This is the old Activity Diagram (legacy) syntax, to see the new current version see: Activity Diagram (new).
You can use (*) for the starting point and ending point of
the activity diagram.
In some occasion, you may want to use (*top) to force the starting point to be at the top of the diagram.
Use --> for arrows.
By default, an arrow starts at the last used activity.
You can put a label on an arrow using brackets [ and
] just after the arrow definition.
You can use -> for horizontal arrows. It is possible to
force arrow's direction using the following syntax:
-down-> (default arrow)
-right-> or ->
-left->
-up->
You can use if/then/else keywords to define branches.
Unfortunately, you will have to sometimes repeat the same activity in the diagram text:
By default, a branch is connected to the last defined activity, but it
is possible to override this and to define a link with the if keywords.
It is also possible to nest branches.
You can use === code === to display synchronization bars.
When you declare activities, you can span on several lines the
description text. You can also add \n in the description.
You can also give a short code to the activity with the as
keyword.
This code can be used latter in the diagram description.
You can add notes on a activity using the commands
note left,
note right, note top or note bottom,
just after the description of the activity you want to note.
If you want to put a note on the starting point, define the note
at the very beginning of the diagram description.
You can also have a note on several lines, using the
endnote keywords.
You can define a partition using the partition keyword, and
optionally declare a background color for your partition (Using a html
color code or name)
When you declare activities, they are automatically put in the
last used partition.
You can close the partition definition using a closing bracket }.
You can use the skinparam
command to change colors and fonts for the drawing.
You can use this command :
You can define specific color and fonts for stereotyped activities.
You can change the shape of activities to octagon using the skinparam activityShape octagon
command.