You can change the size, line style, fill, shadow, font, alignment, shape and content of symbols in the Symbol Format dialog. Some items may not be available if your modeling methodology restricts the modification of symbol format or content.
You may arrive at the Symbol Format dialog when changing the format of:
One or more individual symbols – select the symbols and then press Ctrl+T, select , or Format from the contextual menu.
All symbols - via display preferences (see Display Preferences).
Custom symbols defined for extensions – see Customizing and Extending PowerDesigner > Extension Files.
The Size tab controls the size of the symbol and how the size can be manipulated:
Property |
Description |
---|---|
Current size |
Specifies the width and height (in pixels) of the symbol. |
Normal size |
[read-only] Specifies the default width and height (in pixels) for symbols of this kind. |
Auto-adjust to text [Ctrl+J] |
[Default] Auto-resizes the width of the symbol to display all the text it contains up to the value specified for word wrapping in the diagram (see General Settings Display Preferences). This option is disabled if you select the Keep size preference or manually resize the symbol and can be reapplied by selecting the symbol and pressing Ctrl+J. |
Keep aspect ratio |
Maintains the ratio of height to width when manually resizing the symbol. |
Keep center |
Maintains the center position of the symbol when resizing it. |
Keep size |
Prevents the resizing of symbols through:
|
The Line Style tab controls the color, size and format of lines (for link and other one-dimensional symbols) and borders (for two-dimensional symbols, such as classes or tables). You can modify the line style of any symbol in the model.
Property |
Description |
---|---|
Color |
Specifies the color of the line or border. |
Width |
Specifies the thickness of the line or border. |
Style |
Specifies the format of the line or border, such as invisible, solid, dashed or dotted. |
Corners |
[Link and line symbols only] Specifies the format of corners, such as sharp or rounded right-angles and free angles. |
Arrow |
[Link and line symbols only] Specifies the format of the link or line symbol at its Beginning, Center, and End. |
Use perpendicular arrow |
[Link and line symbols only] Specifies that the link or line object always touches objects at its ends at a right angle. This option allows you to use free angles for the body of a link or line object, while retaining a connection at right angles for its beginning and end. |
The Fill tab controls the color, content, and effects for symbol filling.
Fill effects |
Description |
---|---|
Fill color |
Specifies the color to use for the fill. The Fill color check box is available for free symbols, packages, interaction fragments, and swimlanes, and when cleared will create a transparent symbol. This can be useful when you wish to use an "in-box" UML representation, for packages for example. Note that transparent objects can only be selected by clicking near their borders. |
Image |
Specifies a graphic file to display within the symbol. Click the Modify button to select a file. |
Display Mode |
Specifies the alignment of the image within the symbol. |
Gradient |
Specifies the gradient fill options. Click the Modify button to open a dialog allowing you to control Start and End colors, End Color Luminosity, Shading Style and Gradient Mode. |
The Shadow tab allows you to add a standard, 3D effect or gradient shadow to objects in a diagram.
The Font tab allows you to define the display preferences for the font, size, style, and color of text associated with symbols in the model. When you modify font preferences, they apply to all existing and new symbols.
The Text Alignment tab allows you to define the alignment of text in text boxes and rectangles, ellipses, rounded rectangles, and polygons.
Parameter |
Description |
---|---|
Center |
Centers the text horizontally and vertically. |
Word wrapping |
Auto-wraps text in the symbol. |
Horizontal |
Aligns text to the left, center, or right on the horizontal axis. |
Vertical |
Aligns text to the top, center, or bottom on the vertical axis |
The Custom Shape tab allows you to define a new symbol shape for most non-link symbols.
Property |
Description |
---|---|
Enable custom shape |
Enables or disables the customization of a symbol shape |
Shape Type |
Specifies the type of shape to be used. Choose one of the following values, and then click the Browse button to select an image (see Browsing for Images):
|
Shape Name |
List of the available shapes of the selected type. Click the Browse button to select shapes. |
Display name |
Specifies where the symbol name should appear (Center option is not available for icon shapes) |
The Content tab allows you to specify the information that you want to display on the symbol. The properties that are listed on this tab as being available for selection are controlled by the content display preferences (see Content Display Preferences).
The Sub-Objects tab is only available when you open the Format tab after having selected a single object. It allows you very fine control over the sub-objects (such as PDM table columns or OOM class attributes and operations) that you want to display inside your object symbol. For each individual sub-object, you can decide whether to display it or not, and what font to use for its display.
Each collection of sub-objects that is enabled in the display preferences has its own sub-tab. For each sub-object, you can: