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

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.

circleT2B     ellipse

How to:

To invoke the Circular or Ellipse layout, follow the steps below:

Step

Action

See Also

1

Follow the general Layout Diagrams procedure, and at step 3 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 - see Diagram A, below)
  • Circular (the elements are placed in the required order, clockwise around the perimeter of the circle or ellipse - see Diagram B, below)

 

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 - see Diagram C, below

 

 
Diagram A - Top To Bottom Layout

circleT2BWithArrow

Diagram B - Circular Layout

circleCWWithArrow

Diagram C - Center Focused Element

circleCenterFocus