Notes
Notes give you the ability to digitally stick notes onto your object diagram.
Declaration
Notes are declared with the command word note. They require an anchor and an orientation from that anchor.
Example: Note Declaration
@startuml
'Example: Note Declaration
'Create two objects with two fields.
object Object1 {
Field1A
Field1B
}
object Object2 {
Field2A
Field2B
}
'Create a relation between the two objects.
Object1 -> Object2 : A Relation
'Create a note.
note left of Object1 : A Note
@enduml
Properties
orientation - the direction the note appears in relation to the anchor
anchor - the entity that determines the location of the note
fill_color - the color of the note
text - the message of the note
Orientation
Orientation determines the direction the note is positioned in relation to the anchor. The eight options are below.
left of - orients a note to the left of the named anchor
right of - orients a note to the right of the named anchor
top of - orients a note to the top of the named anchor
bottom of - orients a note to the bottom of the named anchor
left - orients a note to the left of the most recently declared class
right - orients a note to the right of the most recently declared class
top - orients a note to the top of the most recently declared class
bottom - orients a note to the bottom of the most recently declared class
* on link - orients note to the most recently defined relationship, * can be left out or be replaced with left, right, top, or bottom.
Example: Note Orientation
@startuml
'Example: Note Orientation
'Create an object with two fields.
object Object1 {
Field1A
Field1B
}
'Create a note to the left of the previous class.
note left : A Note
'Create a second object with two fields.
object Object2 {
Field2A
Field2B
}
'Create a relation between the two objects.
Object1 -> Object2 : A Relationship
'Create a note above the previous relation.
note top on link : Another Note
'Create a note below Object2.
note bottom of Object2 : Yet Another Note
@enduml
Anchor
Anchors determine where a notes orientation originates. Anchors can be objects, or links.
Example: Note Anchors
@startuml
'Example: Note Anchors
'Create an object with two fields.
object Object1 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a second object with the same two fields.
object Object2 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a relation between the two objects.
Object1 --> Object2 : A Relation
'Create a note to the left of Object1.
note left of Object1
A Note
end note
'Create a note on the previous relation.
note on link : Another Note
@enduml
Fill Color
The color property is the only optional property. It can be defined with one color or can be defined with two colors to make a gradient. You can define colors with a standard color name or hex code. There is always a # before the color name or hex code. Create a gradient by using two colors.
Note: At the time of this writing fill_color is not supported on notes whose anchors are members.
Example: Note Fill Colors
@startuml
'Example: Note Fill Colors
'Create an object with two fields.
object Object1 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a second object with the same two fields.
object Object2 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a relation between the two objects.
Object1 --> Object2 : A Relationship
'Create a note to the left of Object1 with a color.
note left of Object1 #E6E6E7/561D5E : A Note
'Create a note on the previous relation with a color.
note on link #CD1E1E
Another Note
end note
@enduml
Text
The text property provides the text that is displayed in the note. This is also where the text is formatted. Attached note text supports creole for emphasis and markup language for color and emphasis. You can define colors with a standard color name or hex code. The # is optional for hex codes in this portion of markup. It appears to be optional in all <color> tags as well.
Multiline text can be achieved with the end note command. For multiline text remove the : and begin the text on the line below the note command. You can use as many lines as necessary. End the note on the last line with the end note command. Empty lines will be displayed on the note.
Example: Note Text
@startuml
'Example: Note Text
'Create an object with two fields.
object Object1 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a second object with the same two fields.
object Object2 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a relation between the two objects.
Object1 --> Object2 : A Relation
'Create a note to the left of Object1.
'Use creole for text emphasis.
note left of Object1 : **A Note**
'Create a multiline note on the previous relation.
'Use markup for color and emphasis.
note on link
<color #576065>Another</color>
<i>Note</i>
end note
@enduml
With All Properties
Example: Notes With All Properties
@startuml
'Example: Notes With All Properties
object Object1 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
object Object2 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
Object1 --> Object2 : A Relation
note left of Object1 #CD1E1E: **A Note**
note on link #561D5E/191C1F
<color #E6E6E7>Another</color>
<color #E6E6E7><i>Note</i></color>
end note
@enduml
Attached Notes
Attached notes have an alias instead of a position. **** The position is determined by the entities the note is attached to. Attached notes contain three properties. The alias comes last if the text is on one line. If you use multiline text with end note, the alias comes immediately after the command word note. Notes with aliases that are not attached to anything will appear on their own in the diagram.
text - the text that appears on the note
alias - allows other entities to connect to the attached notes
fill_color - determines the background color of the note
Text
The text property provides the text that is displayed in the note. This is also where the text is formatted. Attached note text supports creole for emphasis and markup language for color and emphasis. You can define colors with a standard color name or hex code. The # is optional for hex codes in this portion of markup. It appears to be optional in all <color> tags as well.
Multiline text can be achieved with the end note command. For multiline text remove the : and begin the text on the line below the note command. You can use as many lines as necessary. End the note on the last line with the end note command. Empty lines will be displayed on the note.
Alias
The alias allows the note to be attached to any other entity on the diagram. The alias comes last if the text is on one line. If you use multiline text with end note, the alias comes immediately after the command word note.
Example: Attached Note With Alias and Text
@startuml
'Example: Attached Notes
'Create an object with two fields.
object Object1 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a second object with the same two fields.
object Object2 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a relation between the two objects.
Object1 --> Object2 : A Relation
'Make a note with an alias.
'Add color and emphasis.
note "<color #CD1E1E><b>A Note</b></color>" as noteAlias_1
'Make a multiple line note with an alias.
note as noteAlias_2
Multiline
Unattached
Note
end note
'Attach the first note to both objects.
Object1 .. noteAlias_1
Object2 .. noteAlias_1
@enduml
Fill Color
Fill_color is the only optional property. Place the fill_color on the same line immediately after the alias. It can be defined with one color or can be defined with two colors to make a gradient. You can define colors with a standard color name or hex code. There is always a # before the color name or hex code.
Example: Attached Notes Color
@startuml
'Example: Attached Notes Color
'Create an object with two fields.
object Object1 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a second object with the same two fields.
object Object2 {
FieldA
FieldB
}
'Create a relation between the two objects.
Object1 --> Object2 : A Relation
'Make a note with an alias.
'Add a fill color.
note "A Note" as noteAlias_1 #CD1E1E
'Make a multiple line note with an alias.
'Add a fill color.
note as noteAlias_2 #561D5E/E6E6E7
Multiline
Unattached
Note
end note
'Attach the first note to both classes.
Object1 .. noteAlias_1
Object2 .. noteAlias_1
@enduml
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