Adding an Item from a Selection List

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

Most selection lists display objects contained in the current model or in individual packages contained in that model. Other selection lists, such as the following, allow you to display both objects contained in the current model and other models:

The following tools are available in selection lists:

Tool

Description

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Model list - Lets you specify a model as the basis for the list.

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Package list - Lets you specify a package as the basis for the list.

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Owner List - [PDMs only] Lets you specify a user as the basis for the list. The list will contain only objects owned by the specified user or by no user. If you select User <NONE>, then all the objects are displayed.

Include Sub-Packages - Includes objects contained in sub-packages (Include Sub-Packages) in the list.

As this tool allows you to display all objects, regardless of their package, some objects in the list may have the same name and be difficult to identify. In this situation, you can use the Customize Columns and Filter tool, to display the Object Location column to identify where the objects are defined.

Include Composite-Objects - Includes composite objects, such as sub-process, sub-activity, sub state, in the list

Include External Shortcuts - Includes shortcuts to objects in other models in the list. The model containing the original objects must be open for external shortcuts to be available for selection. When generating, external shortcuts are generated as ordinary objects.

Select All - Selects all the objects in the current object type tab. To select all check boxes in all object type tabs, click the arrow and select All Lists or you can press the Ctrl key and click the Select All tool.

Deselect All - Deselects all the objects in the current object type tab. To clear all check boxes in all object type tabs, click the arrow and select All Lists or press the Ctrl key and click the Deselect All tool.

Use Graphical Selection - Selects only the objects currently selected in the diagram. To apply the graphical selection in all object type tabs, press the Ctrl key and click the Use Graphical Selection tool.

Move Selected Items to Top - Moves all selected objects to the top of the list.

Move Selected Items to Bottom - Moves all selected objects to the bottom of the list.

Customize Columns and Filter - Opens the Customize Columns and Filter dialog (see Customizing Object List Columns and Filtering Lists), which allows you to define a filter expression to apply to the selection list.

Enable/Disable Filter - Applies the filter defined in the Customize Columns and Filter dialog to restrict the list of objects available for selection to those meeting its criteria. The currently defined filter is displayed in the Filter box underneath the object list.

Use Filter for Selection - Applies the filter defined in the Customize Columns and Filter dialog to select all objects meeting its criteria from the list. This selection by criteria is persistent for as long as the tool is applied.

Ctrl + selection tool

Applies the action of the selection tool to all object types in the different tabs.

Saving Object Selections

In some selection lists, you can save sets of object selections in your model, so that you can reuse them easily. To save a selection, enter a name in the Selection list at the bottom of the Selection tab then click the Save tool beside the list. The selection is saved as part of the model file.

Note: When reverse engineering from a live data source, object selections are saved into separate files, as you need not have any model open in the Workspace (see Data Modeling > Building Data Models > Generating and Reverse-Engineering Databases > Reverse Engineering a Database into a PDM > Database Reverse Engineering Selection Window). In this case, you must select a folder before being able to save the object selection.

Confirming Object Selections

In a selection list, the display of your object selection may be modified whenever you perform one of the following actions:
  • Change the folder selection using the Model or Package list

  • Deselect the Include Sub-Packages/Sub-Objects tool

  • Deselect the Include Shortcuts tool

  • Apply a filter using the Enable Filter tool

  • Change the database or owner in the Reverse Engineering from a data source dialog box

In this case, some objects that have already been selected will no longer be displayed, and a dialog opens prompting you to:
  • Select only the objects displayed - Other objects that are no longer displayed are deselected.

  • Keep the hidden objects in the selection – All the previously selected objects are retained, including those that are no longer shown. This allows you to take into account object selections you have made in several packages for example.

  • Cancel - The commit of the selection list is canceled and the selection page now displays all objects and sub-objects in the model to let you modify your selection if necessary.

If you confirm your selection by clicking OK, the confirmation dialog will not be displayed again, even if you again modify your parameters.