Bug 163507 - Want mechanism for automatic arrangement of shape-and-connector graph
Summary: Want mechanism for automatic arrangement of shape-and-connector graph
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Alias: None
Product: LibreOffice
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Draw (show other bugs)
Version:
(earliest affected)
Inherited From OOo
Hardware: All All
: medium enhancement
Assignee: Not Assigned
URL:
Whiteboard:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks: Connectors
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Reported: 2024-10-18 07:19 UTC by Eyal Rozenberg
Modified: 2024-10-22 22:39 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Crash report or crash signature:


Attachments
An example diagram with some connectors, placed manually (30.79 KB, application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation)
2024-10-18 07:19 UTC, Eyal Rozenberg
Details

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Description Eyal Rozenberg 2024-10-18 07:19:18 UTC
Created attachment 197124 [details]
An example diagram with some connectors, placed manually

One of diagrams which people use Draw (or Impress) to produce is, essentially, a graph of drawing shapes as vertices, often rectangular but not just, with connectors - straight-line or with right-angles - connecting them, as the edges.

As these graphs get bigger, it becomes more difficult and unweildy to arrange them automatically on a page - to reduce overall connector length, connector intersections, and general confusion. Software for "graph drawing" like gv offer such functionality - or something similar - outside of LO.

It would be nice if LO Draw/Impress offered the functionality of auto-arranging such shapes on a page or slide, and configuring the connectors, for some kind of pleasant result.
Comment 1 Heiko Tietze 2024-10-18 07:43:30 UTC
Sounds like SmartArt, bug 37932 / bug 106547. If there are special algorithm to arrange connectors I could imagine it would be a nice fit for an extension.
Comment 2 Eyal Rozenberg 2024-10-22 22:39:10 UTC
(In reply to Heiko Tietze from comment #1)
> Sounds like SmartArt, bug 37932 / bug 106547. If there are special algorithm
> to arrange connectors I could imagine it would be a nice fit for an
> extension.

SmartArt would be an apriori-fixed and neatly arranged diagram, which one then tweaks manually. This is about arranging a huge space of potential graphs. Utilities like graphviz (https://graphviz.org) employ one of several graph drawing engines to do this. 

See an example of Graphviz in action with an online editor/playground: 

https://edotor.net