In-place Editing Tasks

This topic explains how to edit and work with some properties of an element directly in the diagram.

Use In-place Editing Options

Step	Action	See also
1	Open the diagram containing the element.
2	Click on the element, and on the item to manipulate within the element. The item line is highlighted in a lighter shade (the default is white), to indicate that it has been selected.
3	Edit and manipulate the items in the element, either by pressing the appropriate keyboard keys or by right-clicking on the highlighted item and choosing a task from the 'Element Items' context menu. The available commands are listed in this table. Not all options are available for every type of item.

Step

Action

See also

Open the diagram containing the element.

Click on the element, and on the item to manipulate within the element.

The item line is highlighted in a lighter shade (the default is white), to indicate that it has been selected.

Edit and manipulate the items in the element, either by pressing the appropriate keyboard keys or by right-clicking on the highlighted item and choosing a task from the 'Element Items' context menu.

The available commands are listed in this table. Not all options are available for every type of item.

Options

Menu option...	Action	See also
Extensions	Display a submenu of extension products; click on one to display a further menu of operations to perform within the selected product.
Edit Selected	Change the name, scope or stereotype of the element or element item. Shortcut: F2
Insert New After Selected	Insert a new item in the element. Shortcut: Insert key
View Properties	Display the dialog containing details of the element. Shortcut: Enter key
Find in Project Browser	Locate the item in the Project Browser.
Open in Specification Manager	If the element is a Package element, and the selected item is a subPackage, you can select this option to open and edit the subPackage in the Specification Manager.	Using the Specification Manager
Add Attribute	Add an attribute to the element. Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+F9
Add Operation	Add an operation to the element. Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+F10
Add Other	Insert a feature on the specific element item, such as Maintenance features and Testing features. Shortcut: Ctrl+F11
Delete Selected from Model	Delete the selected item from the model. Shortcut: Delete key
View Source code	Display the source code for the element, in the default external editor. Shortcut: F12	Editing Source Code
Visual Analyzer	Set a breakpoint on a highlighted operation (including a breakpoint, start recording marker, end recording marker or stack auto-capture marker.)	Breakpoint and Marker Management Marker Types
Set Type	Set a classifier type for the selected item. Shortcut: Ctrl+L	Select Dialog
Navigate Diagram Selection	Navigate the diagram between elements without having to use the mouse. Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+arrow
Highlight Element	Toggle element highlight option on and off. Shortcut: Shift+Enter

Keys

Other keyboard options that are available while editing element attributes or operations in a diagram include:

Shortcut	Description	See also
Enter key	Accept current changes.
Ctrl+Enter	Accept current changes and open a new slot to add a new item.
Esc	Abort the edit, without save.
Tab key or Shift+Tab	Move the cursor between segments of a feature definition.
Shift+F10	Display the context menu for in-place editing.
Ctrl+Shift+Space	Invoke the 'Select <Item>' dialog.	Select Dialog
Ctrl+Space	Display an autocompletion list for a feature classifier.

Notes

Where an in-place editing menu command has a keyboard alternative, if the selected item happens to be off-screen when you press the keys, the diagram automatically scrolls to show the whole element, so that you can see what you are changing