Using the Metamodel Objects Help File

PowerDesigner provides documentation of the metamodel available from Help > Metamodel Objects Help.

The file can be opened from the Edit/Run Script dialog (see Running Scripts in PowerDesigner) or from a metaclass in a resource file (see Metaclasses (Profile)) by clicking the Find in MetaModel Help button or pressing Ctrl+F1. It can also be opened from any object property sheet by pressing Ctrl+F1 or clicking the Property Sheet Menu button and selecting Find in MetaModel Help.

The three top-level nodes contain the following documentation:

Nodes	What you can find...
Basic Elements	Provides general information on: Collections of objects - provide the principal way of navigating the metamodel (see Browsing and Modifying Collections (Scripting)). Structured Types - used for positioning symbols in diagrams (see Displaying, Formatting, and Positioning Symbols (Scripting)). Global properties, constants, and functions - provide entry points for scripting (see Manipulating Models, Collections, and Objects (Scripting)).
Libraries	Provides exhaustive documentation of all scriptable properties, collections, and methods for metamodel objects, organized by module.
Appendix	Includes an expandable hierarchy showing all the metaclasses in the PowerDesigner metamodel, a VBScript code sample, and a list of the class ID constants used to identify objects in certain contexts (see Accessing and Modifying Objects and Properties (Scripting)).

To obtain information about the properties, collections and methods available for a particular metaclass, navigate to it under the Libraries category, or locate it in the index. All properties, collections, and methods are listed in the index.

Each metaclass shows the hierarchy of ancestors from which it is descended and inherits. After a brief description and symbol, it then lists:

Specific Members - a table which lists the properties, collections, and methods defined directly on this metaclass
Full definition - which lists, in separate tables, the properties, collections, and methods inherited from each of its ancestors. For example, the Table metaclass (located at Libraries\PdPDM\Table) inherits members from:
- PdCommon.BaseObject
- PdCommon.IdentifiedObject
- PdCommon.ExtensibleObject
- PdCommon.NamedObject
- PdCommon.NamedClassifier
- PdPDM.BaseTable
- PdPDM.View