Script Editing Intellisense (Required Syntax)
16 Defaults and User Settings
You can configure various settings using the Options dialog, which you display by selecting the Tools |
Options menu option. In addition, there are several options to change the overall look and feel of Enterprise Architect in the View | Visual Style submenu. Those settings and options are explored in this topic. On occasion, you might want to use Enterprise Architect for two distinct types of operation at the same time. You can do this by adding the following command line argument when you run Enterprise Architect:
/regkey:<regkeyname>
This stores registry settings - such as window layouts - to a different path in the registry. See Also
· Workspace Layouts
16.1 Configure Local Options
There are several options to customize how Enterprise Architect displays and works with models and model elements. This topic describes those settings that are local to a particular user and machine.
Select the Tools | Options menu option to display the Options dialog.
Most of these settings are stored in your registry so they are set for your use only. For a networked workplace, registry settings can be copied down to any network workstation you log in to. Otherwise, the settings are valid for the current machine only.
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You select the required page of options by clicking on the appropriate category name in the left hand list on the dialog. For information on the options on a specific page, select the appropriate page title below.
· General · Standard Colors · Diagram · Diagram Appearance · Diagram Behavior · Diagram Sequence · Objects · Links · Communication Message Colors · XML Specifications
· Source Code Engineering
· Code Editors · Object Lifetimes · Attribute/Operations · ActionScript · C · C# · C++ · Delphi · Java · PHP · Python · Visual Basic · VB.Net Note:
The options in the second and third columns above, and additional defaults and settings, are discussed under the various code generation and import/export topics in Code Engineering Using UML Models.
16.1.1 General
The General page of the Options dialog is shown below:
Option Use to
Author Set the default author when new elements are created and modifications made.
Clipboard Format Set the graphic format in which to save image to the clipboard; Metafile has the best detail.
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Option Use to
Double-click on Browser Configure the Project Browser behavior .
Use Jet 4.0 - requires restart Set JET 4.0 as the database engine; this ensures compatibility with .EAP files that are in turn compatible with versions of MS Access later than Access 97.
Use extended « and » characters
Apply the guillemet characters to stereotypes. For some double byte character sets, it is best to select this checkbox.
Allow custom RTF tags in reports
Enable you to use customized rich text format code in report templates
when generating reports with the Legacy RTF Report Generator.
From release 7.0 of Enterprise Architect, with the Rich Text Notes
facility, this option is not really necessary.
Project Directory Specify the default location of Enterprise Architect projects. File Directory Specify the default location for files.
Web Home Specify the default home page to open when you click on the Home
button in the internal web browser .
Web Search Specify the default web page to open when clicking on the Web Search
button in the internal web browser .
Web Mail Specify the email server address (http://xxxxx/exchange/) for accessing
email through the web browser within Enterprise Architect.
Confirm Deletes Use or bypass the Confirm Delete dialog; only clear this checkbox if you are an experienced user!
Allow Free Sorting Enable you to re-order elements within a package regardless of element type, in the Project Browser.
Show Stereotypes Show element and feature stereotypes in the Project Browser.
Always open maximized Ensure that Enterprise Architect always starts up in a maximized window. Hide Properties Info Section Hide or show the properties information status bar on the Properties
window. Docked Windows Tabs on
Bottom (requires restart)
Display the docked window tabs at the bottom of the window (default). Clear the checkbox to show the tabs at the top of the windows. Main Diagram Tabs at Bottom
(requires restart)
Display the diagram tabs at the bottom of the main view (default). Clear the checkbox to show the tabs at the top of the main view.
Model Loading Strategy Select the Enterprise Architect model loading behavior; choose either:
· Load on Demand (Lazy Load)
· Preload Entire Model
Load on Demand does not load the full project view when the model is loaded. Instead, only the parts that are necessary to display the visible portion of the tree are loaded. This means that a model loads faster and users can begin work sooner, but at the expense of later small delays as Enterprise Architect loads specific portions of the model.
