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Flows always connect two objects. (For unconnected lines, you can use a flow to or between "invisible" or "phantom" objects.)
Robochart can draw flows with solid or dashed, thin or thick lines, with several choices of shapes (arrowheads, etc.) at each end. Flow end types are defined in the shapedef file. You can provide your own replacement to the shape library by naming a different file in the RCHT_SHAPES environment variable. See the file shapedef.txt for details.
To add a new flow to the diagram, move the pointer over the first object to be connected (the pointer changes to an "O" shape), and press the middle mouse button. (If your mouse only has two buttons, your environment may have a way to emulate a third button, typically by pressing both the left and right buttons together.) As you drag the pointer, a temporary line from the object appears. Drag this temporary line over the second object to be connected and release the mouse button to complete the flow. The manner in which a flow attaches to an object depends on how the object shape's attach points are defined (see Section 4).
Vertices can be added while creating a flow by pressing the Space bar while keeping the the middle mouse button down. A flow that loops from an object back to itself must have at least two vertices for the flow to be visible. These vertices must be added while the flow is being created. (Robochart complains if you try to create a looped flow without vertices.) Also, a flow directly between two busses must have at least one vertex so that Robochart knows where you want the flow to appear. This vertex must be added while the flow is being created.
If you want a long flow between objects that are too far apart to view at the same time, you can create it in the reduced-scale Show Page window (described in Section 7).
New flows are created with the current type. The current flow type is indicated in the control area, and can be changed by:
To change a quick flow button to a flow type you want to access easily, first set the current flow type to the desired setting. This can be done directly with the flow menus in the control area, or by changing a flow in the diagram drawing area. For the Motif version, hold down the Shift (or Control) key and left-click on the quick flow button to be reprogrammed; for the OPEN LOOK version, press the right button with the pointer on the quick flow button to be reprogrammed, and choose "Current->Button" from the pop-up menu.
Section 6 describes flow label editing.
To select a flow, click the left button with the pointer over the flow (but not its label). Selected flows are drawn with grab handles at each end and vertex. To select additional flows (and objects) in Motif, use the Control or Shift key with the left button; in OPEN LOOK, use the middle button. Or, drag an area with the left button to select flows within that area. Use control or shift drag in Motif, or middle-button drag in OPEN LOOK, to toggle the selection of flows within an area.
The Select All submenu of the Edit menu lets you select all flows, or all objects and flows, at one time.
Robochart automatically moves flows connected to an object when you move that object. When moving a group of selected objects, vertices of selected flows connected to selected objects are also moved.
To move one end of a flow to a different object, move the pointer over the flow near the end to be moved ("F" pointer shape), press the left button, and drag the flow end over the desired object.
As with new flows, Robochart won't let you move a flow to loop back to the same object unless the flow has at least two vertices, nor move a flow to connect two busses without at least one vertex.
To add vertices to a flow, move the pointer to the desired point along the flow (but not near an existing vertex or end point), and press the left button. Drag the new vertex to the desired position in the diagram and release the mouse button.
To move a flow's vertex, move the pointer to the vertex, press the left button, and drag the vertex to the desired position. You may find it helpful to select the flow before trying to move a vertex. If the Meta key (Constrain modifier) is held down while moving a vertex, movement is constrained to horizontal and vertical directions.
Flows with vertices can be drawn as smooth curved lines or straight line segments. You can set the straight or curved option with the flow type button in the control area, or change an existing flow with its pop-up menu. For best results with curved flows, avoid using too many vertices.
An invisible grid is provided to simplify alignment of objects and flows. When active, any movement of a vertex causes it to be aligned with the grid. You can adjust the size of the snap grid (in screen pixels) from the Program Options window. Setting the size to one disables the grid.
To change a flow's line type, choose the desired type from the Line Type submenu of its pop-up menu. To change the form of a flow end, move the pointer over the flow near that end, display the End Type submenu of the flow's pop-up menu, and choose the desired end type. To change the line or text color of a flow, choose the appropriate color (or gray level) from the color submenu of its pop-up menu.
Choosing the Reverse item in the pop-up menu changes the flow's direction (of course, this will only be apparent for flows with different types at each end). You can also double-click on the flow.
You can also modify flow properties using the Selection Options window (described below). The set of available colors can be changed using the Color Options window (Section 9).
To delete one vertex in a flow, move the pointer to the vertex and choose the Delete Vertex item from the flow's pop-up menu, or press Meta/Z with the pointer over the vertex. This option is not available if the flow doesn't have any vertices, the flow loops back to the same object and only has the minimum two vertices, or the flow connects two busses and only has one vertex.
To delete the entire flow, choose Delete Flow from the flow's pop-up menu, or press Meta/D with the pointer over the flow. Robochart automatically deletes flows to an object if that object is deleted. Selected flows can also be deleted by choosing Delete from the Edit menu or pressing Delete. You can remove all objects and flows on a level (or page) using Clear from the Edit menu.
The Selection Options window lets you change the type, color, and label justification of all selected flows at one time. First select one or more flows, then display the Options menu and choose Selection... Choose the desired settings in the window and click on the Apply button to make the changes. If you have objects selected and don't want to change them, click on the OBJECTS header to remove its check mark before clicking Apply. You can double-click on a property setting to quickly apply a single change without using the Apply button. Click on the pushpin to keep the window up for experimenting with different settings for a flow, or to make changes to several flows.
The Reset button restores the window settings to match the selected flows.
If the selected flows don't all have the same attributes (e.g. different line types), the corresponding option dialog settings will have no current choice highlighted. If the Apply button is activated, these properties of the selected flows are not changed. However, if you choose a specific value and click on Apply, all selected flows will be set to the chosen value. (You can remove the choice by clicking the current choice to deselect it, or by using the Reset button to reset all window settings.)
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