Connecting Components with Edges

If there are at least two components placed in the Graph Editor, you can connect them with edges. Data will flow from one component to the other through this edge. For this reason, each edge must have assigned some metadata describing the structure of data records flowing through the edge.

Placing an Edge There are two ways to create an edge between two components:

• Click the edge label in the Palette tool. Move the cursor over the source component - the one you want the edge to start from. Left-click to start the edge creation. Then, move the cursor over to the target component - the one you want the edge to end at and click again. This creates the edge.

• The second way short-cuts the tool selection. You can simply mouse over the output ports of any component, and Data Shaper will automatically switch to the edge tool if you have the selection tool currently selected. You can then click to start the edge creation process identical to the one above.

When creating an edge in a graph, as described, the edge is always bound to component ports. The number of ports of some components is strictly specified, while other components have unlimited number of ports. If the number of ports is unlimited, a new port is created by connecting a new edge.

To escape the Edge tool, click the Select item in the Palette or press the Esc key.

Moving an Existing Edge An existing edge can be moved to connect different ports or different components.

To move an existing edge, highlight the edge with a left-click. Move cursor to an input or output port of the edge. The arrow mouse cursor turns to a cross. Once the cross appears, you can drag the edge to a free port of any component.

If you mouse over the port with the selection tool, it will automatically select the edge for you, so you can simply click and drag.

Remember that you can only replace an output port by another output port and an input port by another input port.

Edge Auto-Routing or Manual Routing

When two components are connected by an edge, sometimes the edge might overlap with other elements, e.g. other components, notes, etc. In this case, you may want to switch from default auto-routing to manual routing of the edge - in this mode you have a control over where the edge is displayed.

Manual Routing To switch from Auto-routing to Manual Routing, right-click the edge and uncheck the Edge Autorouting option from the context menu.

After that, a point will appear in the middle of each straight part of the edge.

When you move the cursor over such point, the cursor will be replaced with either a horizontal or vertical resize cursor, and you will be able to drag the corresponding edge section horizontally or vertically.

This way, you can move the edges away from problematic areas.