Dragging and dropping from Explorer to create Explorer diagram
You may represent symbols, definitions, and diagrams in the System Architect repository on an Explorer diagram. To represent a diagram or definition on an Explorer diagram, you may:
▪Drag and drop individual definition or diagram objects from the Explorer onto the diagram workspace.
▪Drag a group of such objects onto an Explorer diagram using standard Windows multiple-select methods (using the CTRL or SHIFT keys).
▪Drag all of the objects in the repository of a certain type by selecting the type header and dragging it onto the diagram. Type headers represent the different types of diagrams and definitions that appear in the Explorer. For example, you may select the Use Case type header from the Definitions tree in the Explorer, and drag it onto the diagram. You would get all of the Use Case definitions in the repository represented on the diagram.
Special considerations apply to dropping onto an Explorer diagram. They are:
▪When you drag one or more diagrams or definitions onto an Explorer diagram, they are automatically placed into a Collection symbol for their type. If the dropped items are all the same class/type, the Collection is named according to the class/type of the objects being dropped; for example, "Process". If the dropped items are not all the same class/type, the Collection is named "Collection-n".
▪If you hold down your SHIFT key when dragging and dropping items from the Explorer, System Architect will not automatically create the Collection symbol.
▪The objects are "transformed" into Explorer diagram symbol types ("Symbol", "Diagram" and "Definition").
▪If they are dropped into a Collection, the Collection is enlarged if necessary to accommodate them.
▪If they are dropped into a Collection that already has material in it, the new material is added below the existing material. If necessary the new symbols will be reduced in size to fit the space. If more space is needed, the Collection is enlarged downwards.
Example: Dragging and dropping type headers
In the example below, the Entity Relation diagrams type header was dragged and dropped onto an Explorer Diagram’s white space. Once the Type header was dropped onto the diagram, the Diagram objects appear as octagonal symbols, each representing an Entity Relation diagram.