contain the desired activity diagram.
If you are using the SysML plugin, SysML Block Definition and Class diagrams
are available as diagram types. For other domains this list depends on a plug-in
of those domains.
In the Select structure step, select Activities structures that will be decomposed.
To add all activity structures into one diagram, select Add all structures into one diagram check box.
Select check boxes of the desired activity structures. The Children Count column shows the number of
included behaviors (also owned object nodes if the Add contained Object Nodes check box is selected). The
number also depends on the option Search recursively.
• The Add contained Object Nodes check box is selected by default. If selected, types of object
nodes are displayed and connected to the composition with activities containing object nodes.
• The Search recursively check box is selected by default:
• If not selected, the search will be conducted in only one level of the selected activity.
• If selected, the search will be conducted in the selected activity and those activities
that are invoked by CallBehaviorActions that are in the selected activity. This search
is recursive.
Figure 428 -- Activity Decomposition Hierarchy Wizard. Specify symbols properties step
The Content Diagram Wizard generates content of diagrams that are used in the project.
• On the main menu select Analyze > Model Visualizer. The Model Visualizer dialog opens.
Click Content Diagram Wizard in the wizards list and then click the Start button.
Type a name for the new diagram in the Type Content Diagram name box.
Select the package that will contain the created diagram. The hierarchy of UML model packages is displayed in
the Select owner for diagram tree. You can select the existing package or create a new one by clicking the
Create Owner button, or copy the selected package with all its content by clicking the Clone button.
Click Next or choose the Select diagram types option for further steps.
Select the types of diagrams to be included in the content diagram. Then click Next or choose the Select
Diagrams option.
Select diagrams to be included in the content diagram and click Finish. The content diagram is now created.
The Sequence Diagram from Java Source Wizard allows for visualizing Java method implementation within
UML Sequence diagrams. Though UML Sequence diagrams cannot show Java code with 100% accuracy yet,
MagicDraw provides a mechanism for generating a diagram that reflects the essence of Java method content.
If you want to create a sequence diagram from the Java source, first of all you need to reverse the Java source
code to a model. For the reverse procedure please refer to Section “Reverse” in MagicDraw Code Engineering
UserGuide.pdf.
You can also to create a model corresponding to your Java code structure manually.
Be sure, the model you use to create a sequence diagram fully
corresponds the Java source code you want to represent in the diagram.
One sequence diagram can represent one method in a Java code. Classes are represented as lifelines, and
method calls are represented as messages in the diagram. The sequence diagram can also be used to
visualize dependencies for all classes used in this method.
The Sequence Diagram from Java Source Wizard consists of these four steps:
• The diagram name and package specification
• The selection of an operation
• The selection of classes for the diagram
• The symbol properties specification
This step allows for specifying diagram name and selecting or creating a new owning package for the diagram.
Figure 432 -- Sequence Diagram from Java Source Wizard. Specifying name and package
In the Type Sequence Diagram name box, type a name for the new sequence diagram.
Select the package that will contain the created diagram. The hierarchy of UML model packages is displayed in
the Select owner for diagram dialog. Select the package that will be the owner for the newly created diagram,
or create a new package by clicking Create Owner or Clone. For more information about an element creation
refer to Section "Creating New Elements" on page 356.
This step is designed to select the operation that will be displayed in the sequence diagram and the Java
source file for constructing the diagram.
Figure 433 -- Sequence Diagram from Java Source Wizard. Selecting operation
When you start the wizard from either the operation shortcut menu or the Sequence diagram, both the
operation and the Java source file are selected by default. If the Java source file cannot be found automatically,
specify it in the Select Java source file box.
Figure 434 -- Sequence Diagram from Java Source Wizard. Selecting classes for diagram
Check boxes used in this step are described in the following table.
You can select properties for the elements that will be represented in your sequence diagram.
Figure 435 -- Sequence Diagram from Java Source Wizard. Specifying symbol properties
Creating a sequence diagram from a Java code allows for analyzing dependencies between the methods
represented on the diagram and the classes they are referencing to and / or the other methods they call for.
This means that you can create a sequence diagram for any method selected in the already created sequence
diagram.
1. Select the method (call message with an operation assigned), whose details you want to see.
2. Right-click the message and, from the shortcut menu, select Reverse Implementation. The
Sequence Diagram from Java Source Wizard opens to create a sequence diagram for the
selected method.
If you have started the wizard via the operation assigned to the
message, be aware that in this case the first step of the wizard will
be skipped, and the wizard will start from the step #2.
In software development, the diagram is the equivalent of a blueprint. To meet the various needs of many
parties, we often need several different “blueprints” of the same system. Furthermore, every system is
described by many different aspects. For example:
• Functional (static structure and dynamic interactions)
• Nonfunctional (timing requirements, reliability, and deployment)
• Organizational (work organization and mapping to code modules)
Sequence Diagram
Activity Diagram
Component Diagram
Object Diagram
Package Diagram
Deployment Diagram
Communication Diagram
Profile Diagram
Architectural Views
UML defines 13 diagrams that describe 4+1 architectural views:
Several kinds of diagrams provide a visual notation for the concepts in each view.
The use case view usually is presented as a number of use cases and actors in Use Case diagrams.
Occasionally it is used in Activity and Sequence diagrams.
The use case view is central because the contents drive the development of the other views. It is also used for
project planning. Every single use case unit is deemed as a manageable unit during the project execution.
Structural View
The structural view represents structural elements for implementing a solution for defined requirements. It
identifies all of the business entities and how these entities are related to each other. Usually entities are
represented as classifiers and their instances in class and object diagrams in multiple abstraction levels.
System decomposition to different layers can be displayed using Package diagrams. A Composite structure
diagram can be used to represent the classifier inner structure. The system structural view artifacts are created
by software architects and represent the system implementation design solutions.
Behavioral View
The dynamic behavior of the system is displayed on the Interaction (sequence and collaboration), State,
Activity, Interaction overview, and Timing diagrams. It focuses mainly on the interactions that occur between
objects inside a system, activities and work performed by the various parts of a system, and state changes
within a particular object or collaboration. Rather than defining the participants of the system, it defines how
particular use cases are executed, which provides value for the external user. The dynamic view is concerned
about what is happening inside the system and how those actions impact other participants.
Implementation View
The implementation view describes the implementation artifacts of logical subsystems defined in the structural
view. It can include the intermediate artifacts used in a system construction (code files, libraries, data files, etc.)
This view defines dependencies between the implementation components and their connections by the
required and provided interfaces. Components and their relationships are displayed on the Component
diagram. Inner parts of the component can be represented with the Composite structure diagrams. The
implementation view helps analyze system parts and their dependencies in a higher component level.
Environment View
The environment view represents the physical arrangement of a system, such as computers and devices
(nodes) and how they are connected to each other. In contrast to the component view, the deployment view is
concerned with the physical structure of the system and the location of the software modules (components)
manifested by artifacts within the system.
Class Diagram
A class diagram is a graphic representation of the static structural model. It shows classes and interfaces,
along with their internal structure and relationships. The classes represent types of objects that are handled in
a system. A class diagram does not show temporal information, it describes only the classification. The
instances of those types (objects) are instantiated only on the runtime and are represented by an object and the
interaction diagrams.
The classes can be related to each other in a number of ways: associated (connected to each other),
dependent (one class depends/uses another class), specialized (one class is a subtype of another class), or
packaged (grouped together as a unit – package). A class diagram does not express anything specific about
the relationships of a given object, but it does abstractly describe the potential relationships of one object with
other objects.
A system typically has a number of class diagrams – not all classes are inserted into a single class diagram. A
class can have multiple levels of meaning and participate in several class diagrams.
Structured Class
Class by Pattern
(SHIFT+P)
Signal
Data Type
Primitive Type
Enumeration
A user-defined data type whose
instances are a set of user-specified
named enumeration literals. The (K)
literals have a relative order but no
algebra is defined on them.
Port
A port is a property of a classifier that
specifies a distinct interaction point
between that classifier and its
(SHIFT+R)
environment or between the (behavior
of the) classifier and its internal parts.
Collaboration
A collaboration is represented as a
kind of classifier and it defines a set of
cooperating entities to be played by
(Q)
instances (its roles) as well as a set of
connectors that define communication
paths between the participating
instances.
Generalization
A relationship between a more general
and a more specific element.
(G)
Note: Choose a different
Generalization direction from the
toolbar to draw a line with an opposite
arrow end.
Association
A connection among classes, which
also means a connection among
(S)
objects of those classes.
Directed Association
Non-navigable Association
N-ary association
An association among two or more
classes (a single class can appear
more than once). (O)
Aggregation
An aggregation is an association that
represents a whole-part relationship.
(A)
Directed Aggregation
Composition
A composition is a form of aggregation
with a stronger ownership and
coincident lifetime of part with the
whole. (F)
Directed Composition
Interface Realization
A relationship is usually used between
an interface and an implementation
class. (R)
Note: Choose a different Interface
Realization direction from the toolbar to
draw a line with an opposite arrow end.
(E)
Substitution
A substitution is a relationship
between two classifiers.
Usage
A usage is a relationship in which one
element requires another element (or
set of elements) for its full
implementation or operation.
Note: Choose a different Usage
direction from the toolbar to draw a line
with an opposite arrow end.
Template Binding
A binding is a relationship between a
template and a model element
generated from the template.
(B)
Object Diagram
The Object diagram displays instances of classifiers and links (instances of associations) between them.
(SHIFT+L)
The Use cases are described only in terms of how they appear when viewed externally by the user (a system's
behavior as the user perceives it), and do not describe how the functionality is provided inside the system. The
Use cases are not object-oriented, but they are included in the UML to simplify the approach of the project's
lifecycle -- from the specification to the implementation.
Figure 437 -- The schematic view of the use cases in the system.
Package
A group of classes and other model elements. A
package can contain other packages.
(P)
Subsystem
A subsystem is treated as an abstract single unit.
It groups model elements by representing the
behavioral unit in a physical system. (Y)
System Boundary
Another representation of a package. A system
boundary element consists of use cases related
by Exclude or Include (uses) relationships, which (B)
are visually located inside the system boundary
rectangle.
Include
An include (uses) relationship from use case A to
use case B indicates that an instance of the use
case A will also contain the behavior as specified
by B. (C)
Extend
A relationship from an extending use case to an
extended use case that specifies how and when
the behavior defined in the extending use case
can be inserted into the behavior defined in the (E)
extended use case. The extension takes place at
one or more specific extension points defined in
the extended use case.
Note: Choose a different Extend direction from
the toolbar to draw a line with an opposite arrow
end.
Association
The participation of an actor in a use case, i.e.
instances of the actor and instances of the use
case communicate with each other. This is the (S)
only relationship between actors and use cases.
Generalization
A relationship between a more general and a
more specific element.
Note: Choose a different Generalization direction
(G)
from the toolbar to draw a line with an opposite
arrow end.
Communication Diagram
The Communication diagram illustrates the various static connections between objects, and models their
interactions. It also presents a collaboration that contains a set of instances as well as their required
relationships given in a particular context, and includes an interaction that defines a set of messages. These
messages specify the interaction between the classifier roles within a collaboration that will serve to achieve
the desired result.
A Communication diagram is given in two different forms: at the instance level or at the specification level.
Connector
Specifies a link that enables communication
between two or more lifelines. Each connector can
be attached to two or more connectable elements,
each representing a set of lifelines. (C)
Connector to Self
Self connector for self-calls. It begins and ends on
the same lifeline.
(S)
Sequence Diagram
The Sequence diagram focuses on the Message interchange between a number of Lifelines.
A sequence diagram shows the interaction information with an emphasis on the time sequence. The diagram
has two dimensions: the vertical axis that represents time and the horizontal axis that represents the
participating objects. The time axis could be an actual reference point (by placing the time labels as text boxes).
The horizontal ordering of the objects is not significant to the operation, and you can rearrange them as
necessary.
In the less below you will find the description and notation of all the elements available in the Sequence
diagram.
Related sections
"Message"
Lifeline
Represents the existence
of an object at a particular
time. (O)
Activation Bar
Focus of control. Shows
the period during which
an object is performing an
action either directly or
through a subordinated
procedure.
Duration Constraint
A duration defines a value
specification that
specifies the temporal
distance between two
time instants.
Time Constraint
Specifies the combination
of min and max timing
interval values.
Combined fragments
Interaction operands can be of the following types and are described in the table below.
Alternatives
The alternative combined fragment alt represents a choice of behavior. Alternative
combined fragment has several operands. At most one of the operands has to be chosen.
Using alternative combined fragment you can model if-then-else statement. (SHIFT+A)
Loop
The loop combined fragment represents that the loop operand will be repeated a number
of times. If the loop contains a separate interaction constraint with a specification, the loop
will only continue if that specification evaluates to true during execution regardless of the (SHIFT+L)
minimum number of iterations specified in the loop.
Option
The option combined fragment opt represents a choice of behavior where either the (sole)
operand happens or nothing happens. An option combined fragment is used to model "if-
then" construct. (SHIFT+O)
Parallel
The interaction operator par designates that the combined fragment represents a parallel
merge between the behaviors of the operands. A parallel merge defines a set of traces
that describes all the ways that occurrence specifications of the operands can be (SHIFT+P)
interleaved without obstructing the order of the occurrence specifications within the
operand.
Break
The interaction operator brk designates that the combined fragment represents a
breaking scenario in the sense that the operand is a scenario that is performed instead of
the remainder of the enclosing interaction fragment. A break operator with a guard is (SHIFT+B)
chosen when the guard is true and the rest of the enclosing interaction fragment is
ignored. When the guard of the break operand is false, the break operand is ignored and
the rest of the enclosing interaction fragment is chosen. A combined fragment with
interaction operator break should cover all Lifelines of the enclosing interaction fragment.
Negative
The interaction operator neg designates that the combined fragment represents traces
that are defined to be invalid. The set of traces that defined a combined fragment with
interaction operator negative is equal to the set of traces given by its (sole) operand, only (SHIFT+G)
that this set is a set of invalid rather than valid traces. All interaction fragments that are
different from Negative are considered positive meaning that they describe traces that are
valid and should be possible.
Critical Region
The interaction operator crt designates that the combined fragment represents a critical
region. A critical region means that the traces of the region cannot be interleaved by other
occurrence specifications (on those Lifelines covered by the region). This means that the (SHIFT+R)
region is treated atomically by the enclosing fragment when determining the set of valid
traces.
Consider
The interaction operator con designates which messages should be considered within
this combined fragment. This is equivalent to defining every other message to be ignored.
(SHIFT+C)
Ignore
The interaction operator ign designates that there are some message types that are not
shown within this combined fragment. These message types can be considered
insignificant and are implicitly ignored if they appear in a corresponding execution. (SHIFT+I)
Alternatively, one can understand ignore to mean that the message types that are ignored
can appear anywhere in the traces.
Weak Sequencing
The interaction operator seq designates that the combined fragment represents a weak
sequencing between the behaviors of the operands. It is the same as parallel execution,
except that event on the same lifeline from different subfragments are ordered in the same (SHIFT+W)
order as the subfragments within the enclosing weak sequencing fragment.
Strict Sequencing
The interaction operator str designates that the combined fragment represents a strict
sequencing between the behaviors of the operands. The semantics of strict sequencing
defines a strict ordering of the operands on the first level within the combined fragment (SHIFT+S)
with interaction operator strict.
Assertion
The interaction operator asr designates that the combined fragment represents an
assertion. The sequences of the operand of the assertion are the only valid continuations.
All other continuations result in an invalid trace. (SHIFT+R)
Messages
Message
A communication between objects that
conveys information with the
expectation that an action will ensue. (M)
This Message button is used to create
abstract messages - that you can
represent a sequence diagram in an
abstract level. For more information
about message, see "Message", on Note: Since the version 17.0.1, brackets “()”
page 918. are not added to message names anymore.
Call Message
A call message represents the request
to invoke a specific operation.
(A)
Send Message
A send message specifies the sending
of a request to invoke a specific
operation. (E)
Reply Message
The reply message returns the values
to the caller of the previous call,
completing the execution of the call. (R)
Diagonal Message
Requires some time to arrive, during
which another action occurs.
(D)
Message to Self
(S)
The state machine is a specification of the sequence of states through which an object or an interaction goes in
response to events during its life, together with its responsive actions. The state machine can represent the
sequence of states of a particular collaboration (for example, collection of objects) or even the whole system
(which is also considered as a collaboration). The abstraction of all possible states defined in a state machine is
similar to the way class diagrams are abstracted: all possible object types (classes) of a particular system are
described.
Objects that do not present a very pronounced reactive behavior can always be considered to stay in the same
state. In such a case, their classes do not possess a state machine.
State diagrams (also called Statechart diagrams) represent the behavior of entities capable of dynamic
behavior by specifying its response to the receipt of event instances. Typically, the state diagrams describe the
behavior of classes, but the statecharts can also describe the behavior of other model entities such as use-
cases, actors, subsystems, operations, or methods.
A state diagram is a graph that represents a state machine. States and various other types of vertices
(pseudostates) in the state machine graph are rendered by the appropriate state and pseudostate symbols,
while transitions are generally rendered by directed arcs that inter-connect them. The states can also contain
subdiagrams by a physical containment or tiling. Note that every state machine has a top state, which contains
all the other elements of the entire state machine. The graphical rendering of this top state is optional.
The states are represented by the state symbols, while the transitions are represented by arrows connecting
the state symbols.
The state diagram concerns with an internal object changes (as opposed to the external object interaction in a
collaboration). Do not attempt to draw them for all classes in the system, because they are used only for
modeling a complex behavior. The state diagram shows all the possible states that objects or collaborations
may have, and the events that cause the state to change. An event can be another object that sends a
message to it announcing for example that a specified time has elapsed or that some conditions have been
fulfilled. A change of a state is called a transition. A transition may also have a connected to it action that
specifies what should be done in connection with the state transition.
Submachine State
The submachine state specifies the
insertion of the specification of a
submachine state machine. The
submachine state is a decomposition (A)
mechanism that allows factoring of
common behaviors and their reuse.
Initial
Pepresents a default vertex that is the
source for a single transition to the default
state of a composite state. There can be at
(I)
most one initial vertex in a region.
Final State
A special kind of state signifying that the
enclosing region is completed. If the
enclosing region is directly contained in a (F)
state machine and all other regions in the
state machine also are completed, then it
means that the entire state machine is
completed.
Terminate
Implies that the execution of this state
machine by means of its context object is
terminated. (R)
Entry Point
The entry point connection points a
reference as the target of a transition. This
implies that the target of the transition is (Y)
the entry point pseudostate as defined in
the submachine of the submachine state.
Choice
The choice points are used to split
transition paths. In the dynamic choice
point, a decision concerning which branch (O)
to take is only made after the transition
from State1 is taken and the choice point
is reached.
(D)
Join Vertical/Horizontal
Serves to merge several transitions
emanating from source vertices in different
orthogonal regions. (G)
(D)
Transition
A directed relationship between a source
vertex and a target vertex. It may be part
of a compound transition, which takes the
state machine from one state configuration (T)
to another, representing the complete
response of the state machine to an
occurrence of an event of a particular type.
Transition to Self
When an object returns to the same state
after the specified event occurs.
(E)
The protocol state machine presents the possible and permitted transitions on the instances of its context
classifier, together with the operations that carry the transitions.
In this manner, an instance lifecycle can be created for a classifier, by specifying the order in which the
operations can be activated and the states through which the instance progresses during its existence.
The Protocol State Machine Diagram is created for use with the Protocol State Machine and the Protocol
Transitions.
Orthogonal State
An orthogonal state is a composite state
with at least 2 regions.
(C)
Initial
Pepresents a default vertex that is the
source for a single transition to the default
state of a composite state. There can be at
(I)
most one initial vertex in a region.
Final State
A special kind of state signifying that the
enclosing region is completed. If the
enclosing region is directly contained in a (F)
state machine and all other regions in the
state machine also are completed, then it
means that the entire state machine is
completed.
Terminate
Implies that the execution of this state
machine by means of its context object is
terminated. (R)
Entry Point
The entry point connection points a
reference as the target of a transition. This
implies that the target of the transition is (Y)
the entry point pseudostate as defined in
the submachine of the submachine state.
Exit Point
The exit point connection points a
reference as the source of a transition.
This implies that the source of the (U)
transition is the exit point pseudostate as
defined in the submachine of the
submachine state that has the exit point
connection point defined.
Connection Point Reference
The connection point references of a
submachine state that can be used as the
sources/targets of the transitions. They
(Z)
represent entries into or exits out of the
submachine state machine referenced by
the submachine state.
Choice
The choice points are used to split
transition paths. In the dynamic choice
point, a decision on which branch to take (O)
is only made after the transition from
State1 is taken and the choice point is
reached.
Fork Vertical/Horizontal
Serves to split an incoming transition into
two or more transitions terminating on
orthogonal target vertices (i.e., vertices in
different regions of a composite state). (G)
(D)
Join Vertical/Horizontal
Serves to merge several transitions
emanating from source vertices in different
orthogonal regions. (G)
(D)
Protocol Transition
A protocol transition (transition as
specialized in the ProtocolStateMachines
package) specifies a legal transition for an
operation. Transitions of the protocol state (T)
machines have the following information: a
pre condition (guard), on trigger, and a
post condition. Every protocol transition is
associated to zero or one operation that
belongs to the context classifier of the
protocol state machine.
Protocol Transition to Self
When an object returns to the same state
after the specified event occurs.
(E)
Activity Diagram
An activity graph is a variation of a state machine. In the state machine, the states represent the performance of
actions or subactivities, while the transitions are triggered by the completion of the actions or subactivities. It
represents a state machine of a procedure itself. The entire activity diagram is attached (through the model) to
a class, such as a use case, or to a package, or to the implementation of an operation. The purpose of this
diagram is to focus on flows driven by the internal processing (as opposed to external events). You should use
the activity diagrams in situations where all or most of the events represent the completion of internally-
generated actions (that is, procedural flow of control). You should use the ordinary state diagrams in situations
where asynchronous events occur. An activity diagram is a variant of a state diagram. Organized according to
actions, the activity diagrams are mainly targeted towards the representation of the internal behavior of a
method (the implementation of an operation) or a use case.
Though activity diagrams are often classified alongside the interaction diagrams, they actually focus on the
work performed by a system instead of an object interaction. An activity diagram captures actions and displays
their results.
A state diagram may also represent this sequencing of steps. However, given the procedural nature of the
implementation of the operations – in which most events simply correspond to the end of the preceding activity
– it is not necessary to distinguish states, activities, and events systematically (i.e. state changes and external
events have less importance inside the method). It is therefore beneficial to have a simplified representation for
directly displaying activities.
The activity diagram provides a convenient way to describe complex algorithms, parallel operations, and
business processes. Together with the collaboration and sequence diagrams, they are used to relate use
cases.
Action
An action is a named element that
is the fundamental unit of an
executable functionality. The (B)
execution of an action represents
some transformations or
processing in the modeled system.
When the action is to be executed
or what its actual inputs are is
determined by the concrete action
and the behaviors in which it is
used.
Opaque Action
An opaque action is introduced for
implementing specific actions or for
use as a temporary placeholder
before some other actions are
chosen.
Any Action
This element is introduced in order
to maintain any other desirable
action element with an appropriate
metaclass stereotype applied.
Object Node
The Activity nodes are introduced
to provide a general class for the
nodes connected by activity edges. (SHIFT+B)
The ActivityNode replaces the use
of the StateVertex and its children
for activity modeling in UML.
Data Store
A data store node is a central buffer
node for a non-transient
information. A data store keeps all (SHIFT+D)
tokens that enter it, copies them
when they are chosen to move
downstream. Incoming tokens
containing a particular object
replace any tokens in the object
node containing that object.
Activity Parameter Node
It is an object node for inputs and
outputs to the activities. The
Activity parameters are object
nodes at the beginning and end of
the flows, to accept inputs to an
activity and provide outputs from it.
Control Flow
Is an edge that starts an activity
node after the previous one is
finished. Objects and data cannot (F)
pass along the control flow edge.
Activity Final
An activity final node is a final node
that stops all flows in an activity.
(D)
Decision
Decision is a control node that
chooses between outgoing flows.
A decision node has one incoming
edge and multiple outgoing activity (G)
edges.
Merge
A merge node is a control node that
brings together multiple alternate
flows. It is not used to synchronize
(G)
concurrent flows but it is used to
accept one among several
alternate flows.
Fork/Join Horizontal
Helps to control parallel actions.
(K)
Fork/Join Vertical
Helps to control parallel actions.
(SHIFT+K)
Exception Handler
An exception handler is an
element that specifies a body to
execute in case the specified
exception occurs during the (P)
execution of the protected node.
Conditional Node
A conditional node is a structured
activity node that represents an
exclusive choice among
alternatives.
Sequence Node
A sequence node is a structured
activity node that executes its
actions in order.
Loop Node
A loop node is a structured activity
node that represents a loop with
the setup, test, and body sections.
Time Event
A time event specifies a point of
time by an expression. The
expression might be absolute or
might be relative to some
other points of time.
Input Pin
An input pin is a pin that holds
input values to be consumed by an
action. (SHIFT+I)
They are object nodes that receive
values from other actions through
object flows.
Output Pin
A pin that holds output values
produced by an action. Output pins
are object nodes that deliver values (SHIFT+O)
to other actions through object
flows.
Value Pin
A value pin is an input pin that
provides a value to an action that
does not come from an incoming
object flow edge.
Swimlanes
Swimlanes are used to organize
responsibility for actions and
subactivities according to the (SHIFT+V)
class, dividing an activity diagram.
(SHIFT+W)
Figure 439 -- Example of creating call behavior action and typing name on it, when Automatic Behavior Creation mode
is on
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
• Right-click the empty area on the Activity diagram, point to Related Elements, and then click
Display Inner Elements.
To display inner elements on the Structured Activity Node symbol,
right-click the Structured Activity Node on the diagram, point to
Related Elements, and then click Display Inner Elements.
Dynamic centerlines
The centerlines are displayed only when a center of the shape that was moved or newly drawn is located near
the center of another shape that already exists in the diagram. These lines help to draw diagram with aligned
shapes easily.
When the center of the shape that was moved coincides with a center of any shape that is placed to its right or
left, a horizontal centerline is displayed. When the center of the shape is close to any center of a shape that is
located above or below it, a vertical centerline is displayed.
Diagram orientation
The diagram orientation is used to assign the correct rectilinear path breaks and draw paths between the
activity diagram shapes. The paths can be drawn from side to side, or from the lower to the upper shape
borders.
Example:
For a vertical diagram orientation - in this case if two shapes are not in the same centerline, the paths will be
connected from the lower border of the first shape to the upper border of the next shape, adding break points:
For a horizontal diagram orientation - in this case the paths will be connected from the side border of the first
shape to the next side border of the second shape, adding break points:
• From the Options main menu, select Project. In the open dialog box, expand Diagram group
and in the right side properties list, change the value for the Diagram Orientation property.
• From the diagram pane shortcut menu, select Diagram Properties and change the value for
the Diagram Orientation property.
Component Diagram
A component diagram describes logical components that make up the system.
A component contains information about the logical class or classes that it implements, thus creating a
mapping from a logical view to a component view. Dependencies between the components makes it easy to
analyze how a change in one component affects the others. The components may also be shown with any of
the interfaces that they expose. They, as with almost any other model elements, can be grouped into packages,
much like classes or use cases.
The component diagrams are used in the later phases of the software development, when there is a need to
divide up classes among different components. When working with the CASE facilities, the components are
used for file-class mapping during code generation, reverse engineering, and round-trip engineering
operations.
Component
The Component may be used to
define the requirements for each
physical software element. (K)
Component Instance
An instance of a component.
(A)
Port
Ports represent interaction points
between a classifier and its
environment. A port has the ability
(SHIFT+R)
to specify that any requests
arriving at this port are handled.
Artifact
An artifact represents a physical
piece of information that is used or
produced by a software (B)
development process. Examples
of Artifacts include models, source
files, scripts, and binary executable
files. An Artifact may constitute the
implementation of a deployable
component.
Deployment Specification
It indicates a set of properties that
defines how a component should
be deployed.
Artifact Instance
Deployment Specification
Instance
An instance of a deployment
specification element.
Interface
All functionalities implemented by
a particular component.
(F)
Interface Realization
The classifier at the tail of the
arrow implements the interface
that is located at the arrow head or
(R)
uses that interface.
Note: Choose a different Interface
Realization direction from the
toolbar to draw a line with an
opposite arrow end.
Component Realization
A component realization concept is
specialized in the Components
package to (optionally) define the
Classifiers that realize the contract
offered by a component in terms of
its provided and required
interfaces.
Realization
A realization signifies that the
client set of elements are an
implementation of the supplier set,
(E)
which serves as the specification.
Usage
A usage is a relationship in which
one element requires another
element (or set of elements) for its (U)
full implementation or operation.
Usage is also used to create
required interface.
Note: Choose a different Usage
direction from the toolbar to draw a
line with an opposite arrow end.
Manifestation
A manifestation is the concrete
physical rendering of one or more
model elements by an artifact.
Generalization
(G)
Link
A relationship between a
specification element and an
implementation element. (L)
Communication Path
A communication path is an
association between two
DeploymentTargets, through which
they are able to exchange signals
and messages.
Since MagicDraw version 17.0.1, Component and Deployment diagrams are created
instead of the Implementation diagram.
From now on, Implementation diagrams created with earlier MagicDraw versions are
realized as the following diagrams:
• Deployment diagram, if node shapes were used in the Implementation diagram.
• Component diagram, if node shapes were not used in the Implementation diagram.
Customized diagrams based on the Implementation diagram are based on the
Component diagram now.
Deployment Diagram
Deployment diagrams show the physical layout of various hardware components (nodes) that compose a
system as well as the distribution of executable programs (software components) on this hardware.
Deployment diagrams are crucial when dealing with distributed systems. You may show the actual computers
and devices (nodes), along with the connections they have to each other, thus specifying a system topology.
Inside the nodes, executable components and objects are located in a way that it shows where the software
units are residing and on which nodes they are executed. You may also show dependencies between
components.
Execution Environment
The element that is used to indicate that
a node is the execution environment.
Device
A physical computational resource with
the processing capability upon which
artifacts may be deployed for an
execution.
Node Instance
An instance of a node.
(T)
Device Instance
Artifact Instance
Package
A group of classes and other model
elements.
(P)
Deployment
A deployment is the allocation of a
deployment target to an artifact or
artifact instance.
Manifestation
A manifestation is the concrete physical
rendering of one or more model
elements by an artifact.
Generalization
(G)
Link
A relationship between a specification
element and an implementation
element. (L)
Communication Path
A communication path is an association
between two DeploymentTargets,
through which they are able to exchange
signals and messages.
Since MagicDraw version 17.0.1, Component and Deployment diagrams are created
instead of the Implementation diagram.
From now on, Implementation diagrams created with earlier MagicDraw versions are
realized as the following diagrams:
• Deployment diagram, if node shapes were used in the Implementation diagram.
• Component diagram, if node shapes were not used in the Implementation diagram.
Customized diagrams based on the Implementation diagram are based on the
Component diagram now.
Package Diagram
Package diagram shows packages and dependencies between the packages.
The classes can be grouped into packages. The packages can be nested within other packages. A package, as
an entity, may have all the relationships that can be drawn for a class. Those relationships are derived from the
classes or packages that are nested within two particular packages (i.e., the relationship between packages
reflects a set of relationships between classes placed in those packages).
Package
A group of classes and other model
elements.
(P)
Model
A model is an abstraction of a physical
system from a particular point of view. A
model contains a hierarchy of packages/ (M)
subsystems and other model elements
that describe the system.
Profile
A Profile is a kind of Package that
extends a reference metamodel.
Package Merge
A package merge is a directed
relationship between two packages that
indicates that the contents of the two
packages are to be combined.
Package Import
A package import is defined as a directed
relationship that identifies a package
whose members are to be imported by a
namespace.
Element Import
An element import is defined as a
directed relationship between an
importing namespace and a packageable
element.
Profile Diagram
The Profiles package contains mechanisms that allow metaclasses from existing metamodels to be extended
to adapt them for different purposes.
Profile
A Profile is a kind of Package that
extends a reference metamodel.
Package
A group of classes and other model
elements.
(P)
Model
A model is an abstraction of a physical
system from a particular point of view. A
model contains a hierarchy of packages/ (M)
subsystems and other model elements
that describe the system.
Class
(C)
Customization
Data Type
Primitive Type
Enumeration
A user-defined data type whose
instances are a set of user-specified
named enumeration literals. The literals (K)
have a relative order but no algebra is
defined on them.
Profile Application
A profile application is used to show
which profiles have been applied to a
package.
Extension
An extension is used to indicate that the
properties of a metaclass are extended
through a stereotype, and gives the
ability to flexibly add (and later remove)
stereotypes to classes.
Package Merge
A package merge is a directed
relationship between two packages that
indicates that the contents of the two
packages are to be combined.
Package Import
A package import is defined as a directed
relationship that identifies a package
whose members are to be imported by a
namespace.
Generalization
(G)
Direct Association
A directed relationship represents a
relationship between a collection of
source model elements and a collection
of target model elements.
Part
A part is a classifier (for example, a class,
collaboration, component) property
owned by a composition.
(P)
Port
A port may appear either on a contained
part representing a port on that part, or on
the boundary of the class diagram, (SHIFT+R)
representing a port on the represented
classifier itself.
Collaboration
A collaboration describes a structure of
collaborating elements (roles), each
performing a specialized function, which (Q)
collectively accomplishes some desired
functionalities. Its primary purpose is to
explain how a system works and,
therefore, it typically only incorporates
those aspects of reality that are deemed
relevant to the explanation.
Collaboration Use
A collaboration use represents one
particular use of a collaboration to explain
the relationships between the properties (U)
of a classifier. The collaboration use
shows how the pattern described by a
collaboration is applied in a given context,
by binding specific entities from that
context to the roles of the collaboration.
Connector
Each connector may be attached to two or
more connectable elements, each (C)
representing a set of instances. Each
connector end is distinct in the sense that
it plays a distinct role in the
communication realized over the
connector.
Role Binding
Is a relationship from parts to the
Collaboration Use (in diagram).
(B)
You can display the existing Parts on the structured classifier shape.
1. On the diagram pane, right-click a shape whereon you want to display parts. The shortcut menu
opens.
2. Select Related Elements > Display Parts. The Display Parts dialog opens.
In this section you will find the description on how to nest a part to another part in the composite structure
diagram. Until MagicDraw version 17.0.2, nesting of parts was not available if a part was a property of an
association, that is, if the part represented the association end.
If a classifier has an association connection with another classifier, the association end in the classifier is
referenced as a property. In a composite structure diagram, a part is representation of a property. So the part
can represent the property that is association end too. If the association end is composite, parts are
represented in a nested structure.
Figure 442 -- Example of part movement in Composite Structure diagram and results representation in Class diagram
See an example in the preceding figure. In the class diagram, the FuelTankAssembly class is connected with
the FuelInjector class with the composite association. In the composite structure diagram, the same association
is represented in the following way - the part with the FuelInjector type is nested into the part with
FuelTankAssembly type. By dragging and dropping the part with FuelInjector type to the part with the
CombustionEngine type, will change the association in the class diagram - the FuelInjector class will be
connected with the CombustionEngine class.
