Introduction

The Inspector pane, also referred to as "the Inspector", is the most dynamic of the four panes of the Object Model Browser. Its structure varies somewhat depending on what is selected in the Diagram pane. The structure and variations are detailed in this chapter.

Use the Inspector pane to:
 

	View and edit properties of the current Project, the current diagram, or selected diagram elements (nodes, links, members, etc.)
	Show or hide different types of elements in a Class diagram
	Enter and edit comments in source code
	Create and browse hyperlinks between diagrams, diagram elements and other diagrams, or between diagrams (or elements) and disk files
	Apply changes to the above.

 

Inspector pane structure

	Figure 4.1. Inspector pane components

Changes you make in the Inspector don't take effect until you click the Apply button.

The upper tabset is only visible when you select the background of a Class diagram. It has two tabs as shown.

The Properties list displays the properties, and current property values of the selected diagram element, or the diagram itself if no element is selected.

The Property column displays the names of properties. The Value column displays the value of each property, which you can edit.

The lower tabset is always visible, but its composition varies depending on what is currently selected in the Diagram pane and/or the upper tabset.

 

About the lower tabset

The Inspector pane's lower tabset changes dynamically depending upon what visual element is selected in the Diagram pane. When a Class diagram's background is selected, the lower tabs change based on the selection in the upper tabset (which is then visible).

Default tabs

The Properties, HyperlinkTo, and Doc tabs are the default tabs common to all diagram types and diagram elements. The only time these tabs are hidden is when the Display tab is selected in the upper tabset.
 

	The Properties tab displays the properties of a selected diagram element (or the diagram itself if no visual elements are selected). For more information, see Editing Properties.
	The Hyperlink To tab enables you to link the current diagram, or a selected diagram element, to a new or existing diagram or to a disk file. For more information, see Using the Hyperlink To Tab.
	The Doc tab enables you to enter comments for the source code declaration of a selected Class diagram element without leaving the diagram. For more information, see Using the Doc Tab.

 

Other tabs

Other tabs, which vary according to the selection, may also appear on the lower tabset. These include:
 

Tab name...	When visible...	Displays...
Link	a) When a link icon is selected in the Diagram pane.	Link attribute properties (as opposed to properties of the visual link element).
	b) When the Display tab is active in the upper tabset.	View settings for links.
Class	When the Display tab is active in the upper tabset.	View settings for Classes.
Attribute	When the Display tab is active in the upper tabset.	View settings for Attributes.
Operation	When the Display tab is active in the upper tabset.	View settings for Operations.

Tips for the lower tabset

If there are more tabs than can be displayed in the current width of the Inspector, two scroll buttons are appear beside the tabs to provide access to hidden tabs (see Figure 4.2). You can "grab" the right edge of the Inspector with your mouse and drag to resize it to display all tabs.
 

Figure 4.2. The lower tabset becomes scrollable if tabs are hidden

 

About the upper tabset

The upper tabset only displays when you select the background of a Class diagram. The upper tabset has only two tabs: Diagram and Display. The Diagram tab displays properties for the current diagram when the Properties tab in the lower tabset is active. The Display tab, when active, changes the composition of the lower tabset to enable you to hide or show different types of elements in the current diagram. For more information see Showing and Hiding Diagram Elements.

Editing Properties

When you select an element in a diagram, or the diagram background, its properties display in the Properties tab of the Inspector. This tab has two columns:
• Property, which shows name of each property
• Value, which displays the value or setting of the property named in the same row of the Property column (see Figure 4.1).
You edit a property by clicking its name (or scrolling to it) in the Property column, and changing its value in the Value column.

Property editors

You can edit any property by typing a value in the Value column. This is called direct editing. Some properties have an additional means of editing their value. Such properties display a button indicating that another editing option is available (see Figure 4.3).
 

		Clicking an ellipsis button leads to a modal dialog box with appropriate edit controls for the selected property.
		Clicking a drop-down button displays a drop-down list of valid values.
Figure 4.3. Accessing optional property editors

 

Tips for Editing Properties

 

	In the Diagram pane, select the element to edit its properties. (If you select nothing, the background is selected by default and the Inspector displays Diagram properties.)
	To modify a property, click on it in the Inspector. Note that some properties are not modifiable with the Inspector and are therefore disabled for editing. Note also that some diagram elements, such as compiled classes, are read-only and therefore not modifiable.
	Changes to property values display immediately in the Value column but are not applied to the diagram until you click the Apply button, choose Update Diagrams from the Diagram context menu, or click on a different pane.
	You can edit the name property of Class and Interface nodes and Members "in place" on the diagram icon itself. (See User Guide, Chapter 1. Diagram Basics).
	If you change the scope or visibility of a Class (e.g., from Public to Package), you should use the Update Diagram command on the Diagram context menu rather than the Apply button.
	The name property of many diagram elements can also be edited in-place directly on their icons. Click once to select the label, then again to activate editing. For Class and Interface members  (i.e. Attribute, Operation), you can enter only the name identifier or the full declaration (syntactically-correct for the project's target language).

