W3Pal Quick Tutorial

Displaying a Graph

W3Pal allows you to visualize a graph. There are several features which help create an easily readable as well as an aesthetically pleasing graph.

Loading a Graph

Although it is possible to operate on a graph while it is not visible, for the purposes of this tutorial it will be helpful if the graph is first displayed.

1. In the W3Pal application window go to File|Load Graph. Select a graph file in the dialog box which appears.
2. Click the Display Graph button and click Yes in the dialog box which appears (if you're sure you indeed want to display the graph).

A simple graph should now be visible within the W3Pal application window. From here you'll want to change some visualizations parameters to create a more appealing graph as described below.

Changing Sizes

It may be desireable to alter the size of your graph. The slider on the top right of the application window allows you to zoom in and out of the graph on a scale of -9 to 20.

It is also helpful to expand your graph to provide more clarity between nodes. Selecting View|Expand allows you to enter a value from -9 to 20 to expand or contract the space between nodes.

Moving the graph and nodes

The entire graph may be moved by middle-clicking on an empty part of the application window and dragging to a new location. Middle-clicking on a node and dragging allows you to move the given node.

If you lose track of the graph at any time you may re-center the graph by selecting View|Move Graph To Zero.

Changing Colors

Default colors are assigned to help differentiate between the various aspects and elements in a graph. You may wish to change these for visual appeal or to help in the understanding of the graph.

To change the edge colors select View|Set Edge Color. In the dialog which appears you are given four types of edges for which you can change the colors.

• Tree Edges are those which are edges in a tree. See the selecting tutorial to see how to select a tree
• Back Edges are those which point back to a given node.
• Forward Edges are those which point out of a given node.
• External Edges are all other edges in the graph which are not otherwise defined. This is the default mode for all edges.

Selecting View|Reset Color Edges (or pressing CTRL-E) resets edges to their default color.

Changing Labels

Various labels may be assigned to nodes and edges. By default, edges have no labels, and nodes are labeled with their numeric ID.

By selecting Tools|Options you are presented with a dialog box with several settings.

• Under the Display Node Label header you may choose a node labeling option
• Under the Display Edge Label header you may choose an edge labeling option