This keyword specifies that user-provided metafiles retain their original graphical style and coloring when used in the tool. This keyword is used with the DEPICTIONS clause.
When you use external, user-provided images to represent symbols on a diagram, the default behavior is that you may specify features of these symbols, such as the fill color and line color, as you would with any other symbol in System Architect. If you specify the RETAIN STYLE keyword in the DEPICTIONS clause, the colors of the user-defined symbol remain as they are – unchangeable.
Example
LiST "Node Stereotypes"
{
Value "Client" DEPICTIONS {diagram
images\client.wmf menu images\client.bmp}
Value "Database" DEPICTIONS {diagram images\database.wmf
menu images\database.bmp}
Value "Firewall" DEPICTIONS {diagram RETAIN STYLE
images\firewall.wmf menu images\firewall.bmp}
SYMBOL "Node" in "Deployment"
{
PROPERTY "Stereotype"
{ INVISIBLE EDIT Text ListOnly List "Node
Stereotypes" DEFAULT "" LENGTH 32}
}
DEFINITION "Node"
{
PROPERTY "Stereotype"
{ EDIT Text LIST "Node Stereotypes" Default "" LENGTH 32 }
In the example above, the firewall.wmf can be used to depict a node symbol on a Deployment diagram if the node’s stereotype is set to "Firewall". When drawn on the diagram, the user-provided metafile, firewall.wmf (added by the user to the FILES table of the encyclopedia’s database), is drawn with exactly the same colors as it is outside of System Architect, and cannot be changed by System Architect’s color tools.