View - Action options

Overview

The Action toolbar provides options for changing the layout of the items in the view. Each is explained below.

Not all options in the toolbar are available at all levels.
The toolbar can be moved anywhere in the view by dragging and dropping it.
The toolbar can be collapsed to improve view visibility using the icon at the bottom of the toolbar:

Add objects

Only visible in a tab which has been added following the use of the global search feature to display results. Using this action icon will open the search popup and any new objects you select for display as a result of the search will be added to the existing tab. See also Tips.

Select

Option selected by default, allows you to interact with the items in the view, for example, to drill-down or select.

Selection tool

Provides various methods for selecting multiple objects and nodes:

Insert tool

Provides methods for inserting both text and shapes (rectangles or circles) into the view, for example to highlight specific items:

For example, a rectangle with a red border has been added, alongside some text and an arrow:

Shapes, text and arrows are not persistent. In other words, if you close the current view or refresh your browser, the inserts will be lost. To ensure the items persist, use the Save a view option:

Drawing tool

Provides a method to draw a freehand shape in the view in the colour of your choice, for example to highlight specific items or add your own notes:

For example:

Freehand shapes are not persistent. In other words, if you close the current view or refresh your browser, the shapes will be lost. To ensure the items persist, use the Save a view option:

Graph layout tool

Provides layout options for the items in the view (Sequential is set as the default and will be labelled as such to distinguish between the default layout and a custom layout):

For ≤ 3.3.x, you can set a preferred layout for all applications using the Preferences > Preferred Graph Layout option. From ≥ 3.4.x-funcrel this option has been removed and instead CAST Imaging will managed this for you: see below.

Persistent layout

Available in ≥ 3.4.x-funcrel

CAST Imaging will remember your chosen layout separately for each scope (e.g., Application, Transaction, Data Call Graph etc.): i.e. if you customize a layout by choosing something other than the default, this will persist for that specific scope until you choose to reset the layout using the Reset to default option:

Resetting or changing the layout in one scope does not affect other scopes since each scope has its own independent layout settings.

Object subset

Available in ≥ 3.4.x-funcrel

This option functions on a subset of selected objects:

in the view select the objects you wish to arrange
choose the layout you require for these objects:

Add concept node tool

Only available in the Application scope at Level 5.

Provides a means to add an object type of your choosing to the view. All possible object types can be added, except those that already exist on the view whether as other concept nodes, or object types resulting from analyses:

Concept object type nodes are displayed as squares to differentiate from object types nodes resulting from an analysis (displayed as circles):

Visual Grouping/Group By tool

Available at Levels 2 - 5 for all Aggregated by views. Not available for App-to-App Dependencies view.

Allows you to apply a different level specific grouping to the level you are currently working in:

For example, if you are working in level 5 you can choose to view the nodes in level 5 using the abstract grouping from any of the other Levels 1 - 4, listed as:

Architecture (level 1 grouping)
Services (level 2 grouping)
Business (level 3 grouping)
Technology (level 4 grouping)

Choosing Architecture (level 1) when in level 5 (for example) will show the following:

The circles are added to the view to highlight the nodes that are grouped in their chosen level grouping - e.g. in this example, Level 1 groupings:

User Interaction
System Interaction
Services
Data Services

Spotlight tool

Group selected nodes tool

Only available at Level 5 and Objects level.

Allows you to group specific nodes or objects into single nodes. For example, you may want to group together SQL object types, or JEE object types so that the view is easier to understand.

Clicking the icon will group all nodes or objects that are selected in the view and display them as follows:

You will also be prompted to give a name to this group:

The grouped items will move around the graph as one item. To remove or rename the grouping, use the right-click contextual menu on the grouped item:

Tip: Double click the grouped item to change the position of individual items within it.

Nodes Display tool

Only available at Objects level.

Hides (or unhides) any objects that are selected in the view - for example those that may not be of interest.

(Un)Group links tool

Only available at Objects level.

Toggles between grouped links (default position) and ungrouped. Explanation: some links at object level will be “highlighted”. This indicates that there is more than one link between the objects and therefore these links are grouped:

Using the Ungroup links option, all links between the two objects will be displayed:

Use the option again to toggle between the two states (grouped/ungrouped).

Switcher tool

Available in ≥ 3.4.x-funcrel

Allows you to switch between a graphical representation (default position) of the items in your application, or a simple list containing “at a glance information” about all the items in the current view.

Displaying the items in list form allows you to see more easily the items in your application, any children they may have and whether they are considered external (i.e. originating in third-party components):

Switch back to the standard object view using the highlighted button:

A filter is available at object level to help you find the objects you need. The filter is based on the properties attached to the objects visible in the view:

Tips

Selecting an item or items in the List and then switching back to the "graph" will retain the selection.
All columns are sortable when using the List view.
In previous releases, this feature was available as a simple button displayed at the top of the view.

Graph display options tool

Provides various view display options:

Option	Description
Object label	Toggle the display of the object/node name. Enabled by default.
Relationship label	Toggle the display of the name of the link between two objects/nodes. Enabled by default.
Badge count	Toggles the object/node badge count - i.e. the small circle with a number in it depicting the number of “child” items a particular grouped object has. Enabled by default.
External libraries / Isolated nodes	Filter on the type of objects/nodes that are displayed in the view. Toggling the option will remove and re-display corresponding objects from the view. External objects are those originating in third-party libraries or system assemblies. Enabled by default. Isolated nodes are those that are not linked to any other node. Enabled by default.
BelongsTo links	Toggle the display of `BelongsTo` links (interactions between parent and child objects, for example, C++ Classes and Methods). Disabled by default. When enabled, `BelongsTo` links are displayed in pink making them distinct from other link types.
Shortest path	Only available for Transaction and Data Call Graph scopes at Objects level. Displays the critical (i.e. shortest) path between two objects (source and target). The view will show the critical (i.e. shortest) path between the input node (i.e. the selected transaction/node) and any “output nodes” (any nodes/objects not involved will be temporarily hidden). Disabled by default. For example:
Main objects only	Only available for Transaction and Data Call Graph scopes at Objects level. Toggles the view to show a simplified version of the Transaction or Data Call Graph including only the main objects and excluding any sub-objects. Disabled by default. For example, option disabled: Option enabled:
Tooltips	Displays a short tooltip explanation about the item when the item is selected in the view. Enabled by default.

Post-Its tool

Use this feature to add detailed documentation or notes to a view and/or to specific objects/nodes or groups of objects/nodes:

When a Post-It has been assigned to an object or node, the item’s badge will update to indicate that a Post-It exists:

Post-Its:

are viewed via the right panel, see here.
can also be accessed by right clicking the item in the view and selecting Show details:

Tags tool

Use this feature to add custom tags to specific objects/nodes or groups of objects/nodes. Tags can then be used as a search term to find items of interest more quickly:

Custom tags are viewed via the right panel, see here.