Connectors

Select two nodes and press [C], or Alt-drag from one node to another, to connect them.

Where: Space Studio › Bottom toolbar › Connect · Left panel › Connectors · Keys: [C], Alt-drag, Alt+click

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What it is

A connector is a line between two nodes that says how they relate: one uses another, reports to it, funds it. Each connector has a connector type, which gives it a name and a colour, and its own direction, pull and optional label.

How to use it

Connecting

• [C], or the Connect button on the bottom toolbar: with two nodes selected it joins them. With one selected it asks which node to connect to (Connect from … to…), so type part of a name and pick it. With none selected it turns on connect mode: click the first node, then the second. [Esc] leaves connect mode.
• Alt-drag from one node onto another to join them. Let go over empty space instead and you make a new node already connected to the first.
• Alt+click: with one node selected, Alt+click another to connect the two.
• From the left panel: with exactly two nodes selected, click a connector type under Connectors and they're joined with that type straight away.

The connection dialog

Most routes open New Connection, which sets everything at once:

• The type list: click the connector type you want. Each shows its colour and line.
• Influence: Normal, Weak or Weakest, how hard the connector pulls. See Arrows, Direction and Pull.
• Direction: the arrow, which the connector type suggests to begin with.
• Label: an optional word or phrase shown on the line.

Click Connect. [Esc] cancels.

Editing a connector

Click a connector on the canvas to select it, and it opens in the Right Panel:

• The label: click it at the top of the panel to edit it. [Enter] saves, [Shift+Enter] adds a line, and [Esc] puts it back as it was.
• Type, Influence and Direction sit underneath.

Or right-click a connector for Change connector type, Edit label, the four directions, and Delete relationship. Shift+click more connectors to change them together.

Retyping

Select connectors, then click a connector type in the left panel. Change connector type on the bottom toolbar does the same, and with nodes selected rather than connectors it changes every connector touching them.

Deleting

Select connectors and press [Delete], choose Delete relationship from the right-click menu, or click × beside a connection in the node's Relationships list. A deletion is one step, so [Ctrl+Z] brings it back.

Tips

• A [[link]] typed in a node's notes names a node, it doesn't connect to it. Connectors are yours to draw deliberately. See Notes Editor.
• Two connectors of the same type between the same two nodes aren't allowed, so a second one is refused.
• Connecting is off in a read-only project until you add it to your projects. See Open a Folder as a Project.
• In the Publisher, Alt-drag joins two pages with a plain connector, without the dialog, and [C] connects pages there too. See Publisher Studio.

How this helps you

• Use [C] with two nodes selected when you're joining things one pair at a time.
• Use Alt-drag into empty space to grow a branch outward, one new node at a time.
• Use the left panel's quick connect when you're drawing many connectors of the same type.

Related

• Connector Types: making and editing the types themselves.
• Arrows, Direction and Pull: what direction and influence change.
• Right Panel: a node's list of relationships.
• Pathfinder: the route between two nodes.