Sybase XML Managing external shortcuts through references and data types

Chapter 2 Building an XML model
XSM User's Guide 87
Managing external shortcuts through references
and data types
External shortcuts allow you to share objects between different models. You
can define external shortcuts in an XML model, but you cannot use them
directly in the model, except as substitution groups for elements (see Detail
page in element property sheet).
You can define external shortcuts for any global object (with no parent object
in the diagram), except for imports, includes, redefines and annotations.
Internal shortcuts allow you to share objects between packages of a same
model. You cannot define internal shortcuts since an XML model does not
support packages.
External shortcuts are automatically generated in the following situations:
When you use the Reference property to define an element, an attribute, a
group or an attribute group, by reference to a similar object in another model
opened in the workspace, a shortcut is created between the referencing object
and the target object.
The shortcut appears in the current model with a specific item in the Browser
tree view and the “(Shortcut)” expression in the reference symbol and item.
The target object keeps track of the referencing object in the Reference tab of
the Dependencies page of its property sheet.
When you define the data type of an element by selecting a simple or a
complex type from another model (using the Browse tool beside the Type
dropdown listbox), a shortcut is created between the current element type and
the target data type.
The shortcut appears in the current model with a specific item in the Browser
tree view.
References
Data types