It is possible to establish a relationship between objects in the evolving semantic network through the "link" function. However you would loose the surveillance over the entire structure of the network. To solve this problem, ATLAS/ti provides a graphical network-editor (NWE) that helps you to graphically shape the entire semantic network. You open the NWE by simply clicking the network icon in the button bar of the particular special list-window. This will open a new window in which the currently active object (for example the code "job-sharing") is presented as a graphical object. In case that the object was already linked to other objects they are displayed as well in the NWE. Because numerous quotations are in many cases linked to particular codes, the quotation-objects are not being displayed (but they may optionally be included ) when opening a focusing network.
A line that behaves like a rubber band characterizes the relationship between the various objects represented within the NWE: as soon as you move an object on the surface, the line expands respectively. This will allow you to align the objects according to your preference and visual logic without endangering your comprehension of the relationship that objects have to each other.
You may usually want to use the NWE to establish or to outline relationships of the presented objects to additional objects. The first step to accomplish this is to import additional objects by way of a simple drag&drop operation: the object, say the code "Cooperation" is selected in the respective list and dragged and then dropped (by releasing the mouse button) into the network-editor while initially keeping the left mouse button pressed. You can alternatively select the "import neighbors" option from the menu or context-menu. As a result all linked objects are being imported provided that they have not already existed in the NWE. Codes containing a large number of objects may also cause the inconvenience of quickly having hundreds of quotation-objects displayed inside the window. Therefore the application provides two safety-features: firstly the Node-menu (but not the context-menu of the objects) contains an "undo import neighbors" function that allows you to undo the last import-process. Secondly you can take immediate precautions against importing the wrong objects. To do so, you hold down the
| Each object in the NWE has its own context-menu corresponding to its object-type and may be opened by right-clicking the object. You may then carry out actions such as importing of additional neighbor-objects, removing the object from the network-sight, deleting the object from the HU, opening an additional focused network-sight around the desired object. With code-objects you can also have a list with linked quotations displayed from which you may select a quotation that is immediately being displayed in the context of the PD-window. |
You can also establish the relationship between one object and another by way of drag&drop. For this purpose the first object is activated with a right mouse click followed by holding down the
| The major point of interest with asymmetric and transitive relationships is to know which one of the two objects to be linked is the origination and what object is the target of the unidirectional relationship. All these processes are completely intuitive within the NWE: To create a relationship "a is element of b" you initially select a and then b meaning to initially select the element and then the whole. However the process of establishing relationships via the context-menu of the code-list is inverse which one the one hand may require accustoming but on the other side was intended. This is because it does make sense to initially activate the whole and then to select the elements to be assigned from the code-list (for example in a "is a" or an "is part of" relationship) when working with the context-menu. This process is inverted within the NWE: You may for example mark a large number of objects and link them to another object in one stroke (don't work with multiple objects at the same time). Thus you always choose the elements first and then the whole. |
ATTENTION: All operations that are carried out within the NWE have in fact an impact on the HU. Whenever new codes are created or objects are deleted it is therefore not an entirely graphical operation but a differently visualized logical operation within the HU. Only the "Remove from view" function solely has a meaning at the graphical level. If you intend to close the NWE you are prompted whether to save the network-view. Please note that this action does not intend to save changes resulting of the graphical editing of the network of the relationship-structure that objects have to each other. Saving the HU as a whole exclusively facilitates this. You are rather given the opportunity to save the particularly displayed section of the semantic network existing within the HU including the laboriously created layouts. Therefore if you intend to work with the particular network-view without starting to import various objects from scratch and without restoring the effective visual alignment you should answer the prompt to save with "yes". However you can do without saving if your sole purpose is to edit the logical references of objects to each other with a graphical user-interface.
The NWE offers a multitude of features that cannot be explained in further detail. However a floating toolbar providing the most essential edit-functions and that may be aligned over- and next to the NEW, is to be emphasized.
Although a number of common code-to-code relationships are pre-defined within ATLAS/ti you have the possibility, as previously mentioned, to define your own additional relationships during your analytical work. This is facilitated in two ways: