Sorting and splitting
Sort keys
The sort menu offers, under Every node:
| Key | What it reads | Direction words |
|---|---|---|
| Title | the node’s title, in natural order (2.9 before 2.10) | A to Z / Z to A |
| Connections | how many relationships the node has in the graph | fewest first / most first |
| Answer order (answers only) | the answer’s own order: the query’s ORDER BY, or a text search’s match quality, or how connected | best first / best last |
| Relevance (vector answers) | the same key, named for a vector search | best first / best last |
| Steps from “X” | how many connections away each node is from X, along what’s on the canvas (shown when a node is selected or the canvas is arranged around one) | nearest first / farthest first |
and under Properties, every property the canvas’s types have, except Links, each with its kind’s icon, and ”· Concept, Source” when not every type has it (the menu’s tooltip says “Only Concept, Source have Year”). A property every type uses as its title isn’t listed twice; it’s Title.
| Kind | Direction words |
|---|---|
| Number | lowest first / highest first |
| Text, Link | A to Z / Z to A |
| Enum | in the shape’s order / last option first |
| Boolean | no first / yes first |
Nodes with no value for the key go in a gutter after the axis (“No value”), or a “No value” ring, column or island.
Spacing
For a numeric key (Number properties, Connections, Steps) in Rows, Rings and Stacks: By value means distance stands for difference, twice as far along is twice as much; Evenly means one step each, in order, however far apart the values are. By value is the default for Number properties; Evenly for everything else. In Rings and Stacks by value, many values share a ring or column in round-numbered stretches (“1950–1959”); evenly, about as many nodes in each. A spiral is always one step per node.
Split keys
Type, and every Enum and Boolean property. Lanes (or wedges, spirals, bands) come in the shape’s order: types as listed in the shape, enum options as the shape orders them, Yes then No; a value that isn’t an option, or a missing value, is “No value”, last. Each lane is named with its count; a type’s lane carries its colour.
What a form starts with
Picking a form from the free layout sets up something sensible:
- Rows and Stacks: split by Type when the canvas has several types; otherwise sorted by Title.
- Rings and Spiral: sorted by Answer order (best first) on an answer; otherwise by Connections, most first, so the hub is in the middle.
Switching forms afterwards keeps the sort and split, so the same order shows anew. Changing the sort key resets the spacing to its default.
Direction
The button beside the sort key flips it, and so does clicking the ruler’s name pill on the canvas.