Software Project Management Assignment

)CASE Tool Study with its manual(

Visual Paradigm

: Submitted by
Indranil Nandy
Department of Computer Sc. & Engg
MTech, 2007
Roll no. : 06CS6010
CASE & its scope:
A CASE tool is a generic term used to denote any form of automated support
for software engineering. In a more restrictive sense, a CASE tool can mean any tool
used to automate some activity associated with software development. Many CASE
tools are now available. Some of these tools assist in phase-related tasks such as
specification, structured analysis, design, coding, testing etc., and others are related to
non-phase activities such as project management and configuration management. The
primary objectives of deploying CASE tool are:
• To increase productivity
• To produce better quality software at lower cost

History of CASE Tools:

CASE tools began with the simple word processor which was used for
creating and manipulating documentation. The seventies saw the introduction of
graphical techniques and structured data flow diagrams. Up until this point, design
and specifications in pictorial form had been extremely complex and time consuming
to change. The introduction of CASE tools to aid this process allowed diagrams to be
easily created and modified, improving the quality of software designs. Data
dictionaries, a very useful document that holds the details of each data type and
processes within a system, are the direct result of the arrival of data flow design and
structural analysis made possible through the improvements of CASE tools. Early
graphics packages were soon replaced by specialist's packages which enabled editing,
updating and printing multiple versions of a design. Eventually, graphic tools
integrated with data dictionary databases to produce powerful design and
development tools that could hold complete design cycle documents. As a final step,
error checking and test case generators were included to validate software design. All
these processes can know be integrated into a single CASE tool that supports all of
the development cycle.
Early 80's computer aided documentation

computer aided diagramming

analysis and design tools

Mid 80's automated design analysis and checking

automated system information repositories

Late 80's automated code generation from design specification

linking design automation

Early 90's intelligent methodology driver

habitable user interface

reusability as a development methodology

 CASE tools were at their peak in the early 1990s. At the time IBM had
proposed AD/Cycle which was an alliance of software vendors centered around IBM's
mainframe. The three giants of the time were Atlanta based KnowledgeWare with
their IEW (software engineering) and ADW tools and Texas Instruments with their
IEF tool and Nastec Corporation (later merged with Transform Logic Corporation)
and their DesignAid and Lifecycle Manager Tool suites. These tools were full
lifecycle and included Upper CASE and Lower CASE.

With the decline of the mainframe, AD/Cycle and the Big CASE tools died
off, opening the market for the mainstream CASE tools of today. Interestingly, nearly
all of the leaders of the CASE market of the early 1990s ended up being purchased by
Computer Associates, including IEW, IEF, ADW, Cayenne, and LBMS.

Some typical case tools are:

 Code generation tools

 UML editors and the like
 Refactoring tools
 QVT or Model Transformation tools
 Configuration Management tools including revision control etc.

CASE environment:
Although individual CASE tools are useful, the true power of a tool set can be
realized only when these set of tools are integrated into a common framework or
environment. If the different CASE tools are not integrated, then the data generated
by one tool would have to input to the other tools. This may also involve format
conversions as the tools developed by different vendors are likely to use different
formats. This results in an additional effort of exporting data from one tool and
importing to another. Also, many tools do not allow exporting data and maintain the
data in proprietary formats.

CASE tools are characterized by the stage or stages of software development

life cycle on which they focus. Since different tools covering different stages share
common consistent view of information associated with the software. This central
repository is usually a data dictionary containing the definitions of all composite and
elementary data items. Through the central repository, all the CASE tools in a CASE
environment share common information among themselves. Thus a CASE
environment facilitates the automation of the step-by-step methodologies for software
development. In contrast to a CASE environment, a programming environment is an
integrated collection of tools to support only the coding phase of software
development. The tools commonly integrated in a programming environment are a
text editor, a compiler, and a debugger. The different tools are integrated to the extent
that once the compiler detects an error, the editor automatically goes to the statements
in error and the error statements are highlighted. Examples of popular programming
environments are Turbo C environment, Visual Basic, Visual C++, etc. A schematic
representation of a CASE environment is shown in the figure in the next page.

Coding Project
support Management
activities Facilities

Consistency
&
completeness Prototyping
analysis

Configuration
Document management
generation Central facilities
Repository

Structured Structured
analysis Diagram
facilities Facilities

Transfer
Query and
Facilities in
Report
different
facilities
formats

A CASE environment

Benefits of CASE:
Several benefits accrue from the use of a CASE environment or even from the use of
isolated CASE tools. Some of these are as follows:
• A key benefit arising out of the use of a CASE environment is cost saving
through all developmental phases. Different studies carried out to measure
the impact of CASE put the effort reduction to between 30% and 40%.
 • Use of CSE tools leads to considerable improvements to quality. This is
mainly due to the facts that one can effortlessly iterate through different
phases of software development and the chances of human error are
considerably reduced.
• CASE tools help produce high quality and consistent documents. Since the
important data relating to a software product is maintained in a central
repository redundancy in the stored data is reduced and therefore chances
of inconsistent documentation are reduced to a great extent.
• CASE tools reduce the drudgery in a software engineer's work. For
example, they need not check laboriously the balancing of the DFDs but
can do it effortlessly through the press of a button.
• CASE tools have led to revolutionary cost savings in software
maintenance efforts. This has been possible not only due to the tremendous
value of a CASE environment in traceability and consistency checks, but
also due to the systematic information capture during the various phases of
software development as a result of adhering to a CASE environment.
• Use of a CASE environment has an impact on the style of working of a
company, and makes it conscious of structured and orderly approach.

Among various CASE Tools, the Tool we will be using

is Visual Paradigm for UML.
First, we will present the salient features of the tool. Then, we will present the
manual or guide, in details, divided in chapters.
Model-Code-Deploy platform
Product Overview and Features
Visual Paradigm for UML (VP-UML) is a powerful, cross-platform and yet the most
easy-to-use visual UML modeling and CASE tool. VP-UML provides software
developers the cutting edge development platform to build quality applications faster,
better and cheaper! It facilitates excellent interoperability with other CASE tools and
most of the leading IDEs which excels one's entire Model-Code-Deploy development
process in this one-stop-shopping solution.

Key Features
1. Full UML 2.1 notations
2. Requirements management
3. Import/export to XML and image
4. Intuitive visual modeling
5. Shape Editor — design your own shapes

Detailed Features
UML support
1. Class diagram
2. Use Case diagram
3. Sequence diagram
4. Communication diagram
5. State Machine diagram
6. Activity diagram
7. Component diagram
8. Deployment diagram
9. Package diagram
10. Object diagram
11. Composite structure diagram
12. Timing diagram
13. Interaction overview diagram
14. Use Case details editor
15. Support Use Case flow of event
16. Generate Sequence diagram from flow of events
17. Business use case support
Requirements management
1. Requirement diagram
2. Textual analysis
3. CRC card diagram
4. Identify candidate activity and action by textual analysis

Business process modeling

1. Business process diagram
2. Data flow diagram
3. Export business process diagram to BPEL
4. Identify candidate business process element by textual analysis

Database modeling
1. Entity relationship diagram
2. ORM diagram
3. Reverse existing database into ERD
4. Generate database from ERD
5. Reverse stored procedure to ERD
6. Foreign key auto naming
7. Download database driver automatically
8. Show database architecture by ORM pane
9. Customizable SQL generation
10. Generate class diagram from ERD
11. Generate ERD from class diagram
12. Support Oracle schema in generate/reverse database
13. Generate/reverse user-defined database type

