User Preferences for Data Modeler

You can customize many aspects of the Data Modeler environment and interface by modifying user preferences according to your personal wishes and needs. To modify the user preferences, select Tools, then Preferences.

Most preferences are self-explanatory, and this topic explains only those whose meaning and implications are not obvious. Some preferences involve performance or system resource trade-offs (for example, enabling a feature that adds execution time), and other preferences involve only personal aesthetic taste. The preferences are grouped in the following categories:

Environment

The Environment pane contains options that affect the startup and overall behavior and appearance of Data Modeler. You can specify that certain operations be performed automatically at specified times, with the trade-off usually being the extra time for the operation as opposed to the possibility of problems if the operation is not performed automatically (for example, if you forget to perform it when you should).

For example, changes to the undo level (number of previous operations that can be undone) and navigation level (number of open files) values may cause slight increases or decreases in system resource usage.

Automatically Reload Externally Modified Files: If this option is checked, any files open in Data Modeler that have been modified by an external application are updated when you switch back to Data Modeler, overwriting any changes that you might have made. If this option is not checked, changes that you make in Data Modeler overwrite any changes that might have been made by external applications.

Silently Reload When File Is Unmodified: If this option is checked, you are not asked if you want to reload files that have been modified externally but not in Data Modeler. If this option is not checked, you are asked if you want to reload each file that has been modified externally, regardless of whether it has been modified in Data Modeler.

Environment: Dockable Windows

The Dockable Windows pane configures the behavior of dockable windows and the shapes of the four docking areas of Data Modeler: top, bottom, left, and right.

Dockable Windows Always on Top: If this option is checked, dockable windows always remain visible in front of other windows.

Windows Layout: Click the corner arrows to lengthen or shorten the shape of each docking area.

Environment: Log

The Log pane configures the colors of certain types of log messages and the saving of log messages to log files.

Save Logs to File: If this option is checked, all output to the Messages - Log window is saved to log files, where the file name reflects the operation and a timestamp. You are also asked to specify a Log Directory; and if the specified directory does not already exist, it is created. Note that if you save log information to files, the number of these files can become large.

Maximum Log Lines: The maximum number of lines to store in each log file.

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Data Modeler

The Data Modeler pane contains options that affect the startup and overall behavior and appearance of Data Modeler.

Default Designs Directory: The default directory or folder from which to open a design or in which to create a design.

Default Import Directory: The default directory or folder from which to import designs.

Show Log After Import: Controls whether a Log window is displayed after an import operation. The window contains informational messages and any warning or error messages.

Default Save Directory: The default directory or folder in which to save files.

Default System Types Directory: The default directory or folder for storing type definition files.

Default Reports Directory: The default directory or folder in which to generate Data Modeler Reports. If you do not specify a directory, the default is in datamodeler/reports or datamodeler\reports under the location where you installed Data Modeler. For example, on a Windows system this might be C:\Program Files\datamodeler\datamodeler\reports.

Show "Select Relational Models" Dialog: Controls whether the dialog box for selecting relational models to be included is displayed when you open a Data Modeler design. If this option is disabled, all relational models are included by default when you open a Data Modeler design.

Load Design Level Settings on 'Open Design': Controls whether to load any settings specific to that design when opening a design. If this option is disabled, any design-specific settings are ignored and the Data Modeler global settings are used.

Show Properties Dialog on New Object: Controls whether the Properties dialog box for objects of that type is displayed when you create a new model object.

Restore Previous Design Level Settings After 'Close Design': Controls whether to restore any setting specific to the previous current design after closing the current design. If this option is disabled, the Data Modeler global settings are restored.

Import: Lets you import Data Modeler preferences and other settings that had previously been exported, as explained in Exporting and Importing Preferences and Other Settings.

Export: Saves Data Modeler preferences and other settings to an XML file, so that you can later import the information, as explained in Exporting and Importing Preferences and Other Settings.

Other Data Modeler preferences are grouped into the following categories:

Compare Mappings

The Compare Mappings pane contains preferences for ... TBS...

DDL

The DDL pane contains general options for Data Definition Language (DDL) statements in code to be generated.

Statement Termination Character for DB2 and UDB: Termination character for DDL for IBM DB2 and UDB databases.

Create Type Substitution Triggers for Oracle and UDB: Controls whether triggers are created for type substitutions in Oracle and IBM UDB physical models.

