PowerDesigner provides multiple tools and techniques for manipulating object symbols in your model diagrams.
Manipulating Symbols
You can select symbols in a PowerDesigner diagram using standard gestures. You can edit properties of the selected symbol's object or it's sub-objects, and resize the symbol by clicking and dragging on its handles.
Manipulating Link Symbols
You can add and remove corners to and from link symbols, and change the objects that they connect.
Symbol Format Properties
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.
Using Composite View to Display Sub-Objects within a Symbol
Many objects (packages, processes, classes, activities, states, EAM objects, etc.) have the capability to display sub-objects within their symbols through one or more composite view modes. Depending on the type of object, the sub-objects can be displayed either as a static sub-diagram within the symbol or as dynamically editable symbols that you can create and arrange directly from the parent diagram.
Creating Graphical Synonyms for Object Symbols
Graphical synonyms let you depict an object more than once within a diagram. This can improve readability by reducing the length or complexity of links when you have an object that is linked to many other objects. You create a graphical synonym by right-clicking a symbol and selecting Edit > Create Graphical Synonym. You can create as many graphical synonyms as you want within the same diagram, including graphical synonyms of graphical synonyms and of shortcuts. Each graphical synonym displays the name of the object followed by a colon and the number of the synonym.
Browsing for Images
The Select Image dialog lets you manage the images that you use in your model diagrams, and to insert them into your models as object symbols, diagram backgrounds, etc.
Decorative Symbols
Lines, ellipses, rectangles, and other decorative symbol tools available in the Toolbox have no technical meaning, but can help with readability. You can use them to surround parts of a model to, for example, distinguish domains of activity.