Object-relational mapping
1. Java ORM code generation
2. .NET ORM code generation
3. PHP ORM code generation
4. Lazy collection fetching
5. Database view support
6. Support custom ID generator
7. Mapping one class to multiple tables
8. Custom query support
9. Automatic array table generation
10. Generate criteria classes
11. Generate DAO Code
12. Generate Factory Code
13. Generate POJO Code
14. Optional libraries selection

Visual modeling
1. Customizable data type to fit to any programming language
2. Overview diagram
3. Resource centric interface
4. Structure resource centric interface
5. Model sharing
6. Cut/copy/paste
7. Copy to other applications as image
8. Undo/redo
9. Mouse gestures
10. Reverse connector direction
11. Support grouping
12. Jump to shape/model
13. Quick connect
14. Navigate to connected element
15. Model comment
16. Duplicate shape/model
17. Support selectable/non-selectable shape
18. Lock diagram
19. Reference to any type of artifact
20. Advanced file and directory chooser
21. Advanced tree support
22. Duplicate, move and reconnect connector
23. Package header for all types of diagram
24. Visualize tagged value in diagram element
25. Sub-diagram and reference indicator
26. Visio integration
27. Import Visio stencils
28. Rectilinear, Round Rectilinear, Oblique, Round Oblique, Curve connector style
29. Gesture Pen
30. Sweeper
31. Create shape with specified initial size
32. Drag and drop from tree to diagram to create shape
33. Auto fit shapes size
34. Inline editing
35. Visual alignment guide
36. Various grid options
37. Show diagram info in diagram

Style and formatting

1. Customizable shape style and formating
2. Format copier
3. Incorporate image in diagram
4. Stereotyped element appearance
5. Rich text documentation
6. Add rich text element to diagram

Team collaboration with VP Teamwork Server

1. Concurrent and collaborative modeling with VP Teamwork Server
2. Import project to VP Teamwork Server
3. Checkout project from VP Teamwork Server
4. Commit project to VP Teamwork Server
5. Update changes from VP Teamwork Server to local working copy
6. Checkout old revision from VP Teamwork Server
7. Revision comparison with VP Teamwork Server
8. Detect and resolve conflict with VP Teamwork Server
Team collaboration with CVS Repository
1. Concurrent and collaborative modeling with CVS Repository
2. Import project to CVS Repository
3. Checkout project from CVS Repository
4. Commit project to CVS Repository
5. Update changes from CVS Repository to local working copy
6. Checkout old revision from CVS Repository
7. Revision comparison with CVS Repository
8. Detect and resolve conflict with CVS Repository

Team collaboration with Subversion Repository

1. Concurrent and collaborative modeling with Subversion Repository
2. Import project to Subversion Repository
3. Checkout project from Subversion Repository
4. Commit project to Subversion Repository
5. Update changes from Subversion Repository to local working copy
6. Checkout old revision from Subversion Repository
7. Revision comparison with Subversion Repository
8. Detect and resolve conflict with Subversion Repository

Documentation generation
1. PDF report generation
2. MS Word report generation
3. HTML report generation
4. Ad Hoc report creation
5. Project publisher
6. Intelligent element sorting in report generation

Printing
1. Print multiple diagrams at the same time
2. Preview printable page
3. Print clip marks
4. Support change page margins, size and orientation
5. Fit to pages option
6. Fit to ratio
7. Customizable page header/footer
8. Show project name, diagram name in header/footer
9. Support print with frame, border
10. Enable/disable gradient color printing
11. Support quick print

IDE integrations
1. Activate full UML environment from your favorite IDEs
2. Automatic code and model synchronization
3. Simple installation of IDE integration
4. Import existing VP-UML project to IDE integration
5. Integration with Eclipse
6. Integration with NetBeans
7. Integration with IntelliJ IDEA
8. Integration with WebLogic Workshop
9. Integration with Borland JBuilder
10. Integration with Oracle JDeveloper

Reverse engineering
1. Instant reverse engineering code or executable to class diagram
2. Reverse engineering Java source, classes and jar
3. Reverse engineering C++ source
4. Reverse engineering .NET dll and exe
5. Reverse engineering CORBA IDL source
6. Reverse engineering Ada 9x source
7. Reverse engineering XML
8. Reverse engineering XML schema
9. Reverse engineering database with JDBC
10. Reverse engineering Hibernate mapping file
11. Reverse engineering PHP 5.0 source
12. On-demand Java reverse engineering

Code generation
1. Instant generate code from diagram
2. Generate Java
3. Generate C#
4. Generate VB.NET
5. Generate PHP 5.0
6. Generate Object Definition Language
7. Generate Flash ActionScript
8. Generate IDL
9. Generate C++
10. Generate Delphi
11. Generate Perl
12. Generate XSD
13. Generate Python
14. Generate Objective-C

State machine diagram code generation

1. Generate Java code from state diagram
2. Generate C++ code from state diagram
3. Generate C# code from state diagram
4. Generate VB.NET code from state diagram

Java round-trip engineering

1. Reverse Java source code to class diagram
2. Update Java source code based on the class diagram

Shape editor
1. Design your own shape
2. Import SVG shape
3. Incorporate different shapes into UML diagram
4. Organize shapes by gallery, category and stencil
5. Advanced shape design capabilities
Layout facilities
1. Automatic diagram layout
2. Aligning and centering shapes
3. Make all selected shapes same width/height
4. Automatic distribution shapes

Interoperability
1. Export/import EMF based UML2 model
2. Import/export XMI 1.0, 1.2 and 2.1
3. Import/export XML
4. Import/export VP project file format
5. Import/export Use Case model to MS Word
6. Import Rational Rose project file
7. Import ERwin data modeler project file
8. Generate BPEL for Oracle workflow engine
9. Generate BPEL for JBoss workflow engine
10. Export diagram to JPG, PNG, SVG and EMF image format
11. Slice exported diagrams

Intuitive user interface

1. Group diagram by category
2. Advanced property pane
3. Dockable window user interface
4. New project with predefined template
5. Easy to use "New Diagram" dialog
6. Flexible zooming
7. Pallet style toolbar
8. Collapsible toolbar
9. Show name in toolbar button
10. Expand grouped toolbar buttons
11. Show various diagram categories in toolbar
12. Support various look and feels
13. Import user preference from existing workspace

Automatic updates
1. Automatic on-line updates
2. Maintain local update server - Update synchronizer

Open architecture
1. Plug-in Support (Java)
2. Interact VP model with XML
 VP-UML User's Guide
The user's guide will be divided in the following chapters:
• Introduction
 Chapter 1: Getting started with VP for UML
• Working with VP for UML
 Chapter 2: Working with Projects
 Chapter 3: Working with Diagrams
 Chapter 4: Generating Documentation
 Chapter 5: Interoperability
 Chapter 6: Automatic Diagram Layouts

Appendix : Keyboard Shortcuts

Chapter 1 - Getting Started with Visual
Paradigm for UML
Welcome to Visual Paradigm for UML (VP-UML), a powerful visual UML CASE tool. The tool is
designed for a wide range of users, including Software Engineers, System Analysts, Business Analysts,
System Architects alike, who are interested in building software systems reliably through the use of the
Object-Oriented approach.
The VP-UML environment provides an intuitive means to carry out Object-Oriented system analysis
and design, where one can create UML diagrams through simple drag and drop operations. It is a
collection of menus, toolbars and windows that make up the development workspace, which allows one
to create different types of diagrams in a totally visual environment.
Launching VP-UML
Specifying a Workspace
When VP-UML is starting, the Workspace Launcher is displayed.

