Animating sequence diagram

By animating a sequence diagram with Animacian, you can see interaction between lifelines and the flow of message calls in active.

Launching an animation

Select Modeling > Animacian... from the main menu.

In Sequence Diagram Animacian dialog box, select a path and then click Play.

Clicking Play in Sequence Diagram Animacian dialog box

NOTE:

Animacian can also be started by using any of the ways below:

Right-click on the diagram background and select Utilities > Animacian... from the popup menu.
Click the drop-down menu of Modeling Tools and select Animacian... on the toolbar.

Overview of Animacian

The Sequence Diagram Animacian dialog box will pop out after clicking Animacian.... This dialog box is where you can select an execution path to play an animation.

Sequence Diagram Animacian dialog box

No.	Name	Description
1	Backward	Move one shape backward in the flow.
2	Play	Play or continue to play the animation with Animacian minimized.
3	Stop	Terminate the animation.
4	Forward	Advance to the next shape in the flow.
5	Slider	It is used for controlling the flow of animation.
6	Paths	It provides two ways of producing animation for the possible paths. Automatic: It is chosen by default. This helps you to detect all possible paths automatically. Manual: Choose when you want to select the possible path(s) manually.
7	Paths list	It lists all possible ways of executing a sequence. By default, paths are named as Path1, Path2, and so forth. You can rename them by double clicking on them and giving meaningful names.
8	Components list	It displays all components of the selected path. Pressing on a component will highlight the first shape of the chosen path until the chosen shape in the diagram.
9	Refresh	It is used for re-identifying the paths base on filter assignment and diagram content.
10	Filter...	It helps removing the non-selected paths by specifying the end result of fork nodes.
11	Filter invisible shapes	A shape can be set invisible on a diagram, or become invisible due to belonging to an invisible layer. By checking this option, invisible shapes will be ignored when calculating paths. By unchecking, invisible path will be included when calculating paths. By unchecking, you will see a black ball fly on diagram without attaching to the invisible shape(s) when executing a path.
12	Export to Flash...	Select an output path for exporting this diagram's animation to Adobe Flash.
13	Minimize	Click to minimize this dialog box.
14	Options pane	The Options pane helps you to configure animation. Show invalid paths: It lists not only the valid and selected path, but also the invalid and non-playable paths in the Paths list. Dim other path: It dims the components that are not a part of the selected path. Show start node when switch path: Jump to the first node of the selected path, or keep staying at the current viewing field. Minimize when play: It minimizes this dialog box when playing an animation. Lock diagram when playing: It locks the diagram when playing the animation to prevent accidental editing. Show documentation when playing: It shows documentation of shape at the bottom right of diagram when playing the animation. Play voice when playing: Voice can be recorded as documentation of model element. Check this if you want to play recorded voice when running animation.
15	Advanced Options...	It provides the color and speed options for animation.
16	OK	Click this button to confirm the settings and close Animacian.
17	Cancel	Click this button to close Animacian without saving the editing.

Description of Sequence Diagram Animacian dialog box

Advanced options

Advanced Options dialog box

Name	Description
Visited error fill color	The background color of visited shape that cause an error. An error means the flow object that causes a path invalid.
Visited fill color	The background color of visited shapes.
Active shape initial fill color	When playing an animation, a tiny black ball will traverse the chosen path, from one shape to another. When it reaches a shape, the shape will render with a transition effect that means transiting from an initial color to visited fill color. This option manages the initial background color for visiting shape.
Visited line color	The line color of visited shapes.
Visited font color	The font color of visited shapes.
Visited line width	The thickness of visited shape's border.
Ball color	The color of ball that goes through a path during animation for indicating the progress of flow.
Speed	The pace of animation.
Flash progress bar background color 1	The background color for the top of progress bar in exported Flash movie.
Flash Progress Bar background color 2	The background color for the bottom of progress bar in exported Flash movie.

The description of Advanced Options dialog box

Naming a path

The Paths list displays all possible animation paths of your diagram. Each path represents a possible way to go through the diagram. By default, paths are named as Path1, Path2, and so forth. It is recommended to name to the path(s) for better clarification.

To rename a path, move the mouse pointer on a path in the list and double click on it.
Enter the name of path.
Press Enter to confirm editing.

Naming the path

Creating a manual path

In Sequence Diagram Animacian dialog box, all paths are listed in Paths list by default. However, you can manage the flow of animation with your own choice. To create a manual path:

Select Manual in Paths.

Selecting Manual in Paths
Press Add Path to insert a new path.
Select the shapes that are shown on the Components list to direct the flow of animation.
Click OK to confirm editing.

Handling decision

You should choose an operand when there is more than one option in the interaction. Different decisions will lead to different forks and make a different outcome for the flow of animation. Make either decision to view the outcome.

Making a decision for the flow of path

Reviewing an animation

When everything is ready, click Play to start the animation of the selected path.

After click Play, Sequence Diagram Animacian dialog box will be minimized to the bottom of your diagram, with several buttons and a slider revealing on it.

Button	Name	Description
	Backward	Move one shape backward in the flow.
	Pause	Temporary stop playing the movie. Press Play to continue to play.
	Play	Play or continue to play the animation.
	Forward	Advance to the next shape in the flow.
	Stop	Terminate the animation.
	Maximize	Maximize Animacian.

Description of Animacian bar

When the animation starts, a black ball will appear at beginning of path and traverse through the path until the end.
When the black ball reaches a shape, the shape will turn into purple.

Reviewing the animation