Stereotype Properties

You specify the properties for a stereotype by selecting its entry in the resource editor.

Property

Description

Name

Specifies the internal name of the stereotype, which can be used for scripting.

Label

Specifies the display name of the stereotype, which will appear in the PowerDesigner interface.

Parent

Specifies a parent stereotype of the stereotype. You can select a stereotype defined in the same metaclass or in a parent metaclass. Click the Properties button to go to the parent stereotype in the tree and display its properties.

Abstract

Specifies that the stereotype cannot be applied to metaclass instances. The stereotype will not appear in the stereotype list in the object property sheet, and can only be used as a parent of other child stereotypes. If you select this property, the Use as metaclass check box is not available.

Use as metaclass

Specifies that the stereotype is a sub-classification for instances of the selected metaclass. The stereotype will have its own list of objects and Browser category, and its own tab in multi-pane selection boxes such as those used for generation. For more information, see Promoting a Stereotype to Metaclass Status.

No Symbol

[available when Use as metaclass is selected] Specifies that when instances of the stereotyped metaclass are created, they will not have diagram symbols. This can be useful when you want to model sub-objects or other objects that do not need to appear in the diagram. The Toolbox custom tool option is disabled when this option is selected.

Icon

Specifies an icon for stereotyped instances of the metaclass. Click the tools to the right of this field in order to browse for .cur or .ico files.

Toolbox custom tool

Associates a tool in a toolbox to the current stereotype. This option is available for objects supporting symbols, it cannot be used for the stereotype of an attribute for example. For more information, see Specifying an Icon and Custom Tool for a Stereotype.

Plural label

[available when Use as metaclass is selected] Specifies the plural form of the display name that will appear in the PowerDesigner interface.

Default name

[available when Use as metaclass or Toolbox Custom Tool is selected] Specifies a default name for objects created. A counter will be automatically appended to the name specified to generate unique names.

A default name can be useful when designing for a target language or application with strict naming conventions. Note that the default name does not prevail over model naming conventions, so if a name is not correct it is automatically modified.

Comment

Additional information about the stereotype.