Node Options

Nodes of features and functionality can be added to the design canvas using 'drag and drop', choosing the required node from the Toolbox on the right hand side of the screen:

To bring a node onto the canvas, simply left click and hold with your mouse on the required node and drag it onto the canvas and release.

To connect one node to another, left click and hold on the required 'Branch' option, drag to the node which you wish to connect to and drop - a connector line will appear between the 2 nodes. Branches are located at the bottom of each node box. For example, the branch from the Start node is Continue:

There is also another way in which to add and connect nodes on the canvas; in the node box, left click on the branch menu and the list of available permitted nodes will appear:

Selecting the required node will add it to the canvas and automatically add the connector. Once on the design canvas, the nodes options can be configured to achieve the required functionality. Each node has a menu icon in the top right hand corner. A left click on this icon with your mouse will bring up the following context menu:

By selecting 'Properties' it will display the property window for that particular node as shown below:

The available options and properties for each node are detailed in the Node Types section. Options that have been enabled are indicated with a green tick icon displayed after the option name. When selecting a node on the design canvas the node will show a shortcut toolbar just above the top of the node. The toolbar buttons allow quick access to the node property window, delete node function and also the ability to select the node border colour from a predefined list of colours.

- displays the node property window - changes the node border colour - removes the node from the design canvas - opens the online help page for the node.

Example showing nodes with different border colours:-

Descriptive Text

In the header of each node is an area where descriptive text can be added. This is really useful for larger service plans that are complex and have many nodes.

Description text can also be added to each node branch. The branch MUST be linked to another node before descriptive text can be added.

Select the [Set Description] option from the branch context menu:-

Some nodes such as the Time of Day node have dynamic branches where the characteristics of each branch are configured in the node's Property window. Click here to see an example of Descriptive text for the Time of Day node.