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

Lay Out a Diagram Automatically

Enterprise Architect provides the facility to layout diagrams automatically. This creates a tree-based structure from the diagram elements and relationships in a diagram. Owing to the complexity of many diagrams, you might then have to do some manual 'tweaking'.

How to

To layout a diagram

Step

Action

See also

1

Select a diagram.

 

 

2

Click on either:

The Diagram | Layout Diagram option, or
The Auto Layout button on the diagram toolbar

 

Layout Diagrams

Notes

This facility is available for Structural diagrams and Extended diagrams, but not for Behavioral diagrams (see the UML Diagrams topic for a description of the diagram types); however, the facility is also available for Sequence diagrams generated by the Enterprise Architect Debugger
Dynamic and Analysis diagrams are NOT suited to this form of layout - please ensure first that the diagram type you are laying out benefits from the action
If you dislike the autolayout, you can reverse it before saving the diagram; click ( Ctrl+Z )

 

For a fine degree of control of the elements in your diagram, you can use the Diagram Layout Options dialog. Generally the default layout parameters provide adequate layouts for a wide range of diagrams, but there are times when more specific settings are required.

How to

To access the Diagram Layout Options dialog

Step

Action

See also

1

Double-click on the background of the diagram.

The Diagram Properties dialog displays.

 

 

2

Click on the Diagram tab, then click on the Set Layout Style button.

The Diagram Layout Options dialog displays.

 

 

3

When you have made the required changes, click on the OK button to save the changes.

You can alter any of the following settings on the Diagram Layout Options dialog to refine your layout:

Cycle Remove Options panel - these settings remove cycles in the element organization (where element X is the source of a path but also becomes the target of a branch of the path), by reversing the connectors that impose the cycling and then reorganizing the diagram and reinstating the reversed relationships; this identifies the primary source element in the diagram
Greedy - Select to use the Greedy Cycle Removal algorithm, which minimizes the number of connectors reversed
Depth First Search - Select to use the Depth First Search Cycle Removal algorithm, which establishes the longest linear sequence possible, before establishing parallel sequences and branches; this algorithm is less effective in large and/or complex diagrams, but produces a more natural layout than the Greedy algorithm

 

Crossing Reduction Options panel - these options determine how long the routine should look for ways of reorganizing the layout to avoid crossed relationships:
Iterations - Type the number of iterations to be used during cycle removal (more than 8 does not usually provide any improvement)
Aggressive - Select to use an aggressive (detailed and time-consuming) crossing reduction step

 

Layering Options panel - these settings determine how elements are organized in layers during layout:
Longest Path Sink - Select to use the Longest Path Sink Layering algorithm, where the final target elements (sinks, which have no relationships issuing from them) are arranged in a layer at the top of the diagram, and the relationship paths built downwards from there in as many layers as there are nodes in the longest path
Longest Path Source - Select to use the Longest Path Source Layering algorithm, where the original source elements (those with no relationships entering them) are arranged in a layer at the bottom of the diagram and the relationship paths built up from there in as many layers as there are nodes in the longest path
Optimal Link Length - Select to use the Optimal Link Length Layering algorithm, which organizes the elements into whichever layers minimize the total source-to-sink relationship chain; in this layout you can have both source elements and sink elements at various levels of the diagram

 

Layout Options panel:
Layer Spacing - Type the default number of logical units between layers of elements (vertical spacing)
Column Spacing - Type the default number of logical units between elements within a layer (horizontal spacing)

 

Direction panel:
Up, Down, Left, Right - Select the direction in which directed connectors should point, to set the position of the primary source element and the overall flow of the diagram

 

Initialize Options panel - the autolayout routine inserts line waypoints and connectors into relationship paths to help plot the direction of relationships; the routine then assigns an index number to every node, such that nodes in the same layer are numbered left to right
 
The settings in this panel determine how those index numbers are assigned
Naive - Select to use the Naive Initialize Indices algorithm, which assigns index numbers to nodes as they are encountered in a sweep and tends to place all waypoints to the right of real nodes (and therefore long relationships between a small number of elements to the right of chains of short relationships between several elements)
Depth First Search Outward - Select to use the Depth First Out Initialize Indices algorithm, which assigns index numbers to nodes as they are encountered in a depth first search from source nodes outwards (and would therefore place longer relationship chains to the left of shorter chains, with the primary source node at the start of the diagram flow)
Depth First Search Inward - Select to use the Depth First In Initialize Indices algorithm, which also assigns index numbers to nodes as they are encountered in a depth first search, but from sink nodes inwards (and would therefore place longer relationship chains to the left of shorter chains, with the ultimate target node at the end of the diagram flow)

 

Set as Project Default checkbox - select this checkbox to apply the diagram layout settings to all diagrams in the project; if you later check this box and click on the OK button for a different diagram, the new settings override the settings saved earlier

 

The illustration below is an example of an automatically laid out diagram, with the following options set:

Depth First Search
Optimal Link Length
Depth First Search Outward
Direction - Up

 

 

DiagramLayout

 

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