Features which are accessed by means other than a menu item
MAKING NON-STRAIGHT LINK LINES
To make a non-straight link line, double-click on the line between two concepts. You will see the following window.
Figure 136. The BreakPointSetter Window.
The name of the selected link line is placed in the BreakPointSetter field. The end points of the link line become individually selectable and movable. If you move the link line, and then click "Save New Breakpoints" the positions of the ends of the line become two new places at which the line will bend or 'break' when redrawn. You can add a breakpoint by clicking "Add a Breakpoint". The cursor will then change, and you can click anywhere on the map to add a new breakpoint. This breakpoint will be added just after the breakpoint designated in the "s" or "e" fields. You can replace any existing breakpoints with a breakpoint which will form a right angle between the two concepts the line links by clicking "Right Angle". You can smooth a curved line by clicking "Smooth". The section of the line smoothed will between the breakpoints designated in the "s" (start) and "e" (end) fields. "s" counts forward from the origin concept, and "e" counts backward from the destination concept. The line will be smoothed to the degree specified in "Degree". For all of these options, you must click "Save New BreakPoints" after creating the new breakpoints, otherwise the line will revert to its previous shape when the link is redrawn. "Remove Breakpoints" will remove all breakpoints and restore a straight line. "Rotate LinkLine" will put the line into rotate mode. You can then grab the handle, rotate the line, and then click "Save New Breakpoints".
The "Insert a Concept" section of this window allows you to insert a concept between two already linked concepts. You can either type in a concept in the field (it will be created if it doesn't already exist), or you can select a concept in the map and click "Add". When you click "Insert", the concepts are created, and the links are removed, created, and redrawn, depending on the settings you have chosen.
BreakPoints do not have to be expressed in absolute coordinates. You can open the window below from within LinkMaker.
Figure 137. Alternate BreakPoint Editor.
To use this editor, click "Copy Original List to Working List". Then change and create new breakpoints or edit existing ones in the format "C###;C###". C can be A (Absolute), R (Relative to origin concept), or D (relative to Destination concept). When you are finished, click "Save New Breakpoints". Note: you can cut, copy and paste in this window, but for technical reasons, you need to use the special Edit menu. "Smooth" will compute the new breakpoints necessary to smooth the breakpoints in the working list. It uses a format of "C #" where C is the code specifying the type of breakpoint, and the number specifies the degree of smoothness.
To manually change the shape of a fancy border, double click on the fancy border, and then move the little black squares that will appear. You do not need to do anything to save the new shape.