Using the toolbar

The following operations are available in the graph browser toolbar menu:

File settings

File settings in the toolbar

  • Open: Open a saved graph.

  • Save

    • As new graph: Save the current graph as a new graph.

    • To image: Save the current graph to an image in PNG format.

    • To IBM i2: Save the current graph with all of the lenses applied and download it as a file that is compatible with IBM i2 Analyst’s Notebook. You must configure the i2 export feature in order to use it. For more information, see Exporting a graph to IBM i2 Analyst’s Notebook.

  • Undo: Undo last action. By default, the Graph Browser saves the last five states. To configure the number of steps, see Advanced Graph Browser settings.

  • Redo: Revert an undo.

    If you click Undo and then perform any operation, the redo state will be lost.

Action settings

Action settings in the toolbar

  • Add nodes

    • From a dashboard: Select a dashboard from the list to add it to the graph.

    • Node position settings: You can change the default policy to move all nodes when adding relations, and choose to either move only specific nodes or to fix the position of all nodes by default.

    • Expand by relation: Add nodes by the relations that are selected in the Relations pop-out.

  • Create

    • Document: Create a new node based on a data model entity table or a new EID node.

    • Text Box (beta): Add a text box to the graph.

    • Local node: Add a graph-only node that doesn’t represent a document in Elasticsearch. Local nodes can either be entity table type or have no type. To create a local node, select the type and click anywhere on the graph.

    • Local edge: Add a graph-only edge that doesn’t represent a data model relation. To create a local edge, click any two nodes on the graph.

  • Filter: Adds a filter based on the nodes that you select in the graph. This allows you to:

    • Do your investigation on the graph, select the nodes that you are interested in, activate a filter, pin it, and go back to the related dashboard to get more detailed information about those entities.

    • If you have other visualizations in the same dashboard, it will let you have more information on the selected nodes. For example, if the current dashboard is associated with a companies entity table, you can do your investigation in the graph, activate the filter, select some vertices and get the visualizations to show information on the selected vertices. For more information, see Filtering data.

Layout settings

Layout settings in the toolbar

  • Standard: Arranges nodes in a force-directed layout. For more information click here

  • Hierarchy: In this layout setting, nodes are displayed according to their connections. This setting requires at least one node to be selected. Selected nodes are placed at the top of the hierarchy. The hierarchy layout has 2 modes:

    • Standard Hierarchy: Nodes are displayed in a top-down layout according to their connections.

    • Compact Hierarchy: Similar to the standard hierarchy layout, nodes are displayed in a top-down layout according to their connections. However, as the name suggests, this option also splits the nodes into multiple rows to produce a more compact grid-like layout.

  • Radial: Arranges nodes in concentric circles centered on a focus node according to their shortest path length to the focus node.

  • Advanced: This menu button offers a range of layout options:

    • GForce: In this layout setting, the selected nodes are presented in a linear format, keeping link lengths consistent and preserving the relative position of the nodes.

    • Lens: Arranges nodes in several concentric circles.

Selection settings

Selection settings in the toolbar

  • All: Select all nodes and groups.

  • Invert: Inverts the current selection.

  • Group: Select multiple nodes and click Group to work with them as a collection.

  • Ungroup: If nodes have been grouped together, you can split them apart so they can be worked with individually.

Removal settings

Removal settings in the toolbar

  • Crop: Removes every element that is not selected.

  • Delete: Deletes the currently selected nodes. Delete all clears the graph completely.

View settings

View settings in the toolbar

  • Map: Select this button to switch the Map mode on or off. The Map mode moves the nodes geographically on an interactive map. You must set up a script to configure the geographic properties of the nodes and configure the Graph Browser to include the script type Add geo-locations for map visualization.

    • Heatmap: You can switch the heatmap on or off.

  • Time: Switch the Timebar mode on or off. This setting displays a time bar at the bottom of the screen that enables time-based filtering of nodes. You must set up a script to configure the time property of the nodes and configure the Graph Browser to include the script type Add time fields.

    • Node visibility:

      • Show all nodes without time.

      • Show nodes without time when connected to a node with time.

      • Show only nodes with time.

    • Time filter: Select or deselect the node types or dashboards that you want to be displayed in the time bar.

  • Options: The following additional options are available:

    • Highlight connected nodes: Makes the connections between nodes more visible.

    • Invert relations: Shows the inverse of the current relation.

  • Fit: Fit the whole graph or the selected nodes to the visualization.

Edit settings

Edit settings in the toolbar

  • Style: Edit the style of the selected nodes, edges, and groups.

    • Color: Change the color and border color of the selected nodes, edges, or groups.

    • Icon: Change the icon of the selected nodes and groups.

      • Select the icon, icon color, and opacity.

      • Select the icon from a URL.

      • Select the icon from a document field.

      • Select a group icon from the icons of its nodes.

        • For node icons that link to web images (from URL and document fields):

          • You might need to configure the Image Proxy feature to display them.

          • For optimal display, select an image size that matches your proxy setup and a suitable aspect ratio for example, 1:1.

        • For icons from a URL:

          • You might need to enable CORS on the serving server.

          • You can use /ui/images/<file name> to load images from the Investigate server’s /assets/images folder.

    • Size: Change the size of the selected nodes and groups.

    • Edge: Change the width, style, and arrows of the selected edges.

    • Font Style: Change the font color, size, emphasis, and label direction (edge) on nodes, edges, and groups.

  • Copy Style: Copy the styles between nodes, edges, or groups.

To copy the style from one item to another:

  1. Select the node, edge, or group that you want to copy from.

  2. On the toolbar, click Copy Style to start copy mode.

  3. Select the target nodes, edges, or groups.

Copy mode deactivates when the styles have finished copying.

You can make the target selection by clicking on a single item or by performing a square selection.

  • Label: Edit the labels of nodes, edges, and combos. Any updates to the label will ignore the label truncation limit in graph browser settings.

You can edit the label of a text box by double clicking on it.

  • Restore Style: Restore the styles and labels of the selected items to their default value.