Figure 1.1 - Select workspace

A workspace of VP-UML is a repository of UML project (s) and configuration detail. In terms of
physical storage, a workspace is a directory in file system where the UML project file and
configuration files are located.
By default, the workspace is selected as %HOME_DIRECTORY%\.vpworkspace. To specify another
directory as the workspace, you can enter its path in the text field directly, or you can click on the ...
button to browse for a suitable directory.
To apply the specified path as the default workspace and restrict the dialog to appear again, check the
option Use this as the default and do not ask again
Once everything is ready, click OK to confirm the path for workspace and continue starting VP-UML.

Importing a Workspace
In case you have an existing workspace, you can import it so that all its default settings, user interface
perspectives and other preferences can be preserved, all the projects in the existing workspace will also
be copied to the workspace. To import a workspace, click Import Workspace...in the Workspace
Launcher, and then specify the path of the workspace used for import.

Figure 1.2 - Import workspace

If the specified workspace already exists, you will be prompted by the Confirm Workspace
Overwrite dialog box asking you to confirm overwriting the existing workspace. If you press Yes, all
the setting of the specified workspace will be overwritten by the workspace to be imported.

Figure 1.3 - Confirm workspace overwrite

Dockable Environment
VP-UML adapts dockable environment which allows you to drag UI components around to customize
your favorite working environment. You can save the environment as a perspective which you can
reopen later. It allows you to use different perspectives for different purposes.
Using the Dockable Environment
The Dockable Environment is composed of a number of windows, called dockable frames. A dockable
frame may be standalone (floating) or docked into another container (split pane/tab pane).
You can click on the title bar of a dockable frame to drag it to anywhere you like.

Figure 1.4 - Dragging a dockable frame

You will notice a gray outline appears while you are dragging a frame. This outline tells you where the
dockable frame will be docked to.

Open Specification Dialog Box

The open specification dialog box is a top-level window which enables you to browse for and edit the
detail of model elements or diagrams. It can be invoked by right-clicking on either a model or a
diagram and select Open Specification...from popup menu.
Figure 1.5 - Open Actor Specification Figure 1.6 - Open Diagram Specification

Figure 1.7 - Actor Specification

The open specification dialog box contains several pages which show different aspects of the selected
item. Basically, general information such as name, stereotype, documentation, files are included in
most of the model elements. For some of the model elements, relationship between other diagram
elements (children, relations) and information that is specific to the diagram elements
(attributes/operations in Class, sub-diagrams of Package) will be displayed, too.
Chapter 2 - Working with Projects
A VP-UML project is a virtual container that stores all the diagrams and models related details. A VP-
UML project file, with extension .vpp, is a physical entity of project. This chapter offers basis in
working with VP-UML project, say creating, exporting and merging a project.
In this chapter:
• Creating, Opening and Saving Projects
• Exporting and Importing Projects
• Working with Project Templates
• Managing Project Properties

Creating a New Project

To create a new project, select from main menu File > New Project or press Ctrl-N. This displays the
New Project dialog box. Specify all the relevant information and click Create Blank Project.

Figure 2.1 - New Project Dialog

Opening a Project
To open an existing project, select File > Open Project...from the main menu or press Ctrl-O. This
displays the Open dialog box. In the dialog, locate the VP-UML project file (with extension. vpp) and
click Open to open the project file.
VP-UML also provides access to the most recently opened projects. You can click to open project from
the recent project list on the start page. An alternative is to open the project file by choosing File >
Reopen > %FILE_PATH% from the main menu. The maximum size of the list on start page is 5,
while the list from File menu is 10.

Saving a Project
Once the project is modified, you can save it to commit the changes to the project file. To save a
project, select File > Save Project from main menu. If the project has not been saved yet, this displays
the Save dialog box so you can specify a location for the file and click Save to save the file. If the
project has been saved before, it will commit the project data to the file.
Note
Alternatively, you can press Ctrl-S, or click the Save Project button on the toolbar, or select
from main menu File > Save Project as...to save a project. Notice that selecting the File >
Save Project as...from main menu is for saving the project to another location.
Exporting and Importing (Merging) of Project
Exporting Project
To export the current project into a new project, choose File > Export > VP-UML Project...from main
menu. This displays the Export Project dialog box. Specify all the relevant information and click
Export.
Importing (Merging) a VP-UML Project
To import a project, opening the master project in VP-UML (the project where the exported projects are
derived from). After that, select File > Import > VP-UML Project...from main menu. This displays
the Open dialog box. In the dialog, locate the VP-UML project file (with extension .vpp) and click
Open to open the project file. The changes in the selected project will be merged to the master project.

Project Template
A project template is a pre-defined project structure that can be used over again on new projects. It
defines the diagram type as well as their name of a project. For example, if you have created two class
diagrams in a project, Domain Model and MyClassDiagram, and you think this project structure will be
used over again in your development you can save this project as a project template for future use.
Saving Project as Template
To save the current project as a template, select File > Save as Project Template...from main menu.
This displays the Save Template dialog box.
Maintaining Project Template
To maintain existing templates, choose File > Maintain Project Template...from main menu. This
displays the Maintain Templates dialog box.
By selecting a template from the Templates list, its preview will be shown on the Template Preview
tree. To rename a template, select and right-click on the target template from the Templates list, select
Rename...from popup menu, enter a new name and then click OK to commit.
To edit the template description, select the target template from the Templates list and edit the
description in the Template Description text field.
To remove a template, select and right-click on the target template from the Template list and select
Delete Project Template from popup menu.

Managing Project Properties

To query/modify the project properties, choose File > Project Properties...from main menu. This
displays the Project Properties dialog box which consists of three pages: General and PDF Report.

Figure 2.2 - Managing Project Properties

Chapter 3 - Working with Diagrams
This chapter shows how to perform visual modeling in VP-UML such as drawing diagram elements
(shapes and connectors), customizing connectors, editing the diagrams and exporting diagram as
image.
In this chapter:
• Creating diagram elements
• Editing diagram and diagram elements
• Using diagram layout
• Using the compartment settings for classes
Creating Diagram Elements
After creating a new diagram, one can create diagram elements using the diagram toolbar. In this
section, we will introduce the techniques of how to create diagram elements and connectors:
• Creating Shapes
• Creating Connectors
• Creating Self-Connection
Creating Shapes
To create a shape, click on a diagram element button from the diagram toolbar and click on the diagram
pane to create it.

Figure 3.1 - Create Shapes

Creating Connectors
To create a connector, select the desired connector from the diagram toolbar and click on the source
shape. Drag the connector to the destination shape.
VP-UML provides continuous UML syntax checking. A stop sign is signaled when one tries to create
an invalid connection.
For example, you cannot create a generalization relationship between an actor and a use case.

Figure 3.2 - Try to create an invalid connection

If the connection is valid you will see a blue rounded rectangle surrounding the destination shape.

Figure 3.3 - Try to create a valid connection

Creating Self-Connection
Some of the shapes can have a connection to itself. For example, Self-Association of a Class or Self-
Link of an Object in Communication Diagram. To create a self-connection click on the connector
button on the diagram toolbar and click once on the target object.
 Figure 3.3 - Create self-connection
Resource-Centric Interface
A user interface based on the Resource-Centric approach is adopted in VP-UML to enable UML
diagrams to be constructed intuitively with minimal efforts. With the novel interface, only valid editing
resources are grouped around a graphical entity, totally eliminating invalid operations during diagram
construction.
The resources of a diagram element are visible only when it is being selected. Each available resource
is displayed as an icon surrounding the element. One can also move the mouse over a resource to see
the tool tip associated with it.

