Layout Diagrams

Enterprise Architect provides a Layout Tools window to enable you to lay out the elements in a diagram.

Unless the diagram is very simple, this facility does not lay out the entire diagram; it consists of a set of tools to set out different areas or sets of elements in the diagram.

To start to lay out a diagram, follow the steps below:

1. Open the Layout Tools window; either:

• Select the View | Layout Tools menu option, or
• Right-click on the main toolbar and select the Layout Tools context menu option.

2. Select the elements to lay out on the currently-active diagram - hold [Shift] or [Control] while you click on each required element, or hold the mouse button down while you sweep over the area containing the required elements.

3. Click on the drop-down arrow on the top left field of the Layout Tools window, and select the required layout type.
4. The layout type determines the fields presented in the window, therefore the appropriate fields are described in the topic for each layout type.

• Circle/Ellipse
• Box
• Per Page
• Digraph
• Spring
• Neaten
• Converge/Diverge
• Fan Relations
• Auto Route

5. When you have completed the fields, click on the button.
    
   Enterprise Architect sets out the selected elements according to the options you have selected.
6. If you do not want to work with the new layout, click on the Undo button in the toolbar ().

 
Enterprise Architect also provides a facility for automatically laying out a diagram. If necessary, you can manually adjust the final result of this automatic process.