Extend layer diagrams

Note

This article applies to Visual Studio 2015. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here

You can write code to create and update layer diagrams, and to validate the structure of your program code against layer diagrams in Visual Studio. You can add commands that appear in the shortcut (context) menu of the diagrams, customize drag-and-drop gestures, and access the layer model from text templates. You can package these extensions into a Visual Studio Integration Extension (VSIX) and distribute them to other Visual Studio users.

For more information about layer diagrams, see:

• Layer Diagrams: Reference

• Layer Diagrams: Guidelines

• Create layer diagrams from your code

• Validate code with layer diagrams

Requirements

You must have the following installed on the computer where you want to develop your layer extensions:

• Visual Studio

• Visual Studio SDK

• Modeling SDK for Visual Studio 2015

  You must have a suitable version of Visual Studio installed on the computer where you want to run your layer extensions. For more information, see Deploy a layer model extension.

  To see which versions of Visual Studio support layer diagrams, see Version support for architecture and modeling tools.

In This Section

Add commands and gestures to layer diagrams

Add custom architecture validation to layer diagrams

Add custom properties to layer diagrams

Navigate and update layer models in program code

Deploy a layer model extension

Troubleshoot extensions for layer diagrams

See Also

Define and install a modeling extension Layer Diagrams: Reference Layer Diagrams: Guidelines Create layer diagrams from your code Validate code with layer diagrams Generate files from a UML model Open a UML model by using the Visual Studio API