ER/Studio - Embarcadero Technologies Product Documentation

USING ER/STUDIO > DEVELOPING THE LOGICAL MODEL
ER/Studio entity boxes have either square or rounded corners. Entity boxes with square corners are independent
entities and those with rounded corners are dependent entities. In IDEF1X, an entity becomes dependent when it
becomes the child entity in any identifying relationship. Based on this simple rule, ER/Studio automatically maintains
entity type. An entity is always created as an independent entity because it starts with no relationships attached to it.
An entity remains independent until it becomes a child in any identifying relationship.
1 To create a new entity, in the Data Model Explorer, expand the Logical Main Model, right-click the Entities
node, and then click New Entity.
To define or edit entity details, double-click the entity to launch the Entity Editor.
2 Define the entity as required and then click OK.
The following describe options that require additional explanation:
Attributes/Columns tab
Keys tab
Add, edit, or delete attributes/columns. You can also change the list order of the attributes/columns, which
changes their corresponding placement in the entity/table. You can also add an attribute/column to the primary
key for the entity/table. The tabs at the bottom of the Attributes/Columns tab apply only to the attribute/column
selected. For more information, see Creating and Editing Attributes and Columns.
Add, edit, or delete alternate keys and inversion entries. Provides access to the Key Editor. For more
information, see Creating and Editing Keys.
Relationships tab
View any Relationships, if any, that exist between the entity/table and any other entities./tables. Information
about the relationships include the relationship type and the Foreign Keys. On this tab, you can double-click a
related entity/table to open the entity/table editor for that entity/table. For more information, see Creating and
Editing Relationships.
Definition tab
Note tab
Enter or edit a definition for the entity/table. If the target database supports it, ER/Studio adds this definition as an
entity comment when generating SQL code.
The notes added here are included as part of the HTML report when you generate a report for the model. You
can format the notes using standard HTML tags.
Where Used tab
Shows which logical and physical models and submodels implement the entity/table.
EMBARCADERO TECHNOLOGIES > ER/STUDIO® 8.0.3 USER GUIDE 115