Format model and model items

You can customize the appearance of models and model items. To do this, you can use the formatting functionality of the program.

Transfer format

Format painter

In opened models, you can copy the formats of a selected item to another item or to several other items. This way, you can transfer the format of one object to all other objects and need not to transfer it to each object individually.

Procedure

  1. Select the model item whose format you want to copy.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Format painter Format painter.

    • If you want to copy the format to one item: click the relevant item.

    • If you want to copy the format to more items: use the mouse to draw a border around the relevant items.

    • You can also press the Ctrl key and click the required items one after the other.

The format of the selected items is adjusted accordingly.

Copied formats

In opened models, you can copy the formats of a selected item to another item or to several other items. This depends on whether the format has been copied to one or more items, and between which items it has been copied.

The following formats are copied:

  • Fill color, including transparency and gradient

  • Line style, weight, and color

  • Shadow

  • Active information of objects and connections

  • Connection direction arrow (if the source and target connections are of the same connection type)

You can copy the format between the following items:

  • Object occurrences

  • Connection occurrences

  • Attribute occurrences

  • Graphic objects, for example, circle, square, etc.

  • Free-form texts and placed model attributes

  • Groupings (as the target, with the formats being copied to all items in the grouping as if the items were selected individually)

Format copying modifies the following attribute placement characteristics:

  • Placement and sorting

  • Font formats and individual characters as well as paragraph formatting for attribute definitions if the formatting includes the entire text.

  • Alignment

  • With attribute name and As a symbol setting

When a format is copied, it affects the following characteristics of free-form texts/placed model attributes/attribute occurrences:

  • Font formats

  • Alignment

  • As a comment setting

  • Character formatting setting

  • General character formatting.

Not copied formats

In opened models, you can copy the formats of a selected item to another item or to several other items. This depends on whether the format has been copied to one or more items, and between which items it has been copied.

However, some formats are not copied:

  • Model properties, such as background color, grid, and print settings, and the New connections only right-angled settings are not copied for models.

  • In terms of attribute placements, the text area size is not copied.

  • The size is not copied for objects, free-form text/placed model attributes/attribute occurrences in order not to destroy the layout of models.

Formats copied to identical and different items

In opened models, you can copy the formats of a selected item to another item or to several other items. This depends on whether the format has been copied to one or more items, and between which items it has been copied.

You can copy formats from one item to another identical item, but also from one item to a different item, for example, from an object occurrence to a connection occurrence. The items can be placed in different models.

Of course, the formats copied between different items are based on the formats that are available to all these items. Below, we will use the example of object occurrences to explain how formats are copied.

The object symbol size is not copied in order not to destroy the layout of models.

Source and target occurrences are identical

Object occurrences are identical if they are based on the same object type and have the same object symbol. All formats are copied.

Placed source and target attributes are identical

The copy format function causes the attribute placements of the source object occurrence to be transferred to the target object occurrence. This means that the target object occurrence receives the attribute placements of the source object occurrence.

Source and target object occurrences differ

  • The source object occurrence is based on another object type than are the target object occurrences/All target object occurrences are identical: All formatting except for the fill color is copied.
    For example, the formatting of an activity can be copied to a group of organizational units or graphic objects.

  • The source object occurrence is based on another object type than are the target object occurrences/Target object occurrences differ: The formats are copied only to object occurrences that are identical to the source object occurrence. The other objects do not change at all.
    You can select the modeling sections and copy the format without changing an object occurrences unintentionally.

Placed source and target attributes differ

The copy format function copies the formats only from placed attributes that exist in both the source and target object occurrences. The position is not copied. If the source and target attributes have different placements, the attribute placements are not deleted or created.

Copying format to placed attributes

In opened models, you can copy the formats of a selected item to another item or to several other items.

The following applies to placed attributes and free-form texts:

  • If object or connection occurrences are the targets, all placed attributes of the target are modified. The position is not changed.

  • If placed attributes or free-form texts are the targets, the target text is modified. The position is not changed.

Lines

Change line style

In an open model, you can assign a different style to the borders of object symbols, graphic objects, and connections.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items whose border and line style you want to change.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Line style Line style. The style selection opens.

  4. Click Solid, Dashed, or Dotted, depending on which style you want to assign to the selected elements.

The style of the borders and lines of the selected model items is adjusted accordingly.

Change line weight

In an open model, you can change the weight of the borders of object symbols, graphic objects, and connections.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items whose line weight for borders and lines you want to change.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Line weight Line weight. The weight selection opens.

  4. Click 0 pt, 2 pt, 4 pt, or 8 pt, depending on which weight you want to assign to the borders and lines of the selected model items.

