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Subsections


   
Fish-Eye View

  The graph appears in the graph window, the window depicting a distorted coordinate system, consequently distorting the image of the graph. The main point of interest is the focus, the focus being magnified and shown in detail. The parts of the graph that are further away from the focus appear slightly squashed, meaning the further nodes are positioned away from the focus, the smaller they appear in the graph window.

Consequently, the relation between the original graph and the visible image of the graph is not linear, but rather depends on the distance from the focus. This mechanism is similar to the fish-eye lenses used in photography.

There are four different modes for fish-eye views:

The last three items are controlled by parameters.

Cartesian Fish-Eye View

    Cartesian fish-eye view corresponds to a transformation of the Cartesian coordinate system.

In a Cartesian view, horizontal and vertical lines are still drawn as parallel horizontal and vertical lines. Many layouts are based on orthogonal lines. This view improves the readability of such layouts.

Browsing through a fish-eye view involves moving the focus. This can be done very easily via Pick Position and the other positioning operations enabling the origin to be set in a flat view.  


  
Figure 11: Cartesian Fish-Eye View
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Polar Fish-Eye View

    Polar fish-eye view corresponds to a transformation of the polar coordinate system, a transformation in which the plane of a normal coordinate system is projected onto a sphere. The polar fish-eye view corresponds to a three-dimensional view onto this sphere.

In a polar view, horizontal and vertical lines do not necessarily appear orthogonal.

Browsing through a fish-eye view involves moving the focus. This can be done very easily via Pick Position and the other positioning operations enabling the origin to be set in a flat view.  


  
Figure 12: Polar Fish-Eye View
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\epsfig{file=pics_win/polar_fish.eps, height=12cm}
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Fish-Eye View Modes/Parameters

   
Self-Adaptable Fish-Eye View

    This is the default mode when fish-eye view is activated. Here the whole graph is visible. The distortion scale of the fish-eye view is automatically adapted to the current fish-eye view so that the graph just fits in the window.

The position of the focus in the window corresponds to the position of the focus in the graph. This way the user can extrapolate from the position of the focus in the window to the position of the focus in the graph. If the focus is positioned in the middle of the graph window this means that the user is viewing the middle part of the graph. If the focus is closer to e.g. near the upper frame of the graph window this means that the user is viewing the upper part of the graph. This helps to maintain orientation when browsing through the graph.

Fish-Eye View with a Fixed Radius

  In this mode, the whole graph is not visible but rather only a fixed radius around the focus.

In this case, the focus is always centered in the graph window.

This view is selected when the fixed radius   fish-eye parameter is enabled in the View dialog box. After enabling this mode the radius of the visible region around the focus can be changed using a scrollbar (Radius item).  

Fish-Eye View with a Double-Focus Point

  There are two focusī in this mode which are created by overlapping two fish-eye views. The two focusī can be positioned independently of one another. Pick Position always changes the position of the focus that is closest to the newly selected position.  

The entire graph is visible in thise mode. The distortion scale of the two fish eyes is automatically adapted to the current fish eyes so that the graph just fits in the window.

Note: A double focus is an experimental feature.

Fish-Eye View with a Focal Area

  A focal area is possible in lieu of a focal point, the graph not being distorted inside the focal area. The size of the focal area can be changed via the Size  fish-eye parameter. In polar view the shape of the focal area is a circle and in Cartesian view it is a square.

Filtering Fish-Eye View

      A filtering fish eye shows a lot of details around the focus, with details located far away from the focus being filtered, i.e. only the important objects (nodes and edges) are actually drawn there and the unimportant ones omitted.

The filtering fish-eye view does not work unless the graph specification indicates the importance of each node. This factor is indicated by an integer for each node. The higher the number the more important the node.

This factor enables aiSee to decide whether a node is to be filtered out or drawn. There is a global parameter called Level   (level of detail) that controls how many details are visible in the graph window. The higher this value the more details are filtered out. A value of zero corresponds to an unfiltered view of the graph. Level is one of the fish-eye parameters and is found in the View dialog box.


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