Association Link Properties

To view or edit an association link's properties, double-click its diagram symbol or Browser or list entry. The property sheet tabs and fields listed here are those available by default, before any customization of the interface by you or an administrator.

The General tab contains the following properties:

Property

Description

Entity

Specifies the entity connected by the association link. Use the tools to the right of the list to create, browse for, or view the properties of the currently selected entity.

Association

Specifies the association connected by the association link.

Role

Specifies the label indicating the role of the association link.

Identifier

Indicates if the entity is dependent on the other entity.

Cardinality

Specifies the number of occurrences (one or many) that one entity has relative to another. You define the cardinality for each association link between the association and the entity. You can choose between:
  • 0,1 - There can be zero or one occurrence of the association in relation to one instance of the entity. The association is not mandatory

  • 0,n - There can be zero or many occurrences of the association in relation to one instance of the entity. The association is not mandatory

  • 1,1 - One occurrence of the entity can be related to only one occurrence of the association. The association is mandatory

  • 1,n - One occurrence of the entity can be related to one or many occurrences of the association. The association is mandatory

You can change the default format of cardinalities from the registry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sybase\PowerDesigner <version>\ModelOptions\Conceptual Options
CardinalityNotation=1 (0..1) or 2 (0,1)

Keywords

Provide a way of loosely grouping objects through tagging. To enter multiple keywords, separate them with commas.