Views can be of two types, maps or lists, (see Node Types).
A Map is a container for other nodes and links. It can be used to:
- create a 'picture' of the relationships between ideas;
- group questions and ideas together in meaningful clusters;
- create associative links between nodes, (see Linking Nodes).
A List is a container for other nodes. It can be used to create a sortable list of nodes, which will usually be a collection of nodes that don’t need to be linked with each other (associative links).
When you open the map node's contents panel you will see a window similar to the following:
In the lower half of figure 1, you will see that there are two additional sections not found on
a standard node's contents panel.
The first is labelled 'Background Image' which is used to link to an image which is used as the background for that map. Currently this image is not scaled, and is placed starting in the upper-left hand corner of a map. It is up to the user to ensure that the image is the correct size.
The second is called 'Icon Image:' and is used for linking to an image which is used to replace the map icon for that node. You will see below this that the user can specify the sizing of the image as an icon. The default is to Diaplay the image as a thumbnail image which will scale the image to a ratio of 96 pixels. The second option is to display the image at it's acutal size. The last option is to specify the size you wish to display the image at. When you select this option the 'Specify' button becomes available. When you click this it will open the following dialog:
When you open the lists node's contents panel you will see a window similar to the following:
In the lower half of figure 3, you will see that there is only one additional
section not found on a standard node's contents panel. This is labelled 'Icon
Image:' and is used for linking to an image which is used to replace the list icon
for that node.
Again, for information on the elements in the upper-half of the window see Node Contents and Properties.
If at any time, you wish to view and access all the maps in your database, go to The View Menu and select the 'Find a Map/List' option. This will open a dialog window similar to figure 4 below:
This list will all map and list views in alphabetical order. You can use this list to open any view.
Managing nodes in multiple views is one of the most powerful features of Compendium.
An Inter-View, or transclusive link, is "a link between two items that are the same" - T. Nelson.
You create Inter-View relationships to show the same idea in multiple contexts.
Over the life of a project, the same idea that originated in an email from a client to a project leader might resurface as part of someone’s action item list, as an agenda item for a meeting, as part of an analysis session, or as part of a formal requirements document. In each case, the idea is associated with different ideas, but the same idea appears in all the different cases.
Transclusive hyperlinking gives you the means to track that idea in all its appearances.
In Compendium terms, you can see the Containing Views the maps and/or lists in which that idea appears.
To find out what views a given node appears in you need to access the Views panel for that node. There are two ways you can do this:
1. Using The Node Right-Click Menu, and selecting the 'Views' option;
2. This way only becomes available if you have 'switched on' the 'Transclusion Indicator' option on
The View Menu. When this option is switched on, any node which appears in more than one view will have a number appear in the top right-hand corner of the node. You can see an example of this in figure
5 below, where the 'AKT-1 - TIE' node has a '2' in the top right-hand corner.
For each node, this number will reflect a count of the number of views that the node appears in, here, 2. If you click on this number with your mouse, this will open that nodes View panel.
Which ever way you access it, you will see a Views panel, similar to the one in figure 6 below:
N.B. This panel is part of the node details dialog window. For more information on the other panels please see Node Contents and Properties and Tag Management.
The top part of this panel contains a list of the views that the node appears in. You can use this list to open one or more of the view by selecting them and then pressing the 'Open' button. The 'Select All' button will select all the views for you.
There is an additional facility which is accessed through the button 'Linking Info', (see figure 5). If you select one or more views from the list and then press this button, a second window will be opened. This window contains a table showing you all the nodes which link to or from the current node or interest, in those views you selected.
An example can be seen below, in figure 7 below, where the current node of interest is displayed in the window title as 'What Alternatives?'.
Here you can see that, in the view 'AKT - Bus Demo', this node is link to from four other nodes, and it links to one node.
In figure 3, there is a button called 'Views Deleted From' which has a count after it, here 2. If you press this button another window will appear. This will list all those views, (not yet purged, see Using the Trashbin), from which the current node of interest has been deleted. The count on the button tells you how many views it has been deleted from, (if the count is 0, there is no point in accessing the window). Figure 8 below, shows you an example of this window:
Here you can see the two views that the node 'AKT-1 - TIE' has been removed from. This screen allows you to restore that node to one or more of the views that it has been deleted from. First select those views you wish to restore the node to, from the list, and then press the 'Restore' button. The 'Select All' button will select all the views in the list for you. To close the window without taking any action, press the 'Close' button.