Circular/Elliptical Layout

1

Follow the general Layout Diagrams procedure, and at step 2 select either 'Circle' or 'Ellipse' as required.

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.