yEd Graph Editor

New yEd version 3.2.0.1

yEd is a very powerful graph editor that can be used to quickly and effectively generate drawings and to apply automatic layouts to a range of different diagrams and networks.

yEd is available as a free download with unrestricted functionality!

yEd makes full use of the yFiles library. This is a Java class library enabling the viewing, editing, optimizing, drawing, and animating of a wide range of diagrams, networks, and other graph-like structures.

yEd has been built using 100% lightweight Swing components. This allows it to run on any platform where a suitable Runtime Environment is available.

Features of Version 3.2

• 
  

  HTML Flash Viewer
  sample
  [NEW] New export option "HTML Flash Viewer" that exports a graph to standard GraphML format together with a wrapping HTML page and a SWF file.
  The SWF file can be conveniently opened in a web browser by means of the HTML page. It contains an Adobe® Flash® Player-based viewer for displaying the GraphML file (see sample).
  The viewer supports navigation in the diagram as well as zooming and printing. It has been built using the yFiles FLEX class library.
• [NEW] New "Current Elements" section in the Palette tool window that shows representatives of the current kinds of nodes and edges from the displayed graph. The representatives are dynamically updated when the graph changes.
• [NEW] New "Editor" tab in the Preferences dialog that provides a variety of new configuration options for graph editing.
• [NEW] Dragging an edge from the Palette tool window onto a node in the editor starts the creation of an edge of the corresponding type at the drop node.
• [NEW] Dragging a node from the Palette tool window onto a group node adds the node to the group.

Please refer to the yEd release notes to learn more about the feature enhancements of the latest version.

Outstanding Features

yEd can be used to automatically lay out complex graph structures. Several highly sophisticated layout algorithms have been implemented and shipped with yEd. They can be used either to automatically arrange the items or to support the user when undertaking a manual layout.

• Interactive Hierarchical Layout enables you to interactively layout hierarchical or pseudo-hierarchical scenarios.
• Hierarchical Layout allows you to perfectly visualize hierarchical or pseudo-hierarchical scenarios.
• Orthogonal Layout will produce clear representations of complex networks.
• UML-style Orthogonal Layout offers special support for arranging UML class diagrams, for example.
• Organic Layout and Smart Organic Layout will produce clear representations of complex diagrams like ER diagrams, UML diagrams, and many more.
  The layout can be restricted so that it fits into a given area (e.g., a rectangle, circle, or ellipse) or a specified aspect ratio. Enhanced support for nested graphs.
• Organic Edge Router will organically re-route edges in existing drawings.
• Orthogonal Edge Router will orthogonally re-route edges in existing drawings.
• Circular Layout can perfectly portray interconnected ring and star topologies.
  Nodes can be arranged on the entire disk now. Support for nested graphs.
• Tree Layout can be used to clearly visualize tree-like structures in many different ways.
  Tree layout can consider node and edge labels for layout calculation and provides additional alignment options.

yEd enables users to create groups of nodes, which can be visualized and nested to virtually any degree. Furthermore, the new layout algorithms fully support this type of visualization. Using this unique feature, complex structures can be visualized and laid out even more clearly than before.

Another of yEd's excellent features is its ability to automatically assign label positions. This will enable the user to easily build improved diagrams, with each label clearly readable.

Further, yEd has an intuitive user interface that complies with modern design guidelines for applications. Among its features are:

• a customizable workplace that lets you arrange your tool windows to meet your precise needs
• tabular property editors that enable you to easily configure the graphical properties
• internationalization: yEd has been localized in English and German
• a sophisticated print preview that enables you to preview the printing results (this is especially practical for poster-printing)
• session management: yEd remembers and manages your settings
• undo functionality
• clipboard facility
• keyboard shortcuts for most of the functions
• integrated help system

yEd can be used to build, modify, and visualize graph structures in an effective and efficient manner. They can be loaded and saved using a variety of different file formats including:

• XML-based GraphML file format; the default file format
• YGF file format; a binary file format
• GML graph file format; a popular text-based graph file format
• XML-based GML graph file format; a variant of the GML language that uses XML syntax
• Import of arbitrary XML files. An XSLT stylesheet must be given that transforms the XML input into a valid GraphML. Predefined stylesheets for Ant build scripts, the OWL Web Ontology Language, and others are included.

For exporting graph structures, yEd offers file formats for image and vector graphics export including:

• PDF (Portable Document Format) by Adobe
• Macromedia Flash file format SWF
• SVG vector graphics file format. This file format supports embedding URLs and descriptive tooltips for both nodes and edges.
• Enhanced Windows Meta File (EMF) file format, a vector graphics format that can be used in almost any Windows application.
• JPG and GIF file formats. Export large images as multiple images and HTML tables also supported.
• HTML image maps with support for embedding URLs and descriptive tooltips for both nodes and edges (see a sample)
• BMP (on Windows machines) and PNG file formats
• EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)

All of the image export formats can be fully customized to meet your unique needs.

The editor supports the complete set of graphical attributes necessary for effective graph visualization. The built-in support includes:

• pre-configured node types for UML object diagrams and class diagrams
• multiple labels for nodes and edges
• multi-line and icon labels
• powerful searching and selection utilities
• zooming (resembling a magnifying glass, for example) and overview (zooming can be controlled using the mouse-wheel)
• a set of beautiful icons to get you started with your first diagrams
• further non-graphical properties for nodes and edges: descriptive tooltips and URLs which can be used to open files from within yEd