Using Diagram Components

Creating New Tables

There are several ways to create new tables in Power*Architect. The first way is to click on the New Table Icon on the sidebar menu. The cursor turns into a "+" cursor indicating the mode change. Simply click on the playpen on the spot you desire to place the new table at. The second method to create a table is to right click on the playpen and select the "New Table" option. A newly created table will then be placed at the point of the right click. A third way is to type the letter T with the mouse over the playpen.

Editing Tables

To edit a table, right click on the table title and select "Table Properties". This pops up the Table Properties dialog.

In this dialog, you can:

  • Change the name of the table

  • Rename the primary key section of the table

  • Add comments/notes about the table

Creating New Columns

First select the table the new column will be placed in. Click on the "Insert Column" button and a column is created in the selected table. Another way to add a new column is to right click on a table and select the "New Column..." option. The new column will be added to the table below the selected column. It will be placed at the bottom of the table if no columns are selected. If a table has existing columns in the primary key and you wish to create new columns within the primary key, select a column that is already in the desired primary key and then create a new column. The newly created column will be placed within the primary key as well.

Editing Columns

Select the desired column, right click and select "Column Properties". The Edit Column Properties dialog pops up. Or you can select the column and click the "Edit Column" button on the Playpen toolbar.

In this dialog, you can:

  • Rename the column

  • Change the type of data the column holds

  • Set the precision of the data

  • Set the scale

  • Indicate if the column is in the primary key or not

  • Indicate if the column should handle null information or not

  • Indicate if auto increment is allowed or not

  • Add additional comments about the column

  • Set a default value for the column

A special feature of the Power*Architect is that if a column orginated from a database, the Power*Architect is able to remember the database and table it orginated from.

Dragging Columns

The Power*Architect allows you to drag columns within a table's key and from table to table freely. Simply select the desired columns and drag them into the desired destination. For now, only one column can be moved at a time.

Creating Non-Identifying and Identifying Relationships

To create a relationship, select the desired type of relationship on the Playpen ToolBar. The non-identifying relationship icon is (keyboard shortcut is shift+R). The identifying relationship icon is identified by (shortcut key is R). The cursor changes to the "+" cursor to indicate the mode change. First click on the parent table and then click on the child table. Once this has been done, the relationship will be created, and will appear as a link between the two tables.

Editing a Relationship

Select the desired relationship and right click on the relationship. Choose the "Relationship Properties" options. This can also be done by selecting the relationship and clicking on the relationship properties button. In both cases, the Relationship Properties dialog will appear.

In this dialog, you can:

  • Rename the relationship

  • Choose the relationship type

  • Change the primary key end cardinality

  • Change the foreign key end cardinality

Selecting Multiple Items in the Playpen

There are two ways to select multiple items in the playpen. One way is to hold down the shift key or the ctrl key as more items are being selected. The alternative method is to use the selection box.

Relocating Objects in the Playpen

The Power*Architect allows diagram objects to move around freely in the playpen. To do so, first select the items you want to move in the Playpen. Click and hold on one of the selected item and drag the items to a desired spot on the playpen.

Deleting Diagram Components

Select the desired diagram components on the playpen and click on the delete items button on the Playpen Toolbar. It is also possible to delete the selected items by right clicking on one of the components and selecting "Delete Selected".