Phases
Generating diagrams is an iterative process that chains three different phases: the elementary build phase, the diagram rules phase, and the diagram automatic layouts phase.
Phase 1—Elementary build
During the elementary build phase of the process, the system creates a diagram feature for each network feature or network object it identifies as an input.
Phase 2—Diagram rules
The diagram rules phase is optional. It occurs when diagram rules are configured on the diagram template in order to discard certain network elements (for example, remove rules), add extra features or objects (for example, add a connectivity associations rule or trace rule), simplify diagram content by aggregating network elements (for example, reduce rules or collapse rules), expand containers, and so on. The configured rules are chained, each in turn, in the entry sequence order they were configured in the template. Each rule works on the current diagram content that is built when it enters into action. This means that rule 1 runs on the diagram features built at the end of the elementary build phase, and rule N runs on the diagram features resulting from the execution of rule (N-1).
Phase 3—Diagram automatic layouts
The diagram automatic layouts phase is also optional. It occurs when diagram layouts are configured on the diagram template to be automatically executed during diagram generation. In this case, the configured layouts are chained, each in turn, in the entry sequence order they were configured in the template; that is, layout 1 running on the initial geometry of the features in the diagram, and layout N working from the diagram features geometry resulting from the execution of algorithm (N-1).
Sample diagram
The three building phases are as follows:
- The diagram building process first creates a diagram feature for each network feature or network object in the input selection set.
- It executes rules that are configured on the diagram template to reduce most of the noncritical intervening elements and keep only the critical infrastructure of the network in the diagram.
- Since this sample diagram template was also configured to execute an automatic Smart Tree layout during the generation, it executes this algorithm.
At the end of the building process, the resulting diagram shows only the remaining critical network elements: those being hierarchically arranged and the distance between them being normalized.
Specifics
By default, each time the network diagram building process creates a feature in the diagram, it maintains graph completeness and highlights relations between contents and containers.
Completeness of diagram edges
The network diagram building process always ensures completeness of diagram edges during the elementary build and diagram rules phases.
This means that any line feature or edge object—present among the initial input selection set or added by a rule—always includes its origin and extremity junctions in the generated diagram, whether those end junctions are part of the input selection or explicitly added by any rule.
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Content-container relations
The building process systematically adds containers related to any content features or objects it creates in a network diagram during both the elementary build and diagram rules phases. This means the following are true:
- Any content feature or object related to a point container in the network is automatically added to the diagram with its container. This container is represented as a polygon feature, which is drawn around all of the container contents present in the diagram.
Network features are used as input to generate diagram 2. 
Diagram 2 is built from the input network features. - Any content feature or object related to a linear container in the network is automatically added to the diagram with its linear container.
Network features are used as input to generate diagram 3. 
Diagram 3 is built from the input network features.
Caution:
The reverse is false: when a container exists in the diagram, it does not include its contents by default.