Fan Relations Layout

The Fan Relations layout arranges the immediate relations of an element around a specified edge. This layout requires a single element to be selected on the diagram, to be used as the context for the layout.

fan

To invoke this layout, follow the steps below:

  1. Open the Layout Palette window; either:
  • Select the View | More Windows | Layout menu option, or
  • Right-click on the main toolbar and select the Layout Palette context menu option.
     

FanLayout
 

  1. Select the single element around which to lay out related elements on the currently-active diagram.
  2. Click on the drop-down arrow on the top left button of the Layout Palette window, and select Fan Relations.
  3. 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.
  1. In the Padding (px) field, type the separation required between the selected element and its related elements, in pixels.
  2. Select the connector direction to use in determining the related elements to lay out. Either:
  • Incoming Nodes - to lay out related elements that have the selected element as the target
  • Outgoing Nodes - to lay out related elements that have the selected element as the source.
  1. In the Fan Edge field, click on the drop-down arrow and specify the edge of the selected element from which to lay out the related elements.
  • Left - to arrange related elements to the left of the selected element
  • Right - to arrange related elements to the right of the selected element
  • Top - to arrange related elements from the top of the selected element
  • Bottom - to arrange related elements from the bottom of the selected element.