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16.1.2 Standard Colors
The Standard Colors page of the Options dialog enables you to set the display color of a range of objects and their backgrounds. On first use, the page displays the system default colors, as shown below:
To display the range of colors available for an item, or define a new color, click on the down arrow at the end of the appropriate field. The selection pallet displays.
Click on the required color. This sets the field on the Standard Colors page to the selected color. If you require a wider selection of colors, click on the Other button and select from the color chart, or customize a color using RBG/HSL codes.
If you decide to reset the color to the system default, click on the Default button.
Option Use to
Paper Define the paper (background) color in diagrams. Element Fill Define the fill color of elements.
Element Line Define the line color of elements.
Shadow Define the color of element outline shadows. Attribute Define the color of attribute text.
Option Use to
Note Color Define the note background color.
Note Compartment Text Define the color of text in the element Note compartment.
Screen Define the screen (element) color.
Connector Line Define the connector line color.
Behavior Define the color for behaviors in Activity diagrams. Show Project Custom
Colors in Element Format toolbar
Enable use of project custom colors; for more information on setting and getting the custom colors see the Get and Set Project Custom Colors topic in UML Modeling with Enterprise Architect – UML Modeling Tool.
Notes:
· Using this page of the Options dialog, you can set the background of all diagrams to be a specific color. You can also use the Diagram Appearance page to set all diagram backgrounds to be either a uniform color or to have a fade gradient from top to bottom. Alternatively, you can create a background image for the diagram; see the Create Custom Diagram Background topic in UML Modeling with Enterprise Architect – UML Modeling Tool.
· To override the default appearance of a specific element on all diagrams on which it is found, right-click on the element and select the Appearance | Default Appearance context menu option. The Default
Appearance dialog displays. See UML Modeling with Enterprise Architect – UML Modeling Tool.
· To change the appearance of a specific element on the current diagram only, use the Format toolbar . If the Format toolbar is not displayed, select the View | Toolbars | Format Tool menu option.
16.1.3 Diagram
The New Diagram Defaults page of the Options dialog enables you to configure overall options for new diagrams and general diagram behavior.
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Option Use to
Default Page Size Show the default page size for new diagrams, which you set by clicking on
the Page Setup button to display the Page Setup dialog.
Print with Border Print pages with a border.
Landscape Print pages in landscape orientation. This checkbox is controlled from the Page Setup dialog.
Show Public Features Show Protected Features Show Private Features
Set the default visibility of Class features.
Show Diagram Notes Display the diagram details in the top left corner of all diagrams in the model. Details include diagram name, package, version and author.
Use Opaque Diagram Labels
Specify where opaque diagram labels should display. Screen and Printing are best, Clipboard and Files might not be desirable.
Strict UML Syntax Enforce compliance with UML syntax when adding new connectors and other structures.
Disable fully scoped object names
Disable fully scoped object names, when an element is in a diagram; don't use when the element is in its home package. A scoped name is of the format MyClasses::foo, the :: character indicating that the Class is within another namespace.
Allow change of Created Date
Enable the creation date on the Diagram Properties dialog to be altered.
Zoom to best scale Resize diagrams to neatly fit the screen. Auto-pan with middle
mouse button
Turn on auto-panning using the middle mouse button. With this option off, the middle mouse button causes a different type of panning.
Scale Saved Bitmaps to Enable Enterprise Architect to save bitmaps at a higher resolution, suitable for using in published works.
Image Memory Limit Set an image memory limit when generating images for RTF or HTML and when saving images to file. It is important when you have very large diagrams, as it affects the point at which Enterprise Architect starts to scale down the image; a low memory setting means it scales the image sooner.
Diagram Frames Select whether diagram frames are to be automatically added to images of diagrams in files saved to disk, print-outs, and the default Enterprise Architect clipboard.
A diagram frame is a labeled outline around the diagram image, providing both a border and a reference. (See the UML Dictionary.)