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Inserting Diagrams |
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Inserting Diagrams |
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The diagramming tool allows for basic drawing functionality within Contour.
Note: This tool does not allow importing from other diagramming tools such as Microsoft Visio or drawing tools such as Word or Paint. It also does not allow copy/pasting from the diagramming tool into other applications or copy/pasting into the diagraming tool. Any action done with the diagramming tool should only be done within Contour.
Starting the diagramming tool
First, click on the diagram icon to start up the diagramming tool
If you already have a diagram in the description field, highlight the diagram by clicking on it once and click on the diagram button.
Working in the tool
After you have opened the diagramming tool you can begin drawing your diagram. Here are some tips to getting started:
1) Create new shapes by dragging and dropping into the canvas:
2) To create a copy of the shape, hover over the arrow in the middle of the shape and drag it over. This both duplicates and links the shapes together.
3) To link two different shapes together, hover over the arrow in the middle of one shape and drag it over to the other shape.
4) To add some text to the shape, double-click on it, type your text and hit Enter.
5) Containers are a special type of item that allow you to group shapes together. You can create links into and outside of the container, to shapes within the containter and you can also create links to the contain item itself (use the bar on the top). Minimizing the container will move all shapes within out of view and truncate the links within the container.
6) To save your diagram, click on the "Save and Close" button at the bottom-right. This will return you to Contour.
Note: This tool does not allow inserting of custom images.
Advanced Options
| • | Labels: |
| o | Show Labels: Un-checking this will disable all text within shapes. |
| • | Connections: |
| o | Connectable: This option allows for connection arrows to be turned off or on. This will not erase existing arrows. |
| o | Connectable Edges: This allows connections to be made from and to arrow lines. |
| o | Create Target: diabling this will disable the ability to duplicate a shape when dragging an arrow out (as detailed above). |
| o | Disconnect On Move: When this is enabled connections will stay the same if you try to move them. When not enabled connections will seperate from the shapes. |
| • | Show XML / Parse XML: These options are specifically for copying a diagram from one area of Contour to another. Contour's diagrams are stored in an XML format which you can copy when using the Show XML option. If you open up a new diagram and use the Parse XML option, it will give a space to copy the XML into. This will rebuild the diagram in the new window. These options should only be used for special circumstances. It is much easier to copy the picture of the diagram and paste it to another item in Contour through the descriptions. |
Layout
Several "layouts" that are pre-built are included. This will take the structure that you have built and put it into a more rigidly structured layout. You can also move
Place edge labels will enable the ability to
Other Options
Keyboard and right-click controls: several basic keyboard and right-click options are available such as cut (Ctrl+X), copy (Ctrl+C), paste (Ctrl+V) and undo (Ctrl+Z).
Right-click menus:
| • | The right-click menu also has several advanced options such as "Bring to Front", Group, Ungroup and Align. |
| • | Format: This menu provides many formatting options for shapes, the text inside and the lines connecting shapes together. |
| • | Shape: This menu mostly contains controls for grouping shapes together. If you use the "Enter" option, you will be brought to another layer of the diagram. Anything built in this layer will be placed inside of the shape you entered. You can also bring a shape to the front, autosize it and even align it with the diagram from this menu. |
| • | Page Breaks: This will show page breaks for larger diagrams where needed. |
