Using the Arrange Commands

You can use the Organic, Tree, Cycle, Star, and Bus commands available from the Format menu's Arrange submenu to rearrange and organize the selected elements automatically.

Note: If no objects are selected, Organic and Tree operate on all map objects, or on any selected objects. For Starand Bus, you must have at least one object selected. For Cycle, you must have at least two objects selected.

Using the Organic Command

Use the Organic command, available from the Format menu's Arrange submenu, to arrange the objects on a map so that crossed lines are minimized, and objects are not overlaid on each other. This is the method used to arrange devices during auto-discovery.

To the right is a complex map. Notice that there are many overlapping links.

Here is the same map after applying the Organic command.

Using the Tree Commands

Use the Tree command to arrange the current selection in a tree. A sub-menu controls whether the tree structure should be drawn to the right, down, left, or up.

Arrange items in a tree structure. Choose which direction the branches of the tree should go. Shown below are Tree > left and Tree > right.

Tree > left Tree > right

Using the Bus command

The network oval in the center of the cluster above represents an Ethernet segment that interconnects several devices in an office. To make it a cluster, use the Bus command from the Arrange submenu.

 

Using the Star Command

The Star command arranges connected items in a circle around the selected item, similar to the Organic command.

Using the Grid Command

Use the Grid command to arrange connected items in a grid.

To use the grid command:

  1. Select the devices you want to arrange in a grid.
  2. From the Format menu's Arrange submenu, choose Grid... The Grid Layout dialog appears.
  3. Choose your parameters as appropriate.
  4. Click OK. The devices are arranged as specified.

Note: Sorting by None moves the selected devices to form a grid relative to the upper-left icon in the selection.

The example below shows the result of the Grid layout command after selecting only the devices in Star example above.


2-column grid layout

Using the Cycle Command 

Note: The Cycle command is deprecated. We recommend you Organic command for intial map layouts.

Use the Cycle command to spread out the items in the map, and make the relationships more clear. The Cycle command moves all devices and networks near the edge of the window as shown below.

To use the Cycle command on all map objects:

  1. From the Edit's Select menu, choose Select All (Cmd-A).

    All objects in the map are selected.
  2. From the Format menu's Arrange submenu, choose Cycle.

    The objects are evenly distributed around the map as shown below.

The Cycle command moves all devices and networks near the edge of the window as shown below.



Results of the Cycle command.