Customizing the Display of Diagrams and Objects
Go Up to Configuring and Customizing
Diagram and Object Display options affect how the diagram objects appear only for the selected model or submodel. You can choose different display options for each physical and logical model and submodel. By accessing the Diagram and Object Display Options from the Data Lineage Tab, you can also customize the appearance of transformation objects. The diagram and object display options you choose are stored in the.dm1 file along with your diagram and apply only to the current diagram. Diagram display options include setting page boundaries and snapping to grid. Object-specific display options include specifying the information displayed about each object on the diagram. You can specify the content displayed for entities and views. You can also customize display settings for relationships and schema objects.
You can change the entity/table display level to show attributes/columns, primary keys, all keys, tables, definitions or notes. You can also set display options for certain objects to display object datatype, domain, null options, alternate keys, and owner.
For views, you can change the display level to show columns, primary keys, all keys, definitions, and notes. You can also set display options for certain objects to display object owner and parent name.
By default, ER/Studio Data Architect automatically sizes the entities and views to display all the content selected. However, you can manually resize any entity or view by right-clicking the object in the Data Model Window, grabbing a handle, and then dragging to resize the object.
Note: You can make global changes to the display of any new diagrams and objects by choosing Tools > Options > Display and making your choices there. For more information, see Defining Model Options for the Selected Model.
- To change the display of a specific model or submodel, from the Data Model Explorer on the Data Model Explorer, select the model or submodel.
- To change the display of objects on the Data Lineage tab, click the Data Lineage tab.
- Choose View > Diagram and Object Display Options.
- Complete the tabs of the Diagram and Object Display Options dialog and then click OK to implement the changes.
The following describe options that require additional explanation:
Contents
Diagram tab
- Show Page Boundaries: If selected, displays the page boundaries according to the print options, such as the printer selected, and page size, scale, and orientation chosen in the Print and Print Setup dialogs.
- Auto-center Diagram over Pages: If Show Page Boundaries has been selected, this option is available. Selecting this option arranges the diagram elements so the diagram always appears centered across the pages required to display or print the diagram.
- Display and Enable Snap to Grid: If selected, displays grid lines in the diagram background, and align diagram object along their nearest grid line. ER/Studio Data Architect lets you set a grid to the background of your diagram. You can use the grid to align diagram objects and to create a regular or uniform appearance. If you set a grid in the background of your diagram, you can set ER/Studio Data Architect to snap diagram objects to the nearest grid line.
- Grid Step Size: Specifies the horizontal and vertical size of each grid cell.
- Grid Steps Per Line: Specifies a horizontal grid spacing per line.
- Units: Specifies the unit of measurement for grid cells. You can select inches and centimeters.
Entity/Table tab
Display Level: The display level options selected dictate which options will be available in the Available options area.
WARNING: If the Display Level in the Diagram and Object Display Options editor does not match the Attribute Order designation in the Model Options Model > Model Options > Attribute Order, drag and drop errors and on-screen editing errors can occur. If the true attribute sequence, as designated in the Model Options, and the displayed sequence, as designated in the Diagram and Object Display Options, are not synchronized, then ER/Studio Data Architect cannot make the appropriate changes to the entity.
- Logical Attribute Order: When selected the Primary Key of the table displays at the top. The other columns display in the order designated in the Entity Editor for the corresponding entity.
- Physical Attribute Ordering: When selected the attributes are ordered by their Column Sequence ID. The sequence ID of a column can be changed by moving it up or down in the list of columns on the Columns tab of the Table Editor.
- Definition: If selected, displays the entity or table definition as defined on the Definition tab of the Entity Editor or Table Editor.
- Note: If selected, displays the entity or table note as defined on the Notes tab of the Entity Editor or Table Editor.
- Display Table Names: If selected, displays entity and table names.
- Display Column Names: If selected, displays the attribute and column names.
- Hidden Attributes Marker: This option become available when attributes or keys of an entity in a submodel has been hidden. When selected, an ellipsis displays in submodel entities where all attributes are not currently displayed. Attributes or keys of an entity can be hidden by deselecting the object on the Attributes tab of the Submodel Editor.
Relationship tab
- Relationship Style: The style chosen here applies to any new relationships created in the model or submodel. Override the relationship style by right-clicking the relationship and choosing one of the format options available.
View tab
- Definition: If selected, displays the view definition as defined on the Definition tab of the View Editor.
- Note: If selected, displays the view note as defined on the Notes tab of the View Editor.
- Name Compartment: If selected, displays the view name within the view object; otherwise, the view name displays just above the object.
- Wrap Name: If selected, wraps the view name when the view width is not large enough to accommodate the entire name.
Schema Objects tab
For physical models only, controls the display of schema objects such as packages, procedures, functions, materialized views, auxiliary tables, and triggers.
Transformation tab
Note: Available only if the Data Lineage tab is active when View > Diagram and Object Display Options is chosen.
Transformation display options control the information displayed for transformation objects in a data flow on the Data Lineage window.
- Transformation Type: If selected, displays the transformation type as entered or selected in the Transformation Editor. For more information, see Creating and Editing Data Lineage Data Flows.
- Input and Output Columns: If selected, displays the names of the input and output columns on the transformation object.
- Code Definition: If selected, displays the transformation code entered in the Code section of the Definition tab for the Transformation Editor.
- Business Definition: If selected, displays the business description entered in the Business section of the Definition tab for the Transformation Editor.
Drawing Shapes tab
Verb and inverse verb phrases are defined on the Phrases tab of the Relationship Editor. If you choose to display these phrases, in the Data Model Window you can click and drag them for optimal positioning.
Security Objects tab
Security objects, such as users and roles are not automatically displayed in data models that have been reverse-engineered; in this case, you must enable their display here.
Apply To tab
You can selectively apply the object display options set on the other tabs to individual elements of your model.