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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.

Invoke the Fan Relations layout

Step

Action

See also

1

Open the Layout Tools window; either:

  • Select the 'Layout > Tools > Diagram Layout' ribbon option, or
  • Right-click on the main toolbar and select the 'Diagram Layout Tools' option
 Layout Diagrams

2

Select the single element around which to lay out related elements on the currently-active diagram.

3

Click on the drop-down arrow on the top left button of the Layout Tools window, and select Fan 'Relations'.

4

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

5

In the 'Padding (px)' field, type the separation required between the selected element and its related elements, in pixels.

6

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

7

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