Create Triggers for FK Arc Constraint: Controls whether triggers are created in generated DDL code to implement foreign key arc constraints.

Create Triggers for Non Transferable FK: Controls whether triggers are created for non-transferable foreign key relationships. (Whether a foreign key relationship is transferable is controlled by the Transferable (Updateable) option in the Foreign Key Properties dialog box.)

Show CHAR/BYTE Unit for Oracle Varchar2 and Char Types: Controls whether, for attributes of Oracle type CHAR or VARCHAR2, the unit (CHAR or BYTE) associated with the attribute length is included for columns based on the attribute in relational model diagrams and in generated CREATE TABLE statements.

Use 'Data Type Kind' Property in Compare Functionality: Controls whether the data type kind (such as domain, logical type, or distinct type) should be considered to prevent types of different kinds from generating the same native data type (for example, preventing a domain and a logical type from resulting in Number(7,2)).

DDL: DDL/Migration

Lets you specify one or more pairs of string replacements to be made when DDL statements are generated. Each pair specifies the old string and the new string with which to replace the old string.

Selected: Controls whether the specified replacement is enabled or disabled.

Case Sensitive: Controls whether the replacement is done only if the case of the old string in the DDL exactly matches the case specifies for the old string.

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Diagram

The Diagram pane contains general options that affect the appearance of model diagrams.

General: Synchronize with Tree: Controls whether the focus on an active diagram is automatically moved to reflect the selection of objects under that model in the object browser.

Diagram: Classification Types

Specifies colors and optionally prefixes for the display of different classification types in a multidimensional model. You can also add (+ or Add icon) and delete (X or Remove icon) user-defined classification types.

Diagram: Format

Specifies default object fonts and colors, and line widths and colors, for the display of different types of design objects.

Diagram: Logical Model

Contains options that apply to the diagram of the logical model.

Notation Type: Notation type: Barker (sometimes called "crow's foot") or Bachman.

Show Source/Target Name: Controls whether the Name on Source and Name on Target values (in the Cardinality pane of the Record Structure Properties dialog box) are displayed. If they are displayed, you can format the text and move the boxes.

Box-in-Box Presentation for Entity Inheritances: Displays subtypes in a box inside their supertype's box.

Domains Presentation: Specifies what is displayed as the data type for an attribute based on a domain: Domain Name causes the domain name to be displayed; Used Logical Type causes the logical type used in the domain definition to be displayed.

Diagram: Relational Model

Contains options that apply to a diagram of a relational model.

Foreign Key Arrow Direction: Controls whether the arrowhead points toward the primary key or toward the foreign key in foreign key relationship arrows.

Show Foreign Key Name: Controls whether a text box containing the foreign key name is displayed on foreign key relationship arrows.

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Model

The Model pane contains options that apply to several types of models.

Default RDBMS Type: Default database type.

Default RDBMS Site: Default site within the default database type.

Columns and Attributes Defaults: Nulls Allowed: Controls whether new columns and attributes are allowed to have null values. If this option is disabled, new columns and attributes are by default mandatory (value required).

Preferred Domains and Logical Types: Enables you to limit the values displayed in drop-down lists of domains and logical types. (You can use this feature to prevent such lists from being "cluttered" with domains and logical types that you never specify.) To have a domain or logical type appear in drop-down lists, move it from the Preferred side to the All side.

Model: Logical

Contains options that apply to the logical model.

Relation Cardinality: Source Optional: Controls whether the source entity in a relationship must, by default, contain one or more instances. If this option is enabled, source instances are not required for all relationship types; if this option is disabled, one or more source instances are required for all relationship types.

Relation Cardinality: Target Optional: Controls whether the target entity in a relationship must, by default, contain one or more instances. If this option is enabled, target instances are not required for all relationship types; if this option is disabled, one or more target instances are required for all relationship types.

Use and Set First Unique Identifier as Primary Key: Controls whether, by default, the first unique identifier attribute is set as the primary unique identifier when you create an entity.

FK Attribute Name Synchronization: Keep as the Name of the Originating Attribute: Controls whether the supertype or referenced attribute must be used in unique identifier (foreign key) naming. To be able to specify some other name, deselect this option.

Model: Physical

Contains options that apply to a physical model. Different options apply to each supported type of database.

