How to Use Stereotypes in EPC Diagram?

A stereotype is an extensibility mechanism to categorize the domain of a shape and extend a shape's nature. The name of stereotype is enclosed by guillemets (<< >>) and is placed above the name of shape it attaching to. In this tutorial, you can learn how to configure a stereotype, assign it to shapes in EPC diagram and then show its tagged values using Visual Paradigm.

August 16, 2010
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Compatible: Enterprise, Professional, Standard, Modeler
  1. Download Simple-Bill-Settlement.vpp. You can also find this file at the bottom of this tutorial.
  2. Open the downloaded .vpp file in Visual Paradigm. To open a project, select Project > Open from the application toolbar.
  3. Open the EPC diagram Bill settlement.
    Sample EPC diagram
  4. When you need to emphasize the importance of a shape, you can assign a stereotype to it. Assume the function Process Bill should be given priority during the bill settlement process. Let's mark it as an urgent function. Right-click on Process Bill and select Stereotype > Edit Stereotypes... from the pop-up menu.
    Edit stereotypes
  5. In the Function Specification window, the Stereotypes tab will open. Click Edit Stereotypes....
    Edit stereotypes
  6. In the Configure Stereotypes window, click Add....
    Add stereotype
  7. In the Stereotype Specification window, select the General tab. Name the stereotype Urgent.
    Naming stereotype
  8. Click Configure....
    Configure format
  9. In the Stereotype Format window, select the Background tab. Check Use and select Red. Click OK to confirm.
    Configure stereotype color
  10. Next, add a tagged value. Open the Tagged Value Definitions tab. Supplementary information is given to the shape to which the tagged value is attached. Various tagged values are available, such as model element tag, enumeration tag, and floating-point number tag. In this example, click the Add button and select Text Tag from the drop-down menu. Enter Deadline as the name of the tag.
    Adding tag
  11. Click OK in the Stereotype Specification window and then in the Configure Stereotypes window.
  12. In the Function Specification window, click > to assign it to the Selected list. Click OK.
    Add stereotype to EPC function
    Other than assigning the newly created stereotype to the Selected list, you can also right-click on Process Bill and select Stereotypes > Urgent from the pop-up menu.
    Assign stereotype
  13. As you can see, the stereotype is attached to the Process Bill function. Process Bill now turns red, which matches the message of the Urgent stereotype it is given.
    Stereotype assigned
  14. Moreover, you can show the tagged value you have just created. To show the tagged value, right-click on the diagram's background, select Presentation Options > Show Tagged Values > Show All from the pop-up menu. The tagged value is shown below:
    Tagged values shown
    You can set a value for the tag via the specification window of Process Bill, under the Tagged Values tab.
Resources
  1. Simple-Bill-Settlement.vpp