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agilian_user_guide Chapter 3 - Style and Formatting

Chapter 3 - Style and Formatting

This chapter will show you how to change the style and format of diagram elements.

One of the goals of modeling is help the modeler and readers to understand the subject being modeled. As a result, applying consistent style and formatting can greatly improve the efficiency of modeling. In Agilian, it supports a rich array of tools in a set to help the modeler to perform modeling.

In this chapter:

Connector Styles

Connectors are the lines that connect two shapes. When more shapes are created and more connectors appear, you may find that it is difficult to handle the straight spaghetti-like connectors. To overcome this problem, Agilian provides five connector styles to help you handle the connectors, namely Rectilinear, Oblique, Curve, Round Oblique and Round Rectilinear.

Figure 3.1 - Different types of connectors

Setting Connector Style

When a new connector is created, it follows the default connector style defined in the Options of the application. It is possible to change the connector style individually. There are two ways to change the connector style. The first one is via a popup menu and the other is via the Property table.
To change the connector style via popup menu:

  1. Right click the connector that you want to change the style of.
  2. Select the Connector Style menu and then the connector style sub-menu will appear.
  3. Select either Rectilinear, Oblique, Curve, Round Oblique or Round Rectilinear.
  4. Figure 3.2 - Change connector style on popup menu
To change the connector style via Property table:
  1. Select the connector whose style you want to change.
  2. Find the Connector style row in the Property table.
  3. Click the Value column of Connector style row.
  4. Select either Rectilinear, Oblique, Curve, Round Oblique or Round Rectilinear.
  5. Figure 3.3 - Change connector style on properties table

Rectilinear Connector Style

Once the connector is set to Rectilinear, the connector always remains either horizontal or vertical. You cannot create a breakpoint on the connector by yourself. The breakpoints are generated on the connector automatically after you reshape the line.

In the following figure, there is a pin icon at each end of the connector. Pinning a connection end point allows the pinned end point of a connector to be fixed, no matter how the connecting shapes are moved. For further details, please refer to Connection Point Style> Pinning the Connection End Point in this chapter.

Figure 3.4 - Rectilinear Connector Style

To reshape the connector, you can drag the lines or the break points at the connector.

Dragging on Lines

There is a horizontal line and vertical line along the connector. If you are dragging on the horizontal lines, the lines can only move up or down. In the following figures, the line we want to move is in blue. As you can see, the right end point of the blue line is touching Class2. After moving the red line upwards, the right end point of the blue line does not touch Class2. To rectify this, a vertical line is automatically created to continue the connection between Class and Class2.

Figure 3.5 - Drag on the line

The result of dragging the vertical line is similar to dragging the horizontal line. The difference is that the line is restricted to vertical movement (either from left to right or from right to left). When two shapes are disconnected, a horizontal line will be created at the end of point to continue the connection between shapes.

Dragging on Break Points

Dragging on break points provides two dimensional movements to the point, modifying the connectors. The point being moved may affect all lines of the connector that depends on the numbers of line in the connector. The following figures demonstrate the result of dragging the orange point along the red arrow.

Figure 3.6 - Drag on break point

Oblique Connector Style

There is no boundary for the modification of the connectors. You can create break points anywhere you like on the connector, and the lines in the connector will not be aligned with the horizontal or vertical axis. If you drag a line, a new breakpoint will be created at the drag point and two lines will be created. If you wish to modify a line to be horizontal or vertical, you may do this by hand.

The following figures demonstrate modifications to the connector. The new breakpoint is created when you drag the connector away from its starting point. When you release the mouse click the breakpoint will be finalized.

Figure 3.7 - Oblique Connector Style

The figure below shows the modification to the connector with the oblique connector style. The connector is divided into two lines and a new break point is created on the connector.

Figure 3.8 - Create a break point by drag on the line
You can use the Point Eraser  in the Diagram Toolbar or double click on the connector point to erase that points.

Curve Connector Style

By applying the Curve connector style, the connector will be arranged as a smooth curve line. To change the curve shape, simply add/move/remove point(s) on the connector and the curve will be automatically re-calculated according to the points. The Curve connector style makes the connectors much easier to route in complex diagrams to avoid crossing connectors.