Related diagrams
Composite Structure Diagram
Related procedures
Working with Parts in Composite Structure Diagram
Ports are mapped automatically if particular rules are met. Otherwise, the Port Mapping dialog appears.
The Port Mapping dialog appears on changing a part type when ports of the type cannot be mapped
automatically.
See the elements of the Port Mapping dialog described in the following table.
Element Function
1 Lists the type of the part from which you want to make a
replacement. Ports of the type are listed under the type.
Element Function
2 Lists the type of the part to which you want to make a
replacement. Ports of the type are listed under the type.
3 Displays lines between the mapped ports.
1. On the diagram pane, select the classifier shape which internal structure you want to display.
2. Open its shortcut menu, click Related Elements > Display Internal Structure, select the
name of the classifier, and then select a diagram containing the internal structure.
In the composite structure diagram, in the part’s shortcut menu,
the Related Elements > Display Internal Structure is available
only if the part has its own internal structure.
Other elements of the Interaction Overview diagram are the same as in the Activity diagram. For more
information about the Activity diagram, see “Activity Diagram elements” on page 698.
If there is a need, you can enable or disable a plugin that allows to create the appropriate extension diagram in
the Plugins options group of the Environment Options dialog.
For more information see "Customizing Environment Options" on
page 96.
Patterns
Various types of classes can be created in every class diagram using a Pattern Wizard. It contains GOF, Java,
Junit, CORBA IDL, XML Schema, and WSDL design patterns.
New patterns and modifications of the existing ones can also be created using Java code or JPython scripts.
For the detailed description see MagicDraw OpenAPI UserGuide.pdf.
For a detailed description of the Pattern Wizard,
see “Pattern Wizard” on page 460.
Common Elements
Toolbar Button Button (Hot
key)
Selection
(Escape)
Sticky Button
(Z)
Text Box
(X)
Text Box
(HTML Text)
(SHIFT+X)
Note
(N)
Note
(HTML Text)
(SHIFT+N)
Comment
Comment
(HTML Text)
(H)
Constraint
(SHIFT+H)
Containment
(SHIFT+C)
Dependency
(SHIFT+D)
Separator
(W)
Rectangular
Shape
(SHIFT+Q)
User Interface (UI) Modeling diagram makes it possible to build prototypes of user interfaces, connect UI mock-
ups with whole Architectural model, export them as images, and create browsable reports for presentations. In
short, they help gather information faster and thus save time and money.
You can build up mock-ups or prototypes, get quick feedback from prospective users, and take and reuse the
feedback for future designs. All this is possible with User Interface prototyping. The feedback loop makes for
quicker mature designs that work for everybody, which is what really matters.
After a project is loaded and a diagram is created, UI modeling elements can be added to the diagram pane.
• Simply drag and drop them out of the Diagrams modeling elements toolbar.
For further information, see "User Interface Modeling" on page 730
and "Case Studies for User Interface Modeling" on page 744.
For User Interface Modeling, see "Case Studies for User Interface Modeling" on page 744. Three case studies
will provide step-by-step instructions how to build user interfaces and create browsable reports.
The following table lists all available User Interface modeling elements and their properties.
A bordered panel.
Panel*
The elements marked with an asterisk (*) are the Container elements
and can nest other components.
Modifying a table
As the following figure shows, a newly created table has two columns and two rows already added to the table.
Each row has cells, which number equals to the number of columns.
1. Right-click the table in the Containment tree and from the shortcut menu, select Create
Element > Column. A new column is added to the table.
2. Type the title for the new column.
With the new column, a new cell
is added to each row of the table.
1. Right-click a column of the table in the Containment tree and from the shortcut menu, select
Element Numbering. The Element Numbering dialog opens.
2. In the list on the right side of the dialog, select all columns and click Create.
To select all columns, click the first column in the list and then hold
down the Shift key when selecting the last one.
3. Change the order of columns in the table by changing their positions in the list appropriately
(see the following figure).
• To move a column to the left, select the column and click the Decrease button.
• To move a column to the right, select the column and click the Increase button.
For more information about using the Element Numbering dialog,
see "Element Numbering dialog" on page 400.
1. Right-click the table in the Containment tree and from the shortcut menu, select Create
Element > Row. A new row is added to the table.
2. Type the title for the new row.
1. Right-click a row of the table in the Containment tree and from the shortcut menu, select
Element Numbering. The Element Numbering dialog opens.
2. In the list on the right side of the dialog, select all rows and click Create.
To select all rows, click the first row in the list and then hold down
the Shift key when selecting the last one.
Modifying a tree
You can add to a tree as many nodes and leaves as you need and also change the order of the elements in the
tree.
1. Right-click the tree or a node in the Containment tree and from the shortcut menu, select
Create Element > Node or Leaf.
2. Type a name for the new node or leaf.
At a time, you can rearrange the order only of the same parent-
node leaves and/or nodes.
1. Right-click a leaf or a node of the tree and from the shortcut menu select Element Numbering.
The Element Numbering dialog opens.
2. In the list on the right side of the dialog, select all leaves and/or nodes, and then click Create.
To select all leaves and/or nodes, click a leaf or a node that is the
first one in the list and then hold down the Shift key when selecting
a leaf or a node that is the last one in the list.
All the leaves and/or nodes become numbered.
3. Change the order of leaves and/or nodes in the tree by changing their positions in the list
appropriately.
• To move a leaf or a node/leaf up, select the row and click the Decrease button.
• To move a leaf or a node/leaf down, select the row and click the Increase button.
For more information about using the Element Numbering dialog,
see "Element Numbering dialog" on page 400.
Nesting
You can move and arrange user interface modeling elements, since they nest each other, and thus create deep
structured User Interface models. However, not all elements have the nesting ability: only Container elements
can nest other elements (these elements are marked with an asterisk (*) in the section “User Interface Modeling
diagram elements” on page 730).
As Figure 448 on page 740 shows, all frames nest in each others and, as a result, if you were to move the
element with title Frame 1, all other elements would stay in position within this element.
Figure 448 -- Example of a deep structure that was created using containers
Reusability
If you have created a complex model and need to use it again, you do not have to create a new one. All you
need to do is select the elements, copy them and then paste them into the same diagram or in any other
diagram. You can also reuse just a single element by copying and pasting it or by dragging it from the Browser
onto the diagram pane.
Specifying elements
You can modify UI modeling elements by editing their properties in the following three ways:
• Via the Specification dialog box.
• Via the shortcut menu.
• On a diagram pane.
The so called boolean properties that have only two values can also be edited via the shortcut menu.
Figure 450 -- Shortcut menu of the Slider element with boolean properties
For the elements that own a text or a title, for example a button or a frame, it is also possible to edit the
appropriate properties straight on a diagram.
Icon usage
Some elements are capable of owning an icon. User Interface Modeling provides a number of frequently-used
icons such as cut, delete, undo/redo, etc. Of course, it is also possible to use any images from your computer
as icons.
To add an icon
2. Right click on the element and select Specification in the shortcut menu.
3. In the Icon list, select an icon you want to appear on the element (Figure 452 on page 743).
If you want to use any image from your computer as an icon,
click custom.
User Interface Modeling also allows you to modify user interface elements via symbol properties.
User Interface Modeling allows you to create browsable reports. All you need to do, when creating a breathable
report, is add a hyperlink to the UI model element, is to and link it to the other one. Once a report of these
models has been created, click on any element in the report. You will then be directed to the other diagram.
As Figure 454 on page 746 shows, when you click OK in the upper left-hand frame you will be directed to the
next frame. And using the OK of this frame you can get to a couple of frames in which you can step forward and
backward as you want since they are all linked to one another.
"Case Study 3 - User Interface Prototyping Example" on page 750 provides an example of how this feature
works and explains how to add hyperlinks and create browsable reports.
Case Study 1 - Modeling user interface for the Report Wizard dialog
This case study provides step-by-step instructions for modeling the Report Wizard dialog.
1. Click the User Interface Diagram button in the main diagram toolbar.
2. Name the new diagram Report Wizard.
Figure 454 -- Report Wizard Frame with Group Boxes and Separator
For example this user interface model could now be exported as an image. The steps to do this are as follows:
1. Select Save As Image from the File menu.
2. In a new dialog mark Active Diagram.
3. In Image File define the location where the image should be placed.
4. Select Joint Photographic Experts Group (*.jpg) in Image Format and then press the Save-
Button. Of course you can also take another format if you want to.
This case study contains step-by-step instructions showing how to create a User Interface model with Sliders. It
also shows how to customize the symbol properties of User Interface components. It does not explain,
however, how to create a new project and a new diagram since those are explained in “Case Study 1 -
Modeling user interface for the Report Wizard dialog” on page 745.
3.4. Select given value 0 0 out of property Values and rename it to 0 Red. Rename
the other two given values to 50 Blue and 100 White.*
3.5. Draw two more sliders and repeat last steps setting values as shown in
Figure 457 on page 749.
* With regard to setting the values of a slider it is important to know that
there is no empty space between 0. 0, for example, represents a new
line. So, in this case, when entering a value, it should look like this:
0
0
Figure 457 -- Symbol Properties Customization Frame with Added Labels and Sliders
This case study shows how to connect several user interface models with one another and create a browsable
report out of them to display the wildfowl of an application. The models should represent a test application with
a Login Dialog, a Test Browser and a test with several questions. Here are step-by-step instructions for adding
hyperlinks and creating browsable reports.
Content Diagram
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
The content diagram is an extension of UML notation. The purpose of the content diagram is to generate or
represent a project structure (diagrams) and relations between them. The content table works as a table of
contents for a project.
All content diagrams have their own specifications, wherein you can specify their name, documentation, and
view the relationships in which they participate. You can also add stereotypes, tagged values, and constraints.
Package
(P)
Create Diagram
(Ctrl+N)
Robustness Diagram
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
The Robustness Analysis involves analyzing the narrative text of use cases, identifying a first-guess set of
objects that will participate in those use cases, and classifying these objects based on the roles they play.
• Boundary or Interface objects are what actors use in communicating with the system.
• Entity objects are usually objects from the domain model.
• Control objects (are usually called controllers because they often are not real objects), serve as
the “glue” between boundary objects and entity objects.
The Robustness analysis serves as a preliminary design within the project life cycle and provides the missing
link between an analysis and a detailed design.
Both the boundary objects and entity objects are nouns, and the controllers are verbs. Nouns cannot talk to
other nouns, but verbs can talk to either nouns or verbs.
Boundary
Actors use the boundary objects
to communicate with the system
(sometimes called the interface
(B)
objects).
A class with a stereotype
“boundary”
Control
Serves as the “glue” between
the boundary objects and the
entity objects.
(C)
A class with a stereotype
“control”
Entity
The entity objects usually are
objects from the domain model.
A class with a stereotype “entity” (E)
Robustness Association
The Association with a default
Association End A navigability =
false and Association End B
(S)
navigability = true values.
Web Diagram
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
The web system consists of server applications, network, communicating protocol, and the browser. Basically,
a user’s requests begin from starting the browser and requesting a document through a network from the
server (host computer). The web server running on the host computer, catches the user’s request, locates the
document and delivers it to the user.
UML is a standard language for modeling software. However, modeling specific web components cannot be
done by using just a standard UML. The Web-UML diagram provides an extension to the UML model, which
enables developers to model web applications.
The MagicDraw Web-UML diagram includes Web-UML elements (stereotyped UML elements) for modeling:
client, server pages, web form, frame classes, java script class representation and target class, and web page
component.
Reference: Building Web Applications with UML by Jim Conallen Copyright ©2000 by Addison Wesley
Longman, Inc.
(SHIFT+G)
Server Page
(SHIFT+S)
Form
(SHIFT+F)
Frame
(SHIFT+E)
(SHIFT+T)
Java Script
(SHIFT+J)
Page
(SHIFT+P)
Builds
(B)
Link
(L)
Redirect
(T)
Targeted Link
(SHIFT+L)
(SHIFT+O)
Submit
(U)
Object
(O)
RMI
(SHIFT+R)
IIOP
(SHIFT+I)
The CORBA IDL diagram facilitates the creation of CORBA IDL elements. The following patterns are also
available for CORBA IDL: Interface, Value Type, Type Definition, Sequence, Array, Fixed, Union, Enumeration,
Struct, and Exception.
For more information about CORBA IDL usage in MagicDraw, see
MagicDraw Code Engineering UserGuide.pdf, chapter “CORBA
IDL Mapping to UML”.
Reference: UMLTM Profile for CORBATM Specification, Version 1.0, April 2002. http://www.omg.org/
technology/documents/formal/profile_corba.htm.
(M)
CORBA IDL Interface
(U)
CORBA IDL Value
(V)
Class by Pattern
SHIFT+P
Generalization
(G)
Truncatable Generalization
Interface
(I)
You can select either the UML Interface or the UML Class as a base element for the CORBA Interface
For more information about the CORBA IDL Interface implementation,
see “CORBA Interface Implementation” in “ agicDraw Code Engineering
UserGuide.pdf”.
WSDL Diagram
This feature is available in Architect and Enterprise editions.
The WSDL diagram is used to draw WSDL elements. It allows the creation of all elements used in the wsdl file,
except schema. The schema elements can be created using the XMLSchema diagram. WSDL plugin provides
patterns to create binding elements. The WSDL plugin requires XMLSchema plugin.
(M)
WSDLporttype
(T)
WSDLbinding
(B)
WSDLport
(SHIFT+P)
WSDLservice
(S)
WSDLdefinitio
ns
(D)
WSDLtypes
(Y)
WSDLimport
(I)
(SHIFT+L)
XSDnamespac
e
(P)
Time Diagram
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
A Time Diagram is an extension of UML notation. The time diagram is similar to a sequence diagram, but the
model elements of the time diagram have the predefined stereotypes.
Lifeline «SAshedRes»
Message «RTevent»,
«CRimmediate»
Message «CRimmediate»
Message «SAtrigger»
Struts Diagram
This feature is available in Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
(C)
Class by Pattern
(SHIFT+P)
Interface
(I)
ActionForm class for
struts
(G)
Action class for
struts
Package
(P)
Model
(M)
Interface Realization
(R)
(E)
Abstraction
(T)
Usage
(U)
Generalization
(G)
Association
(S)
Aggregation
(A)
Composition
(F)
Networking Diagram
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
This diagram allows a visual display of the network topology. The Networking Profile contains stereotypes for
the network description. Elements with icons can be drawn on the Diagram pane.
The Networking Diagram is commonly used to depict hardware nodes as well as the connections between
them.
Application Server
DB Server
File Server
Proxy Server
Web Server
PC
Laptop
Monitor
Fax
Plotter
Printer
Scanner
Modem
Router
Firewall
Database
Program
Internet Browser
Document
File
Wireless Network
Internet
Building
City
Actor
User
HTTP
Ethernet
RMI
Dependency Matrix
Dependency Matrix
The Dependency Matrix is a quick method for representing dependencies compactly. Diagrams, UML
elements, and extended UML elements serve as row and column entries. The cells in the matrix show where
these elements are associated, that is related.
1. In the Containment tree, select an element that can be the owner of the generic table.
2. Do one of the following:.
• From the main menu, select Diagrams > Create Diagram. Type “depe” and press
Enter.
• On the main toolbars, click the Create Diagram button. Type “depe” and press
Enter.
• Press Ctrl+N. Type “depe” and press Enter.
• Right-click the element and from the shortcut menu select Create Diagram >
Analysis Diagrams > Dependency Matrix.
The newly dependency matrix opens on the right side of the application window.
3. Type the name of the matrix.
4. Select criteria for the matrix. For details, please see “Selecting criteria” on page 767.
You can also create dependency matrices using a custom dependency matrix type.
For more information about creating your own dependency matrix types,
see "Creating New Dependency Matrix Type" in MagicDraw
UMLProfiling&DSL UserGuide.pdf.
Selecting criteria
To create a dependency matrix, first of all you need to define which data you wish to be displayed on its pane.
Select row and column element types, row and column scope, direction of relationships as well as dependency
criteria for this. Be advised that the easiest way to define all the above mentioned criteria, except the type of
relationships direction is using the drag-and-drop operation.
Do either:
• In the Model Browser, select one or more elements which types you wish to see on your matrix
and drag them to the Row Element Type/Column Element Type box in the Criteria area (see
the following figure).
• Hold down SHIFT to select multiple elements that are grouped
together.
• Hold down CTRL to select multiple elements that are not grouped
together.
• Click the ... button next to the Row Element Type/Column Element Type box and in the
opened dialog select what element types you wish to see on your matrix. Click OK.
To display subtypes of selected element types, click to select the
Include subtypes check box.
• Open the matrix Specification window, click the Row Element Type/Column Element Type
property value cell, then click the button, and in the opened dialog select what element
types you wish to see on your matrix. Click Close.
To display subtypes of selected element types, click to select the
Include subtypes check box.
You can open the matrix Specification window in one of the following
ways:
• From the matrix shortcut menu (see "Dependency Matrix shortcut
menu" on page 781)
• From the matrix toolbar (see "Dependency Matrix toolbar" on
page 779)
• Click an empty place in the matrix and press ENTER.
Do either:
• In the Model Browser, select one or more elements that you wish to see on your matrix and
drag them to the Row Scope/Column Scope box in the Criteria area (see the following
figure).
• Hold down SHIFT to select multiple elements that are grouped
together.
• Hold down CTRL to select multiple elements that are not grouped
together.
• Click the ... button next to the Row Scope/Column Scope box and in the opened dialog select
what elements you wish to see on your matrix. Click OK.
For more information about elements multiple selection,
see "Elements Multiple Selection" on page 354.
• Open the matrix Specification window, click the Row Scope/Column Scope property value
cell, then click the button, and in the opened dialog select what elements you wish to see
on your matrix. Click Close.
You can open the matrix Specification window in one of the following
ways:
• From the matrix shortcut menu (see "Dependency Matrix shortcut
menu" on page 781)
• From the matrix toolbar (see "Dependency Matrix toolbar" on
page 779)
• Click an empty place in the matrix and press ENTER.
Do either:
• In the Model Browser, select one or more relationships which types you wish to see on your
matrix and drag them to the Dependency Criteria box in the Criteria area (see the following
figure).
• Hold down SHIFT to select multiple relationships that are grouped
together.
• Hold down CTRL to select multiple relationships that are not
grouped together.
• Click the ... button next to the Dependency Criteria box and in the open dialog select what
relationships you wish to see on your matrix. Click OK.
More information about selecting relationship
criteria, see "Specifying Criteria for Querying
Model" on page 552.
• Open the matrix Specification window, click the Dependency Criteria property value cell, then
click the button, and in the open dialog select what relationships you wish to see on your
matrix. Click Close.
You can open the matrix Specification window in one of the following
ways:
• From the matrix shortcut menu (see "Dependency Matrix shortcut
menu" on page 781)
• From the matrix toolbar (see "Dependency Matrix toolbar" on
page 779)
• Click an empty place in the matrix and press ENTER.
Do either:
• Select a direction from the Direction drop-down list in the Criteria area.
• Open the matrix Specification window, click the Direction property value cell and select what
direction relationships you wish to see on your matrix. Click Close.
You can open the matrix Specification window in one of the following
ways:
• From the matrix shortcut menu (see "Dependency Matrix shortcut
menu" on page 781)
• From the matrix toolbar (see "Dependency Matrix toolbar" on
page 779)
• Click an empty place in the matrix and press ENTER.
To specify what elements you wish to see on the matrix: related, non-related, or all
Do either:
• From the Show Elements drop-down list in the Criteria area, select
• With relations if you need to see only related elements from the selected scope.
• Without relations if you need to see only non-related elements from the selected
scope.
• All if you need to see both related and non-related elements from the selected
scope.
• Open the matrix Specification window, click the Show Elements property value cell and
choose one of the preceding described values. Click Close.
You can open the matrix Specification window in one of the following
ways:
• From the matrix shortcut menu (see "Dependency Matrix shortcut
menu" on page 781)
• From the matrix toolbar (see "Dependency Matrix toolbar" on
page 779)
• Click an empty place in the matrix and press ENTER.
Once criteria are specified, you can create the matrix. Click on the dependency matrix toolbar.
Figure 466 -- Notification to refresh dependency matrix after changing dependency criteria
Dependencies between elements are displayed in cells. Rows and columns display elements, which were
specified as criteria.
Number of dependencies between owner elements is displayed in a cell where owners are intersecting with any
element.
• Move mouse over the cell. Information about the relationship will be displayed on a ToolTip.
You can edit relationships and element properties directly in matrices. Clicking the selected cell allows for
• Creating or deleting relationships between elements.
• Defining or removing element properties or tags.
This feature not only facilitates management of ordinary relationships between elements, but also allows for a
faster creation of traceability links between elements, for example, between requirements and the architecture
or requirements and test cases. Such an improvement saves huge amounts of time in comparison to linking
elements in diagrams. It significantly increases applicability and usability of matrices.
Commands on the shortcut menu of the cell, for creating a new relationship,
depends on criteria specified in the Criteria area of the matrix:
• Possible relationship types correspond to the types specified as dependency
criteria (see solid-line boxes in the following figure).
• Possible directions correspond to the directions specified in the Direction drop-
down list (see dashed-line boxes in the following figure).
1. Do one of the following:
• Double-click the cell. If only one relationship type and direction is available, the
relationship is created instantly. If several relationship types or directions are
available, the shortcut menu opens.
2. From the shortcut menu, under Create New (Row To Column) or Create New (Column To
Row), select a relationship type you need to create.
If you have specified to display in the matrix, relationships with both
directions, the shortcut menu of the cell will look like the one in the
following figure.
Thus make sure you have selected a relationship type with relevant
direction.
2. From the shortcut menu, under Delete, select the relationship you need to remove. The
relationship is removed both from the matrix and the model.
2. On the shortcut menu, under Navigate, point to the relationship, and click Select in
Containment Tree.
You can sort both rows and columns either in ascending or descending order (see the following figure) or create
your own order by shifting selected items (either grouped or non-grouped) from one place to another. The sort
order persists after changing the row or column owner's display mode (see the Row Owner Display Mode or
Column Owner Display Mode property description).
• Right-click the selected rows and on the shortcut menu, click Up or Down.
After the manual rearrangement of rows, the sort order of the rows
automatically changes to Custom.
• Right-click the selected columns and on the shortcut menu, click Left or Right.
The validation results for relationships are visualized in matrices. Matrix cells are highlighted whenever
relationships violate validation rules. This feature is useful, for example, to check which test cases for
requirements verification fail, to check if dependencies are valid or up-to-date when doing gap analysis.
See the detailed descriptions of the dependency matrix toolbar buttons in the following table.
Select in Opens the Containment tab in the Model Browser and select the
Containment current diagram or symbol in the Containment tree.
Tree (Alt+B)
Delete Deletes the selected element from the matrix and model.
(Ctrl+D) NOTE If you undo the deletion, you should refresh the matrix to
make the deleted elements appear in the matrix again.
Remove From Removes the selected element from the matrix. The selected
Matrix (Delete) element is not removed from the model.
• Specification Opens the matrix Specification window wherein you can specify
matrix properties.
Suppress/ Suppresses or expands the matrix Criteria area.
Expand
Criteria Area
See the descriptions of the dependency matrix Criteria area in the following table.
• Matrix pane
Command Description
Opens the Specification window of a dependency matrix.
Specification (Enter)
Navigates back or forward to the diagram that was open in the current
Go To
diagram tab, finds and navigates to diagrams wherein the matrix is
used, or to the matrix owner in the Containment tree, or to a hyperlinked
object, or to an element to which the selected element is related through
a traceability relationship.
For more information, see
• "Symbol Usage in Diagrams" on page 577
• "To add a hyperlink from the Model Browser" on page 343
• "Traceability properties in Go To submenu" on page 522
Selects the dependency matrix in the Containment tree of the Model
Select in Containment Tree
Browser.
(Alt+B)
Allows selecting whether to create a Relation Map for the matrix or
Related Elements
search for model elements which depends on the matrix or are used by
the matrix.
For more information about the Relation Map, see “Relation Map” on
page 545.
For more information about usages and dependencies, see "Analyzing
Usages and Dependencies" on page 510.
Converts or replaces the matrix to a diagram indicated by the user.
Refactor
For more information, see "Refactoring" on page 359.
Opens a list of tools that are available for the matrix.
Tools
For more information, see "Tools" on page 435.
Prints a matrix.
Print Active Diagram
Shows a matrix in the full screen mode. Click Close Full Screen to
Show Tabs in Full Screen
return to the previous view.
(F11)
Closes an active matrix.
Close Tab (CTRL+F4)
Command Description
(Shortcut key)
Specification Opens the element’s Specification window.
For more information, see "Specification Window" on page 273.
Select in Containment Selects the element in the Containment tree of the Model Browser.
Tree
Go To Finds and navigates to a diagram which is owned by the selected element, or
to the one, wherein the element shape is drawn, or to a hyperlinked object, or
to an element to which the selected element is related through a traceability
relationship.
For more information, see
• "Symbol Usage in Diagrams" on page 577
• "To add a hyperlink from the Model Browser" on page 343
• "Traceability properties in Go To submenu" on page 522
Related Elements Opens the dialog for defining options to search for specified usages or
dependencies of the selected element.
For more information, "Analyzing Usages and Dependencies" on page 510.
Refactor Converts or replaces the selected element to an element indicated by the user.
For more information, see "Refactoring" on page 359.
Command Description
(Shortcut key)
Tools Opens a list of tools that are available for the selected element.
For more information, see "Tools" on page 435.
Up Moves selected rows (either grouped or non-grouped) up.
(Ctrl+Up Arrow) The command is available on the shortcut menu of one or more rows.
For more information, see "To shift rows up or down" on page 776.
Down Moves selected rows (either grouped or non-grouped) down.
(Ctrl+Down Arrow) The command is available on the shortcut menu of one or more rows.
For more information, see "To shift rows up or down" on page 776.
Left Moves selected columns (either grouped or non-grouped) left.
(Ctrl+Left Arrow) The command is available on the shortcut menu of one or more columns.
For more information, see "To shift columns left or right" on page 777.
Right Moves selected columns (either grouped or non-grouped) right.
(Ctrl+Right Arrow) The command is available on the shortcut menu of one or more columns.
For more information, see "To shift columns left or right" on page 777.
Sort Order Point to the command and select the order for sorting rows or columns. It can
be either Ascending or Descending.
Selecting Custom does not affect the order of rows/columns. The Custom
order is automatically selected after shifting at least one row or column to from
one place to another.
The sort order persists after changing the row or column owner's display mode
(see the Row Owner Display Mode or Column Owner Display Mode property
description).
Remove from Matrix Removes the selected element from the matrix.
Delete Deletes the selected element from both the matrix and the model.
NOTE If you undo the deletion, you should refresh the matrix to make the
deleted elements appear in the matrix again.
See the descriptions of the dependency matrix Specification window properties in the following table.
Some properties are available only in the Expert mode. Hence if you do not see
a desired property, change the property display mode.
Generic Table
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
A generic table displays a list of selected elements and their properties in the single place. With the help of
generic table you can do the following:
• Edit property values of the listed model elements.
• Create selected type elements.
• Create new derived properties.
You can also read about the generic table feature and analyze given
examples within the Generic table project sample.
To open the sample, do either:
• On the Welcome screen, select Samples > Diagrams > Generic table.
• Go to <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams and open the
generic table.mdzip file.
All the examples given in this section are based on the data from this
sample.
This section describes several most popular ways of creating a generic table:
• Creating a generic table without help of any wizard. Once created the table can be filled
with data using the generic table environment capabilities.
For more information see "To create a generic table without
help of any wizard" on page 788.
• Creating a generic table with help of the diagram creation wizard. Once created the table
is already filled with data.
For more information see "To create a generic table with help of the
diagram creation wizard" on page 790.
• Creating a generic table for a set of selected elements using the diagram creation
wizard. Note that element types, elements, and columns of the generic table will be selected
automatically according to the set of selected elements.
For more information, see "To create a new generic table for a set
of selected elements" on page 792.
1. In the Containment tree, select an element that can be the owner of the generic table.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the main menu, select Diagrams > Create Diagram. Type “gen” and press
Enter.
• On the main toolbars, click the Create Diagram button. Type “gen” and press
Enter.
• Press Ctrl+N. Type “gen” and press Enter.
• Right-click the element and from the shortcut menu select Create Diagram > Other
Diagrams > Generic Table.
The newly created generic table opens on the right side of the application window.
3. Type the name of the table.
4. Select element types.
Select desired element types and/or stereotypes in the Select Element Types dialog. The
Element Type box in the Criteria area of the generic table will display the selected items. This
action is optional, so you can continue the creation without selecting any type or stereotype. You
will be able to modify selected element types when the generic table is created.
If you drag an element from the Containment tree to the table, the type
of this element will be automatically set as the Element Type box value.
1. Open the Generic Table Wizard dialog. It could be done in one of the following ways:
• On the Diagrams menu, click Diagram Wizards > Generic Table Wizard.
• On the Analyze menu, click Model Visualizer.
2. Type the name of the table and select the owner for it.
Figure 479 -- Generic table creation wizard. Specifying name for new generic table and selecting its owner
4. Select elements.
Select elements from the model tree and add them into the Selected list.
Thought you can select any element from the Model Browser, only the
elements of selected types will be added into the generic table.
If the generic table creating wizard is opened from one or more
elements’ shortcut menu, the element or the set of elements will be
added to the Selected list automatically.
For more information about the element selection and dialog buttons
see the section "Elements Multiple Selection" on page 354.
The list of all available properties corresponding to selected element types is presented in the
dialog. If selected element types have tags, they are also displayed in the list. All selected
properties will be displayed as columns in the generic table. The Name property is selected
automatically, all other properties should be selected by the user.
Select properties you need to see as columns to finish the table.
1. Create a table.
2. Select element type.
3. Choose the columns that you want to fill with copied information.
Column names in the generic table header are set automatically, and they are element property names. You
cannot change column names.
If an element has some properties with the same name (for example, in associations or if a tag of stereotypes is
selected as a column), the detailed column names could provide more precise information.
• On the Options toolbar, click and then select Show Detailed Column Name.
The group name (between brackets), to which the selected property belongs, and/or the
stereotype name (just before the property name) will be displayed in the column heading.
The following picture gives the example of three different columns with the same name for the association
element: Name, Name (Role of A), and Name (Role of B) and a column for the class element with the
stereotype «Teacher».Name (Tags). If the command Show Detailed Column Name were not selected, there
would be four columns with same headings, i.e., Name.
To sort data
• Click the header of the column by which you want to sort table data. A small arrow appears on
that column header. This arrow shows, how records are sorted: ascending or descending.
1. In the Criteria area, click the ... button next to the Element Type box. The dialog with the
element and stereotype list opens.
• To remove element types click to clear appropriate check boxes in the list.
Properties corresponding to the deselected types will be
removed from the list of available columns.
To add an element type, you can also drag a selected element to the Element Type
box directly from the Model Browser.
• To select adjacent elements, select a single element and then hold down the Shift
key while you click other elements.
• To select nonadjacent elements, select a single element and then hold down the
Ctrl key while you click other elements.
The new value of the Element Type box replaces the old value.
1. In the Criteria area of the generic table, click the ... button next to the Scope (optional) box.
To define a scope, you can also drag a selected container to the Scope (optional)
box directly from the Model Browser (see the following figure).
• To select adjacent elements, select a single element and then hold down the Shift
key while you click other elements.
• To select nonadjacent elements, select a single element and then hold down the
Ctrl key while you click other elements.
The new value of the Scope (optional) box replaces the old value.
Figure 486 -- Using drag-and-drop operation to specify scope for generic table
At least one element type must be selected in the Element Type box
before adding a new element.
1. Click the Add New button on the Edit toolbar. If there is more than the one element type
selected, a submenu with the list of available element types opens.
Only element types available to create in a possible diagram owner
which contains the generic table will be displayed on the submenu.
2. Select an element type. The element of the selected type will be added to the last row of the
table and to the model.
3. Name the new element in the table.
1. Click the Add Existing button on the Edit toolbar. The Select Element dialog opens.
2. Select the element you want to add to the generic table. This element and its name will be
added to the table as the last row.
Use the Multiple Selection mode to add more
than one element at a time.
If you have not defined the element type before starting to add elements to the
table, it is automatically set after the first element is added to the table. The type
of this element becomes the value of the Element Type box.
To add an existing element, you can also drag a selected element to the
contents of the generic table directly from the Model Browser.
If you drag a container, for example, a package or a smart package, the generic
table will display its contents, but not the container itself.
Using the Quick filter box you can quickly find the required rows in the table. This is especially handy when you
are working with a large table containing many rows and columns. Rows can be filtered by the text in the Filter
box.
You can save the filter criteria for a particular table. Even after reloading the project or restarting MagicDraw,
the filter criteria will remain saved.
• On the Options toolbar, click and then select Save Filter Criteria.
When exporting the table, only the filtered out columns and rows will be
included in the result.
Related concepts
Quick Filter
You can export the selected generic table to an *.html, *.csv, or *.xlsx file.
3. Click Save when you are done. The table is exported to the location you have specified.
The style of *.html tables is specified in template.html which can be found in <MagicDraw installation
directory>\data\table. The file stores cascading style sheets (CSS) that define the appearance of an exported
generic table. Before exporting a table, you can customize the template.html according to your needs.
Do either:
• Double-click a non-editable cell in the element’s row, if there is such cell.
• Right-click on a cell and from the shortcut menu select Specification. Then:
• If the selected cell does not refer to any element, the Specification window of the
element in the row will open.
• If the selected cell refers to some elements, the submenu with the list of appropriate
elements will open. Choose the element whose Specification window you want to
open.
• Click the column header and drag it to a desired place. Only the first column cannot be moved.
Table toolbars
If the generic table toolbars are not available in a server project, try to lock the table for
edit (make sure you have the right to edit model of this project).
Edit toolbar:
Insert Click to create a new element in the table. This element will be added to
Add New the model also. If there are available several element types, a shortcut
menu with available types will open. You will be able to select an
element of the type you need.
For more information, see the procedure "To add a new element" on
page 797.
Ctrl+Insert Click to add an element from a model. The Select Element dialog will
Add open. Only elements of the type defined in a generic table will be listed.
Existing For more information, see the procedure "To add an existing element
from the model" on page 798.
Ctrl+D Click to remove selected elements from both the table and the model.
Delete
Delete Click to remove selected elements only from the table.
Remove
From Table
Layout toolbar:
Ctrl+Up Arrow Click to shift selected elements (either grouped or non-grouped) up a
Up row. The elements are automatically renumbered after moving.
Ctrl+Down Click to shift selected elements (either grouped or non-grouped) down a
Down Arrow row. The elements are automatically renumbered after moving.
N/A Click to change the set of columns for showing on the generic table.
Show For more information, see the procedure "To add or remove columns"
Columns on page 799.
Publish toolbar:
N/A Click to export the contents of the generic table to an *.html, *.csv, or
Export *.xlsx file.
View toolbar:
N/A Click to update the contents of the generic table after specifying the
smart package as the scope criteria.
