Converting sketch elements to UML elements

You can use sketch elements in UML diagrams to plan a model at a high level of abstraction. Then you can convert those sketch elements to UML elements.

About this task

You can also create a single sketch diagram and convert the entire diagram to a UML diagram; see Converting sketches to models.

Procedure

Follow these steps to use sketch elements in a UML diagram and then convert those sketch elements to UML elements:

In a UML diagram such as a freeform diagram or component diagram, create one or more sketch elements from the Sketch Shapes drawer of the Palette. These elements are not UML elements; they are highly abstract diagram elements.
Use the sketch elements to plan a scenario or process. For more information about sketches, see Sketching simple diagrams.
When you are ready to convert the sketch elements to UML elements, right-click a sketch element and then click Convert to > New Element, as shown in the following figure.
In the Quick Palette, select a UML element to substitute for the sketch element. You can select only UML elements that are valid in the current diagram type.

Results

The sketch element is converted to one or more UML elements.

If you convert a sketch element that contains other sketch elements to a UML package, the new package contains the other sketch elements. If you convert the container sketch element to any other kind of UML element, the new UML element has links to the other sketch elements.

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