The following figures demonstrate the modifications to the connector. The new breakpoint is created when you drag the connector away from its starting point. When you release the mouse click the breakpoint will be finalized. Another breakpoint is created in the middle of the connector to make a curvature.

Figure 3.9 - Curve Connector Style

The figure below shows the modification to the connector with the curve connector style. The connector has one more curvature and a new break point is created on the connector.
Figure 3.10 - Create a break point by drag on the line

Round Oblique Connector Style

The behavior of the Round Oblique connector is the same as that of the Oblique connector style. The only difference is the corners of the connector using Round Oblique style will appear rounded.

Figure 3.11 - Round Oblique Connector Style

Round Rectilinear Connector Style

The behavior of Round Rectilinear connector style is the same as that of Rectilinear connector style. The only difference is the corners of the connector using Round Rectilinear style will appear rounded.

Figure 3.12 - Round Rectilinear Connector Style

Setting a Default Connector Style

Default connector style can be set from the Options. To set default connector style:
  1. Select Tools > Options...from main menu. This displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Open the Diagramming category.
  3. Select the Environment page.
  4. From the row Connector Style, select either Rectilinear, Round Rectilinear, Oblique, Round Oblique or Curve.
  5. Press OK button to confirm changes.

Follow Diagram Connector Style

In Agilian, with the Follow Diagram feature, you do not need to set connector style one by one if you want to change all connectors in the diagram. When you right-click on a diagram you can set its default connector style from its popup menu, so that once the diagram connector style is changed, all connectors whose connector style is set to 'Follow Diagram' will be updated to the new style.

Each shape has a property called Connection Point that specifies how the connection points of the connectors should move if the shape is being moved. Unlike the connector style that is connector oriented, the connection point style is shape oriented.

Setting Connection Point Style

To set the connection point style:
Using popup menu:
  1. Select one or more shapes and right-click on the selection.
  2. Select the Format > Connection Point...from popup menu. This displays the Select Connection Point Style dialog box.
  3. Figure 3.13 - Select Connection Point Style Dialog
  4. Select either 'Round the shape' or 'Follow center' for the connection point style. Upon selecting a style an animation will appear to emulate the effect of the selected connection point style.
  5. Click OK to confirm the change.
Using the property table
  1. Select a shape.
  2. Select either 'Round the shape' or 'Follow center' from the Value field of the Connection point property.
  3. Figure 3.14 - Properties Table

Round the Shape

Upon selecting the 'Round the shape' connection point style, the last connect point of the connector will move along the bounds of the shape.
Figure 3.15 - Round the shape

Follow Center

Upon selecting the 'Follow center' connection point style, the last connect point of the connector will be determined by the center of the shape.
Figure 3.16 - Follow center

Pinning the Connection End Point

Pinning a connection end point allows the pinned end point of a connector to be fixed, no matter how the connecting shapes are moved. In figure below, the connection end point linking the class Bank is pinned to the location of the getAccount operation.

Figure 3.17 - Pin a connector point

In Agilian a connecting end point is unpinned by default. If a connecting end point is unpinned, its location will be determined by the connection point style of the connecting shape.

To pin a connection and an end point:
Using Resource-Centric Interface
  1. Select the connector.
  2. There is a "pin" resource for each connection end point. If the end point is currently pinned an icon will be displayed (a pin with shorter needle). If the end point is currently unpinned, an "unpinned" icon will be displayed (a pin with longer needle). In the figure below, the end point connecting the class Bank is pinned, while the end point connecting the class BankConsortium is unpinned.
  3. Click once on the resource to toggle its pin state.
  4. Figure 3.18 - Toggle the pin state
Using the popup menu
  1. Right-click on the connector.
  2. Select the Pin menu from the popup menu, the Pin sub-menu appears.
  3. Select either From Point or To Point to pin/unpin the desired connection end point.

Fill Color

All of the shapes have a fill color property, which allows you to select a solid fill color or a gradient fill color as well as define its transparency.

To format fill color for shapes, select the desired shapes and perform one of the following actions:
In both cases, the Format Fill Color dialog box will be displayed.