For more information, see the procedure "To specify the scope for the
generic table" on page 796.
For more information about specifying the filter criteria, see "Using
Quick Filter" on page 799.
• Strip Multiline Text – to strip the text that covers more than five rows.
Three dots will be added at the end of the stripped text.
Suppress/Expand Criteria Area toolbar:
N/A Click to hide the Criteria area.
Other buttons:
Alt+Left Arrow Click to navigate to the previously opened diagram, table, dependency
matrix, or relation map.
Criteria area
The Criteria area appears below the generic table toolbars. If it is not displayed, click the button on the
Suppress/Expand Criteria Area toolbar.
To open the menu with more filter options, click in the Filter
box.
Instance Table
This feature is available in Standard, Professional, Architect,
and Enterprise editions.
An instance table allows for managing the instance specifications (instances) of your model in a spreadsheet-
like form. Each row in the table represents an instance.
1. In the Containment tree, select an element that can be the owner of the instance table.
2. Do one of the following:
• From the main menu, select Diagrams > Create Diagram. Type “ins” and press
Enter.
• On the main toolbars, click the Create Diagram button. Type “ins” and press Enter.
• Press Ctrl+N. Type “ins” and press Enter.
• Right-click the element and from the shortcut menu select Create Diagram > Other
Diagrams > Instance Table.
The newly created instance table opens on the right side of the application window.
If the owner of the instance table is also a classifier, it becomes the default
value of the Classifier box in this instance table.
3. If the default name of the instance table is not appropriate, type a new one directly in the
Containment tree.
For more information about creating diagrams, refer to "Creating
Diagrams" on page 198.
Specifying a classifier
Specifying the classifier criteria is necessary, because you will not be able to add a single instance to the table
until the classifier is unknown. Hence, before starting to fill the newly created instance table with data, you must
specify the classifier, whose instances you need to display in this table, unless the owner of the instance table
is also a classifier (see the note in step#2 of the procedure "To create an empty instance table" on page 805).
1. In the Criteria area of the instance table, click the ... button next to the Classifier box.
Once the classifier is specified, the following columns are displayed in the instance table (on the
right of the row number # column):
• Name which is up to display the names of the instances of the specified classifier.
• Columns corresponding to the Data type attributes of the specified classifier and
named after these attributes using the sentence style capitalization. The columns
are up to display the slot values of the instances of the specified classifier.
Keep in mind that the new value of the Classifier box replaces the old value.
Figure 492 -- Using drag-and-drop operation to specify classifier for instance table
The instance table by default shows nine columns, including # (row number), Name (instance name), and the
columns for instance slot values, that correspond to the first seven Data type attributes of the specified
classifier. The rest of the columns are by default hidden, though you can show them if there is a need.
In overall, you can select to show any column that corresponds to one of the following:
• Attribute of the classifier that is specified for the instance table.
• Property of the instance of the specified classifier.
• Tag of a stereotype that can be applied on the instance of the specified classifier.
Do either:
• On the Layout toolbar, click the Show Columns button and then click to select the check boxes
nearby the columns you need to show.
The column appears on the menu of Show Columns
button only if it is selected in the Select Columns dialog.
• On the Layout toolbar, click Show Columns > Select Columns and in the open dialog, which
displays the columns that correspond to above described attributes, properties, and tags, click
to select the check boxes next to the columns you need to show.
If you add a new attribute to the classifier and need to display the
corresponding column in the instance table, open the Select Columns
dialog and click to select the appropriate check box.
Keep in mind that columns corresponding to newly created attributes will
at first be available only in the Select Columns dialog (until you select
to show them).
Figure 493 -- Example of instance table filled with instances of two different classifiers
To fill the instance table for the specified classifier, you can either create new instances directly in the table or
add to it already created ones. Already created instances can be added one by one or you can specify a
package, which contains instances. If you need the contents of your instance table to update automatically, you
should specify the package as the scope criteria.
1. On the Edit toolbar, click the Add New button. If there is more than the one classifier specified,
from the menu of the button, select a classifier for that you need to create an instance.
The new instance is added to the instance table as the last row.
The new instance can be created only if the classifier is
already specified for the instance table. Otherwise the
Add New button is not available.
2. Type the instance name and specify slot values.
1. On the Edit toolbar, click the Add Existing button. The Select Instance Specification dialog
opens.
2. In the tree or list on the left side of the dialog, select an element and add it to the Selected
elements list. Actually, you can select more than one element. Elements available for selection:
• Instances of one or more classifiers specified for the table. An instance is available,
if it belongs to at least one of the classifiers.
• Packages that contain these instances. In this case, the contents of a selected
package, but not the package itself will be added to the table.
The Select Instance Specification dialog is a modification of
the element Selection dialog. For more information about the
manipulations in the dialog, see "Elements Multiple Selection"
on page 354.
3. Click OK when you are done to close the dialog.
The selected instance is added to the table as the last row.
To add an instance from the model, you can also drag a selected element to the
contents of the instance table directly from the Model Browser.
• To select adjacent elements, select a single element and then hold down the
Shift key while you click other elements.
• To select nonadjacent elements, select a single element and then hold down
the Ctrl key while you click other elements.
1. In the Criteria area of the instance table, click the ... button next to the Scope (optional) box.
• Click on the View toolbar of the table. This helps in case a smart package
is specified as the scope criteria.
• Make sure the specified scope contains instances of the classifiers specified
for this table.
• Make sure at least one classifier is specified for the table.
To define a scope, you can also drag a selected package to the Scope (optional)
box directly from the Model Browser (see the following figure).
• To select adjacent elements, select a single element and then hold down the Shift
key while you click other elements.
• To select nonadjacent elements, select a single element and then hold down the
Ctrl key while you click other elements.
The new value of the Scope (optional) box replaces the old value.
Figure 494 -- Using drag-and-drop operation to specify scope for instance table
If the slot type is a classifier, you can specify an instance of this classifier as the slot value. Do this in one of the
following ways:
• By selecting an instance from the model.
• NEW! By creating an instance directly in the instance table.
To select an instance from the model, simply click in the slot value cell and choose the instance from the
tree or list in the open dialog.
If you need to remove the instance from the cell, click that cell and then click . Keep in mind that the instance
will be removed from the instance table, but not from the model.
It is possible to create instances in the table from another resource (HTML, Excel, Word, etc.) using copy-and-
paste command.
1. Create a table.
2. Specify the classifier.
3. Choose the columns of instance slot values that you want to fill with copied information.
Figure 496 -- Creating instances in the instance table from another resource
Data in the instance table are by default sorted by the first column from smallest to largest number, though you
can change the order of your instances in the following ways:
• Sort the rows by another column
• Move the selected rows up or down
• Click the header of the column by which you want to sort the instance table data. A small arrow
showing the automatic sort order appears on the column header. Clicking the header once
makes the rows sorted in the ascending order. Clicking the header twice makes the rows sorted
in the descending order.
All the rows in the table become automatically renumbered after sorting.
Reordering columns
• Click the column header and drag it to a desired place. Only the first column cannot be moved.
• Right-click the column and from the shortcut menu select Hide.
By filtering data in the table you can quickly find the needed instances. This is especially handy when you are
working with a large table containing many rows and columns.
Instances can be filtered by a phrase specified in the Filter box. The search for the phrase can be performed
either in the whole table or in the selected columns. You can also specify the case sensitivity, whether you want
to use the wild cards or regular expression, and how the results should match the specified phrase.
Table toolbars
If the instance table toolbar buttons are not available in a server project,
try to lock the table for edit (make sure you have the right to edit model
of this project).
This option works, when the instance table has two or more
classifiers specified.
• Strip Multiline Text – to strip the text that covers more than five
rows. Three dots will be added at the end of the stripped text.
Suppress/Expand Criteria Area toolbar:
N/A Click to hide the Criteria area.
Other buttons:
Alt+Left Arrow Click to navigate to the previously opened diagram, table,
dependency matrix, or relation map.
Criteria area
The Criteria area appears below the instance table toolbars. If it is not displayed, click the button on the
Suppress/Expand Criteria Area toolbar.
To open the menu with more filter options, click in the Filter
box.
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary saves time by ensuring consistent usage of terminology in the organization. It also improves the
communication between team members since terms are understood in the same way and definitions become
visible everywhere the terms are used.
This capability allows you create a list of all the specific terms used in the project. You can define your terms in
one place and afterwards use them everywhere in your project. Furthermore, you can export your glossary to
new project and use it in other projects. Also, you can have several glossaries in one project.
Words and phrases defined as terms are underlined. That is how you can identify terms in your model.
The word or phrase is underlined only if it matches completely the defined
term. For example, you have defined a word Project in your glossary. So
when you type a word Projects, it would not be underlines, because it is
used in plural.
For your convenience, the term descriptions are visible directly on the diagrams.
When a term is a whole phrase and one or more words are also defined as terms, you can easily navigate
through all those terms in the description window.
So, how do you start working with the glossary? You can choose one of the following ways:
• Select a word or phrase while you are typing and select to add it to the new glossary. The new
package holding a new glossary table and all terms is created in the model.
• We recommend creating a new package where the glossary table and all terms will be stored.
In the created package, create a glossary table.
The glossary table allows for managing the terms of your model in a spreadsheet-like form. Each row in the
table represents a term. A word, phrase, or any element of the model can be a term.
Even if you mark only a part of a word, the whole word will be added
to the glossary as a term.
2. From the shortcut menu, select Add to <glossary table name>. The word or phrase is
converted to term and added to the glossary table.
1. Create a table.
Metric Table
For the instructions on how to create a metric table and use it for managing metrics, see "Calculating Metrics"
on page 598.
Action
An action is a named element that is the fundamental unit of an executable functionality. The execution of an
action represents some transformations or processing in the modeled system, be it a computer system or
otherwise. An action execution represents the run-time behavior of executing an action within a specific
behavior execution. As action is an abstract class, all action executions will be the executions of a specific kind
of action. When the action will be executed and what its actual inputs will be are determined by the concrete
action and the behaviors in which it is used.
To remove an action from diagram by keeping incoming and outgoing control flows connected
• Flows can be joined only if removed action has one incoming and one outgoing
control flows.
• You can select more than one action to remove, if only the selected part has one
incoming and one outgoing control flow.
• In the Environment Options dialog, in the Diagram options group, under the
Editing category, you can select one of the Join Control Flows option value:
Ask to join control flows, Yes or No.
Action Properties
You can specify action properties in the action Specification window. In the same
window, you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented
in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property
Values" on page 298.
Related topics
Notation Description
Accept event action
Assigning signals
To assign a signal to an accept event action, you can use on the following procedures:
• To assign a signal using a drag-and-drop operation
To assign a signal to an accept event action, at least the one signal element
should exist in the project.
Once the signal is assigned to the accept event action, a signal event and a trigger for this action are created
automatically. If you change the signal, the signal event and the trigger will change accordingly to a new signal.
The following figure shows the signal event and the trigger positions in the Containment tree.
To draw the accept event action with the time event shape
• In the activity diagram panel select the Time Event button and
then click the diagram pane.
2. Click the Rotate State button on the upper-right side of the shape. The name of the accept
event action will appear on the opposite side of the shape.
You can specify for an accept event action, whether there is a single output pin for the event, or multiple output
pins for the attributes of the event.
1. Select the accept event action and open its Specification window.
2. Select or clear the Is Unmarshall check box. If the value is set to:
• false, then there is a single output pin for the event, and a real-world instance of the
signal is placed on this output pin.
• true, then there are multiple output pins for the attributes of the event, and feature
values of the signal instance are placed on the corresponding output pins.
Figure 509 -- The Receive Order and Fill Order call behavior actions
• Drag a behavior from the Containment tree onto the call behavior action shape on the diagram.
Behavior is assigned to the call behavior action.
• Double click the call behavior action with the assigned behavior - the
behavior Specification window opens or if the assigned behavior is a
diagram, the diagram opens in the same diagram tab.
• The rake icon is displayed on the shape if the call behavior action refers
to another activity diagram. The rake icon isn’t shown by default therefore
you need to set the Show Rake Icon property value to true in the Property
dialog. For more information see "NEW! Displaying rake icon on symbol"
on page 322.
• A parameter is created automatically for each newly created pin on the call
behavior action. The parameter’s name, type, direction and multiplicity are
synchronized with the pin name, type, direction, and multiplicity.
Note that a parameter for a pin is created automatically if:
• the call behavior action has the behavior assigned
• the behavior is editable
• the behavior has only one usage and it is not used in another project
(it is not in a shared packaged and the project is not used other
projects).
• On the activity diagram, click the call behavior action shape, and
• In the call behavior action Symbol Properties dialog, select the Name Display Mode property
and then select one of the options: Show Action Name (default), Show Behavior Name, or
Show Both.
If the Automatic Behavior Creation mode is turned on, the default
value of the Name Display Mode property is Show Behavior Name
for the newly created call behavior action.
For more information about the Automatic Behavior Creation mode,
see "Creating Behavior Automatically in Activity Diagram" on
page 704.
You can display an action name and/or name of the operation on the call operation action shape. For example,
if you have two call operation action elements calling the same operation, you can specify their names to
distinguish which action means what.
Notation Description
The call operation action with getOrder operation
In this example the call operation
action has been assigned getOrder
operation whose type is OrdersDB
class.
The call operation action named Get supplementary
order In this example the call operation
action is named Get supplementary
order. It has been assigned
getOrder operation whose type is
OrdersDB class.
MagicDraw allows for displaying the operation name and class of the operation on the call operation action
shape.
When an operation is assigned to the call operation action, there are three name/operation display options
available:
• If the call operation action is not named, the name of the class is displayed under the operation
name.
• If the name of the call operation action is the same as the assigned operation name, then the
name of the class is displayed under the operation name.
• If the call operation action name differs from the assigned operation name, then <class of the
operation>::<operation name> is displayed under the call operation action name.
To hide the operation name and class of the operation from the call operation action shape
• On the call operation action shortcut menu, click to clear the Show Qualified Name for
Operation check box. You can also customize this property in the Symbol Properties dialog of
the call operation action.
When opening a project from a version earlier than MagicDraw 15.0, by
default the class of the operation is not displayed on the diagram pane. The
Show Qualified Name for Operation option is unchecked.
• Double-click a call operation action to open the specified behavior diagram. The diagram
opens in the same diagram tab.
Opaque Action
The opaque action is introduced for implementation-specific actions or for use as a temporary placeholder
before some other actions are chosen.
There is an additional property named Body and Language in the Specification window of an opaque action..
Notation Description
Assigning signals
To assign a signal to a send signal action you can use any of the following features:
• Send signal action’s Specification window
• Drag-and-drop operation
• Send signal action’s shortcut menu
• Click the button to open the list of signals available in the project. Select the
signal from the list. The example of the signal list is shown in the following picture.
3. Select the signal from the list or click New Signal and create a
new one.
For more information about creating a new element see Section
"Creating New Elements" on page 356.
1. In the activity diagram toolbar, right-click the Action button. The menu opens.
2. Select the Any Action command. The Select Action Metaclass dialog opens.
3. Select an action metaclass from the list or type the first letter of the metaclass. Click OK. The
action is created.
4. Click on the diagram pane. An action symbol is drawn.
You can create and apply a time duration constraint on an action that states that the output must occur after
delay from the input.
1. Select an action and create the input and output pins to specify the events.
2. Create a duration constraint for the action:
2.1 In the Call Behavior Action Specification window, click the Constraints tab.
4.1 Select the Open Specification command. The Duration Interval Specification
window opens.
4.1 Right-click the Min property and select the Open Specification command. The
Duration Specification window opens.
4.1 In the Event field, click the “...” button. The Select Element dialog opens. Select
the activity input pin.
4.1 Repeat steps c and d for the Max property - select the action output pin as an
event.
5. Apply the created duration constraint on the action.
To return to the former dialog in the Specification window,
click the Back button.
The sample below depicts an activity diagram with a duration constraint applied on an action.
Actor
Actors represent roles played by human users, external hardware, and other subjects. An actor does not
necessarily represent a specific physical entity but merely a particular “role” of some entities that is relevant to
an action performed by an actor. Typically, such actions are called use cases.
An actor is shown as a “stick man” figure with the name below the figure.
You can format the actor symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
You can specify actor properties in the Actor Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
The actor can be used in other diagrams in various ways. Most common cases are as follows:
• Actors can be depicted as lifelines in a sequence diagram.
• Actors can be depicted as swimlane headers in an activity diagram.
3. Drag and drop the selected actor on the sequence diagram pane. The lifeline is created. In the
following figure, see an example wherein two lifelines are depicted.
Related diagrams
Use Case Diagram
Sequence Diagram
Activity Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Editing Property Values
Related references
Specification Window
Related resources
Example of Use Case diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\use
case diagram.mdzip.
Anchor
Use an anchor to relate a symbol to a note or comment. By default, newly created anchor links an element with
a note.
You can format the anchor symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
3. Click on the diagram pane to create a new anchored note or click the note or comment to which
you want to anchor the element symbol. The anchor is created from the element symbol.
1. On the diagram pane, select an anchor and open its shortcut menu.
2. Select the Path Style command and then choose one of the following path style: Rectilinear,
Oblique, or Bezier.
Related elements
Note
Comment
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Association
In the class diagrams, an association represents the semantic relationship between two or more classifiers
which specifies connections between their instances. An association relationship is the most general of all
relationships and the most semantically weak.
In the use case diagrams, an association represents the participation of an actor in a use case, for example,
when instances of an actor and instances of a use case communicate with each other. This is the only
relationship between actors and use cases. Sometimes an association relationship is called communication
association.
Association Properties
You can specify association properties in the association Specification window. In the same window, you can
find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
The Direction Arrow is a graphical representation that most often is used in top level domain class diagrams.
The Direction Arrow helps to read a diagram and explains diagram semantics. The Direction Arrow has no
meaning in a model.
Usually, Direction Arrow is used on a diagram where navigability is not defined yet. Direction Arrows are usually
displayed for named associations. When you move on with your modeling and create more detailed diagrams
with specified navigability, direction arrows and associations names usually are not displayed in this type of
diagrams.
As it is depicted in the following figure, User and Account classes are connected with the association. A
navigation arrow can be displayed to either side depending on the association name. If the association name is
“belongs to”, the Direction Arrow should point from the Account class to the User class. If association name is
“has”, the Direction Arrow should point from the User class to the Account class.
In the class diagram, you can add attributes to an association using an association class. The association class
is a simple class that has a dashed line connected to the association.
If you need to model a relationship among a number of classes, the N-ary association should be used. The N-
ary association is drawn as a big diamond with all the associations attached to its points. Every involved class
can have a role name and multiplicity.
Adding a new Association always creates two roles or properties at both ends that are owned by the attached
Classifier by default. However, when one or both ends of the Association are not editable for some reasons (for
example, locked in a server project or stored in a read-only profile or used project), the properties will be owned
by the Association itself. In this case, MagicDraw will display a warning informing you about the sometimes-
unexpected issue of a model creation (see the following figures).
Figure 520 -- The Add Association Dialog for Both Read-Only Classifiers
Association End
Association ends are represented by properties each of which is connected to the type of the end. When a
property is an association end, the value or values are related to the instance or instances at the other end(s) of
the association.
An association end is the connection between lines depicting an association and the shape.
The following properties of the association end can be specified: name, association end type, visibility,
multiplicity, qualifier, aggregation kind.
Name
Association end has other name - role. A role indicates a role played by the class in terms of an association.
The role name is placed at the association end near the class playing that role. The role name at the
implementation level maps to the reference name of the opposite class. Roles can have visibility (public,
package, protected, and private).
Changing the association end type, changes the target of the association or in other words the classifier to
which the association is connected.
Qualifier
A qualifier is an attribute or a list of attributes whose values serve to partition the set of instances associated
with an instance across an association. Qualifiers are attributes of an association. It is represented as a small
rectangle attached to the end of an association path between the final path segment and the symbol of the
classifier that it connects to. The qualifier rectangle is part of the association path, not part of the classifier. The
qualifier rectangle drags with the path segments. The qualifier is attached to the source end of the association.
The association end multiplicity describes how many entities are participating at each association end:
• 0 – zero and only zero.
• 1 – one and only one.
• 0..1 – zero or one.
• 0..* – from zero to any positive integer.
• 1..* – from one to any positive integer.
• * – any positive integer.
• Open the shortcut menu of a selected association end and click a desired multiplicity.
• Open association’s shortcut menu, point to one of a desired association end (Role of <class
name>), and then click the desired multiplicity value.
• Open the association Specification window and, from the Multiplicity list, select or type the
multiplicity value for the desired association end.
• Perform the following steps:
1. Open the association end Specification window.
2. In the Multiplicity property value cell, type or select from the list a multiplicity
value.
• NEW! Edit directly on the diagram pane:
1. Select multiplicity area and press F2 to switch it to edit mode.
2. Press Ctrl + Spacebar or Ctrl + Backspace to see available suggestions.
Choose one of the suggestions or type the multiplicity value.
A qualifier is an attribute or a list of attributes whose values serve to partition the set of instances associated
with an instance across an association. Qualifiers are attributes of an association. It is represented as a small
rectangle attached to the end of an association path between the final path segment and the symbol of the
classifier that it connects to. The qualifier rectangle is part of the association path, not part of the classifier. The
qualifier rectangle drags with the path segments. The qualifier is attached to the source end of the association.
If two classes are linked with an association path, both classes have an attribute of an opposite class type. This
property can be displayed on the class shape as well as an association link.
1. From the class shortcut menu, select Symbol Properties or press Alt+Enter. The Symbol
Properties dialog opens.
2. In the Attribute category, click the Show Association End as Attributes property value cell.
3. Click one of the following display modes:
• All. Properties and association paths will be displayed on the class shape.
• Without Association Symbol. If an association symbol is deleted, the property will
be displayed on the class shape.
• Do Not Show. Neither property, nor association path will be displayed on the class
shape.
An association end is defined as a property. It has attribute properties defined in the Specification window.
• Open the shortcut menu of a selected association end and click Edit Name. The association
end is marked for editing. Type or edit the name directly on the Diagram pane.
• Open association’s shortcut menu, point to one of a desired association end (Role of <class
name>), and then click Edit Name. The association end is marked for editing. Type or edit the
name directly on the Diagram pane.
• Perform the following steps:
1. Open the selected association end Specification window.
2. Type an association end name in the Name property value cell.
The shared or composite aggregation kind can be assigned to the association end. A composite aggregation is
represented as a filled diamond. A shared aggregation is represented as a hollow diamond.
• Open association’s shortcut menu, point to one of a desired association end (Role of <class
name>), and then select one of the following:
• None. No aggregation is assigned to the selected association end.
• Shared.
• Composite.
• On the Diagram pallet, click the Composition or Aggregation button and draw an appropriate
path on the diagram.
• Right click the association path end and select Shared or Composite command from the
shortcut menu.
• Perform the following steps:
1. Open the selected association or association end Specification window.
2. For the selected association end, click Aggregation property value cell to select
an aggregation kind (None, Shared, or Composite).
The Aggregation property is in the All properties display mode
by default. For more information about properties display mode,
see "Property Group Toolbar" on page 278.
Figure 522 -- Example of association role (on the left side) conversion to attribute (on the right side)
You can specify association end properties in the association end Specification window. In the same window,
you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the
Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
2. On the shortcut menu, click Refactor, Convert To, and then Port.
1. On the diagram, right-click a shape, on which you want to display association ends as ports.
2. On the shortcut menu, click Symbol Properties.
3. In the Symbol Properties dialog, at the right-top corner, click to expand the menu and select
the All mode.
4. Under the Ports category, click the Show Association Ends as Ports property cell and select
All.
Association navigability
The association navigability indicates whether it is possible to traverse an association within an expression of a
classifier to obtain the object or a set of objects associated with instances. The navigability is shown as an
arrow that can be attached to the end of the path to indicate that the navigation is supported toward the
classifier attached to the arrow.
By default, an association is navigable on both sides
and its navigability is not visible.
A role indicates the role played by the class in terms of an association. The role name is placed at the
association end, near the class playing that role. The role name at the implementation level maps to the
reference name of the opposite class. Roles can have visibility (public, package, protected, and private).
In the following figure, the association is navigable on both sides and its navigability is visible.
The navigability describes the need for an object to access another object by navigating across the link. The
association end can be owned by a classifier or an association. The association end owned by a classifier can
be decorated with the dot. The absence of the dot signifies the ownership by the association.
In MagicDraw, the dot notation is not enabled by default. Please pay
attention to this before making decisions about the association end
ownership just from the model representation on a diagram.
1. On the Options menu, click Options. The Project Options dialog opens.
2. In General project options, set the Enable Dot Notation for Associations value to true.
According to the UML 2.4.1 specification, the association ends owned by classes and associations is
navigable. This improved functionality allows a proper management of the navigableOwnedEnd property for
associations:
• The ownership of an association end can be changed manually.
• The navigability of association ends owned by the associations can be changed keeping the
ownership.
An association shows the participation of an actor in a use case, for example, instances where an actor and a
use case communicate with each other. This is the only relationship between actors and use cases. The
association relationships are also known as communication associations.
Attribute
An attribute is a named property of a class that describes a range of values that can be held by the instances of
that class.
You can specify attribute properties in the attribute Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
• In the Class Specification window, click the Attributes property group and then click the
Create button. The Attribute Specification window opens.
• In the Containment tree, right-click a class, from the shortcut menu, select Create Element and
then Property.
• On the diagram, click the class shape, press the Ctrl+Alt+A shortcut keys and type the
attribute’s name.
• On the diagram, click the class shape and then click the Create Property button.
• On the diagram, click the class shape, then click the Create Element button. From the
menu, select the Property command.
If an attribute type is another model class, this attribute can be represented as an association with a role
(attribute name) between the owner class and the class of attribute type.
The attribute type can be the other class, interface, or a primitive class,
such as int or double.
• Open the Specification window of the attribute and click the cell of the Type property value.
Then click . In the open dialog, select the type. Click OK when you are done.
• On the diagram, right-click the attribute, and then point to Type. In the open list, select the type
or point to New to create a type.
• On the class shape on the diagram, click the attribute, and then on the smart manipulator
toolbar, click the Specify type button. In the open list, select the type.
• On the class shape on the diagram, click the attribute, and then click the attribute the second
time. After the attribute name, type the colon “:” and then type the name for the new type. Press
Enter or click anywhere on the diagram. The type is created and assigned.
Type the colon “:”, press Ctrl+Space or
Ctrl+Backspace, and then in the open list, select
the type.
• In the Containment tree, select an element and drag it to the attribute on the diagram.
• Type ‘+’, ‘~’, ‘-‘, or ‘#’ visibility marks just before an attribute name directly on a diagram.
The attribute changeability controls the access by operations on the class on the opposite end.
Name Function
Is Read Only When false - no restrictions on modifications.
When true - the value can not be altered after the object is instantiated
and its values initialized. No additional values can be added to a set.
Figure 526 -- Example of attribute (on the left side) conversion to the association with the association role (on the right
side)
You can move attributes back to the class by dragging and dropping them
on the class shape.
Behavior
A behavior describes how the states of objects changes over time. Behavior types are as follows:
• Activity
• FunctionBehavior
• Interaction
• OpaqueBehavior
• Protocol State Machine
• State Machine
Behaviors are divided into two groups: classifier behavior and owned behaviors. Be informed, that the classifier
behavior group can have only one behavior.
Assigning Behaviors
See references on how to assign the behavior for the following elements:
• Action. For more information, see "To assign a behavior to the call behavior action" on
page 828 and "Creating Behavior Automatically in Activity Diagram" on page 704.
• State. For more information, see "Assigning behavior to state" on page 985.
• Transition. For more information, see "Assigning Behavior Type" on page 1004.
• Operation. For more information, see "To quickly create a behavior or a diagram for an
operation" on page 956.
• See the following procedure, on how to assign the behavior for the rest of the elements (Class,
Component, Stereotype, Node, Actor, Use Case, Collaboration, Interaction, State Machine,
Activity, Opaque Behavior, Association Class).
Double-click the assigned behavior on a state shape to open the diagram. You can also open the behavior
diagram from the Model Browser.
1. On the Options menu, click Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. In General options, Editing category, set the Create a behavior diagram when selecting the
Behavior Type for the Transition Effect and State Entry/Do/Exit activities value to false (the
default value is true).
You can specify behavior properties in the Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
Sequence Diagram
State Machine Diagram
Protocol State Machine Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Customizing Environment Options
Related references
Specification Window
Class
A class is drawn as a solid-outline rectangle with three compartments separated by horizontal lines. The top
name compartment holds the class name and other general properties of the class (including stereotype); the
middle list compartment holds a list of properties; the bottom list compartment holds a list of operations. The
property and operation compartments are optional and you can suppress them.
A class is the descriptor for a set of objects with similar structure, behavior, and relationships. The model is
concerned with describing the intention of the class, that is, the rules that define it. The run-time execution
provides its extension, that is, its instances.
Classes are declared in the class diagrams and used in most of other diagrams. UML provides a graphical
notation for declaring and using these classes as well as a textual notation for referencing classes within the
descriptions of other model elements.
A class represents a concept within the system being modeled. It has a data structure, behavior, and
relationships to other elements. The name of a class has a scope within the package in which it is declared and
the name must be unique (among class names) within its package.
You can specify class properties in the class Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
1. Double-click the selected class or select Specification from the class shortcut menu. The
Class Specification window opens.
2. Click the Inner Elements tab and then click the Create button or press Insert. Select the
element you wish to add from the list.
3. Click the selected element.
4. The corresponding Specification window opens. Define the class, use case or interface, and
click OK.
To generate operations for setting or getting private data to the selected class
From the class shortcut menu, select Tools and then Create Setters/Getters. For a detailed
description, see "Creating Setters/Getters" on page 465.
Select Edit Compartment from the class shortcut menu. The Compartment Edit dialog opens.
A class can be defined as active (a border to the class shape is added). An active class specifies whether an
object of the class maintains its own thread of control.
To show members (attributes and operations) on the classifier shape according to the visibility
1. On the diagram, right-click the shape and then from the shortcut menu, select the Symbol
Properties.
2. In the Symbol Properties dialog, change the Show Members property.
See the above example of a structured class. In the Browser you can see the created class with the composite
structure diagram inside it. The class is linked with the diagram. It means that after double click the diagram, or
the Browser, the composite structure diagram will be opened.
For more information about hyperlink,
see "Defining Hyperlinks" on page 340.
The names of the class and the composite structure diagram are synchronized. Type a name for the class, for
example, Order, and the name of the diagram is automatically changed to Order and vice versa. This is
synchronization of a diagram name and its context name.
For more information about diagram name and its context synchronization,
see "Diagram Name and its Context Name Synchronization" on page 206.
Design Patterns
You can create and edit the design patterns for the selected class. A detailed description of templates can be
found in the Design Patterns of Reusable Object-Oriented Software.
1. From the class shortcut menu, select Tools, and then Apply Pattern. The Pattern Wizard
dialog opens.
2. Select the design pattern you want to apply and select the desired options. Click OK.
• Select the class and then Apply Pattern from the Tools menu.
For a detailed description of this dialog,
see "Pattern Wizard" on page 460.
Collaboration
A collaboration describes the structure of elements that implement a certain behavior. In the collaboration the
elements are the properties connected with the connectors.
In the example, you can see the Loan collaboration. The collaboration contains two properties - Borrower and
Lender. These are the properties (attributes) and the Participant is the type of the property. The Borrower and
the Lender are connected with the connector relationship.
For more information on how to assign a behavior to a collaboration use,
see "Behavior" on page 852.
6. On the diagram pane or in the Model Browser select the element and drag-and-drop it to the
collaboration symbol on diagram. The new property is created. The type of the property is the
element that was dragged and dropped.
7. To create a connector between properties, expand the Composite Structure diagram pallet and
click the button. Draw the connector relationship between properties. Now you
have the structure represented in the collaboration.
Collaboration properties
You can format collaboration symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties, see "Formatting Symbols"
on page 317.
You can specify collaboration properties in the collaboration Specification window. In the same window, you can
find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
Related diagrams
Class Diagram
Composite Structure Diagram
Collaboration Use
A collaboration use represents the implementation of a pattern described by a collaboration in a specific
situation. In this context, role binding means that the roles in the collaboration are bound by concrete elements.
A collaboration can be used many times in different collaboration uses.
• On the composite structure diagram pallet, click , and then in the open
dialog, select the collaboration or create a new one. Click OK when you are done.
• Open the Specification window of the collaboration use and click the cell of the Type property
value. Then click and in the open dialog, select the collaboration. Click OK when you are
done.
• On the diagram, right-click the collaboration use shape, and then point to Type. In the open list,
select the collaboration or point to New Collaboration to create a collaboration.
• On the diagram, click a collaboration use shape, and then on the smart manipulator toolbar,
click . Type the name of the collaboration and press Enter or click anywhere on the diagram.
The collaboration is created and assigned.
• On the diagram, click an collaboration use shape, and then press Ctrl+T. Type the name of the
new collaboration and press Enter or click anywhere on the diagram. The collaboration is
created and assigned.
• On the diagram, click a collaboration use shape, then click the name area. Type the “:” colon
and then type the collaboration name. Press Enter or click anywhere on the diagram pane. The
collaboration is created and assigned.
• In the Containment tree, select the collaboration and drag it to the diagram pane. The
collaboration use with the assigned collaboration is created.
You can format collaboration use symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties, see "Formatting
Symbols" on page 317.
You can specify collaboration use properties in the collaboration use Specification window. In the same window,
you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the
Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
Related diagrams
Composite Structure Diagram
Combined Fragment
A fragment is an abstract notion of the most general interaction unit. It is a piece of an interaction. Each
interaction fragment is conceptually like an interaction by itself. Using the Combined Fragment, a fragment of a
sequence diagram can be separated.
MagicDraw represents twelve kinds of fragments: Alternatives, Loop, Option, Parallel, Break, Negative, Critical
Region, Consider, Ignore, Weak Sequencing, Strict Sequencing, and Assertion.
You can specify association end properties in the association end Specification window. In the same window,
you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the
Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
Comment
A comment is a UML element used to specify various remarks of the element.
In the diagram pallet, you can find the Comment command under the Note command.
You can format comment symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties, see "Formatting Symbols"
on page 317.
You can specify a comment in the Comment Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each comment property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
3. In the Comment pane, click the Create button. The Comment specification window opens.
• Open the selected comment’s shortcut menu and select or click to clear the HTML Text
command.
You can edit the HTML text in the comment using the HTML editor.
For more information about working with HTML editor,
see "HTML Editor" on page 423.
1. Anchor the comment to the element symbol. Select the comment on the diagram pane and
open comment’s shortcut menu.
2. To expand the comment shortcut menu, at the end of the comment’s shortcut menu click the
little arrow.
3. Select the Show Constraints, or Show Tagged Values command. Element properties,
constraints and tagged values is displayed on the comment symbol on the diagram pane in the
separated compartments.
You can also display owner and stereotype on the comment symbol.
5. In the All list select the property you want to display on the comment.
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
HTML Editor
To draw an anchor from a symbol
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Component
A component represents all kinds of elements that make up the system. A component can always be
considered as an autonomous unit within a system or subsystem. It is a module having the following features:
• A component is a replaceable and independent part of the system performing a specific action.
