Creating shape in shape editor

Although UML and BPMN are well-established notations, sometimes they still not rich enough to express domain specific idea. Shape Editor is a diagramming tool for you to design your own notation (stencil). Notations created can be incorporated into diagrams in Visual Paradigm. To use shape Editor:

To launch Shape Editor, select Window > Integration > Shape Editor... from the toolbar.
When shape editor unfolds, you can create a shape by creating a gallery in advance. It is because a shape needs to be created under a stencil, while a stencil is put under a category of a gallery.

Shape Editor
A shape need to be created under a stencil, while a stencil is put under a category, under a gallery. To create a gallery, right click on the Stencil pane and select Add Gallery in the po-pup menu.

Add a gallery
To create a stencil, right click on a category and select Add Stencil from the pop-up menu. The newly created gallery is named as Gallery1 by default. If you want to rename it, right click on it and select Rename from the pop-up menu. Enter your preferred gallery name in the pop-up Input dialog box and press OK button to confirm.

Naming a gallery
To create a category, right click on a gallery and select Add Category in the pop-up menu. Enter the category name in the pop-up Input dialog box and click OK button to confirm.

Add a category
To create a stencil, right-click on a category and select Add Stencil from the pop-up menu. The newly created stencil is named as Stencil 1 by default. If you want to rename it, right click on it and select Rename from the pop-up menu. Enter your preferred stencil name in the pop-up Input dialog box and press OK button to confirm.

Add a stencil
To create a shape, click on the (New Shape) button in the bottom part of the Stencil pane to create a blank drawing for drawing the shape.

Add a shape
Create your preferred shape on the pane and you can also format its color in Fill tab of Format pane.

Draw a shape in drawing pane
To save the drawing by selecting File > Save from the main menu.

Save the drawing

Shapes created in Shape Editor can be used in Visual Paradigm. For details, please refer to the next page.