Introduction to Doc. Composer's Build from Scratch Mode

To build a document with the Build from Scratch mode is to begin from a blank document, and then make use of the tools and element templates available in Doc. Composer to write and complete the document. As an overview, "Build from Scratch" works in this way:

1. You create a document in Doc. Composer.
2. Form the content by dragging and dropping element templates from the Templates pane onto the document.
3. Touch-up the document by adding TOC, defining headers & footers, configuring styles, etc.
4. Export the document to a document file in HTML/PDF/MS Word format.

Understanding Element Template

An element template defines what and how content gets output in a document. For example, a Data Dictionary template is capable in producing a data dictionary in a document, with dedicated type of project data presented in the data dictionary (table). Each type of project data has its own set of element templates. You have Data Dictionary template for Entity Relationship Diagram and Sub Diagrams template for Use Case, etc.

Doc. Composer comes with a set of built-in element templates, but you can also create and edit custom templates. For example, you can create a custom template to output a table of actors' details, and then a list of use cases, and then a list of sub-diagrams.

Element templates are written using an XML-based language called Doc. Composer Template Language. If you want to create your own templates, you can learn this language by clicking here. In this chapter our focus is primarily on the use of built-in templates in creating a document.

Related Resources

The following resources may help you to learn more about the topic discussed in this page.

• New to Visual Paradigm? We have a lot of UML tutorials written to help you get started with Visual Paradigm
• Visual Paradigm on YouTube
• Visual Paradigm Know-How - Tips and tricks, Q&A, solutions to users' problems
• Contact us if you need any help or have any suggestion