• A component acts in a context of a well-defined architecture.
• Components interact among each other using interfaces.
Components provides compartments for listing its provided and required interfaces, realizations, and artifacts.
You can specify component properties in the component Specification window. In the same window, you can
find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values,
see "Editing Property Values" on page 298.
• On the diagram, click the component’s shape and then click the Compartments button.
Then in the menu, click to select or clear the Interfaces, Realizations, or Artifacts check box.
Connector
Specifies a link that enables communication between two or more instances. This link can be an instance of an
association, or it can represent the possibility of the instances being able to communicate because their
identities are known by virtue of being passed on as parameters, held in variables or slots, or because the
communicating instances are the same instance.
The link can be realized by something as simple as a pointer or by something as complex as a network
connection. In contrast to the associations, which specify the links between any instance of the associated
classifiers, the connectors specify the links between instances playing the connected parts only.
Each connector can be attached to two or more connectable elements, each representing a set of instances.
You can specify connector and connector end properties in the connector and connector end Specification
window. In the same window, you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the
description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
The menu appears if a new port can be created on the part or the
part has hidden ports.
Related diagrams
Composite Structure Diagram
Constraint
A Constraint represents additional semantic information attached to the constrained elements. It is an assertion
that indicates a restriction that must be satisfied by a correct design of the system. The constrained elements
are those elements required to evaluate the constraint specification. In addition, the context of the Constraint
can be accessed, and can be used as the namespace for interpreting names used in the specification.
A Constraint is represented as a linguistic, enclosed in braces ({}), statement in some formal (OCL, C++, and
other), or a natural language. There are 14 standard constraints in UML such as association, global, and
parameter. You can also define your own constraints.
The Time Constraint specifies the combination of min and max timing interval values.
The Duration Constraint defines a value specification that specifies the temporal distance between two time
instants.
You can edit constraints in the Constraints property group of the containing element Specification window, in
the constraint’s Specification window, or double click the selected constraint and edit it on the diagram pane
directly.
1. Click the Constraints property group in the Specification window for each model element and
click the Apply button.
2. The Select Elements dialog opens. Select a constraint existing in the model from the All Data
tree and click the Add button to move it to the Selected Objects list.
3. Click OK when you are done.
You can specify constraint properties in the constraint Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
OCL
Object Constraint Language (OCL) is a formal language used to express constraints. These typically specify
the invariant conditions that must hold for the system being modeled.
• A precondition to an operation is a restriction that must be true at the moment the operation is
going to be executed. The obligations are specified by the postconditions.
• A postcondition to an operation is a restriction that must be true at the moment the operation
has just been executed.
• A guard is a constraint that must be true before a state transition discharged.
Invariants on attributes
The simplest constraint is an invariant on an attribute. Suppose a model contains a class Customer with an
attribute age, then the following constraint restricts the value of the attribute:
context Customer inv:
age >= 18
Invariants on associations
One may also put constraints on the associated objects. Suppose a model contains the class Customer that
has an association to the class Salesperson with the role name salesrep and multiplicity 1, then the following
constraint restricts the value of the attribute knowledge level of the associated instance of Salesperson:
context Customer inv:
salesrep.knowledgelevel >= 5
Collections of objects
In most cases the multiplicity of an association is not 1, but more than 1. Evaluating a constraint in these cases
will result in a collection of instances of the associated class. Constraints can be put on either the collection
itself, e.g. limiting the size, or on the elements of the collection. Suppose in a model the association between
Salesperson and Customer has the role name clients and multiplicity 1..* on the side of the Customer class,
then we might restrict this relationship by the following constraints:
context Salesperson inv:
clients->size() <= 100 and clients->forAll(c: Customer | c.age >= 40)
In the pre- and postconditions the parameters of the operation can be used. Furthermore, there is a special
keyword result which denotes the return value of the operation. It can be used in the postcondition only. For
example an operation sell was added to the Salesperson class.
context Salesperson::sell( item: Thing ): Real
pre: self.sellableItems->includes( item )
post: not self.sellableItems->includes( item ) and result = item.price
Derivation Rules
Models often define derived attributes and associations. A derived element does not stand alone. The value of
a derived element must always be determined from other (base) values in the model. Omitting the way to
derive the element value results in an incomplete model. Using OCL, the derivation can be expressed in a
derivation rule. In the following example, the value of a derived element usedServices is defined to be all
services that have generated transactions on the account:
context LoyaltyAccount::usedServices : Set(Services)
derive: transactions.service->asSet()
Initial Values
In the model information, the initial value of an attribute or association role can be specified by an OCL
expression. In the following examples, the initial value for the attribute points is 0, and for the association end
transactions, it is an empty set:
context LoyaltyAccount::points : Integer
init: 0
The class diagram can introduce a number of query operations. The query operations are operations that have
no side effects, i.e. do not change the state of any instance in the system. The execution of a query operation
results in a value or set of values without any alterations in the state of the system. The query operations can
be introduced in the class diagram, but can only be fully defined by specifying the result of the operation. Using
OCL, the result can be given in a single expression, called a body expression. In fact, OCL is a full query
language, comparable to SQL. The use of body expressions is an illustration thereof.
The next example states that the operation getCustomerName will always result in the name of the card owner
associated with the loyalty account:
context LoyaltyAccount::getCustomerName() : String
body: Membership.card.owner.name
Constraint path
A constraint path is a graphical representation of a constraint element. The constraint path is shown on the
diagram pane as a dashed arrow from one shape to other. To the constraint path you can assign a particular
constraint. The constraint assigned to the constraint path is labeled in braces: {}. See an example of the
constraint representation in the following figure.
You can display on the constraint path the constraint direction arrow. The direction of the arrow represents a
relevant information within the constraint. The client (the tail of the arrow) is mapped to the first position and the
supplier (arrowhead) is mapped to the second position in the constraint.
You can format the constraint symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
After applying the constraint to the constraint path, you can specify the constraint in the Constraint
specification window. In the same window, you can find the description of each constraint property. Descriptions
are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
1. In the diagram pallet, the Common category, expand the Anchor command and select the
Constraint command.
2. On the diagram pane click the shape from which you want to draw the constraint path.
3. Click the shape to which you want to create the constraint path.
From the constraint path shortcut menu, choose Select Constraint and the choose one of the following:
• Select New Constraint to create a new constraint.
• Choose an already created constraint from the list.
1. Select the constraint path on the diagram pane and invoke the constraint’s path shortcut menu.
2. Select the Show Arrow command. The direction of the constraint path will be displayed. See
an example in the following figure.
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Containment
The containment relationship is used to represent containment of elements on the diagram pane - a
containment path replaces nesting representation. For example, instead of drawing on the diagram pane one
package nested into the other, you can draw a containment relationship from one package to another.
That is, the containment relationship is not only a graphical representation - the containment relationship
means nesting of elements. See an example in the following figure.
Figure 542 -- Example of package nesting (on the left) and package nesting using containment relationship (on the
right)
In the example above, the containment end with a circle plus shows a containing element. So, the User
package is a contained element and the Domain package is a containing element - the owner of the User
package is the Domain package.
You can format the containment symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
Related concepts
Containment Tree
Related diagrams
Class Diagram
Use Case Diagram
Component Diagram
Object Diagram
Package Diagram
Composite Structure Diagram
Related procedures
Containment Tree
Formatting Symbols
Containment Tree
When drawing more than one containment relationship, the containment tree can be created (see the following
figure).
Figure 543 -- Example of more than one containment (on the left) and example of containment tree (on the right)
1. Draw a containment path from each contained element to the containing element.
2. Do one of the following:
• Select the containment relationship. Click and hold the little square (the end of the
containment path) which is next to the containment end with circular plus. Drag and
drop the selected containment end on the other containment path. While dragging,
the containment path becomes blue that indicates the allowable connection (see the
following figure). Containment paths merge together.
• Open the shortcut menu of the containing element and click Refactor > Make Sub
Tree.
• Right-click the containment tree’s end with circled plus pointing to a containing element and, in
the opened shortcut menu click the Ungroup Tree command.
To separate the containment path from the containment tree, do one of the following
• Select the containment path that you want to remove from the tree. Open its shortcut menu and
click the Remove From Tree command. The contained element is added to the containing
element separately.
Related concepts
Containment
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Data type
A data type is a type whose values have no identity; that is, they are pure values. It is a classifier and inherits
the general features of the classifier: visibility, generalizable element properties, and operations.
MagicDraw provides the following predefined data types: boolean, byte, char, date, double, float, int, Integer,
Real, long, short, void, and String.
• From the Browser, select New from the class or Create Element from the package,
subsystem, or model shortcut menu, and then select Data Type, Enumeration, or Primitive.
• In the Class, Package, Subsystem, and Model Specification widows, Inner Elements tab,
click Create and select a data type.
You can specify data type properties in the data type Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
Enumeration
The enumeration defines a kind of data type whose range is a list of predefined values, called enumeration
literals. An Enumeration can contain operations, but they must be pure functions (this is the rule for all data type
elements).
You can specify enumeration properties in the enumeration Specification window. In the same window, you can
find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window..
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
An enumeration literal defines an element of the run-time extension of an Enumeration data type. It has no
relevant substructure, therefore, it is atomic.
• On the diagram, click the enumeration shape, then click the Create Element button. From
the menu, select the Enumeration Literal command.
Primitive
A primitive defines a predefined data type without possessing any relevant UML substructure; that is, it has no
UML parts. A primitive data type can have an algebra as well as operations defined outside of UML (for
example, mathematically). The primitive data types used in UML include Integer, Unlimited Integer, Real, and
String.
Decision Node
Decisions are made using guard conditions. They help protect transitions that depend on a guarding condition.
The symbol used for the decision is a large diamond shape, which can have one or more incoming transitions
and two or more outgoing transitions.
A decision in an activity diagram is used much like a choice or junction point in the state diagrams. Decision
points allow to separate the transition paths. Merges allow to merge the transition paths back together. The
symbol used for the merge is the same as for the decision.
Dependency
A dependency is a relationship signifying that a single or a set of model elements requires other model
elements for their specification or implementation. This means that the complete semantics of the depending
elements is either semantically or structurally dependent on the definition of the supplier element(s).
A dependency is shown as a dashed arrow between classes or packages. The model element at the tail of the
arrow (the client element) depends on the model element at the arrowhead (the supplier element). The arrow
can be labeled with an optional stereotype and an optional individual name.
You can also draw a dependency between a class and other class elements,
such as attributes and operations.
For more information about working with the symbols, see "Diagramming"
on page 198.
Dependency, abstraction, and usage relationships defined in the dialog of the same structure. They differ from
one another only by the corresponding Specification name.
You can specify dependency properties in the dependency Specification window. In the same window, you can
find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
You can specify template binding dependency properties in the template binding dependency Specification
window. In the same window, you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the
description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
Abstraction
An abstraction is a relationship that relates two elements or sets of elements that represent the same concept
at different levels of abstraction or from different viewpoints. In the metamodel, an abstraction is a dependency
in which there is a mapping between the supplier and the client.
Usage
A usage is a relationship in which one element requires another element (or set of elements) for its full
implementation or operation. In the metamodel, a usage is a dependency in which the client requires the
presence of the supplier.
Package Merge
A package merge is a directed relationship between two packages, that indicates that the contents of the two
packages are to be combined. It has a dependency relation with the applied stereotype «merge».
Package Import
A package import is defined as a directed relationship that identifies a package whose members are to be
imported by a namespace. It is a relationship between an importing namespace and a package, indicating that
the importing namespace adds the names of the members of the package to its own namespace. It is
dependency relation with applied stereotype «import».
To draw the Package Import link, select the Package Import path to draw in the Class diagram toolbar, from the
Abstraction group.
Element Import
An element import is defined as a directed relationship between an importing namespace and a packageable
element. The name of the packageable element or its alias is to be added to the namespace of the importing
namespace. It has a dependency relation with the applied stereotype «import».
To draw the Element Import link, select the Element Import path to draw in the Class diagram toolbar, from the
Abstraction group.
Access
An access relationship shows that elements can only be accessed from a package, and it cannot be
referenced.
1. In the Class diagram toolbar, from the Abstraction group, select the Package Import path to
draw.
2. Open the Package Import Specification window and set the Visibility property to private.
Deployment
• In the Deployment diagram, click the Deployment button and draw a deployment link from a
node to an artifact.
• On the diagram, select the node instance symbol, and then click the Compartments button.
In the menu, click to select the Deployed Elements check box.
• On the diagram, right-click the node instance and from the shortcut menu, select Symbol
Properties. Then in the Symbol Properties dialog, click to clear the Suppress Deployed
Elements check box.
Deployment Specification
The Deployment Specification is a type of Artifact.
In the Component (or Deployment) diagram toolbar, right-click the Artifact button group. In the open list, select
the Deployment Specification to draw.
2. Between the Deployment relationship and Deployment Specification draw the Dependency
relationship. The Dependency is drawn without an arrow.
Event
An event is the specification of some occurrence that may potentially trigger effects by an object, that is, an
event shows what should happen to change a particular state in a system. There are the following event types:
Any Receive Event, Call Event, Change Event, Signal Event, and Time Event.
Events are important in diagrams which represent a behavior of a system. These diagrams are listed in the
following table.
When specifying an event type for a transition, you can type the command straight on the transition path on the
diagram pane. The same assignment is valid for a transition to self, protocol transition, and protocol transition
to self.
For more information, see "To assign an event type straight on a transition path"
on page 1003.
Event types, their functions, samples, and command syntax are described in the following table.
In this example, the call event type is specified with the create()
operation.
Change Event A change event specifies a change in the system configuration when (<expression>)
that makes a condition true. See an example:
In this example, the signal event type is specified, and its Signal
property is specified as phone answered.
Time Event A time event specifies a point in time. At the specified time, the • after (<time>) - an
event occurs. There are two possible types of event event occurrence at a
occurrences: at a relative time and at an absolute time. See an relative time
example: • at (<time>) - an event
occurrence at an
absolute time
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
State Machine Diagram
Protocol State Machine Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
To assign an event type straight on a transition path
Specifying a time for a time event
Related references
Specification Window
Related resources
Example of the State Machine diagram in <MagicDraw installation
directory>\samples\diagrams\state machine diagram.mdzip
Example of the Activity diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\activity
diagram.mdzip
A time event specifies an instance in time by an expression. The expression might be absolute or it might be
relative to some other point in time. Relative time events must always be used in the context of a trigger and the
starting point is the time at which the trigger becomes active.
A relative time trigger is specified with the keyword “after” followed by an expression that evaluates to a time
value, such as “after (5 seconds).” An absolute time trigger is specified with the keyword “at” followed by an
expression that evaluates to a time value, such as “Jan. 1, 2012, Noon.”
You can change the time expression by changing the Is Relative value (see the following procedure).
1. Open the selected Transition Specification window or Accept Event Action Specification
window having the TimeEvent type assigned.
2. In the Trigger category, do one of the following:
If you do not see the Event Type property, click the + button near
the Trigger category to expand its content.
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
State Machine Diagram
Protocol State Machine Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
To assign an event type straight on a transition path
Related references
Event
Specification Window
Related resources
Example of the State Machine diagram in <MagicDraw installation
directory>\samples\diagrams\state machine diagram.mdzip
Example of the Activity diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\activity
diagram.mdzip
Exception Handler
An Exception Handler is an element that specifies a body to execute in case the specified exception occurs
during the execution of the protected node.
The Exception Handler may be drawn from an Output Pin to an Input Pin or from an Action to an Input Pin:
Extend
An extend use case indicates how and when the behavior defined in the extending use case can be inserted
into the behavior defined in the extended use case. The extend relationship is a relationship from an extending
use case to the extended use case.
The extended use case owns one or more specific extension points. An extension point identifies a point in the
behavior of a use case where that behavior can be extended.
For more information about adding an extension point,
see "Adding extension points" on page 1006.
An extend relationship can have a condition. If the condition is true, the extend action is performed.
In the preceding example, the Penalize for Overdue use case extends the Register Return use case. The
Register Return use case owns the Return violation extension point.
You can format the extend symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
You can specify extend properties in the extend Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
Related diagrams
Use Case Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Related resources
Example of the Use Case diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\use
case diagram.mdzip.
Fragment
MagicDraw represents twelve kinds of fragments: Alternatives, Loop, Option, Parallel, Break, Negative, Critical
Region, Consider, Ignore, Weak Sequencing, Strict Sequencing, and Assertion.
Alternative Fragment
The alternative fragment models if…then…else constructions.
Combined Fragment
The UML Combined Fragment element allows the expressions of interaction fragments to be defined in the
sequence diagram. The combined fragments provide a means to define special conditions and subprocesses
for any sections of lifelines in the sequence diagram by specifying an area where the conditions or
subprocesses apply. Using the Combined Fragment, a fragment of the sequence diagram can be separated.
• Draw the Critical Region combined fragment from the Sequence diagram toolbar, Option
button group.
Function Behavior
The function behavior allows modeling external functions that take only inputs and produce outputs. It has no
effect on the specified system.
Gate
MagicDraw allows the display of messages leaving or entering a sequence diagram, interaction use, or
combined fragment. The Gate is a connection point for representing a message from the outside to the current
sequence diagram, interaction use, or combined fragment.
Gate has no notation. Gates are created as message ends when drawing messages to/from a diagram frame,
an interaction use, or a combined fragment.
Related topics:
• Draw a call, send, create, or delete a message from the diagram frame.
• Draw a reply message to the diagram frame.
• Draw a call, send, create, or delete a message from the combined fragment (inside combined
fragment).
• You can view the created gates of message in the Message Specification window.
In the Send Event list box you can see formal gate and the Receive Event lists
the actual gate.
• The Gate uses text from the message as an identification name. For example, a
message name or a message operation.
• Draw a call, send, create, or delete a message to the interaction use, which refers to the
diagram with the formal gates. The Select Formal Gate dialog opens.
• Draw a reply message from the interaction use, which refers to the diagram with the formal
gates. The Select Formal Gate dialog opens.
• Draw a call, send, create, or delete a message to the combined fragment (outside combined
fragment). The Select Formal Gate dialog appears.
You can also view the formal and actual gates in the gates Interaction
Specification window, Interaction Use dialog, Combined Fragment dialog,
and the Actual Gates and Formal Gates panes.
1. Draw a message to invoke the Select Formal Gate dialog (see "To draw create an actual gate
of the formal gate" on page 887).
2. Select one of the listed formal gates and click OK. An actual gate is created.
• Or from the message shortcut menu, select the Select Formal Gate command. The Select
Formal Gate dialog opens.
The Select Formal Gates command exists only if there are formal gates.
The formal gate and actual gate usage in the sequence diagram
See the following figure where the getBalance message is drawn from the diagram frame to the theirBank
lifeline. The getBalance message has a gate.
See the following figure where the actual gate is presented. The Balance Lookup interaction use refers to the
Balance Lookup sequence diagram. The getBalance message (see the 2nd message) has selected the formal
gate and automatically repeats the data of the getBalance message from the Balance Lookup diagram.
Generalization
A generalization is a taxonomic relationship between a more general classifier and a more specific classifier.
Each instance of the specific classifier is also an indirect instance of the general classifier. Thus, the specific
classifier inherits the features of the more general classifier.
You can format the generalization symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties, see "Formatting Symbols"
on page 317.
You can specify generalization properties in the Generalization Specification window. In the same window, you
can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
Related diagrams
Class Diagram
Use Case Diagram
Component Diagram
Deployment Diagram
Profile Diagram
Related procedures
Generalization Tree
Formatting Symbols
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Related resources
You can see a generalization relationship sample in <MagicDraw installation
directory>\samples\case studies\Magic Library.mdzip.
Generalization Tree
Usually the general element has more than one specific elements (see the Figure 551 on page 890) and
sometimes specific elements may have their specific elements - the diagram with these generalizations may
become messy. To display the generalization relationships and specific elements orderly, the generalization
tree can be created (see the Figure 552 on page 891).
1. Draw a generalization path between the specific element and the general element.
2. Draw a generalization path from the second specific element to the general element.
• Select Refactor > Make Sub Tree from the general element shortcut menu.
• From the generalization path shortcut menu, select Remove From Tree. The generalization is
removed from the generalization tree.
• Drag one generalization path to another general or specific element. The generalization path is
removed from the generalization tree and its general or specific element is changed.
• On the diagram pane select the generalization tree and from its shortcut menu, select the
Symbol Properties command (see the following figure). The Symbol Properties dialog
opens.
Related concepts
Generalization
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Generalization Set
A generalization set is a packageable element (from Kernel) whose instances define collections of subsets of
generalization relationships. Each generalization set defines a particular set of generalization relationships that
describe the way which a general classifier may be divided using specific subtypes.
You can format the generalization set symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog. For more information
on how to open the generalization set Symbol Properties dialog, see "To open the generalization set Symbol
Properties dialog" on page 899. For more information about symbol representation properties, see "Formatting
Symbols" on page 317.
You can specify generalization set properties in the Generalization Set Specification window. For more
information on how to open the Generalization Set Specification window, see "To open the Generalization Set
Specification window" on page 896. In the Specification window, you can find the description of each property.
Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
3. Click the Create button. The list appears with the available to create elements.
4. Click the Generalization Set command. The Generalization Set Specification
window opens.
5. Type the generalization set name and specify other properties.
6. Click Close. The Generalization Set Specification window is closed. The created
generalization set is selected in the Select Generalization Set dialog.
7. Click OK. The generalization set is created and assigned for the current
generalization.
1. On the diagram panes, select some generalizations with the same general element.
2. Right click to invoke the generalizations shortcut menu.
3. Select the Generalization Set command. See the next steps of a new generalization set
creation in the following procedure.
The Generalization Set command exists only if all selected
generalizations have the same general element.
2. Select the Generalization Set property cell and then click the "..." button. The
Select Generalization Set dialog opens.
For more information about working with the elements Selection dialog,
see "Selecting an Element" on page 352.
• Double click on the generalization set name on the diagram pane. The General Set
Specification window opens.
• Open the Generalization Set Specification window from the Generalization Specification
window:
3. Open the Generalization Specification window.
4. Select the Generalization Set property cell.
5. Select the generalization set which specification window you want to open.
6. Right click to open the generalization set shortcut menu.
7. Select the Open Specification command (see the following figure). The
Generalization Set Specification window opens.
5. Click the Apply button (see the following figure). The selected generalization or generalizations
are assigned to the particular generalization set.
1. Select a general element on the diagram pane and invoke its shortcut menu.
2. Click the little arrow to expand the general element shortcut menu.
3. Select the Make Generalization Set Tree command. See the following figure.
4. The generalizations are grouped to trees, according to the generalization sets. See an example
in the following figure.
The Make Generalization Set Tree command is available and enabled only if
the general element has at least two generalizations and at least two
generalizations has assigned the same generalization set.
• On the diagram pane select the generalization set name and from its shortcut menu, select the
Symbol Properties command (see the following figure). The Symbol Properties dialog
opens.
Related elements
Generalization
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Selecting an Element
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Include
The include relationship is used when there are common parts of the behavior among two or more use cases.
Each common part is then extracted to a separate use case, to be included by all base use cases having this
part in common. The include relationship is represented from a base use case to an inclusion use case.
An include relationship between use cases indicates that an instance of the including use case will also contain
the behavior as specified by the included use case.
In the example above the Register Item Reservation use case is a base use case. It includes the CFind Item
use case. The Make Item Reservation use case is the including use case and the Find Item use case is the
included use case.
You can format the include symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
You can specify include properties in the include Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
Related diagrams
Use Case Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Related resources
Example of the Use Case diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\use
case diagram.mdzip.
Information Flow
An Information Flow specifies that one or more information items circulates from its sources to its targets.
Information flows require some kind of “information channel” for transmitting information items from the source
to the destination.
An information channel is represented in various ways depending on the nature of its sources and targets. It
can be represented by connectors, links, associations, or even dependencies. For example, if the source and
destination are parts in some composite structure diagrams such as a collaboration, then the information
channel is likely to be represented by a connector between them. Or, if the source and target are objects (which
are a kind of InstanceSpecification), they can be represented by a link that joins the two, and so on.
The information flow and the information item notation are added. You can draw them using the Information
Flows toolbar in the class or composite structure diagram:
You can also create information flows in the associations in the class diagram and on the connectors in the
composite structure diagrams:
1. Draw classes and associations.
2. From the association shortcut menu select command Symbol Properties and select the Show
conveyed information A and Show conveyed information B check boxes.
3. Drag the class or information item on an association. An information flow is created.
Information Item
The Information Flows package provides mechanisms for specifying the exchange of information between
entities of a system at a high level of abstraction.
The Information flows describe a circulation of information in a system in a general manner. They do not specify
the nature of the information nor the mechanisms by which this information is conveyed (message passing,
signal, common data store, parameter of operation, etc.). They also do not specify sequences or any control
conditions. It is intended that, while modeling in detail, representation and realization links will be able to specify
which model element implements the specified information flow, and how the information will be conveyed.
An information item is an abstraction of all kinds of information that can be exchanged between objects. It is a
kind of classifier intended for representing information in a very abstract way, the one which cannot be
instantiated.
One purpose of information items is to be able to define preliminary models, before making detailed modeling
decisions on types or structures. Another purpose of information items and information flows is to abstract
complex models by using a less specific but more general representation of the information exchanged
between entities of a system.
In a classifier, the information item can be represented as a name inside a rectangle. The black triangle icon on
top of this rectangle indicates that it is an information item.
Information Items (or any conveyed classifiers) can be displayed on any relationship.
1. Select the information item on the diagram pane and drag it on the relationship shape. The Add
Conveyed Information dialog opens.
Instance Specification
An instance specification specifies the existence of an entity in a modeled system and completely or partially
describes the entity.
• A kind of instance based on its classifier or classifiers - for example, an instance specification
whose classifier is a class describes an object of that class, while an instance specification
whose classifier is an association describes a link of that association.
• A specification of values of structural features of the entity. Not all structural features of all
classifiers of the instance specification need to be represented by slots, in which case the
instance specification is a partial description.
• A specification of how to compute, derive, or construct the instance (optional).
MagicDraw allows you to create the instances of classifiers – class, interface, enumeration, use case, actor,
node, component, artifact, and other classifiers.
In the Component (or Deployment) diagram Node Instance, Component Instance, Artifact Instance elements
are the same Instance Specification elements with an assigned component, node or artifact.
The instances are shown using a rectangle by underlining the name string of an instance element. The instance
of an actor is shown as an actor “stick man” figure with the actor’s name string below the symbol.
For more information about working with symbols,
see "Diagramming" on page 198.
You can specify instance properties in the instance Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see
"Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing
Property Values" on page 298.
If you need to handle a huge amount of instance specifications, use
instance table. For more information, refer to "Instance Table" on
page 804.
• On the diagram, click an instance shape, and then on the smart manipulator toolbar, click . In
the open list, select the classifier.
• On the diagram, click an instance shape, and then press Ctrl+T. In the open list, select the
classifier.
• On the diagram, click an instance shape, then click the name area. Type the “:” colon and then
type the classifier name. Press Enter or click anywhere on the diagram. The classifier is
created and assigned.
Type the “:” colon, then press Ctrl+Space or
Ctrl+Backspace and then in the open list, select
the classifier.
• In the Containment tree, select a classifier and drag it to the instance shape.
From the instance shortcut menu, select/clear the Show Classifier check box.
1. In the Component (or Deployment) diagram toolbar, click the Component Instance button. The
Select Components dialog opens.
2. Select a component from the list or click the Create button to create a new one. Click OK.
The same is valid for the Node Instance and Artifact Instance creation.
Use the Node Instance button to create the Instance Specification with
assigned Node and the Node Instance will have a Node shape.
You can drag Instance Specification element on Classifier property on a diagram to assign it as default value.
Drag and drop is available only if Instance Specification classifiers are compatible with Property type and if
Property is editable.
1. Double-click an instance shape or select Specification from the shape shortcut menu.
2. The Instance Specification window opens. Click the Slots tab.
3. Click the Edit Value button and type the name of the value.
Property Show Slot Type is added to slot symbol properties (select command Symbol Properties from
instance shortcut menu to invoke Properties dialog). Slot type name (see Figure 555 on page 905), slot type
qualified name (see Figure 556 on page 905) or no slot type (see Figure 557 on page 905) may be displayed
next to slot.
Slot can be selected in a diagram. This allows the deletion of a slot straight from the diagram and to attach a
note to a slot.
Specification value can be optionally displayed on the Instance Specification symbol. Check box Show
Specification Value is added to Instance Specification properties (select command Symbol Properties from
instance shortcut menu to invoke Properties dialog).
Interaction Use
Interactions are units of behavior of an enclosing Classifier. They focus on the passing of information with
Messages between the Connectable Elements of the Classifier.
You can specify interaction use properties in the interaction use Specification window. In the same window, you
can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
1. Add a reference to the diagram, from which the diagram frame formal message is created.
2. To the current interaction use draw an actual message with the selected formal gate.
For more information about working with gates,
see "Gate" on page 886.
Related diagrams
Sequence Diagram
Interface
An interface is a specifier for the externally-visible operations of a class, component, or other classifiers
(including subsystems) without a specification of the internal structure. Each interface often specifies only a
limited part of the behavior of an actual class.
The set of interfaces realized by a classifier is its provided interfaces, which represent the obligations that
instances of that classifier have to their clients. They describe the services that the instances of that classifier
offer to their clients.
You can specify interface properties in the interface Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
The interfaces may also be used to specify required interfaces, which are specified by a usage dependency
between the classifier and the corresponding interfaces. Required interfaces specify services that a classifier
needs in order to perform its function and fulfill its own obligations to its clients.
2. Select the class shape and on the smart manipulator toolbar, click the Interface Realization
button and then click on the diagram. The provided interface is created.
3. Click the provided interface shape and then click the Suppress Operations button.
2. Select the class shape and on the smart manipulator toolbar, click the Usage button and
then click on the diagram. The required interface is created.
3. Click the required interface shape and then click the Suppress Operations button.
Provided and required interfaces are valuable parts of the UML Composite Structure Diagram and SysML
Internal Block Diagram.
A provided interface is shown using the "lollipop" notation attached to the port and required interface is shown
using the "fork" notation attached to the port (see the following figure).
In the Composite Structure diagram you cannot draw provided and required interfaces itself, but with the new
functionality of MagicDraw you can display preexisting port with the required and provided interfaces as
images.
Figure 561 -- Provided and required interface in the Composite Structure diagram
Lollipop and fork symbols in the Composite Structure diagram are implemented as small attachments to a Port
symbol (like name label). It is not the same as the independent standalone notation of the interface, it is only
part of port symbol. It is important for Composite Structure diagrams where real Interfaces (as Classifiers)
cannot be used.
It is an optional notation, a port does not display provided or required interfaces by default.
1. Create provided and required interfaces in the Class diagram. See procedures "To draw a
Provided Interface" on page 907 and "To draw a Required Interface" on page 907.
2. In the Composite Structure diagram, select Related Elements from the port shortcut menu and
then Display Provided/Required Interfaces. Or, in the individual Port symbol Properties
dialog, select the Show Provided Interfaces and Show Required Interfaces check boxes.
As Port can provide or require many interfaces, displayed or hidden interfaces can be managed in the Edit
Compartment dialog.
The required and provided interfaces may optionally be organized through ports.
To add and manage the added provided and required interfaces quickly, in the Component Specification
window, select the Provided/Required Interfaces pane.
For more information about provided and required interfaces, see the procedure
"Provided and Required Interfaces" on page 907.
Internal transition
In all other cases, the action label identifies the event that triggers the corresponding action expression. These
events are called internal transitions and are semantically equivalent to self transitions except that the state is
not exited or re-entered. This means that the corresponding exit and entry actions are not performed.
For more information on defining transitions,
see "Fork and Join" on page 976.
1. Double-click the state or select Specification from the state shortcut menu. The State
Specification window opens.
2. Click the Internal Transitions group.
3. Click the Create button. The Transition Specification window opens. Specify an internal
transition.
Lifeline
A lifeline represents an individual participant in the Interaction. The lifeline represents only one interacting
entity. It is shown using a rectangle symbol.
For more general information about working with symbols, see "Diagramming" on page 198.
• On the diagram, click a lifeline shape, and then on the smart manipulator toolbar, click . In
the open list, select the type.
• On the diagram, click a lifeline shape, and then press Ctrl+T. In the open list, select the type.
• On the diagram, click a lifeline shape, then click the name area. Type the “:” colon and then
type the name of the type. Press Enter or click anywhere on the diagram. The type is created
and assigned.
Type the “:” colon, press Ctrl+Space or
Ctrl+Backspace and then in the open list, select
the type.
• In the Containment tree, select an element and drag it to the lifeline shape.
• On the diagram, right-click the lifeline and from the shortcut menu, select the Show Classifier
check box.
To create lifelines for existing data (the interaction properties and parameters) or display all lifelines of the
interaction which are not displayed in the diagram
• Drag and drop the selected element from the Browser to the diagram pane.
• On the diagram shortcut menu, click Related Elements > Display Lifelines and, in the
Display Lifelines dialog, choose the required elements you want to display or create.
Related sections
"Communication Diagram", on page 682
"Sequence Diagram", on page 684
"Message", on page 918
To destroy a sequence object - a large “X” at the end of its lifeline marks its destruction
• On the diagram pallet, click the Recursive Message button and then click the activation bar on
which you want to draw the recursive message.
Related diagrams
"Sequence Diagram", on page 684
Link
Instance of an association is called a link.
A link is a tuple with one value for each end of the association, where each value is an instance of the type of
the end.
Related diagrams
Object Diagram
Class Diagram
Related references
Working with Links
Active Validation Rules for Links
To create a link
2. In the diagram draw a link between two instance shapes. The Select Association dialog
opens.
3. Select an association and click OK. The Create Slots dialog opens.
For more information on how to create slots in links,
see "To create slots on a link", on page 913.
1. In an Object diagram draw a link between two instances. The Select Associations dialog
opens.
For more information,
see "To create a link" on page 912.
2. In the Select Association dialog, click OK. The Create Slots dialog opens.
3. Select slots.
The Create Slots dialog displays the roles of the association, that is
created between the classifiers of the link.
4. Click OK.
• Select a link on a diagram pane, then open its shortcut menu, and click Suppress Slots.
• In the link Symbol Properties dialog, click to clear the Suppress Slots check box.
• The default value of the Suppress Slots option is true, that is, slots
are not displayed on a link.
• Slots on a link are displayed in the following form:
{<slot1 name> = <slot values>,
<slot2 name> = <slot values>,
... }
You can select to display or hide an individual slot in the
Compartment Edit dialog (to open the dialog, select the link on a
diagram pane and on its shortcut menu, click Edit Compartment >
Slots).
• On a diagram, select an end of a link and move it to the other target. The link is connected to
the other target.
Related concepts
Link
Related references
Active Validation Rules for Links
Object Diagram
The Instance Specification type mismatch validation rule allows for updating slot values when referenced
association end types are incompatible with connected instance specification types.
The Missing slots on links validation rule is useful then migrating projects from the MagicDraw 17.0.2 version or
earlier. The validation rule detects links that have related associations, but do not have slots created in them.
