Link Entity Browser

The Link Entity Browser displays all of the links that are connected using the connectors in the model.

Predefined browser view modes available in this browser include: Common Top view, Component Link view, Property Link view, Part Link view and Connector Group view.


Figure 1.
Note: If a connector uses an element-type link, the component containing the element is also listed in the Link Entity Browser. Isolating this link displays the whole component instead of the single element. In the browser configuration window, activating the Show Primary Links Only option, for example, will list only real component links in the component link view.

The information displayed in this browser can be used to quickly locate certain links and appropriate connectors in the graphics area.

The global display tools, action mode tools, and context menu options (show, hide, isolate, and isolate only) work exactly as they do in the Model Browser, when all of the view options are inactive (contain a grey background). The only difference is that they will only work on component, property, and part links.

When one or more of the view options are active (contain an orange background), the show, hide, isolate, and isolate only options behavior and appearances will change. To indicate a change in their behavior, a connector symbol will appear in the icon.


Figure 2.
The action mode tools take into account the connector-link-relations, and the display results depend on the active view options. Therefore, parts of the model are separated into the following three categories that are based on the link selection:
1st link entity
Selected links
linked connectors
Connectors which reference at least one of the selected links
2nd link entity
Links which are referenced by the linked collectors
Note: In this case, connectors and their realizations are treated as being a separate category from their links, in order to prevent unpredictable cross-references.

Engineering Solutions only uses this type of categorical separation when one of the view options are active and you select the show, hide, isolate, and isolate only options from the context menu or from the action mode tools. No other functionality uses this categorization at all.

The base features in the Link Entity Browser can be changed from the Link Entity Browser configuration window.