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Set an Element's Default Appearance
All elements that you use have global default appearance settings for:
- The fill, border and font colors
- Font styles, including font face and size
- The border thickness
You define these settings on the 'Preferences' dialog. However, you can change the default appearance for a specific element on all diagrams on which it is found, using the 'Default Appearance' dialog.
Access
Context Menu |
Right-click on element | Appearance | Default Appearance |
Keyboard Shortcuts |
or
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Options
Option |
Action |
See also |
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Background Color |
Click on the drop-down arrow and select the fill - or background - color of the element. This setting overrides all other fill color definitions in the model, except for:
If you want to use a color that is not available, click on the and define the required color. |
Create Custom Colors |
Border Color |
Click on the drop-down arrow and select the border color for the element. If you want to use a color that is not available, click on the and define the required color. |
Create Custom Colors |
Border Width |
Type in the width of the border surrounding the element, or use the increment/decrement arrows to the right of the field. The minimum width setting is 1, the maximum is 5. If you set this value to the current model default value, any updates to the default value are immediately applied to this local 'Border Width' field, until you specifically reset the local field to a non-default value. (The current model default border width is set in the 'Default Element Border Width' field; select the 'Start > View > Preferences' ribbon option and the 'Diagram > Appearance' page.) |
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Font Style |
Displays the current font typeface for the element text. To change this, click on the button. The 'Font' dialog displays, on which you can select a different typeface, style (such as bold/italic) and font size. You can also select from a limited number of font colors and effects on this dialog. |
Font Dialog |
Font Color |
Click on the drop-down arrow and select the font color to apply to the text of the element. If you want to use a color that is not available, click on the and define the required color. |
Create Custom Colors |
Reset to defaults |
(Optional) Click on this button to reset all appearance settings to the system default values. |
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Preview |
Displays a representation of the colors, border width and font styles, which updates as you choose the new settings. |
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OK |
Click on this button to close the dialog and apply the appearance settings you have defined. |
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Cancel |
Click on this button to close the dialog and abort all the changes you have made within the dialog. |
Notes
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