Shortcuts and Replicas

Shortcuts and object replications allow you to reuse objects defined in one model or package elsewhere. You should use a shortcut when you want to reference an object in another model or package, and a replica when you want to create a local copy of the object and make changes to one or more of its properties.

Note: You cannot transform a shortcut into a replica, or vice versa. When choosing to create a shortcut or replica, you should identify how you want to use it. For example, if you want to reuse an existing table in your PDM, you should create a:

Shortcut - If you do not require the table to belong to your domain or namespace, and you just want to reference it without modifying its structure (adding, removing or otherwise changing columns or other sub-objects).
Replica - If you need a synchronized copy of the table in your namespace, or you want to modify its structure.
Graphical synonym - If you merely want additional instances of the object symbol in your diagram to improve its readability and simplify linking (see Creating Graphical Synonyms for Object Symbols).

A shortcut or replica is:

Internal – if it points to an object in a different package in the same model.
External – if it points to an object in a different model.

Shortcuts and replications allow you to benefit from:

Reusability - You can create libraries of reusable objects whose properties are inherited by multiple objects in different models. For example, the Person entity and its four attributes (Name, Age, Nationality and Address) can be used via inheritance links in any model where you have need of a customer, employee, etc.

In the following example, a Person entity is created in the Dictionary CDM, and a shortcut to it is created in the Sales CDM, where the Employee and Customer entities inherit from it:
Automatic updates - When the target object changes, the updates cascade automatically (if both the referencing and target models are open in the workspace) to all the shortcuts and replicas.

You can create shortcuts or replicas for most PowerDesigner objects (including composite objects and other shortcuts or replicas). When you replicate an object, its sub-objects are also replicated. You cannot create shortcuts or replicas for the following types of objects:

Module	No Shortcuts For...	No Replicas For...
All	Diagrams, Links	Diagrams, Links, Packages
RQM	Traceability link, user allocation	-
EAM	-	-
BPM	Decisions, synchronizations	Starts, ends, synchronizations
CDM/LDM	Associations, Inheritances	Associations, Inheritances
PDM	Privileges	Privileges
DMM	-	Replications not supported
OOM	Decisions, synchronizations, interaction fragments, interaction references, messages	Starts, ends, synchronizations, interaction fragments, interaction references, messages
XSM	Internal shortcuts not supported for any object. External shortcuts not supported for imports, includes, redefines, annotations	-

Note: You cannot create internal shortcuts or replicas to global objects, such as organization units, or business rules, because they belong to the model and cannot be displaced into a sub-package. You can reuse data item shortcuts only if they are internal (same namespace). A duplicated data item shortcut has the same characteristics as the original data item shortcut.

Creating Shortcuts
You can create shortcuts to target objects from another package in the current model, or from another model open in the workspace through copy and paste, drag and drop, or from the List of Shortcuts.
Creating Replicas
You can create replicas to target objects from another package in the current model, or from another model open in the workspace through drag and drop, or from the Replicate Objects dialog.
Synchronizing Shortcuts and Replicas
When you make changes to a target object, the shortcut or replica is synchronized instantly or, if the referencing model is closed, when it is next opened. Both the referencing and target models must be open for synchronization to occur.
Viewing Shortcut and Replica Dependencies
To view all the objects that are linked to or otherwise depend on a shortcut or replica, open the property sheet of the shortcut or replica and click the Dependencies tab. To view all the shortcuts or replicas that have been created from a target object, open the property sheet of the target object and click the Dependencies tab and the Shortcuts or Replicas subtab.
Working with Target Models
Shortcuts and replicas that you create yourself, as well as the shortcuts that PowerDesigner creates automatically when you link or map objects or perform other tasks, all point to objects in other models, which are called target models.
Generating Shortcuts and Replicas
If you generate another model from your model, you can choose not to generate your shortcuts and replicas. If you generate your shortcuts, you can choose to generate them as shortcuts or to transform them into independent objects. If you intend to generate to another type of model (for instance, a PDM from an OOM) and want to retain your shortcuts and replicas, then you should first generate the target models from which they were created, so that your generated model will have appropriate target objects to synchronize them with.

Parent topic: Linking and Synchronizing Models