Use Case Diagram Context Commands

All of the UML diagram types share common context menu commands. To use the context menu for a diagram, simply right click in the Diagram view.

To view the common context menu commands, see Common Diagram Context Commands.

You can model use case diagrams using either UML 1.4 or UML 2.0 features.

UML 1.4

The use case diagram offers a special context command named, New, with a submenu for adding new elements to the use case diagram:

New

The New command for the use case diagram offers a submenu with the following options:

Actor

Choosing Actor adds an actor element to the diagram.

Use Case

Choosing Use Case adds a use case element to the diagram.

System Boundary

Choosing System Boundary adds a system boundary element to the diagram.

Note

Choosing Note adds a note element to the diagram.

Shortcut

To refer to an element located outside of the current diagram, or to another diagram, you can use shortcuts. Invoking the Shortcut command displays a selection dialog, where you can choose the desired element (or diagram) from the appropriate location.

UML 2.0

When working with UML 2.0 features, the use case diagram offers the special context menu named, New, however, you will notice that two different elements appear in the submenu, Subject and Use Case Collaboration:

New

In addition to the elements previously described in the UML 1.4 section above, the New command for the use case diagram offers a submenu with the following additional options:

Use Case Collaboration

Choose Use Case Collaboration to add this element type to the diagram.

Subject

Choosing Subject adds a system boundary element to the diagram.