Is it possible to "freeze" a selection of nodes, and have automatic layout for the others?

Question

I have a cause-effect chain with one final effect (one last node).

There are 5 or so predecessors which I want to keep in a fixed order.

I would then like automatic heirarchical layout of the predecessors of those fixed nodes.

Is this possible?

Answer 1

There are actually two possible solutions for this requirement.

Solution 1 would be using the hierarchical algorithm's support for incremental layout. To do that, first select the nodes you want the algorithm to rearrange. (Make sure the nodes that should remain as is are not selected.) Then run hierarchical layout with option "Selected Elements Incrementally" enabled.

Solution 2 would be using "Layout" -> "Selection (Partial)".