For each incorrect link the warning is displayed. To resolve the warning, there is the Create slots for this link
resolution action. After choosing this action, slots are created in the link.
The validation rule is available only if the Automatically Create Slots in Link
option is set to true in the Environment Options dialog.
Related concepts
Link
Related references
Active Validation
Manifestations
An artifact embodies or manifests a number of model elements. It owns the manifestations, each representing
the utilization of a packageable element.
To create the manifestations, simply draw the Manifestation link from an artifact to a component.
• On the diagram, click the component shape, then, click the Compartments button. On the
menu, click to select the Artifacts check box.
• On t he diagram, right-click the component shape and from the shortcut menu, select Symbol
Properties. Then in the Symbol Properties dialog, click to clear the Suppress Artifacts
check box.
Message
A Message defines a particular communication between lifelines of an Interaction. A communication can be, for
example, raising a signal, invoking an Operation, creating or destroying an Instance. The Message specifies
the kind of communication, as well as, the sender, and the receiver.
A message is represented by arrows between the lifelines. The style of the message line and arrowhead reflect
the types of the message.
You can see the description of a selected property in the description area of the Specification window. To see
descriptions, be sure the Show Description option is turned on.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
Message kind
asynchSig The message was generated The same as if the asynchCall message sample.
nal by an asynchronous send
action. The argument of the
message must correspond to
the attributes of the signal.
reply The message is a reply
message to an operation call.
Message syntax
Message name is displayed on the message path on the diagram pane. Syntax for the message name is the
following:
<messageident> ::= [<attribute> '='] <signal or operation name> ['(' [<argument> [','
<argument>]* ')'] [':' <return value>]
<argument> ::= ([<parameter name> '='] <argument-value>) / '-'
For example:
v=fo(P1="a", P2=True):12
For more detailed description of the message name parsing rules,
see "Message name parsing" on page 923.
Related diagrams
"Communication Diagram", on page 682
"Sequence Diagram", on page 684
Time Diagram
Related references
Common Actions with Messages
Messages in Sequence and Time Diagrams
Messages in Communication Diagrams
• In the message Specification window, click the Message Sort property value cell and select the
action type from the drop-down list.
• On the diagram pane, right-click the message and select a desired action type from the
shortcut menu.
• For more information about message action types, see "Message" on page 918.
• For more information about message action types in a Communication diagram
see "Communication Diagram elements" on page 682.
MagicDraw provides a faster way of assigning and creating operations than it is allowed in the traditional model
creation process:
1. A sequence diagram is created to represent both classes and messages.
2. You can convert a message into a call message as well as create operations for classes in a
single click. For more detailed description of the message name parsing rules, see "Message
name parsing" on page 923.
You can assign operations only to call (synchronous and asynchronous) messages. Furthermore, only one
operation can be assigned to a message.
• On the diagram, right-click the message and on the shortcut menu, click Operation. Then click
to select an operation that you wish to apply on the element or click the Create Operation
button.
If an operation you are assigning to a message has default parameter values, these default parameter values
are assigned to message arguments. If types of the operation parameter and the message argument
mismatch, however the default parameter value is assigned to the message argument.
You can create a new operation only if the lifeline to which the
message is drawn has a type assigned.
1. Draw a call message between two lifelines or select an existing message on a diagram pane.
2. Do one of the following:
• Click the Create new operation according to this message button in the shape of a
small green circle at the end of the message name (see the preceding figure). An operation
Specification window opens. Define the operation property values.
For more information about operations,
see "Operation" on page 956.
• On the message shortcut menu, click Operation and then click the Create
Operation button. Select the owner and click OK. Then in the operation
Specification window, define the operation and click Close.
For more information about operations,
see "Operation" on page 956.
On a message name area on a diagram pane, you can type a name of a new operation together with
arguments, parameters, and return value, and after a click on the button near the message name, the new
operation will be created together its specifications.
Message syntax
The whole message name should be written according to message syntax rules.
For more information about message name syntax, see "Message"
on page 918.
If any message name syntax errors are found, users are warned and suggested how to fix these mistakes. The
Message Parsing notification message opens informing and pointing the concrete error.
For more information about the Message Parsing notification message,
see "Notification message about incorrect syntax" on page 927.
In the preceding example, you can see that on the message name is the following:
getUserAddress(city=”Allen”, street=”700 Central Expy S”, No=”110”). After click on the Create New
Operation according to this message button, the new getUserAddress operation will be created. The following
message arguments will be created - Allen, 700 Central Expy S, and 110 together with the corresponding
parameters - city, street, No.
4. Then again select the message label. The Create New Operation according to this
message button is displayed next to the message name (see the example in Figure 568 on
page 923).
5. Click the Create New Operation according to this message button. A new operation is
created. and represented in the message Specification window, the Signature (operation)
property cell.
• Note that a new operation is created only after click the Create New
Operation according to this message button. If you will not click this button,
message label will be treated as a message name.
• If the syntax is written incorrectly, the Message Parsing window opens. For
more information, see "Notification message about incorrect syntax" on
page 927.
• For more information on how to assign or create an operation to a message,
see "To assign an operation to a message" on page 921, and "To create a new
operation for a message" on page 922.
Parsing rules
See message name samples and parsing results described in the following table.
NOTE: After click on the Create New Operation according to this message button,
always a new operation is created. A new operation is created even if an operation with the
same name already exist.
If you would like to update the operation name or parameter you can do these
actions in the operation Specification window. These actions are not allowed
straight from the message, in order not to corrupt the referenced operation.
If the message syntax is incorrect you will receive the following notification message at the right-bottom corner
of the MagicDraw window.
In the Message Parsing notification message, in the first line you will see message name that is incorrect. In the
example, the incorrect message name is getUser Address(city=). Because of the incorrect message name,
parsing cannot be executed and a new operation cannot be created.In the second paragraph of the Message
Parsing notification message, you will see the explanation of what syntax is expected. Next, you can see an
example of the correct message syntax.
You can assign signal only to send or call (synchronous or asynchronous) messages. Furthermore, only one
signal can be assigned to a message.
If a signal is assigned to a call message, the message is automatically
converted to a send message.
1. Draw a send message between two lifelines or select an existing one on a diagram pane.
2. Open the message Specification window (see the procedure "To open the element
Specification window" on page 275).
3. Click the Signature (signal) property value cell and then select a signal in the drop-down list.
Assigning a signal reception to a message is very similar to the procedure of assigning an operation to a
message.
There are two conditions that must be satisfied when creating a new signal reception.
They are as follows:
• At least one signal must exist in your project.
• A possible signal reception receiver (an activation to which the message points)
must have a type assigned.
1. Draw a send message between the lifelines or select an existing one on a diagram pane.
2. Assign a signal to the message (see the procedure "To assign a signal to a message using a
drag-and-drop" on page 927).
3. Do one of the following:
• Click the button in the shape of a small red circle at the end of the message name
(see the following figure). Define signal reception property values in the signal
reception Specification window. The default name of the signal reception is the
name of the message for which the signal reception is being created.
• From the message shortcut menu, select the Create New Signal Reception (the
command with the icon representing a small red circle). Define signal reception
property values in the signal reception Specification window. The default name of
the signal reception is the name of the message for which the signal reception is
being created.
Related diagrams
Time Diagram
"Sequence Diagram", on page 684
Related references
"Message", on page 918
Outgoing and incoming messages communicate with the outside environment by connecting to the border
gates or in other words to the diagram frame.
In the preceding example, you can see the card inserted message that is drawn from the diagram frame border
to the controller lifeline. The authorize message is created from the controller lifeline to the diagram frame.
For a message to be correct, its receive end should be known.
However, we never know who will connect to the gate from the
outside. That's why we are using the reply message when creating
message from the lifeline to the diagram frame (see authorize
message).
The nested activation can be created between at least two messages that point to the same activation.
An active lifeline is the one that has an active class as a type assigned.
The active class is the one whose Is Active property is set to true. This
property is available in the Expert mode.
1. Select a lifeline and from its shortcut menu, select Show Entire Activation. All activations of
the selected lifeline becomes all-in-one.
2. Create an outgoing message or select an existing message pointed to active object. Be sure
this is not the first one for the outgoing activation.
1. On the diagram pallet, click the button corresponding a desired message type.
2. Click a desired connector on the diagram pane. A message arrow will be placed on the
selected connector.
A message flow has two directions: right and left. Choose one of them by
clicking the associated button on the diagram pallet.
1. From the diagram shortcut menu, select Numbering > Change Numbering.
2. Increase, decrease, and / or change the level of numbering in the Change Communication
Numbering dialog.
Column Description
Number Message number.
Name Message name.
Button Description
Edit Opens the Type Number dialog. Type the number of the
message.
NOTE: If the Edit button is inactive, remove the automatic
advanced numbering of messages (see the procedure "To
remove the advanced numbering of messages" on page 933).
Increase Increases the selected number by one.
Decrease Decreases the selected number by one.
The predecessor denotes the set of messages. The completion of these messages enables the execution of
the current message. The meaning of the predecessor is that the execution of a message is not enabled until
all of the communications of which the sequence numbers appeared in the list have occurred. Therefore, the
list of predecessors represents a synchronization of threads. The message corresponding to the numerically
preceding sequence number is an implicit predecessor and does not need to be explicitly listed.
All of the sequence numbers with the same prefix form a sequence. The numerical predecessor is the one in
which the final term is one less. That is, number 6.4 is the predecessor of 6.5, where the number “6” is an
activator (see example in the following figure).
Make sure the Use Advanced Numbering is selected (see the procedure
"To set the advanced numbering of messages" on page 933).
Make sure the Use Advanced Numbering is selected (see the procedure
"To set the advanced numbering of messages" on page 933).
2. Select the activator that you want to assign to the selected message. Numbering of the
selected message and subsequent messages decreases by one level. The first level number is
the number of an activator message (see the following figure).
Model
A model contains a (hierarchical) set of elements that together describe the physical system being modeled. It
can also contain a set of elements that represents the environment of the system, typically Actors together with
their interrelationships, such as Associations and Dependencies.
A model is presented as a package with a small triangle in the upper right corner of the large rectangle. The
triangle can be shown in the tab.
The model is defined as a package, that is, it has package properties in the Model Specification window. For a
detailed description of packages, see Section "Package" on page 958.
For information about the specification properties not covered in this section,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
Node
For information about the specification properties not covered in this section,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
Any computer or device that is relevant to the implemented system can be shown as a node. The node is
drawn as a three-dimensional cube with a name inside it. Devices in a system are typically represented with a
stereotype that specifies the device type. The nodes can be represented as types and as instances.
You can specify node properties in the node Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
You can draw an object flow straight to or from an activity diagram frame. As a result
an activity parameter node will be created and object flow will be connected to it.
5. Click on the diagram to create a call behavior action via the object flow relation.
• The parameter for the activity parameter node is created automatically.
• The parameter name, type and multiplicity are synchronized with the pin or object
node, from which / to which the object flow is created. The direction of the
parameter is set according to the object flow direction.
• When creating an activity parameter node on a diagram frame, after click on the
diagram frame, the menu opens. In the menu there are listed the following activity
parameter nodes:
• that are not displayed on the diagram frame
• and owned by the same activity as the activity diagram
• and has the assigned parameters (that are owned by the same activity
too).
• If a parameter with inout direction is selected for the activity parameter node
creation, then two activity parameter nodes are created on the diagram frame.
Figure 580 -- Example of Activity Parameter Node creation on Activity diagram frame
1. Right-click the activity parameter node on diagram and then select Symbol Properties.
2. In the Symbol Properties dialog, click to select or clear the Show Direction check box.
Figure 582 -- Example of the parameter direction displayed on Activity Parameter Node
If value of the Show Parameter Direction symbol property is true, but value of the
Name Display Mode is Show Name, then direction is not be displayed on the activity
parameter node shape.
• You can see the direction of the parameter displayed in the Model Browser, before
the parameter name.
• If an activity parameter node is associated with the parameter of 'inout' direction,
then direction to the activity parameter node is set according to the connected
flows. That is if outgoing flow is connected to the newly created activity parameter
node, then this activity parameter node is set as input node and the 'in' parameter
direction is used.
A sequence node is a structured activity node that executes its actions in order.
A loop node is a structured activity node that represents a loop with the setup, test, and body sections.
Note
A note is a graphical symbol containing textual information. It is used to add any explanatory information
needed for your element or diagram. A note is usually connected to the element symbol using an anchor line.
In the note, you can also display and edit the element’s to which the note is anchored documentation,
constraint, tagged value, and element properties.
You can format the note symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties, see "Formatting
Symbols" on page 317.
To switch the note text to HTML or a Plain text, do one of the following
• On the diagram pane, select the note symbol and click the button that appears on the lower-left
corner of the shape:
• The HTML button - to switch the text in the note to the HTML text.
• The Plain button - to switch the text in the note to the plain text.
You can edit the HTML text in the note using the HTML editor.
For more information about working with HTML editor,
see "HTML Editor" on page 423.
1. Anchor a note to an element symbol, if the note is not anchored (see the procedure "To draw an
anchor from a symbol" on page 839), or select the existing anchored note.
2. Open that note’s shortcut menu.
3. Select Text Display Mode > Show Documentation. The anchored element documentation is
displayed on the note’s symbol.
You can edit element documentation directly on the note symbol.
1. Anchor a note to an element symbol, if the note is not anchored (see the procedure "To draw an
anchor from a symbol" on page 839), or select the existing anchored note.
2. Click the note on the diagram.
You can choose which element properties, constraints, or tagged values to display on the note symbol by
editing an appropriate compartment.
To see compartment editing results, make sure element properties, constraints, and/or
tagged values are displayed on the note symbol. For displaying instruction, see the
procedure "To display element properties, constraints, and/or tagged values on a note
symbol" on page 944.
1. Anchor a note to an element symbol, if the note is not anchored (see the procedure "To draw an
anchor from a symbol" on page 839), or select the existing anchored note.
2. To open the Compartment Edit dialog, do one of the following:
• On the diagram, right-click the note and click Edit Compartments.
• On the diagram, click the note and click the Edit Element Properties smart
manipulator.
3. In the Hidden list, select one or more items you want to display on the note’s compartment.
4. Using buttons >, <, >>, or << move selected items to or remove from the Selected list. Only
items from the selected list will be displayed in the compartment on the note’s symbol.
You can open other tab and organize what items to display
in the compartment.
After the hyperlink to the element on the note is added, the text format
in the note changes to HTML.
Related elements
Anchor
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
HTML Editor
Smart Manipulation
Object Flow
You can view object flows that are connected via pins in the action
Specification window, as well as the Display Related Elements
and Display Paths commands are available from the action
shortcut menu.
When drawing an object flow, MagicDraw automatically selects output or input pins, creates a new under
certain conditions or you can select a pin from the list. For example, a list of the available to select input pins
opens when drawing object flow to the action that has more than one hidden input pin.
• From an object flow shortcut menu on a diagram, select Refactor and then the Split Object
Flow command.
• The object flow splits into the two connectors that are marked with A
letter. Double-click the connector to select the other connector on the
diagram pane.
• Split of object flows helps to navigate in a complicated diagram.
• For more information about Refactoring, see "Refactoring" on page 359.
• From a connector shortcut menu, select the Refactor command and then Join Connectors.
1. In the Model Browser select a type of a central buffer node, and drag it to an object flow path on
a diagram.
2. Wait for a few seconds and drop it.
3. Select the Split the flow command.
4. The Split Object Flow message opens. Select to insert the central buffer node before or after
the object flow.
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Object Node
An object node is an activity node that indicates an instance of a particular classifier, possibly in a particular
state, may be available at a particular point in the activity. It can be used in a variety of ways, depending on
where the objects are flowing from and to, as described in the semantics section.
For more information about working with symbols, see "Diagramming" page 198.
You can specify object node properties in the central buffer node Specification window. In the same window,
you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the
Specification window.
As UML2 does not support generic Object Node, MagicDraw creates
the particular Central Buffer Node element.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property
Values" on page 298.
1. Double-click the object node or select Specification from the shape shortcut menu. The
Central Buffer Node Specification window opens.
2. Select a classifier you wish to assign to an object node from the Type drop-down list.
1. Click the “...” button in the Central Buffer Node Specification window, In State field. The
Select Elements dialog opens.
2. Select a state from the existing model elements, or click Create. The State Specification
window opens. Specify a new state, which will be assigned to an object node.
3. In the opened list, select to convert the object node to the input pin or output.
Figure 586 -- Example of Object Node (on the left) conversion to Output Pin (on the right)
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Opaque Behavior
A behavior with implementation-specific semantics. The opaque behavior is introduced for implementation-
specific behavior or for use as a place-holder before one of the other behaviors is chosen.
1. Right-click the State or Transition shape on the diagram, and then click Symbol Properties.
2. Click the Opaque Behavior Display Mode value cell to open the list of available modes, and
then click Body or Name.
• Drag the selected opaque behavior from the Model Browser to the diagram pane.
The number of parameters an opaque behavior can have depends on the selected language of the opaque
behavior body:
• An OCL 2.0 expression must have a single parameter.
• A binary expression must declare the exact number of parameters has the Java class, to which
the expression body of the opaque behavior references.
• Other script expressions, such as JavaScript or Groovy, can have as many parameters as you
need.
• Structured expression can have as many parameters as you need.
6. If the multiplicity upper bound is 1, you may skip this step. Otherwise, specify the following:
How to access the arguments and other values from script body of the opaque behavior?
The following instructions applies to BeanShell, Groovy, JRuby,
JavaScript, and Jython scripts only.
To access an argument from a script body, you should refer to the corresponding parameter name.
The script can have multiple statements. In this case the result of the entire script is the result of the last
statement.
Figure 587 -- Using UML metamodel Open API to navigate between UML elements
More complex model access operations are available in ModelHelper and StereotypesHelper.
Operation
Entries in the operation compartment are strings that show the operations defined on classes as well as those
that are supplied by the classes. An operation is a service that can be requested to perform by an instance of
the class. It has a name and a list of arguments.
Usually class attributes are accessed through the operations. The operations are used to perform specific
actions, such as system calls, utility functions, and queries. The operation signature provides all information
needed to use that operation.
You can specify operation properties in the operation Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
• On the diagram, click the class shape and then click the Create Operation button.
• On the diagram, click the class shape, then click the Create Element button. From the
menu, select the Operation command.
1. Click the operation in the selected class on the diagram pane or in the Browser tree.
2. Type a new name.
• Change an operation name in the Operation Specification window.
• In the Operation Specification window, the Type drop-down list, select the operation type.
• Type a colon “:” and the name of the operation type just after the operation name on the
diagram pane. If you specify a nonexistent type of an operation, a new class is created.
• Right-click the operation, point to NEW! Create Method > Behavior or Diagram, and then
click the behavior or diagram you want to create.
You can specify parameter properties in the parameter Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
Name Description
Is Abstract The operation does not have an implementation,
and one must be supplied by a descendant.
Is Static This operation scope means that the values
returned by the parameter have no duplicates.
Is Query The operation does not change the state of the
system.
Name Function
Sequential The callers must coordinate, so that only one call to an Instance
(on any sequential Operation) is made at a time. If simultaneous
calls occur, then the semantics and the integrity of the system
cannot be guaranteed.
Guarded Multiple calls from concurrent threads may occur simultaneously to
one Instance (on any guarded Operation), but only one is allowed
to commence. The others are blocked until the performance of the
first Operation is complete. It is the responsibility of the system
designer to ensure that deadlocks do not occur due to
simultaneous blocks. The Guarded Operations must perform
correctly (or block themselves) in case a simultaneous sequential
Operation or guarded semantics cannot be claimed.
Concurrent Multiple calls from concurrent threads can occur simultaneously to
one Instance (on any concurrent Operation). All of them can
proceed concurrently with correct semantics. The Concurrent
Operations must perform correctly in case a simultaneous
sequential or the guarded Operation, or concurrent semantics
cannot be claimed.
Package
A package groups classes and other model elements together. All types of UML model elements can be
organized into packages. Each diagram must be owned by one package and the packages themselves can be
nested within other packages. Subsystems and models are special kinds of packages.
The packages can have dependency, generalization, realize, containment, and association relationships.
These relationships are usually derived from the relationships between the classes inside those packages.
To change the package header (name, stereotypes, tagged values, and constraints) position
3. Select the elements to be displayed and click OK. The selected elements will be displayed in
the diagram's package.
Part
To create a part
To create a new composite structure diagram for the type of the part
• Click the part on a diagram, then on the smart manipulator toolbar, click the
New
Composite Structure Diagram button. The new diagram opens in the same diagram tab.
• A new diagram is created under the part type.
• If type was not assigned for the selected part then a new type is
created automatically.
• Name of the part type is used for created diagram.
• From the part shape’s shortcut menu, select Create Diagram and then diagram from the list.
This accelerates the creation of composite structure diagram (the Create Diagram menu item
is available only if the type is specified for the part).
The Select Type dialog is not displayed if the Type Selection Mode
is disabled. For more information, see "Mapping ports on a part type
change" on page 722.
• Select a part shape on the diagram pane and press Ctrl+T on Windows OS and Linux OS or
Cmd+T on OS X. Then, in the Select Type dialog, select a type and press Enter.
• Select a part shape on the diagram pane and on the smart manipulator toolbar, click the
Specify Type button. Then, in the Select Type dialog, select a type and press Enter.
If a type is specified already for the selected part, then the
Change Type button is displayed in the part’s smart manipulator
toolbar.
• Select a part shape on the diagram and then type the name of the type. The type will be
created with the specified name.
This step is not valid, if the Type Selection Mode is disabled. In this
case to specify a type on a part shape, type a colon and then the
name. For example, “: Deal participant”. For more information, see
"Mapping ports on a part type change" on page 722.
• In the part Specification window, do one of the following:
• Click the Type property and then select a type of a port in the list.
• Click the Type property, then click the button and select a type in the element
Selection dialog.
When creating a port on a part, if a part does not have a specified type, a new type
for the part is created automatically.
The rake icon is displayed on the shape if the part refers to another composite
structure diagram. The rake icon isn’t shown by default therefore you need to set
the Show Rake Icon property value to true in the Property dialog. For more
information see "NEW! Displaying rake icon on symbol" on page 322.
Related diagrams
Composite Structure Diagram
Pin
A pin represents a connection point for input and output values of an action. There is one input pin for each
input parameter and one output pin for each output parameter.
You can format the pin symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
You can specify pin properties in the pin Specification window. In the specification window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about symbol representation properties, see "Formatting
Symbols" on page 317.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
1. On the diagram pane, select a shape whereon you want to display pins.
2. Open its shortcut menu and click Related Elements > Display Pins. The Select Pins dialog
opens.
1. In the Project Options dialog, click the General project options group.
2. Under the Diagramming category, click to select the Display All Pins in Diagrams check box.
Figure 594 -- Example of Output Pin (on the left) conversion to Object Node (on the right)
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Port
A port is a property of a classifier that specifies a distinct interaction point between that classifier and its
environment, or between the (behavior of the) classifier and its internal parts. Ports are connected to the
properties of the classifier by connectors through which requests can be made to invoke the behavioral features
of the classifier.
A Port can specify the services a classifier provides (offers) to its environment as well as the services that a
classifier expects (requires) from its environment. It has the ability to specify that any requests arriving at this
port are handled.
The Class model element and Component model elements can have any number of Ports.
You can specify port properties in the port Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
To create a port
The Select Type dialog is not displayed if the Type Selection Mode
is disabled.
4. Type the first letter of the port type and select the port type from the list. Then
press Enter. The port is created.
The port with required interface resides on top of the shape border,
and the port with provided interface resides on bottom of the shape
border.
• Create a port by using smart manipulator toolbar:
1. In the Class, Component, or Composite Structure diagram draw a shape on which
you want to create a port.
2. Select the shape and then click the Port button on the smart manipulator
toolbar. The Select Type dialog appears.
The Select Type dialog is not displayed if the Type Selection Mode
is disabled.
3. Type the first letter of the port type and select the port type from the list. Then,
press Enter. The port is created.
• Create a port in the element Specification window:
1. Open the element Specification window for which you want to create a port.
2. Select the Ports property group.
3. Click the Create button. The Port Specification window opens.
4. Specify the port properties and click Close. The port is created and assigned to
the element.
• For more information on ports creation on parts when drawing a
connector, see "To select a port automatically when drawing a
connector from a port to a part" on page 865.
• If you have an element displayed as image, you can connect a port
to that element with no gaps:
• Select a port shape on the diagram pane and click the Specify Type button on the smart
manipulator toolbar. Then, type the first letter of the port type and select the type from the list.
If a type is set for the selected port then the Change Type button
is in the port’s smart manipulator toolbar.
• In the port Specification window, do one of the following:
• Click the Type property and then select a type of a port.
• Click the Type property, then click the button and select a type in the element
Selection dialog.
1. On the diagram pane, select a shape whereon you want to display ports.
2. Open its shortcut menu and click Related Elements > Display Ports. The Select Ports to
Display dialog opens.
You can draw a connector straight to or from a composite structure diagram frame. As
a result a port will be created and the connector will be connected to it.
• You can also create quickly a port on the composite structure diagram frame when
drawing a connector straight from a composite structure diagram frame.
• If a connector is created from a port with the defined type, then only compatible
hidden ports are listed in the Select Port menu.
• If a connector is created from a port that has interfaces, then ports that have
compatible interfaces are listed in the Select Port menu.
1. On the diagram, click a symbol, then click theCompartments button. On the menu, click to
select the Ports check box. The ports compartment is displayed on the shape.
2. On the diagram, click the shape, then click the Compartments button. On the menu, click the
Edit Compartments command.
3. In the Compartment Edit dialog, click the Ports tab.
4. Move ports for Hidden to the Selected list or vice versa.
To specify the Provided/Required Interfaces for a Port even if the Port type is not specified
5. In the element Selection dialog, select or create an interface and click OK. The provided or
required interface is created.
Draw a realize relationship from a port to an interface to create a provided
interface. Draw a usage relationship from a port to an interface to create a
required interface.
• Right-click a port(s), and on the shortcut menu, click Refactor, Convert To, Association.
• On the diagram, on the shape, in the ports compartment, select a port, and drag-and-drop it
anywhere on the diagram.
You can convert a port to an association, only if the port type is
specified and if a port is not a member end of some association.
1. Right-click the shape on the diagram, and then click Symbol Properties.
2. In the Symbol Properties dialog, click to select the Show Port property.
If you cannot find the Show Port property in the Symbol Properties dialog, change
the properties display mode to Expert or All. For more information about properties
display mode, refer to "Symbol Properties dialog" on page 317.
Related diagrams
Class Diagram
Component Diagram
Composite Structure Diagram
Profile
A profile is a kind of a package that extends a reference metamodel. The primary extension construct is a
stereotype. Stereotypes are defined as a part of profiles.
A profile introduces several constraints or restrictions to ordinary metamodeling. Constraints and restrictions
are realized using metaclasses defined in the package. It is a restricted form of a metamodel that always must
be related to a reference metamodel, such as UML, as it is described below. It cannot be used without its
reference metamodel, and it defines a limited capability to extend metaclasses of the reference metamodel.
The extensions are defined as stereotypes that apply to the existing metaclasses.
Each profile contains a set of stereotypes. Profiles are defined as separate modules. Profiles are loaded on
demand, that is, when you start or open your project only profiles used in that project are loaded.
Profiles are defined using the UML extensibility mechanisms that allow modelers to customize UML for specific
domains, for example, for software development processes. In MagicDraw, the mechanism of the profile is
similar to the functionality of modules.
MagicDraw comes with a number of predefined profiles: UML Standard Profile, DDL, EDOC, and other. All
MagicDraw profiles are stored in <MagicDraw installation directory>\profiles.
Profile properties
The profile is defined as a package, that is, it has package properties. For the detailed description of packages,
see "Package" on page 958.
You can specify profile properties in the profile Specification window. You can also find descriptions of each
property in this window. Descriptions are provided in the description area below the property list.
• For more information about using the Specification window, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property
Values" on page 298.
Creating profiles
1. In the Containment tree, select a package, a model, or another profile, wherein you want to
create the new profile.
2. From the shortcut menu of the selected package, model, or profile, select Create Element >
Profile.
Pseudo State
The Pseudo state is typically used to connect multiple transitions into more complex state transitions paths. For
example, by combining a transition entering a fork pseudo state with a set of transitions exiting the fork pseudo
state, we get a compound transition that leads to a set of orthogonal target states.
You can specify pseudo state properties in the pseudo state Specification window. In the same window, you can
find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
• For more information about working with symbols, see "Diagramming" on page 198.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property
Values" on page 298.
Initial
Every object belongs to a particular state as soon as it is created. So, it is useful to explicitly show that particular
state. A solid filled circle represents the initial state of an object. There can only be one initial state for an object.
The initial state denotes the starting place for a transition, the target of which is a composite state.
Final state
The final state symbol (a circle surrounding a smaller solid circle) is used to represent the object destruction.
The final state is optional in the diagram because there is a system that runs without interruption after the start
of the activities. Also, there can be several final states in the same state diagram, denoting that the life of the
object can finish depending on several conditions.
Terminate
Entering a terminate pseudo state implies that the execution of the state machine by means of its context object
is terminated. The state machine does not exit any states nor does it perform any exit actions other than those
associated with the transition leading to the terminate pseudo state.
Entry Point
An entry point connection point reference as the target of a transition implies that the target of the transition is
the entry point pseudo state as defined in the submachine of the submachine state. As a result, the regions of
the submachine state machine are entered at the corresponding entry point pseudo states.
Exit Point
An exit point connection point reference as the source of a transition implies that the source of the transition is
the exit point pseudo state as defined in the submachine of the submachine state that has the exit point
connection point defined. When a region of the submachine state machine has reached the corresponding exit
points, the submachine state exits at this exit point.
Deep History
The Deep History represents the most recent active configuration of the composite state that directly contains
this pseudo state; e.g. the state configuration that was active when the composite state was last exited. A
composite state can have at most one deep history vertex.
Shallow History
The Shallow History represents the most recent active substate of its containing state (but not the substates of
that substate). A composite state can have at most one shallow history vertex. A transition coming to the
shallow history vertex is equivalent to a transition coming to the most recent active substate of a state.
Junction
The junction vertices are semantic-free vertices that are used to chain multiple transitions together. They are
used to construct the compound transition paths between states. For example, a junction can be used to
combine multiple incoming transitions into a single outgoing transition representing a shared transition path
(this is known as merge). Conversely, it can be used to split an incoming transition into multiple outgoing
transition segments with different guard conditions.
Choice
The choice vertices, when reached, result in the dynamic evaluation of the guards or the triggers of its outgoing
transitions. This realizes a dynamic conditional branch. It allows splitting of transitions into multiple outgoing
paths such that the decision on which path to take may be a function of the results of prior actions performed in
the same run-to-completion step.
The join vertices are used to merge several transitions emanating from the source vertices in different
orthogonal regions. The transitions entering a join vertex cannot have guards or triggers.
Realization
The realization is a specialized abstraction relationship between two sets of model elements, one represents a
specification (the supplier) and the other represents an implementation of the latter (the client). The realization
can be used to model stepwise refinement, optimizations, transformations, templates, model synthesis,
framework composition, etc.
The realization relationship is drawn as a dashed line with a solid triangular arrowhead (a “dashed
generalization symbol”). The client (the one at the tail of the arrow) supports at least all of the operations
defined in the supplier (the one at the arrowhead), but not necessarily the data structure of the supplier
(attributes and associations).
For more information about working with symbols,
see "Diagramming" on page 198.
The realization paths can be grouped in a tree. This feature makes the appearance of the diagram more
structural and understandable.
In MagicDraw, you will find three kinds of a realization relationship:
• Interface Realization. A dashed line with a solid triangular arrowhead. An
Interface Realization is a specialized Realization relationship between a
Classifier and an Interface. This relationship signifies that the realizing classifier
conforms to the contract specified by the Interface.
• Realization. A solid line that represents a relationship between a classifier and
an interface.
• Substitution. A dashed line with an arrowhead and «substitute» stereotype. A
substitution is a relationship between two classifiers. It signifies that the
substituting classifier complies with the contract specified by the contract
classifier. This implies that instances of the substituting classifier are runtime
substitutable where instances of the contract classifier are expected.
To create a realization tree if a class or an interface already has a number of realization paths attached to it
• Select the Refactor > Make Sub Tree command from the class or the interface shortcut menu.
• Select the realization and select the Remove From Tree command from the path shortcut
menu.
• Select a tree head and select the Ungroup Tree command from the tree shortcut menu.
You can specify realization properties in the realization Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
The realizing classifiers are a set of Realizations owned by the Component. The Realizations reference the
Classifiers of which the Component is an abstraction (i.e., that realize its behavior).
Reception
Signal receptions can be specified for classes or interfaces.
You can specify reception properties in the reception Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
• On the diagram, click the class, and then, click the Create Element smart manipulator. At the
bottom of the menu, click the arrow to expand the menu and then click the Signal Reception
command. Select the signal and click OK.
• On the diagram, click the class, press the Ctrl+Alt+R shortcut keys. Then, select the signal and
click OK.
• On the diagram, click the class shape, and then, click the Create Signal Reception smart
manipulator. Note that the signal reception compartment is suppressed by default.
• Drag the signal from the Containment tree or from the diagram to the class shape on the
diagram.
• In the Signal Reception Specification window, in the Signal drop down menu, select a signal.
You can also click the “...“ button. In the Select Element dialog, select a signal or click the
Create button to create a new one.
1. On the diagram, click a symbol, then click theCompartments button. On the menu, click to
select the Signal Receptions check box. The signal receptions compartment is displayed on
the shape.
2. On the diagram, click a shape, then again click the Compartments button. On the menu,
click the Edit Compartments command.
3. In the Compartment Edit dialog, click the Signal Receptions tab.
4. Move signal receptions for Hidden to the Selected list or vice versa.
• On the diagram, right-click the shape and then from the shortcut menu, select the Symbol
Properties command. In the Symbol Properties dialog, under the Signal Receptions group,
click to change the Signal Receptions Sort Mode property.
In contrast to the report templates stored in the local report templates folder (<MagicDraw configuration files
directory>\data\reports), a report template attached to the project as this specific type of model element is not
lost after opening the project on another computer. It is safely transfered within the project (either local or
server).
For more information about configuration files location on different
operating systems, refer to "MagicDraw Configuration Files
Location" on page 61.
1. From the main menu, select Tools > Report Wizard. The Report Wizard dialog opens.
2. Select the report template you want to attach to the project and click the Attach button.
The selected report template is duplicated, and the duplicate is attached to the open project –
you can see it in the Containment tree directly under the root package. As the following figure
shows, in the Report Wizard dialog it as marked with the “[Attached to Project]” tag.
You can start generating a report from the attached report template in one of the following ways:
• Right-click the attached report template in the Containment tree and from the shortcut menu
select Generate Report. The Report Wizard dialog opens with the attached report template
already selected. Proceed to the subsequent steps of the wizard.
• Right-click the namespace (for example, a package) in the Containment tree and from the
shortcut menu select Generate Report. Then select the appropriate report templates category
and click the attached report template.
