Astah User Interface
When you start Astah Professional or Astah UML for the first time, you see a blank screen.
Once you create a project or a diagram, the left pane opens.
Astah User Interface
The Astah Professional and Astah UML window has six sections:
- Main Menu: the basic menus.
- Project View: shows model information as a tree or a list, and is where you search and set aliases.
- Diagram Editor: the canvas where you draw diagrams.
- Map View: controls which part of the diagram is shown.
- Property View: where you edit the details of the selected model.
- Extra View: appears after you install plugins that use it, such as State Transition Table and M Plus.
Project View
The Project View gives an overview of the whole project. Use the tabs at the top to switch between the [Structure Tree], [Hierarchy Tree], [Inheritance Tree], [Map], [Diagram], [Search] and [Alias] views.
Structure Tree
The Structure Tree is the default view of the Project View. It shows the structure of your project as a hierarchy, and you can organize diagrams and models with packages.
Filter by keyword
Type a keyword and press [Enter]. You can use *, ? and camel case.
Filter by type
You can filter by model type. To show only classes in the tree, type “type=class“. You can also add a keyword to filter by name, for example “type=classEngine”.
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| type=class | Shows classes only; a following keyword matches class names only. |
| type=package | Shows packages only; a following keyword matches package names only. |
| type=er | Shows the [ER] package and the models under it; a following keyword matches ER models only. |
| type=diagram | Shows diagrams only; a following keyword matches diagram names. |
Find & Jump to Related Diagrams or Referenced Models
When a model element is used or referenced in several diagrams or places in your project, you can trace it and jump to it in three ways.
Jump to a Referenced Model in the Structure Tree
Find where a specific element is referenced in the project hierarchy.
- Right-click the model element in the Structure Tree.
- Select [All Related Models] from the context menu.
- A list of the models that reference the element appears. Select one to jump to it and highlight it in the tree.
View All Related Diagrams as a List
Find and open any diagram that uses the selected model element.
- Right-click the model element in the Structure Tree or the Diagram Editor.
- Select [All Related Diagrams].
- Choose a diagram from the pop-up list. The diagram opens with the selected model element in focus.
Preview Related Diagrams as Thumbnails
Browse previews of the related diagrams before you open them.
- Right-click the model element in the Structure Tree or the Diagram Editor.
- Select [Show Related Diagram Thumbnails].
- A panel with thumbnail previews of all the related diagrams opens.
- Double-click a thumbnail (or right-click it and select [Open Diagram]) to open the diagram.
Map View
The Map View controls which part of the diagram is shown. The blue rectangle shows the area currently displayed in the Diagram Editor.
Move
Drag the blue rectangle to change the area shown in the Diagram Editor.
Zoom in/out
Right-drag to draw a blue rectangle around the area you want to see.
Since version 9.2 of Astah Professional and Astah UML, you can also zoom in and out on a Mac by spreading or pinching two fingers on the trackpad.
Change Map View Position
You can change the location of the Map View in the System Properties.
- Go to [Tools] – [System Properties] – [Diagram Editor].
- Select where the Map View should appear in the Diagram Editor from the drop-down list.
- Click [Apply] – [OK].
Hide Map View
If you do not need the Map View, hide it by clicking the [-] button in the Diagram Editor.
[Diagram] Pane
The [Diagram] view lists all the diagrams in the project file. You can sort the list by name, diagram type, model type or the package the diagram belongs to.
From the context menu of a diagram in this list, you can open the diagram or jump to its location in the Structure Tree.
[Search] Pane
In the Search view, you can search for models and diagrams in the project. With the search options you can find specific models, replace strings, and clean up the project by finding unused models or broken hyperlinks.
Search Options
You can filter for models that are not on any diagram and not referenced by any other model, and find broken hyperlinks.
To learn more, see the Search guide.
Light Theme and Dark Theme
A dark theme is available since version 9.0. To change the theme, go to [View] – [Look & Feel], then restart Astah.
Tip: See 8 Best Light/Dark Themes for Astah.
