You can paste an element from the Project Browser window into the current diagram.
If you press and hold [Ctrl] while you drag an element from the Project Browser window onto the current diagram, Enterprise Architect prompts you to select the type of paste action to carry out.
Three options are available:
| 1. | Paste the element as a simple link. In this case the element displays in the current diagram as a simple reference to the original source element. Changes to the element in the diagram affect all other links to this element. |
| 2. | Paste as an instance of the element. If the element can have a classifier such as an Object, Sequence instance or Node instance, you can drop the element in as an instance of the source element, with the classifier pre-set to the original source. This is useful when creating multiple instances of a class in a Sequence diagram or Communication diagram. |
| 3. | Create as a child of the source element. This automatically creates a new class - which you are prompted to name - with a Generalization link back to the source. This is very useful when you have a class library or framework from which you inherit new forms; for example, you can paste a Hashtable as "MyHashtable" which automatically becomes a child of the original Hashtable. Used with the Override parent operations and features, this is a quick way to create new structures based on frameworks such as the Java SDK and the .NET SDK. |
Note: To make use of the Only show this dialog when [Ctrl]+Mouse drag is used checkbox, you must first select the Auto Instance checkbox on the Diagram Behavior dialog (select the Tools | Options | Diagram | Behavior option).