GLIDE: A Semi-Automatic Graph Drawing Editor
Collaboration between People and Computers
The dominant metaphor in the design of human-computer interaction is
the view of computer as factotum. Although interfaces based on this
view have proved useful in a variety of settings, qualitative progress
in the area of human-computer interaction, awaits the ability to
interact with computers as collaborators. As a first step toward such
collaborative interfaces, we have built a system, called GLIDE for
interactive graph layout. (By ``graph'' we mean the node-edge network
diagrams widely used to visualize binary relations, not arbitrary
informational graphics.) GLIDE organizes the interaction between the
computer and its human user in a more collaborative manner than
previous systems.
GLIDE Overview
In spite of great advances in the automatic drawing of medium and
large graphs (also known as network diagrams), the tools available for
drawing small graphs exquisitely (that is, with the aesthetics
commonly found in professional publications and presentations) are
still very primitive. Commercial tools, e.g., Claris Draw, provide
minimal support for aesthetic graph layout. At the other extreme,
research prototypes based on constraint methods are overly general for
graph drawing. GLIDE improves on general constraint-based approaches
to drawing and layout by supporting only a small set of ``macro''
constraints that are specifically suited to graph drawing. These
constraints are enforced by a generalized spring algorithm. The
result is a usable and useful tool for drawing small graphs easily and
nicely.
The GLIDE project is joint work with
Joe Marks of Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (MERL)
and
Stuart Shieber of Harvard University.
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Motivation:
Network diagrams are a useful form of informational graphic. They
are difficult to generate using today's software tools. Much research
has focused on automatic layout, but little research has attempted to
integrate such methods into an interactive system.
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Our Goal:
We will create a semi-automatic system in which the user and the
computer collaborate to design and articulate a graphic that is
suitable for a user's needs. The division of labor should exploit the
strengths of both humans and computers.
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Methodology:
Our system is based on the concept of Visual Organizational Features
(VOFs), which characterizes the perceptual organization of a diagram.
Our approach greatly reduces the amount (and tedium) of required user
input.
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User Interaction:
A user may:
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The System:
The system postions objects by:
Example:
Below we show snapshots at various points in the design process in
order to illustrate some of the features of our system.
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References:
coming soon
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Kathy Ryall /
ryall@cs.virginia.edu.edu