Keyboard Shortcuts: Working with UML Diagram Elements

See Also

The following describe the keyboard shortcuts you can use to create and handle diagram elements.

Adding Elements to a Diagram

  1. Press Ctrl-Shift-8 to navigate to the UML Modeling palette.
  2. Press TAB to select the first element in the Palette window.
  3. Press the Up or Down arrow keys to select the element you want to work with.
  4. Press Ctrl-Enter to place the currently selected element in the center of the currently active diagram in the Diagram editor.
  5. Use the Ctrl-Up, Ctrl-Down, Ctrl-Right, or Ctrl-Left keys to position the element in a different location in the Diagram editor.

Creating Relationship Between Two Elements

A relationship between two diagram elements can be established by using a relationship element, such as the implementation, generalization, nested, or association links.

  1. Press Tab or Shift-Tab to select the first diagram element in the Diagram editor.
    This is the source element of the relationship.
  2. Press Ctrl-Shift+ to lock the selected element.
    To unselect the element, press Ctrl-Shift-.
  3. Repeat the previous two steps to select the second diagram element.
    This is the target element of the relationship.
  4. Press Ctrl-Shift-8 to navigate to the Modeling Palette window.
  5. Press the TAB key to get to the first element on the palette.
  6. Use the Up or Down Arrow keys to locate the relationship link element you want to use.
  7. Press Ctrl-Enter to select the relationship link element and place it on the Diagram editor to connect the two previously selected elements.
    If more than two elements are selected in the Diagram editor, no relationship is created between the elements.

Copying Existing Elements From the Project Window

Use the steps below to copy an existing element from a UML model tree in the Projects window and add it to the active diagram in the Diagram editor.

  1. Press Ctrl-1 to navigate to the Projects window.
  2. Press the Home key to select the first Project node in the window.
  3. Press the Up or Down arrow keys to select the element node which you want to work.
  4. Press Ctrl-Enter to place the currently selected element in the Diagram editor.
  5. Use the Ctrl-Up, Ctrl-Down, Ctrl-Right, or Ctrl-Left keys to position the element in a different location in the Diagram editor.

Navigating Through the Diagram Elements

You can navigate through each element and its relationship links using the following steps:

  1. Press Ctrl-0 to place the focus on the Diagram editor.
  2. Press the Tab key or Shift-Tab keys to navigate through the diagram elements.
  3. Select an element and press the Shift-Up Arrow or Shift-Down Arrow key to navigate through all of its relationship links.
  4. Press the TAB key to return focus from the current relationship link back to the last selected diagram element.

Selecting Multiple Diagram Elements

Use the steps below to select multiple diagram elements to form a group.

  1. Press Ctrl-0 to place the focus on the Diagram editor.
  2. Press the Ctrl-Shift-+ keys to lock the selection of the diagram element.
  3. Press the Ctrl-Shift-- keys to unlock the diagram element selection.
  4. Repeat step 2 or 3 above to select the next diagram element to add to or remove from the group of selected elements.

Resizing Diagram Elements

You can resize the diagram elements using the steps listed below.

  1. Select one or more diagram elements using the steps in the previous section.
  2. Press the Ctrl-F10 to display the pop-up menu.
  3. Use the arrow keys to select the Edit > Set Dimensions menu item.
  4. In the Set Dimensions dialog window, specify the size, width, and resize anchor point to use for the elements you have selected.
  5. Or, use the following keyboard shortcuts:
  1. Select one or more diagram elements using the steps in the previous section.
  2. Press the Alt-Shift-<arrow key > to resize the element or group of elements by 5 units at a time.

See Also

Keyboard Shortcuts: UML Modeling
Keyboard Shortcuts: Diagram Editor

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