Symbols

PowerDesigner gives you wide control over the formatting and arrangement of your object symbols.

To change the format or content of a single symbol, right-click it and select Format (see Symbol Format Properties) Use the commands Get Format and Apply Format to copy the format of one symbol to another.
To change the format or content of all the symbols in a diagram, select Tools > Display Preferences (see Display Preferences).
To arrange and manipulate groups of symbols, use the Symbol menu (see Aligning, Ordering, Grouping, and Hiding Symbols).

The following symbol modes are available:

Mode	Details
Icon:	Most EAM and DMM objects support icon or picture symbols that display a name or other limited information beneath them. To switch between icon and detail mode, right-click the symbol and toggle the Show Detail command. To change any object symbol to an icon, select a Custom Shape of type Bitmap in the Symbol Format or Display Preferences dialog.
Detail:	All objects support detail symbols (rectangles or other shapes) that can contain extensive information about the object inside the symbol, including lists of sub-objects. To control the information displayed, use the Content tab in the Symbol Format or Display Preferences dialog.
Editable Composite:	Many EAM objects (and CDM and LDM entities using the Barker notation) support editable composite symbols that allow you to create or drag and drop sub-objects on the symbol. To switch between composite and detail mode, right-click the symbol and use the Composite View submenu.
Read-Only Composite:	Decomposed BPM processes and OOM activities and packages in all types of models support read-only composite symbols that display the object's sub-diagram. To descend into the sub-diagram for editing, press Ctrl and double-click the symbol. To go back up to the parent diagram, press Ctrl+U.

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.
Aligning, Ordering, Grouping, and Hiding Symbols
The Symbol menu provides various options for formatting and arranging your symbols.
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.
Finding Symbols from the Browser, Object Lists, and the Result List
You can find all the symbols representing an object listed in the Browser, in a model list, or in the Result List window by right-clicking the object and selecting Find in Diagram.
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.

Parent topic: Diagrams, Matrices, and Symbols