The “[Attached]” tag helps to identify attached to project report
templates on this menu (see the following figure).
Figure 599 -- Selecting attached to project report template for report generation
If you no longer need the attached report template, you can simply delete it from the model. Just select it in the
Containment tree and press Delete.
1. From the main menu, select Tools > Report Wizard. The Report Wizard dialog opens.
2. Select the report template you want to extract to the local report templates folder and click the
Extract button.
3. If the message asking to confirm the update of already existing report template appears, click
Yes.
The report template appears in the local report templates folder and can be opened for edit. It
also remains attached to the open project.
You can specify send signal action properties in the send signal action Specification window. In the same
window, you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the
Specification window.
• For more information about working with symbols, see "Diagramming" on page 198.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property
Values" on page 298.
State
A state is a condition during the lifetime of an object or an interaction during which the object meets certain
conditions, performs an action, or waits for an event. The state is defined by the concepts of duration and
stability. An object can not be in an unknown or undefined state. A state may have two compartments to provide
more information about that state:
• The first compartment is the name compartment, it contains the state name, for example:
running, going up.
• The second compartment is the activity compartment, it contains the events and actions of the
state.
You can specify state properties in the state Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about working with symbols, see "Diagramming" on page 198.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
To create a region
• On the diagram, select the state symbol and click the Create Region smart manipulator. For
more information about smart manipulators, see "Smart Manipulation" on page 233.
• In the state Specification window, click the Inner Elements property group, then click Create
and from the menu, select Region. Specify the region and click Close or Back.
• In the Containment tree or on the diagram, click the state, and drag it to the state’s region.
1. On the diagram, right-click the state and from the shortcut menu, select Symbol Properties.
2. In the Symbol Properties dialog, in the right-top corner, click to expand the menu, and select
the Expert mode.
3. Select or clear the Show Region Name check box.
• Add one region to the state. For more information, see "To create a region" on page 982.
• Add two regions to the state. For more information, see "To create a region" on page 982.
1. On the diagram, right-click the state, then on the shortcut menu, click Submachine.
2. In the dialog, click to select a submachine that you wish to apply on the state or click the Create
button, to create the submachine.
To change the state to the submachine state, the state has to be
without regions.
Composite State
A composite state either contains one region or is decomposed into two or more orthogonal regions. Each
region has a set of mutually exclusive disjoint subvertices and a set of transitions. A given state may only be
decomposed in one of these two ways.
Any state enclosed within a region of the composite state is called a substate of that composite state. It is called
a direct substate when it is not contained by any other state; otherwise it is referred to as an indirect substate.
Each region of the composite state may have an initial pseudostate and a final state. A transition to the
enclosing state represents a transition to the initial pseudostate in each region.
You can specify composite state properties in the state Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about working with symbols, see "Diagramming" on page 198.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
• For more information on working with states, see "State" on page 982.
Submachine
A submachine state specifies the insertion of the specification of a submachine state machine. The state
machine that contains the submachine state is called the containing state machine. The same state machine
can be a submachine more than once in the context of a single containing state machine.
The submachine state is semantically equivalent to a composite state. The regions of the submachine state
machine are the regions of the composite state. The entry, exit, behavior actions, and internal transitions, are
defined as part of the state. The submachine state is a decomposition mechanism that allows factoring of the
common behaviors and their reuse.
You can specify submachine properties in the state Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about working with symbols, see "Diagramming" page 198.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
• For more information on working with states, see "State" on page 982.
1. In the state diagram toolbar, click the Connection Point Reference button. Click on the
diagram pane on the submachine state shape. The Select Entry/Exit Point dialog opens.
2. Select entry point to define the entry into the submachine state or exit point to define the exit
from the submachine state. The Connection Point Reference is drawn on the submachine state
with a defined entry or exit point.
To see the assigned entry/exit point, open the Connection Point Reference dialog. The Entry or Exit
properties will display the defined entries.
Select the Connection Point Reference on the diagram pane. Open the shortcut menu and select the Select
Entry/Exit Point command.
In the Select Entry/Exit Point dialog, only these entry and exit points are listed,
which are created at the same State Machine as the submachine state. If there
are no entry/exit points at the same state machine, the Select Entry/Exit Point
dialog is not opened when drawing the Connection Point Reference.
• Double-click the state to open the State Specification window and in the State Invariant field,
type a condition and submit changes.
• Near the State Invariant field, click the ... button. The Edit State Invariant dialog opens. Type
the condition and close the dialog by submitting changes.
The State Invariant value is displayed on the diagram pane on the state shape in brackets:
3. Click a desired activity. The behavior is assigned to the selected state’s activity.
• Use the transition’s Specification window:
1. Open the state’s Specification window.
2. In the Entry, Do Activity, or Exit category, click the Behavior Type property value
cell. The list of available behavior types opens. Select the behavior type from the
list.
If you do not see the Behavior Type property, click the + button near
the Entry, Do Activity, or Exit category to expand its content.
3. According to the selected behavior type, the Behavior Element value is defined
automatically. Additional properties Name and Owned Diagram appears. Specify
these properties if it is needed.
4. Click the Close button after you have defined desired properties.
Figure 601 -- Do Activity group before assigning behavior type (on the left) and after assigning behavior type (on the
right)
If a behavior of an Activity, Interaction, Protocol State Machine, or State Machine type is assigned to an Entry,
Exit, or Do activity, a diagram for that behavior is created automatically.
• For more information, see "Behavior" on page 852.
• For more information on how to change the opaque behavior display mode,
refer to "NEW! To change an opaque behavior display mode on state or
transition shapes" on page 952.
Stereotype
A stereotype defines how an existing metaclass may be extended. It enables the use of platform or domain
specific terminology or notation in place of, or in addition to, the ones used for the extended metaclass.
Just like a class, a stereotype may have properties, which may be referred to as tag definitions. When a
stereotype is applied to a model element, the values of the properties may be referred to as tagged values.
Any model element from the reference metamodel (any UML model element) can be extended by a stereotype.
For example in UML, States, Transitions, Activities, Use cases, Components, Attributes, Dependencies, etc.
can all be extended with the stereotypes.
The stereotypes are created as separate model elements and can be drawn in almost all MagicDraw diagrams.
Stereotype notation
Stereotype notation in diagrams use the guillemets instead of symbols «» (see the following figure).
However, when editing elements in a diagram, you can still enter the stereotype names between the «»
symbols.
To create a new stereotype it is recommended to first create a profile (see the Section above).
• Use the Stereotype button on the Profile diagram pallet.
• From the Profile or Package shortcut menu in the Model Browser, select Create Element, and
then select Stereotype.
• NEW! On a diagram pane, select the stereotype, then on its smart manipulator
toolbar, click the Metaclass button .
• In the stereotype’s Specification window, click the Metaclass value cell, and then
click the Edit button .
2. In the Select Metaclass list, click to select the metaclass you want to apply.
3. Click Apply when you have finished.
To display the stereotype icon instead of the shape on the diagram pane
1. In the stereotype Specification window, right-click the Icon property or the image assigned to
the property to open the shortcut menu.
2. On the shortcut menu, click Open Specification. The Image specification window opens
wherein you can see and specify image properties.
To apply a stereotype
• Open the corresponding element Specification window. Click the “...” button in the general
pane, next to the Applied Stereotype property. Select one or more available stereotypes from
the open list and click Apply.
• On the element shortcut menu, click Stereotype and then click to select a stereotype that you
wish to apply on the element. Click Apply when you are done.
• On the diagram pane in the element name area, type two open angle brackets «, type the
stereotype name and type two close angle brackets ». Then you can type the element name
itself.
If you want to name element Books and assign «table» stereotype, in
the element name area type the following: «table» Books. The name
completion for the stereotypes works in the name editing mode,
press Ctrl+Spacebar or Ctrl+Backspace to get a list of possible to
apply stereotypes.
1. Right-click the element on which you need to apply the stereotype. The shortcut menu opens.
2. Select Stereotype. The Select Stereotype dialog opens.
3. Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to walk through the list.
4. Press Ctrl+Spacebar to select the desired item.
5. Press Enter to apply the stereotype.
Stereotypes can be ordered. Symbol style of the first in the list stereotype will be applied to the element.
To order stereotypes
1. On the symbol shortcut menu, click the Stereotype command. The Select Stereotype dialog
opens.
2. Click the Order button. The Order Stereotypes dialog opens.
3. Click Up or Down buttons to order stereotypes.
Ability to choose options where to save applied stereotype information in XMI file. Information can be saved at
the end of the file or inside the element information.
By default stereotype information is stored at the end of XMI file. To store information inside element, open
Environment Options dialog (choose Options - Environment command from main menu), and in General -
Save/Load section select property Save stereotype information within element.
Stereotype properties
You can specify stereotype properties in the stereotype Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
You can change the stereotype name and its icon visibility on an element shape.
4. Click the shape, and then, click buttons to suppress all the compartments.
5. Click the shape and then click theCompartments button. From the menu, select the
Stereotypes and then click the Shape Image check box.
Text
Icon
- displayed displayed*
Shape Image
and Text
Do Not Display
* - To display the image of a stereotype instead of the element shape all element compartments
should be suppressed.
Shape Image and Text and Shape Image properties are not included in the
Relationships, Roles and Diagram Frame element property list.
Parent topic
Stereotype
Related diagram
Profile Diagram
Related procedure
Editing Property Values
Related dialog
Specification Window
Related references
See an UML extensions sample project in <MagicDraw installation directory>\Samples\Product
Features\UML Extensions.mdzip.
For a detailed description of UML Profiling and DSL in MagicDraw, see the MagicDraw
UMLProfiling&DSL UserGuide.pdf.
Subsystem
A subsystem is treated as an abstract single unit. It groups model elements by representing the behavioral unit
in a physical system.
To draw a subsystem
• On the Use Case diagram pallet, click the Subsystem button, and then click the diagram pane.
Swimlane
Actions and subactivities can be organized into swimlanes in the activity diagrams. The swimlanes are used to
organize responsibility for actions and subactivities according to the class. They often correspond to the
organizational units in a business model.
The swimlanes limit and provide a view on the behaviors invoked in the activities. They consist of one or more
partitions. They can be vertical and horizontal.
An activity diagram can be divided visually into “swimlanes”, each separated from the neighboring swimlanes
by vertical or horizontal solid lines on both sides. Each swimlane represents a responsibility for part of the
overall activity, and may eventually be implemented by one or more objects. The relative ordering of the
swimlanes has no semantic significance, but can indicate some affinity. Each action is assigned to one
swimlane. Transitions can cross lanes. There is no significance to the routing of a transition path.
You can specify swimlane properties in the swimlane Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
To create a swimlane
• On the activity diagram pallet, click theVertical Swimlanes button and then click the
diagram. The Represent Properties dialog appears. Select properties and click OK.
• From the Containment tree, drag one or more property, actor, class, or instance specification
elements to the diagram. The swimlane is created and the representative element is set.
If a swimlane is already drawn in the activity diagram, drawing an action (or any other element) will highlight the
swimlane in blue. This means that the action shape will depend on the swimlane symbol.
If the model elements depend on a swimlane symbol, they will be deleted
if the swimlane symbol is deleted.
Related diagrams
Activity Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related references
Specification Window
Tag
Just like a class, a stereotype can have properties, which can be referred to as tag definitions. When a
stereotype is applied to a model element, the values of the properties may be referred to as tagged values.
The tag definitions are used to define new meta attributes of the extended metaclass, they are used as regular
class attributes.
For more information about working with class attributes, see
"To create a symbol of an opaque behavior" on page 953.
A tagged value consists of two parts: name and value (example: Author = Joe).
• In the element Specification window, Tags group, select an available tag definition and click the
Create Value button.
• Set the tag value using drag and drop. Now you can drag an element from the Containment
tree and drop in the Specification window tag value area.
Button Description
Up Moves the created value to an upper position in the list.
1. In the stereotype Specification window, expand the Tag Definitions branch and select the tag
definition.
2. Assign a value for the Default Value property.
3. Create an element and assign a stereotype for this element. The element will have tags with
assigned default values.
MagicDraw allows for setting default tag values to tag with empty value. This functionality is needed when a
stereotype is already assigned to an element and a new mandatory tag definition with a default value is created
for the stereotype. After creating such a tag definition, the model elements that have the modified stereotype
applied will have the newly created tags unset.
The following conditions are required to set the default tag values:
1. The element should have an assigned stereotype with a specified default value property.
2. The tag definition, to which you want to assign a default value, should contain no value.
The default tag values are not set when the stereotype property (tag definition)
multiplicity is equal to 0, 0..1, 0..*, *.
Parent Topic
Tag
Related topics
Stereotype
Attribute
Template
Template is used to define concrete types for a bunch of elements without concrete types. In other words, you
can create a template and then you can use this template as many times as you need. Moreover, when you
have elements of the same structure (or with the same parameters) but with the different values, the template is
used for easier defining parameters for each element.
Templates parametrization can be applied to classifiers, packages, and operations. Most often template
parametrization is used for classes and interfaces.
Templates are often used in code engineering (Java, C#, and other programming languages).
For more information about how to use templates in code engineering,
see MagicDraw CodeEngineering UserGuide.pdf.
Case study: an example of the template and its usage in the following figure.
In this example, you can see the GeneralArray template class, which has the ArraySize and ArrayType
template parameters that are represented in the dashed rectangle on the upper-right corner of the class. These
parameters represent the size and type of the general array.The attribute GeneralArray::contents : ArrayType
[0..ArraySize] represents the ArrayType and the ArraySize template parameters. The ArraySize template
parameter is of the Integer type and its default value is 10. The ArrayType template parameter is of the Class
type (it is not represented on the shape) and its default value is not specified. The default value of the template
parameter is used if no actual value is supplied for the parameter in a binding. Typically, the parameter types
are classifiers, but they can also be integers or other types.
The GeneralArray class and its template parameters creates a template of the general array with undefined
types. Such template can be used in other concrete arrays as many times as you need.
Next let’s see, how to use the template and how to create an actual element.
Let’s say, we would like to create an array of addresses. So, we create the AddressArray class. Alone (without
template) AddressArray class would have undefined types. A template binding is created from the AdressArray
class to the GeneralArray class. Now the template binding connection points to the GeneralArray template
class.
The template binding specifies template parameter substitutions - the actual values of parameters for the
address array. According to the example, we create the following actual values of the AdressArray class - the
array size having the value 3 and the array of the Address type.
The output of these definitions is the AddressArray class having the attribute AddressArray::contents : Address
[0..3].
Attributes for the actual element classes should be created manualy. In the
example, the AdressArray::contents : Address [0..3] attribute is not created
automatically - you have to create this attribute manually. Is your optional solution
to create such attributes in your model or not.
Step by step instructions on how to model a template in the MagicDraw are described in "Working With
Templates" on page 997.
You can format template parameter symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
You can specify template parameter properties in the Template Parameter Specification window and template
binding properties in the Template Binding Specification window. In the specification window, you can find the
description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
Related diagram
Class Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Working With Templates
Editing Property Values
Related references
Specification Window
Selecting an Element
Related resources
MagicDraw CodeEngineering UserGuide.pdf
Follow these instructions from the first step consistently. Because, for example, if you do not define the
template parameter, you will not be able to draw a template binding relationship. You can omit optional
procedures only.
Precondition. Let’s assume, you already have an element to which you want to apply a template. This element
is an actual element. The actual element can be a classifier, package, or operation.
To create and apply a template an actual element, see the following procedures:
• To create a template
• To apply a template to an actual element
In the following procedure, we will show you how to create a template with parameters and how to define these
parameters.
To create a template
1. Create or select a template element for which you will create template parameters.
2. Open the element Specification window.
3. Change the property display mode to Expert or All if it is not changed already. The Template
Parameters property group appears in the property group list.
The Template Parameters property group is displayed in the
Expert mode for the following elements:
• Class
• Interface
• Package
For the rest of elements, the Template Parameters property group
is displayed in the All mode.
For more information about changing mode in the element
Specification window, see "Property Group Toolbar" on page 278.
6. In the model tree, select an existing or create a new type of the template parameter.
• If you do not want to specify the concrete template parameter
type, you can select the Class type (the Class from the UML
metamodel). When the Class type is specified, type is not
displayed on the diagram pane but only the name of the template
parameter is represented.
• If you need to select one of the UML metamodel elements, such
as Class, be sure the Hide Uncommon Elements and Exclude
Used Projects commands are both unchecked (as in the
preceding figure). For more information, see "Searching for
Elements in Element Selection Dialog" on page 355.
7. Click OK. The template parameter is created. Name of the template parameter is defined
automatically by compounding of the T letter and the name of the template parameter type -
T<type name>. For example, TInteger. You can change the name of the template parameter if
you need it.
8. Assign the default value to the created template parameter. This step is optional. For
information about assigning values in the Specification window, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
To assign a particular value of the value specification, you need
to specify a Value Specification first and then type its particular
value in the Default value cell. For more information about Value
Specification, see "Value Specification" on page 1028.
After the template is created, you can apply it to the actual element. The following procedure describes how to
apply the template to the actual element.
1. Bind the actual element to the template element - in the diagram pallet, click the Template
Binding button or click the B shortcut key and draw a template binding relationship from the
actual element to the template element.
2. Define a template binding substitution. Open the Template Binding Specification window and
click the Template Binding Substitutions property group.
3. To add a new template binding substitution, click the Create button. The Select Template
Parameter dialog opens wherein the template parameters are listed of the element to which the
template binding relationship is connected.
4. Select one or more template parameters you need to add as template parameter substitutions.
Click OK to get back to the Template Binding Specification window.
5. Assign the actual value for each template binding substitution. This step is optional. For
information about assigning values in the Specification window, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
To assign a particular value of the value specification, you need
to specify a Value Specification first and then type its particular
value in the Actual value cell. For more information about Value
Specification, see "Value Specification" on page 1028.
Related concepts
Template
Related diagram
Class Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Editing Property Values
Related references
Specification Window
Selecting an Element
Related resources
MagicDraw CodeEngineering UserGuide.pdf
Transition
A transition is a directed relationship between a source vertex and a target vertex. It can be a part of a
compound transition, which takes the state machine from one state configuration to another, representing the
complete response of the state machine to an occurrence of an event of a particular type. The transition
relationship is created between two states. The transition specifies event occurrences and guard conditions.
When these events occur and conditions are satisfied with the object in the source, state will perform the
specified effect and will enter the target state. So, in the transition, the main subjects are as follows:
• Event trigger and its parameter.
• Guard condition.
• Effect.
On a transition path the event trigger, guard condition, and effect has the following syntax:
<event name> (<parameter>) [<guard condition>] / <effect name>
An example of the transition.
In the preceding example, the transition relationship is created from the Ringing state to the Connected state.
The transition has the specified event - phone answered, and the specified effect - enable speech. When the
phone answered event occurs, the Ringing state performs the speech effect, and then the Connected state is
entered.
The event on the transition is specified as event of the concrete type. The event trigger is the event whose
reception in the source state makes the transition eligible to fire. That is, the trigger is specified by the event.
Event types are as follows:
• Any Receive Event
• Call Event
• Change Event
• Signal Event
• Time Event
• For more information about event types, see "Event" on page 880.
• You can assign an event type in the Transition Specification window,
or there is a quick way to assign an event type straight on the transition
from the diagram pane. For more information, see "Assigning event
type" on page 1002.
• The effect on the transition is specified as one of the behaviors types.
For more information, see "Assigning Behavior Type" on page 1004.
• You can format the transition symbol properties in the Symbol
Properties dialog. For more information about symbol representation
properties, see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
You can specify transition properties in the Transition Specification window. In the same window, you can find
the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
Related diagrams
State Machine Diagram
Protocol State Machine Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Assigning event type
Related references
Specification Window
Related resources
Example of the State Machine diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\
state machine diagram.mdzip.
Example of the Activity diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\
activity diagram.mdzip.
Figure 608 -- Trigger category before assigning event type (on the left) and after assigning event type (on the right)
Figure 609 -- Example of signal event, that was specified typing text straight on transition
See the list with the event type and its command syntax in the following table.
The event type assigning by typing the command straight on the diagram pane
is also available for a transition to self in the State Machine diagram, as well as
for a protocol transition and protocol transition to self in the Protocol State
Machine diagram.
Related concepts
Transition
Event
Related references
Specification Window
Figure 610 -- Effect group before assigning behavior type (on the left) and after assigning behavior type (on the right)
Related concepts
Transition
Event
Behavior
Related references
Specification Window
Use Case
Use cases are a means for specifying required usages of a system. Typically, they are used to capture the
requirements of a system, that is, what a system is supposed to do.
In the preceding example, you can see the fragment of the Library system. The Register Return use case has
the association relationship with the Librarian actor.
The behavior of a use case can be specified by a activity, state machine, or by sequence. It can also be
described by a text description - a use case scenario that can be depicted in the activity diagram.
For more details about modeling with use cases, see the following sections:
• Use Case Relations. You can learn about relations that can be used among use cases in this
section.
• Use Case Description Profile. The purpose and usage of profile is described in this section.
• Use Case Scenario. This section presents the use case scenario functionality.
You can format a use case symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
You can specify a use case in the use case Specification window. In the same window, you can find the
description of each use case property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the Specification
window.
The rake icon is displayed on the shape if the use case can be
realized by other behavior diagrams such as use case, activity, state
machine and sequence. The rake icon isn’t shown by default
therefore you need to set the Show Rake Icon value to true in the
Property dialog. For more information see "NEW! Displaying rake
icon on symbol" on page 322.
Related concepts
Use Case Relations
Use Case Description Profile
Use Case Scenario
Related diagrams
Use Case Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Editing Property Values
Related references
Specification Window
Related resources
Example of Use Case diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\use
case diagram.mdzip.
Use cases can be related to other use cases by the following relationships:
• Generalization
• Include
• Extend
Related concepts
Use Case
Actor
Related procedures
Adding extension points
Related resources
Example of Use Case diagram in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\diagrams\use
case diagram.mdzip.
An extension point in the use case represents the location at which the extension can be inserted. In the use
case diagram, the extension point is used together with the extend relationship.
Related concepts
Use Case
Use Case Relations
Use Case Description Profile
Use Case Scenario
Related diagrams
Use Case Diagram
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related references
Specification Window
To extend the use case with additional properties you have to load the use case description profile. By default,
in a new project, the User Case Description Profile is not loaded. You have to load this profile manualy.
2. Click the Load Profile button. The Use Case Description Profile is loaded and additional
properties are added to the use case.
After the use case description profile is loaded, the following additional properties appears in the use case
Specification window:
• The Use Case ID property in the UseCase general property group. This property is designed to
number use cases to the particular sequence.
For more information, see "Generic Numbering Mechanism"
on page 395.
• The Use Case Description property group. In this property group, you can specify properties
describing the particular use case, such as an Author, Date, Goal, and other.
• The Use Case Scenario Obsolete property group. Use cases numbering values used in
projects created with earlier MagicDraw versions, are stored in this property group after
importing the project to MagicDraw 17.0.2 or later. By default, this property group is displayed
in the Expert mode.
For more information, see "The use case scenario created
with the MagicDraw 17.0.1 or earlier" on page 1027.
The following figure illustrates an example of the Use Case Specification window after the use case description
profile is loaded.
Figure 613 -- Use Case Specification window with Use Case Description Profile loaded
You can specify the use case extension properties in the use case Specification window. In the same window,
you can find the description of each property. Descriptions are presented in the description area of the
Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage, see "Specification
Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see "Editing Property Values"
on page 298.
Related concepts
Use Case
Use Case Relations
Use Case Scenario
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Related references
Specification Window
Related resources
“Working with UML Profiles” in MagicDraw UMLProfiling&DSL UserGuide.pdf
With the help of the use case scenario editor, you can do the following:
• Create, review, and edit steps of the use case scenario by using the convenient textual values
editor.
• Automatically create an activity diagram representing the textual use case scenario flow. This
gives you the possibility to have the textual numbered action flow and its graphical
representation.
• Create the use case scenario from the activity diagram for the particular use case and then
automatically represent this action flow as textual information in the use case scenario.
The following figure depicts the same scenario represented in the activity diagram.
Figure 615 -- Example of activity diagram with basic, alternative, and exceptional flows
A use case scenario can have defined basic, alternative, and exceptional flows.
Basic flow
A basic flow represents the sequence of basic steps or actions of the use case scenario. You can also add
steps from included or extended use cases to the flow. Each basic flow step can have one or more alternative
and exceptional paths. Preceding figures (Figure 614 and Figure 615) depict the basic flow consisting of four
steps. Letters and numbers in the brackets next to the basic flow step indicates how many alternative
conditions and exceptional types the particular step has. Letter A indicates alternatives flows and letter E
indicates exceptional flows.
In an activity diagram, the basic flow is the main path down from the initial node to the final node.
For more information about creating basic flow steps, refer to the procedure
"To create a basic flow" on page 1014.
Alternative flow
An alternative flow is an alternative path of the basic flow. You can define an alternative flow from the particular
step of the basic flow. The alternative flow is an alternative solution that is performed after the defined condition
is satisfied. The alternative flow contains steps that are executed if condition(s) occurs.
So, in the use case scenario, the alternative flow is specified by the two parameters - by the alternative
condition and the alternative flow steps.
The following figure shows the content of the Alternative Flow tab of the Use
Case Scenario in the use case Specification window.
Here, the alternative flow is created for the second step of the basic flow — 2.
Get Loan Details. The alternative flow has the condition named 2.1 Item is
overdue. The condition contains one alternative flow step named 2.1.1
Penalize for overdue.
In the activity diagram, the alternative flow is created between decision and merge nodes. The alternative
condition is represented as decision node - that is, the name of the alternative condition in the activity diagram
is the name of the decision node. In the activity diagram, the alternative flow step is are represented as call
behavior action.
See the alternative flow representation in the activity diagram in the following
figure.
In the activity diagram, you can read the alternative flow as follows: if the item
is overdue, then - penalize for overdue; else, continue to the basic flow.
• For more information about the use case scenario and the activity diagram
mapping, see "A use case scenario and an activity diagram mapping schema"
on page 1021.
• For more information about creating an alternative flow, refer to the procedure
"To create an alternative flow" on page 1017.
Exceptional flow
An exceptional flow is an exceptional path from the particular basic flow step, or it can be a quick solution for
exit. The exceptional flow contains steps that are executed if something goes wrong, such as an input from the
actor that the system cannot handle. An example can be if in the opened dialog user clicks the Cancel button.
In the use case scenario, the exceptional flow is specified by two parameters - by the exception type and the
exceptional flow steps.
The type of the exception object indicates the nature of the exception. As a type of the exception can be used
any class.
The exceptional flow steps are performed as actions when the execution occurs. The exceptional flow steps are
specified for the concrete type. Normally, there is one exceptional flow (or in other words one exception type)
assigned for one basic flow step. There can be any number of exceptional flow steps specified for one
exception type.
The following figure shows the content of the Exceptional Flow tab of
the Use Case Scenario in the use case Specification window.
Here, the exception flow is created for the third step of the basic flow —
3. Confirm Return. The exceptional flow has the type named 3.1 Cancel.
That is the Cancel class is assigned as the exception type.The type
contains one exceptional flow step named 3.1.1 Close Item Dialog.
In the activity diagram, the exceptional flow is connected using the exception handler relationship. The
exception handler has the type specified - the same as is the exception type, in our sample the Cancel class.
Exceptional flow steps in activity diagram are represented as call behavior actions.
• For more information about the use case scenario and the activity diagram
mapping, see "A use case scenario and an activity diagram mapping schema"
on page 1021.
• For more information about creating an alternative flow, refer to the procedure
"To create an alternative flow" on page 1017.
Related concepts
Use Case
Include
Extend
Related procedures
Creating and editing use case scenarios
Representing use case scenarios in activity diagrams
The use case scenario created with the MagicDraw 17.0.1 or earlier
Related references
Specification Window
Related resources
“Working with use case scenario in MagicDraw Open API” in MagicDraw OpenAPI
UserGuide.pdf.
”Generating a report for the use case scenario” in MagicDraw ReportWizard UserGuide.pdf.
You can create a use case scenario in the Use Case Specification window using the Use Case Scenario
property group wherein you can specify the basic, alternative, and exceptional flows, as well as to open the
activity diagram. The following procedures describe how:
• To edit a use case scenario
• To create a basic flow
1. Open the use case scenario for editing (see the preceding procedure).
2. In the Basic Flow area, click the Add new step button or press Alt+ENTER and type a
name of the basic flow step. Repeat this action for each basic flow step you need to create.
Steps of the basic flow are numbered automatically. Use Up and Down buttons to change the order of
steps. In the activity diagram, steps are represented according to the ordering in the use case scenario.
Make sure the selected use case has included or extending use cases.
1. Open a use case scenario for editing. See the procedure "To edit a use case scenario" on
page 1014.
2. Select a basic flow step for which you want to add steps from other use case.
3. Click the Add steps from other use cases button. The shortcut menu opens.
Depending on your choice, the Select Included Use Case or Select Extending Use Case
dialog opens.
5. In the opened dialog, select the use case(s) from which you want to add steps to the selected
step of the basic flow. Click OK after you have selected a use case.
• Steps from included use cases are added to the basic flow as
substeps of the newly created basic flow step.
• Steps from extending use cases having no extension points use
cases are added to the basic flow as substeps of the selected basic
flow step.
• Steps from extending use cases having extension points are added
as steps of an alternative flow to the selected basic flow step. The
extension point is considered the alternative condition.
See the examples in the following figures.
Figure 617 -- Steps added from included (in upper-left) and from extending use cases (in bottom-left and right)
1. Open the use case scenario for editing. See the procedure "To edit a use case scenario" on
page 1014.
2. Select the basic flow step for which you want to create an alternative flow.
3. In the Alternative Flow tab, click the Add new button. The shortcut menu opens.
Conditions and steps of the alternative flow are numbered automatically. Use Up and Down buttons to
change the order of conditions in the alternative flow or the order of steps in the particular condition. In the
activity diagram, steps are represented according to the ordering in the use case scenario.
1. Open the use case scenario for editing. See the procedure "To edit a use case scenario" on
page 1014.
2. In the use case scenario, select the basic flow step for which you want to create an exceptional
flow.
3. In the Exceptional Flow tab, click the Add new button. The shortcut menu opens.
• Select the Add New Exceptional Flow Step command. If in the exceptional flow
there was an exceptional type created already, a new exceptional flow step is
created for the selected exception type. If in the alternative flow there was no an
exception type, a new exceptional flow step is created together with a new
exception type. Now you can type the name of the new exceptional flow step. See
an example in the following figure.
Types and steps of the exceptional flow are numbered automatically. Use Up and Down buttons to
change the order of types in the exceptional flow or the order of steps in the particular type. In the activity
diagram, steps are represented according to the ordering in the use case scenario
Related concepts
Use Case Scenario
Related procedures
Representing use case scenarios in activity diagrams
A use case scenario and an activity diagram mapping schema
Related references
Specification Window
After you have created a use case scenario, you can represent this scenario in an activity diagram. See the
following procedure describing how to represented the use case scenario in the activity diagram and also how
to turn on or off the automatic layout in the activity diagram when representing the use case scenario.
1. Open the use case scenario for editing. See the procedure "To edit a use case scenario" on
page 1014.
You need to reopen the activity diagram every time after you made modifications to the use case scenario in the
Specification window. Modifications to the activity diagram whereon the use case scenario is represented
appears in the textual use case scenario automatically.
For use cases having the read-only accessibility, the use case scenario
cannot be represented on the activity diagram.
In the activity diagram, all symbols are layed out automatically every time the diagram is opened.
To leave symbols in the same place while opening the activity diagram
after modifying the use case scenario in the Specification window,
change the Layout use case scenario activity diagram option value
to false. You can find this option in the Project Options dialog, the
General project options group.
Related concepts
Use Case Scenario
Related procedures
Creating and editing use case scenarios
Related dialogs
Specification Window
To understand the use case scenario representation in the activity diagram, see the following table.
Included 1. The call behavior action is created for the basic flow step of
use case the included use case.
2. The call behavior action is inserted to the activity basic flow
according to the order as it was inserted in the basic flow.
3. The call behavior action is connected with the control flow
relationships. The call behavior action is not named.
4. The call behavior action has the following behavior defined -
the activity. This activity name corresponds the name of the
included use case.
5. The activity (the behavior or the call behavior action) is
owned by the included use case.
6. If the included use case has its own use case scenario, this
scenario is represented in the activity - the activity diagram
is created inside the activity and flows are represented.
IMPORTANT! To represent the included use case from the
activity diagram to the use case scenario, you have to follow all
the rules, and in addition in your project you have to connect
the including use case with the included use case with the
included relationship.
Exceptional 1. The structured activity node with the input pin is created.
flow: 2. The call behavior action for which the exceptional flow was
exception created is linked with the input pin by using the exception
type, handler relationship.
exceptional 3. The class element is created under the activity. The class
flow step corresponds the exception type in the use case scenario,
that is, the class name corresponds the exception type
name in the use case scenario.
4. The class is assigned to the input pin as a type property.
5. In the structured activity node the call behavior action is cre-
ated for each exceptional flow step.
6. The call behavior actions inside the structured activity node
are connected with the control flow relationships.
7. In the structured activity node the initial node is created
before the first call behavior action, and the final node is cre-
ated after the last call behavior action.
8. In the structured activity node the initial node is connected
with the first call behavior action by using the control flow
relationship and the last call behavior action is connected
with the final node by using the control flow relationship.
Related concepts
Use Case Scenario
Related procedures
Creating and editing use case scenarios
Representing use case scenarios in activity diagrams
Creating use case scenario from activity diagrams
Related dialogs
Specification Window
An activity diagram owned by a use case can be transformed to the use case scenario in the textual format that
is displayed in the use case Specification window. Changes done in the scenario on the activity diagram are
synchronized with the same use case scenario represented in the use case Specification window. To transform
the scenario from the diagram to the text, the scenario steps should be modeled under strict rules in the activity
diagram. For more information about the use case scenario and activity diagram mapping schema, see "A use
case scenario and an activity diagram mapping schema" on page 1021.
1. Under the use case, create an activity diagram. Do one of the following:
• In the use case Specification window, click the Inner Elements property group. In
the Inner Elements specification pane, click the Create button and select Create
Diagram > Activity Diagram in the opened list. Name the activity diagram the
same as the use case and click Close. The activity together with the activity
diagram is created in the Model Browser.
• Select the use case in the Model Browser. From its shortcut menu, select Create
Diagram > Activity Diagram. Name the activity diagram the same as the use
case.The activity diagram together with the activity is created.
The activity diagram name should match the use case name.
This is a mandatory requirement in order to represent the
scenario from the activity diagram in the use case Specification
window.
2. In the activity diagram, create the scenario flow for the use case. Elements should be created
under the strict mapping rules in the activity diagram. For more information about mapping
rules, see "A use case scenario and an activity diagram mapping schema" on page 1021.
3. After the activity diagram is created, open the Specification window of the use case owning the
the created diagram and click the Use Case Scenario property group. The created scenario is
represented in a textual form in the Use Case Scenario pane.
If a scenario is modeled incorrectly in the activity diagram, you will not be able to transform it to a textual form.