Figure 3.4 - Resource-Centric

Using the Resource-Centric Interface
A resource is usually used to create a shape from another shape, and connect them with a connector.
For example, if one drags the resource "Association -> Use Case" from an Actor element to the white
space of the diagram, a new Use Case will be created, and it connects the Actor with an Association.

Figure 3.5 - Create shape by using resource-centric

Connector Styles
Connectors are the lines that connect two shapes. When more shapes are created and more connectors
appear, one may find that it is annoying to handle the spaghetti like connectors. To overcome this
problem, VP-UML provides six connector styles to help you handle the connectors, namely Follow
Diagram, Rectilinear, Oblique, Curve, Round Oblique and Round Rectilinear.
Follow Diagram Connector Style
Follow Diagram is a "virtual" connector style in which the actual style will be determined by the owner
diagram. When you right-clicks on a diagram you can set its default connector style from its popup
menu, once the diagram connector style is changed, all connectors whose connector style is set to
Follow Diagram will be updated to follow the new style.
Rectilinear Connector Style
Once the connector is set to Rectilinear, the connector always remains either horizontal or vertical. You
cannot create a breakpoint on the connector by yourself. The breakpoints are generated on the
connector automatically after you reshape the line.
In the following figure, there is a pin icon at each end of the connector. Pinning a connection end point
allows the pinned end point of a connector to be fixed, no matter how the connecting shapes are
moved.

Figure 3.6 - Rectilinear Connector Style

Dragging on Lines
There is a horizontal line and vertical line along the connector. If you are dragging on the horizontal
lines, the lines can only move up and down. In the following figures, the line we want to move is in
red. As you can see, the right end point of the red line is touching Class2. After moving the red line
upwards, the right end point of the red line does not touch Class2. To rectify this, a vertical line is
automatically created to continue the connection between Class and Class2.

Figure 3.7 - Drag on the line

The result of dragging vertical line is similar to dragging horizontal line. The difference is that the line
is restricted to vertical movement (either from left to right or from right to left). When two shapes are
disconnected, a horizontal line will be created at the end of point to continue the connection between
shapes.

Connection Point
Each shape has a property called Connection Point that specifies how the connecting points of the
connectors should move if the shape is being moved.
Setting Connection Point Style
To set the connection point style:
Using the popup menu
1. Select one or more shapes and right-click on the selection.
2. Select the Format > Connection Point...from popup menu. This displays the Select Connection
Point Style dialog box.

Figure 3.8 - Select Connection Point Style Dialog

3. Select either Round the shape or Follow center for the connection point style. Upon selecting a
style an animation will appear to emulate the effect of the selected connection point style.
4. Click OK to confirm the change.
Using the property table
1. Select a shape.
2. Select either Round the shape or Follow center from the Value field of the Connection point
property.
 Figure 3.9 - Properties Table

Pinning the Connection End Point

Pinning a connection end point allows the pinned end point of a connector to be fixed, no matter how
the connecting shapes are moved. In figure below, the connection end point linking the class Bank is
pinned to the location of the getAccount operation.

Figure 3.10 - Pin a connector point

In VP-UML a connecting end point is unpinned by default. If a connecting end point is unpinned, its
location will be determined by the connection point style of the connecting shape.
To pin a connection and an end point:
Using Resource-Centric Interface
1. Click once on the connector to select it.
2. There is a "pin" resource for each connection end point. If the end point is currently pinned an icon
will be displayed (a pin with shorter needle). If the end point is currently unpinned, an "unpinned" icon
will be displayed (a pin with longer needle). In the figure below, the end point connecting the class
Bank is pinned, while the end point connecting the class BankConsortium is unpinned.
3. Click once on the resource to toggle its pin state.

Figure 3.11 - Toggle the pin state

Using the popup menu
1. Right-click on the connector.
2. Select the Pin menu from the popup menu, the Pin sub-menu appears.
3. Select either From Point or To Point to pin/unpin the desired connection end point.
Basic Editing Features
In this section we will talk about the basic editing features in VP-UML, including:
• Undo
• Redo
• Copy
• Paste
• Delete

Undo
You can roll back undesirable changes by performing Undo. To undo an action, perform one of the
following actions:
• Select Edit > Undo from main menu.
• Click on the Undo button on toolbar.
• Press Ctrl-Z.

Redo
This feature is to re-perform actions that were just undone. To redo an action, perform one of the
following actions:
• Select Edit > Redo from main menu.
• Click on the Redo button on toolbar.
• Press Ctrl-Y.

Copy
You can select and copy diagram element(s) and reuse it later on. There are five kinds of copy available
in VP-UML.
• Default Copy
• Copying within VP-UML
• Copying to Clipboard as OLE
• Copying to Clipboard as Image (JPG)
• Copying to Clipboard as Image (EMF)

Default Copy
The default copy is triggered when the hotkey Ctrl + C is pressed. The actual action performed by
default copy follows the VPUML application option (as configured in the Options dialog box ->
Diagramming category -> Environment page). The default copy action can be set to one of the
following:
• Copying within VP-UML
• Copying to Clipboard as OLE
• Copying to Clipboard as Image (JPG)
• Copying to Clipboard as Image (EMF)
The default "default copy" action is Copying within VP-UML

Pasting as Image Shape

With image shape, one can easily annotate and document his diagrams with related images. Instead of
creating an image shape manually,one can copy an image from any application to the clipboard and
then paste it to the diagram as a new shape.
 Figure 3.12 - Paste as Image Shape
To paste an image shape, perform one of the following actions:
• Select Edit > Paste from main menu.
• Click on the Paste drop down button on the toolbar and select Paste from the drop down menu.
• Right-click on the target diagram and choose Paste from popup menu.
• Press Ctrl-V
Delete
This feature is to remove the selected diagram elements. To delete diagram element, select the diagram
elements for to be removed and perform one of the following actions:
• Select Edit > Delete from main menu.
• Right-click on the selection and choose Delete from popup menu.
• Press Delete.

Finding a Model Element

Model elements can be searched for in the project. To find a model element, you should first display
the Find dialog box. To display the Find dialog box, select Edit > Find from main menu.

Alignment
This feature provides a facility to align selected diagram elements.
To align shapes, perform one of the following actions:
• From the main menu, choose Edit > Align Shapes and select one of the alignment methods. You may
also select the menu item Align Shapes...to align selected diagram elements by using a dialog box.
This will be described later in the section.
• Right-click on the selection and choose Alignment from popup menu and select one of the alignment
methods in the popup menu. You may also select the menu item Align Shapes...to align selected
diagram elements by using a dialog box. This will be described later in the section.
• Click on the drop down arrow beside the Alignment button on toolbar and select one of the
alignment methods from the popup menu. You may also select the menu item Align Shapes...to align
selected diagram elements using a dialog box.

