Software Design Center

HOW TO DRAW ENTITY RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAMS (cont'd)

Drawing ER Diagrams in SmartDraw
You can draw E-R diagrams in SmartDraw easily and quickly.

ERD Library
Use the SmartDraw explorer to find the ERD library located under Software Design and ERD & DFD.

To open the library, double-click on it or drag it to the drawing area.

Adding an ERD Symbol to Your Page
To add an ERD symbol to your page, click on it and without releasing the mouse, drag it to the page.

Connecting Entities
To connect two entities, select one of the line tools on the Toolbar by clicking on it once. Now, your cursor should look like a pencil. Touch the pencil to the edge of the first shape, click down, and without releasing the mouse, stretch the line to the edge of the next shape until you see the anchor symbol.

If you don't see the anchor symbol, go to the Arrange menu and make sure Allow Lines to Link is turned on.