Model: Relational

Contains options that apply to a relational model.

Delete FK Columns Strategy: Specifies what Data Modeler should do when you attempt to delete a table that has one or more generated foreign key columns (columns in other tables) pointing to it: delete the foreign key columns, do not delete the foreign key columns, or ask to confirm the foreign key column deletions.

For example, using the relational model in Data Modeler Tutorial: Modeling for a Small Database, if you delete the Books table, the Transactions table contains the book_id foreign key column that refers to the primary key of the Books table. Your choice for this option determines what happens to the Transactions.book_id column if you delete the Books table.

Default Foreign Key Delete Rule: Specifies what happens if a user tries to delete a row containing data that is involved in a foreign key relationship:

  • No Action causes an error message to be displayed indicating that deletion is not allowed; the deletion is rolled back.

  • Cascade deletes all rows containing data that is involved in the foreign key relationship.

  • Set Null sets the value to null if all foreign key columns for the table can accept null values.

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Naming Standard

The Naming Standard pane lets you implement naming standardization: you can view, add, and modify naming standards for logical and relational model objects and for domains. These standards will be checked when you apply Design Rules, and any violations of the standards will be reported as errors or warnings.

Do not confuse naming standardization with using the Name Abbreviations dialog box, which makes immediate name changes to enforce consistency in spellings and abbreviations, and which is limited to relational model name strings.

Logical, Relational, Domains

For logical model entities and attributes, relational model tables and columns, and domains, you can add, rearrange, and make optional or mandatory any of the following components of object names: prime word, class word, modifier, and qualifier. The acceptable values of these components are specified in the glossary file or files that you specify in the Glossary pane.

Title Case (Separator option): Refers to capitalizing each "word" and not including spaces: for example, GovernmentAccounts. (Title case is sometimes called CamelCase.)

Abbreviated Only: If this option is enabled, non-abbreviated words cannot be used in relational model object names (that is, only abbreviated words can be used).

For explanations of other terms, see Glossary Editor. For an excellent discussion of naming standards, see the United States Coast Guard Data Naming Element Standards Guidebook.

Glossary

You can add one or more glossary files to be used in naming standardization. (For more information about glossaries, see Glossary Editor.)

Naming Standard: Templates

For various kinds of constraints for tables and entities, you can edit the format string and add variable string elements.

Example: To see a sample name in a currently specified format, select the desired constraint type (for example, Foreign Key).

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Third Party JDBC Drivers

The Third Party JDBC Drivers pane specifies drivers to be used for connections to third-party (non-Oracle) databases. Data Modeler needs to use a JDBC driver for some operations, such as obtaining metadata from the third-party database.

Oracle does not supply non-Oracle drivers. To access any non-Oracle databases that require the use of drivers other than ODBC/JDBC (which are included in Java), you must download the files for the necessary drivers, and then add them using this pane. To download drivers, use the appropriate link at the third-party site. For example:

For each driver to be added, click the Add (+) icon and select the path for the driver. Third-party databases and their required driver files include:

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000: msbase.jar, mssqlserver.jar, and msutil.jar

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005: sqljdbc.jar

  • IBM DB2/UDB: db2jcc.jar

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Extensions

The Extensions pane determines which optional extensions Data Modeler uses when it starts. (Data Modeler also uses some mandatory extensions, which users cannot remove or disable.) If you change any settings, you must exit Data Modeler and restart it for the new settings to take effect.

For Versioning Support, the settings (selected or not, and configuration options if selected) affect whether the Versioning menu is displayed and the items on that menu.

Configure: Displays the Configure Extension dialog box.

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Global Ignore List

The Global Ignore List pane specifies filters that determine which files and file types will not be used in any processing.

New Filter: A file name or file type that you want to add to the list of files and file types (in the Filter box) that Data Modeler will ignore during all processing (if the filter is enabled, or checked). You can exclude a particular file by entering its complete file name, such as mumble.txt, or you can exclude all files of the same type by entering a construct that describes the file type, such as *.txt.

Add: Adds the new filter to the list in the Filter box.

Remove: Deletes the selected filter from the list in the Filter box.

Restore Defaults: Restores the contents of the Filter box to the Data Modeler defaults.

Filter: Contains the list of files and file types. For each item, if it is enabled (checked), the filter is enforced and the file or file type is ignored by Data Modeler; but if it is disabled (unchecked), the filter is not enforced.

