Circular/Elliptical Layout

The Circle and Ellipse layouts arrange the selected elements in a circle or elliptical pattern, using the largest horizontal and vertical element edge in the set of elements when calculating the radius of the layout arc.

Invoke the Circular or Ellipse layout

Diagram A - Top To Bottom Layout

Step	Action	See also
1	Follow the general Layout Diagrams procedure, and at step 2 select either 'Circle' or 'Ellipse' as required.	Layout Diagrams
2	Click on the drop-down arrow in the 'Sort By' field and select the required sort parameter: 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	Under the 'Placement' option, select either: Top to Bottom - the elements are positioned in the required order, zig-zagged across the perimeter of the circle or ellipse, as in Diagram A Circular - the elements are placed in the required order, clockwise around the perimeter of the circle or ellipse, as in Diagram B
4	Select the 'Center focused element' checkbox to put the last-selected element (the one with the hashed border) in the center of the circle or ellipse, as in Diagram C.

Diagram B - Circular Layout

Diagram C - Center Focused Element