Lesson 6 Exercise 1: Creating and Editing Symbols

Objective

In this exercise you will start to create a new Organization symbol and connect the symbol to an object view in a model.

Final Symbol

Try to complete the following steps on your own. If you need help, click the step to jump to a set of more detailed steps.

1	Start METIS and Create New Symbol File

Create a new symbol file called MySymbolL6_1.

2	Create Primitives

Draw the outline of the symbol as a rounded rectangle that covers the drawing area. Create a copy of the rounded rectangle, then place it above the first rounded rectangle and offset to the left, so that the first is a shadow of the second.

3	Create a Group of Primitives

In the lower right corner of the symbol, create an icon representing an organizational structure. Use four small rectangles, a line and a polyline. Group the primitives together.

4	Change Colors

For the bottom rounded rectangle, make the fill color and the line color gray to create the shadow. For the top rounded rectangle make the line color gray. Change the fill color of the group of rectangles in the lower right to blue.

5	Insert Text

Create a text box at the top of the symbol and enter Organization.

6	Rename and Save Symbol

Rename the symbol from Untitled to Organization1, then save it.

7	Create Exercise Model

Create a new model called MyExerciseL6_1 based on the Training template.

8	Connect Symbol to an Object

Connect the symbol you created, Organization1, in MySymbolL6_1 to the top object in the Organization container to see what it displays.

9	Save the Model and Close METIS

10	Practice on Your Own (Optional)

Start METIS and Create New Symbol File

To begin this exercise, start METIS and create a new symbol file as follows:

1	Minimize your web browser and any other application you have open (except this window) to see your desktop.

2	Double-click the METIS icon [image] to launch METIS.

3	In the dialog box, click the Symbol option.

4	In the file dialog box, enter MySymbolL6_1 for the filename and click Save.

5	Position this Exercise window so that you have a good view of the Symbol Editor window.

Create Primitives

Draw the outline of the symbol as a rounded rectangle that covers the drawing area. Create a copy of the rounded rectangle, then place it above the first rounded rectangle and offset to the left, so that the first is a shadow of the second as follows:

1	Click the Rounded Rectangle tool [image].

2	Click and drag the mouse diagonally to outline a rectangle covering the whole drawing area.

3	If necessary, select the rounded rectangle and click the Copy tool [image].

4	Click the Paste tool [image].

5	If necessary, click the Zoom All tool [image].

6	Move the copied rounded rectangle above the first and offset to the left, so that the first is a shadow of the second.

Example

Create a Group of Primitives

In the lower right corner of the symbol, create an icon representing an organizational structure. Use four small rectangles, a line and a polyline; then group the primitives together as follows:

1	Click the Rectangle tool [image].

2	In the lower right corner of the top rounded rectangle, click and drag the mouse diagonally to outline a small rectangle. If necessary, select the rectangle and then click Duplicate on the Edit menu or use the shortcut keys Ctrl+D. Repeat this two more times so that you have four rectangles.

3	Arrange the rectangles into two rows so that three are on the bottom row, and one is in the center of the top row. Use the Zoom tools to zoom in and out if necessary and use the Grid tools to help, for example, to help to align the rectangles.

4	Click the Line tool [image].

5	Click and drag to define a vertical line connecting the top rectangle with the middle bottom rectangle, and then release the mouse button.

6	Click the Polyline tool [image].

7	Click to define a polyline from the first to the third rectangles in the bottom row. Right-click to terminate.

8	Hold down Shift and select the rectangles, the line, and the polyline.

9	Click the Group tool [image]. If necessary, move the group of primitives to the appropriate position.

Example

Change Colors

Complete the following steps to change the color of the primitives using the Attribute tools and the Color Toolbar:

1	If necessary, click the Show Color Toolbar tool [image] to display the color palette to the right in the METIS window.

2	If necessary, click the Zoom All tool [image].

3	Click and drag the color Gray from the color palette and drop it on the edge of the bottom rounded rectangle to change the line color.

4	Repeat Step 3 for the top rounded rectangle.

5	Click and drag the color Gray from the color palette again and drop it on the bottom rounded rectangle to change the fill color.

6	Click the group of rectangles to select it.

7	Use the Fill Color tool [image] to change the fill color of the rectangles to Blue.

Example

Insert Text

Create a text box and enter text as follows:

1	Click the Text tool [image].

2	Click and drag the mouse diagonally to outline a text box covering the top half of the symbol.

3	Right-click the text box, and select Edit Text. In the dialog box, enter the text Organization. When you are done, click OK.

Example

Rename and Save Symbol

Rename the symbol to Organization1 and save the symbol file as follows:

1	Right-click on the Untitled tab and choose Properties….

2	In the dialog box, change the title from Untitled to Organization1 and click OK.

3	Click the File menu and choose Save.

Create Exercise Model

Complete the following steps to create a new model file based on an example template:

1	Click the File menu and choose New.

2	In the dialog box, click the Model From Template option.

3	In the template list, click Training, and then click OK.

4	In the file dialog box, enter MyExerciseL6_1 for the filename and click Save.

Connect Symbol to an Object

Complete the following steps to connect the symbol to an object view in the model:

1	Right click the Organization container, point to Zoom, and choose Zoom To.

2	If necessary, click the Symbol tab in the left pane of the METIS window.

3	In the Symbol tree that displays, expand the Loaded Symbols palette and find the symbol named Organization1. Select the symbol.

4	Drag the symbol from the symbol preview area and drop it on the top object (ABC Corp. organization object) in the Organization container.

5	If necessary, select the object and then click the Decrease Text Size tool [image] or Increase Text Size tool [image] until the text Organization is displayed with an appropriate size.

Example

Save the Model and Close METIS

Complete the following steps to complete the lesson:

1	From the File menu, click Save.

2	From the File menu, click Exit.

3	Close this window and maximize your browser to continue with the course.

Practice on Your Own (Optional)


Practice on Your Own (Optional)

Use the file MySymbolL6_1.svg that you created in this exercise to create another symbol for an organization object or for a container; experiment with different shapes and change their attributes. When you feel comfortable with the Symbol Editor, save your symbols, and then connect them to objects in the model file you created for this exercise, MyExerciseL6_1.kmv.


Create Primitives

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Create a Group of Primitives

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Change Colors

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Insert Text

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Connect Symbol to an Object

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