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Reshaping a Link

When a net diagram becomes large it can be very difficult to view if all the links between the nodes are straight lines.  Even small diagrams can sometimes be made more legible by choosing suitable paths for the links.

Adding Bends: To shape a link, first click once on the link to select it.  The link will be drawn with the hilite color surrounding it.  Then click down again on the selected link, and drag the cursor.  A bend will be placed in the link and dragged by the cursor.  You can repeat this to add as many bends as you wish.

Moving Bends:  To move the position of a bend, first select the link as before.  The link will become hilited and there will be a square box at each of its bends, and at its two endpoints.  To move a bend or an endpoint, click down in its hilited box, drag it to its new position, and then release the mouse button.

Removing Bends:  Moving one bend into another, or into an endpoint, will combine them, which can be used to remove bends.  If you wish to immediately remove all the bends in some links, select them and choose Layout Straighten Links.  If no links are selected when you perform this operation, all the links in the net will be straightened.  Another method is to right-click directly on a link and choose Straighten.

Moving Ends:  There are some special considerations when moving the endpoints of a link.  The arrow end of a link can not be dragged very far from the node it points to (if you try to, the arrow will just bump against an invisible barrier).  This prevents the creation of misleading looking diagrams (since the link is still considered to be connected to the node).  If you drag the non-arrow end of a link too far from its parent node, then the link will become “disconnected” from that node.  You can tell this has happened because the name of the link will suddenly appear at the endpoint you have moved (More Info).

AutoGrid:  If the AutoGrid is on (there is a check-mark in front of the Layout AutoGrid menu entry) then the endpoints and bends of a link will always be placed on grid positions after a move.  This makes it easy to quickly draw net diagrams with aligned link segments, and to make some segments perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical.  You can turn the AutoGrid on or off by toggling Layout AutoGrid, and set the spacing of the grid with Layout Grid Spacing.

Nudging Bends and Ends:  If you have just been moving a link bend or endpoint, and the link is still selected, you can nudge that bend or endpoint a little to get it exactly where you want by pressing the appropriate arrow key.  With every press of the key, it will move a distance of the grid spacing, if the AutoGrid is on, or the minimum perceptible distance if the AutoGrid is off.

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