Format Fill Color Dialog Box

The Format Fill Color dialog box allows you to select the fill color type (solid or gradient) and you can create your own fill color by configuring the transparency, gradient style and colors.
Figure 3.19 - Format Fill Color Dialog
Field Description
Fill Style Select the fill style of the fill color. It can either be Solid (a single color) or Gradient (a fill color that is mixed by two colors).
Transparency Specify the transparency of the fill color. The greater the value, the more transparent is the shape. 0 (zero) transparency makes the fill color completely opaque, while 100 (one hundred) transparency makes the fill color completely transparent.
You can adjust the transparency by dragging the slider, or by typing the value in the text field.
Alternatively, you can click the Opaque button to set the fill color to opaque, or click the Transparent button to set the fill color to transparent.
Preview The Preview pane displays a rectangle that is filled with the editing fill color. The background is checked so that you can also preview the transparency of the fill color as well.
Save as Default 
To save the current fill color as the default fill color for new shapes, click the Set as Default button.
Table 3.1

Formatting a Solid Fill Color

Upon selecting Solid from the Fill style field, you will see the detail pane for formatting a solid fill color.
Figure 3.20 - Select Solid Fill Style
Field Description
Color This field displays the current selected color. It will display the color name if the selected color is a default color (Black, White, Yellow, etc); otherwise the RGB value of the selected color will be displayed.
Default Color List The default color list displays a list of pre-defined colors. Each color is displayed with a color preview and a color name. You can view the RGB value of a color by moving the mouse pointer over the color.
Custom Color Pane The custom color pane displays a wider range of colors that you can choose from, and you may define a new custom color by clicking on the Custom...button. The new color will be added to the recent color list (located at the bottom two rows of the custom color pane) for later reuse.
Table 3.2

Formatting a Gradient Fill Color

Upon selecting Gradient from the Fill style field you will see the detail pane for formatting a gradient fill color.
Figure 3.21 - Select Gradient Fill style
Field Description
Color 1 You can select the first color of the gradient from the Color 1 field. To select a color click the ... button or double-click on the color editor. A color chooser will appear for you to select a color.
Color 2 You can select the second color of the gradient from the Color 2 field. To select a color click on the ...button or double-click on the color editor. A color chooser will appear for you to select a color.
Gradient Color Themes The Gradient Color Themes pane displays a list of pre-defined gradient color themes.
To add a new color theme select Color 1 and Color 2 then click the Add to Themes...button. Please note that you must select a combination of colors that does not already exist in the color themes.
To rename a theme click on the Rename...button or double-click on the desired theme. An input dialog will appear for you to enter a new name.
To remove a theme select the theme and click on the Remove button, or use the Delete key instead.
Gradient Style The Gradient Style pane allows you to select the gradient style of the gradient fill color (the angle of how the gradient color is drawn). There are sixteen pre-defined gradient styles, which are shown as toggle buttons in the Gradient Style pane. To select a gradient style to use click on one of the styles.
Table 3.3

Line Format

You can format the line of a shape so that you can adjust its stroke style, weight (thickness), color and transparency.
To format the line of a shape, select the desired shape and perform one of the following actions:
In both cases, the Format Line dialog box will be displayed.

Format Line Dialog Box

The Format Line dialog box allows you to format the line of a shape.
Figure 3.22 - Format Line Dialog
Field Description
Style Select the style (stroke) of the line. You can select one of the 23 styles (including "None" , which means no line) to apply in the combo box.  A preview will be shown for each of the style items.
Weight Adjust the weight (thickness) of a line. The greater the value, the thicker the line. You can use the up/down button to increase/decrease the line weight, or you can type directly into the text field. The line weight ranges from 1 to 20.
Only integer values can be used for line weight. If you type 2.8 in the text field, 2 will be applied instead.
Color Specify the line color. Click on the ... button beside the Color field to select a color, either from the Default page (which shows predefined colors) or from the Custom page (which shows a larger variety of colors, and allows you to define any custom colors).
Transparency Specify the transparency of the line. The greater the value, the more transparent the line. 0 (zero) transparency makes the line completely opaque, while 100 transparency makes the line completely transparent.
You can adjust the transparency either by dragging the slider, or by typing the value in the text field. Alternatively you can click on the Opaque button to set the fill color to opaque, or click on the Transparent button to set the fill color to transparent.
Preview The Preview pane displays a rectangle surrounded by the line with the selected line format applied.
Save as Default Line Format To save the current line format as the default line format for new shapes click the Set as Default button.
Table 3.4

Font

You can change the font format such as color and size.
To format the font, select the desired shapes or text boxes and perform one of the following actions:
In both cases, the Select Font dialog box will be displayed.

