Check containment relations through diagram features

Checking containment relations currently set between network features or objects is not so simple when working from the network map. This type of analysis is easier from network diagrams.

To do so, you can select the network features and network objects on the area you are interested in and create a diagram based on the ExpandContainers diagram template. Then, focusing on the newly generated diagram, zoom in on the polygon diagram containers represented in it and analyze them:

  • Since polygon diagram containers systematically draw around their related contents, you can first visually identify the content devices or objects you expected to be represented inside the polygon containers while they are currently outside.
  • Moreover, to get a complete understanding of the devices or objects that are contents of each polygon container, you can use the Select Related Contents command. Starting from any polygon diagram container selected in your network diagram, this command retrieves all contents related to that container and selects them in the diagram. This allows you to identify any containment relations that may be obviously missing, even for network features or objects that are represented inside a diagram polygon container.
In such situations, without using the Select Related Contents command, you must select the diagram features representing the network contents and network containers you are expecting, click the Apply To Maps Propagate Diagram Selection To Network command on the Network Diagram tab in the ribbon to locate the corresponding network features or network objects in the geographic map. Then, with this map as the active map, you must use the Modify Associations pane to check the containment relations.

The Select Related Contents command can also be used in the following situations:

  • Analyze container hierarchy
  • Isolate the set of diagram features that are related contents of diagram containers to which you want to apply a particular layout
  • Help you understand results that could appear strange when you apply layouts with the Preserve container layout option checked

The steps below detail how to use the Select Related Contents command:

  1. Click the diagram map tab to set this diagram as the active map.
  2. Select any diagram container polygon in the active diagram map.
  3. On the Network Diagram tab, click Select Related Contents Select Related Contents.

    The selected diagram containers are removed from the selection while their related contents become selected in the active diagram.