Providing short description text

Every pattern and parameter includes a Short Description property to briefly describe the use or purpose of the pattern or parameter. You can provide a short description when adding the new patterns and parameters to the pattern library. Short descriptions can also be added or modified in the Properties view.

The short description is displayed for the pattern applier on the Short Description page of the Pattern Explorer view and the generated help documentation. The parameter short description also appears in two additional locations: in the parameter windows used to specify arguments for the parameters and in the tooltip text on the diagram view when the user hovers over the parameter in the pattern instance.

To add short descriptions to patterns or parameters:

  1. In the Pattern Authoring view, right-click a pattern or a parameter and click Show Properties View.
  2. In the Properties view, click the Value cell for the Short Description property and type the information you want to add.
Related concepts
IBM Rational design patterns
Pattern code and support files
Reusable Asset Specification (RAS) pattern assets
Pattern project contents
Related tasks
Adding overview diagrams
Generating documentation files
Importing documentation
Adding documentation to pattern libraries
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