The weight of the borders and lines of the selected model items is adjusted accordingly.

Change item appearance

In an open model, you can change the appearance of model items in the modeling area.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items whose appearance you want to define.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Representation Appearance. The appearance selection opens.

  4. Click Shaded if the selected items are to have a shadow. The check box is enabled.
    Connections cannot have a shadow.

  5. Click 3-D effect if the selected items are to be displayed in 3-D style. The check box is enabled.
    Connections cannot be displayed in a 3-D style.

  6. Click Active if the selected items are to be displayed as inactive. The check box is disabled. Objects are displayed without color and with a gray border, connections are displayed in gray. Graphic objects cannot be displayed as inactive.

You have defined the appearance of model items. To change a setting again, click the relevant option again.

Color

Color model items

In an open model, you can assign a different color to object symbols and graphic objects.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items you want to color.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Fill color Fill color. The color palette opens.

  4. Click the color you want to color the selected model item with. The selected model items are colored with the selected color. The color palette closes.

You have colored the selected model items.

Color model items with a gradient

In an open model, you can color object symbols and graphic objects with a gradient.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items you want to color.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Fill color Fill color. The color palette opens.

  4. If you want to use a color that is not displayed, click Choose your own color. The Define color dialog opens.

  5. Enable the Gradient check box. Two color boxes and a list box for the direction of the gradient are displayed.

  6. Click the first color box and select the start color for the gradient.

  7. Click the second color box and select the second color for the gradient.

  8. Click the list box and select the direction of the gradient.

  9. Click OK.

You have colored the selected model items with a gradient.

Color model items with a user-defined color

In an open model, you can assign your own color to object symbols and graphic objects.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items you want to color.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Fill color Fill color. The color palette opens.

  4. If you want to use a color that is not displayed, click Choose your own color. The Define color dialog opens.

  5. Select your own color in one of the ways described below. Your changes will be displayed in the preview window on the right:

    1. Click the color bar and move the line to the relevant color range to select the basic color. Then click on the relevant position in the color box to select the brightness of the basic color.

    2. Enter the respective share of each color from 0 to 255 in the Red, Green and Blue boxes. 0 means that the corresponding color is absent. If you enter 0 in all three boxes you have selected the color black.

    3. Enter a hexadecimal color definition in the Color code: # box. The hexadecimal system uses the letters A to F in addition to the numerals of the decimal system, which means that it is based on the base 16. If you enter FFFF00, this sets the color to Yellow.

  6. Click OK.

You have colored the selected model items with a self-defined color.

Display model items without color

In an open model, you can display object symbols and graphic objects without color fill.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items you want to display without color.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Fill color Fill color. The color palette opens.

  4. Click No fill color No fill color.

The selected model items are displayed without color.

Reset object symbol color

In an open model, you can reset the color of an object symbol back to the default color if you have changed the color.

Procedure

  1. Select the object symbol you colored.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Fill color Fill color. The color palette opens.

  4. Click Reset Reset.

You have reset the color of the selected object symbols to their original color.

Color borders and lines

In an open model, you can assign a different color to the borders of object symbols and graphic objects, as well as connections.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items whose borders you want to color.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Line color Line color. The color palette opens.

  4. Click the color you want to color the borders and lines of the selected model items with.

You have colored the borders and lines of the selected model items.

Reset border and line color

In an open model, you can reset the colors of the borders and lines of model items if you changed their color.

Procedure

  1. Select the model items whose borders or lines you colored.

  2. Activate the Start tab bar if not already selected.

  3. Click Line color Line color. The color palette opens.

  4. Click Reset Reset.

You have reset the colors of the borders and lines of selected model items.

Change model background

You can change the background color of an open model.

Procedure

  1. Open the relevant model.

  2. Activate the Model tab bar.

  3. Click Background color Background color. The Color palette opens.

  4. Click a color of the color palette.

The model background is colored with the selected color.

Use your own color for the background

You can change the background color of an open model with a custom color.

Procedure

  1. Open the relevant model.

  2. Activate the Model tab bar.

  3. Click Background color Background color. The Color palette opens.

  4. Click Choose color Choose your own color. The Define color dialog opens.

  5. Use the colored areas to directly select a color, or insert the values in the Red, Green, and Blue boxes to define an RGB color, or enter a hexadecimal HTML color code.

  6. Click OK.

The model background is colored with the defined color.

Reset background color

You can reset the background color of an open model. The assigned background color is removed and the background color of the template on which the model is based is displayed.

Procedure

  1. Open the relevant model.

  2. Activate the Model tab bar.

  3. Click Background color Background color. The Color palette opens.

  4. Click Reset Reset.

The color palette remains open and you can select another color.