In the Specification window, you will get a warning that use case scenario cannot be read with the list of
possible reasons why this scenario cannot be read.
In this example, you can see that there is listed the initial node element and the reason of incorrect modeling —
No outgoing flows. According to the use case scenario and activity diagram mapping rules, it means that you
have to create a control flow relationship from the initial node to the first call behavior action (the call behavior
action that represents the first basic flow in the use case scenario). After you will solve this incorrect modeling in
the activity diagram, you will be able to continue work with the use case scenario and the activity diagram.
Related concepts
Use Case Scenario
Related procedures
Creating and editing use case scenarios
Representing use case scenarios in activity diagrams
Related references
Specification Window
The use case scenario created with the MagicDraw 17.0.1 or earlier
As of MagicDraw version 17.0.2, use case scenarios of projects created with earlier MagicDraw versions are
stored in the Use Case Scenario Obsolete property group, in the use case Specification window.
• To see the Use Case Scenario Obsolete property group, please, change the
property display mode to Expert. For more information about property display mode,
see "Property Group Toolbar" on page 278.
• The Use Case Scenario Obsolete property group is displayed only if the Use Case
Description Profile is loaded. For more information about the use case description
profile, see "Use Case Description Profile" on page 1007.
Related concepts
Use Case Scenario
Related procedures
Creating and editing use case scenarios
Related references
Specification Window
Value Specification
You can create a standalone value specification in a model using the appropriate element shortcut menu.
You can use any of the following ways to create a value specification:
• Via the element’s shortcut menu.
• Via the element’s Specification window.
• By defining a default value to an element.
You can also change an assigned value specification after it has been created.
2. Right-click the element. On the shortcut menu point to Create Element > Value Specification
and then select a suitable value specification.
1. Assign a default value to a property for which you want to create a value specification.
2. The value specification of the corresponding type will be assigned automatically according to
the assigned default value in your model.
You can create auxiliary diagram symbols from the Common category in the diagram pallet.
Image Shape
The image shape provides a simple and quick way to insert a picture into a diagram. This can be logo, graph,
table, or other images. The preferred shape size after the insertion is the actual image size. See an example of
image shape in the following figure.
You can format the image shape representation properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties, see "Formatting Symbols"
on page 317.
1. On the diagram pallet, the Common category, click the Image Shape button or press the I
key.
2. Click on the diagram pane. The Open dialog opens.
3. Select an image in the *.gif, *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.svg, or *.png format and click Open.
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
Diagram Overview
The diagram overview functionality is available in Standard,
Professional, Architect, and Enterprise editions.
A diagram overview shape provides ability to overview other diagrams on a diagram pane. Moreover, using
diagram overview shape you can overview dependency matrices, tables, and relation maps on a diagram pane
You can format the diagram overview representation properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
Double click on the diagram overview shape, to open the particular diagram. Specification window. In the same
window, you can find the description of each diagram property. Descriptions are presented in the description
area of the Specification window.
• For more information about the Specification window usage,
see "Specification Window" on page 273.
• For more information about specifying property values, see
"Editing Property Values" on page 298.
1. On the diagram pallet, the Common category, click the Diagram Overview button. The
Select Diagram dialog opens (to learn more about using this dialog, please see "Selecting an
Element" on page 352).
2. Select a diagram for which you want to create a diagram overview shape and click OK.
3. Click on the diagram pane. The diagram overview shape is created and it shows the full content
of the corresponding diagram.
Related procedures
Overviewing Other Diagrams
Formatting Symbols
Related dialogs
Specification Window
Related references
A diagram overview sample project in <MagicDraw installation directory>\samples\product
features\diagram overview.mdzip.
Separator
You can use a horizontal or vertical separator to rule off different parts of a diagram. The Rotate button allows
for changing the separator from the horizontal to vertical position, and vice versa. See the separator examples
in the following figure.
You can format the separator symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
A text next to the separator can be displayed as a plain text or as an HTML text. You can edit the HTML text
using the HTML editor.
For more information about working with HTML editor,
see "HTML Editor" on page 423.
• Center
• Right
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
HTML Editor
Rectangular Shape
You can use a rectangular shape to delineate different parts of a diagram. See an example of the rectangular
shape in the following figure.
You can format the rectangular shape representation properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
A text next to the separator can be displayed as a plain text or as an HTML text. You can edit the HTML text
using the HTML editor.
For more information about working with HTML editor,
see "HTML Editor" on page 423.
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
HTML Editor
Text Box
A text box is a box wherein you can type any text.
A text in the text box can be displayed as a plain text or as an HTML text.
You can format the text box symbol properties in the Symbol Properties dialog.
For more information about symbol representation properties,
see "Formatting Symbols" on page 317.
• Open the selected text’s shortcut menu and select or click to clear the HTML Text command.
You can edit the HTML text using the HTML editor.
For more information about working with HTML editor,
see "HTML Editor" on page 423.
After the hyperlink to the element on the text box is added, the text
format in the text box changes to HTML.
Related procedures
Formatting Symbols
HTML Editor
Diagram Legend
The Diagram Legend is designed to define different styles for diagram symbols. It allows for grouping symbols
visually on a diagram according to purposes or other defined criteria. Using this feature, you can define as
many legend items as you need and apply them to symbols and paths on a diagram. In the project, the diagram
legend is concerned as a model element. It can be edited in typical ways as any other element in the project.
1. On the diagram pallet Common category, click Diagram Legend. The Select/Create Diagram
Legend dialog opens.
2. In the dialog, select a new owner for the diagram legend and click the Create button.
Make sure, the creation mode is turned on.
3. In the opened Diagram Legend Specification window, type the diagram legend name and
define Legend Items. You can define as many legend items as you need. Each legend item
property value is a separate model element and is created as an inner element of the diagram
legend.
For more information about defining inner elements as property values,
see "Creating inner element as property value" on page 311.
4. After the diagram legend and its items have been defined, close the Specification window.
5. Click OK.
6. Click the diagram to paste the created legend on it.
For each legend item, you can define which item properties should be applied for the selected symbol. It
means, you can specify all legend item properties and select which of properties to apply for the selected
element. This possibility is useful when you want to apply the particular legend item except several properties
which, for example, should be left default. To do this, you do not need to create a new legend item, but just
select which legend item property values to apply.The currently existing property values applied for the element
symbol (for example, it can be a color or font style of a symbol) will be left instead of those properties you did
not select.
4. In the Apply Properties column, select properties you want to apply for the element symbol.
5. Click Close when you are done.
After the diagram legend and its items are defined, you can apply the selected legend item for one or more
selected element symbols on a diagram.
1. On a diagram, select one or more elements for which you want to apply the legend item.
2. On its shortcut menu, click Use Diagram Legend, then click the name of a diagram legend you
want to use, and then click the legend item name you want to apply.
To restore the default style of a selected element symbol, on the selected element
shortcut menu, click Use Diagram Legend > Default style.
Related procedures
Editing Property Values
Formatting Symbols
Related references
Specification Window
Selecting an Element
You can easily create such permissions where stakeholders can access server projects for reviewing or other
purpose, but they cannot modify any project. Engineers, like developers, quality assurance engineers,
analysts, and other, can access, modify, create a new or remove any existing project, manage project changes
and historical versions. Users with administrator rights have full access to manage projects and project user
permissions, as well as perform all actions as engineers.
Having a server you can assign as many team members as needed to work simultaneously on the same
project using multiple workstations. The server project is stored on the server and can be accessed by team
members through the network.
As long as you set up the permission for the users and project, we suggest working with it in the following
order:
1. Log on to the server.
2. Open a server project.
3. Lock elements you want to edit to prevent other users could not change project elements you
are working with.
4. Edit these elements or create new ones.
5. Unlock locked elements after editing.
6. Commit the project to the server that other users could see changes.
Read the following sections to learn about using MagicDraw in the collaborative environment.
For the MagicDraw Teamwork Server administration instructions,
see MagicDraw Teamwork UserGuide.pdf.
To enable Teamwork support, you should install and run MagicDraw Teamwork Server. Each MagicDraw
application acts as a client of Teamwork Server.
At www.nomagic.com/support/demos, under the section Project management an collaboration, you will find
the short videos demonstrating how to work with Teamwork Server.
The Teamwork Server functionality is available with MagicDraw
Standard, Professional, Architect, and Enterprise editions only.
Teamwork Concepts
Get acquainted with basic Teamwork concepts before getting started to work in the collaborative environment.
Update project
Get the latest server project you are working on changes from the server. For more information,
see "Updating server projects" on page 1072.
Unlock elements
Unlock model elements and/or diagrams, so that other users could have an ability to modify
them. For more information, see "Unlocking model elements and diagrams after editing" on
page 1066.
Commit project
Commit the project to the server to save your changes. After committing, a new project version
will be created in the server. Additionally, it is also possible to unlock all elements locked by you
or add a version comment while committing the project. For more information, see "Committing
to Teamwork Server" on page 1070.
Author
A user who has committed a particular project version.
Version
A unique number assigned to the version of the project. Project version numbers begin at zero
(for the initial version) and increase with every new project version.
Comment
An optional description about changes in the committed project version.
Version Tag
Information about the status of a project (approved, initially tested, and so on), or other important
information.
Administrator Login
The default Administrator's account in Teamwork Server:
Login name: Administrator
Password: Administrator
For more information, see “Managing Teamwork” in MagicDraw
Teamwork UserGuide.pdf.
Repository
A storage place for projects and their versions that is managed by the MagicDraw Teamwork
Server.
Project category
A concept which enables visual grouping of projects in the Teamwork Server repository.
Native user
A user whose account data is stored locally in the native Teamwork Server repository.
External user
A user whose account data (all except the login name) is stored in an external database, such as
Subversion, ClearCase, or LDAP.
Server Module12
A server project containing one or more shared packages. Modules are created with a purpose
to reuse them or to decompose projects into parts.
You must have certain permissions to work with server projects. The following are the most important steps
when working with server projects:
12. Starting from version 18.1, referred as “used project” in MagicDraw UI. This section (including subsections) mentions the old keyword,
which will be replaced in the documentation of the next MagicDraw version.
1. Create a server project or add a non-server project to the Teamwork Server. Open the server
project.
2. Lock the elements you want to edit and edit them in the open project.
3. Select the model elements to unlock and commit the project.
4. Create categories for visual grouping of server projects.
If you want to lock an element for editing, the application will check for the permissions you have and the
availability of the element.
Before committing elements, you can unlock the elements you have previously locked. Committing to
Teamwork Server will create a new project version.
This chapter introduces the main procedures that can be useful while working with Teamwork Server:
• Starting collaboration session
• Creating and managing categories
• Creating server projects
• Opening recently used server projects
• Adding projects to server
• Creating server projects in IDE integration
• Migrating server projects to MagicDraw Teamwork Server 17.0.1 or later
• Locking model elements and diagrams for editing
• Locking project structure
• Unlocking model elements and diagrams after editing
• Committing to Teamwork Server
• Saving server projects locally
• Converting server projects to local
• Updating server projects
• Versioning
• Visibility of version tags
• Open Server Project dialog
• Code engineering in server projects
• Project Branching in Teamwork
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Login. The Login dialog opens (see the following figure).
2. Enter your login name, password, Teamwork Server name, and the port number.
3. If you want the client application to remember your credentials in order to login next time to the
server automatically upon starting the client application, select the Auto login to server check
box.
4. If you need to connect to the server using the SSL connection select the Use Secured
Connection (SSL) check box.
For more information about the configuration of SSL
connection, see “Secured Connection tab” in MagicDraw
Teamwork UserGuide.pdf.
Teamwork Server supports visual grouping of projects. You can build a structure of the whole project repository
by creating categories and grouping server projects into these categories.
You can create an unlimited number of your own categories, rename or remove them, or move projects to
them.
Server projects that do not belong to any created category will be automatically moved to the system category
named Uncategorized.
1. From the Collaborate menu, choose Projects. The Manage Projects dialogs opens.
2. Do either:
• On the toolbar of the open dialog, click the Create Category button. The
Create Category dialog opens.
• In the open dialog, right-click the project list area and from the shortcut menu, select
Create Category.
3. Enter the new category name.
4. Click OK.
To rename a category
1. From the Collaborate menu, choose Projects. The Manage Projects dialogs opens.
2. In the open dialog, select a category or a project that belongs to the category you want to
rename and then do either:
1. From the Collaborate menu, choose Projects. The Manage Projects dialogs opens.
2. In the open dialog, select the project you want to move and do either:
Related references
Manage Projects dialog
This section provides the step-by-step instructions on how to create a new server project.
Related references
Manage Projects dialog
In order to enhance the usability of server projects, MagicDraw introduces a possibility to quickly open server
projects, that were recently used. The latest project version will be opened. You can also define the list size of
the recently used projects.
• On the Welcome screen, under Recent Projects, click the project name.
1. On the main menu, click Options and then select Environment. The Environment Options
dialog opens.
2. In the General option list > General options group, set the Recent Teamwork Projects List
Size option to the wanted number of projects.
You can add any local project to Teamwork Server with MagicDraw version 7.0 and later.
This section provides step-by-step instructions on how to add a project to Teamwork Server.
Add Project to Teamwork
3. From the Collaborate menu, choose Add Project to Server. The Add Project to the Server
dialog opens.
Figure 633 -- Example of Version Tags tab on Add Project to the Server dialog
4. Enter different name of the project for the Teamwork Server, if there is such need.
5. Either select an existing category or type a new category name.
6. Type your comments about the project.
7. In the Version Tags tab, add a tag, if needed.
8. The Local Modules tab lists all local modules used in the project (you can change module
names on Server). From the Action drop-down list, select what do you want to do with local
modules when adding a project to Teamwork Server:
• Add to Server adds the whole selected module to Teamwork Server. Select a
module name on the server from the Name on Server drop-down list or type a new
one.
• Leave Local Module leaves the selected module on a local workstation.
Standard modules provided by MagicDraw can take
only this action.
• Use Server Module uses a module or its branch from Teamwork Server. You can
select the whole module (trunk) or a branch. For example, which is given in
Figure 634 on page 1049, the Production branch of the Magic Library and Users
modules is selected.
Figure 634 -- Example of Local Modules tab on Add Project to the Server dialog
2. Select Teamwork model and click the ... button to login to Teamwork Server.
3. After log in, select an existing project or add a new one. The model from IDE source will be
updated in the selected project. Click Next.
4. Specify integration properties and click Finish. The server project opens in MagicDraw.
As of MagicDraw version 17.0.1, the project file inner structure has been changed. Now the latest project file
has additional auxiliary information about a project structure. After MagicDraw Teamwork Server has been
upgraded to version 17.0.1, you should upgrade your projects used in earlier server versions to the latest file
format. After that, you will have full project management features available. To migrate a project to the latest
format, projects and used modules must be re-saved (re-committed) in the server.
For project migration, you can use the automatic server project migration feature or migrate each server project
manually.
While the project is upgrading, other users are prevented from any
modifications in that project. It is highly recommended to migrate all
projects by the same person.
You can migrate server projects to 17.0.5 or later version without upgrading the
server.
Starting with version 17.0.4, upgrading Teamwork Server is not required to access
server projects with the upgraded version of the client application.
For the instructions how to enable connections to the server from later client
versions, see Activating Teamwork Server license after purchase at
nomagic.com.
The automatic server project migration feature allows for migrating all server projects at one time.
You must have the Administer project permission for migrating
projects. For more information about the permissions, see “User
permissions” in MagicDraw Teamwork UserGuide.pdf.
After the project migration is completed, you will get a message informing about successful project migration or
containing the list of projects that were not migrated. You need to migrate those projects manually.
Perform these actions for all projects and modules you want to migrate to Teamwork Server version 17.0.1 or
later.
Troubleshooting
In particular cases, server projects are not upgraded to latest file format. It may happen in the following cases:
• When the entire project or some modules are not committed to the server.
• When the project structure remains locked after the project has been committed to the server.
In these cases, you get the following message while loading the project:
You are not allowed to make any modifications in such opened project as projects are opened in the read-only
mode.
After the project has been committed, the user should check if the project structure is unlocked. If the project
structure is locked, the user who locked the project or an administrator should unlock the project manually in
the Project Properties dialog.
For more information about project structure locking, see section
"Locking project structure" on page 1061.
Figure 637 -- View of Project Properties dialog when project structure is unlocked
3. Open the project. If the project was upgraded and committed properly, the project structure is
unlocked, and project is available for modifications.
Related procedures
Locking project structure
Committing to Teamwork Server
Related references
Commit Project to the Server dialog
Working with Project Properties Dialog
Related concepts
Representation of locked elements
Locking commands
Unlocking Model Elements and Diagrams
Related procedures
Unlocking Model Elements and Diagrams
Related references
Specification Window
Specifying Diagram Style Properties
Formatting Symbols
In the Containment tree, names of elements are presented in two colors. They are as follows:
• Locked elements are presented in black, meaning they are editable.
• Unlocked elements are presented in grey, meaning they are not editable.
The following figure illustrates the Containment tree with locked and unlocked elements.
Locking commands
Availability of locking commands depends on the item selected for locking. Commands are described in the
following table:
Before the project editing process, you need to lock the model elements so other users cannot edit them.
Elements and diagrams can only be locked by one and only one user at a time.
You may choose whether to update your model when locking elements or diagrams or not.
1. On the main menu, click Options > Environment. The Environment Options dialog opens.
2. In the options group list, select Collaboration.
3. In the options group select the Update Model When Locking option and do one of the
following:
• Set to false to lock elements or diagrams without updating the model.
• Set to true to update model when locking selected elements or diagrams.
If you have slow network and do not remove a lot of elements from the model, it is recommended not to update
your model on each element or diagram locking.
In any case, be rational in your decision. When elements or diagrams
are locked without updating the model, there is a risk to edit the
element or diagram that does not exist in the model any more.
The list of commands may vary depending on the item you have
selected.
Figure 639 -- Lock element for Edit button (fragment of Specification window)
1. In the Model Browser’s Lock View tab, expand the Project Options package.
2. From the Symbol Styles shortcut menu, select Lock Symbol Styles. All symbol styles are
locked and can be modified.
If symbol styles in the Project Options dialog are not locked, the Make
Default check box in the Symbol Properties dialog and Set Selected
Symbol Styles as Default button in the diagram toolbar are inactive
(see the following figures).
Figure 643 -- Set Selected Symbol Styles as Default button in diagram toolbar
Related references
Lock View tab
To reverse a code to the model that was already reversed, you need to lock elements that store code
engineering information.
1. In the Code engineering sets branch, select a code engineering set or code engineering
element you want to reverse.
2. On the selected items shortcut menu, click Reverse. The Reverse Options dialog opens.
3. In the Reverse Options dialog, set required options and click OK.
4. The Lock Elements dialog opens. Select elements you want to lock and click OK.
5. Depending on options you have selected in the Reverse Options dialog, you may need to
perform some more steps. Please follow instructions provided on your screen.
Starting with version 17.0.1, MagicDraw introduces an additional model integrity protection for a collaborative
environment. All project structure modifications can only be done by a single person at the same time. To
prevent simultaneous structure modification, project structure locking is realized in MagicDraw.
If you are in a collaborative environment and working simultaneously on the same project, the following
operations cannot be performed in parallel:
• Modifying shared packages. Adding and removing shared packages are now controlled by the
project structure lock.
• Importing new project features. Some plugins may install additional features, such as specific
options or code engineering abilities. An opened project structure is locked automatically, and
this project cannot be opened by other users.
• Upgrading project versions. The project structure is locked when the project is migrated from
an earlier version to the later version (for example, from version 17.0 to 17.0.1). While one user
is upgrading project version, the project is in read-only mode for other users until the first user
commits this project.
The project structure is automatically locked to ensure the correct model integrity when you perform one of
these operations. While the project structure is locked other users may continue getting error messages which
may prevent to work with the model. The project structure is unlocked automatically when the project is
committed. Alternatively, you can unlock the structure manually. Use the following procedure.
1. In the Model Browser's Lock View tab, select the Project Structure package.
Fro more information about the Lock View tab, see "Lock View tab"
on page 89
2. From the shortcut menu, select the Lock Project Structure command.
1. From the File menu, select Project Properties. The Project Properties dialog opens.
• From the File menu, select Project Properties and in the opened Project
Properties dialog, click the Unlock button.
• In the Model Browser's Lock View tab, select the Project Structure package and
on its shortcut menu, click the Unlock button.
2. Select one of the following commands:
• Unlock - to unlock the project structure.
• Discard Changes - to unlock the project structure discarding changes made after
the last commitment.
If the project structure is not locked, but you still get errors concerning project
locks, it may be that structure of used modules in a project are being locked
because of modules are also being upgraded. Please check if structures of all
modules are unlocked and modules are not of earlier formats.
1. From the Options menu, select Modules. The Modules dialog opens.
2. Select a module. If the module is not upgraded to the latest format, you get a warning at the
bottom of the dialog.
3. Open each module that requires upgrading and resave (commit) it to the server. The module is
upgraded to the latest version in this way. You can continue working with upgraded modules as
usually.
4. Reopen the main project to finish the upgrading process
Related procedures
Locking model elements and diagrams for editing
Unlocking model elements and diagrams after editing
Related references
Managing Used Projects
Working with Project Properties Dialog
Unlocking commands
Availability of unlocking commands depends on the locked item selected for unlocking. Commands are
described in the following table:
After you have finished editing, you should unlock model elements and diagram.
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Unlock All. The Commit Project to the Server dialog
opens.
2. Click to clear the Keep Locks check box. By default, the check box is selected.
3. Click Commit when you are done.
1. Open the Specification window of the selected locked element or locked symbol.
2. Click the Unlock element button (see the highlighted button in the following figure). This forbids
editing element specification properties in the Specification window.
If the element was modified, you will be requested to commit changes
to the server.
For more information about unlocking commands, see "Unlocking commands" on page 1066.
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Commit Project or press CTRL+K. The Commit Project
to the Server dialog opens.
2. Click to clear the Keep Locks check box.
3. Click Commit when you are done.
Model elements that are not modified are unlocked without committing
them to the server.
The administrator (that is a user named “Administrator”) can forcibly unlock elements locked by other users.
The unlocking procedures for administrator are the same as
described in section "Unlocking model elements and diagrams
after editing" on page 1066.
Forced unlocking is helpful when elements are left locked by the user who is currently unavailable.
Use forced unlocking only in very special cases, as this may cause
users working on this project to start their work again.
The user has a possibility to commit changes made to elements that were forcibly unlocked by an administrator.
To commit changes, the following conditions should be satisfied:
• The user should have the latest version before locked elements have been lost.
• A new revision of the project has not been committed to the server.
The preceding scenario is very rare, and users should not rely on it. After all, if administrator forcibly unlocked
elements, it means there was a need to edit these elements for some purpose.
Changes to elements that were locked and not forcibly unlocked by an administrator, can be committed to
Teamwork normally.
1. Lock the element or elements you want to delete (see "Locking model elements and diagrams
for editing" on page 1056).
2. Delete the element.
When committing a server project, new data (data from the MagicDraw application) is merged with the existing
one (the current project data on the server). If the current merged element does not yet reside on the server, it
should be added to the project without merging.
Only modifier model elements are committed to the server before the
new project version is created.
Any new elements added to the parent scope are given a unique name when placed among elements of the
same type.
click the button above the comment box, and select the
wanted comment from the Choose Comment dialog.
3. Add the version tags in the Version Tags tab (optional).
4. Select the Keep Locks option if you want to keep all the currently locked elements and
modules locked.
5. Click OK.
After committing a project, a new project version that contains
changes will be saved in the Teamwork Server.
If you want to save the project locally to your computer, on the File
menu, click Save Changes Locally.
Related procedures
Saving server projects locally
Related references
Commit Project to the Server dialog
You can save your server projects on a specific location in your computer. You can work with the local project
and also be able to commit changes to the server. Working with the local copy of the server project helps to
improve collaborative work productivity. Even if the connection with Teamwork Server is lost, you can still
continue working with the project and commit changes later, when the connection is restored.
Related procedures
Committing to Teamwork Server
You can convert a server project back to the local copy. After converting, the project will no longer be related
with a server and you will not be able to commit changes to the Teamwork Server anymore.
If a server project uses one or more module versions created with an earlier version than MagicDraw 17.0.1,
you need to save these modules with MagicDraw 17.0.1 manually. If you cannot change modules because your
project uses fixed modules, you should perform the following steps:
1. Log on to Teamwork Server which stores the module.
2. Branch each module of the earlier version from the fixed version to a separate branch.
3. Open the branched version of each module and commit it to the server in order to migrate the
module to the latest version.
4. In the project, change versions of each branched module to the branched version instead of
original one.
5. Save the project locally again.
Related procedures
Committing to Teamwork Server
When updating a project, the latest project version from the server is loaded. A new version of a project is
created every time a user commits new data to the server.
Model elements that are locked for will not be updated.
When updating lock information, the list of elements that are locked by other users is refreshed.
You should update a project when you know that a new project version is available on the server.
• From the Collaborate menu, select Update Lock Information, or press CTRL+SHIFT+U.
Versioning
Every time a project is committed, a new project version is created. You can undo committed changes by
setting a previous project version as latest.
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Projects or Open Server Project commands.
2. Click the Project History button. The Project Versions dialog opens.
The Project Versions dialog lists all versions of the selected project. You can set the selected project version
as latest, edit comments, and review other project versions.
Related references
Manage Projects dialog
Open Server Project dialog
Sending messages
While working in the collaborative environment, you can send messages to users who are currently logged on
to the server.
As of MagicDraw version 17.0.3, all the sent and received messages are stored in the Notification Window. You
will also receive the notification message informing about the received messages.
Figure 653 -- Example of message displayed in Notification Window and notification message
• You can send a message only to users who are on the same
Teamwork Server.
• To refresh the list of available users, reopen the Send Message
dialog.
For more information about the Notification Window, see “Notification
Window” on page 205.
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Send a Message or press CTRL+SHIFT+M. The Send
Message dialog opens.
2. In the Active users list, select a user or users to whom you want to send a message. To send
a message to all active users, select <all users>.
3. Type the message in the Message text box.
4. Click Send.
1. From the Code engineering sets shortcut menu in the Browser, select New and then select a
code engineering language. Type a name for new set.
2. Add elements from the Data branch to the newly created set. All elements (locked and
unlocked) can be added to set for code generation. Drag & drop them from the Browser tree.
3. Select the code engineering set, containing elements in the Browser and from the shortcut
menu, select Generate. The code is generated for all elements.
1. From the created code engineering set shortcut menu, select Edit.
2. Specify the Working Directory and Working Package, to where reversed elements will be
placed in the model.
Reversing the whole set to a defined package is allowed only if the
package is locked.
3. In the Add File tab from the Round Trip Set dialog, add code files from the All Files list to the
Set list. Click OK.
4. From the modified code engineering set shortcut menu, select Reverse. Define options in the
Reverse Options dialog. Click OK.
When performing a round-trip code engineering, code cannot be reversed for unlocked elements - the Reverse
command will be disabled in shortcut menu.
Introduction
Project Branching allows the user to derive one project version from another. It duplicates versions of a project
and enables users to work simultaneously on them. Branching increases productivity for those who:
• use MDA tools (for example AndroMDA, openArchitectureWare and other).
• produce different products that are still very interrelated. This is common when a product has
several versions and each of them is designed for different types of customers.
• have several development teams working on a single product and have to merge several
development branches before releasing the product.
The Teamwork Server project repository structures in MagicDraw are shown in the following figure.
As shown above, a branch can be created from any project or branch version. Every project and branch has at
least one version (version 0). In MagicDraw every project version also carries information of the version it was
derived from. Project and branch versions are assigned by adding 1 (one) to the previous project or branch
version number. A new version of a project can be derived from a previous project version or from any branch
version of the project. A new branch version can also be derived from any project version it belongs to or from
any branch version of that project. Every version can be tagged.
Modules are also projects. Therefore, they can also be branched. All features and rules that apply to projects
and project branches apply to modules as well.
A version of a project or a branch stores information of the modules it uses: the module path or module branch
and the version of that module or branch. A version may store the “latest” value. This means that it always uses
the latest version of the module or module branch.
Figure 656 -- Project repository structure (active versions are in bold) in MagicDraw. Arrows show data flow direction
The list of modules, which are used by a particular project version, is presented in the table below.
2. Branching a project does not cause branching of the modules it uses. The branch of a project
uses the same versions of the modules are used by the project it is derived from (it can be the
module “latest” version or some explicit version specified by the user). This scenario is depicted
in Figure 658 on page 1080.
Figure 658 -- Branched project uses the same versions of modules that are used by the project
The list of modules, which are used by a project in a particular project version, is presented in the table below.
Managing branches
You must have the Administer project permission for branching. For
more information about the permissions, see “User permissions” in
MagicDraw Teamwork UserGuide.pdf.
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Projects. The Edit Projects dialog opens.
2. Select the project from which a branch will be created.
3. Click the Project History button. The Project Versions dialog opens.
7. In the Create Branch dialog, click OK. A new project branch is created.
Figure 659 -- Project Versions dialog. Several branches are derived from single project version
To open a branch
Figure 660 -- Project title of main window: project name, branch name, and project version notation
To quickly open the latest version of a branch using the Open Server Project dialog
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Open Server Project. The Open Server Project dialog
opens.
2. Select a project.
3. Press the ... button. The Select Branch dialog opens.
The branch opened at the latest is recorded in the Open Server Project dialog. You can see the branch name
in the Branch column. The default branch value is Trunk.
You must have the Administer project permission for branching. For
more information about the permissions, see “User permissions” in
MagicDraw Teamwork UserGuide.pdf.
1. Open Project Versions dialog.
3. Select the Branch Used Modules check box. The Select modules to branch area appears in
the dialog.
4. In the Select modules to branch list, select the module to be branched together with the
project.
5. Click OK when you are done.
The workflow of project branching when modules are branched together with the project is depicted in
Figure 657 on page 1079.
Related references
Manage Projects dialog
Open Server Project dialog
Teamwork Dialogs
To activate the Teamwork interface, connect to Teamwork Server.
You can use the Manage Projects dialog to manage projects, assign them to other Teamwork users, and set
user permissions for the system and specific projects.
Alphabetical view Displays the plain project list without any category.
Expand Expands all categories. The button is available only in the categorized view.
Collapse Collapses all categories. The button is available only in the categorized view.
Project Info Opens the Versions dialog. In this dialog you can see project’s information, such as
comment, tags, modules, and meta information.
The button is available only when the project is selected.
Project History Opens the Project Versions dialog. The button is available only when the project is
selected.
For more information about Project Versions dialog, see "Project Versions dialog"
on page 1096.
Create Category Opens the Create Category dialog for creating a new category. The button is
available only in the categorized view.
For more information about creating categories, see the procedure "To create a
new category" on page 1045.
Remove Category Opens the dialog asking to confirm or cancel the removal of the selected category.
The button is available only in the categorized view, when the category or the
project is selected.
For more information about removing categories, see the procedure "To remove
the category" on page 1046.
Rename Category Opens the Rename Category dialog for renaming the selected category. The
button is available only in the categorized view, when the category or the project is
selected.
For more information about renaming categories, see the procedure "To rename a
category" on page 1045.
Move to Category Opens the Move to Category dialog for choosing the category to move the
selected project into. The button is available only in the categorized view, when the
project is selected.
For more information about project moving to category, see the procedure "To
move a project to another category" on page 1045.
Columns of the Project list
Name • The name of the project.
• The name of the category.
Related procedures
Creating server projects
Project Branching in Teamwork
Creating and managing categories
Versioning
Related references
Project Versions dialog
Related references
Add/Edit User dialog
The Add User dialog is used for creating a new Teamwork user, and the Edit User dialog is used for editing the
Teamwork user appropriately. Both dialogs have the same structure, only the Login field in the Edit User
dialog is not editable.
Related references
Edit Users dialog
The Open Server Project dialog is used for opening projects and managing them as well.
• Press CTRL+SHIFT+O.
Alphabetical view Displays the plain project list without any category.
Expand Expands all categories. The button is available only in the categorized view.
Collapse Collapses all categories. The button is available only in the categorized view.
Project Info Opens the Versions dialog. In this dialog you can see project’s information,
such as comment, tags, modules, and meta information.
The button is available only when the project is selected.
Project History Opens the Project Versions dialog. The button is available only when the
project is selected.
For more information about project versions, see:
• "Versioning" on page 1072.
• "To open the Project Versions dialog" on page 1096.
Related procedures
Creating server projects
Managing branches
Creating and managing categories
Versioning
Related references
Project Versions dialog
Rename dialog
The Rename dialog is used for changing the name of a project or module that is used in the project. In server
projects, it is absolutely safe to change module names as modules are identified by a module ID in the
Teamwork server, not by a module name.
Related references
Open Server Project dialog
Related procedures
Committing to Teamwork Server
In this dialog, project versions are listed from the latest one (which is on the top) to the oldest one.
2. In the Open Server Project dialog, select a project and click the Project History button .
Related procedures
Managing branches
Versioning
Understanding model differences
Related references
Manage Projects dialog
Open Server Project dialog
Version Information dialog
1. Open the Project Versions dialog (see the procedure "Project Versions dialog" on
page 1096).
Related references
Project Versions dialog
With a help of the Use Server Module wizard you can add a selected server module, such as a library, profile,
or other user defined module part.
• On the Collaborate menu, click Server Modules > Use Server Module.
• On the Options menu, click Modules. In the opened Modules dialog, click the Use Module
button.
• In the Containment Tree, open the selected module shortcut menu and click Modules >
Module Options. In the opened Modules dialog, click the Use Module button.
After the wizard is opened, you see the list of available server modules. Select the particular server module and
do one of the following:
• Click Next, if you need to change default module settings. The next wizard step opens.
• Click Finish. The selected server module is added to you project.
In this step, you can specify shared module accessibility and packages on which the corresponding module
share is placed.
Click Finish after you have specified module settings. The selected server module is added to you project
Related concepts
Data Partitioning on Teamwork Server
Related procedures
Working with server modules
Adding projects to server
Related concepts
Project Partitioning
Related procedures
Creating and managing categories
Related references
MOF Support
Use Server Module wizard
3. In the All data list, select one or more packages from which you want to create a server module
and click the Add button. The packages will be added to the Selected packages list.
4. Click OK.
In this step you may be asked to confirm or cancel the
dependency checking between the exported packages and the
rest of the project (including shared packages that belong to the
project and used modules). The dependency analysis step is
described in "Use Project wizard" on page 153.
5. Enter the name of the module for Teamwork Server, if there is such need.
6. Either select an existing category or type a new category name.
7. Click OK. The module will be created in Teamwork Server as a separate file.
4. You may decide to add more packages. In this case, perform step #3 that is described in the
procedure "To create a server module using the Collaborate menu" on page 1102.
5. Perform step #4 and step #5 that are described in the procedure "To create a server module
using the Collaborate menu" on page 1102.
Once the server module is created, all its packages and the elements they contain are read-only. Module name
and version number are displayed in the brackets next to each exported package name in the Containment
Tree (see the picture below).
In Teamwork Server, a project can be divided in several parts. You may perform several actions with the part of
the model:
• Reuse in other server projects
• Edit it separately.
• Export it as a server module.