Select Font Dialog Box

The Select Font dialog box allows you to format the font of a shape or a textbox.
Figure 3.23 - Select Font dialog box
Field Description
Font Name Select different types of font. The number of fonts depends on the fonts available in your computer.
Font Style Select the style of font. You can select one of the 4 styles, a preview will be shown for each of the style items.
Font Color Specify the font color. Just click on the ... button beside the Color field to select a color either from the Default page (which shows predefined colors) or from the Custom page (which shows a larger variety of colors, and allows you to define any custom colors).
Font Size
Select the size of font. You may either click on the default sizes or enter the font size in the text field.
Preview The Preview pane displays the selected font format.
Table 3.5

Format Copier

Format copier enables you to copy the fill, line and font settings of one shape to another.

To copy format of a shape to another:

1. Select the source shape.

Figure 3.24 - Select the source shape

2. Click Format Copier on the toolbar.

Figure 3.25 - Click Format Copier

3. Click on the targeted shape to apply the formatting.

 Figure 3.26 - Apply formatting


Stereotyped Element Appearance

With the configurable stereotype appearance including fill, line and font, stereotyped elements can be easily distinguished and emphasized in the diagram.

Here, a stereotype of class is used as an example.

Configuring Stereotype Appearance

1.Select main menu Tools > Configure Stereotypes.... to open Configure Stereotypes dialog box.
Figure 3.27 - Select Configure Stereotypes...

2. In the Configure Stereotypes dialog box, select a model type in Model elements and the target stereotype in Stereotypes (in this example we selected “Entity Bean” - a pre-defined stereotype of Class). Click the Edit... button.
Figure 3.28 - Configure Stereotypes dialog box

3. The Stereotype Specification is shown.
Figure 3.29 - Stereotype Specification

To apply fill color to stereotype:
1. select the Use checkbox and click the ... button of the Fill property.
Figure 3.30 - Check Use and edit Fill property

2. Select a fill color in the Format Fill dialog box and click OK.
Figure 3.31 - Format Fill dialog box

To apply line style to stereotype:
1. Select the Use checkbox and click the ... button of the Line property.
 Figure 3.32 - Check Use and edit Line property

2. Configure the line style in the Format Line dialog box and click OK.
Figure 3.33 - Format Line dialog box

To apply font to stereotype:
1. Select the Use checkbox and click the ... button of the Font property.
 Figure 3.34 - Check Use and edit Font property

2. Select a font in the Select Font dialog box and click OK.
Figure 3.35 - Select Font dialog box

After configuring stereotype appearance, click OK in the Stereotype Specification. Then, Click OK when returned to the Configure Stereotypes dialog box.

Figure 3.36 - Stereotype appearance configured

Applying Stereotypes to Shape

1. Right-click on a shape and select Stereotypes > Stereotypes... from the popup menu to open the Class Specification Dialog.

Figure 3.37 - Select Stereotypes...


2. Select a stereotype in the All list, click Add Selected to add it to the Selected list.

Figure 3.38 - Add a stereotype to Selected list


3. Click OK in the specification dialog box. The stereotype is applied to the model, and the stereotype’s appearance is applied to the shape.

Figure 3.39 - Stereotype applied

Changing Stereotype Appearance

1. Select main menu Tools > Configure Stereotypes... to open the Configure Stereotype dialog box. Select a model type in Model elements and the target stereotype in Stereotypes. Click the Edit... button.

Figure 3.40 - Select a model type and the target stereotype 


2. We will modify the stereotype fill color in this example. Click the ... button of the Fill property.

Figure 3.41 - Modify the stereotype fill color

3. Select orange as fill color, click OK.

Figure 3.42 - Select a fill color

4. When returned to the Stereotype Specification dialog box, ensure the Apply changes to stereotypes in current project option is selected, otherwise stereotypes already used in the current project will not be updated. After that, click OK to close the dialog box.

Figure 3.43 - Return to Configure Stereotypes


5. The appearances of shape that assigned the changed stereotype are updated.

Figure 3.44 - Appearances of shape updated


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