Hierarchical Layout
Hierarchical layout can be either vertical or horizontal, and flow right-to-left, left-to-right, top-to-bottom, or bottom-to-top. This type of layout works well for "tree" style graphs like organizational charts and class inheritance diagrams. The spacing among items in this layout mode obeys the spacing settings in the Align pane.
Child Ordering:
Any - will attempt to reduce crossings, may scramble the order of the children
Left-To-Right (for vertical layouts) / Top-To-Bottom (for horizontal layouts) - orders children based on their relative locations on the canvas. This should result in a minimal amount of re-ordering.
Back-To-Front - for vertical layouts, the backmost child will end up on the left, the topmost child will end up on the right
Rank Assignment - Select one or more graphics, then use this set of controls to determine more precisely where they will end up after automatic hierarchical layout.
Any - no pre-assigned rank (this is the default)
Min - any nodes set to min will show up at the top of the graph in vertical layout
Max - any nodes set to max will show up at the bottom of the graph
Same - Select two or more graphics and choose this option to ensure that those graphics all keep the same level in the hierarchy.
Auto-adjust page setup - This will adjust the pages of your document so that all the graphics still fit after layout. It will change the page orientation and add/remove pages so that the final result uses the minimum number of pages.
Force-directed Layout
This type of layout works well for graphs with more complex interconnections. It models the graph as a mechanical system. Shapes repel each other. Lines act like springs and pull shapes closer together. The canvas edge repels shapes as well, forcing them towards the center of the canvas. As layout progresses, the graphics slide around reacting to the various forces and settle into lower and lower energy states, eventually coming to a halt in one of the many possible arrangements.
Line Springs - Springs that are compressed will try to expand. Springs that are stretched will try to contract. This slider controls the strength with which springs expand and contract.
Object Repulsion - This slider controls the force with which shapes repel each other. Setting the slider to the right will push shapes farther apart during layout.
Canvas Edge - This slider controls how strongly the canvas edge pushes graphics towards the center of the canvas.
Magnetic Field - By turning on a "magnetic field" you can cause all lines in the document to try to align themselves in a particular direction. For a linear field, all lines will gravitate towards being parallel, and for a radial field, they will all tend to radiate outward from a given center point. When Directed is checked, lines will try to orient themselves with the field in direction as well as orientation.
Animate Layout - Turning this on will let you watch the layout process.
Random Start Locations - Turning this on will give your shapes random starting locations.
If you find that graphics are bouncing around alot, or taking a long time to settle in, then there is likely too much energy in the system. Sliding any of the three sliders to the left will reduce the amount of energy added by that particular force. Also, adding more pages will give the graphics room to spread out and find a better arrangement.
Often times, the best arrangement can be found by repeatedly trying random layouts until you find an overall arrangement that you like, then turn off Random Start Locations and fine tune the arrangement.
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