 

Showing and Hiding diagram elements

Together enables you to control what elements in a Class diagram are visible and what elements are hidden. For example, you might choose to hide such things as abstract Classes, private Attributes or Operations, or some types of Links.

You control the hiding and showing of diagram elements from the Display tab on the upper tabset of the Inspector. When the Display tab is active, the lower tabset displays tabs for the different categories of elements you can choose to show or hide in the diagram (see Figure 4.4).
 

Figure 4.4. The Display tab and element category tabs in the Inspector.

To show or hide elements in the diagram:

1. Be sure the current diagram is a Class diagram. If necessary, open the desired Class diagram in the current instance or a new instance of the Browser window.
2. Click the diagram background in the Diagram pane to display the upper tabset in the Inspector.
3. Click the Display tab in the Inspector.
4. Click the tab for the desired element category (Class, Attribute, etc.)
5. In the Item column, click the name of the element type you want to show or hide.
6. Change the value in the State column to the desired value (show or hide)
7. After setting all elements on all category tabs as desired, click the Apply button.

You can customize the view of class members using the Diagram tab of the Diagram Options dialog. Right-click the diagram background and choose Diagram Options from the context menu. Control the Details level and Formatting style to alter the presentation of such parts of members as the type, name, and operation parameters.

Using the Hyperlink To tab

The Hyperlink To tab enables you to create several types of hyperlinks and browse to linked objects. You can create links from the current diagram or a selected diagram element (or group) to:
• A new diagram (created on the fly)
• An existing diagram in the Project
• Any file on local or network drive
• A URL on your company's intranet or on the Internet
You create, browse and remove hyperlinks with the Hyperlink To context menu (see Figure 4.5).
 

Figure 4.5. Access Hyperlink operations from the Hyperlink To context menu.

To create a new hyperlink:
1. Select the element in the Diagram pane that you want linked to something (or select the background to link the entire diagram).
2. Right-click on the background of the Hyperlink To tab page (do not click on the tab or any existing links).
3. Choose the desired link option from the Hyperlink To context menu.
To browse to a linked diagram or file:
1. Select the element in the Diagram pane whose link(s) you want to browse (or select the background to see the diagram's links).
2. Right-click on the desired existing link to display the Hyperlink context menu.
3. If browsing to a linked diagram, choose Browse or Browse in New Window. If browsing to a linked file, choose Open.
To remove a hyperlink:
1. Select the element in the Diagram pane whose link you want to remove (or select the background to unlink the entire diagram).
2. Right-click on the link you want to remove and choose Unlink from the context menu.

Tips for the Hyperlink To tab

	You can create a new diagram in the Project and simultaneously create a hyperlink from an existing diagram or element. When creating the hyperlink, choose New Diagram on the context menu and specify the Package, name, and type for the new diagram in the resulting dialog box.
	When you browse to a linked file, it opens in the application for which the file type is registered. For example, a .html file would open in your Web browser, or a .doc file in your word processor.
	To browse to a linked diagram or file, right-click directly on the tab part of the Hyperlink To tab page to display the context menu.

 

Using the Doc tab

The Doc tab enables you to enter and store comments about various parts of your project, and to enter and edit comments in source code without leaving the diagram.

To enter a comment about a Package or Diagram:

1. Select the Package or .vf file icon in the Navigation pane.
2. Click the Doc tab to focus it, then click in the Doc tab's page to activate the insertion point.
3. Type the text of the comment and click the Apply button to save the comment.
Note: These comments do not appear in source code.

To enter comments in source code:

1. Select the source file in the Navigation pane to enter comments at the top of that file, or... select an element in a Class diagram (Diagram pane) to enter comments for its declaration.
2. Click the Doc tab to focus it, then click in the Doc tab's page to activate the insertion point.
3. Type the text of the comment and click the Apply button to save the comment.

Chapter contents:

Introduction
Inspector pane structure
About the lower tabset
Default tabs
Other tabs
Tips for the lower tabset
About the upper tabset
Editing Properties
Property editors
Tips for editing Properties
Showing and Hiding diagram elements
Using the Hyperlink To tab
Tips for the Hyperlink To tab
Using the Doc tab