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This page is for data modellers or application designers. It explains how to draw a relationship diagram and its properties.


Links to topic pages, esp concepts


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Drawing Relationship Diagrams

Create a Relationship Diagram

  1. In the repository for your application, right-click on 
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  2. Click 
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  3. In the pop-up, enter its name.
  4. PhixFlow opens a properties tab on the right, and a new relationship diagram on the left. The relationship diagram has a toolbar at the top; see the Toolbar section below for details.
Tip

When you make any changes to the diagram, remember to 

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Open a Relationship Diagram

To open an existing relationship diagram:

  • either, in the repository, right-click on its name and select Display.
  • or, in the properties toolbar, click the .
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     icon.

Create a New Stream

  1. Drag the 
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     icon from the toolbar into the diagram.
  2. In the pop-up, enter its name, for example "Customer" and click
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    . PhixFlow opens a new Stream properties tab.
  3. PhixFlow adds a box to represent the data stream, and opens the properties tab for it.
  4. To add attributes to the stream
    • either, in the properties tab on the right, In the Attributes section, click 
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      .
    • or right-click the stream and select Add New Stream Attribute.
  5. PhixFlow opens a Stream Attributes properties tab where you can specify details for the attribute, such as its name, data type and length. 
  6. If this is the unique identifier, tick Primary Key. Remember to include ID or UID in the name.

Add an Existing Stream

  1. In the repository, open the list of streams.
  2. Drag a stream from the repository into the diagram. PhixFlow adds the stream with a list of all of its attributes.
  3. If the stream has many attributes, click  to collapse the stream so that it only shows the primary and foreign keys.

Connect Attributes

To connect attributes in different streams, click-drag from one attribute to another. PhixFlow shows the currently selected destination in bold. Release the click to connect to the selected destination.

PhixFlow can only connect primary and foreign keys. This creates a one to many relationship. If you connect standard attributes, PhixFlow automatically sets them to be foreign keys.

Tip

You can change which attributes are PhixFlow automatically ticks the Primary Key or a Foreign Key using the tick boxes  boxes in the the Stream Attributes properties.

PhixFlow automatically sets the type of relationship according to the keys:

  • one to one: from primary key to primary key
  • one to many: from primary key to foreign key
  • many to one: from foreign key to primary key
  • many to many: from foreign key to foreign key

    .


    Properties

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    Basic Settings

    FieldDescription
    NameEnter the name for the entity-relationship diagram. When yo press Return or save a new properties tab, PhixFlow opens an empty diagram in the workspace on the left.