PowerDesigner can use variables in the generation and reverse-engineering of database security objects.
| Variable | Comment | 
|---|---|
| %PRIVLIST% | List of privileges for a grant order | 
| %REVPRIVLIST% | List of privileges for a revoke order | 
| %PERMLIST% | List of permissions for a grant order | 
| %REVPERMLIST% | List of permissions for a revoke order | 
| %COLNPERMISSION% | Permissions on a specific list of columns | 
| %BITMAPCOLN% | Bitmap of specific columns with permissions | 
| %USER% | Name of the user | 
| %GROUP% | Name of the group | 
| %ROLE% | Name of the role | 
| %GRANTEE% | Generic name used to design a user, a group, or a role | 
| %PASSWORD% | Password for a user, group, or role | 
| %OBJECT% | Database objects (table, view, column, and so on) | 
| %PERMISSION% | SQL grant/revoke order for a database object | 
| %PRIVILEGE% | SQL grant/revoke order for an ID (user, group, or role) | 
| %GRANTOPTION% | Option for grant: with grant option / with admin option | 
| %REVOKEOPTION% | Option for revoke: with cascade | 
| %GRANTOR% | User that grants the permission | 
| %MEMBER% | Member of a group or member with a role | 
| %GROUPS% | List of groups separated by the delimiter | 
| %MEMBERS% | List of members (users or roles) of a group or role separated by the delimiter | 
| %ROLES% | List of parent roles of a user or role | 
| %SCHEMADEFN% | Schema definition |