Package Imports
The Package Imports pattern creates a number of Packages and a Package diagram that uses the Package Import relationship to models the fact that members of a referenced package can be used in an importing namespace without any qualification of the element name in the referencing package.

Figure 1. Shows a number of Package Import relationships allowing a package to use elements without any qualification of their names.
Discussion
A modeler will often need to refer to all or most of the elements in another package. While this can be achieved by using a qualified name for the elements, or by using an element import relationship to each element, a convenient way to refer to these elements is to use a package import relationship. This effectively allows the modeler to refer to (reference) all the elements in the other package as though they existed in the importing package.

The pattern is typically used during the design or implementation phase allowing a Designer or Architect to express how elements in one package will be referenced by another package.  The package import relationship is the same as if there were an element import relationship to each of the elements of the package making it a useful and productive modeling mechanism. If a new member were added to the referenced package, a package import relationship would implicitly make this available in the importing package (namespace); this may be useful in many circumstances but may be an unwanted side effect in other situations.

The following is a list of some things you may want to do when working with this pattern.
·	Change the names of the packages to suit the initiative.
Create additional Packages to suit the initiative.
·	Add notes to the Packages to describe the elements they contain and their purpose in the model.

The following is a list of some things you may want to do when working with this pattern.
·	A name can be added to the package import relationship, which is used as an alias (alternative name) for the elements in the importing namespace. 
Refine the relationships and if only a small number of elements are being referenced consider using an Element Import relationship.
Check that there a no cycles in the relationships.

Useful Workspace Layouts Core | Core Modeling, Wide View
Reference
The following help topics will assist you learn about how to work with this pattern.
Package Diagram
Package Import Connector
Show or Hide Package Contents

The following are some of the tools that will be helpful when working with this pattern.
Traceability Window
The Traceability Window automatically displays the relationships that exist between Use Cases and other model elements including up-process and down-process elements. The traceability tree view can be conveniently expanded to see deeper relationships and elements displayed in the window can be located in all diagrams in which they appear. For more details see the Traceability Window  help topic.
Relationship Matrix
The Relationship Matrix provides a spreadsheet like view of two groups of elements and the relationships that exist between them. It can be a used as a powerful analysis mechanism to visually indicate how elements are related to each other and to discover which elements are missing relationships. For more details see the Relationship Matrix  help topic.
Specification View
The Specification View can be used as a way of working with any element type in a spreadsheet or word process view. It is particularly useful when there are a large number of elements as is typically the case when describing a system of any appreciable size. For more details see the Specification View help topic.
Element Discussions
The Element Discussion facility is a fully featured collaboration tool allowing modelers and model viewers and reviewers to communicate with each other directly inside the repository. Modelers using the full client or occasional viewers using WebEA can both post and reply to discussions and communicate and engage in chat. For more details see the Element Discussions help topic.
Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Diagrams
The Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Mode are display options available for any diagram that changes a system-drawn diagram to appear as though it was drawn by hand and, optionally, hand drawn on a whiteboard. It is a powerful device to engage an audience by presenting the diagram in a rough and more immediate style giving the impression that it is just a sketch that can be changed. For more details see the Hand Drawn and Whiteboard Mode help topic.
Diagram Layout
The Diagram Layout tool allows you to layout an entire diagram, selected elements or sections of a diagram to make it more visually appealing or meaningful to a particular audience. There are a wide range of layout types to choose from and some types have filters that can be applied. For more details see the Diagram Layout help topic.
Pan and Zoom
The Pan and Zoom facility is one of the tools that can be used to navigate around a large diagram. Often the resolution of a diagram must be reduced to ensure it is wholly visible but by using the Pan and Zoom window you can leave the diagram at a readable resolution and pan around to areas of interest zooming in when necessary. For more details see the Pan and Zoom help topic.
Alternate and Images for Diagram Elements
Most standard elements allow an alternate image to be defined for an element that will be used in place of the graphical notation for the element either on a selected diagram or as a default on all diagrams. For more details see the Using the Image Manager help topic.
Document Generator
The Document Generator is a powerful facility in Enterprise Architect that allows a Database Engineer or other stakeholder to create high quality corporate or technical documentation directly from the model, suitable for internal or external audiences. For more details see the Documentation help topic or the more general topic on Model Publishing.

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