Add relationship type

As you load entity types into the link chart view, you can manually add links between the nodes. Alternatively, links can be added automatically when you define the link sources and targets in the Relationship Type window. The sections below outline these options.

Add links automatically

To automatically add links to the link chart, complete the following steps:

1. Add at least one entity type in the link chart.
2. Click Relationship Type on the Link Chart Diagram tab.

   The Add new relationship type between entities dialog box appears.

3. Choose an entity type from the Choose source entities drop-down menu.

   This list is generated from the list of entity types that have been added to the link chart.

4. Choose an entity type from the Choose target entities drop-down menu.

   This can be the same node set you chose in step 3 or a different node set .

5. Type a name for your relationship type in the Enter name for relationship type text box.
6. Expand the Key Fields section. For the Choose source key field option, choose a field from the feature layer that was used to create the Source entity and that has values that will be used to match the Target key field.

   This field can be any valid String, Date, Double, GUID, GlobalID, Integer, OID, Single, SmallInteger, or XML field.

7. For the Choose target key field option, Choose a field from the feature layer that was used to create the Target entity and has values that match the values from the Source key field..

   Note:

   When using Source key fields and Target key fields to generate links, the value of each Source key field is being used to look up a matching value in the Target key field. When a match is found, the link will use the Entity Field for that record as the linked element.

   This field can be any valid String, Date, Double, GUID, GlobalID, Integer, OID, Single, SmallInteger, or XML field.

8. Click OK to load the links to the chart.

   Links between nodes are loaded to the link chart. To edit the link symbology, choose the relationship type in the Contents pane and click Symbology on the Link Chart Diagram tab.

   Note:

   Edits made to the link chart data sources—such as adding new records, updating record attributes, and deleting records—are not automatically synchronized with the link chart. Click Refresh in the link chart view to sync these edits. The date and time the link chart was last synchronized are displayed on the Current as of label in the link chart view.

9. Optionally, click Relationship Type and repeat the steps above to add more relationship types.

   You can add an indefinite number of relationship types; however, the data in the field parameters for each relationship type must match each other.

10. Optionally, to edit the parameters of an existing relationship type, right-click the link set in the Contents pane and choose Properties. Make your changes, and click OK to update the chart.

Add links manually

To manually draw links between nodes in the link chart view, complete the following steps:

1. From the Active Relationship drop-down menu, choose a relationship type to which the links can be added.
2. Click Add Link in the Add group.

   Note:

   You can add a relationship type without key fields. The new relationship type will be empty but new links can be added.

3. In the link chart view, select a node in the link chart and drag the pointer to another node to draw a link. Continue adding links between nodes until you have added all the links you need.

Add link labels manually

Add labels to links by following these steps:

1. Click the Select tool on the Link Chart Diagram tab and double-click the link to be labeled.

   The pointer is activated where you can type text along the link.

2. Type a label for the link and press Enter.

   The label appears for the link.

3. Repeat these steps to add more labels.

Change link symbology

By default, links are drawn as solid gray lines with arrowheads pointing from the source nodes to the target nodes. To change the link symbology options, follow these steps:

1. Choose a relationship type in the Contents pane, and click Symbology on the Link Chart Diagram tab.

   The Link Symbology pane appears.

2. Optionally, edit the Color, Line Width, Dash Effect, and Enable Arrowheads To Target Nodes options for the links.
3. Edit the link labels properties in the Link Label section.

   Link labels are not displayed by default.