Visibility (property)

Model Parts, Diagrams, Dictionary Items, and Properties > Properties > Visibility (property)

For automation interface information about the Visibility property, see the automation interface topic for common attributes in the Related Topics.

Models whether items in other Packages can use that item. The Visibility of an item can be set to Public, Protected, Private or Package; which UML defines as follows:

• A public item is visible to all items that can access the contents of the namespace that owns it.

• A privateitem is only visible inside the namespace that owns it.

• A protected item is visible to items that have a generalization relationship to the namespace that owns it.

• A package item is owned by a namespace that is not a package, and is visible to items that are in the same package as its owning namespace. Only named items that are not owned by packages can be marked as having package visibility. Any item marked as having package visibility is visible to all items within the nearest enclosing package (given that other owning items have proper visibility). Outside the nearest enclosing package, an item marked as having package visibility is not visible.

• An item is always visible to other items that share the same parent Package.

• Modeler does not prevent you from linking to an item that is not visible.

In the Packages pane, the following symbols indicate the visibility of each item:

+ Means the item has Public Visibility.

# Means the item has Protected Visibility.

- Means the item has Private Visibility.

~ Means the item has Package Visibility.

By default, the Visibility property is set to Public.

• Interface scoped Classes, Exceptions and Type Definitions must have Public visibility. If you copy a Class, Exception or Type Definition to an Interface, Modeler sets its Visibility to Public.

The following section provides information about the items and diagrams for which Visibility is a property. For more information about an item or diagram, click it.