Referenced Shape for Alignment

When there are multiple shapes selected the last selected shape will be used as the referenced shape for
alignment. That is, the alignment method, will be performed based on the position/size of the
referenced shape. The referenced shape will be rendered with its resize handles surrounded by black
rectangles.
 Figure 3.13

Form Diagram from Model

You can form a diagram with the selected models (classes/packages) in the Model Pane and Class
Repository Pane.
1. Open/Activate the Model Pane or Class Repository Pane.
2. Select the classes and packages you would like them to appear in the new Class Diagram.
3. Right-click on the selection and select Form Diagram from popup menu.
4. Choose from one of the Form Diagram types (Customize..., Hierarchical, or Navigation) in the
cascading menu.

Figure 3.14 - Form diagram from model

Presentation Options
Click the Presentation Options tab on the Form Diagram dialog box to set the presentation options
for the classes in the new diagram (fig 3.15)

Hierarchical Diagram
If you selected Hierarchical in the cascading menu, a new diagram is created with the diagram elements
of the selected models, the parents and children of the diagram elements and the generalization
relationships between the diagram elements (fig. 3.16).
 Figure 3.15 - The presentation options

Figure 3.16 - Hierarchical Diagram

In the following case, the class model called "Clerk" is selected. The new diagram (on the right hand
side) shows the generalization relationships between the "Clerk" model and other related models (fig.
3.17).

Compartment Visibility Control

VP-UML provides a visibility control in class diagram. It allows you to hide or show the attribute or
operation using the resource-centric of a class (fig. 3.18).
To show the attributes compartment or operations compartment click the "+" sign button in resource-
centric. To hide the attributes or operation click the "-"sign button in resource-centric.
 Figure 3.17 - Show the inheritance hierarchical in the new diagram

Figure 3.18 - Compartment Visibility Control

Sub-Diagrams
Most diagram elements in VP-UML allow sub-diagrams to be defined to facilitate the traceability
across diagrams.
Creating a Sub-Diagram
To create a new sub-diagram for a diagram element, perform one of the following actions:
• Right-click on the diagram element and choose Sub Diagrams from the popup menu to expand it. A
list of recommended sub-diagram types (according to the nature of the model) is shown. If the type of
diagram you want to add is not one of the recommended types, select Other Diagrams to expand it.
From the Sub Diagrams or Other Diagrams menu, select %SUB_DIAGRAM_TYPE% > Create
%SUB_DIAGRAM_TYPE% (e.g. Sub Diagrams > Use Case Diagram > Create Use Case Diagram).
• Right-click on the diagram element and choose Open Specification from popup menu. This displays
the Open Specification dialog box. From the dialog box, switch to Diagram tab, click Add. A list of
recommended sub diagram types (according to the nature of the model) is shown. If the type of
diagram you want to add is not one of the recommended types, select Other Diagrams to expand it.
From the root menu or Other Diagrams menu, select the desired type of sub-diagram to create.

Selecting Existing Diagrams as Sub-Diagrams

To select existing diagrams as sub-diagram:
• Right-click on the diagram element for adding sub-diagrams and chooses Sub Diagrams > Add
Existing Diagram...from popup menu.
• Right-click on the model element for adding sub-diagrams and chooses Open Specification...from
popup menu. This displays the Open Specification dialog box for that model element. Switch to the
Diagrams tab, press Add and select Existing Diagram...from popup menu.
 Figure 3.19 - Add existing diagram to Sub-Diagram
In both cases, the Add Sub Diagrams Dialog will be displayed. The Add Sub Diagrams Dialog
shows all the selectable diagrams. Selectable diagrams are all diagrams in the project excluding the
following:
• The parent diagram of the selected diagram element
• The existing sub-diagram of the selected diagram element
Select the diagrams to add as sub-diagrams

Viewing the List of Sub-Diagrams

To open sub-diagram from its parent diagram element:
• Right-click on the diagram element and choose Open Specification from popup menu. This displays
the Open Specification dialog box. From the dialog box, switch to Diagram tab. Sub-diagrams of that
diagram element are shown in the table.
Opening Sub-Diagrams
To open sub-diagram from a parent diagram element, perform one of the following actions:
• Right-click on the diagram element and choose Sub Diagrams > %SUB_DIAGRAM_TYPE% >
%SUB_DIAGRAM_NAME% from popup menu.
• Right-click on the diagram element and choose Open Specification from popup menu. This displays
the Open Specification dialog box. From the dialog box, switch to Diagram tab, click Add and select
the subject-diagram type for creating a sub-diagram.
• Select the sub-diagram from resource icon of that diagram element:

Figure 3.20 - Open Sub-diagram

Removing Sub-Diagrams
To remove a sub-diagram from its parent diagram element, perform one of the following actions:
• Right-click on the diagram element and choose Open Specification from popup menu. This displays
the Open Specification dialog box. From the dialog box, switch to Diagram tab. Sub-diagrams of that
diagram element are shown in the table. Select the sub-diagram that you want to remove and click
Remove to remove it.
• Activate the Diagram Navigator, expand the tree node of that diagram element, select the sub-
diagrams that you want to remove and then right-click of them and select Detach from Parent from
popup menu.

Figure 3.21 - Remove Sub-Diagram

Logical View
The Logical View refers to a user's view of the way project is organized. It provides another view of
creating, structuring and sharing the UML diagrams and models apart from the traditional Diagram
Navigator, Model Tree View and Class Repository.

Figure 3.22 - Logic View Pane

Creating a Logical View
To create a view:
1. Right-click on the project node, top-most node, of the Logical View pane and choose Add View
from popup menu. This creates a new View under the project node.
2. Right-click on the new view and choose Rename...from the popup menu to provide a name for the
view.
3. Enter the name in the displayed input box and click OK to confirm the changes.
Creating Diagram(s) under View
To create diagram under a view, right-click on the view that hold the new diagram and choose Create
Diagram > Create %DIAGRAM_TYPE% from popup menu. This creates a blank diagram of the
selected type under the chosen view.
Moving Diagram(s) between Views
To move diagram from one view to another, simply drag on it and drop it to the target view. The
diagram will therefore transfer from original view to target view.
Exporting and Importing View
You can export the current Logical View structure as an XML file and apply it over and again on other
projects. There are two options for importing a Logical View structure.
Append to existing structure
The imported structure will append to the current structure, no modification will be made on the
existing one.
Replace existing structure
The imported structure will replace the current structure therefore predefined structure will be
removed. For any diagram in the current project that have the same name as any of the diagram name
in the XML file, the diagram name will display in the Logical View of the current project. Otherwise
the name will not be shown in the imported structure.

Modeler
Modeler is a generic diagramming environment providing plenty of shapes apart from ordinary UML
notations. You can create UML diagrams with the shapes from the stencils in VP-UML.
Although the original UML notations are rich, but still may not expressive enough to present your idea.
Stencils in VP-UML provide a large variety of shapes apart from the ordinary shapes, and can be used
in the UML diagram.
Stencil
A stencil is a collection of shapes associated with a particular drawing type. Stencils are stored under
Stencil Pane which displays all the available stencils in tabbed pages.

Figure 3.23 - Stencil

Stencil in VP-UML allow displaying shapes imported from Microsoft Visio, and you can use those
shapes repeatedly in any UML diagrams by dragging a shape from stencil from drawing pane.
Importing a Stencil
To add shapes sent from Visio to VP-UML:
1. Activate the Stencil Pane.
2. Click the rightward directed arrow button on the Stencil Pane. This display the Import Stencil
Dialog. Select the stencil for importing, enter a name for the stencil, assign a diagram type for holding
the stencil and click OK.
3. The stencil pane displays the imported stencil with all the available shapes associated with that
stencil.
Opening a Stencil
To open a stencil, click the open button on the Stencil Pane, and then select a desired one from the
drop-down menu.
Creating Shape from Stencil
You can move a shape from the stencil onto your UML drawing by drag-n-drop. To drag-and-drop to
create shape:
1. Move the cursor to a desired shape in the stencil.
2. Press on it.
3. Drag it out of the stencil pane.
4. Drop it onto the diagram pane.
Closing a Stencil
To close an opened stencil, right-click on the title bar of the stencil you want to close and choose Close
from popup menu.

