# Improving Conceptual Modeling with Object-Process Methodology Stereotypes
## 3 Stereotypes in OPM and OPCloud
### Using Stereotypes in an OPM Model  
To use a stereotype in a model under development, the modeler first selects the model anchor--the thing in the model to be linked to the stereotype. Selecting the anchor opens the Set Stereotype menu (see Figure 6), where the available stereotypes are presented (see Figure 7). When the modeler chooses the appropriate stereotype from this list, the stereotype anchor is merged with the model anchor and the stereotype is automatically added to the model as a new read-only OPD view. Having the stereotype available to the modeler in her model enables her to easily review and examine the stereotype and determine how to best utilize it in her model. In the following example, we elaborate on the details of this process. Suppose the modeler chooses from her model the object **Car** as the model anchor to be anchored as a  
Figure 5: A Stereotype model name example. Figure 6: The Set Stereotype button in OPCloud secondary toolbar. Figure 7: The Set Stereotype screen. stereotype. Clicking on **Car** causes the \"Set Stereotype\" button with the icon <
>+ to appear in the secondary OPCloud toolbar, as shown in Figure 6.  
Clicking this Set Stereotype button, the one with the icon <
>+, opens the Set Stereotype menu screen, shown in Figure 7.  
In the Set Stereotype screen, the modeler can view and select a stereotype. She can use one of her favorite stereotypes, located in the Favorites bar at the top of the screen, or select any other stereotype listed below the Favorites bar. First, the organizational stereotypes are listed, and then the global stereotypes are listed. A modeler cannot add a stereotype to a thing that is already linked as a stereotype. To replace a stereotype, the modeler first needs to remove the previous stereotype and then link the newly selected stereotype. In the Set Stereotype screen, an organization-specific stereotype icon is designated by the string <<>> in it (e.g., **RFID Card** in Figure 7), while an OPCloud global (generic, system level not related to specific organization) stereotype is marked by <<G>> (e.g., **Sensor** in Figure 7). A solid (non-blank) star at the top-left corner of the stereotype icon, as in **Sensor** in Figure 7, indicates that the stereotype is favorite. Clicking on a blank star in a stereotype icon will make that star solid and move the stereotype up to the favorite stereotypes list. Conversely, clicking on a solid star makes it blank and removes the stereotype from the favorite stereotypes list. To anchor a stereotype (which is a single OPD) to the anchor thing--the thing model to which the stereotype is connected, that thing needs to be selected, and then it is anchored as a stereotype. For example, in Figure 8, to anchor **Engine** into the stereotype <<Car Engine>>, **Engine** (which was the object at the bottom of Figure 8 before this operation) is selected by clicking on it. Then, the Set Stereotype button at the bottom left of the Set Stereotype screen (see Figure 7) is clicked, causing **Engine** to be anchored to the stereotype and renamed <<Car Engine>> Engine. When a modeler tries to add to a thing a stereotype that is already anchored to another thing in the model, no new read-only OPD of the stereotype is created. Rather, the modeler is referred to the existing read-only view OPD of that stereotype. For example, if a model contains two **Engine** objects, and both are anchored with the <<Car Engine>> stereotype, only one view OPD is added to the OPD tree under the Stereotypes list (see Figure 8 left). The name of a part of a thing declared and anchored as a stereotype is renamed to reflect the new thing with adding the prefix of the thing's name before the name of the part as it is called in the stereotype. For example, consider the stereotype <<Car>> in Figure 9, which has a part **Alternator** linked to it, as denoted by the aggregation-participation link. In the model, the object **Porsche 911 is** anchored to the stereotype **Car**, becoming <<Car>> **Porsche 911**.