Association

Go Up to Connecting Objects

Use the following table to understand the Property View fields available for an Association.

Property View	Description
General
Name	Label that appears for an element both in the Model View tree and in the diagram. You can edit this label.
Categories	You can add one or more defined Categories that can be used for purposes such as reporting and analysis.
Direction	Direction is an attribute that defines whether the Association shows any directionality with an arrowhead. None. No arrow appears on the link. This is the default setting. To. The arrowhead is at the target object. From. The arrowhead is at the source artifact. Both. Arrows are place at both ends of the link indicating bi-directional flow.
Source	Displays the source element for the Association.
Target	Displays the name of the element where the Association terminates.
Description	A text box where you can enter information describing or defining the project. Right-click text to open a shortcut menu. You can cut, copy, paste, and delete selected text within the Description text box. You can paste plain text from external applications. You can undo any action and you can select all text by pressing Ctrl+A. The following formatting options are available for the text: Bold, Italics, Underscore, and Strikethrough. You can also change the font color as well as the background color.
Notes	A text box where you can annotate the element with additional information. Right-click text to open a shortcut menu. You can cut, copy, paste, and delete selected text within the Notes text box. You can paste plain text from external applications. You can undo any action and you can select all text by pressing Ctrl+A. The following formatting options are available for the text: Bold, Italics, Underscore, and Strikethrough. You can also change the font color as well as the background color.
Links
Add Link	Opens the Create Link wizard. This wizard allows you to create conceptual or usage links between elements.
Edit Link	Opens the property view for the selected link.
Delete Link	Deletes the selected link (either the link or the link target).
Show Selected Links on Active Diagram	Once you have created a link in the Diagram View, click this icon to display the links for the selected object in the diagram.
Expand All	Expands all the nodes in the tree.
Collapse All	Collapses all the nodes in the tree.
Refresh Links	Updates all the nodes in the Link Report.
Usage (CRUD)
Usage	The header displays the name of the linked element and the status of the filter (on or off). Receivers. Displays a list of the elements with usages (receivers). You can select multiple receivers in this list and delete all the receivers that are selected. Usage. Displays the usage setting (C, R, U, D). You can change the Usage attributes in this column and this change is reflected in the diagram. For example, you can change a C (Create) type to a U (Update) type. Usage Description. Displays the information entered in the Description text field for the target object of the usage. For example, if a usage was drawn between a task and a Data Store object, the description of the Data Store object is displayed. If there are no links or all the links have been filtered out, you are given the information that “No usages have been defined for this element” in the Receivers column.
Add Usage	Opens the Create Usage wizard where you can create a new usage.
Edit Usage	When you select a Receiver in the table, the edit option becomes available. Click this to open the Usage edit tab where you can edit the name of the usage. The default name is "Usage." You can also change the usage settings (Create, Read, Update, and Delete).
Delete	When you select a Receiver in the table, the delete option becomes available. This action removes the selected receiver from the usage.
Show Selected Usages	When you select a Receiver in the table, the Show Selected Usages option () becomes available. Click this icon to display the usage for the selected receiver in the diagram, including the usage settings.
Filter Receiver Types	Opens the Usage Report Filter dialog where you can select the types of objects you want included in the Usage Report.
Export Usage Report	You can export the Usage (CRUD) reports in the following formats: CSV, HTML, PDF, and RTF.
Print	Opens the Print dialog where you can select a printer, set preferences, select a page range and number of copies and then print.
Refresh Usage	Updates all the nodes in the Usage Report.
Impact Analysis
Filter Designation	Indicates whether a Filter is set for the Impact Analysis Report. Two icons are displayed to the left of the Filter Designation indicator: Click to display the impact analysis information in a tree format. Click to display the impact analysis information in a table format.
Create Impact Analysis Diagram	Once you create a link you can create a diagram that is a graphical representation of that link.
Filter	Opens the Impact Analysis Filter dialog
Export	You can export and save the Impact Analysis report in the following file formats: CSV, HTML, PDF, and RTF.
Print	Opens the Print dialog where you can select a printer, set preferences, select a page range and number of copies and then print.
Expand All	Expands all the nodes in the tree.
Collapse All	Collapses all the nodes in the tree.
Refresh	Updates all the nodes in the Impact Analysis Report.
Appearance
Font and Color Options	Use these commands to change fonts and element colors. Note that the element fill command is unavailable for the Association.
Diagram Display Options	Show Name. Select this option to show the element label. Show Connection. Select this option to display the line in the diagram.
Line Display Options	Layout. You can select one of three layout styles: curved, elbowed, or straight. The default is curved. Line Width. Select the width of the border from the drop-down list. You can select from 1 to 5 pixels. Source Decorator Size. Set the size of the decorator (arrow) at the origination point of the sequence flow. Your choices are: extra small (XS), small (S), medium (M), large (L), and extra large (XL). Target Decorator Size. Set the size of the decorator (arrow) at the termination point of the sequence flow. Your choices are: extra small (XS), small (S), medium (M), large (L), and extra large (XL).
Apply to Diagram	Applies the formatting changes to all existing associations on the active diagram.
Restore Defaults	Restores the default settings for all changes made in the Appearance tab.
Set as Default	All formatting changes made in the Appearance tab become the default settings for new associations placed in the Diagram View.