Message Property Page

The property page of a message link allows you to specify several important properties of the message.

How do I open a link's Property Page?

How do I set up a link on my diagram?

Type:

The message type can be:

Call,
Create,
Destroy, or
Return

Return messages indicate a return from a message, not a new message.

Sequence:

The sequence indicates the order in which the messages occur. You can use whatever numbering system is appropriate. Often it is useful to use a decimal numbering system so that you can indicate which operation another operation is being called from.

On a sequence diagram, it's not usually necessary to specify the sequence of the messages since the sequence is indicated by the order in which the messages appear on the diagram.

Guard:

The guard is a condition which limits the cases in which a message will be sent.

Arguments:

Specify any arguments that are passed.

Recursive:

Recursive messages are messages which call themselves.

Asynchronous:

Check the asynchronous box if a message call doesn't prevent the object making the call from continuing with other tasks.