# Top level menus

The menus accessible from the BOUML's window are :

### Project menu :

The Project menu allows to create a new project, load a project, save it in place or in a new location, print the current diagram, close the project, or quit bouml. The bottom of the menu contains the historic, the upper line correspond to last opened project, for instance the current one. When you try to close a modified project, perhaps to load an other one, BOUML ask for a saving.

You can create a project from a template project if this one is defined through the environment dialog. The goal is to get the settings from this project (probably empty) rather than to get the default settings I decide to set. In this case, when you choose create from template the specified project is load and a save-as is automatically done.

### Windows menu :

The Windows menu allows to select an opened diagram or change the sub-windows disposition.

### Tools menu :

The Tools menu allows to (re)open the trace window where the plug-outs write their messages, to apply a plug-out on the project (independently of the browser item currently selected), to add/remove/modify the known plug-outs list (see plug-out), or to import the plug-outs list defined in an other project.

### Language menu :

The Languages menu allows to ask BOUML to produce or not a default definition/declaration (refer to the C++ generation, Java generation, Php generation, Python generation and Idl generation) when a browser item is created, and to select for which language(s) the dialogs shown through tabs. This menu also allows to update or not the body of the operation during the code generation (refer to the C++ generation, Java generation, Python generation and Php generation), to produce or not the operation's profile when you edit an operation's body through an external editor (refer to operation edition).

### Miscellaneous menu :

The Miscellaneous menu allows to show/hide the stereotypes in the browser, to ask for to have or not an auto completion/search in the lists of choices in the dialogs, to change the used style, to change the size of the font, to set the default diagram format, to edit the shortcuts, to a specify a root directory for the icons associated to the stereotypes or directly put indiagrams and to set some environment information.

Note that sometimes changing the size of the base font does nothing because the desired font is not available. I had introduced this feature mainly because the default size under Linux and Windows is not the same, this may change the relative position of the objects and a relation drawn vertically with one font will be inclined with an other. Nevertheless because the fonts under Linux and Windows are not strictly the same, a diagram can't have the same aspect under the two operating systems. This size is memorized in the file memorizing the project, but BOUML allows to change the font size even when the file is read only (the new font size can't be saved).

### Shortcut edition

When you select Edit shortcuts a dialog appears :

A shortcut is a key and the optional modifiers shift, control and alt. Under MacOS X control is replaced by the apple () and alt is named option on the old keyboards.

This first tab allows to define shortcuts to apply a command on the selected element(s). The available commands are proposed on a mouse click in the column command, their correspond to the menu entries. In the previous picture you see the default shortcuts.

The second tab allows to define shortcuts to apply a plug-out :

A plug-out is specified by its display specified through the plug-out editor. The available plug-outs are proposed on a mouse click in the column tool display.

As usual the last column do allows to copy/past/cut/insert line and applies on the line where you did the mouse click.

### Environment settings

You can't change you own identifier while a project is load, this means to change it start the modeler with loading a given project.

Under Windows one setup installs Bouml with the manual and the other without. I recommend to use the setup installing the documentation each time the documentation is updated, and it is placed under the directory doc. In the other cases the documentation may depend on how the packaging is made for your distribution, but in all the cases you can directly extract the archive to install the HTML documentation then indicate where it is.

To specify a translation file allows to use a language different than the English for the menus and dialogs, for instance fr.lang allows to use the modeler in French. Note : when you change the language some global menus are unchanged and the description of buttons of already opened diagram too, to follow the new language for all exist then restart the modeler. If you choose a language needing a non latin-1 character set you also have to specify the right character set. If you are volunteer to add a new translation prevent me and I will send you the small tool I made for that and how to do, remark I do not deny that it is quite laborious to translate more that 2000 sentences.

### Icons bar

These buttons allow to :

- open a project

- save the current project

- print the active diagram, a first menu appears to choose the printer or print in a file ans set properties, then a second dialog ask you to print the diagram on 1, 4 or 9 pages

- search for an elements through their names or stereotypes and may be kins, or to search for a string in the declarations/definitions or operation bodies :

- navigate in the historic of the last selected elements in the browser

- describe the behavior of a button or a menu entry, for that hit the button then the desired button or select a menu entry, a short description will be given. When you maintain the mouse on a button a very small description also appears.

Previous : starting

Next : browser items