Logical and Graphic Existences of Model Elements

You need to take the difference between the logical and graphic existences of a model element into consideration if you want to display a model element in a diagram or table: Here you can decide whether

• You want to create a model element that did not previously exist in the model or

• You only want to display a model element in the current diagram that already exists in the model.

As with creating or adding a model element, you also need to take logical or graphic existences into consideration if you no longer want to depict a model element in a diagram. Here you can decide whether

• The model element should be deleted from the entire model, including all its representations or

• Only one of its references should be removed from the diagram.

So far we have only addressed which concept lies at the heart of adding model elements in a diagram. The question still remains as to how this concept affects the relationships between model elements.

Firstly: you will spend ages searching for the Insert><Relationship> menu item to no avail. The carousel for the model element selected only shows the permissible selection of relationship types at first; once this has been selected, you can then select the relationship of the linked model element. This can be a model element which already exists and is displayed in the diagram or one which should be created as new.

You can control which relationships should be shown in a model view by showing and hiding them.

You can copy some model elements and reinsert them into the desired new position again. At first, this function doesn't seem particularly complicated as you already know how to do it from other applications. However, in Innovator some fairly complex mechanisms are concealed behind the actual copying itself.

This basically applies:

• If you insert a copied model element into the table editor or model structure in a model itself, you create a new model element.
• If you insert a copied model element into a diagram in a model itself, you create a new model element and add a graphical existence of this model element in the diagram at the same time.
• A model element which has been copied in the model structure or diagram editor can only be inserted into a model structure or table editor.
• A model element which has been copied in the diagram can only be inserted into a diagram.