Convert to New Element Feature
 RSA 8.0.2 now supports converting one element type to another; e.g., convert a Class into an Interface
 Some use cases that benefit from this feature:
– Sometimes, especially in early design phases, it is not clear exactly which modeling element is most
appropriate and a mistake can be made (e.g. UML Class is used but should be UML Component
instead, BPMN Task is used, but should be BPMN User Task instead).
– Import for Rose converts UML Actors to UML Classes to preserve attributes. The user may want to
keep UML Actors.
 What users had to do before this feature was introduced:
– Create a new element.
– Reorient all relationships that can be reoriented from the old to the new element.
– Copy any documentation etc. that can be copied from the old to the new element.
– Delete the old element.
– Fix the layout that got messed up by previous actions.
– As deleting the old element removed all references to it (for references in open models), or left them
broken, the user has to re-create them all.
– This is the optimal manual workaround. Often, the user would first delete the old element and then
create a new one, which requires all relationships to be re-created.
 This feature automates the process outlined above, saving time and reducing the chance of mistakes
associated with manual intervention.
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Convert to New Element Feature
 Can be accessed from context menu option
Refactor -> Convert to New Element…
 Access from both diagram shapes and connectors,
and Project Explorer elements.
 Can convert more elements of the same type at
once.
 Shape related element can be converted to another
shape related element, and a relationship to another
relationship. Exception: UML Association Class can
be converted to another relationship or a UML Class.
 For conversion of semantic elements:
– Can choose scope of change: workspace
(default), project or model.
– Can un-select resources that would be affected
by this operation.
– If data loss occurs, like relationships that had to
be deleted, or features that are not supported by
the new element, it can be reviewed.
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Convert to New Element Feature
© 2011 IBM Corporation
Convert to New Element Feature
 For Geoshapes (no semantic context), access only from diagram, no scope selection and no
data loss report as there are no references in this case.
© 2011 IBM Corporation