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Each level of a diagram can be much larger than what is displayed
in the drawing area - up to 4096x4096 pixels (this limit can be changed
using the region application
resource). You can use the
scrollbars to the side and below the drawing area to view a different part of the diagram in the window.
Another way to scroll the window is by panning. Move the pointer over the diagram background (arrow pointer shape), and hold down the Meta key. You can then drag the entire viewable window to a new scroll position using the left mouse button.
You can resize the Robochart main window (by dragging a resize corner with the left mouse button) to change the amount of the diagram visible.
To view the entire diagram level at once, choose Show Page... from the View menu. This displays a separate window that shows the complete level at a reduced scale. You can resize this window to change the scaling.
Each object is indicated by a box. A diagonal line across the box indicates that the object has sublevels defined.
A dashed rectangle indicates the area currently visible in the main window. To center the drawing area's view at a specific part of the diagram, click the left button at the corresponding position in the Show Page window, or drag the dashed rectangle to the desired position. You can create new flows in this window in the same manner as in the drawing area, by dragging with the middle button from one object to another - this is handy for long flows between widely separated objects.
For convenience, a document can contain multiple diagrams on separate pages. The current page number is indicated in the main window message area.
To change the current page, display the Page submenu of the View menu, and choose the desired function. The Next page function advances one past the last active page so that you can add a new page to the end of the document. The PageDown and PageUp keys can also be used to advance to the next page or back up to the previous page, respectively. Goto... displays a window in which you can directly specify a page number.
The Insert page function creates a new empty page at the current position, moving the current page and all later pages forward. Delete page removes the current page and moves all following pages back; if the current page isn't empty, Robochart will ask for confirmation before deleting it.
Tip: Robochart centers the window over the objects in your diagram when you change pages. A quick way to adjust the scrolling position to the center of your diagram (especially if the Show Page window isn't displayed) is to press PageDown, then PageUp.
Within each page, a diagram can be created with several levels to illustrate a complex system in an organized way. Levels are like branches on a tree, starting with one overall diagram (the trunk and major branches), each part of which can be expanded into more detailed diagrams (smaller branches). When Robochart "zooms" in or out, it is actually changing the logical level of detail rather than magnifying or shrinking the image. Robochart makes it easy to create and maintain this "hierarchical" type of diagram.
To expand an object into a more detailed diagram level, move the pointer over the object ("O" shape pointer), press the right mouse button to display its pop-up menu, and choose Zoom In. You can also double-click over the object (but not over its label), or press Meta/I with the pointer over the object, or select the object and choose Zoom In from the View menu. To move back to a higher level of the current diagram, choose Zoom Out from the View menu, or press Meta/O. The Top Level item in the View menu zooms all the way out to the top level of the current page.
The branches of a diagram tree are objects. Robochart can number these objects to indicate their position in the diagram hierarchy, using numbers separated by dots. Top-level objects are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. If object 2 is expanded to a new level, its objects are numbered 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, etc. Object 2.3's expanded diagram contains objects 2.3.1, 2.3.2, and so on. The current level number and name are indicated in the message area.
By default, Robochart shows level numbers only for objects specified as numberable in the corresponding shape definition (normally ellipses and rounded rectangles). You can control this feature with the Numbering setting in the Program Options window. This affects the display and printing of the diagram only; level numbers are still maintained internally and can be redisplayed at any time. The current numbering option is saved in your configuration file, and in diagram documents. Object numbers are displayed in the numbering font, which is also defined in your configuration file, and updated with the Numbering Font button in the Font Options window.
Objects with lower level diagrams defined are indicated with an asterisk (*) after the object number (if numbering is enabled for that object type).
When objects in a diagram are deleted, Robochart doesn't automatically renumber the remaining objects, so that a given object's number doesn't keep changing as the diagram is edited. You can request renumbering of the diagram, however, with the Renumber item in the Edit menu. This numbers the objects sequentially, removing any gaps in the sequence. You can also manually renumber a diagram level from this menu item; choose the "Manual" option in the submenu, then left-click on each object in the desired numbering order. (The pointer temporarily changes to remind you that this mode is active.)
While you can expand a diagram to as many levels as you like, Robochart will only display (and print) level numbers nested eight deep. For deeper nesting, only the last eight components of the number are shown.
In order to keep each level of your hierarchical diagram consistent, Robochart can copy the context of the parent object into the new level when you zoom in and out. The context of an object consists of the objects and flows connected to that object. This behavior is controlled by the Auto-link setting, which can be changed from the Program Options window. The default setting is stored in your configuration file.
When zooming in, if Auto-link is set to either Zoom In or Full, Robochart looks for flows connected to the parent object that are not already shown in the detailed diagram level. Robochart adds linked copies of these flows, linked copies of the objects at the other end of the flows, and a temporary object, to the new level. The temporary object represents one or more objects that you should have at the new level to represent the expansion of the higher-level object. As you create the additional objects, you can move the flows to them from the temporary object as appropriate.
When zooming out, if Auto-link is set to Full, Robochart creates linked copies of any flows you've added between objects which already appear at the higher level.
Objects created at a lower level are not copied on zooming out - Robochart assumes that these are details of the lower level that you don't want visible at the higher level of the hierarchy. You should therefore always create objects at the highest level they're to appear in. If you want to move an object to a higher level, cut it from the current diagram and paste it to the new level, then let Robochart duplicate the object when you zoom in to the lower level.
When objects or flows are linked, changes you make in their labels, types, colors, or directions automatically affect the appearance of linked copies of that item in all levels of the diagram page. Changes in size and screen position, however, are kept separate. Objects are not linked across different pages. Also, objects duplicated using cut and paste are not linked together.
Deleting one linked copy of an object or flow doesn't affect other copies in the diagram, with one exception: if you delete an object at its highest level (for example, object 2.3 at diagram level 2), all copies of this object are removed as well.
Section 6 describes an alternate form of linking between arbitrary objects and flows.
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