Shape Attributes

When you define a shape using a Shape Script, you define the properties of that shape using attributes. Properties include:

The position of the shape relative to the diagram and to other elements
The positions of components of the shape relative to the shape borders
Whether the shape has user-editable regions
Whether the shape can be resized, scaled, rotated or docked

Attribute Syntax

attribute "=" value ";"

Example

shape main

{

//Initialisation attributes - must be before drawing commands

noshadow = "true";

h_align = "center";

//drawing commands

rectangle (0,0,100,100);

println ("foo bar");

}

Attributes

Attribute Name	Description	See also
bold	string Description: Set to True if you want all print commands in the current shape or sub-shape to be displayed in bold. Valid values: True or False (default = False)
italic	string Description: Set to True if you want all print commands in the current shape or sub-shape to be displayed in italics. Valid values: True or False (default = False)
bottomAnchorOffset	(int,int) Description: When creating a Shape Script for an embedded element (such as a Port), use this attribute to offset the shape from the bottom edge of its parent. For example: bottomAnchorOffset= (0,-10); move embedded element up 10 pixels from the bottom edge.
dockable	string Description: Makes the shape default to dockable, so that it can be aligned with and joined to other elements (both other Shape Scripts and standard elements) on a diagram. You cannot reverse the dockable status with the 'Appearance' menu option; to change the status, you must edit the Shape Script. Valid values: standard or off	Element Context Menu Operations
editableField	string Description: Defines a shape as an editable region of the element. This field impacts element shapes only, line glyphs are not supported. Valid Values: alias, name, note, stereotype
endPointY, endPointX	integer Description: Only used for the reserved target and source shapes for connectors; this point determines where the main connector line connects to the end shapes. Default: 0 and 0
fixedAspectRatio	string Description: Set to True to fix the aspect ratio. Do not use this if you do not want to fix the aspect ratio.
h_Align	string Description: Affects horizontal placement of printed text and sub-shapes depending on the layoutType attribute. Valid values: left, center, or right
layoutType	string Description: Determines how sub-shapes are sized and positioned. Valid values: leftright, topdown, border	Sub-Shapes
leftAnchorOffset	(int,int) Description: When creating a Shape Script for an embedded element (such as a Port), use this attribute to offset the shape from the left edge of its parent. For example: leftAnchorOffset= (10,0); move embedded element right 10 pixels from the left edge
noShadow	string Description: Set to True to suppress the shape's shadow from being rendered. Valid values: True or False (default = False)
orientation	string Description: Applies to decoration shapes only, to determine where the decoration is positioned within the containing element glyph. Valid values: NW, N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W
preferredHeight	Description: Used by the border layoutType - north and south. Used in drawing the source and target shapes for connectors to determine how wide the line is.
preferredWidth	Description: Used by the border layoutType - east and west. Used by leftright layoutType shapes where scalable is false to determine how much space they occupy for layout purposes.
rightAnchorOffset	(int,int) Description: When creating a Shape Script for an embedded element (such as a Port), use this attribute to offset the shape from the right edge of its parent. For example: rightAnchorOffset= (- 10,0); move embedded element left 10 pixels from the right edge.
rotatable	string Description: Set to False to prevent rotation of the shape. This attribute is only applicable to the source and target shapes for line glyphs. Valid values: True or False (default = True)
scalable	string Description: Set to False to stop the shape from being relatively sized to the associated diagram glyph. Valid values: True or False (default = True)
topAnchorOffset	(int,int) Description: When creating a Shape Script for an embedded element (such as a Port), use this attribute to offset the shape from the top edge of its parent. For example: topAnchorOffset= (0,10); move embedded element down 10 pixels from the top edge.
v_Align	string Description: Affects vertical placement of printed text and sub-shapes depending on the layoutType attribute. Valid values: top, center, or bottom