OnLine
Applied Information Studies

published 20 Oct 1995 : 01 Jan 1996 updated

PowerDesigner Tool Bar: Graphics

Graphic properties

The three coloring buttons all invoke the same color pallet dialog. To use them, first select the object(s) which you want to color and then click the tool button. That much is obvious.

Line color
Fill color
Text color

What is less obvious is that you must manually maintain the meaning and association of the colors with model content. It can be very tedious to keep colored graphics in sync with a rapidly changing data model. Furthermore, unless you have access to a color output device all your creative coloring will not be revealed in printed diagrams.

Although the Shadow function suffers from the same requirement of manual maintenance, it will show up on black-and-white printing. Therefore we urge you not to overuse the shadow by applying it to every entity; save it for occasional emphasis.

Finally, the Adjust to Test button will immediately adjust the size of an entity or table to match the longest displayed text. This function is also available from the Arrange menu but it is not needed if you have turned on the Auto-Adjust to Text option.