Exporting the Active Diagram as an Image

This feature is to export the active diagram as image file. To export the active diagram as image file,
perform one of the following actions:
• Select File > Export > Active Diagram as Image...from main menu.
• Click on the Export Active Diagram as Image button on the toolbar.
In both cases, a file chooser dialog box will appear where one can specify
Exporting Diagrams as Images
This feature is to export one or more diagrams as images. To export the active diagram as image file,
perform one of the
following actions:
• Select File > Export > Diagrams as Image...from main menu.
• Click on the Export Diagram as Image button on the toolbar.
In both cases, the Diagram Exporter dialog box will be displayed.
Slice diagrams
User can slice a large diagram into pieces(number of files), as well as to restrict the size of the exported
diagram.

Figure 3.24 - Slice diagrams

Chapter 4 - Generating Documentation
VP-UML provides several report generation facilities for documenting the project. Report Writer
streamlines one's work by keeping the project and document in sync. HTML/PDF report generation
facility outputs project as web pages and PDF document portable to different platform and
environment. Word report generation outputs report in MS Word format. Sophisticated printing facility
enable printing UML diagrams as hard copy which increase the ease of reading and understanding.
Project Publisher exports the project into interactive web pages that can be read in any web browsers
with no additional plug-in required.
In this chapter:
• Ad-hoc Report Generation
• PDF Report Generation
• HTML Report Generation
• Word Report Generation
• Printing facility
• Project Publisher
Report Writer
The Report Writer is a sophisticated tool for report creation. Users can output the existing project as
reports by documenting their project within VP-UML. VP-UML offers seamless integration of UML
modeling tool with word processor to provide a unified documenting environment. By dragging the
models from VP-UML to Report Writer, data is extracted from models and content is created in Report
Writer.
Retaining the conformance between documentation and design is a tedious task. Report Writer
maintains the consistency between them. If you create a new model, the content will be appended to the
existing one. If you remove a model, the generated element will be removed. If you re-edit the models,
the content will be refreshed.
Users can also apply their own style for the generated element, which make the Report Writer more
flexible.
Launching Report Writer
To launch Report Writer, perform one of the following actions:
• Select Tools > Report > Report Writer...from main menu.
• Click on the Report Writer button on the toolbar.
Installing Report Engine
If it is the first time you start the Report Writer, the Report Engine Installation dialog box will be
displayed asking for the installation of Report Engine.

Figure 4.1 - Report Engine Installation Dialog

To install Report Engine, perform one of the following actions:

• Choose from the Report Engine Installation dialog box the option Download from Internet and
click OK. This downloads the Report Engine from the Internet and automatically proceeds with Report
Engine installation once the download has been completed.
• Choose from the Report Engine Installation dialog box the option Select in local file system, locate
the report engine and then click OK to start the Report Engine installation. The Report Engine can be
obtained by clicking Download with browser. You can enter the path directly on the text field or click
... to locate the file from file chooser.
Entering Report Information
If this is the first time to launch Report Writer, the Template dialog box will be displayed and ask for
the information of the new report. Enter the report information and select a desired report theme for the
report, preview of the selected theme is shown on the preview pane. Click OK to start Report Writer
when everything is ready.
Panes
When Report Writer is launched one is taken to the Report Writer environment where he can create and
edit his reports. Three distinct panes are presented on the screen: the Project Explorer, Template
Pane and the Writer Pane.

Figure 4.2 - Report Writer

Diagram Navigator
The Diagram Navigator displays all diagrams within the project in a form of a project tree and
organizes them by their diagram type. Through the use of a folding tree structure you can browse the
names of these diagrams by either expanding or collapsing the folders and perform sorting by diagram
type and name.

Figure 4.3 - Diagram Navigator

Model Tree
The Model Pane displays models within the project in a form of a project tree. Notice that not all the
diagram elements are displayed. In fact, only the elements that are available for generating report
content are shown.
Template Pane
The Template Pane display all the templates available for the model or diagram selected in Property
Pane

Figure 4.4 - Property Pane

Each template represents the corresponding report content of a particular model or diagram. By
dragging a template onto Writer Pane, report content will be printed on the report. There are three
types of template: Text, Image and Table. Each of them has its own appearance in the report content.
Writer Pane
Writer Pane embeds a word processor to provide a report editing environment.

Figure 4.5 - Writer Pane

Applying Style to Report

A style in Report Writer is a collection of formatting attributes that describe the nature of paragraphs.
The generated element highly adopts the predefined styles in Report Writer therefore users can
customize the related styles to bring consistency to the whole document. There are two ways for
applying style to report.
Style configuration
The Stylist dialog box allows you to configure the pre-defined styles. To display the Stylist dialog box:
• Select Tool > Show Stylist from main menu.
• Click the Click to Show Stylist button on the toolbar.
To edit the style, right-click on the highlighted style and choose Modify...from popup menu. This
displays the dialog box for the selected style. You can now adjust it with your own preference. When
everything is ready, please click OK to commit the settings and exit the dialog.
Exporting a report
You can export report as file and edit it outside VP-UML. Supported format includes Microsoft Word
97/2000/XP document (with extension .doc) and OpenOffice.org 1.0 Text Document (with extension
.sxw).
Exporting current report
1. Click on the Export Report...button on the toolbar or select Report > Export Report...from main
menu. This display the Save dialog box.
2. In the Save dialog box, enter the file name and select OpenOffice.org 1.0 Text Document ).sxw(
format or Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP ).doc( format for exporting.
3. When everything is ready, click Save to export the report.
Exporting all report(s)
1. Click the Export All Reports...button on the toolbar or select Report > Export All Reports...from
main menu. This display the Save dialog box.
2. In the Save dialog box, enter the directory for storing the reports in the File name field and select
either OpenOffice.org 1.0 Documents or Microsoft Word Documents for the Document Type.
3. When everything is ready, click Save to export the report(s).
Importing a Report
You can import a document back into Report Writer for data updating. To import a report:
1. Click the Import Report...button on the toolbar or select Report > Import Report...from main
menu. This displays the Open dialog box.
2. In the Open dialog box, select either OpenOffice.org 1.0 Text Document ).sxw( format or
Microsoft Word 97/2000XP ).doc( format for importing. Select a file and click Open to import the
selected document into Report Writer.
3. If the document is exported from Report Writer previously, a dialog will appear and ask for
overwriting the existing one or not.
If you click Yes, the existing report will be replaced by the imported one. If you click No, the imported
report will be stored into Report.

Updating a Report
In reality, software design keeps on changing from time to time. Originally, users need to modify the
related documents manually to ensure that it is fully conform to the latest design. Report Writer binds
closely with the VP-UML project, hence generated element can then be updated without affecting the
user-defined content.
To update a report, choose the desired report for updating from the drop-down menu and click the
Update from Model button from the toolbar or select Report > Update from Model from main menu.
Update process will start automatically. Data will be extracted from project and replace with the
content within the existing generated element.

