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IndexRobochart is a special-purpose graphics program customized for drawing flow diagrams. Some examples of flow diagrams are:
Since Robochart assumes you are creating a flow diagram, it cannot draw arbitrary graphics like a general purpose drawing, painting, or CAD program can. But, for the same reason, it can assist you with automatic functions that make drawing and changing your flow diagram very fast and easy.
A Robochart diagram consists of objects and flows.
An object is a symbol that can be positioned independently. Objects have several changeable properties (or options), including shape (which can be one of a large selection of predefined or user-defined outline or bitmap images), border type (thin/thick, solid/dashed), color, and size.
Flows are lines connecting objects together. Flows always go between two objects (or from one object back to the same object), although you can use hidden objects to draw free-standing lines. Flows are automatically adjusted to stay connected whenever you move objects. Each end of the flow can have one of a large number of predefined or custom end types (e.g. arrows). Flows also have changeable properties, including line type (thin/thick, solid/dashed), and color. You can add vertices to change a flow's path between the connected objects, and connect them with either straight or curved lines.
Both objects and flows can have textual labels associated with them. Labels are automatically adjusted to stay at the center of their object or flow, or at a manually-adjusted offset. They can contain single or multiple lines of text, either center- or left-justified. Labels can use one or more font styles and sizes, and can be colored independently of the object or flow color. You can search and replace label text, and automatically reformat lines to an appropriate width.
Editing a Robochart diagram is accomplished by direct manipulation. To create an object, drag the desired shape onto the diagram with the mouse. To create a flow, drag a "rubber-band" line from the source object to the destination. To move an object, flow end, or flow vertex, just drag it around. To resize an object, click on it to display grab handles, and drag the appropriate handle. To enter label text, point to the object or flow and type. You don't need to enter commands, choose menu options, or change modes for basic editing operations - you "just do it." The pointer's shape always reminds you what is happening.
A unique and powerful feature of Robochart is the ability to maintain a hierarchical diagram. This means that a complicated system or process that doesn't fit on a single page can be constructed from a set of connected diagrams, showing increasing levels of detail. Hierarchical diagrams illustrate designs or systems in an organized, "top-down" manner, beginning with a complete overview and progressing naturally into more detailed and specific segments. Someone viewing a diagram in this form can quickly find desired information. Compare that to a single, huge chart consisting of several sheets that have to be taped together on a wall! But if you prefer, you can create large charts, view them at reduced scale, and print or plot them on one or more sheets of paper of any size.
In a hierarchical diagram, objects represent nodes in the diagram tree. Robochart allows you to build your diagram in levels, by zooming in on an object to a more detailed level, and zooming out to a more general level. Objects can be automatically numbered according to their location in the hierarchy. And best of all, changes made to one section of a diagram are instantly carried over to all related parts of the hierarchy. You can even export a multilevel diagram in HTML format, with automatically-generated image maps defining links between the levels.
Multipart diagrams that are not organized into a strict hierarchy can still be connected and navigated, using manual hypertext-style links.
Documents can be printed to a color or monochrome PostScript printer or HPGL plotter, or exported as images, Encapsulated PostScript Files (EPSF), Maker Interchange Format (MIF) or ASCII data. You can control scaling, margins, and orientation, or let the program do it automatically. You can print your diagrams directly from Robochart, or use an offline batch printing utility. Robochart can also maintain HTML documents linking your charts into web pages.
Diagrams are stored in a documented ASCII file format, making it possible to import diagrams generated by external software.
Whenever you go to the trouble of modifying an object or flow, Robochart guesses that you might want the next object or flow to have the same modification - so it automatically changes the current defaults for you. Configuration settings are automatically saved, so that these defaults will still apply the next time you run Robochart.
Robochart provides two clipboards for cutting and pasting - one for text (this is the standard window manager's clipboard), and one for graphics (complete objects and flows). Both clipboards can transfer diagram elements between different Robochart windows, and the graphics clipboard can hold complete hierarchical sections.
You can customize the default behavior of Robochart to suit your specific needs by creating one or more configuration files. Most configuration options can be set directly within the program without learning the configuration file commands. In addition, the user interface can be customized using X resources.
Robochart runs on SPARC systems running SunOS 4.1 or later, or Solaris 2.x. Versions are available for OPEN LOOK and for Motif 1.1 and later (including CDE). Robochart is also available for Linux (glibc versions, e.g. RedHat 6.0 and later).
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