Create shapes in Visio^® and import to VP-UML

 

Introduction

With the Modeler facility introduced in VP-UML 4.0 and SDE 2.0, you can extend the notations of your UML diagrams by creating shapes in Visio^® and import to VP-UML. This article will show you the steps to import the shapes from Visio^®, and use it in your UML diagrams.

 

Software Requirements

Before we start, we must make sure the machine meet the software requirements. Modeler only work on VP-UML 4.0 or SDE 2.0 Modeler Edition or above, and it requires Microsoft^® .NET Framework 1.1 and Microsoft^® Office Visio^® 2003 installed. It is very important that the .NET Framework must be installed before Visio^®. One more thing is the Visio Shape Exporter must be installed in order to use the Modeler.

 

Installing Visio Shape Exporter

The Visio Shape Exporter can be found in the bundled folder under the installation directory. Inside this folder, there is a VisioSendToVP.msi. Double click the file and follow the instruction to install the exporter.

The VisioSendToVP.msi under the bundled directory.		Launching the installer.

 

Sending shapes from Visio^® to VP-UML

Once all the software is installed, you are now ready to create impressive diagrams and extend the modeling capabilities of VP-UML.

 

Creating your own notations with Visio^®

Just like the usual procedure for creating shapes in Visio^®, you can draw whatever you want in the diagram area. All the created shapes can be imported into VP-UML.

 

Sending your work to VP-UML

After you have created the shapes in Visio^®, you can import them into VP-UML in few steps.

 

Step 1 – Selecting the shapes

Select the shapes that you want to send to VP-UML in your drawing. You can select the shape by:

·         clicking on it, or

·         select multiple shapes by holding Ctrl key and clicking on the selected shapes, or

·         clicking an empty area of your drawing and drag out the rubber band to select the shapes, or

·         press Ctrl-A to select all shapes.

The selected shapes should show a pink border indicate they were selected.

 

Step 2 – Send to VP-UML

Open the Tools menu and choose VP -> Send Selected Shapes to VP to send all the selected shapes to VP, or choose VP -> Send All Shapes to VP to send all the shapes in your drawing to VP-UML. A summary dialog will be shown indicate the shapes were sent to VP-UML.

 

Step 3 – Import the shapes in VP-UML

Now switch to VP-UML and open the Stencil Pane. The Stencil Pane can be opened by selecting View -> Stencil Pane. Click the Import Stencil button  to open the Import Stencil dialog. (*Note that if your are upgraded from previous versions, in order to show the Stencil Pane, you may need to reset the application layout by choosing View -> Reset Layout to Default.)

 

Now select the drawing from the Shapes import from list, all the selected shapes will be displayed in the Preview area as a single stencil.

 

You can import the stencil into an existing diagram type or create a new diagram type to store it.  Before you import the stencil, you should assign a name to it. The name can be assigned by filling in the Name text field above the Preview area. To import the stencil into an existing diagram type, just select the stencil from the Shapes import to combo box.

Entering the name of the stencil.		Select to create stencil in existing diagram type.

 

To create a new diagram type for importing the stencil, select the Create new diagram type, and a dialog will be shown asking for the name and description of the diagram type.  When everything is ready, you can press the OK button to import the stencil.

Select to create a new diagram type.		Create New Diagram Type dialog.

 

Now the stencil was imported, and it’s ready to use in your diagram.

 

Using the custom notations in the diagram

Using the imported shapes in your diagram is as simple as using the standard UML notations. What you need to do is just drag the shapes from the Stencil Pane and drop it into the diagram.

 

The imported shapes can be connected to the standard UML notations or any other imported shapes by using the Generic Connector. You can locate the Generic Connector at the diagram toolbar.

 

Managing the stencils

Manage your stencils are far more simple. You can open the Configure Stencil dialog by clicking the Stencil Options button . The diagram type can be added and removed in the Configure Stencil dialog.

 

Summary

The Modeler allows you to extend the diagram capabilities of VP-UML by importing the shapes from Visio^®. From now on, there is no limitation on your model due to the restrictions on notations. For more details, please visit the Working with Diagrams section of the User’s Guide.

 

Related Resources

Interactive demonstration of the Modeler