Box Layout

The Box layout arranges the set of selected elements into a square grid.

The dimensions of the box are determined by the square root of the number of selected elements (for example, 16 elements create a 4x4 box).

To invoke this layout, follow the steps below:

1. Follow the general Layout Diagrams procedure, and at step 3 select Box.
2. Click on the drop-down arrow in the Sort By: field and select the required sort parameter. The options are:

• None - Elements are passed to the specified layout in the order in which they appear on the original diagram (left to right, top to bottom)

• Area (Ascending) - Elements are passed to the specified layout in order of the screen space they occupy, smallest to largest

• Area (Descending) - Elements are passed to the specified layout in order of the screen space they occupy, largest to smallest

• Name (Ascending) - Elements are passed to the specified layout in alphanumeric order, based on the element name

• Name (Descending) - Elements are passed to the specified layout in reverse alphanumeric order, based on the element name

• Element Type - Elements are grouped by type (for example, Class, Use Case) and in alphanumeric order within the group by name.

3. In the Padding (px) field, type the vertical and horizontal distance between elements, in pixels.
4. Select the appropriate element distribution option:

• Automatically distribute: Automatically calculate the dimensions of the box (the square root of the number of selected elements; for example,16 elements create a 4x4 box)
• Specify distribution: Manually define the width of the box, in columns.

5. If you selected Specify Distribution, in the Columns field type the required number of columns.