9.1.4.3 Connection Properties

Right-click a connection to select it. When a connection is selected, it is highlighted and its properties are displayed in the properties palette. Connection properties are different from the properties of other objects. The following list describes them:

• caption: The name of the connection. By default, the name is the name of the foreign key and the property is centered above the connection line.

• captionXOffs: The X offset of the caption.

• captionYOffs: The Y offset of the caption.

• comment: The comment associated with the relationship.

• drawSplit: Whether to show the relationship as a continuous line.

• endCaptionXOffs: The X termination point of the caption offset.

• endCaptionYOffs: The Y termination point of the caption offset.

• extraCaption: A secondary caption. By default, this extra caption is centered beneath the connection line.

• extraCaptionXOffs: The X offset of the secondary caption.

• extraCaptionYOffs: The Y offset of the secondary caption.

• mandatory: Whether the entities are mandatory. For more information, see Section 9.1.4.2, “The Relationship Editor”.

• many: False if the relationship is a one-to-one relationship.

• middleSegmentOffset: The offset of the middle section of the connector.

• modelOnly: Set when the connection will not be propagated to the DDL. It is just a logical connection drawn on a diagram. This is used, for example, when drawing MyISAM tables with a visual relationship, but with no foreign keys.

• name: The name used to identify the connection on the EER Diagram canvas. Note that this is not the name of the foreign key.

• referredMandatory: Whether the referred entity is mandatory.

• startCaptionXOffs: The start of the X offset of the caption.

• startCaptionYOffs: The start of the Y offset of the caption.

In most cases, you can change the properties of a relationship using the relationship editor rather than the Properties palette.

If you make a relationship invisible by hiding it using the relationship editor's Visibility Settings, and then close the relationship editor, you will no longer be able to select the relationship to bring up its relationship editor. To make the relationship visible again, you must expand the table object relating to the relationship in the Layers palette and select the relationship object. To edit the selected object, right-click it, then select Edit Object. You can then set the Visibility Settings to Fully Visible. The relationship will then be visible in the EER Diagram window.