Diagram Auto Export

Tutorials|Diagramming| 14 December 2022 | Dusan Rodina - softwareideas.net
The Auto Export feature is a convenient way to automatically export diagrams to a variety of formats. Using the Options dialog, users can easily customize their export settings and ensure that their diagrams are always saved in the desired format. The feature saves time and effort and allows users to focus on their diagramming work.

The Auto Export feature is a useful tool for those who regularly work with diagrams and need to export them for sharing or further editing. This function allows users to automatically export diagrams to image formats, such as PNG or JPEG, as well as the XMI format (The XMI format is useful for those who need to import their diagrams into other modeling tools. XMI is a standardized format that allows for the interchange of data between different programs.)

To activate the Auto Export function, you can access the Options dialog through the File menu and navigate to the Save section in the Auto Export group. From here, you can enable the Export images and Export to XMI checkboxes to specify which types of exports they want to use.

For each export type, you can also specify a subfolder where the exported files will be saved. This subfolder is relative to the path of the open project, allowing users to easily organize their exported files.

The Export Images option also includes a Settings button, which allows users to customize the parameters of the image export. This includes options for the image format, file name format, and image resolution.

Image Settings Window

The Auto Export Settings window provides options for configuring the naming, paths, and image settings when exporting images with the Auto Export feature. This window has two tabs: Output and Content.

Auto Export Image - Settings dialog
Auto Export Image - Settings dialog

Output Tab

The Output tab allows you to customize the format and destination of the exported files. In the Format section, you can select the desired image format from a drop-down menu, which includes options such as PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, SVG, WMF, EMF, and PDF.

In the Files section, you can specify how the exported files will be named. The section offers two radio buttons Diagram Name and Custom. The Diagram Name choice includes options for using the original diagram name or converting the name to lower or upper case, camel case, Pascal case, or using underscores or hyphens. When you choose the Custom radio button, you can also enter a custom format using formatting tags such as <ModelName>, <Index>, and <DiagramName>.

The Output directory combo box allows you to specify where the exported files will be saved. You can use the ellipsis button for browsing to the desired directory.

The Create subdirectories by project hierarchy option allows you to create subdirectories based on the hierarchy of the project. This can help to organize the exported files in a more structured way.

Content Tab

The Content tab of the Auto Export Settings window allows you to customize the content of the exported files. This tab includes the following options:

  • Export Content: This section allows you to specify which layers and elements of the diagram will be included in the export. The Export only active layer option allows you to export only the currently active layer in the diagram, while the Export hidden layers option allows you to include also hidden layers in the export. The Hops on interactions option allows you to render the relationships with or without hops on intersections of two relationships in the export.
  • Size: This section allows you to specify the size of the exported image. The Absolute option allows you to specify an exact pixel width and height, while the Relative option allows you to set a relative width and height as a percentage of the original diagram size.
  • Background: This section allows you to customize the background of the exported image. The Transparent option allows you to export the image with a transparent background, while the Color 1 and Color 2 options allow you to specify a solid background color.

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