18.6. Layout

As the class diagram is all about visualizing classes, you have several toolbar controls at your disposal to create the layout of the entities on the Designer. Figure 18-6 shows the toolbar that appears as part of the Designer surface.

Figure 18.6. Figure 18-6

The first three buttons control the layout of entity components. From left to right, the buttons are Group by Kind, Group by Access, and Sort Alphabetically.

The next two buttons are used to automate the process of arranging the entities on the design surface. On the left is the Layout Diagram button, which will automatically reposition the entities on the design surface. It will also minimize the entities, hiding all components. The right button, Adjust Shapes Width, adjusts the size of the entities so that all components are fully visible.

Entity components, such as fields, properties, and methods, can be hidden using the Hide Member button.

The display style of entity components can be adjusted using the next three buttons. The left button, Display Name, sets the display style to show only the name of the component. This can be extended to show both the name and the component type using the Display Name and Type button. The right button, Display Full Signature, sets the display style to be the full component signature. This is often the most useful, although it takes more space to display.

The remaining controls on the toolbar enable you to zoom in and out on the Class Designer, and to display the Class Details window.