Working with a Map

Working with a map picture is very similar to working in any common drawing software or graphics editor. To create a map, you need to place Vine objects All information in Vine is stored in the server database as named objects of different types. Examples: a company, a person, an event, a sales case. on the map by using the drag-and-drop technique, situate them appropriately, create connections Vine objects are linked to each other by connections. Vine shows an object together with links to all objects directly connected to it. between them, and add some graphic enhancements and text.

Using Drawing Toolbar

Use the drawing toolbar to select drawing tools and change tool settings.

You can hide/show the drawing toolbar by clicking the Hide icon at its bottom .

Using Shortcut Menu

When an object or a group of objects are selected, you can right-click any object from the selected and get the list In lists objects are represented by small icons and object names. Icons help you to recognize object types. Press a keyboard character (a letter or a digit) to jump to the list item that starts from this character. The first matching item will be chosen, counting from the top of the list. of commands applicable for all the selected objects.

Placing a Vine Object on a Map

To place an object on a map, drag it to the map from any other place in Vine, for instance, from the Find By Name pane or from the History bar. When an object is placed on a map, Vine checks if the object has connections to the other objects on the map and automatically shows them.

Note that if you drop an object on another object on a map then only a database connection between the objects is created. The object itself is not added to the map. For details, see the Creating Connections section.

Removing a Vine Object from a Map

To remove a Vine object from a map: Right-click the object and select Cut from the shortcut menu or select the object and press the Delete key.

Removing a Vine Object from the Database

To remove a Vine object from a map and from the database:

Right-click the object and select Delete from the shortcut menu.

Creating a Graphic Object

Vine supports a set of the following ready-made shapes you can use in your maps: a line, a rectangle, a rounded rectangle, and an oval. The shapes can be resized and filled in with different colors, and their boundaries can be colored.

To insert a graphic object, click the tool with the desired shape, then click on the place where you want the object to be located, and drag the shape to the size you want. For an oval shape, you determine the size and shape of the rectangle that circumscribes the oval.

Use the SHIFT key to create regular shapes:

• A square: hold down SHIFT while you drag the rectangular shape.

• A circle: hold down SHIFT while you drag the oval shape.

• Use the SHIFT key to create lines at 45-degree angles, i.e. Vine will permit you to draw a line at 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, 315 degree angles from the line’s starting point.

Resizing and Moving Objects

• You can resize a selected graphic object by dragging its sizing handles A square handle that appears at each corner and along the sides of the rectangle that surrounds a selected Map object. You drag a sizing handle to resize an object.. You can not resize a Vine object. When you point to a sizing handle the cursor changes to .

• You can move a selected object by dragging it anywhere within the limits of the map. When you can drag an object the cursor changes its shape to .

Creating Connections

If you want to connect two Vine objects, just drag the icon of one of them onto another. This is a valid procedure for almost all situations. For example, it works when one object is located on a map, or both objects are located on separate maps. The only important exception to this rule is when you want to connect two objects located on a single map. In this case dragging of an object will simply move the object on the map.

To create a visible connection between two objects on one map use the following buttons on the map toolbar:

Click this button to create a map connection that will be presented only on the map. A black line will depict the connection.

Click this button to create a database connection on the map and in the database. If such a connection already exists in the database you will be informed about this, otherwise you will be prompted to choose the desired type of connection. A green line will depict the connection.

You cannot change the style of the line depicting a connection. If needed, you can bend the line into an angular form. Just select the connection line and drag the middle sizing handle.

Finding Link Paths between Objects

You can find whether a pair of Vine objects are linked through intermediate objects and display the link path by using the Find Path command:

1. Select the pair of Vine objects you want to check for being linked.

2. Right-click any of the two selected objects.

3. Select Find Path from the shortcut menu. Vine will check if the two objects have a link path and if it finds the path then it displays the intermediate objects and connections between them. Vine can check link paths containing for up to three objects between the selected pair.

Visualizing Object Connections

You can create a diagram of all objects connected to another object.

Removing Connections from Map

To remove a connection from the map: right-click the connection and select Cut or Delete from Map from the shortcut menu or select the object and press the Delete key.

Removing Connections from Database

To remove a connection from the database and the map: right-click the connection and select Delete from the shortcut menu. After your confirmation, the connection will be removed both from the database and from any map that contains it.

Inserting and Customizing Text

You can add text to a map:

1. Click the pen color button  and select the needed pen color for your text.

2. Click the Insert text button

3. Click where you want text to appear. The text object will be created in that place.

4. Start typing. Text is inserted into the text object, which will be automatically resized if your text doesn't fit in.

5. After you have typed the text in, click anywhere in the map to close the text object. After that you can select the object and move or resize it if needed.

You can also add text to the map by dragging text from another application, for instance Microsoft Word, to the map. Vine creates the text object and places imported text there.

To import or export text you can also use the copy and paste capabilities. Note that to export text you need to open the text object, then select and copy the text itself, not the text object. Then you can insert it into any other application that supports text pasting.

To change the font settings of your text, you have to right-click the text object and select Font… from the shortcut menu. The standard Windows Font dialog will appear where you can select the settings of the font for this text object.

You can change the fill color of a text object as well as of any other map object. See the Customizing Object Colors section.

Note that text objects have no outline. If you want to include your text into a box then you have to create a rectangle around the text.

Selecting Objects

You can select any object on a Map by first clicking the Select button and then clicking any object. When you select an object, sizing handles appear at the corners and along the edges of the selection rectangle.

You can select several objects by holding down the CTRL (or SHIFT) key as you click each object. You can work with several selected objects as though they were a single object.

You can select several objects by defining a selection rectangle containing all objects to be selected:

1. Click the Select button.

2. Point the mouse cursor at any corner of the rectangle that you want to select.

3. Press and hold the left mouse button.

4. Drag the cursor to the opposite corner of the area you want to select.

5. Release the mouse button. The selected objects will be marked with sizing handles. Note that only those objects are selected that are located completely inside the selection rectangle.

Cutting and Pasting

You can use cut, copy, and paste commands.

Cut

The Cut command is available from the shortcut menu if you right-click an object. The Cut command sends the selection to the Clipboard and removes it from the map.

Copy

The Copy command copies selected data from the map.

To use the Copy command, right-click an object and choose Copy from the shortcut menu.

Paste

The Paste command places a copy of the Windows clipboard contents into the map.

To use the Paste command, right-click where you want to paste the clipboard contents and choose Paste from the shortcut menu.

Customizing Object Colors

• To change the color of an object's outline or an individual line, select the object and click the Pen color icon on the drawing toolbar. Then click the color you want.

• To change the fill color of a graphic object, select the graphic object and click the Brush icon on the drawing toolbar. Click the color you want.