Manipulating relationships

Straightening relationships


Use the Straighten relationships command to remove unnecessary angles or curves from relationships.

The Straighten command lets you straighten the line of an relationship in order to eliminate unnecessary angles or curves. Also, when the relationship line makes the reading of a model difficult because of too many bend points, you can straighten it and then add new bend points to fit your particular needs.

To straighten a relationship:
  1. Select the relationship to be straightened.
  2. Select Display > Straighten.
  3. Click an empty area in the diagram window to change the selection.
Or, you can do the following:
  1. Select the relationship to be straightened.
  2. Right-click it and from the pop-up menu choose Straighten.
  3. Click an empty area in the diagram window to change the selection.
If all the relationships need to be straighted, first choose Edit > Select > Select all relationships.


Reshaping relationships

It may sometimes be necessary to reshape relationships to avoid crossing through a graphical object, or to differentiate two relationships linking the same two objects or an entity linked to itself. In such cases, the relationship must be modified into several segments.

You can reshape a relationship by selecting and dragging it until it has the shape you desire.

To create a relationship with several segments:
  1. Click the source object (table) with one of the relationship tools selected.
  2. Move the mouse and click for each bend point of the relationship.
  3. Click the target object.

Modifying right-angled or segmented relationship lines

If the shape of a right-angled or segmented relationship is not satisfactory, it can be easily modified with the pointer tool. In order to modify right-angled or segmented relationship lines, click anywhere on the line and drag it while holding down the mouse button: the line will follow the movement of the mouse.

By clicking on a segment of the relationship and dragging it, you create an anchor and a new segment. If you click and drag an existing anchor, the angle between the two segments will be modified.