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Mouseover Popups

The Mouseover Popups pane specifies text to be displayed on hover-related mouse actions over relevant object names.

Popup Name: The type of information to be displayed: Data Values (value of the item under the mouse pointer, such as the value of a variable), Documentation (documentation on the item under the mouse pointer, such as Javadoc on a method call), or Source (source code of the item under the mouse pointer, such as the source code of a method).

Activate Via: Use action with the mouse cursor to activate the display: Hover, or Hover while pressing one or two specified modifier keys.

Description: Description of the associated Popup Name entry.

Smart Enabled: If this option is checked, then the text for the relevant type of information is displayed if Smart Popup is also checked.

Smart Popup: If this option is checked, the relevant text for the first smart-enabled popup is displayed for the item under the mouse pointer.

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Data Modeler

Shortcut Keys (Accelerator Keys)

The Shortcut Keys pane enables you to view and customize the shortcut key (also called accelerator key) mappings for Data Modeler.

Hide Unmapped Commands: If this option is checked, only shortcut keys with mappings are displayed.

More Actions:

Category: Lists commands and shortcuts grouped by specific categories (Code Editor, Compare, and so on), to control which actions are displayed.

Command: An action relevant to the specified category. When you select an action, any existing shortcut key mappings are displayed.

Shortcut: Any existing key mappings for the selected action. To remove an existing key mapping, select it and click Remove.

New Shortcut: The new shortcut key to be associated with the action. Press and hold the desired modifier key, then press the other key. For example, to associate Ctrl+J with an action, press and hold the Ctrl key, then press the j key. If any actions are currently associated with that shortcut key, they are listed in the Current Assignment box.

Conflicts: A read-only display of the current action, if any, that is mapped to the shortcut key that you specified in the New Shortcut box.

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User Preferences for Data Modeler

Versioning

Versioning preferences affect the behavior of the version control and management systems that you can use with Data Modeler. For information about using versioning with Data Modeler, see Using Versioning.

Versioning: Subversion

The Subversion pane specifies the Subversion client to use with Data Modeler.

Versioning: Subversion: Comment Templates

The Subversion: Comment Templates pane specifies templates for comments to be used with commit operations. For example, a template might contain text like the following:

Problem Description (with bug ID if any):
Fix Description:

You can add, edit, and remove comment templates, and you can export templates to an XML file or import templates that had previously been exported.

Versioning: Subversion: General

The Subversion: General pane specifies environment settings and the operation timeout.

Use Navigator State Overlay Icons: If this option is enabled, state overlay icons are used. State overlay icons are small symbols associated with object names in the navigators. They indicate the state of version-controlled files (for example, "up to date").

Use Navigator State Overlay Labels: If this option is enabled, state overlay labels are used. State overlay labels are tooltips associated with object names in the navigators.

Automatically Make Files Editable: If this option is enabled, an editor is automatically used on a data file when you start to change it. (If you edit a file unintentionally, immediately use Versioning, then Unedit to revert.)

Operation Timeout: Maximum time allowed for Subversion operations to complete.

Edit Subversion Configuration File: To modify the Subversion file directly, click Edit "server".

Versioning: Subversion: Version Tools

The Subversion: Version Tools pane specifies options for the pending changes window and the merge editor.

Use Outgoing Changes Commit Dialog: Enables you to make optimum use of limited screen space when the Pending Changes window is open. You can save screen space by not showing the Comments area of the Pending Changes window, but you might still want to add comments before a commit action. You can choose the circumstances under which the Commit dialog is opened: always, only when the Comments area of the Pending Changes window is hidden, or never.

Incoming Changes Timer Interval: The frequency at which the change status of files is checked.

Merge Editor: Specifies whether files are merged locally or at the server.

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Using Versioning

Data Modeler

Web Browser and Proxy

The Web Browser and Proxy pane settings are relevant only if Data Modeler needs to access the World Wide Web (such as when you use the Check for Updates feature on the Help menu), and only if your system is behind a firewall.

Browser Command Line: To specify a Web browser other than your default browser, specify the executable file to start that browser. To use your default browser, leave this field blank.

Use HTTP Proxy Server: Check your Web browser options or preferences for the appropriate values for these fields.

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User Preferences for Data Modeler