Link shapes and crossing

Shape policies

Link shape policies control the shape of an individual link. They are a way to ensure that a link keeps a specific shape. See the class IlvLinkShapePolicy for details.
Links may stay orthogonal or they may cross and you can set the aspect of link crossings.
Rogue Wave® JViews Framework proposes the following predefined link shape policies:
These link shape policies are for internal use by the class IlvEnhancedPolylineLinkImage,. This class is a subclass of IlvPolylineLinkImage designed to provide support for link shape policies. By hiding the implementation and computation details, this class makes link shape policies easier for you to use.
The orthogonal mode and the crossing mode of the class IlvEnhancedPolylineLinkImage are implemented by link shape policies.
By default, orthogonal mode and crossing mode are switched off. In this case, the class IlvEnhancedPolylineLinkImage behaves exactly like IlvPolylineLinkImage .

Orthogonal links

If you set the method setOrthogonal setOrthogonal . of the class IlvEnhancedPolylineLinkImage to true , the link stays orthogonal, even if you try to reshape it interactively. You can add or remove bends, or move bends interactively, the link always reorganizes the adjacent bends so that the link keeps an orthogonal shape, as illustrated in Orthogonal link between two nodes.
OrthogonalMode.gif
Orthogonal link between two nodes
The accessor isOrthogonal returns whether the link is in orthogonal mode.
When the orthogonal mode is switched on, the class IlvOrthogonalLinkShapePolicy automatically controls the shape policy.

Crossing modes

The method setCrossingMode of the class IlvEnhancedPolylineLinkImage enables you to select the aspect of the image of the link at the place where two links cross. To do so, set the mode parameter to one of the following options:
  • NO_CROSSINGS : crossings are not displayed in any particular way (default).
  • TUNNEL_CROSSINGS : crossings are displayed with a tunnel shape, as illustrated in Tunnel-shaped Crossing Mode.
TunnelCrossing.gif
Tunnel-shaped Crossing Mode
BridgeCrossing.gif
Bridge-shaped Crossing Mode
The accessor getCrossingMode returns the current crossing mode.
When a crossing mode other than NO_CROSSINGS is set, the class IlvCrossingLinkShapePolicy automatically controls the shape policy.