Set diagram options

Last modified: June 2, 2025

A database diagram can be tuned with a rich set of options. Options can be set globally for all the diagram documents or separately for a particular one.

To set options for the current diagram, right-click it and select Options to open the Diagram Options dialog.

Change the appearance of a diagram

The database diagram supports three predefined skins to change its appearance. They are the Default skin, the Simple skin, and the IDEF1X skin. The Default skin uses the richest color palette. The Simple skin is optimized for printing and does not use gradients. The IDEF1X skin is mostly black-and-white to look like IDEF1X diagrams. To choose the skin, use the Skin Type list in the notations options.

You can use either the IDEF1X or IE notation for relations. They can be switched by using the Relation Notation list.

Notation options allow you to customize the appearance of table shapes on the diagram. You can hide the compartments for constraints, indexes, and triggers, as well as adjust the field detail level to display only column names, names with data types, or names with full type definitions.

Note

The settings do not apply to stored routines.

In addition, primary key columns can be displayed separately with a horizontal line or included alongside other columns.

To customize options:

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Options.

2. In the Options dialog that opens, select Database Diagram > General to modify diagram background color, shape shadows, and diagram grid.

3. Select OK to save the changes.