Re: [graphviz-interest] forcing distinct/more ranks?

Emden R. Gansner wrote:> On 2/8/13 7:26 AM, paul womack wrote:
 >> Question - how can I force it (or persuade it...)
 >> to put nodes on separate ranks, even if it doesn't need to?
 > One way to do simple adjustments is to use the minlen attribute. If node A is 1950 and node B is 1958,
 > you can use A->B [minlen=8].
 >
 > A more global approach is to actually use a timeline, which you can always make small and invisible.

I thought of this, but didn't want to force "white space" in years where there
are no data-based nodes.

It may be my best option though.

 > Then use rank=same for all nodes that should be at the same year. Take a look at the sample graph
 > graphs/directed/shells.gv for a template.

 > If there is an edge A->B, B should always appear below A by default. If not,
 > then either you are setting some attribute that turns this off or it's a bug.
 > If you want, post a small example.

Ah - perhaps "rank = same" overrides. In the Shells example
there's:

	edge [style=invis];
	1984 -> v9sh -> tcsh ;
	1988 -> rc -> KornShell;
	Formshell -> csh;
	KornShell -> Perl;

and yet we also have:

	{ rank=same;  1984 v9sh tcsh; }

And (indeed) these three come out at the same rank,
despite the edges.

(indeed, the presence of those invisible edges is most odd)

  Bugbear
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