Libraries

ConceptDraw NetDiagrammer offers you a number of ready-made shapes which you can use in your documents. They are grouped in topical sets as library files. Thus, a library is a collection of shapes usually related to a certain topic (e.g. flow chart, computer network, engineering, etc.).
In ConceptDraw NetDiagrammer, you can customize the existing libraries and create new ones (both by grouping the existing shapes and by adding new ones).

Using Libraries and Library Shapes
Creating and Editing Libraries
Adding Shapes to a Library
Replacing a Library Shape
Shape's Icon


Using Libraries and Library Shapes

To open one or more libraries:

  1. Click the Open Library button on the toolbar or use the File / Library / Open menu.
    The Open dialog will come up and show the folder containing the libraries. .
  2. Click to select the needed library. To open several libraries at once, hold down Ctrl (in Windows) or Cmd (in Mac OS) when selecting.
  3. Click Open, and all the chosen libraries will appear in the separate Library window.
Ctrl + Shift + O Cmd + Shift + O

Both libraries and documents can be opened by dragging their file icons into the application window, or onto the application icon.

Note:  Re-opening a currently opened library will just make it active, not duplicate it.

To close a library, call its context menu on its title bar and select the Close command from the menu.
To close all the open libraries, choose Close All from the context menu.

You can also use menu commands: File / Libraries / Close and File / Libraries / Close All.

All the libraries supplied are located in the Libraries folder of the application's root directory. The Libraries folder contains task-related subfolders. The library files themselves (with .cdl extension) are located in these folders.

The path to the Libraries folder is set in the Preferences dialog (menu Edit / Preferences) on the Paths tab. It points to the folder, which will be open with the Open Library command.
So if you move the Libraries folder to another location, don't forget to modify the path in the Paths tab: it will be easier to find the libraries when you need them.

If you create your own libraries, you may store the new library files in any location. But it is more convenient to create task-related subfolders inside the Libraries folder, and place your library files there.

All the open libraries are displayed in the special Library window. It usually appears to the left from the document windows.

The library window displays the content of the active library, and holds the tabs with the titles of all the open libraries. The tab of the currently active library is shown as selected. To activate any library from the list, just click the corresponding title tab. Only one library at a time can be active.

The shapes of all the libraries can be displayed in two ways: in the form of icons or text.
In the text view, just the names of the library shapes are displayed in a list.
In the icon view, you can pause the pointer over a shape to see a tip with its name. The shape's prompt also appears in the status bar. The selected shape shows a red border around its icon.

You can switch between the text and icon views either from the menu (View / Libraries Window), buttons on the Libraries toolbar (can be enabled from the View / Toolbars / Libraries menu) or from the library context menu.

To hide or show the library window, press F4 or use the View / Libraries Window menu.

You can easily reposition the library window:

In the Macintosh version, grab the library window at its title bar and carry to a new place.

In the Windows version, the library window can be docked to either side of the application window, or be in the floating state. To dock/detach the library window, double-click on its title. You can drag the detached window to any location. Another way to dock the library window is to move it close to the application window side. You can disable docking in the Preferences dialog, View tab.

There are several ways of inserting a library shape into your document:

The Stamp Tool mode lets you use a library as a set of drawing tools.
You can also use the Insert / Stamp menu to switch to this mode.

Note:   If there is no shape selected in the library, this tool will clone the selected shape(s) in the document. If several shapes are selected, their copies will be grouped automatically. In this case, immediate resizing is also possible.

For more information:
about the Preferences dialog - see Dialogs - Modal Dialogs - Preferences,
about the Library window - see Windows - Library,
about the Libraries toolbar - see Toolbars - Libraries,
about the Drawing Tools toolbar - see Toolbars - Drawing Tools.


Creating and Editing Libraries

ConceptDraw NetDiagrammer lets you create your own libraries and edit the existing ones (move, delete, add and replace shapes).For manipulating the library files and shapes, you can use the File / Library menu commands or the Libraries toolbar:.

You can create a custom shape library by using the File / Library / New command, the New Library button on the Libraries toolbar, or the keyboard:

Ctrl + Shift + N Cmd + Shift + N

An empty library box will appear in the library window. Now you can add shapes into it: paste them from documents or from other libraries.

To save a library, get the context menu on its title and use the Save command.

If you need to save the library under another name, choose the Save As option. The Save As dialog will come up to let you specify the name and location of the library file.

For saving the active library, you can also use the Save and Save As commands from the File / Library menu, or the Save Library button on the Libraries toolbar.

Note:  If any changes were made to a library after the previous saving, the application offers you to save the changes when you  close the library.

To set or modify the properties of a library, or to assign a title to a new library, use the Library Properties dialog. To call this dialog, get the context menu on the library's title bar and select the Properties option.
For the active library, you can also use the File / Library / Properties menu.

In this dialog you can specify the title of the library (which is displayed on its button in the library window), and also add information about the author and the company, a subject, and provide a short description. To save the changes, click OK in the dialog and then save the library.

To assign or modify the text, that appears when you pause the mouse pointer over a library shape, use the Library Item Properties dialog. To open it, call the context menu on the library shape and choose Properties. The Item Name field contains the pop-up hint text, and the Item Prompt field contains the text that is displayed in the Status Bar.

For more information:
about the Library Window see Windows - Library,
about the Libraries toolbar - see Toolbars - Libraries,
about the Library Item Properties dialog - see Dialogs - Modal Dialogs - Library Item Properties.

 


Adding Shapes to a Library

You can add new shapes from your drawings to libraries. There are several ways of doing it:

Note:  To insert a shape from the Clipboard into the active library you may use the Paste command from the Edit / Library Object menu.
Note: If you select several shapes and then drag or paste them to the library, they will be inserted as group (one library shape).

As a shape is inserted into the library, the software creates its library icon automatically. But you can change the library shape's icon if necessary - see Shape's Icon.

For more information about the Library Window see Windows - Library

 


Replacing a Library Shape

When renewing your library shapes, you may need to update a library shape without changing its icon. To do this, use the Replace command from the Edit / Library Object menu, or use the keyboard:

Ctrl + Shift + I Cmd + Shift + I

Select the shape in the library, then the updated shape in the document, and perform the command. The selected shape in the library will be replaced with the selected shape in the document.


Shape's Icon

In the icon view mode (the View as Icon in the View / Libraries Window menu), the shapes are displayed in the library window in the form of icons. When you add a shape into a library, the application creates its icon automatically. However, you can replace it with a custom icon.

To do this:

  1. Create a Windows Bitmap (.bmp) picture in any graphics editor.
  2. Apply the Change Icon command from the context menu of the shape, which icon you want to replace.
  3. Use the file open dialog to find the picture for the new icon, and click OK.

The current shape's icon will be replaced with the new one.