Creating a schematic diagram template

Any schematic diagram template is based on a schematic builder. This builder is used to generate and update the schematic diagrams implemented by a diagram template. When creating a schematic diagram template, you will mainly have to specify its name and the schematic builder with which it is going to work. The other parameters are not mandatory.

Learn more about schematic builders

The next section details how to create a schematic diagram template within Schematic Dataset Editor.

Steps:

1. Edit your schematic dataset using Schematic Dataset Editor.
2. If the schematic dataset resources are not arranged in a tree view in the schematic items window, click Views on the Schematic Dataset Editor toolbar and click Project Tree.
3. Click the schematic dataset entry at the top of the Schematic Dataset Editor tree, then do one of the following:
   • Right-click the entry and click New Schematic Diagram Template.
   • Click the New button on the Schematic Dataset Editor toolbar and click New Schematic Diagram Template.

   A Properties tab for the new schematic diagram template automatically appears on the right side of the Schematic Dataset Editor window:

4. Type the name that will reference your new diagram template in the Name text box on the Properties tab.
5. In the Schematic Builder section, specify on which builder the schematic diagram template will be based:
   • Choose Standard Builder to work with input data coming from geometric networks or to generate diagrams based on custom queries that will be performed from any type of database.
   • Choose Network Dataset Builder if your data is organized into a network dataset and you want to generate diagrams based on solved network analysis layers.
   • Choose XML Builder to work from XML data based on the XMLBuilderDiagram XML Schema definition file.
   • If another schematic builder coming from an applicable component is installed on your machine, the Other option is also available. For a schematic diagram template based on this other builder, click Other and choose its name in the drop-down list.
6. Click the Schematic Builder Properties button to specify the builder properties.
   Note:

   Schematic builder properties can also be specified afterward. For more details on how to specify the builder properties, see the Configuring the schematic diagram template builder topic.

7. The schematic diagram template primary parameters are now all in place. Click OK at the bottom of the Properties tab to validate these parameters.

   A new entry for the newly created schematic diagram template appears in the Schematic Dataset Editor tree.

   • The options in the Schematic Builder section are now locked. If the properties for the specified schematic builder can still be edited, there is no way to change the schematic builder itself. If the schematic builder on which your schematic diagram template is currently based is not the one you want to use, you have to delete the schematic diagram template and re-create it.
   • Three new tabs—Associations, Layouts, and Rules—are displayed on the right side of the Schematic Dataset Editor window. They can be configured afterward.
   • The Query section at the bottom of the Properties tab is enabled. It must be used to specify the query that will return all the schematic diagram items implemented by the diagram template and the way these diagrams' identifiers must be built when you want the diagram template to implement several predefined diagrams. This section has to be configured afterward and is detailed in the Specifying schematic diagram template query and identifier topic.

   The following screen shot shows the Schematic Dataset Editor content after a new DiagramsFromGeometricNetwork diagram template based on the Standard builder has been created:

8. Click the Save button on the Schematic Dataset Editor toolbar.

Once the schematic diagram template definition is complete with respect to its built-in parameters, there are some other configurations that need to be set up afterward to make the diagram template fully operational. The following parameters can be configured and changed at any time:

• After creating a schematic diagram template, you must specify the schematic feature classes that it is going to support—that is, you must associate schematic feature classes with the schematic diagram template.
• When schematic feature classes are associated with the diagram template, you can indicate which node schematic feature class you want to be considered as the default node class to be used to display extremity or origin nodes for links that have no such nodes.
• Then, if you want to automate the layout of the schematic diagrams implemented by this diagram template when they are generated and updated, you can configure a particular schematic layout algorithm from the Layout list on the Properties tab. This schematic layout algorithm is automatically launched each time a diagram based on this diagram template is generated. It also automatically executes when a diagram is updated except for diagrams with a saved layout.
• If you want to specify a set of predefined names for the diagrams related to this diagram template or create diagrams to filter data in a database, you must then specify the query that will be used to return all the schematic diagram items and the way these diagram identifiers must be built. To configure these parameters, click the Query/Identifier button on the diagram template Properties tab.

  Learn about specifying schematic diagram template query and identifier

• The Immediately load diagram into memory box is unchecked by default for any diagram template. Check this option if you want all the diagrams implemented by this diagram template to be automatically loaded in memory when they open.

  Learn more about schematic diagrams loaded in memory