Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.

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Diagram Toolbox

The Diagram Toolbox is a panel of icons that you can use to create elements and connectors on a diagram.

Within the Toolbox, related elements and connectors are organized into pages, each page containing the elements or connectors used for a particular type of diagram. The diagrams include standard UML diagrams, Enterprise Architect Extended diagrams, and diagrams customized for any MDG Technologies and Profiles that you have added to the system.

When you open a diagram, the Toolbox automatically provides the element and relationship pages corresponding to the diagram type. This does not prevent you using elements and connectors from other pages in a given diagram, although some combinations might not represent valid UML.

Access

Ribbon

Design > Diagram > Toolbox

Keyboard Shortcuts

Alt+5

Other

You can display or hide the Diagram Toolbox by clicking on the or icons at the left-hand end of the Caption Bar at the top of the Diagram View.

Example

Options

Option

Detail

See also

Display specific pages

To display specific pages in the Toolbox, click on the More Tools button at the top of the Toolbox and then on either the 'UML' or 'Extended' menu option, or on one of the customized/MDG options.

The 'UML' option lists the 13 standard UML diagram types; select one of these to display the Toolbox pages for that type.

The 'Extended' option lists a number of diagram types or model types that have been extended from the core UML types. Select one of these to display the Toolbox pages for that type.

A number of pages might display, but these generally include:

  • <type> Elements
  • <type> Relationships
  • Common and
  • Artifacts

If you select the <default> option, you display only the 'Common' page.

Artifact Common Page

Customize the Toolbox

You can customize the Toolbox display by pinning pages within the Toolbox, or by adding  MDG Technologies and UML Profiles to the Toolbox.

Using UML Profiles Toolbox Appearance Options MDG Technologies

Create elements and connectors from the Toolbox

Step

Instruction

See also

1

In the Project Browser, double-click on the icon against the required diagram.

The diagram opens with the appropriate Toolbox pages for that diagram type.

If you want a different set of elements and connectors, click on More tools and select the appropriate diagram type as explained above.

2

Click on the required item; for example, the Class element or Associate relationship.

3

For element items, click anywhere on the diagram to place the new element.

4

For connector items, drag the cursor between the source and target elements on the diagram; as you pass the cursor over the elements, a hatched border displays inside each element's solid border, indicating the source and potential target elements.

To add bends to the connector, press Shift as you change the drag direction of the cursor.

Alternatively, drag from the source element to an empty area of the diagram; the Quick-linker suggests  common target element types and connector types to create.

Create New Elements

5

Edit the element properties or connector properties, as required.

Properties Dialog Connector Properties

Notes

  • Dropping a Package element from the Toolbox into a diagram creates a new Package in the Project Browser, and a default diagram of the same type as the current diagram
  • If you are creating several elements of one type, after creating the first just press Shift+F3 or Ctrl+click to create the next element of that type; for connectors, click on the source element and press F3 to create another connector of the same type
  • You can change an unstereotyped element to one of its stereotyped elements by dragging the stereotyped element from the Toolbox onto the unstereotyped element in the diagram; for example, you can stereotype a Class by dragging a Table element or a Profiled Class element onto it
  • As you drag the stereotyped element, you can press Ctrl to apply the element stereotype to the unstereotyped element, or Shift to add the stereotyped element as a new element; otherwise a small context menu displays offering these actions as options
  • If the diagram element already has the stereotype, you can also drag the Toolbox element onto it to synchronize the element's stereotype Tagged Values
  • The Toolbox can be docked on either side of the diagram, or free floated on top of the diagram to expose more surface for editing; you can also hide and redisplay the Toolbox by clicking on the horizontal 'chevron' icon at the left  of the diagram header bar
  • Enterprise Architect provides Toolbox pages for a wide range of MDG Technologies, such as ArchiMate, BPEL, BPMN, Data Flow Diagrams, ICONIX and Mind Mapping, as part of the initial install

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