PDF Report Generation

The Generate PDF Dialog Box
The Generate PDF dialog box provides a set of options for changing the report style. To display the
dialog box, perform one of the following actions:
• Select Tools > Report > Generate PDF Report...from main menu.
• Click on the Generate PDF Report button on the toolbar.
In both cases, the Generate PDF dialog box will be displayed.

Generating a PDF Report

To generate a PDF Report:
1. Open the Generate PDF dialog box.
2. Enter the destination location of the generated document in the File location field.
3. Select the report options, such as Generate diagrams, Generate reference )file/URL( link, etc...if
necessary.
4. Select the details field such as Children, Members.
5. Define the page settings for the report.
6. Define advanced report information such as Header/Footer and Document Info if necessary.
7. Select the diagrams to generate in the report.
8. Click Generate to start generating the report.
HTML Report Generation

Figure 4.6 - HTML Report

The Generate HTML Dialog Box
The Generate HTML dialog box provides a set of options for changing the report style. To display the
dialog box, perform one of the following actions:
• Select Tools > Report > Generate HTML Report...from main menu.
• Click on the Generate HTML Report button on the toolbar.
In both cases, the Generate HTML dialog box will be displayed.

Generating an HTML Report

To generate an HTML Report:
1. Open the Generate HTML dialog box.
2. Specify the destination location of the report in the File location field.
3. Configure the report properties, such as Generate diagrams, Generate reference )file/URL( link,
etc...if necessary.
4. Select the template of the report that will be generated.
5. Select the diagram's image quality if Generate diagrams is selected.
6. Define advanced report information such as Front Page and Document Info if necessary.
7. Select the diagram to generate in the report.
8. Click Generate to start generating the report.

Command Line HTML Report Generation

VP-UML has a command-line interface to let you to generate HTML reports for your projects. To run
the command line to generate HTML report, type the following:
cd <VP­Suite installation directory>/bin
../jre/bin/java ­Xms128m ­Xmx512m ­cp
".;../lib/vpplatform.jar;../lib/jniwrap.jar;../lib/winpack.jar" RV ­noui 
­project <path to your VP­UML project> ­todir <path to destination> 
generatehtml
Using script file
VP-UML has provided the batch file and shell script for you to generate the report in command line.

For Microsoft® Windows users:

cd <VP­Suite installation directory>
HTMLDocGenerator.bat <path to your VP­UML project> <path to destination>

For Linux users:

cd <VP­Suite installation directory>
./HTMLDocGenerator.sh <path to your VP­UML project> <path to destination>

Command Line PDF Report Generation

VP-UML has a command-line interface to let you to generate PDF reports for your projects. To run the
command line to generate PDF report, type the following:
cd <VP­Suite installation directory>/bin
..\jre\bin\java ­Xms128m ­Xmx512m ­cp
".;..\lib\vpplatform.jar;..\lib\jniwrap.jar;..\lib\winpack.jar" RV ­noui 
­project <path to your VP­UML project> ­todir <path to destination> 
generatepdf

Using script file

VP-UML has provided the batch file and shell script for you to generate the report in command line.

For Microsoft® Windows users:

cd <VP­Suite installation directory>\bin
PDFDocGenerator.bat <path to your VP­UML project> <path to destination>

For Linux users:

cd <VP­Suite installation directory>/bin
./ PDFDocGenerator.sh <path to your VP­UML project> <path to destination>

Word Report Generation

The Generate Word Dialog Box
The Generate Word dialog box provides a set of options for changing the report style. To display the
dialog box, perform one of the following actions:
• Select Tools > Report > Generate Word Report...from main menu.
• Click on the Generate Word Report button on the toolbar.
In both cases, the Generate Word dialog box will be displayed.

Generating a Word Report

To generate a Word Report:
1. Open the Generate Word dialog box.
2. Enter the destination location of the generated document in the File location field.
3. Select the report options, such as Generate diagrams, Generate reference )file/URL( link, etc...if
necessary.
4. Select the details field such as Children, Members.
5. Define the page settings for the report.
6. Define advanced report information such as Header/Footer and Document Info if necessary.
7. Select the diagrams to generate in the report.
8. Click Generate to start generating the report.

Using the Published Project

Go to the output directory of the published project and open the file index.html with a web browser.
The web page is organized in frames, namely the Navigator Pane, Menu Pane and Content Pane.
 Figure 4.7 - Published project
Navigator Pane
It comprises of the Diagram Navigator, Model Navigator and Class Navigator.
• Diagram Navigator shows the categories of diagrams in the project. You can click on a category to
view its diagrams in the Menu Pane, or click Show All Diagrams to view all diagrams.
• Model Navigator shows the Package models in the project. You can click on a Package to view its
child models in the Menu Pane, or click Show All Models to view all model elements.
• Class Navigator shows the Package models in the project. You can click on a Package to view its
child packages/classes in the Menu Pane, or click Show All Models to view all packages/classes.

Menu Pane
It shows the sub-menus of the Navigator pane. The contents shown in this pane varies with the link you
clicked in the Navigator Pane. For more details about the possible contents please refer to the
Navigator Pane section. To view the details of an item (diagram, model or package/class), click on its
link in the Menu Pane and its details will be shown in the Content Pane.

Figure 4.8 - Menu Navigator

Content Pane
It shows the details of the item (diagram, model or package/class) you clicked in the Menu Pane or
Content Pane.
Diagram Content

Figure 4.9 - The Diagram Content

The diagram type, name, description, together with a full size image of the diagram are shown in the
Content Pane. The image is mapped to different clickable regions for each shape, so you can click on a
shape in the image to view its details.

Models
The Models section of the diagram content page shows the name, type and documentation of the
models of all shapes in the diagram. You can click on the link of a model to view its details.
Model Content
The type, name and general model properties of a model are shown in the content page.
Relationships The summary of the relationships of the model is shown in the Relationships
Summary section. Just click on a relationship interested and it will take you to the relationship's details
in the Relationships Detail section.
Chapter 5 - Interoperability
XMI, short for XML Metadata Interchange, is a widely used XMI based format for exchanging
metadata information. The most common use of XMI is for interchange of UML objects.
VP-UML facilitates excellent interoperability by allowing exchanging UML diagrams and models via
XMI. Apart from this, you also can import models created from IBM Rational Rose previously.
This chapter guides you through the process of importing an XMI file and IBM Rational Rose model,
and exporting VP-UML project as a XMI file. In this chapter:
• XMI Importer and Exporter

XMI Importer and Exporter

Figure 5.1

Supported XMI File version

VP-UML supports the importing several version of XMI files. Let's see the following table for details.
Supports Import XMI files version Supports Export XMI files version
XMI 1.0 for UML 1.x XMI 1.0 for UML 1.x
XMI 1.2 for UML 1.x XMI 1.2 for UML 1.x
XMI 2.1 for UML 1.x XMI 2.1 for UML 1.x
XMI 1.0 for UML 2.0 XMI 1.0 for UML 2.0
XMI 1.2 for UML 2.0 XMI 1.2 for UML 2.0
XMI 2.1 for UML 2.0 XMI 2.1 for UML 2.0
Table 5.1 - Supported XMI version
Importing an XMI File
The diagram below shows the class diagram in MagicDraw® before exporting as an XMI file.

