UML Designer User's Guide

Filtering by browser level

The Relationships Browser and the Path Browser can display relationships and elements according to five different levels of detail. To change the browser level, select Levels from the Options menu; this displays a cascaded menu from which you can select the browser level you want to use. This setting globally affects all Relationships Browsers and Path Browsers.

The higher the browser level, the more relationships appear in the Relationships Browser and Path Browser. These levels are cumulative: each browser level includes all of the relationships displayed at the lower levels, plus additional relationships. Generally, you should use the lowest browser level that includes all of the relationships you want to use, in order to avoid unnecessary clutter.

Note:Filtering by browser level works in conjunction with other UML Designer filtering mechanisms (such as filtering by task or selecting a relationship filter in the Relationships Browser). To see all of the relationships included at the current browser level, you must do the following:
  • Select Tasks>All from the Options menu to disable task filtering.
  • Select All Relationships in the Relationships Browser.

Level 1: Basic

Browser level 1 includes only the basic structural relationships of the model. This includes relationships that lead to semantically interesting direct children of the source element (containment relationships); it also includes associations of the source element.

It does not include cross-linking relationships, relationships that lead only to "view" elements such as diagrams and publications, or cross-referencing and traceability relationships (see Level 2 for more information).

For example, Level 1 includes:

Level 2: General

Browser level 2 adds additional semantic model relationships, as well as relationships to "view" elements such as publications and diagrams. It also includes semantically important cross-linking relationships (direct references other than containment and hypertext relationships, such as a "satisfies" link from a use case to a requirement), as well as a few cross-reference relationships (direct and indirect connections that help in understanding the model, such as traceability and "used by" links). This level is the default when you install UML Designer.

For example, Level 2 includes:

Level 3: Cross-reference

Browser level 3 adds additional relationships that show how model elements depend upon one another. This can be helpful with a large or complex model. For example, Level 3 includes:

Level 4: Meta

Browser level 4 adds some additional relationships that make it possible to navigate some of the metamodel elements associated with your model element. This includes the filters themselves, each a relationship in the metamodel (you can select a filter to see the relationships available with that filter).

Level 5: Advanced

Browser level 5 includes all of the public UML Designer relationships. This includes relationships that show the available elements of a particular type in the model, according to the scoping criteria of the element and its parent relationships.

For example, level 5 includes:


[ Top of Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Table of Contents | Index ]