Editing Web diagrams - overview

After you have created a Web diagram, you can add nodes and connections to it.

A Web diagram is a file that helps you visualize the flow structure of a Struts-based Web application.

To edit a Web diagram, complete the following steps:

1. In the Project Navigator view, double-click the name of the Web diagram.

2. Edit the diagram. You can add, remove, or move the nodes in the diagram.
   1. You can use the Web tools palette to drag nodes and connections onto the free-form surface.

   2. After you drop a node onto the free-form surface or draw a connection between two parts, you can select and move these parts around on the free-form surface. By moving the parts and connections around, you can arrange a diagram so that it looks clearer and so that as much as possible you avoid having lines cross each other or cross through other parts.

   3. To control the flow of your application you can change connections on the free-form surface. Moving objects on the free-form surface does not affect flow control.

   4. You can change editing options dynamically as shown in Table 1

      Table 1. Changing Web diagram editor options dynamically

      Task	Action
      Zoom in or out	Click the pull-down menu on the menu bar.
      Filter parts from the diagram	Right-click, select Filter Settings, and check the items to be hidden.
      Display an alignment grid	Right-click, select Snap > Show Grid
      Set alignment to snap to grid	Right-click, select Snap > Snap to grid on
      Set alignment to snap to geometry	Right-click, select Snap > Snap to geometry on
      Set grid's horizontal spacing	Right-click, select Diagram Settings, and type an integer into the Grid horizontal size (in pixels) box
      Set grid's vertical spacing	Right-click, select Diagram Settings, and type an integer into the Grid vertical size (in pixels) box
      Display an alignment ruler	Right-click, select Diagram Settings, and check the Show ruler box

3. If your application has more than one module, you can change the module association by editing the path name of each Struts module node.

Recommendation: For optimal performance, responsiveness, legibility, and clarity, you should limit the number of nodes and connections in a Web diagram to at most about 50 and 200, respectively. If you are diagramming an existing Struts application that contains more potential nodes or connections that this, you may want to avoid clicking Draw All.

 

Related concepts

Web diagrams and the Web diagram editor
Web diagram connections

 

Related tasks

Creating Web diagrams for new applications
Drawing connections in Web diagrams
Adding nodes to Web diagrams
Editing Web diagrams without using a mouse
Realizing connections in Web diagrams
Realizing nodes in Web diagrams
Defining application flows with the Web diagram editor

Related reference
Keyboard shortcuts for the Web diagram editor
Preferences for the Web diagram editor
Web diagram editor's palette
Web diagram editor: pop-up menu