Managing custom types

About this task

The facility for managing custom types from the Insert from Palette panel provides combined views of all your custom entity and link types, including those created through import designs. It indicates if types are automatically added to open charts, and gives you the option to toggle that option on or off. You can also add new types, duplicate existing types, and delete types.

Duplication is a helpful way to save time in creating types without starting from scratch. For example, you might want to create a custom type that shares the same or similar properties with a type that you or another analyst has already created.

Procedure

To manage custom types:

1. If the Insert from Palette panel is not visible, then from the Home tab, select Insert from Palette.

2. In the panel, click the Custom Item Types
   drop-down in either the entity or the link pane, and then select Manage Custom Entity (or Link) Types to display an alphabetical list of custom types.

3. Either click New to create a custom type, or select one to work with from the list.

4. Custom types that are added to all opened charts are indicated by a blue dot
   in the list, and the checkbox is selected.

   If you clear the checkbox, the indicator is removed and the type is no longer automatically available in new charts. You can reinstate the behavior by re-selecting the checkbox.

5. Click Duplicate to use an existing custom type as the basis for a new one.

6. Click Delete to delete a custom type from the chart.

   If you accept the warning, the type is deleted from the Custom palette, along with any records of that type on the chart. The type is not removed from other charts, but it is no longer automatically added to them.