Network Visualization Tool

[Lance D. Allen]

This seems like the best place to put this..

I have created a program that can be used to visualize networks such as relationship maps. It was originally something I wanted to use for the Web of Hatred in my on-hold game Rats in the Walls, but I decided to make it fairly generic so that it could be used for any sort of similar network.

The purpose of this post is two-fold: First to share this program with anyone who may be interested in using it, and second to solicit suggestions for improvement from the same.

A brief rundown of how to use the program:

Instructions:

Modes:
~Prename Elements (on/off): When this mode is on, any time an element (node or connection) is created you will be prompted to name the node at that time.
~Save on Quit: When you quit (either by hitting ESC or clicking the X in the upper right corner) it will save the created network.

To toggle between showing descriptive text always or only on mouse-over, hit SHIFT.

To create a new node, left-click the star icon in the lower left corner of the screen.

To create a new connection, right-click any node, and move the resulting connector to any other node. To cancel creating a connection, right-click any blank area.

To edit the description of an element, move your cursor over the control box, and hit ENTER. A prompt will appear to edit the description.

To delete any element, move your cursor over the control box, and hit DELETE. That element will disappear. If that element is a node with any connections, all connections to it will also disappear.

To move any node, left-click and drag the node to where you want it. To move a pair of nodes connected by a connector, left click and drag the connector's control box.

Features to be implemented in the future:

Printing functionality: For now, simply taking a screenshot (via the Print Screen button), pasting it into MS Paint or another graphics program should work fine.

Saving/Loading of more than one network under different names.

Hitting F1 in the program will bring up these instructions again. Hitting ESC will close the program.

To download, click here: http://wolvesdenproductions.com/NetVis.exe