Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.
Topic |
Prev | Next |
Diagram Appearance Options
It is possible to configure the appearance of diagrams and elements in your models; that is, how diagrams and their contents appear when displayed in the Diagram View. There is a wide range of options you can set to create this display configuration. As you select an option, it has immediate effect on any diagram that you have open, so you can see what the change in appearance is.
Access
Ribbon |
Start > Workspace > Preferences > Preferences > Diagram > Appearance |
Keyboard Shortcuts |
| Diagram | Appearance |
Configure the appearance of diagrams and elements
Field/Button |
Action |
See also |
---|---|---|
Configure Default Element Fonts |
Click on this button to set the default text fonts to use on diagrams that you have opened yourself. |
Set User Default Fonts |
Renderer |
Render smooth curves and diagonal lines in diagrams, so that staggered vertical or horizontal pixels are less obvious. Click on the drop-down arrow and select the type of renderer you prefer to use:
Experiment with these options and see which works best for your system and requirements. |
|
GDI Plus Metafiles |
This checkbox defaults to selected, to include the use of GDI+ metafiles in your diagrams. Deselect the checkbox if you do not want to use GDI+ metafiles. |
|
Image Quality |
Defaults to 'High' to maximize image drawing quality for scaled and resized images on a diagram. The option does not affect the drawing of EMF or WMF images. This setting has an effect on processing performance of the diagram, so if a diagram has many images and performance is more important than high image quality, you can reset the field to 'Low'. |
|
Default Element Border Width |
Click on the drop-down arrow and select the default element border width (1, 2 or 3 pixels). |
|
Scale view by |
Click on the drop-down arrow and select the percentage (from 0 to 50, in increments of 10) by which you can automatically increase the size of all objects on a diagram you are viewing, without affecting other users reading that diagram. You can perform the same function with the Zoom Slider on the Status bar; changes in the 'zoomed' display scale of a diagram update this field and affect any other diagrams that you open. This has no impact any other diagram Zoom facility in the system. |
Status bar |
Print in Color |
Select the checkbox to print your diagrams in color. Deselect the checkbox to print the diagrams in black and white. |
|
Document with background color |
Select this checkbox to apply the background color of the current theme to all diagram images generated in the RTF Generator, instead of the standard white. |
|
HTML Report with background color |
Select this checkbox to apply the background color of the current theme to all diagram images generated in the HTML Generator, instead of the standard white. |
|
Anti-aliased text |
Select the checkbox to force text anti-aliasing in diagrams. If you deselect the checkbox, the system applies the MS Windows default setting. Therefore, if you do not want to use anti-aliasing, ensure that the Windows anti-aliasing default is also set to OFF. |
|
Compress text to fit within Element |
Select the checkbox to compress element text within the current element boundaries, when text at zoom levels other than 100% would not fit inside those boundaries. Deselect the checkbox to expand the element boundaries under those conditions. |
|
Italic Note Element Text |
Select the checkbox to display the text of Note elements in italics. |
|
Use Element Group Style |
Select the checkbox to apply a different fill color to each object type, with objects derived from a common element having the same color (for example, Object, Boundary, Control and Lifeline elements are the same color). Overrides all other settings for element fill colors. |
|
Bold Element Names |
Select the checkbox to display element names in bold text. |
|
Element Shadows On |
Select the checkbox to display a shadow around the bottom and right edges of each element in a diagram. |
|
Invert rotated text for metafiles |
Select the checkbox to use a different text format when external metafile readers are causing issues. |
|
Round edges for elements |
Select the checkbox to soften the corners of all elements that have a rectangular appearance, so that they have rounded corners. |
|
Hand Draw Mode Font |
Click on the drop-down arrow and select the font to be used in any diagram you display that has the 'Hand Drawn diagram' option selected. |
Configure Diagram Display |
Default |
Click on this button to re-set the font you see used in hand-drawn diagram mode to the system default (Segoe Print). |
|
Italic |
For diagrams displayed in Hand Draw mode, select this checkbox to display text in italics. |
|
Use Watermark |
Select the checkbox to add a watermark to any diagrams that you print. |
|
Text |
Type in the text to use as watermark text. If the 'Use Watermark' checkbox is selected, this text is displayed on any diagrams that you print. |
|
Close |
Click on this button to save the changes you have made, and to close the 'Preferences' dialog. |