Use Case Diagram Layout

Question

I am at the beginning of a big project and want to visualize some use cases. I understand how to use the UML tools to add actors and use cases. What I don't get is how to automatically align the components like a typical use case layout (e.g. http://homepage.eircom.net/~iandowney/uc1_files/image013.jpg ).

Answer 1

Unfortunately, there is no layout algorithm that is well-suited for use case diagrams in yEd. To achieve a layout like in the linked diagram, you could try to put the elliptical nodes into group node and run a left-to-right hierarchical layout.

Answer 2

The "snap line" feature is your friend. You still have to do the alignment by hand, but it is *very* fast and fluid, really a no-brainer. See the yEd manual page: http://yed.yworks.com/support/manual/snap_lines.html