Software Design Center

HOW TO DRAW SHLAER-MELLOR DIAGRAMS (cont'd)

How to Draw Shlaer-Mellor Diagrams in SmartDraw
SmartDraw is designed to help you draw Shlaer-Mellor diagrams quickly and easily.

Inheritance relationship
Inheritance describes a relationship in which one object derives some of its attributes from another (supertype) object.

Drawing an Automatic Connector
SmartDraw's automatic connector is designed to draw special relationships like inheritance.

The connector is a special line tool that automatically connects several shapes in evenly spaced patterns.

To start drawing an inheritance relationship, simply drag and drop a connector line from the toolbar.

Adding Objects to the Connector
To add an object to the line, drag it from a library and drop it on the connector. When a shape or line is moved near a connector, Link Points appear on the connector and the outline of the moving object jumps to the closest link point, showing where it would connect if you released it. Releasing the mouse attaches the object to the connector at that link point.

Drag as many additional subtype objects to the connector as you like. The connector line will keep expanding to accommodate your shapes.

To learn how to add, move, and remove objects from the connector, read this section of the organizational chart tutorial.

To learn how to resize the spacing on automatic connectors, read this tutorial.