Figure 5.2 - Class Diagram created by MagicDraw

To import an XMI file into VP-UML:
1. Select File > Import > XMI...from main menu. This display the Import XMI dialog box.
2. In the dialog, locate the XMI file and click OK to open it. You can enter the path directly on the text
field or click ... to locate the file from file chooser.
3. Since different tool support XMI in different ways, it may have chances that some elements
proprietary to a particular tool could not be imported into VP-UML. If that's the case, the Log Details
dialog box will be shown and display the problems.
4. Upon finishing, diagrams and models from the XMI files are imported into VP-UML.

Exporting an XMI file

The diagram below shows a Use Case Diagram created in VP-UML before exporting as an XMI file.

Figure 5.5 - Use Case Diagram

To export a VP-UML project into a XMI file:
1. Select File > Export > XMI...from main menu. This display the Export XMI dialog box.
2. In the dialog, locate the XMI file and click OK to export the project to the specified file path. You
can enter the path directly on the text field or click ...to locate the file from file chooser.
3. Upon finishing, diagrams and models from the VP-UML project are exported as an XMI file.
Chapter 6 - Automatic Diagrams Layout
VP-UML provides a layout facility for arranging diagram elements in diagrams(Use Case Diagram,
Class Diagram, Communication Diagram, State Machine Diagram, Activity Diagram, Component
Diagram, Deployment Diagram, Composite Structure Diagram, Timing Diagram, Interaction Overview
Diagram, Overview Diagram, Business Workflow Diagram). It relayouts the diagram elements so that
they do not overlap, and the relationship links are arranged so that they will not cross over one another.
Different layout styles and configurable options are provided, which allows very flexible and
sophisticated layout to be adopted for diagrams. In this chapter:
• Using diagram layout facility
• Setting the diagram layout options
Auto Layout
Auto Layout can arrange the shapes by selecting the most suitable layout automatically. It is best for
arranging the shapes when user has no special preference in choosing a specific layout.
To apply Auto Layout to the diagram, right-click on the diagram and select Layout > Auto Layout
from the popup menu.

Figure 6.1 - Select Auto Layout

Class Diagram
Hierarchy base (Factory class diagram)

Figure 6.2 - Hierarchy base (Factory class diagram)

Navigation base (Mediator class diagram)

Figure 6.3 - Navigation base (Mediator class diagram)

Activity Diagram

Figure 6.4 - Auto layout of activity diagram

State Machine Diagram

Figure 6.5 - Auto layout of state machine diagram

Performing Layout
• To layout all the diagram elements in the diagram, right-click on the diagram and select Layout from
the popup menu.
• To layout the selected diagram elements, right-click on the selection and select Layout from the
popup menu (make sure there are more than one diagram elements selected).
Appendix D - Keyboard Shortcuts
Action -----Hot Key\nDescription
New Project... Ctrl-N
To create either a new UML 1.x or a new UML 2.0 project. The Create New Project dialog box
will appear which allows you to create a blank project, a project created from existing project
templates, or import from other CASE tool project files.
Open Project... Ctrl-O
To open an existing project.
Save Project….. Ctrl-S
To save the current project. If the project is a new one, this operation is equivalent to "Save
Project as...
New Diagram...Ctrl-Shift-N
To create a new diagram.
Print... Ctrl-P
To print selected diagrams in the current project. A new dialog box will be presented, allowing
you to select the diagrams to be printed, as well as configuring various printing options.
Undo…… Ctrl-Z
To undo the last action that you performed.
Redo…… Ctrl-Y
To redo the last action that you performed.
Repeat Create... F3
To repeat create last shape.
Cut ……Ctrl-X
To cut the selected diagram elements from the diagram and copy them to the application
clipboard.
Default Copy……… Ctrl-C
To perform the copy action as configured in the VP-UML application options (Options dialog
box -> Diagramming category -> Environment page). The default "default copy" action is
Copying within VP-UML.
Copy to Clipboard as OLE…….Ctrl-Shift-C
To copy the selected diagram elements from the diagram to the system clipboard. The diagram
elements can then be pasted to OLE containers like Word, Excel and PowerPoint, which can be
edited directly.
Copy toClipboard asImage )JPG(……..Ctrl-Alt-C
To copy the selected diagram elements as a JPG image to the system clipboard.
Copy to Clipboard as Image )EMF(………Ctrl-Alt-Shift-C
To copy the selected diagram elements as an EMF image to the system clipboard.
Duplicate……. Ctrl-E
To duplicate the selected diagram elements.
Paste View…….. Ctrl-V
To paste the contents of the application clipboard to the drawing pane.
Delete……. Delete
To delete the selected diagram elements from the diagram.
Select All………. Ctrl-A
To select all the diagram elements from the current diagram.
Deselect………. Ctrl-D
To deselect all diagram elements.
Find Ctrl-F
To find elements (model elements and diagram elements) in the current project.
Jump to Element in Active Diagram.......Ctrl-J
To jump to an element in the active diagram.
Jump to Element........Ctrl-Shift-J
To jump to an element in the project. If the selected element belongs to a diagram, this diagram
will be opened, and the element will be selected and centered in the diagram. If the selected
element is a model that does not have a view, it will be selected in the Model pane.
Group ……Ctrl-G
To organize shapes in group. The group can manipulate related shapes together (select, deselect, move,
align and resize).
Ungroup……..Ctrl-Shift-G
To ungroup the grouped shapes in diagram.
Align Shapes……… F12
To display the Align Shapes dialog box that allows you to configure the top/bottom, left/right
alignments and same width/same height options all at a time.
Show Diagram Navigator………Ctrl-Shift-I
To open/activate the Diagram Navigator.
Show Model Pane……..Ctrl-Shift-O
To open/activate the Model Pane.
Show Class Repository……..Ctrl-Shift-L
To open/activate the Class Repository Pane.
Show Logical View………Ctrl-Shift-A
To open/activate the Logical View Pane.
Show ORM Pane……..Ctrl-Shift-R
To open/activate the ORM Pane.
Show Stencil Pane……..Ctrl-Shift-S
To open/activate the Stencil Pane.
Show Property Pane……..Ctrl-Shift-P
To open/activate the Property Pane.
Show Diagram Overview Pane……….Ctrl-Shift-V
To open/activate the Diagram Overview Pane.
Show Documentation Pane……..Ctrl-Shift-U
To open/activate the Documentation Pane.
Show Message Pane………Ctrl-Shift-M
To open/activate the Message Pane.
Toggle Show Resources……….. Ctrl-R
To toggle the visibility of resources.
Full Screen ………F11
To toggle the full screen mode (display only the Toolbar and the Diagram Pane, all the
other UI components will be hidden).
Zoom In……Ctrl-Equals
To magnify the diagram by 10%.
Zoom Out………Ctrl-Minus
To diminished the diagram by 10%.
Zoom 100% )Actual Size( Ctrl-0
To view the diagram in its actual size.
Previous Diagram…….. Alt-Left
To switch to the previous diagram.
Next Diagram ……..Alt-Right
To switch to the next diagram.
Switch to Diagram..........Ctrl-Shift-E
To manage windows by selecting windows to close, and/or activate a selected window.
Close Active Window…….. Ctrl-W
To close the active window.
Close All Windows………Ctrl-Shift-W
To close all opened the windows.
Open Specification... Enter
To open the specification of active diagram or diagram element
Classes
Action ………Hot Key ……….. Description
Add Attribute………. Alt-Shift-A………. To add a attribute to a currently selected Class
Add Operation ……….Alt-Shift-O………. To add an operation to a currently selected Class
Entities
Action ……..Hot Key ……… Description
New Column….. Alt-Shift-C….. To add a new column to an currently selected Entity or ResultSet