5 Graph Description Language (GDL) - Absint

Figure 9: View Dialog Box
• Scroll -> Panner
The graph is scaled down in a second little window (the panner window), so that the whole
graph is visible. A dashed rectangle marks the part of the graph that is visible in the main
window. (see Panner Window on p. 13).
4.3.2 Fish-Eye View
A common problem of scaling operations is that zooming on a focus often results in losing sight
of important contextual information. That’s why aiSee integrates sophisticated graph distortion
techniques, which imitate the well-known fish-eye lens effect: A focus area is magnified and other
parts of the graph are displayed with less detail. Thus, enabling the user to concentrate on areas of
particular interest while still considering their context.
The graph appears in the graph window, the window depicting a distorted coordinate system, consequently
distorting the image of the graph. The main point of interest is the focus, the focus being
magnified and shown in detail. The parts of the graph that are further away from the focus appear
slightly squashed, meaning the further nodes are positioned away from the focus, the smaller they
appear in the graph window.
Consequently, the relation between the original graph and the visible image of the graph is not
linear, but rather depends on the distance from the focus. This mechanism is similar to the fish-eye
lenses used in photography.
There are four different modes for fish-eye views:
• Self-adaptable fish-eye view (default)
• Fish-eye view with a fixed radius
• Fish-eye with a double focus
• Filtering fish-eye views
The last three items are controlled by parameters (see p. 34).
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