The Expand Container rule is used to expand diagrams by adding content features or objects that adhere to the following:
- They are contained in a container in the diagram input.
- They share the same container as content in the diagram input.
The Expand Container rule expands the containers by source class or object table, or by network categories. When the rule is configured to process on a container network source class or object table, you can filter out these containers by attributes.
In the diagrams in which all containers have been expanded, note the following:
- Any Point container in the network—for example, structure junctions or distribution or transmission assemblies—displays as a diagram polygon container whose geometry is computed so the container always draws as a rectangle around its contents.
- Any Linear container—for example, structure edges—displays among its related content features or objects and may be connected to diagram polygon containers when those containers are expanded.
Then, when applying a layout algorithm to a diagram, you may configure the layout to run in one of two ways:
- On the top graph of the diagram, which preserves the relative position of the following:
- All content features or objects related to a structure junction or device assembly inside its structure or device assembly diagram polygon container
- All content features or objects related to a linear container around its diagram linear container while trying to draw them alongside this linear container
- On both the content and noncontent features in the diagram without any difference.
Expand Container rule process
The following examples show how the Expand Container rule processes container and content features and objects that are present in diagrams by default.
Diagram A—Expand Container rule processing Point and Linear container features and objects
The first image below shows Diagram A before the Expand Container rule runs. This diagram displays a structure edge connecting two structure junctions. Those structure junctions and edges are containers that are not expanded in the diagram. This is the default representation of containers in diagrams when none of their related content features or objects are represented in the diagram.
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The second image below shows Diagram A after the Expand Container rule runs. When the rule runs, it retrieves all the contents related to each container structure junction and container edge and adds them to the diagram. Then, it replaces each container structure junction with a diagram polygon container and computes the polygon container geometry so it draws around all the diagram content features and objects.
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Diagram B—Expand Container rule processing content features or objects
Suppose a user selected some content features or objects as input for the diagram generation: one busbar connected to two connection points. The first image below shows the initial diagram graph obtained during the building phase.
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The second image below shows the diagram content at the end of this building phase just before the Expand Container rule activates. Since the busbar was identified as a content feature, the Expand Container rule automatically added its linear container to the diagram. In the same way, since each connection point represented in the diagram was a content feature or object, the rule automatically added their related polygon container in the diagram.
The third image below shows the diagram obtained after the Expand Container rule process completes. The rule retrieved all the contents related to each linear and polygon container represented in the diagram and added those content features and objects to the diagram. Then it recomputed each diagram polygon container geometry so each one draws around all its content features and objects.
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Expand Container rule configuration
The tools you can use to add an Expand Container rule on a template—Add Expand Container Rule, Add Expand Container By Attribute Rule, and Add Expand Container By Category Rule—are described as follows:
- Use the Add Expand Container Rule tool to configure the automatic expansion of all diagram containers based on specific network source classes and object tables. It allows you to specify a list of network source classes and object tables, and configure either the expansion of each network feature or network object belonging to those network source classes or object tables, or the expansion of any feature or object that is not in the specified network classes and object tables.
- Use the Add Expand Container By Attribute Rule tool to configure the expansion of diagram containers based on one particular network source class or object table by filtering those containers on their attributes.
- Use the Add Expand Container By Category Rule tool to configure the expansion of containers tagged with or without particular network categories.
Note:
The Add Expand Container By Category Rule tool only applies to Utility Network Version 7 and later.