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ERD Diagram View

2026.1.0+

Introduction​

Next to the standard type editor, the data dictionary editor offers an ERD (Entity Relationship Diagram) view: a visual representation of the complete data dictionary model. Where the standard editor works on one type at a time — showing the properties of the single type you have selected — the ERD diagram view renders all types of the model together as a diagram. This makes the overall structure of the model, and especially the relationships between its types, easy to grasp at a glance.

The diagram is a visualization and layout tool, not a second editor: types and properties are still created and edited in the standard editor. The ERD view is where you step back and look at (and lay out) the model as a whole, which is particularly valuable for larger data dictionaries with many types and references.

Opening the diagram​

You switch to the diagram with the Entity diagram button in the data dictionary editor toolbar. It is a toggle: click it once to replace the standard editor with the diagram, and click it again to return to the standard type editor. While the diagram is shown, the expand all and collapse all toolbar actions — which only apply to the standard editor — are disabled.

The Entity diagram view of a Claim data dictionary model

What the diagram shows​

Entities​

Every data dictionary type is drawn as an entity: a box with a dark header showing the type's label, and the type's properties listed underneath. A type that has no properties (for example a type based directly on a value type) shows its underlying type in italics instead of a property list.

Properties​

Each property is listed as a row inside its entity, with the property name on the left and its type on the right:

  • Required properties are marked with a red asterisk (*) in front of the name.
  • Value type properties show their value type on the right in grey — for example String or Double. Array properties are shown with their item type in angle brackets, such as Array<String>.
  • Reference properties — properties whose type is another type in the same model — show the name of the referenced type on the right in blue, signalling that this row participates in a relationship.

Relationships​

Every reference property is drawn as a directed connection from the property's row to the header of the referenced entity. The arrow points at the referenced type, and the connection is labelled with the name of the property that establishes the relationship. This makes it immediately clear not only that two types are related, but through which property.

Reading the example​

The screenshot above shows the ERD diagram view of a Claim data dictionary model with four types — Claim, Person, Address and Repair Offer:

  • The Claim entity has the required value property vehicle (a String) and four reference properties: insured and 3rdParty both reference Person, location references Address, and repairOffer references Repair Offer. Each of these is drawn as a labelled arrow to the corresponding entity.
  • The Person entity has the required value properties firstName and lastName.
  • The Address entity has the required value properties street, zipCode and city.
  • The Repair Offer entity has the value properties companyName (String) and amount (Double), and one reference property, companyAddress, that references Address — so Repair Offer in turn has an arrow to Address.

Reading the arrows top to bottom you can see the full shape of the model at once: a claim points at the people and address involved and at a repair offer, and that repair offer points back at an address.

Working with the diagram​

The diagram is interactive:

  • Pan and zoom the canvas by dragging the background and scrolling; the controls in the bottom-left corner let you zoom in and out and fit the whole diagram to the view. The diagram is automatically fitted to the view when you open it.
  • Rearrange the entities by dragging them to new positions, and adjust how a relationship is routed by dragging its endpoints or its label. The layout you create — entity positions, connection routing and label positions — is stored together with the data dictionary model, so the diagram looks the same the next time the model is opened.
  • Jump to a type by clicking its entity: the editor switches back to the standard view with that type selected, so you can edit its properties.

Because relationships in the diagram simply reflect the reference properties of your types, you add or remove them by adding or removing reference properties in the standard editor; the diagram updates to match.