You are not allowed to import a module into the server project, if a
module has cycle dependencies or it is used both by a project and by
the other module that is used in the project.
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Server Modules and then Use Server Module. The Use
Server Module dialog opens.
2. Select the module you want to use in your project. Click Next.
3. Specify Module Settings in the next step and click OK.
The module will appear as read-only or read-write. It is now available for use in your project. Open the module
as a separate project to edit it.
For a detailed description about editing a server module, see "To
edit a server module" on page 1104.
1. From the Collaborate menu, select Commit Project. The Commit Project to the Server
dialog opens (see "Commit Project to the Server dialog" on page 1095).
2. If you want to save this local module as a separate server module, perform the following steps:
3. Click the Local Modules tab.
4. In the Action list, select Add to Server. Perform this step for all modules you want
to add to Teamwork server.
MagicDraw standard modules cannot be added to server as they
already exist there.
5. Click Commit.
Figure 672 -- Local Modules tab on Commit Project to the Server dialog
Now the project is committed to the Teamwork Server, and the modules are created.
• From the module shortcut menu, select Modules > Reload Module. The version number of
the latest version is shown beside the module name (see the following figure).
This procedure allows you to use a new version of a module that has been uploaded to the
Teamwork Server. You can use reloaded module in your own server project.
The Project Usage Map allows for representing projects and their dependencies in two views:
• All Projects view that shows all projects and all the dependencies among them.
• Individual project view that shows a particular project along with other directly and indirectly
used modules.
Using the Project Usage Map you can easily do the following:
• Identify, analyze, and validate dependencies among projects (for example, you can find out
easily all the projects, wherein a particular module is used).
• Identify cyclic dependencies among projects. Identify and fix inconsistent dependencies among
projects.
Concepts
Cyclic usages
Several parts of the project are directly or indirectly using the main project.
Inconsistent mount
The project is mounted on different packages of the main project.
Module
A project with shared parts.
Non-sharing usage
A usage that makes a project invisible to other projects despite their using it as a module.
Sharing usage
A usage that makes a project visible to other projects wherein this project is used as a module.
Unconfirmed usage
The usage has been created automatically and is not yet confirmed by the user.
Unused modules
The project that has shared parts that are not used in any other project.
• From the Collaborate menu, select Project Usage Map > All Projects Map.
In the Project Usage Map, you can easily identify project usages. This means, that you can see which projects
uses or are used by the selected project.
A green arrow represents the incoming usage. The incoming usage is drawn between the selected project and
the project that is using it. In the description area, the project that is using the selected project is listed under
Used by.
An orange arrow represents the outgoing usage.The outgoing usage is drawn between a selected projects and
the project that is used by it. In the description area, pre project that is used by the selected project is listed
under Using.
You can export a project usage map to the model. This allows you for saving the current server project usages
representation in the class diagram and compare it with the latest representation (see the following figure).
For more information about comparing the projects, see
"Projects Comparison" on page 580.
• In the Project Usage Map window toolbar, click the Export to Model button.
Any changes in the exported project usage map will not affect
the Project Usage Map view.
1. In the Project Usage Map window, click the Copy as BMP Image button. The map view is
copied to the clipboard.
2. Paste in any image editor.
3. Save to the selected location.
Refresh the Project Usage Map to see the latest view of the Teamwork Server repository.
• In the Project Usage Map window toolbar, click the Refresh button.
All the layouts and selected filters will be cleared after
refreshing.
Solve the inconsistent usages and other problems by opening projects directly from the Project Usage Map.
To open as a project
Toolbar
Filters area
An orange arrow represents outgoing usages. A green arrow represents incoming usages.
The representation of the Sharing usage is depicted in the following figure by the solid grey arrow.
The representation of the Non-sharing usage is depicted in the following figure by the dashed gray arrow.
The representation of the mount point inconsistencies is depicted in the following figure.
Problem
When a project decomposition is used, the project is split into smaller projects. You can benefit from this
decomposed project - you need to load only small part of the project instead of all of it. This reduces complexity
and even improves performance.
In addition to this, you would not expect and most likely not care to load the remaining parts of the main project
each time you open a single part of it. This can happen if you have cyclic usages i.e. project parts are using the
main project. Typically, such usages increase complexity and reduce performance.
Also, if the project takes part in a cycle, it can't be reused as a totally independent part in another project. Other
projects taking part in the cycle will be automatically used as well.
Cycles are often a symptom of unintentional usages, created unknowingly by the user.
Solution
The Project Usage Map automatically identifies cycles and highlights them in the Repository View. You can
then open a Project Usage Map for the suspected projects participating in a cycle to analyze it more closely and
if necessary - break usages that cause cycles.
Problem
You are using different versions of the same project in your main project.
Solution
The Project Usage Map highlights these inconsistencies. You can then open projects with inconsistent usages
and fix them by unifying the used project version.
Problem
You are using a version from the trunk and branch of the same project in your main project
Solution
The Project Usage Map highlights these inconsistencies. You can then open projects with inconsistent usages
and fix them by unifying the used project branch.
Problem
You are mounting (mount - the other project usage in a particular package of the main project) the used project
in different packages in your main project
Solution
The Project Usage Map highlights these inconsistencies. You can then open projects with inconsistent usages
and fix them by unifying the used project mounted package information.
Solution
Be sure to check and resolve the model level usages between
the project and module.
There are two ways to solve unconfirmed module usage situation - either confirm it or reject it.
If the module usage A => B is good and necessary according to the end-user policy, it can be confirmed. I.e. the
user-defined usage is to be created in place of the current unconfirmed automated module usage.
To do that, use the Confirm and use the module into <module_name> solver of the validation result. This solver
opens the standard Use Module wizard and pre-selects the required module. When wizard is completed, the
necessary user-defined module usage is created.
If the usage A => B is not good according to the end-user policy (for example – leads to module usage cycles or
is incorrect because of semantically there should be no dependency between these modules), then it needs to
be rejected and removed. To remove the usage, the model-level references, that are causing this automated
module usage need to be changed – either removed, or redirected to different elements.
For more information about resolving the unconfirmed usages, see
"Resolving unconfirmed module usages" on page 165.
Problem
When the number of projects in the repository grows it is common for some of the projects to become outdated
or not used anymore. You would prefer removing them BUT you are not sure if they are not used by some
other, still-active project.
Solution
Be sure to check and resolve the model level usages between
the project and module.
The Project Usage Map highlights unused modules. Based on this information, you can move all of the unused
modules into the deprecated category or remove them entirely from the repository.
Shortcut keys
What do you want to do?
Windows OS Mac OS
Turn on the Full Screen mode F11 –
Open the recently closed diagram CTRL+SHIFT+T –
Paste a symbol style CTRL+SHIFT+V Cmd+SHIFT+V
Menu System
File menu
Button /
Shortcut
Command keys Function
New Project Creates a new project. Choose an icon to create a new Blank
Project, create a Project from an Existing Source, or create a
Project from a Template.
A project is nameless until you close or save it by choosing the
CTRL+ Save Project or Save Project As commands.
Shift+N You may simultaneously create as many new projects as you
wish, without saving and closing the previously created or open
projects. You may work on only one open or created project at a
time. If you wish to work with another project, select the project
name in the Projects list on the main window toolbar.
Open Project Opens an existing project.
The Open dialog box appears. Select a project you wish to open.
You may open as many projects as you wish. If you wish to work
with another project, select the project name in the Projects list
CTRL+O on the main window toolbar.
CTRL+S
Save Project As Saves the project giving it a name.
Use this command to save the current project for the first time or
under a different name, the Save dialog box appears. Type the
name of the project and select the format of the file you wish to
save.
Close Project Closes an open project.
If the open project has unsaved changes, MagicDraw displays a
dialog box asking whether the changes should be saved before
the project is closed.
Close All Projects Closes all open projects.
If the open projects have unsaved changes, MagicDraw displays
a dialog box asking whether the changes should be saved before
the each project is closed.
Open Element You can open any elements through their URLs by clicking the
from URL Open Element from URL command and the element will be
highlighted in the Containment tree or in the diagram. For more
information about element URL, see “Copying/Opening Element
URLs” on page 430.
Use Module The Use Module dialog box appears. Choose profile or module
for use in the project.
Button /
Shortcut
Command keys Function
Import From Imports data from:
• Another project - The Import dialog appears. Select the project
you wish to import. You may import as many projects as you
wish. Imports an existing project to a previously open project.
This is the recommended command for importing an existing
project to the teamwork server.
• CSV file
• UML XMI 2.1/2.4 file
• MagicDraw Native XML file
• MOF XMI File
• CA ERwin Data Modeler 7.x file
• Eclipse UML 2 (v1.x, v2.x, v3.x, v4.x) XMI file
• Enterprise Architect 2.1 XMI 2.1
• Rational Software Architect/Modeler project
• Rational Rose *.mdl project file
Export To Exports the project to:
• Module. The content of the selected objects is saved in a
separate file.
• Template. The project is saved as a template project.
• UML XMI 2.4 file
• MagicDraw Native XML file
• EMF Ecore file
• MOF XMI file
• Eclipse UML2 (v1.x, v2.x, v3.x, v4.x) XMI file. Exports the
model to EMF based UML 2 compatible XMI file.
Share Packages Saves the package as a separate module.
Save As Image Saves the open diagram as an image of in the selected formats.
The Save As Image command is used for saving any item or
group of items selected in the diagram pane, in one of the various
image file formats.
Print The Print dialog opens. Printing of active diagram, selected
symbols, selected diagrams, or all opened diagrams is available.
Select the printer, set the options for the printer, specify the
number of copies, and select the specific pages to be printed.
CTRL+P
Print Preview Preview the diagram before printing. The Print Preview window
opens.
Button /
Shortcut
Command keys Function
Project Properties The Project Properties dialog opens. This dialog contains the
following information: project location, file size, date created, date
modified for the last time, and number of diagrams in the project.
In the Description tab, type the description of the project or other
important information. The Modules tab shows a list of modules
the project is using.
The list shows a specified number of recent project files. Specify
the number of files in the Recent Files List Size property in the
Environment Options dialog box.
Switch Projects A list of open projects.
Exit Exits the application.
The File menu contains a list of recent projects. The shortcuts with numbers to recent projects are displayed. If
the shortcut is selected from the File menu, the recent project will open instantly.
Edit menu
MagicDraw allows you to use the Edit menu commands while drawing the diagrams on the Diagram pane. The
commands allow selecting, cutting, copying, and pasting of items and entire diagrams, reversing the actions
you have taken while drawing, and finding an item in the current project.
Button/
Command Shortcut keys Function
Undo Reverses the last action you have performed while drawing the
diagram on the Diagram pane (moving, dragging, resizing,
cutting, copying, pasting, deleting, selecting, editing shapes,
setting project and shape properties, etc.). Actions are reversed in
CTRL+Z the opposite order you have performed them, starting with the
most recent.
By default, the limit of the undo mechanism is 100 steps
backwards.
To change the limit, choose Environment from the Options
menu. The Environment Options dialog box appears. Change
the Undo List Size property.
The Undo command is unavailable until you perform any action
after loading an the existing project or creating a new project.
Each command has an easily recognized name. You will be able
to see the command history and undo or redo one action or a
group of actions. The main window will have two lists of
commands: one for the undo commands, another one for the redo
commands.
Button/
Command Shortcut keys Function
Redo Reverses the action of the Undo command (moving, dragging,
resizing, cutting, copying, pasting, deleting, selecting, etc.). The
Redo command is unavailable until you use the Undo command.
CTRL+Y
Cut Cuts the selected items or group of items on the Diagram pane.
The cut items are placed in the clipboard. Later they can be
pasted back to the Diagram pane of the current or to another
project.
CTRL+X The Cut command is unavailable until you select any item or any
group of items on the Diagram pane of the current project.
Copy Copies the selected items or group of items on the Diagram pane.
The copied items are placed in the clipboard. The cut items can
be pasted back to the Diagram pane or to another project.
CTRL+C
The Copy command is unavailable until you select any item or
any group of items on the Diagram pane of the current project.
Copy URL Copy a project element URL to a clipboard and share it with other
as a quick reference to model elements. For more information
about copying element URL, see “Copying/Opening Element
URLs” on page 430.
Paste Pastes the cut or copied items or group of items from the
clipboard to the Diagram pane of the current project.
MagicDraw creates shapes for items, or a group of items, in the
current project. You will see the data and shapes of the pasted
CTRL+V items and diagrams in the Browser window.
Paste with CTRL+E Creates new and pastes the cut or copied items or groups of
New Data items from the Clipboard to the Diagram pane of the current
project. MagicDraw creates new data and data shapes in the
current project.
Paste Style Pastes the symbol style on the selected symbol. For more
information about pasting symbol style, see "NEW! Displaying
rake icon on symbol" on page 322.
CTRL+SHIFT+V
Paste as Creates a new diagram overview with represented selected
Diagram elements in it. For more information about the diagram overview,
Overview see "Diagram Overview" on page 1031.
CTRL+D
Remove DELETE Deletes a symbol of model element from the diagrams, by leaving
from it in the model.
Diagram
Select All CTRL+A Selects all items on the Diagram pane of a particular project.
Button/
Command Shortcut keys Function
Select All of CTRL+ALT+A Selects all shapes of the selected types in active diagram.
the Same Enabled, when one or more shapes are selected in active
Type diagram.
Copy as CTRL+SHIFT+B Copies the selected model elements to the system clipboard. If no
BPM model elements are selected, the active diagram is copied.
Note that Copy as BMP Image is available only under Windows
system.
Copy as CTRL+SHIFT+E Copies the selected model elements to the system clipboard. If no
EMF model elements are selected, the active diagram is copied.
Note that Copying as EMF is available only under Windows
system.
Copy as CTRL+SHIFT+J Copies the selected model elements to the system clipboard as a
JPG JPG image. If no model elements are selected, the active diagram
is copied.
Note that copying as JPG is available only under Windows
system.
Copy as CTRL+SHIFT+P Copies the selected model elements to the system clipboard as a
PNG PNG image. If no model elements are selected, the active
diagram is copied.
Note that copying as PNG is available only under Windows
system.
Find Opens the Find dialog box.
CTRL+F
Quick Find CTRL+ALT+F Performs a quick search of class/interface, classifier, or diagram.
Find TODO Performs a search for the TODO tagged value. Results are
displayed in the Browser, Search Results tab.
Find and Ctrl+R Replaces one specified model value with another.
Replace
Paths • Path Style - choose the line style for drawing a path.
• Rectilinear – drawing rectilinear lines.
• Oblique - drawing free form lines.
• Bezier - in computer graphics, a curve that is calculated
mathematically to connect separate points in smooth, free-form
curves.
• Change Path Style – switches in series between rectilinear,
oblique, and bezier path line style. Shortcut is CTRL+L.
• Reset Labels Positions – resets the changed path labels
(name, roles, etc.) to the default position.
• Remove Break Points – removes the break points of the path
and makes the path a line straight.
Symbol All commands that are available through the shortcut menu for a
particular symbol.
View menu
Button / Shortcut
Command keys Function
Fit In Window Reduces the size of the whole diagram to fit in
CTRL+W the Diagram pane.
CTRL+NUMPAD
SLASH MARK (/)
Zoom To Selection CTRL+NUMPAD Increases the size of the selected model
ASTERICS MARK element on the Diagram pane to the maximum
(*) visible size.
Refresh CTRL+Shift+F Repaints all diagram shapes.
Grid Set grid options. Every diagram may have its
own grid settings:
• Show Grid - show/hide grid
• Snap Paths to Grid - use/do not use grid for
drawing paths.
• Snap Shapes to Grid - use/do not use grid
for drawing shapes.
• Grid Size - change the grid size. Type the
number.
Reopen Closed Tabs CTRL+SHIFT+T Opens diagram tabs starting from the last
closed.
Show Tabs in Full Screen F11 Shows opened diagram tabs the full screen
mode. Click Close Full Screen to return to the
previous view.
Button / Shortcut
Command keys Function
Main Toolbars: Clear the check boxes of the toolbars you want
• Menu Bar to hide or select/clear check boxes to rearrange
• File toolbar modes.
• Switch Projects
• Perspectives
• Collaboration
• External Tools
• Validation
• Rearrangable
• Hidable
• Floatable
• Expert Menu Mode
• Expert Toolbar Mode
• Customize
Diagram Toolbars: Clear the check boxes of the toolbars you want
• Navigation to hide or select/clear check boxes to rearrange
• Layout toolbar modes.
• Edit
• Symbol Editing
• Shape Editing
• View
• Rearrangable
• Hidable
• Floatable
• Expert Mode
• Customize
Status Line Select the check box of Show Status Bar or
Show Memory Monitor to display this info on
the status line.
Layout menu
Use the commands of the Layout menu for managing the layout of the shapes on the current Diagram pane.
You must select more than one shape for other Layout menu commands. A class diagram should be open and
activate before using the Class Diagram command in this menu.
Command Function
Layout Options Opens the Diagram Layout Options dialog box. Layout options for
the diagram can be set.
Quick Diagram Layout Applies recommended layout with default options on the active
(CTRL+Q) diagram.
Layout Class Diagram Applies layout, which uses specific layout algorithms to improve
Style class diagram readability.
Layout Activity Diagram Applies layout, which uses specific layout algorithms to improve
Style activity diagram readability.
Command Function
Layout Business Process Applies layout, which uses specific layout algorithms to improve
Diagram Style business process diagram readability.
Layout Hierarchic Style Applies layout that portrays the main direction or flow of directed
graphs. It is ideal for many application areas, especially for Workflow,
Software Engineering, Customer relationship management,
Configuration management, Process modeling, Database Modeling,
and Bio informatics.
Layout Tree Style Applies layout, which specializes in the layout of tree-structured
graphs. The need to visualize directed or undirected trees arises in
many application areas, e.g. Dataflow analysis, Software
Engineering, Network management, Bio informatics.
Layout Orthogonal Style Applies layout that is well suited for medium sized sparse diagrams.
It produces compact drawings with no overlapping shapes, few
crossings, and few bends. All edges will be routed in an orthogonal
style, i.e. only rectilinear style links will be used.
Layout Organic Style Applies layout of the organic style graph.
Layout Circular Style Applies layout of the algorithm that portrays interconnected ring and
star topologies. It is excellent for applications in social networking
(criminology, economics, ...), network management, WWW
visualization, and eCommerce.
Route Paths Rectilinearly Applies layout, which routes the links of a diagram using only vertical
(Ctrl+Shift+Q) and horizontal line segments, while keeping the positions of the
shapes in the diagram fixed. The routed links will usually not cross
through any shapes and not overlap any other links.
Route Paths Obliquely Applies layout, which routes the links of a diagram using oblique link
style, while keeping the positions of the shapes in the diagram fixed.
The routed links will usually not cross through any shapes and not
overlap any other links.
Make Same Width Applies layout to the selected shapes according to their width. After
the layout, the width of the shapes is equal (according to the widest).
Make Same Height Applies layout to the selected shapes according the their height.
After the layout, height of the shapes is equal (according to the
tallest).
Align Aligns the selected shapes:
• Right
• Aligns the selected shape(s) vertically, starting with the rightmost
shape(s).
• Left • Aligns the selected shape(s) vertically, starting with the leftmost
shape(s).
• Top • Aligns the selected shape(s) across from the uppermost shape(s).
• Bottom • Aligns the selected shape(s) across from the lowermost shape(s).
Diagrams menu
Shortcut
Command keys Function
Create Diagram The Create Diagram dialog opens.
Customize The Customize Diagrams dialog opens.
Diagram Wizards Wizards for creating diagrams may be
opened:
• Class Diagram Wizard
• Package Dependency Diagram Wizard
• Package Overview Diagram Wizard
• Activity Decomposition Hierarchy Wizard
• Hierarchy Diagram Wizard
• Realization Diagram Wizard
• Sequence Diagram from Java Source
Wizard
• Content Diagram Wizard
History F12 The History dialog opens.
Load All Diagrams If there are unloaded diagrams in the
project, this command loads all diagrams.
Options menu
Command Function
Project The Project Options dialog box opens.
Modules The Modules dialog box opens.
Environment The Environment Options dialog box opens.
Perspectives Choose a command from the submenu - to switch to
different Perspective or to Customize.
Look and Feel Choose a style for the MagicDraw (GUI) from the following
list:
• Metal
• CDE/Motif
• Vsnet (Windows)
• Office 2003 (Windows)
• Office 2007 (Windows)
• Eclipse (Windows)
• Xerto
The Look and Feel Themes command allows you to
personalize the GUI: set your favorite colors and fonts.
Tools menu
Shortcut
Command key Function
Apply Pattern The Pattern Wizard dialog box appears. Create
the design pattern for the selected class,
interface.
Model Transformations Opens the Model Transformations Wizard
dialog box with a list of all available
transformations.
Hyperlinks Opens the Hyperlink dialog where you can add
hyperlinks to any model elements.
Report Wizard The Report Wizard is the new report engine for
MD 14.0 and above. It is designed to solve the
several problems of the old engines (XSL/XSLT
and JPython).
It supports text based templates to generate the
output file. The format of output file depends on
the type of the template file. The type of template
files that the Report Wizard supports are normal
text, RTF, HTML, Spreadsheet template (need to
be saved as HTML format), and XML template
(DocBook or FO).
All commercial MagicDraw editions will have full
use of all features within the Report Wizard. For
more details, see MagicDraw ReportWizard
UserGuide.pdf.
Quick Reverse Choose the language you need (Java, Java
Bytecode, C++, C#, CIL, CIL Disassembler, IDL,
CORBA IDL, DDL, XML Schema, WSDL).
Opens the Round Trip Set dialog box. (For
more details, see Code Engineering User’s
Guide).
Generate Code Framework CTRL+G Generates code for the selected items in the
current diagram. Opens the Notification
Window with the information appears (For more
details, see Code Engineering User’s Guide).
Check Syntax CTRL+T Checks syntax in the model according to the
default code engineering language. Opens the
Notification Window with the information.
Set empty tags to defaults Set default tag value to tag with empty value.
This functionality is needed when the stereotype
is already assigned to an element and the new
mandatory tag definition with default value is
created for the stereotype. After creating such a
tag definition, the model elements that have the
modified stereotype applied will have newly
created tags unset.
For more information see “To create default tag
values” on page 995.
Integrations Opens the Integrations dialog box with a list of
tools for possible integration with MagicDraw.
Shortcut
Command key Function
Requirements
• DataHub
CTRL+ • Starts Cameo DataHub, if it is enabled. More
SHIFT+R information about Camae DataHub at http://
www.nomagic.com/products/cameo-
datahub.html.
CVS Performs operations with CVS (for detailed
description of integration with CVS, see
MagicDraw Integrations UserGuide.pdf)
• Command Line
• Allows the user to enter a CVS command line
(like “checkout -c”) whenever the CVS
command is not available through the menus.
The Command Line dialog box opens.
Check Spelling Checks spelling for the whole project or for the
selection. The Check Spelling dialog opens.
Scripts Runs the selected script. Select the script from
the Scripts dialog.
ParaMagic Plugin Starts ParaMagic Plugin, if it is enabled. More
about ParaMagic Plugin at http://
www.nomagic.com/products/sysml-plugin/
paramagic-plugin.html.
MDA Starts CameoMDA plugin, it is enabled. More
about CameoMDA Plugin at http://
www.nomagic.com/products/magicdraw-
addons/cameo-mda.html.
Analyze menu
Command Shortcut keys Function
Model Visualizer Opens the Model Visualizer dialog box with a
list of all available wizards.
Metrics Metrics feature allows the measurement of a
project by different viewpoints. Specify the
metrics scope in the Metrics Options dialog
box.
Compare Projects Opens the Compare Projects dialog box, where
you can choose projects to perform model
differencing.
Dependency Opens the Dependency Checker dialog box to
Checker configure the options for the dependency
analysis of the whole project.
Validation Validation functionality allows the completeness
and correctness evaluation of the models,
created by the user, according to constraints
defined in Object Constraint Language (OCL) or
java code.
For more information about validation, see
“Validation” on page 613.
Display Paths Displays paths among shapes that are already
created in the model data.
Display Related Displays elements related to the selected
Elements element.
Create Relation Creates the Relation Map for the selected
Map element.
More information about relation map, see
“Relation Map” on page 545.
Used By CTRL+ALT+U Finds a list of all elements that reference the
current element.
Depends On CTRL+ALT+D Finds a list of the elements that depend on the
current element.
Go To This is a feature that allows you to find model
elements associated with the selected model
element. Enabled when a selected element is
related to another model element.
Collaborate menu
These commands are available when you are working with server projects and are connected to the server. For
a detailed information about working with server projects, see section "Working with Server Projects" on
page 1040.
Window menu
You may use commands of the Window menu to manage the layout of the windows.
Shortcut
Command key Function
Containment Opens the Containment Tree tab in the
Browser window.
Inheritance Opens the Inheritance Tree tab in the Browser
window.
Diagrams Opens the Diagrams Tree tab in the Browser
window.
Model Extensions Opens the Model Extensions Tree tab in the
Browser window.
Search Results Opens the Search Results tab in the Browser
window.
Documentation Opens the Documentation tab in the Browser
window.
Zoom Opens the Zoom tab in the Browser window
Properties Opens the Properties tab in the Browser
window
Notification Window CTRL+M Opens the Messages Window. The Messages
Window is used for displaying the warnings
and errors that may appear in the project. It
appears automatically and is intended to
display the warnings and errors after saving,
loading, exporting and importing the project.
Reset Windows Configuration All Browser tabs are placed in their default
position.
List of open diagrams Displays a list of open diagrams.
Close All Tabs But Current CTRL+ Closes all open diagrams except the one you
SHIFT+ currently being used.
F4
Close All Tabs CTRL+ Closes all open diagrams.
ALT+F4
The Window menu contains a list of open diagrams in the project. The list shows the specified number of the
recent diagrams. This number can be customized in the Recent Windows List Size property in the
Environment Options dialog box. For a detailed description on this dialog box, see the Section “Customizing
Environment Options” on page 96.
Help menu
Command Function
Help Contents Displays a table of contents for the MagicDraw Help.
MagicDraw User Manual Opens the MagicDraw User Manual.
Other Documentation Displays the list of all available user’s guides and user’s
manuals.
Command Function
Tip of the Day Displays the Tip of the Day screen.
Report an Issue No Magic always welcomes your initiative. Submit bugs,
suggestions, and new feature requests through the Report
an Issue dialog directly to Online Support System.
View and Submit Internal View errors received during work with MagicDraw. Send a
Errors bug report to the No Magic support team.
For more information about submitting a bug see
"Reporting issues directly from MagicDraw" on page 41.
Check for Updates Opens The HTTP Proxy Server Connection dialog box.
Set the data for connection to start the MagicDraw update.
License Manager Select evaluation key, activate commercial license, or use
the floating license.
Finish Offline Floating If you are using offline Floating License, finish the offline
Session session.
Show Welcome Screen If no project is open, you may choose this command to
open the Welcome screen.
What’s New Opens the New and Noteworthy section: http://
www.nomagic.com/news/news-noteworthy.html
News Reader Read the latest news about new updates, products,
resources, and No Magic Inc. events.
Resource/Plugin Manager Check for available updates and new resources in the
Resource/Plugin Manager window.
MagicDraw on the Web The web pages where you can find additional information
• Online Support about MagicDraw and UML.
• Online Demo Get online support.
• New and Noteworthy
• MagicDraw Home Page
• UML Stuff
• No Magic Home Page
Entertainment with UML • Memory game. Open pictures to find pairs with as few
tries as possible.
• Puzzle game. Transpose the separate parts to get the
whole picture.
About MagicDraw Displays the information screen about the application.
Main Toolbars
The main toolbars are located at the top of the MagicDraw window, below the main menu. They contain the
commands for commonly used tasks, so helping to speed up your work with MagicDraw.
For more information about customizing toolbars, see “Customizing toolbars” on page 73.
File Toolbar
If you cannot see some of the buttons, please, check the perspective
and the mode you are working on.
Print Preview The Print Preview dialog box opens showing how your
diagram looks before printing.
Perspectives Toolbar
To change the MagicDraw user perspective, use the Perspectives toolbar.
If you cannot see some of the buttons, please, check the perspective
and the mode you are working on.
Validation Toolbar
To validate the created models, use the buttons on the Validation toolbar.
If you cannot see some of the buttons, please, check the perspective
and the mode you are working on.
Run Last Validation Click to run the model validation on options saved
in the Validation dialog box.
Diagram Toolbars
The diagram toolbar contains buttons for working with symbols on the diagram pane. Select any symbol or path
on the diagram pane and the required buttons from the diagram main toolbar become active.
Use the diagram main toolbar to change the symbol layout, path style, symbol properties style, diagram zoom
as well as symbol copy/paste, cut, or delete actions.
Navigation group
Select in Open the Containment tab and select the
Containment Tree current diagram or symbol in the
Containment tree.
Layout group
Quick diagram Apply the recommended layout tool with
layout default options to the active diagram.
Click the small arrow next to the Quick
Diagram Layout button to see other available
layouts.
Align Align the selected shapes according to their
size.
Make same width After the layout, the same width will be apply
to the shapes (according to the widest).
View group
Fit in Window, Zoom Using the view group buttons, you can
1:1, Zoom In, Zoom change the view of the diagram by zooming it
Out, and Percentage in and out.
drop down box NOTE You can also change the diagram view
in the Browser, Zoom panel.
Model Browser
The Model Browser is a hierarchical navigational tool that allows you to manage your model data, including
packages, components, classes, all UML diagrams, extension mechanisms, and other data. For more
information about Model Browser, see "Model Browser" on page 75.
All descriptions are duplicated from the OMG UML Specification with permission.
Activity Parameter Node An activity final node is a final node that stops all flows
in an activity.
Event (all type of events) An event is the specification of some occurrences that
may potentially trigger effects by an object.
Model Library This icon depicts Model with applied Model Library
stereotype.
The model library is a package that contains model
elements that are intended to be reused by other
packages.
N-ary Association An n-ary association is an association among two or
more classes (a single class may appear more than
once).
Node A node is a computational resource upon which
artifacts may be deployed for execution.
The nodes can be interconnected through
communication paths to define the network structures.
Shared Package Not all module contents are visible in the using project.
A module has a shared part and a not shared part. Only
the contents of the shared part are visible in the working
project.
The shared packages are marked with a hand image.
For more information about project partitioning, see
“Project Partitioning” on page 147.
Signal A signal is a specification of send request instances
communicated between objects.
Join Horizontal or Vertical A join node is a control node that synchronizes multiple
flows.
NEW! Rake Icon Rake icon on symbol informs about its internal diagram.
Icons of relationships
Icon Title Description
Relations branch Most of the relationships are included in the Relations
branch in the Browser.
"Appendix II: UML 2.5 Support" introduces the supported by MagicDraw changes of the UML specification from
2.4.1 to 2.5, including both metamodel and notation changes.
Metamodel Changes
This section summarizes the UML metamodel changes from 2.4.1 to 2.5 supported in MagicDraw and gives
some brief information about the impact of each change.
Updates legend
Notation Meaning
text addition
text removal
Properties Renamed
Property Description / Comment
NamedElement::classifierinheritingClassifier -
Classifier::classnestingClass
ParameterableElement::
parameterSubstitutionowningTemplateParameterS
ubstitution
Derivation Changes
Property Description / Comment
Property::/classifier : Classifier [0..1]{readOnly, All these properties have been made automatically
union, subsets Feature::featuringClassifier, subsets derived and read-only unions.
RedefinableElement::redefinitionContext}
InputPin::/action : Action[0..1]{readOnly, union,
subsets Element::owner}
Action::/input : InputPin[*]{ordered, readOnly,
union, subsets Element::ownedElement}
OutputPin::/action : Action[0..1]{readOnly, union,
subsets Element::owner}
NamedElement::/namespace :
Namespace[0..1]{readOnly, union, subsets
Element::owner}
DirectedRelationship::/source : Element Both properties have been made automatically derived
[1..*]{readOnly, union, subsets and read-only unions. This feature has been supported
Relationship::relatedElement} in earlier versions of MagicDraw.
DirectedRelationship::/target : Element
[1..*]{readOnly, union, subsets
Relationship::relatedElement}
NamedElement::/clientDependency The Client Dependency property of a named element
has been made automatically derived. This feature has
been supported in earlier versions of MagicDraw.
Order Changes
Property Description / Comment
AcceptEventAction::result : OutputPin The ability to order output pins holding the values
[0..*]{ordered, subsets Action::output} received from an event occurrence, has been available
in earlier versions of MagicDraw.
Association::/endType : Type [1..*]{ordered, The set of classifiers that are used as end types of the
subsets Relationship::relatedElement} association, is no longer ordered.
Classifier::/attribute : Property [0..*]{ordered, union, The ability to order the attributes, which are direct
subsets Classifier::feature} properties of a classifier has been available in earlier
versions of MagicDraw.
Though the Attribute property cannot be edited, its
value displays the same order of the attributes as is
defined in other places of the classifier specification,
such as the Owned Attribute property or the Attributes
property group. Thus to change the Attribute property
value, change the value of a relevant property.
ConnectableElement::/end : ConnectorEnd A set of connector ends that attach to the particular
[0..*]{ordered} connectable element, is no longer ordered.
DurationObservation::event : NamedElement Event elements are now automatically ordered.
[1..2]{ordered}
ReplyAction::♦ replyValue : InputPin [0..*]{ordered, The set of input pins can now be ordered. In the Reply
subsets Action::input} Value property value cell, click the button to open the
dialog for reordering.
UnmarshallAction::♦result : OutputPin The set of output pins can now be ordered. In the
[1..*]{ordered, subsets Action::output} Result property value cell, click the button to open
the dialog for reordering.
Other Changes
Property Description / Comment
LoopNode::♦loopVariable : OutputPin [0..*]{ordered, The Loop Variable property has been made
subsets Element::ownedElement} composite.
OutputPin::loopNode : LoopNode[0..1]{subsets
Element::owner}
Activity::structuredNode : StructuredActivityNode The property has been made read-only in earlier
[0..*]{readOnly, subsets Activity::node, versions of MagicDraw.
Activity::group}
Properties Removed
Property Description / Comment
Property::/default : String[0..1] The Default property no longer appears in a property
specification. The value of the Default Value property
will be used instead of the removed property value.
Notation Changes
The inherited members are denoted with the caret “^” sign.
To convert the older models, simply open them with MagicDraw 18.0 or later and then re-save them. The
models will be automatically converted to the latest format and the next time will open as UML 2.5 models. After
the conversion to UML 2.5, all property values of these models will persist.
V
View menu 94, 1075
visibility
for operation 995
of association end 886
showing on attribute 902
showing on operation 902
W
web diagram 802
Window menu 106, 1087
Windows
JVM 53
wizards 404, 537
workspace 178
WSDL diagram 812
X
XMI 186
XML Schema diagram 814, 817, 825
Z
Zoom 1:1 (command) 94, 1075
Zoom In (command) 94, 1075
Zoom Out (command) 94, 1075
Zoom To Selection (command) 94, 1075
zooming 306
adjusting step size 307
fit in window 306
to maximum size 307
to original size 306
using Browser 135
zoom in 306
zoom out 306