9.5. The View Menu

This menu is used for actions that affect how the various panes are viewed.

9.5.1. Goto Diagram…

This menu entry brings up a dialog box, describing all the diagrams in the current project under ArgoUML (see Figure 9.13, “The dialog for Goto Diagram….”).

Figure 9.13. The dialog for Goto Diagram….

The dialog for Goto Diagram….

The dialog box contains a table with four columns and one row for each diagram in the current project. A scroll bar gives access if the table is too long for the box. Double button 1 click on any row will select that diagram in the editing pane. The four columns are as follows.

  • Type. Lists the type of diagram.

  • Name. Lists the name given to the diagram.

  • In Diagram. This shows the diagram in which the diagram is contained. Since diagrams cannot be contained within other diagrams, this always shows the entry N/A. This column is present, because this menu item reuses the code for the more general Find menu.

  • Description. Shows how many nodes and edges there are on the diagrams.

This dialog box is not modal, which allows it to remain open while editing the model for easy navigation.

[Warning]Warning

But the V0.14 imlementation of ArgoUML does not inmediately update the dialog box with changes made to diagrams: change of name, addition of diagrams, deletion of diagrams.

9.5.2.  Find…

This menu entry brings up a non-modal dialog box for the ArgoUML search engine (see Figure 9.14, “The dialog for Find….”).

Figure 9.14. The dialog for Find….

The dialog for Find….

At the top, the dialog box has four tabs labeled Name and Location, Last Modified, Tagged Values and Constraints. Of these all but the first are grayed out in the V0.14 version of ArgoUML (because they are not imlemented yet), so the first tab is always selected.

The Name and Location specifies the search to be made. It contains the following:

  • A text box labeled Element Name: specifies the name of the element (or artifact) to search for. Wild cards (*, ?) may be used here. A drop down gives access to find expressions previously used.

  • A text box labeled In Diagram: specifies which diagrams are to be searched. Again wild cards may be used. Both these two text boxes have a default entry of *, i.e. match anything.

  • To the right of these two text boxes, a selector labeled Element Type: allows you to specify the UML metaclass for which you are searching.

  • A selector labeled Find in: allows the search to be made over the entire project (the default) or as a sub-search over the results of a previous search. When opened, a list of all the search result tabs appears.

  • Beneath these boxes is the button Clear Tabs. This clears the display of tabs with the results from previous searches (see below). This button is downlighted if there are no tabs but the Help tab.

  • And finally, there is the button Find. This causes the search specified in the text boxes and selectors above to be executed. The results are displayed in a tab taking up the lower two thirds of the page.

The lower two thirds of the dialog comprises an initial tab (labeled Help) giving summary help, and further tabs displaying the results of searches. These search tabs are labeled with a summary of the search element in diagram and are divided horizontally in two halves.

Button 1 double clicking on these tabs removes the tab, and spawns a new window that contains the tab contents, i.e. the search results. This window can be moved and sized at will. This does not work for the help tab.

The top half is labeled Search Results: followed by a count of the number of items found. It comprises a table with one row for each element (artifact) and four columns. The width of the columns can be adjusted.

  • Type. Lists the type of element (artifact).

  • Name. Lists the name given to the element (artifact).

  • In Diagram. Where the artifact is visible on a diagram, this lists the name of the diagram, otherwise it shows N/A.

    [Warning]Warning

    The behavior of ArgoUML V0.14 when an item is on more than one diagram is not completely correct.

  • Description. Contains a description of the element (artifact). In ArgoUML V0.14 this seems to be restricted to the single entry docs.

Button 1 click on any row will give more information on that artifact by showing related artifacts in the bottom half (see below). Double click on any row describing an artifact on a diagram and that item and diagram will be selected.

The bottom half of the tab is a table labeled Related Elements: and is a table with the same columns as the top half. When an element (artifact) has been selected in the top half, this table shows the details of any related elements.

[Warning]Warning

This dialog box is not modal, which allows it to remain open while editing the model for easy navigation. But the V0.14 imlementation of ArgoUML does not inmediately update the dialog box with changes made to the found artifacts: change of artifact name, change of diagram name. Deletion of a diagram does not stop the possibility to navigate to it.

9.5.3. Zoom

This entry brings up a sub-entry, which allows scaling the view of all diagrams to a factor of its normal size.

The sub-menu items that can be selected are:

  • Zoom Out. Shortcut (Ctrl-Minus). Gives more overview over the drawing.

  • Zoom Reset. Returns to the default zoom ratio.

  • Zoom In. Shortcut (Ctrl-=). Makes the items on the drawings bigger.

[Warning]Warning

The current version of ArgoUML has a known problem, where zoom may not work on some diagrams.

9.5.4. Adjust Grid

This cycles the grid representation on the screen through the following sequence:

  • dots at 16 pixel spacing (the default);

  • dots at 32 pixel spacing;

  • no grid of any form;

  • full grid at 16 pixel spacing; and

  • full grid at 8 pixel spacing.

9.5.5. Adjust Grid Snap

This cycles the spacing of grid snapping through the following sequence:

  • snap at 8 pixel spacing (the default);

  • snap at 16 pixel spacing;

  • snap at 32 pixel spacing; and

  • snap at 4 pixel spacing.

[Note]Note

There is no option to turn off snap to grid altogether

[Caution]Caution

In the V0.14 version of ArgoUML this is not actually a true snap to grid. It just defines the increments by which artifacts are moved around. Thus if an item has an X coordinate of 4 and Grid Snap is set to 8, moving will take it to X coordinates of 12, 20, 28 etc, not 8, 16, 24 etc

If you wish to align on true grid snap boundaries, you can use the Arrange > Align To Grid menu (see Section 9.7.1, “Align”).

9.5.6. Page Breaks

This toggles whether page breaks are shown on the diagram (as white dotted lines).

[Warning]Warning

This menu-item is incorrectly implemented in the V0.14 version of ArgoUML, since it should be a tick box toggle.

9.5.7. Buttons on Selection

If this menu option is enabled, certain artifacts on diagrams will display graphic buttons (aka handles) when selected and when the mouse is hovered over the artifact. These buttons can be clicked or dragged to create connections of various types (e.g. 0associations, generalizations) to other artifacts. See for an example of such buttons on selection Figure 9.15, “An example of buttons on selection for a Class.” below.

Figure 9.15. An example of buttons on selection for a Class.

An example of buttons on selection for a Class.

9.5.8. Notation

This sub-menu presents a radio button selection for notation. See also Section 9.4.7.4, “Notation Tab”).

This feature defines the user's default notation. ArgoUML allows defining a class in a diagram as being represented using a specific notation.

For example a class Able which is represented in Java, and class Baker which is represented in C++, with class Able using class Baker and a class Charlie which references Able, but does not have a specific notation defined for the diagram element.

In this situation, Charlie would be represented in the default notation, while Able and Baker would be represented as defined in the diagram element. Changing the default notation would cause Charlie's notation to change but not Able or Baker.

  • Uml.1.3. Uses UML notation as the default notation for classes.

  • Java. Uses Java notation as the default notation for classes.

The following choices are only available if the corresponding plugin languages are installed.

  • Cpp.

  • CSharp.

  • PHP.