Please note : This help page is not for the latest version of Enterprise Architect. The latest help can be found here.

Box Layout

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

box

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).

How to

To invoke the Box layout

Step

Action

See also

1

Follow the general Layout Diagrams procedure, and at step 3 select Box.

 

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

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.