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Diagrams and diagram properties
Diagrams and diagram properties

How to work with SqlDBM Diagrams

SqlDBM Support avatar
Written by SqlDBM Support
Updated over a year ago

A diagram helps visualize your database landscape, the objects it contains, and their relationships, but is not a database object itself.

Zoom and Fit

When you visualize a diagram, you can zoom in and out to display the desired amount of detail.

There are many ways to control the zoom level:

  • Mouse Scroll Wheel - rotate the scroll wheel to zoom in and out

  • Top Menu - Use the "Reset Zoom" or "Zoom to Fit" buttons

  • Diagram +/- Buttons - click the +/- buttons on the top left of the diagram

  • Diagram Context Menu - right-click on an empty space in the canvas and select the "Zoom to Fit" option

Diagram properties

There are many types of analysis that you can perform using diagrams and so, SqlDBM offers various properties and settings that can be customized to fit your needs.

There are three ways to call diagram properties:

  1. Click on the Diagram name in the Diagram panel

  2. Click on free space on the canvas

  3. Click on the diagram tab on the top of the canvas

Diagram properties available:

  1. Diagram - choose a subject area and set a name for the diagram

  2. View mode options (e.g. schema name in table names, datatype, keys, color data type, fixed object height). These options apply to the current diagram only

  3. Global User Preferences - These are "Disable zoom on scroll " and displaying of comments. These settings affect all diagrams in the project.

  4. Notation - You can set IDEF1X or Crow's foot notation for relationships. This affects all diagrams in the project.

  5. Description - provide a functional description of the diagram

  6. Object Filter - Filter diagram objects by color and flag.

Fixed object height

Sometimes user tables may contain dozens and even hundreds of columns. In this case "Fixed object height" can help you. With this option, all your tables and views will be constrained to only 15 columns on the diagram. You will still see all the existing columns in the Explorer panel and in the Table properties.

Please go to you Diagram Properties ==> View Mode Options ==> Fixed Object Height ==> check/uncheck depending on your needs.


See the screenshot below:

With the interactive three-button menu, tables can be expanded to their complete length, without disabling the FOH option or having to edit the table.

Pan and zoom for trackpad and mouse

By default, the scroll wheel (and two-finger move on trackpad) will zoom the diagram.

To enable panning and zooming, and zoom via Ctrl+Scroll, enable the setting here:

Manage canvas area

Click on the Diagrams icon, or the Side Panel icon to toggle their visibility on the grid. If they're visible, you can drag the boundary to adjust the diagram area.


Diagram tabs

All diagrams are represented as a tab on the top of the canvas. You may easily switch diagrams by clicking through the tabs.

Add new diagram

There are several ways to create a new diagram.

1. Use the "Plus" icon on the right side of the subject area bar.

2. Chose objects, hold the "Ctrl" key and click the "Plus" icon. That is the easiest way to add a new diagram with chosen objects.

3. Use a context menu by diagram item of Diagrams level on the side panel.

4. Use the bottom bar of Diagrams level on the side panel.

See also:

• Explorer panel

• Subject areas

• Notation

• Description

• View modes

• Comments

• Zoom

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